{"id":83571,"date":"2022-10-21T12:30:11","date_gmt":"2022-10-21T16:30:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/?p=83571"},"modified":"2022-10-21T12:30:11","modified_gmt":"2022-10-21T16:30:11","slug":"preview-conductor-alex-pauk-launching-esprit-orchestras-40th-season-new-classical-music","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2022\/10\/21\/preview-conductor-alex-pauk-launching-esprit-orchestras-40th-season-new-classical-music\/","title":{"rendered":"PREVIEW | Conductor Alex Pauk On Launching Esprit Orchestra\u2019s 40th Season Of New Classical Music"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_83572\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-83572\" style=\"width: 1200px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-83572\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/10\/Esprit-Orchestra-PREVIEW.jpg\" alt=\"Conductor &amp; Music Director Alex Pauk with the Esprit Orchestra (Photo: Malcolm Cook)\" width=\"1200\" height=\"628\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-83572\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Conductor &amp; Music Director Alex Pauk with the Esprit Orchestra (Photo: Malcolm Cook)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Toronto\u2019s Esprit Orchestra, devoted to performing, commissioning, and support new classical music, is set to launch their 40th season with a concert on October 27. That kind of longevity is a remarkable achievement for any organization in the classical music world, let alone one focused exclusively on new music.<\/p>\n<p>The numbers, though, aren\u2019t something that Conductor and Music Director Alex Pauk had in mind when he started, or since then. \u201cI just keep going,\u201d he says. \u201cBut, other people, they didn\u2019t think it would last,\u201d he adds with a smile.<\/p>\n<p>He\u2019s realistic about the reception for new music in general. There\u2019s a small sliver of the population that listens to classical music, period. \u201cNew music is another small sliver down from that,\u201d he says. But, he sees that as motivation. \u201cIt\u2019s not only been to provide composers the opportunity to hear their music,\u201d he explains, \u201cbut to expand that sliver.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>First and foremost, it\u2019s about live music. \u201cFor an audience to be able to appreciate that music, they have to hear it,\u201d he says. Live performance adds a dimension that can\u2019t be duplicated. \u201cIt\u2019s so that people hear things in a big perspective,\u201d he says. \u201cAnd, more than once.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In fact, the concert includes works that he\u2019s previously conducted with Esprit. \u201cConducting the second, third time, you learn something new.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_83574\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-83574\" style=\"width: 1200px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-83574\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/10\/Esprit-composers.jpg\" alt=\"Composers Thomas Ad\u00e8s, Unsuk Chin, Christopher Goddard (Photos courtesy of Esprit Orchestra)\" width=\"1200\" height=\"628\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-83574\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Composers Thomas Ad\u00e8s, Unsuk Chin, Christopher Goddard (Photos courtesy of Esprit Orchestra)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h3>The Concert<\/h3>\n<p>The season launch concert on October 27 consists of three works.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Unsuk Chin (Korea\/Germany): <em>Spira<\/em> (2019) Concerto for Orchestra<\/li>\n<li>Christopher Goddard (Canada): <em>Les tringles des sistres tintaient<\/em> (2018) for orchestra<\/li>\n<li>Thomas Ad\u00e8s (UK): <em>Asyla<\/em> (1997) for large orchestra<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=gQ3gVJsX3Sw&amp;t=0s\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Christopher Goddard<\/a>\u2019s piece was originally commissioned by Esprit. \u201cThis is an interesting work,\u201d he says. \u201cChris has taken the gypsy\u2019s theme that comes at the end of the second act of Carmen [to create] thematic modules.\u201d Using the theme, well-known even outside the opera world, the composer then transforms it. \u201cIt has the swirling effect of tambourines,\u201d he notes, with a tempo that is constantly manipulated. \u201cThere is a kind of spiral in the tempi,\u201d he describes. \u201cIt\u2019s something he\u2019s taken to show virtuosity in composition. What he\u2019s done with it is new music.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"jetpack-video-wrapper\"><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/bPSuuGmy4eU?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/div>\n<p>Pauk says he\u2019s performed most of the works of Unsuk Chin, often for its Canadian premiere. \u201cHer writing is exquisite,\u201d he says, \u201cand sure, and detailed.\u201d A well written piece makes the performance better.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s also a spiral,\u201d he explains, \u201ca different concept in creating spirals in music. It\u2019s not a concerto in a traditional sense.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rather than interweaving passages for soloists, as a typical concerto would do, Chin focuses on sounds creating by various sections. \u201cIt has to do with showing the orchestra in groupings.\u201d As he describes it, she creates \u201chalos of sound\u201d that are constantly changing.