Boudreau and BartĂłk: Classics of their Time
(Blog post by Chris Maskell)
This year, the Société de musique contemporaine du Québec (SMCQ) marks its 50th anniversary and Schulich students will be playing a major part in the celebrations. Notably, the McGill Symphony Orchestra (MGSO) is set to perform parts of Walter Boudreau’s Berliner Momente under direction of the composer himself on the opening night of the SMCQ’s Montréal/New Musiques Festival 2017.
Originally commissioned by CBC for the 750th anniversary of the founding of Berlin, Boudreau’s work musically retells the events leading up to the beginning of World War I and World War II. Interestingly, two well-known musical themes are also at the core of the piece: the German national anthem and the theme of Siegfried’s death from Wagner’s operaĚýłŇöłŮłŮ±đ°ů»ĺäłľłľ±đ°ůłÜ˛Ô˛µ. This look at the past through the lens of the present day is right in line with the festival’s overall theme this year – “back to the future.”
To round out the evening’s program, MGSO conductor Alexis Hauser carefully selected another monumental piece in the orchestral repertoire. Somewhat unsurprisingly, he chose BartĂłk’s Concerto for Orchestra. “My thinking was thatĚýBartĂłk’s Concerto has become a classic of the 20th centuryĚýsince its premiere in 1944,” Hauser explained, “and as far as I’m concerned, Boudreau’sĚýBerliner Momente has all the makings to become a classic itself in the 21st ł¦±đ˛ÔłŮłÜ°ů˛â.”Ěý
Hauser went on to reveal that the two works also share some other parallels that make their pairing even more interesting. Both works were composed under specific commissions (BartĂłk was hired by the Koussevitzky Music Foundation), they both incorporate popular melodies (several folkloristic tunes from Eastern Europe in the case of the BartĂłk), and both works are partly inspired by the atmosphere of a country foreign to the composer. In the case of Boudreau’s work, Hauser referred to the prevalent German influence, but he also pointed to theĚýAmerican influences that can be found in the “virtuosic spirit” of the composition’s finale.
Despite all the similarities, there are differences between the two compositions, as the works are definitely unique in terms of style and content. Further, Hauser explained that BartĂłk’s Concerto was one of his last oeuvres, whileĚýBoudreauĚýcomposed hisĚýBerliner Momente while still a relatively young composer.
From a student’s perspective, this concert provides an excellent opportunity to interact directly with a work’s composer. In a recent conversation, clarinetist Nick Walshe (M.Mus, 2017) discussed the benefits of Boudreau acting as guest conductor. “It’s always important to have significant input from the composer when rehearsing a work such as this, so it has been useful to be able to go straight to the source in rehearsals and ask the conductor for clarification on things directly. I think the orchestra can become used to the particular rehearsal style of Prof. Hauser, so it has been an important challenge for us to adapt to someone else's way of running things.”
For those interested in attending other performances by Schulich ensembles in the festival, the McGill Contemporary Music Ensemble will be featured in Music for a Thousand Autumns atĚýl'Agora Hydro-QuĂ©becĚýon Friday, February 24, and the McGill Percussion Ensemble will be playing in Timber! on Saturday, February 25 in Pollack Hall.
The McGill Symphony Orchestra will perform as part of the Montréal/New Musiques Festival on Thursday, February 23 and Friday, February 24 at 7:30 p.m. in Pollack Hall. .
