{"id":55756,"date":"2018-07-31T18:47:42","date_gmt":"2018-07-31T22:47:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/montreal\/?p=55756"},"modified":"2018-11-29T06:01:31","modified_gmt":"2018-11-29T11:01:31","slug":"interview-jean-philippe-tremblay-mahler","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/montreal\/2018\/07\/31\/interview-jean-philippe-tremblay-mahler\/","title":{"rendered":"INTERVIEW | Jean-Philippe Tremblay: Singing the praises of smaller Mahler"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Fant\u00f4me
Jean-Philippe Tremblay, music director, l’Orchestre de la Francophonie. (Cr\u00e9dit: In\u00e8s Jussaume)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When I spoke to Jean-Philippe Tremblay<\/strong> a few weeks ago, there were 20 tickets left for Le Fant\u00f4me de l\u2019Op\u00e9ra<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cA different crowd,\u201d said the founder of the Orchestre de la Francophonie<\/strong>. \u201cIt was not the hardest thing to sell.\u201d<\/p>\n

Particularly not in the intimate Monument-National. Mahler\u2019s Third Symphony, which concludes the OF season on Aug. 5, is another sort of undertaking. Particularly in the Maison symphonique.<\/p>\n

\u201cLots of horns, lots of trombones, it\u2019s a big one,\u201d Tremblay comments.<\/p>\n

Yet not quite as big as it usually is. Tremblay will perform the score of 1896 in the 1913 reduction by Erwin Stein, 1885-1958, a composer and essayist who knew Mahler personally.<\/p>\n

The list of instruments and voices does not suggest economy: triple woodwinds, five horns (more precisely, four plus an assistant), three trumpets, three trombones, tuba, two harps, two sets of timpani, seven percussionists, 48 female choristers, 22 children, a moderate complement of strings and a vocal soloist, mezzo-soprano Kristina Szab\u00f3<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

While the crowd count is surely lower than it was the last time the score was performed in Montreal, by the OSM under Zubin Mehta<\/strong> in 2015, five unison horns instead of eight will probably sound impressive enough in the opening.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a good tool in our hands, which is the Maison symphonique,\u201d comments the 40-year-old native of Chicoutimi. \u201cThis is the best place to do something that needs a little more help from the hall.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another plus is an ensemble drawn from three continents, including some likely future stars. Jasmine Lavariega<\/strong>, the 19-year-old principal horn, is a student at the Juilliard School in New York.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe get more and more auditions from the big schools in the States,\u201d Tremblay says. \u201cIt\u2019s very hard for us to say no to these amazing players.\u201d<\/p>\n

Not that Canadians are neglected. Tremblay reckons that a little more than half of the players are from Canada, including the concertmaster, Patrice Calixte<\/strong> of Montreal.<\/p>\n

Other young musicians (the age limit is 30) hail from France, Belgium and Switzerland \u2013 not surprisingly since French, as the name of the orchestra implies, is the lingua franca of rehearsal. There is a cellist from Brazil.<\/p>\n

Linguistic virtuosity is not mandatory. Tremblay sometimes slips into the language of Shakespeare when addressing individual American and English Canadian players. But the basic instructions are given in French.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cMost of the time I don\u2019t translate when I say, ‘Let\u2019s start at bar 15’. They\u2019re always there. We don\u2019t expect players to leave with fluent French, but we at least give them a basis for the business of music, for rehearsing in a French orchestra.\u201d – Jean-Philippe Tremblay<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

 <\/p>\n

A grand finale of a summer season<\/h2>\n

Mahler is the grand finale of a summer season with many parts. It began in June with Pell\u00e9as et M\u00e9lisande<\/em> at the Festival Classica<\/strong> in Saint-Lambert (repeated in the Palais Montcalm for l\u2019Op\u00e9ra de Qu\u00e9bec on July 29).<\/p>\n

There have been purely instrumental concerts as well. No less a guitarist than Pepe Romero<\/strong> played Rodrigo\u2019s Concierto d\u2019Aranjuez<\/em> at the Domaine Forget. This program included Tchaikovsky\u2019s Fifth Symphony, Esquisse pour orchestre<\/em>, the Op. 1 of the late Fran\u00e7ois Morel<\/a>, and Lumi\u00e8res, Reflets et Ombres<\/em> by Alexandre David. A program for the Francofolies in Montreal was given over to Andr\u00e9 Mathieu as an observation of the 50th anniversary of the death of that post-romantic pianist and composer. Alain Lef\u00e8vre<\/strong>, his latter-day disciple, was guest soloist.<\/p>\n

Whatever the repertoire, youthful enthusiasm is the norm. \u201cThe string section sounded twice as big,\u201d Tremblay says of the Tchaikovsky at the Domaine Forget. \u201cIt was amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n

The OF is now a regular presence in the programming of the venerable Concerts populaires in the Centre Pierre-Charbonneau. This summer the guest soloist was soprano Marie-Jos\u00e9e Lord<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe acoustics are not perfect, but there is something about the human side of those concerts,\u201d Tremblay said. \u201cI always enjoy it there.\u201d<\/p>\n

But back to Mahler.<\/p>\n

Tremblay believes this will be a Canadian premiere of the Stein reduction, although he cannot say for certain. Rather surprisingly, the Universal Edition publishing house could not provide information about which organizations have rented the (rather costly) parts over the years.<\/p>\n

While not as radically reduced as the Mahler Second Symphony Tremblay and only 56 OF players performed at the Maison symphonique in 2016, the Stein Mahler Third for 76 instrumentalists does involve some redistribution.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s very creative,\u201d Tremblay says of this Schoenberg pupil, who was forced out of his native Vienna in 1938 and settled in London. \u201cHe really has a knowledge of instrumentation and colours.\u201d<\/p>\n

There is no reduction in the number of bars, so expect the performance to last 90 or 95 minutes. Mahler\u2019s Third is the longest symphony in the standard repertoire. Getting it into shape includes a day of sectionals, two days of rehearsals with all the forces and a dress on the day of performance. Martin Boucher is preparing the choir.<\/p>\n

Aug. 5 is not an optimal afternoon for this performance. Yannick N\u00e9zet-S\u00e9guin<\/strong> and the Orchestre M\u00e9tropolitain<\/strong> are playing Shostakovich\u2019s Seventh Symphony at the Fernand Lindsay Amphitheatre for the Festival de Lanaudi\u00e8re.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know,\u201d Tremblay says with a sigh. \u201cThis is the second time this happens with Lanaudi\u00e8re. The only day Maison symphonique had for us in the whole summer was that Sunday. When we took it in January, the Lanaudi\u00e8re schedule wasn\u2019t out. We hoped it was a week later or before, but you never know.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mahler or Shostakovich, Tremblay or N\u00e9zet-S\u00e9guin, OF or OM, town or country. At least we have choices.<\/p>\n

L\u2019Orchestre de la Francophonie performs Mahler\u2019s Third Symphony on Aug. 5 at 2:30 p.m.<\/strong> TICKETS<\/a><\/p>\n

ALSO READ:<\/h2>\n

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