There may have been two guest stars at Saturday night’s Edmonton Symphony Orchestra concert, but all eyes were definitely glued on one for most of the evening.
That was the man at centrestage, Alexander Prior, named just this week as the new chief conductor of the ESO for the 2017/2018 season, after working with orchestras around the world. Prior was under the scrutiny of attendees eyeing the 24-year-old native of London, England, in a very different manner than as the guest conductor he’s been here over the last few years.
Now he was no longer a child prodigy or a globe-trotting, rising star in the classical world. He was the man who would be replacing the beloved Bill Eddins, who is moving on after more than a decade of leading the orchestra.
Big news indeed, so it wasn’t surprising that the Winspear was packed in response, though that was surely helped along by the ESO offering a bucketful of last-minute $24 tickets, resulting in a large backlog of people snaking their way through the outer lobby in a quest for tickets. The concert started 10 minutes late because of these last-minute ticket purchasers, but the house was full to capacity and buzzing in palpable excitement. It was an interesting mix of young and old, dressed up and dressed down, downtown and suburbs, all drawn to the changing of the ESO guard.
Prior bounced out and immediately charmed the audience with (deliberate) awkwardly phrased Canadianisms and winning demeanour, delighting in his evident rapport with the orchestra, enthusing about his new job and the city he would be getting to know. He expressed excitement in the idea of getting to check out Canadian composers in depth before launching into Montreal native Clermont Pepin’s Variations symphoniques, a satisfying musical bouillabaisse that covered a great deal of sonic territory in just under 20 minutes.
Another Quebec-based artist, pianist Charles Richard-Hamelin, was the special guest for Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 2 in F minor, a piece he’s played to critical and public acclaim in more than a few venues. While not quite as immediately charismatic as the conductor, he proved to be a beguiling performer, spider hands blurring across the keyboard on the faster passages, soulfully plucking notes on the slower, gentler sections, with Prior occasionally peering at him over his shoulder like a pitcher keeping an eye on the second base runner. By the end, he had completely won over the audience, who called him back for a couple of bows as well as a short solo piece.
It would be fair to say that the Winspear faithful seemed more than thrilled with the new conductor by the start of the intermission, giving both Prior and Richard-Hamelin several warm standing ovations in turn. The evening ended with a Carl Nielsen’s Symphony No. 2 (a.k.a. The Four Temperaments). Prior moving like a silent comedian as he conducted the four movements, happily leading the orchestra he’ll take charge of next year.
Review
Edmonton Symphony Orchestra
Conducted by: Alexander Prior
Guest pianist: Charles Richard-Hamelin
When: Saturday, Oct. 29
Where: Winspear Centre
