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Daily Maverick
22-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Maverick
The thrill of a live classical music performance is here to stay
Why still hear classical music live? What can a concert by your local orchestra offer, when there are more than 100 years of unsurpassable recordings available to listeners? No less a towering giant than Glenn Gould considered live performances outdated and artistically inappropriate. He gave his last concert in 1964, and spent the next 20 years in recording studios, changing the way people listened to piano music. No local musician could recreate what masters like this produced in studio conditions, so why go to hear them play those same pieces? It was something I wondered myself as I trudged through Parktown, on the icy first night of the Johannesburg Philharmonic's Winter Symphony Season, to hear Grieg's Piano Concerto. When I open my Idagio app, I can find 40 different recordings of the same piece within a few seconds, from Dinu Lipatti's poetic, intimate account with the Philharmonia Orchestra in 1947, to Leif Ove Andsnes's 2003 epic drama with the Berlin Philharmonic, which reaches a technical refinement that not even machines could reproduce. What could a concertgoer hope to get out of a Joburg performance in 2025, with so much freshness and bravura available at their fingertips? One resounding answer arrived in the person of Aleksandra Świgut, a 33-year-old Polish pianist with an enthralling stage presence. She showed up to play the Grieg looking like a conventional concert pianist, though what emerged from her playing was something quite unique. She opened the concerto with the solid force that Grieg's A-minor chords demand (and that JPO listeners have come to expect, in the wake of Olga Kern). But her strength turned out to be just one bright shade in a broader spectrum. Brawn gave way to a smooth elegance in the main theme, and eventually to a tender sensuousness in the romantic second theme. In between, there were so many sharp switches in touch, tone, timbre and articulation – like hairpin bends turning from one colour of the rainbow to the next – navigated with a thrilling virtuosic energy. Call her a chameleon in combat boots. What was perhaps an even rarer achievement was her total musical and dramatic integration with the ensemble. Many Romantic concertos are performed either as a contest between piano and orchestra, or to extol a shining hero among the duller masses. Świgut carried off the impressive interpretive achievement of taking up a lead role while honouring a larger structure. Could it match the precision or intensity of the Grieg recordings on offer? It hardly matters, because it was unique, a performance that could not be replaced by any other. Here was an artist who brought both thought and passion to her work, and it crackled with energy as it came to life before an audience's rapt ears. The soloist who appeared the following week – Andrey Gugnin (38), Russian – was no less dazzling in his technique, but his standout moment came after he had played his programmed work. Rachmaninoff's First Piano Concerto is often heard in the shadow of his titanic Second and Third Concertos, but it glitters with something not found in its successors, a wonderful weirdness and youthful tension, where you can almost hear the composer forming his own voice in real time. Gugnin discharged it with a poised athleticism, and then returned amid loud applause to play an encore, which turned out to be one of the highlights of an entire musical year. His encore, Rachmaninoff's G-major Prelude, emerged with a tender intimacy that drew the entire hall inward. The melody unfolded tremulously, as if Gugnin himself didn't know what the next note might be. His right hand was light, with its notes shimmering over the Steinway's strings like sunlight on water, and his left hand gently and elegantly grounded the Prelude's lyricism. A quiet radiance emanated from the stage throughout the hall, and the moment felt suspended out of time. For two and a half minutes, its tenuous enchantment brought present listeners closer to the deep heart's core. Recordings by even better pianists could not do that. Some regular concertgoers may groan to see Beethoven on the programme. His symphonies are both intellectually and emotionally vibrant (they're classics for a reason), but are treated by many musicians with either a reverence or a torpor that deadens their spirit. Conrad van Alphen clearly is not one of those musicians. The South African-born conductor, who led the third week of the season, has forged a successful career in Europe; listening to his guest appearances at the JPO, it's not difficult to see why. His Pastoral Symphony (Beethoven's Sixth, in F major) blasted away all thoughts of cold fronts, winter winds and Joburg's general June jitters. The first movement, which Beethoven titled 'Awakening of cheerful feelings on arrival in the countryside', was light and lucent. The first violins sailed through their melodies like a swallow soaring in