PREVIEW
Symphony Under the Sky
Thursday, Aug. 30 to Sunday, Sept. 2
Hawrelak Park Amphitheatre
Tickets: $25 to $140. Visit www.winspearcentre.com
Every Labour Day weekend the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra brings its cellos and horns to the Hawrelak Park Amphitheatre for the pleasure of hundreds of spectators.
The four-day Symphony Under the Sky, taking place Thursday, Aug. 30, to Sunday, Sept. 2, is the symphony’s most popular attraction drawing several thousand music fans.
Not only are the 56 musicians and their guests top-tier artists, but conductor Robert Bernhardt is practically irreplaceable. His affable personality, encyclopedic knowledge of music and respect for both the musicians and audience makes him the right person for the job.
This is his 13th year conducting Symphony Under the Sky.
“It’s lucky 13,” chuckles Bernhardt during a phone interview as he prepares for a concert with the Boston Pops.
ESO chief conductor Alexander Prior has described the American conductor as “one of the masters of easy musicality.”
From the first, Bernhardt works at selecting music that complements the natural outdoor setting of the park's amphitheatre – a grassy knoll surrounded by tall trees and a man-made lake.
Thursday night opens with Jim Witter’s Time in a Bottle, a journey back to ’60s and ’70s pop rock music. With tunes from Jim Croce, Cat Stevens, James Taylor and Gordon Lightfoot, this concert takes the listener to the sights and sounds of a cultural revolution that propelled folk artists to the front lines of the music scene.
“It’s a perfect show for the informality of the park and Jim makes you feel as if you’re in his living room with his easygoing style,” Bernhardt said.
On Friday, Prior shares conducting duties for a night of classical music. Prior opens with Beethoven’s Corlian Overture, a musical nod to Heinrich Joseph von Collin’s tragedy Corlian.
The story follows a disgraced Roman general banished from the city. He rallies an army and attempts to invade the city. His mother pleads with him to desist, persuading him that war solves nothing. To save his honour, Corlian commits suicide.
Bernhardt then picks up the baton for Saint-Saëns’ Piano Concerto No. 2 with special guest Russian pianist Ilya Yakushev.
“The concert is very dramatic and ends with a blazing finale.”
The evening closes with Dvorák’s Symphony No. 8, a classical work inspired from folk music.
“It’s one of the most beautiful folk music symphonies ever written. There are glimmers of Czech folk rhythms throughout. It’s a wonderful, happy unhurried first movement with a beautiful waltz and a brilliant finale.”
Hollywood Hits from a variety of films is the focus of Saturday night’s family concert.
“There’s a wealth of film music and we’ll be looking at Titanic with soprano Dawn Bailey singing a wordless James Harden suite that is absolutely beautiful and haunting.”
Other tunes on the musical roster include a series of Disney’s new classics, Harry Potter, Star Wars, Jurassic Park and La La Land. There is even John Williams' Tribute to Film, a four-minute work that is a pastiche from 26 famous theme songs.
The Sunday afternoon concert closes with a tribute to Leonard Bernstein on the anniversary of his 100th birthday, a tribute to Puccini, music from West Side Story and solo jazz trumpeter Joel Grey saluting Louis Armstrong with three of Satchmo’s signature works.
The symphony ends with a bang performing Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture, complete with sound effects that include a volley of cannon fire, ringing chimes and a brass fanfare heard clear across the park.
