Paul Cipywnyk's Blog

Burnaby's Symphony in the Park

The Vancouver Symphony played its annual, no-charge Symphony in the Park at Burnaby's beautiful outdoor concert venue at Deer Lake Park this evening. It was warm and sunny with enough dramatic clouds to set off the perfect setting for an outdoor concert.

Even though we arrived nearly an hour before show time, the grassy slope overlooking the serene lake was already filling up. The VSO played a crowd-pleasing program, as usual. Shostakovich's Festive Overture was the short, sweet, lead-in, followed by Borodin's melodic In the Steppes of Central Asia. The first half concluded with Rachmaninoff's Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, ably performed by the 19-year-old Melody Quah on piano.

The second half began with a rousing, hyperdrive fast rendition of Williams's Star Wars Suite 1. Main Title. That was followed by Conway Baker's Through the Lion's Gate: 3. Mountains, a lovely piece I'd never heard before. It celebrates the north shore mountains near the concert venue, and the composer was present and received a standing ovation. In a serendipitous touch, a Great Blue Heron overflew the crowd in the midst of the performance. Only in Canada, eh?

That was followed by Rachmaninoff's Vocalise, in the version for violin, charmingly performed by the VSO's Associate Concertmaster Joan Blackman. When the short piece ended, Yumi and I simultaneously sighed and said we wanted more... Then came a few well-known selections from Grieg's Peer Gynt, and the concert wrapped up with Tchaikovsky's thunderous 1812 Overture.

In conclusion, being of Ukrainian descent, and noticing the preponderance of Slavic composers represented in the program, all I can say is: Slavs Rock! :-)

NHK Kohaku Music Show Surprises

My wife and I always watch Japanese national television NHK's (English site here) year-end Kohaku men vs. women singing extravaganza. I believe this year was the 57th running, and some of the singers haven't missed a show -- just kidding :-). It's a tradition, and while the music ranges from insipid to (rarely) inspired, it's a way to catch up on the Japanese music scene, see who is in and who is out, and rate the songs while giggling, and occasionally, sniffling at the odd tear-jerker.

Kohaku has also become a lifeline to the "good old days" when we lived in Tokyo, and often watched the show live while visiting Yumi's parents in cold, snowy, northern Japan.

The younger pop stars are usually not very good, to be charitable -- most of them are mass-produced by mainstream Japanese music companies, and it shows. It's gotten to the point that I almost prefer the traditional, overblown, sappy enka singers, mainly because some of them have real pipes.

NHK, staid as it is, has gradually increased the amount of flesh allowed -- perhaps ratings have been declining. Skirts have been getting shorter, blouses more plunging, bras more pneumatic, and one song this year blew the audience away with apparently topless female dancers. A few songs later, an announcer came on to apologize after a rash of telephone complaints, explaining that they were not really naked, they were wearing costumes that made them look naked. OK, whatever, the result was the same :-).

Anyway, there was a real gem in the show this time around -- Angela Aki (also see Wikipedia). I'd never heard of her, but she blew us away with her flawless, pitch-perfect singing, her capable piano playing, and, as if it matters, her Nana Mouskouri looks. I've already ordered a CD, and have been checking out videos of her on YouTube.

I really have to get back to monitoring music more closely!

Logitech Z-2300 Speakers Rock

I bought at set of Logitech "Z-2300 Extreme THX®-certified 2.1 performance speakers" for my computer at Best Buy yesterday. They were on sale for C$99.99 from a list price of C$229.99, a deal I couldn't pass up.

I've spent the last couple of hours ripping dozens of CDs to my computer, listening to the huge improvement in sound quality as I do so. These speakers pump out 200 watts of RMS power, and are very crisp and clean compared to my muddy old GNT-5000 32 watt 2.1 speakers that cost about $45 new.

I hadn't been listening to music much on my computer, but that's going to change. The Z-2300s are a joy to listen to. The wired remote is also very handy, with a master volume, subwoofer volume, headphone jack, and power/standby switch. No more feeling around under the desk for knobs, switches and jacks!

Now I'm thinking about a Creative Sound Blaster X-FI sound card to augment the built-in sound on my Intel motherboard...