springtime, and when the winds and French horns joined them the sound beamed from the stage with very cheerful feelings indeed. In fact, a lot of Van Alphen's direction was marked by an irresistibly strong forward momentum and upward lift; or, put more bluntly, it was remarkably bright, loud and fast. Not in a roughshod way, but with long, flowing lines, and a warmer and more luminous energy than this reviewer has ever heard in the Pastoral Symphony. The third movement, a 'Merry gathering of country folk', was a vivacious dance, and many listeners in the audience seemed to be bopping their heads along to the music. Van Alphen didn't rush mindlessly through it, but steered the orchestra effortlessly through shifts in tempo and volume to evoke a vibrant, three-dimensional setting. The thunderstorm of the fourth movement was a rip-roaring force of nature, and when the sun came out again in the final movement, it was with a luster that sun-loving South Africans could wholeheartedly embrace. As the orchestra breezed through the last few minutes of the shepherd's grateful song, there seemed to be radiance arising and filling the hall. For now, it seems that the JPO and its audiences will still have to do with only one concert per week, which can seem scant to many when they find that performances are sold out long in advance. No Wednesday-night concerts are scheduled for next month's Early Spring Season either. But a gratifying appendage to the Winter Season was the JPO's accompaniment of Joburg Ballet's stunning production of Swan Lake, which opened at the Joburg Theatre and will soon travel to the Cape Town International Convention Centre. Unsurprisingly, the orchestra dazzled the audience on the night I attended. Note mistakes aside, they played with a sharp, snappy energy that kept the drama humming from each moment to the next, and a sprightly, buoyant sound that seemed to lift the dancers onstage. Particularly noteworthy is Johan Ferreira, the principal oboist, who had to carry the famous theme many times throughout the performance, as well as the concertmaster Miro Chakaryan and principal cellist Susan Mouton, who accompanied Siegfried and Odette in their moving pas de deux. I also especially enjoyed trumpeter Donald Bower's jovial solo in the Neapolitan Dance. The conductor, Eddie Clayton, welcomed a resounding applause for the players in the pit at the end of the show, securing the irreplaceable sense of joyful communion and spontaneous energy that brings a packed theatre together. Recordings have their beauty, but the thrill of a live performance is certainly here to stay. DM
Hamilton Spectator
20-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Hamilton Spectator
Cape Breton filmmaker's latest work inspired by Donald Marshall Jr.
MEMBERTOU - A road trip when Glenn Gould was 17 with his uncle, who had just been released from prison, was the inspiration for Gould's first feature length film due to be released early next year. His uncle wasn't just any ordinary guy. His uncle was Donald Marshall Jr. and the road trip was anything but ordinary. The new film, Jeffrey's Turn, is loosely based on real life as experienced by Gould. He wrote the script ten years ago and says he took some creative license with the words and events. But with Gould playing the role of his uncle, it's sure to be a must-see project. Gould was born and raised on the Membertou First Nation in Unama'ki (Cape Breton). He's been home recovering from a stroke that hit him around the end of May when he was already in post-production. Fortunately, the effects of the stroke have been mild and he is able to work remotely while others work on editing and finishing the project in Halifax. 'It caused a little delay,' he says, 'but nothing major. My editor has been working on a rough cut.' Jeffrey's Turn is about a 17-year-old named JR Sylliboy who lives on Black Bear First Nation with his widowed, environmentalist mother, Anna. He is contacted by his uncle Arty who has just been released from prison after being incarcerated in Maine for getting into a scrap with some locals. Once united, the pair venture on a summer road trip from Cape Breton Island back to Maine and they have an unforgettable journey where nothing seems to go right. In a director's note, Gould explains the premise of his film that is fictionally based on true events: 'A lot of us have that one uncle that your mother is always comparing you to, and she does not want you to 'end up like.' I grew up with not just one, but a few of those uncles. There was never a boring moment growing up, that's for sure. Growing up on the Rez can be absolutely amazing for the most part. The closeness of friends and family around. The freedom to roam around the community freely and safely. Although, one of the 'cons' of having that freedom, is that you are not sheltered or censored from anyone or anything. There are a lot of traumatizing events witnessed by many of us who grew up on the Rez. Events that have resulted with many of us walking through life, hurt and damaged, heavy and broken, burdened with layers of PTSD from the