Goodman, Morawetz and Akiyama: a scintillating trio
One hundred sixty orchestras in the whole world have programmed Oskar
Morawetz' compositions. This season alone contains nineteen performances of his
orchestral works, among them two by Charles Dutois and the Montreal Symphony,
two by Andrew Davis in Toronto and three by Kazuyoshi Akiyama.
It is not without reason that Oskar Morawetz is the most performed composer
in Canada. He limits his taste for the 20th century to it experimental
sonorities and his heart voluntarily leans to romanticism. And so this very
beautiful concerto which he composed for the harp (and not against) and which
almost three years ago was premiered by Erica Goodman at the Guelph Festival of
Music, remains always fresh, and impressed today even more, due to her unusual,
masterful and mature interpretation.
Of course there is not always just a dialogue between the harp and the
orchestra: the harp produces glittering sounds sailing under the soft curtin of
the orchestra which rises sometimes to tutti interludes underlined by the sound
of the brass.
The harp is a heavenly instrument of devlish difficulties. Under the magic
fingers of Goodman it combines luminousness and expression. Due to the music of
Morawetz she shines with life. The attentive silence of the audience, often
prone to distraction, was proof that a contemporary work can captivate
attention.
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