3 minute read
GWEN’S PICKS: MUSICAL JOURNEYS THAT CHALLENGE THE STATUS QUO
BY GWEN KLASSEN, ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL FLUTE AND PRINCIPAL PICCOLO
Game-changing composers not only shatter paradigms, but are also courageous enough to sit in the uncertainty of knowing and not knowing at the same time. They sink the ship in order to experience the fear and freedom of the free-fall into chaos, all because they sense the existing structure no longer serves. When those composers choose to “differentiate in order to create beauty, meaning and synergy” (Cynthia Bourgeault), they also create new posts by which we experience and hear our humanity, knowing we are not alone. So, I’m putting on my life and music coach cloak and taking a deep dive into the hero/heroine’s archetypal journey through music, where we meet archetypal characters that challenge the hero/heroine and shake things up — as a result, life carries on in a new way, or it ends.
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VILLAIN AND THE RITUALS OF RENEWAL Lunar New Year Celebration
In traditional Chinese culture, Nian is the ferocious beast that lives in the mountains or under the sea, and comes out to terrorize the village on New Year’s Day. According to legend, an unexpected hero, Yanhuang, faces his fears, turns toward the beast, learns its fears (the colour red, fire, and loud noises) and unites the village. Now that is a hero! The Villain is often our greatest ally in finding unknown courage, in ourselves and each other. All cultures have yearly rituals of renewal and rebirth, where we reflect on what was, atone, release, and honour those who came before us. We clean house, leave room for what will be, and we celebrate new beginnings, again and again. This is the theme of the Lunar New Year Celebration, a community event that honours East Asian cultures and unites people through the power of music. Most of the works on this programme are new to me, which brings its own transformation — learning new idioms and recognizing universal ones, while building connections with our diverse Calgary community.
Hear East Asia’s leading contemporary composers on 17 + 18 January 2020.
THE TRICKSTER Stravinsky’s Petrushka
There are myths and stories in every culture that describe our human experience of awakening from a linear “follow the rules and you’ll be safe” direction into a more complex, contradictory, spiral existence. We meet familiar characters along the way. One of those is the Trickster — clever, mischievous, entertaining, and concerned with survival. In modern culture we have Bugs Bunny or Pippi Longstocking. In Indigenous culture it’s the Coyote or Raven. Loki in Norse mythology, Hermes in Greek. In Russian folklore, it’s Petrushka. He is content to be the trickster puppet and dance for his supper until one day he is ‘brought to life’ by the magic flute! This flute cadenza so clearly depicts what is happening — the sparkle of transformation is evident in the first flourish. We hear the unsteady tentative first steps without strings, and then he finds his feet. For the rest of the piece, we hear the excitement and drama of the ‘awakening.’ We hear fear, jealousy, and love. Petrushka experiences the full range of humanity. Unfortunately, this is a tragedy and the hero succumbs to bitterness and resentment, raging against the pain involved in being fully alive, haunting the rest of us. He would have preferred to stay in the golden first half of life, thank you very much, where someone else is in charge.
Hear Stravinsky’s Petrushka on 28 + 29 February 2020. FIRE
Mozart’s Symphony No. 35 (Haffner Symphony)
We all know about fire in Alberta. It can warm us while camping, cook our food, and destroy entire forests, leaving room for creative new growth to slowly emerge. Mozart’s 35th symphony started as the famous ‘Haffner Serenade’ commissioned by the Haffner family for their daughter’s wedding. Later, Mozart revised the work for a member of the family’s ‘ennoblement’ ceremony. Finally, Mozart tinkered with it again and, with the addition of flutes (yay!) and oboes, the serenade evolved into this symphony. Mozart wrote to his father that the first movement should be played with fire, and the last as fast as possible! We hear the story, the wit, variety, drama, and the crackling, dancing fire in this transitional work for Mozart. This symphony is transformational for me on a personal level as well — it was the piece my daughter listened to every morning to get fired up as she got ready for school and to face the world. It is such a delight to know, as a parent and musician, the meaning music has in her life.
