{"id":101665,"date":"2024-02-09T11:01:46","date_gmt":"2024-02-09T16:01:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/?p=101665"},"modified":"2024-02-09T11:15:11","modified_gmt":"2024-02-09T16:15:11","slug":"interview-alexander-shelley-talks-truth-time-nacos-latest-release","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2024\/02\/09\/interview-alexander-shelley-talks-truth-time-nacos-latest-release\/","title":{"rendered":"INTERVIEW | Alexander Shelley Talks About Truth in Our Time \u2014 NACO\u2019s Latest Release"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"NACO
NACO Music Director Alexander Shelley (Photo courtesy of the artist)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

With the National Arts Centre Orchestra<\/strong><\/p>\n

On February 9, Truth in Our Time, with the National Arts Centre Orchestra under conductor Alexander Shelley, and with violinist James Ehnes, will be released by Orange Mountain Music. The recording showcases the premiere of Philip Glass\u2019 Symphony No. 13.<\/p>\n

In addition to the signature Glass commission, the live recording includes Korngold\u2019s Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 35 with soloist James Ehnes, along with Shostakovich\u2019s Symphony No. 9 in E-flat Major, Op. 70, Nicole Liz\u00e9e\u2019s Zeiss After Dark, and Ottawa-based slam poet and singer-songwriter Yao\u2019s piece \u201cStrange Absurdity \/ \u00c9trange absurdit\u00e9\u201d.<\/p>\n

The work and full program featured on this new release were premiered in Toronto on March 30, 2022, and then traveled to New York City for its United States premiere at Carnegie Hall on April 5 to much acclaim. In particular, the American press singled out Alexander Shelley and the NAC Orchestra\u2019s nimble transitions between musical genres and eras. A live recording was captured in the National Arts Centre\u2019s Southam Hall.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think stylistic agility is a must for any modern orchestra,\u201d notes NACO Music Director Alexander Shelley. While he relishes that flexibility, there is also a need for balance. \u201cI think that it then begs the question, how does that marry up with the idea that an orchestra has its own sound?\u201d<\/p>\n

As far as his own practice, he approaches the orchestra\u2019s regular repertoire, which, like that of the new album, veers from the traditional to new music, with an even regard. The classical music world is, as he notes, at something of a crossroads between adherence to traditional styles and the demands for relevance in the modern world.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe way I try to frame it, there has been a moment in classical music, let\u2019s say the last 90 to 100 years, in which, for the first time in the history of classical music, whatever that term means, we\u2019ve moved to an industry where we don\u2019t look at what\u2019s being written now.\u201d<\/p>\n

The world of Western art music moved in a forward direction until about Schoenberg and his 12-tone toppling of centuries of harmonic theory. After that…<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere\u2019s the new music?\u201d Shelley wonders. \u201cIn the middle of the 20th century, it became more commonplace to experience the living museum in the concert hall.\u201d<\/p>\n

In fact, that itself is a fairly recent trend. \u201cWe think that performing new music is a new trend,\u201d he notes. \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of conversation to be had in that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Any art form has to incorporate the new and the old to remain healthy and vibrant in the society in which it exists. Studying older works only underscores the reality that they spoke directly to their own time.<\/p>\n

\u201cA connection with music that speaks to our time [\u2026] whose sound reflects something of this great tapestry we call life, is not only an interesting exploration, but also a reminder that music of then was also connected to its time.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s why centuries old works still speak to modern ears. \u201cThings that truly reflect the human experience of their time endure,\u201d Shelley says. \u201cThe human experience hasn\u2019t really changed in a couple of hundred years.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"L-R:
L-R: Philip Glass (Photo: Andreas Bitesnich); Journalist & News Anchor Peter Jennings in a Promotional image for ABC News in 1968 (Unknown\/Public domain)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Philip Glass Symphony No. 13<\/h3>\n

\u201cThe whole program was conceived around Truth in Our Time \u2014 as a national organization, it\u2019s interesting to ask ourselves what role music and art […] can play in society.\u201d<\/p>\n

The recording came about as the NAC Orchestra contemplated its place in the world. As a national organization, what big themes should be addressed? There are so many \u2014 climate change, identity politics, the pandemic, and so much more.<\/p>\n