events we have witnessed.' COMING OF AGE STORY Gould has written a fictional 'coming-of-age' story about an impressionable, naive teenager about to be introduced to sides of life he never knew existed. An actor since his teen years, the 53-year-old Gould is best known in Canada for his starring role as Det. Jerry Commanda in the crime drama 'Cardinal' which ran for four seasons on television in both English and French. He has also had roles in such hits as 'Outlander', 'FBI Most Wanted', 'Murdoch Mysteries,' 'DaVinci's Inquest', and Liam Neeson's movie, 'Cold Pursuit.' Gould says a lot of Nova Scotian actors were used in the film which was shot mostly in Dartmouth, Halifax and Eastern Passage. There was some drone overhead filming that used Millbrook First Nation as a backdrop. As well as writing and acting in his labour of love, he's a producer and director of the movie he hopes to show at film festivals in 2026. Although he would have loved to shoot it in Cape Breton, the island still lacks the infrastructure needed for feature-length films and the cost was prohibitive. Two of the young actors playing the main character's friends are from Eskasoni. One young man will have a story of being 'discovered' by Gould to tell in the future. Gould says he met Sydney Francis, 21, at an event at Sydney's Highland Arts Theatre. 'I saw him and I thought, 'who is that kid?' He has a great look for film. He has long native hair and a really cool look to him. And then I was at a wake in Eskasoni and he was tending the sacred fire.' 'I asked him if he ever thought of acting and he said, 'not really.' And then he said: 'but that would be kind of cool.' Gould said he thought of him when the part in Jeffrey's Turn came up, so Francis auditioned. He got the part and is in his first movie. A second person from Eskasoni is Desna Michael Thomas, 24, who is cast as a non-binary character. Thomas has some previous acting experience. They were nominated for an outstanding performance award by Screen Nova Scotia in 2022 for their role in the movie Wildhood. It's been ten years since Gould started the draft for Jeffrey's Turn and told Halifax producer Hank White of Stone Cold Productions, about it. A couple of years later, government funding became available for film projects and White asked him about it again. He liked what he heard and optioned the project. And Gould says 'it's been a journey' ever since. WRONGFUL CONVICTION Being a part of the Donald Marshall Sr. and Jr. family changed the trajectory of Gould's life from the time he was a child. Donald Marshall Sr. – his grandfather – was Grand Chief of the Mi'kmaq Nation for 27 years. His son, and Gould's uncle, Donald Marshall Jr. was wrongfully convicted of murder in 1971 and spent 11 years in prison. His case unveiled systemic racism within the Canadian justice system. A Royal Commission later found the system failed him 'at virtually every turn.' Gould remembers the family always believing in his uncle's innocence, but the children in the family – including himself – were taunted at school before the conviction was overturned. Jeffrey's Turn is in part, an homage to his uncle. In fact, there is a scene in the movie where Gould, as Donald Marshall Jr., re-enacts the fight scene that led to his uncle's wrongful murder conviction. 'It's partially my story of bonding with my uncle, but it's his story too,' Gould says. The facts of the case are that in 1971, Donald Marshall Jr. and Sandy Seale, both teenagers, came across Roy Ebsary and Jimmy MacNeil in Wentworth Park in downtown Sydney. A fight broke out and Seale was stabbed by Ebsary who already had a criminal record for violence. Despite Marshall Jr. flagging police down to get help for Seale and telling them about Ebsary and MacNeil who fled the park, it was Marshall they arrested for murder. After a trial in which he always maintained his innocence, Marshall was convicted and sentenced to life in prison. Ten years later, Ebsary confessed to the crime. An appeals court overturned the conviction, and a Royal Commission investigated the case, finding significant flaws in the justice system and highlighting racial bias. Marshall was Mi'kmaq and the victim, Seale, was black. JUSTICE DENIED It was when the National Film Board made the movie: 'Justice Denied', and Gould drove his grandparents to the set every day, (they played themselves in the film), that Gould thought acting was something he would like to be involved in. 'When they were filming, I was living with my grandparents and driving for them. I met the producers, director and actors.' 'One of them was a native actor from Manitoba, In fact I had to ask him: 'so you're a real native like me?' And he said yeah. He was like, 'I'm from the trap line in Manitoba.' 'I didn't even know what that was! So I asked and he said it meant that his family moved around from camp to camp.' He told Gould that his uncle was founder of the Native Earth Theatre Company in Toronto, and that's how he was working in film. Two years later, not finding much to keep him in Cape Breton around 1990, Gould travelled to Toronto, introduced himself to the people at what is now the oldest professional Indigenous theatre company in Canada, and lived the struggling actor lifestyle for a few months until the opportunity came along to act in Ojibway playwright, Drew Hayden Taylor 's one-act play: Toronto at Dreamer's Rock. Gould is happy to have the opportunity to write, act and direct in something that will remind people of his uncle's story. 'I took a bit of creative license to make it a good story,' he says. He adds that it's a story within a story – but it's an important one. Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? 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Yahoo
