{"id":33969,"date":"2016-02-09T11:39:58","date_gmt":"2016-02-09T16:39:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/?p=33969"},"modified":"2016-02-09T11:39:58","modified_gmt":"2016-02-09T16:39:58","slug":"scrutiny-chilly-gonzales-kaiser-string-quartet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2016\/02\/09\/scrutiny-chilly-gonzales-kaiser-string-quartet\/","title":{"rendered":"SCRUTINY | Chilly Gonzales And The Kaiser String Quartet Get Classical At Massey Hall"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Chilly
Chilly Gonzales and the Kaiser String Quartet, Massey Hall (Photo via Kaiser String Quartet)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Chilly Gonzales (piano, vocals), the Kaiser String Quartet special guest Alejandra Ribera at Massey Hall, Toronto. Friday, Feb. 5<\/h3>\n

Chilly Gonzales\u2019 performance at Massey Hall on Friday, one of the final performances before his \u201cradical sabbatical\u201d year, was nearly sold out. Thousands of people enthusiastically packed themselves into the hall to hear Gonzales perform alongside the Germany-based Kaiser String Quartet. Along with some of Gonzales\u2019 signature rap and solo piano, the evening focused on the performance of works from Gonzales’ 2015 album Chambers<\/em>. The album, according to Gonzales, “re-imagines Romantic-era chamber music as today\u2019s addictive pop.” And that it does.<\/p>\n

As the string quartet, (in full tuxedo) followed by Gonzales, (in a suave, velveteen, burgundy robe) assumed the stage, the audience went wild. I’ve been to many “chamber music” concerts but rarely have I seen chamber musicians get such rock star treatment. Maybe I wasn’t in for the classical-orientated performance I was expecting?<\/p>\n

Immediately following the applause and cheer, Gonzales and the quartet performed the evening\u2019s first work: \u201cSweet Burden\u201d from the Chambers <\/em>album. The piece maintains a calm, gentle tone throughout. It was well performed and musically charming, but I thought it was an odd start to the set after such an energetic welcome from the audience; it wasn\u2019t anything to get overly excited about. Maybe I was indeed in for an evening of classical-orientated chamber music! The audience, though, seemed thrilled as the four and a half minute long piece came to an end, giving it a markedly rowdy applause. This was when I realized this concert was going to be something worth talking about.<\/p>\n

\u201cSweet Burden,\u201d along with all the other works from the Chambers <\/em>album on the program that evening, are not pop songs. They are, by definition, chamber works. But there is no mistaking this music for works from the nineteenth century. The pop influence, although subtle, gives the music a distinctive, contemporary flavor that somehow sets it aside from the realm of what many would consider \u201cpure\u201d classical music. I\u2019m sure, though, that the audience found this familiar aesthetic to be reassuringly accessible.<\/p>\n

All musicians performed well, although Gonzales\u2019 overt (and entertaining) intensity at the piano seemed a touch stark alongside the quartet, who maintained a rather stoic demeanor. Then again, I think that was the point. My only musical complaint was the amplification of the string instruments; the quality could have been more natural.<\/p>\n

But perhaps this isn\u2019t a problem worth observing. After all, Gonzales did explain towards the onset of his concert that he uses the string quartet in an unconventional way, referring to his fellow ensemble members as the world\u2019s most expensive sampling machine. This appeared to be the show\u2019s thesis; although coated with classical connotations, there is nothing wrong with approaching the string quartet from a pop perspective.<\/p>\n

Before performing his chamber work titled \u201cSample This,\u201d Gonzales shared with the audience his view that rap music is more an attitude rather than a specific musical genre. \u201cSample This\u201d was supposed to embody said attitude. To prove his point, Gonzales asked his audience to rap along in their heads as the piece was performed. Once they started performing the piece, I immediately understood what Gonzales was getting at. The string quartet had the sound \u2013\u00a0the attitude \u2013\u00a0of rap music. It felt natural to imagine an accompanying rap in my imagination\u2026 with a string quartet. I looked around, and various people were silently mouthing along with their own individual raps. The audience \u2014 myself included \u2013\u00a0were engaging with chamber music in unique and individualized ways.<\/p>\n

Beyond being the central performer, Chilly Gonzales also assumed the role of entertainer and educator. With his casual and confident wit, before each work, Gonzales talked the audience through how the pieces worked. Providing us with easily digestible musical information, he turned rudiments of music theory that many classical musicians take for granted into comedic and revealing musical insights.<\/p>\n

His approach to this was novel, and, I think, the most effective element of the performance. He draws on the audiences\u2019 inherent knowledge and interest in popular music to help them better understand and relate to his chamber works for strings and piano, a musical setting that may be outside many of the attendees area of personal interest. Gonzales is on a mission to strip classical music of its elitist and inaccessible associations.<\/p>\n

Before performing his piece \u201cPrelude to a Feud,\u201d for example, Gonzales deconstructed the concept of the arpeggio, a musical device central to this particular work. Gonzales played a triad on the piano: \u201cthis isn\u2019t music yet,\u201d he said. He went on to explain that if the notes that make up said triad are played separately and in sequence, we are getting closer to what music really is. He made his point obvious by playing familiar excerpts by Daft Punk and Glen Miller, contrasting the original arpeggiated excerpts with the bare bones triadic chord progression. He also demonstrated his point using the Moonlight sonata.<\/p>\n

\u201cAny L.V.B. fans in the house?\u201d he asked, followed by only a few feeble woos.<\/p>\n

Perhaps a predictable or even tedious demonstration for the classically trained, the audience did not think this was trivial. I saw lightbulbs go off in the minds of people sitting around me. During all of Gonzales\u2019 many musical demonstrations, people were on edge of their seats nodding, smiling, and laughing. Gonzales was giving his audience the tools they needed to identify with and better appreciate his music, all music.<\/p>\n

Two of the major highlights of the evening, though, were the two encore performances. At the end of the show Gonzales announced that a good musician friend of his had just arrived, and he wanted to bring her up to speed on the evening\u2019s events. Chilly, the quartet, and a drummer then proceeded to perform a piece that condensed the entire show, taking the audience through all the musical milestones of the evening in rapid succession; a clever and effective combination of musical humor and craftsmanship. Then, unexpectedly, it turns out his \u201cgood musician friend\u201d was none other than Leslie Feist! After some cheeky banter and much to the audiences\u2019 excitement, they performed a final number together.<\/p>\n

Ultimately, it was a fantastic and entertaining evening of music. Gonzales, with his effortless humor and novel approach to music, made a conscious effort to do everything he could to demystify the string quartet for his audience. Rather than passive listeners, Gonzales\u2019 audience was actively engaged with what was going on musically throughout the concert. Approaches like this, I think, are all too often overlooked in both popular and classical music communities.<\/p>\n

#LUDWIGVAN<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Want more updates on Toronto-centric classical music news and review\u00a0before anyone else finds out? Get our exclusive newsletter\u00a0<\/em>here<\/a><\/span>\u00a0and follow us on\u00a0<\/em>Facebook<\/a><\/span>\u00a0<\/em>for all the latest.<\/em><\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“As the string quartet, (in full tuxedo) followed by Gonzales, (in a suave, velveteen, burgundy robe) assumed the stage, the audience went wild…”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":34,"featured_media":33972,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[5723,19,38,52],"tags":[5879,4499,5878],"yst_prominent_words":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/02\/CG.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9bakr-8PT","amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33969"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/34"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33969"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33969\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":33975,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33969\/revisions\/33975"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33972"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33969"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33969"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33969"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=33969"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}