Teen pianist tackles concerto with ease

Ted Shaw, Windsor Star
Published: Monday, October 15, 2007

A dazzling display by a teenage pianist and recognition from the Ontario Arts Council were the highlights Saturday at Windsor Symphony Orchestra's opening classics concert of the season.

John Morris Russell conducted two works by Tchaikovsky, including the towering First Piano Concerto, which featured star-in-the-making, Vancouver's Avan Yu. This 19-year-old looked a lot younger, but played like a seasoned pro. His fluid technique enabled him to glide over some of the most tortuous passages in all of the piano repertory.

But he gave up none of the feeling which the piece demands. Getting strong support from the orchestra, Yu had complete command of the big, flashy arpeggios in the opening movement. Yet, he played most effectively in the rapturous second movement Andantino as well, drawing out its emotion with a delicate touch.

He was up to every task the concerto presented. And for someone so youthful and slight in appearance, it was a remarkable performance. He justly earned the sustained standing ovation delivered by the audience, and seemed somewhat nonplussed by the acclaim.

The all-Tchaikovsky program continued after intermission with the Symphony No. 6, subtitled Pathetique. Russell took the unusual step of asking the audience to hold its applause between movements, saying the "silences" in the work are as important as the music. The audience obliged.

The performance certainly measured up to Russell's hype. The pace was measured and majestic at the outset, and the opening movement featured a sparkling solo turn by principal clarinetist, James Ormston.

As in most works by Tchaikovsky, the string sections were called upon to carry the biggest load, and they responded with pinpoint precision. The cellos and double-basses had bolstered ranks on this occasion, with eight cellists and five basses.

That provided a rich timbre for the darker, more salutary parts of the symphony. The work opens and closes with subdued passages for the basses. Completed just weeks before the composer's death from cholera at 53, it has been regarded as Tchaikovsky's farewell.

Overall, this was masterful playing on the part of Russell and the orchestra, from the deeply mournful opening movement, through the fitful gaiety of the second, the hollow ecstasy of the third, and the despair of the fourth. The players and conductor were rewarded with another standing ovation at the end, and Russell was clearly touched by the response.

At intermission, David Parsons, the Ontario Arts Council's classical music officer, announced WSO had been chosen to receive the $10,000 Vida Peene Fund Award for 2007, given to an Ontario orchestra of special merit.

Jury members from Toronto, Kitchener, Ottawa, and Red Deer praised WSO's creative programming and its support of Canadian works with, among other things, the annual Windsor Canadian Music Festival in February.

The Vida Peene Fund was established in 1997 to recognize outstanding contributions by an Ontario orchestra other than the Toronto Symphony. The Orchestra Canada Youth Orchestra has won the award four times.