20-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Elton John Set to Receive 2025 Glenn Gould Prize
Sir Elton John has been named the 2025 recipient of the Glenn Gould Prize. A wide range of creative talents have won the award over the years. John is only the second to come from the (broadly defined) rock world, following the late Leonard Cohen. The award was established in 1987 by The Glenn Gould Foundation to honor the legacy of legendary Canadian pianist Glenn Gould, whose 1956 album Bach: Goldberg Variations is considered a classic. Gould died in 1982 at age 50. He received a posthumous lifetime achievement award from the Recording Academy in 2013. More from Billboard 'An Evening With Elton John and Brandi Carlile' Concert Special to Air on CBS Dancehall Star 1Ski OG Is Back With Two New Songs - And a New Stage Name U2 Are First Irish Songwriters to Be Named Fellows of the Ivors Academy 'After spending decades admiring the virtuosity of Glenn Gould's work, I am awestruck and honored to receive this award,' John said in a statement. John, of course, has won countless lifetime achievement awards, including the Kennedy Center Honors, the Gershwin Prize for Popular Song, a Grammy Legend Award, the Johnny Mercer Award from the Songwriters Hall of Fame and induction into Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. The Glenn Gould Prize is awarded biennially and includes a CDN$100,000 cash award for the Laureate, who also selects an exceptional young artist to receive the CDN$25,000 Glenn Gould Protégé Prize. 'In selecting our Laureate, Elton John, we chose to honor someone who has great artistic accomplishments, but whose life and whose art has been translated into something much greater than just performance or the consumption of music and things they've created,' said the Rt. Hon. Kim Campbell, former Prime Minister of Canada and this year's jury chair for the Glenn Gould Prize. 'Elton John has used his enormous talent and his great success to change lives. He's been courageous in taking on causes, whether AIDS, LGBTQ+ rights, addiction and all sorts of issues that were not popular when he engaged with them and he was prepared to take the wonderful success that his musical talent had given him to make a difference in the world. And from our perspective that represents the highest level of achievement for an artist and celebrates the memory of Glenn Gould in the best way.' 'Elton John embodies the spirit of artistic excellence, innovation, and profound humanity that The Glenn Gould Prize was created to celebrate,' added Brian Levine, CEO, Glenn Gould Foundation. 'Glenn Gould's vision was one of boundless creativity, fearless originality and an unshakable commitment to using music as a force for good in the world. Sir Elton has exemplified these ideals throughout his extraordinary career, not only with his incredible musical catalogue and immense talent but also championing emerging artists across genres and using his global platform to inspire transformational humanistic change. His enduring impact on music and culture makes him a truly perfect recipient of this honor.' The announcement of The Glenn Gould Prize Laureate was made during a public event at Kings Place in London. The event featured a Q&A session with the jury and performances by South African soprano Pumeza Matshikiza and 17-year-old Canadian piano prodigy Ryan Wang. Living candidates of any nationality are eligible for The Glenn Gould Prize, with nominations coming from the public. Disciplines include but are not limited to musical creation or performance, theater, dance, choreography, writing, design, film, television, radio and broadcasting, visual art, multimedia, writing, technology/innovation, architecture and design. The prize will be presented to John during a special gala celebration to be held in Toronto this fall. Here's a complete list of recipients of the Glenn Gould Prize: 1987: R. Murray Shafer 1990: Yehudi Menuhin 1993: Oscar Peterson 1996: Tōru Takemitsu 1999: Yo-Yo Ma 2002: Pierre Boulez 2005: André Previn 2008: José Antonio Abreu 2011: Leonard Cohen 2013: Robert Lepage 2015: Philip Glass 2018: Jessye Norman 2020: Alanis Obomsawin 2022: Gustavo Dudamel 2025: Sir Elton John Best of Billboard Chart Rewind: In 1989, New Kids on the Block Were 'Hangin' Tough' at No. 1 Janet Jackson's Biggest Billboard Hot 100 Hits H.E.R. & Chris Brown 'Come Through' to No. 1 on Adult R&B Airplay Chart
