Volume 4 Issue 3 - November 1998
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THE COMPOSER-COMPANION EXPERIENCE<br />
continued from page '11<br />
strong opinion on Philip Glass,, which Jeffrey agreed with<br />
wholeheartedly. Good. Our taste was more or less in alignment.<br />
The Second piece, L'esprit 'des dunes by Tristan Mural!,<br />
sent me rifling through the program notes. Two pages worth on<br />
that piece alone! "I think there's an inverse relation," Said Jeffrey<br />
when the music ended, "between the length of the program notes<br />
and how much you're going to get out of it." He was definitely<br />
on to my distractedness, having felt it himself. He thought it was<br />
hard to hear how the different elements in the piece related to<br />
each other, and noted there was an interesting problem in mixing<br />
acoustic and electronic elements (as' this piece did) in that the<br />
electronic overpowered the acoustic. Again, I agreed. We<br />
·compared notes onjust what we could (or could not) hear going<br />
on.· It was very useful to check my own aural experience against<br />
that of a very finely-tuned ear.<br />
During intermission we spoke more about music in<br />
general. I was surprised to hear that Jeffrey only became<br />
iQterested in musicin his late teens, citing a live performance of<br />
·Holst's The Planets as the turning point. "There's nothing like<br />
going to a live concert," he ~id, , "where you're surrounded by<br />
all this sound. Plus the shared experience of being in the hall.<br />
There's so much you simply don't get on a recording." This is _<br />
- something I often forget (under t~e influence of my high-end<br />
audio) and I made a 'mental note to attend more concerts.<br />
The third piece oil the program, Akira Nishimura's A<br />
Mirror of Mist, captivated me from the moment go. "As soon as<br />
it started," Jeffrey said afterwards, "I thought I wish I could do<br />
that! Anyone here could follow what was going on. And although<br />
the parts were very detailed, what you had was a siqtple idea,<br />
beautifully executed." We also discussed the piece's wonderful<br />
use of register, how the bass seemed to appear and disappear<br />
without warning or notice. From the incredible silence in the hall<br />
when the piece ended, it was clear the audience had been<br />
mesmerised. Truly, this is something you cannot get on a<br />
recording - the collective listening experience. ,<br />
So all in all, I have to report that having your own<br />
personal 'composer companion' is a very pleasant indulgence. I<br />
· come away wishing I always had someone this we!Hnformed to<br />
. trade opinions with, to check what I heard against what they<br />
.heard li!ld so on. Music, as it turns out, can be amplified,<br />
clarified, or illuminated through conversation.<br />
Ro.mnne Snider is a lapsed pianist, music reviewer, sho11 story<br />
writer and essayist. Her pieces have appeared in magazines and<br />
periodicals in Canada and the U.S.<br />
Made in Canada at Massey Hall<br />
continued from page 10<br />
soloists move from one to the initiative will run every night<br />
other. · throughout the festival.<br />
And this will be an Recently, WholeNote sent a<br />
occasion to experience the journalist to Esprit's<br />
world concert premiere of an "Orient/Occident" programme<br />
orchestral suite from the music with a composer companion<br />
for Don McKellar's recently ' (see page I I). Her account<br />
released film Last Night-- . should inspire readers to book<br />
-music by composers Alexina composer guides during the<br />
Louie and Alex Pauk working weeks ahead and throughout<br />
together.<br />
the <strong>1998</strong>/99 new music<br />
season.<br />
TwO'S COMPANY<br />
The Canadian Music Centre's See you all at the concerts in<br />
"Composer Companions" <strong>November</strong>!<br />
David G.H. Parsons is Ontario regional Director for<br />
the Canadian Music Centre Chalmers House,<br />
20 St. Joseph Street, Toronto, Ontario M4Y 1J9<br />
Tel: (4I6) 961-4057, Fcq: (416) 961-7198,<br />
E-mail: cmcont@interlog.com<br />
Website: < www. culturenet. ca/cmcl><br />
TORONTO'S ONLY COMPREHENSIVE MONTHLY CLASSICAL & CONTEMPORARY CONCERT LISTING SOURCE