This evening Rosa and I went to see the National Arts Centre Orchestra (NACO).
The opening piece was Vaughan Williams, Fantasia on a Theme by Tallis. It was absolutely enchanting. Very peaceful and yet memorable. I liked it so much that when I got home, I bought it on the iTunes Store. (It is also available to play from the event page http://www2.nac-cna.ca/en/orchestra/event/63 just below the photo of conductor Hannu Lintu).
The second piece was the violin concerto, “Concentric Paths” by Thomas Adés, with soloist Leila Josefowicz. I did not enjoy this modernist work. I found it was too chaotic for my tastes with nothing specific to focus on while listening. The soloist spent 5 minutes before beginning the piece by explaining all the parts to the audience, but that mostly made people impatient.
Hannu Lintu - Photo credit Jonas Lundqvist
After intermission, NACO performed Beethoven’s Fifth Sympony (Symphony No. 5 in C minor). It’s a fantastic work. I still prefer the Ninth, but the Fifth is still a magnificent work.
The NACO was conducted by a guest Finnish conductor, Hannu Lintu. I am interested to see the different styles of the conductors we have seen over the past 6 years that Rosa and I have attended concerts together.
Hannu Lintu has an eccentric and energetic style. His motions and gestures were dramatic. He was just so fascinating to watch.
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