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt creates a heavenly sound.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Two vibraphones create one of those clouds of sound using changes in vibrato, a sound that comes in and out of the piece. The strings create another cloud. \u201cShe\u2019s portraying the virtuosity of sections of the orchestra.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Chin plays with repetitions and listeners\u2019 expectations. \u201cIt\u2019s a good example of how carefully she\u2019s thought about structure. It makes sense in a sensuous, intuitive way.\u201d She creates an amorphous effect with structure, paradoxically. \u201cIt\u2019s so well written, you can do what she asks with precision, but also achieve that amorphous sound.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He\u2019s also looking forward to conducting Ad\u00e8s work <em>Asyla<\/em> for large orchestra, another repeat for Pauk. \u201cIt\u2019s a difficult piece,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n<p>To begin with, it requires unusual instrumentation which includes two upright pianos \u2013 with one pianist playing an upright and a grand, and a second at the upright and a celesta. And \u2013 one of the uprights is tuned down a quarter-tone. Percussion includes water gong, two ratchets, a washboard, sandpaper blocks and a bag of metal knives and forks, among other exotica.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat gives it a lot of colour and spark,\u201d he notes. \u201cYou [also] have to find a bass oboe,\u201d he adds. \u201cIt has a wonderful sound.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The piece, written in 1997, offers listeners a shift in moods. \u201cThe third movement trips into a kind of nightclub sound,\u201d he explains. \u201cIt\u2019s very tricky rhythmically to pull off.\u201d The music isn\u2019t the kind you can show up and sight read, in other words.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOn the one hand, it sounds like a chaotic mess, but if you don\u2019t play it right, it really does sound like a mess.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_83575\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-83575\" style=\"width: 1200px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-83575\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/10\/Alex-Pauk.jpg\" alt=\"* Conductor &amp; Music Director Alex Pauk (Photo: Bo Huang)\" width=\"1200\" height=\"628\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-83575\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">* Conductor &amp; Music Director Alex Pauk (Photo: Bo Huang)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h3>Supporting new music<\/h3>\n<p>\u201cThese are among the best composers in the world,\u201d Pauk underscores. \u201cThe sounds are glorious, magnificent.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>To launch the season, the orchestra is at optimum size to deliver the right kind of sound for the program. \u201cFor Esprit, this is the largest formation we get to,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe experience of these pieces cannot be had listening online or on CD.\u201d To that he adds a unique program. \u201cIt\u2019s an opportunity you won\u2019t get otherwise.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Esprit Orchestra Presents <em>Spira<\/em> takes place Thursday, October 27, Concert 8:00 p.m. \/ Pre-Concert Chat at 7:15 p.m.\u00a0 Koerner Hall. Tickets <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rcmusic.com\/events-and-performances\/esprit-orchestra-presents-spira\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">here<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"western\"><em><b>#LUDWIGVAN<\/b><\/em><\/h3>\n<p class=\"western\"><em>Get the daily arts news straight to your inbox.<\/em><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"western\"><em>Sign up for the Ludwig van Daily \u2014 classical music and opera in five minutes or less <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/ludwig-van.us9.list-manage.com\/subscribe?u=4f785cb3f9058f2393ccad035&amp;id=57cdb68eac\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>HERE<\/em><\/a>.<\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Toronto\u2019s Esprit Orchestra, devoted to new classical music, is set to launch their 40th season with a concert on October 27.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":64,"featured_media":83572,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[39907,19,875,29,38,39,4557],"tags":[35650,3298,40304],"yst_prominent_words":[7587,6715,7584,6616,6648,9024,6613,10171,25685],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/10\/Esprit-Orchestra-PREVIEW.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9bakr-lJV","amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83571"}],"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\/64"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=83571"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83571\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":83577,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83571\/revisions\/83577"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/83572"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=83571"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=83571"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=83571"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=83571"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}