{"id":114466,"date":"2025-05-21T12:12:24","date_gmt":"2025-05-21T16:12:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/?p=114466"},"modified":"2025-05-21T14:00:02","modified_gmt":"2025-05-21T18:00:02","slug":"interview-cathedral-bluffs-symphony-orchestra-ends-season-bold-program","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2025\/05\/21\/interview-cathedral-bluffs-symphony-orchestra-ends-season-bold-program\/","title":{"rendered":"INTERVIEW | Cathedral Bluffs Symphony Orchestra Ends The Season With A Bold Program"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_114468\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-114468\" style=\"width: 1200px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-114468\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/05\/Copy-of-INTERVIEW-10.jpg\" alt=\"Cathedral Bluffs Symphony Orchestra with conductor Martin MacDonald (Photo courtesy of CBSO)\" width=\"1200\" height=\"628\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/05\/Copy-of-INTERVIEW-10.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/05\/Copy-of-INTERVIEW-10-300x157.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/05\/Copy-of-INTERVIEW-10-1024x536.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/05\/Copy-of-INTERVIEW-10-768x402.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-114468\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Cathedral Bluffs Symphony Orchestra with conductor Martin MacDonald (Photo courtesy of CBSO)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The Cathedral Bluffs Symphony Orchestra ends their season with a program titled Pictures At An Exhibition. Naturally, the atmospheric Mussorgsky-Ravel work is on the menu, which also includes a focus on brass in the form of a horn concerto.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEverything is a big sound in this concert,\u201d says CBSO Music Director Martin MacDonald. \u201cIt\u2019s big and bold.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>On the program is:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Ian Cusson: Tableau Vivant (2018)<\/li>\n<li>Gli\u00e8re: Horn Concerto (Samir Abd-Elmessih, french horn)<\/li>\n<li>Mussorgsky-Ravel: Pictures at an Exhibition<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>We spoke to CBSO Music Director <strong>Martin MacDonald<\/strong> and horn soloist <strong>Samir Abd-Elmessih<\/strong> about the season-ending concert.<\/p>\n<h2>Interview: The First Half<\/h2>\n<p>Opening the program is Canadian composer Ian Cusson\u2019s Tableau vivant, based on a 1958 play by Michel Marc Bouchard of the same name (in English, The Tale of Teeka). MacDonald notes that the work is written with a storytelling voice as an orchestral concerto.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s just under six minutes long. It\u2019s a piece of big vibrant storytelling,\u201d MacDonald says.<\/p>\n<p>The original story revolves around a ten year old boy on a Quebec farm playing with his goose.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s also a challenging piece for us as well,\u201d MacDonald says, noting frequent key and time changes. \u201cIt\u2019s a very beautiful piece.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3>Reinhold Gli\u00e8re&#8217;s Concerto for Horn and Orchestra in B-flat major, Op. 91<\/h3>\n<p>Reinhold Gli\u00e8re completed his Concerto for Horn and Orchestra in 1951, and it was premiered the same year by Russian horn player Valery Polekh with the Leningrad Radio Symphony Orchestra.<\/p>\n<p>Polekh, in fact, had played a key role in the creation of Gli\u00e8re&#8217;s Opus 91. The two had met at the Bolshoi Theatre in 1950. The horn player approached Gli\u00e8re during a break in a rehearsal of the composer\u2019s ballet The Bronze Horseman.<\/p>\n<p>Their conversation was brief, but focused on Polekh\u2019s suggestion that Gli\u00e8re write a concerto for the horn. Gli\u00e8re, evidently intrigued, said he\u2019d come up with something in his free time. Polekh would subsequently meet with Gli\u00e8re to show him the horn\u2019s capabilities. About a year later, Gli\u00e8re completed the piece.<\/p>\n<p>It would go on to become one of the composer\u2019s best known and most lauded works. The modern French horn, with its valves and other 19th century developments that allowed for a full range of notes, was a relative newcomer to the orchestral family, and it&#8217;s still not often used as a solo instrument. Gli\u00e8re&#8217;s Concerto has become one of the key works in the horn repertoire.<\/p>\n<p>Gli\u00e8re wrote the piece in a neoclassical style, with a Romantic sensibility. It consists of three movements, with a standard cadenza written by Polekh in a virtuosic mode.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_114469\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-114469\" style=\"width: 1200px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-114469\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/05\/Samir-photo-1-scaled-1.jpg\" alt=\"French horn player Samir Abd-Messih (Photo courtesy of Cathedral Bluffs Symphony Orchestra)\" width=\"1200\" height=\"799\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/05\/Samir-photo-1-scaled-1.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/05\/Samir-photo-1-scaled-1-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/05\/Samir-photo-1-scaled-1-1024x682.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/05\/Samir-photo-1-scaled-1-768x511.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-114469\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">French horn player Samir Abd-Messih (Photo courtesy of Cathedral Bluffs Symphony Orchestra)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h3>A Concerto For French Horn<\/h3>\n<p>Why choose a horn concerto?<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFirst of all, Samir. He\u2019s a fantastic horn player,\u201d MacDonald says. \u201cWe\u2019re really lucky to have him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Samir Abd-Elmessih is a busy musician, currently performing with CBSO, the Etobicoke Philharmonic Orchestra, and Orchestra Toronto. That\u2019s on top of a full-time career as a teacher.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt keeps me busy,\u201d Abd-Elmessih says.