Refreshing innovation in Kent Nagano's seasonal Montreal concert

The Orchestre symphonique de Montréal's Conductor Emeritus Kent Nagano concocted a daring program that constituted a refreshing change from traditional Yuletide orchestral fare, albeit beginning with a seasonal chestnut. 

In The Nutcracker Suite, the Miniature Overture's expressiveness was heightened by the violins, who started many of their cantabile phrases from pianissimo and thereafter tastefully swelled their melodic lines. Tchaikovsky discovered the celesta while visiting Paris and capitalised on its unique timbre in the Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy, adroitly handled on this occasion by Olga Gross. The cornet solo that sets the stage for the Divertissement was top notch. Despite a minor misstep at the start, the flute trio in the Dance of the Reed Flutes was delightful. Jennifer Swartz's harp cadenza at the outset of the Waltz of the Flowers was virtuosic; later the string section virtually lifted the notes off the page when rendering the uplifting theme. Overall, the treatment was a mite tenuous; possibly under-rehearsed.

From a beloved holiday favourite, the program moved on to the world premiere of Cent soleils for contralto and orchestra, composed by Canadian Matthew Ricketts to Alain Farah's libretto. The work has strong parallels to the Biblical nativity story; here too the birth of a child draws the ire of a jealous king. Québecoise Marie-Nicole Lemieux ably demonstrated that she is deserving of her lofty international stature. Her power, timbral palette and ability to connect with the audience culminated in a superb interpretation. Instrumentally, some growly bottom range contrabassoon lines as well as a trombone solo in that instrument's stratospheric range were particularly laudable. Nagano, with the stellar assistance of Lemieux and the OSM's percussion section, brought the piece to a wistful conclusion.

The Saros cycle (the repeating pattern of solar eclipses) is an integral element of the story recounted in Cent soleils, and hence linked nicely to the evening's finale, Aziza Sadikova's Farbenzeiten, which is a novel setting of Vivaldi's Four Seasons. This was its first North American performance, having been premiered by Nagano and the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin. In a recent interview, Nagano said that he perceives the composition as a dreamlike, poetic fantasy. 

Unlike Mozart's more fully instrumented arrangement of Handel's Messiah, which remains faithful to the original, Sadikova's adaptation is akin to an Edgard Varèse meets Antonio Vivaldi mash-up. Each of the seasons in Sadikova's setting substitutes a different instrument for the solo violin – oboe, cello, trumpet, mallet percussion. Disappointingly, the trumpeter was the only soloist who was not, by and large, buried by the voluminous accompanying forces. Although the orchestra's role was frequently meant to be on an equal footing with that of the soloist, much of the stellar musicianship that could have been brought to the fore by oboist Vincent Boilard, cellist Anna Burden, and percussionist Serge Desgagnés (all OSM principal players) was muted. 

Paul Merkelo's trumpet, in large part due to the inherent power of the instrument, carried the day; he nailed it. Many of the shimmering effects Sadikova created by exploiting the possibilities of modern string and percussion sections did indeed conjure up a dreamlike atmosphere, accordant with Nagano's conception of the score. Although the Sadikova is stylistically a chasm apart from Vivaldi, it nonetheless garnered an enthusiastic response. Kudos to Nagano for presenting this innovative program.