But, behind all these themes, and in our society at large, a larger question looms, one about the nature and our perception of truth. What is objective truth \u2014 does it really exist? When we can hear what passes for the truth from so many sources, how do we know what is true and what is not?<\/p>\n

As a national organization, Shelley knows NACO has the clout to take bigger risks than most, and to aim for a true expression of the times.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of the questions of today revolve around truth and the concept of it,\u201d he says. \u201cExploring the question of truth seemed like a very interesting thing to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

As those questions arose, the family of the late Peter Jennings approached the orchestra with the idea of commissioning a work in his memory. It was a perfect intersection of interests.<\/p>\n

Peter Jennings, as Shelley notes, was one of the last universally trusted news anchors. \u201cIt\u2019s an interesting entry point.\u201d<\/p>\n

Journalist Peter Jennings left a mark on his profession like few others. He came to represent integrity in journalism, looking for the truth rather than sensationalism. A Canadian-American dual citizen, he was named to the Order of Canada shortly before his death in 2005.<\/p>\n

Philip Glass accepted the commission, inspired by the concept behind it.<\/p>\n

\u201cPhilip was at the top of the list along with a couple of names,\u201d Shelley says. \u201cWonderfully, he jumped to the project.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jennings\u2019s legacy is the focus of the Philip Glass Symphony No. 13.<\/p>\n

The Glass Symphony approaches the concept in the composer\u2019s typically abstract terms. \u201cI\u2019ve had interesting discussions about the degree to which it\u2019s connected to the theme. That\u2019s always an interesting question,\u201d Shelley says. He wonders about his choice of the symphony, a closed form with a cohesive structure, to express the theme of truth.<\/p>\n

\u201cPhilip is deliberately vague about it in his notes \u2014 very spare,\u201d he says, noting Glass is in that school of composer thought which allows for the creation of ambiguity.<\/p>\n

\"Alexander
Alexander Shelley with the National Arts Centre Orchestra at the recording at Southam Hall (Photo: Curtis Perry)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Program<\/h3>\n

The other works on the release, while they seem disparate, are unified by a common thread. \u201cWe built around it these other works.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nicole Liz\u00e9e\u2019s \u201cZeiss After Dark\u201d was co-commissioned by NACO and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra for Canada\u2019s sesquicentennial in 2017. The work has been performed by other ensembles since that time, and returns to be memorialized in this recording. Shelley says Liz\u00e9e\u2019s piece was inspired by the ideas presented in the Kubrick movie Barry Lyndon, namely, that truth can be elusive, even when it concerns past events that we think we can properly contextualize.<\/p>\n

Shostakovich, under pressure to write what the Soviet regime considered a heroic victory symphony, came up short in public opinion of the time with his Symphony No. 9. In fact, the public and Soviet regime\u2019s displeasure led to its banning, along with all of his work, from public performance.<\/p>\n

At its premiere, the disapproving Soviet audience did not hear the unabashedly triumphant tones they were expecting. \u201cShostakovich \u2014 an artist who was told to tell the Soviet truth, but he tells a different story,\u201d Shelley comments. \u201cIt\u2019s a very snarky, sarcastic symphony.\u201d<\/p>\n

Erich Korngold fled the Nazis in 1934 for the United States, but initially hoped to return. He became an American citizen in 1943, and stayed in the US after retiring from his prolific career as a film composer in 1947. During the last decade of his life (he died in 1957), he composed several orchestral works, including the violin concerto, a symphony, and other pieces.<\/p>\n

His violin concerto is probably the most popular of these. Shelley calls James Ehnes \u201ca great Canadian artist\u201d.<\/p>\n

Yao\u2019s original piece rounds out the program. \u201c[He\u2019s a] wonderful improvising poet and singer. He created a poem around the theme to do with race and identity and truth,\u201d Shelley says.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was kind of a risky program to take down to Carnegie Hall,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s glad in retrospect that it was what they brought to the venerated concert hall. After the New York performance, there were panel discussions around the issues raised. \u201cWe were able to draw the audience in the theme of art engaging with political questions.\u201d<\/p>\n