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| The Kirk in St. John's is the venue for the free lunch-time concerts of the Tuckamore. |
How is it that when the CBC does its round up of music
festivals in the province they miss the Tuckamore Festival? It has to be one of the best deals in
town delivering both quality and quantity. The Tuckamore is nothing less than a feast of superb music by
outstanding musicians. And it is
delivered up with the convenience of a guided excursion.
But I prefer the food metaphor, the sumptuous repast. I love music but I am the first to
admit that I have no specialized knowledge of the field. This year my feast began with an
appetizer in the form of a lunchtime prelude concert by an outstanding yourng
pianist, Timothy Brennan. For one
blissful hour he made us forget the heat that followed us even into the venue
of the Kirk. It was easy to see
why chairperson Donna Ball commented that Brennan was being included on the
English Harbour leg of the Tuckamore.
He is worth showing off, nor was I surprised when one of the greatest
pianists today - Jon Kimura Parker- pronounced him excellent in the master
class a few days later. We all
wanted an extra serving of his playing.
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| Jon Kimura Parker, an infectious smile and a stage presence to match. |
If the young Brennan was the appetizer, Peter-Anthony Togni
was our inspired sommelier. During
his Concert Chat and Coffee, he regaled us with personal anecdotes about
the "Jackie" Kimura
Parker from their shared school days –imagine long hair and lumberjack
shirts! Togni would stand for up
to an hour outside Kimura Parker's rehearsal studio at UBC to listen
undetected. His comments about the
Rachmaninoff Preludes (and the composer's big paws that spanned a twelfth) and
the riots that the Stravinsky Rite of Spring sparked brought the upcoming
evening's program alive. In much
the same way that musicians do not play notes, they play music, Togni's
comments reminded us that composers are people, often with rich characters that
match their creativity. (My
fifteen-year-old was intrigued enough by Togni's analysis that he vowed to get
up early on a summer vacation day to be a fly on the wall during Togni's master
class in composition.) It was
warmly (no pun intended) engaging to listen to Togni as he fused the insights
of both friend, musician and composer into one voice. Easy listening, easy learning–it doesn't get much better…
Except if you have Jon Kimura Parker on the menu as the main
course. Heck, he was the dessert
too! He took to the stage like a
racehorse bursting out of the gate.
And even if you didn't care a fig for Russian composers, I guarantee
that you would have been smitten by the time the opening bars of Rachmaninoff
faded. The playing and stage
presence of this piano great is a rare combination of robust physicality and
subtle refinement.
It was also a treat to hear his arrangement of Igor
Stravinsky's Rite of Spring. A
popular piece, Parker was inspired by its 100th anniversary to tackle the
daunting task of weaving in the orchestral parts into the single instrument of
the piano. The audience members
beside me whispered incredulously.
It was an unbelievable performance worthy of its own riot.
Now the Tuckamore Festival continues to August 17. What other treats are in store for us?
Great blog, Gloria! The feast continues...
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