<\/p>\n<p>The orchestral world can be a small one, and it turns out that MacDonald and Abd-Elmessih were working on their Master\u2019s degrees at McGill University at the same time. Samir would also study for a time at the Glenn Gould School, as well as private instruction with Christopher Gongos. Associate Principal Horn of the TSO, and UofT faculty member.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEven when we were doing our Master\u2019s together, he was a real superstar at McGill,\u201d Martin says. \u201cI wanted to feature him in the orchestra as a soloist. I like going outside the piano and violin concertos when we can,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe were talking about the Mozarts, and we were talking about the Strausses,\u201d MacDonald recalls.<\/p>\n<p>Gli\u00e8re\u2019s concerto was Abd-Elmessih\u2019s suggestion to MacDonald. \u201cHe was thinking about something a little bit off the beaten track,\u201d Samir says.<\/p>\n<p>MacDonald went home to listen to the concerto, and was convinced.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor horn players, it\u2019s a bit more well known,\u201d Abd-Elmessih says. \u201cIt\u2019s got lots of nice melodies.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s these great big tunes for the orchestra, and some lush orchestrations,\u201d Martin says. \u201cThe other great benefit to us as well, at least we hope, is that it encourages younger horn students,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n<p>The instrumentation includes a full brass section, harp and percussion along with the usual strings.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt gives the orchestra something to do as well,\u201d Abd-Elmessih says. \u201cHe thankfully agreed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The work is also quite challenging. \u201cI learned it when I was in university, and performed it at a student recital, but I haven\u2019t really worked on it since then. It\u2019s kept me busy all year.\u201d Samir adds. \u201cJust getting to play a piece like this is fairly special,\u201d he says. \u201cThere are some things in the third movement that I\u2019m really looking forward to. It\u2019s almost like movie music.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s not the first time he\u2019s stepped in front of the orchestra as a soloist, but naturally, CBSO programming works through a number of soloists each season.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTo be in front of the orchestra is quite unique,\u201d Samir says. \u201cI usually just sit at the back.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re really enjoying playing it,\u201d Martin adds.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_114470\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-114470\" style=\"width: 1200px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-114470\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/05\/Modest_Musorgskij.jpg\" alt=\"A portrait of composer Modest Mussorgsky, circa 1881 (Public domain)\" width=\"1200\" height=\"887\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/05\/Modest_Musorgskij.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/05\/Modest_Musorgskij-300x222.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/05\/Modest_Musorgskij-1024x757.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/05\/Modest_Musorgskij-768x568.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-114470\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">A portrait of composer Modest Mussorgsky, circa 1881 (Public domain)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2>Second Half: Pictures At An Exhibition<\/h2>\n<p>After the Horn Concerto, the concert finishes with the iconic Mussorgsky-Ravel orchestration of Pictures At An Exhibition.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s an interesting concert in terms of pacing, especially for the brass,\u201d notes MacDonald.<\/p>\n<p>Ravel\u2019s orchestration notably makes good use of brilliant, rich instrumental colours, varying the instrumentation between the \u2018picture\u2019 sections and the promenades. Of course, that includes the signature brass-heavy Great Gate of Kyiv section.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s one of the most thrilling finales in all orchestral music,\u201d he says. \u201cIt raises the hair right on the back of your neck.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The piece includes quick changes in tempo and mood to keep all the orchestra members on their toes, and a number of standout solos.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe have a beautiful alto sax solo,\u201d MacDonald notes, \u201cperformed by <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.sfoxclarinets.com\/bio.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Steve Fox<\/a><\/strong>.\u201d He also notes The Ox Cart section, where the second trombonist will perform it on the euphonium, and the piccolo trumpet solo in the part titled Samuel Goldenberg and Schmuyle.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s a great piece for the orchestra to do,\u201d he says. \u201cYou get a great palette of orchestral flavours.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>As a special feature, and in keeping with the theme of the program, pieces of student art work (not thematically related to the music) will be displayed in the lobby before the performance, during intermission, and following the concert.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s our season finale,\u201d he notes. \u201cIt\u2019s a great way to blow the roof off.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>CBSO will also be revealing the details of their 2025\/26 schedule\u2014 the 40th anniversary season for the orchestra \u2014 at the concert.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Find more details and tickets for the May 24 performance [<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/cathedralbluffs.com\/pictures-at-an-exhibition\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">HERE<\/a><\/strong>].<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong><em>Are you looking to promote an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/advertising\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"color: #0e101a\"><u>event<\/u><\/span><\/a>? 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