Inconsiderate Coughers Mar Vancouver Concert

A cacophonous chorus of coughers crashed the Kodo concert in Vancouver last night.

A quiet, moving, wooden flute and vocal number in particular was assailed with a storm of hacking.

The occasional cough or sneeze is to be expected at a concert, but this was an ongoing barrage from numerous idiots thoughout the hall.

Who were all those inconsiderate people who couldn't suppress a cough for a few minutes? Or if they were that sick, what were they doing attending a public event?

What has happened to courtesy and common sense?

Powerful Kodo Concert in Vancouver

The Kodo One Earth Tour 2005 blew into Vancouver last night with a powerful concert that garnered two standing ovations.

Kodo is a world-renowned Japanese drum group that is known for its athletic performances of mesmerizing percussion music. The group never fails to please, and appears to have loosened up somewhat from its earlier ascetic days.

The show incorporated a few new features including Kabuki elements and vocal numbers.

This is at least the fourth time I've seen Kodo in concert, and am always blown away. If you've never seen Kodo and have the chance, don't miss it!

Vancouver Philharmonic Kicks Off Season

The Vancouver Philharmonic Orchestra kicked off a new season tonight with a number of crowd pleasers, including an inspiring solo flute performance by Lorna McGee.

This dedicated group of amateurs has to be one of the lower mainland's best "bang for the buck" offerings of classical music. Highly recommended.

Birthday Brings Chris Isaak CDs

I received a couple of Chris Isaak CDs for my birthday from my wife Yumi the other day.

Speak of the Devil, and Always Got Tonight.

He has an infectious style. It's old, it's new, it's danceable. It's surf, it's rock, it's country, it's blues....

Yumi knows how much I enjoy the TV show, it's such a goofy mess of music and misadventure. That's how I first learned of the group, and it's been growing on me ever since.

I used to be such a music fanatic.... It's strange, and sometimes sad, how one's life changes. I buy perhaps four or five CDs a year now, when I used to buy several dozen LPs per year in my youth.

What have I been missing?

Vancouver Philharmonic Features Fine Cellist

The Vancouver Philharmonic Orchestra ended its 40th anniversary season with a concert tonight that featured a wonderful performance by cellist Carina Reeves.

The programme began with Mozart's Symphony in C major, KV 425 "Linz." The orchestra performed it ably, however somehow this symphony didn't engage me.

The second half, however, was a feast. It began with Beethoven's "Coriolan" Overture, which was magnificent, and ended with Reeves performing the moving Concerto for Violincello and Orchestra in E minor, Op. 85 by Sir Edward Elgar.

I had not heard this piece before, and thoroughly enjoyed it. Reeves and the orchestra played with a controlled intensity that resulted in a deserved standing ovation.

Burnaby Symphony - Young Artists of the Future

We attended this Burnaby Symphony fundraising event last night at the Vancouver Hilton Metrotown, and were blown away by the amazing talent of the five young pianists and one violinist.

The kids ranged in age from 10 to 14 and displayed astounding mastery of their instruments. It boggles the mind to imagine how they will sound ten years from now as young adults.

Kudos to the event organizers, and the hotel for providing the facilities free of charge!

Burnaby Symphony - Winter Classics

The Burnaby Symphony warmed us up tonight with a Schubert overture and Beethoven's Symphony No. 8 in the first half, followed by a magnificent Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto in Bb minor, opus 23, splendidly hammered out with great flair by pianist Nikolai Maloff.

As my mom said, "Sometimes you just need that Slavic soul." Amen.

Maloff's performance was intensely powerful, and his command of his instrument was immediately obvious. Not quite enough to stand the hairs up on one's neck, but I certainly felt a strong tingling :-).

On second thought, I suspect it was not Maloff's fault that I didn't get a full rise out of my neck hairs. He was playing with a budding symphony, many members of which were glued to his breathtaking prowess whenever they had a lull in the action.

It's too bad the Michael J. Fox Theatre was less than half full. The symphony is still young, and there are rumblings that it's facing financial problems if things don't improve.

It's a blossoming group with great potential and it would be a shame to see it go. C'mon Burnaby, let's support our local symphony!