Volume 16 Issue 5 - February 2011

PHOTO SEAN PUCKETTexpression) for theVienna State Opera –a tradition going backfurther even than theidea that a great orchestradoes not needa principal conductor.theirs on ready call,it’s hard to disagree.One sometimesobserves that orchestrason the road playit safe, going for aas not to disappointthe buyers of theirrecords. With repertoireon tour thatBychkov is exploringfor upcoming projectshe’s passionate about,that ain’t going tohappen.Edwin Outwater.THERE’S A HUGE ORCHESTRAL BUZZ right through theconcert listings this month. Nowhere is that more evident than in theBeyond the GTA listings (page 43 on) where the Kingston, Hamilton,Huronia, Georgian Bay, Guelph, and Kitchener Waterloo SymphonyOrchestras account for almost a concert a day between them. Anoverall search for orchestral music in our online listings woulddoubtless yield a harvest several times that many.Particularly interesting to observe so far this season is the crackingpace being maintained by the Kitcher-Waterloo Symphony underEdwin Outwater’s aegis. Now in his fourth season with the KWS,Santa Monica born Outwater seems to stirring up a mix of musicsure to appeal to every taste – from rock-solid mainstage productionsof masterworks to family and child-centred fare with tantal-educational aspect of his job, and he has the track record to prove it.As former music director of the San Francisco Symphony, he championedprograms for school, community performances and outreach.Oddly enough, the most eclectic programming of all for theKWS in the next little while is happening not in the K-W area but ofall places, at Toronto’s Sony Centre. And what a contrast!March 1-6 the orchestra takes on the responsibility of playingfor the Mariinsky (aka Kirov) Ballet performances of Swan Lake.(Watch out for that Black Swan, though, Edwin. From what I sawin the trailer for the movie, she’s likely to rip your face off if shedoesn’t like your tempi!)And then April 9 (two shows only) they are back to provide liveorchestral backing for a cartoon-fest titled “Warner Brothers presentTunes cartoons set to Carl Stalling’s original scores. Stalling is aferociously interesting miniaturist – a bit like an orchestral Satieon speed. You can imagine why the project might have caughtOutwater’s interested eye.David Perlman is deputizing for Allan Pulker, the usual patroller ofthis beat.20 thewholenote.comFebruary 1 - March 7, 2011