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| PuSh Festival - Colourful World |
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| Wednesday, 01 February 2012 15:01 | |||
 Though the whole of the show was enjoyable, and certainly intriguing to the ear, the chosen music didn’t completely convey a multitude of emotions.
PuSh Festival
Concert Review
Artist: Turning Point Ensemble
Show: Colourful World
Venue: Fei and Milton Wong Experimental Theatre, Goldcorp Centre for the Arts, 149 West Hastings Street
Date: January 29th, 2012
  Reviewed by Alex Hutt
When you first think of an orchestra, the sound that pops into your head is usually one of a full fleged, bombastic piece by Beethoven, or the melancholy, full body tones of a Tchaikovsky piece. (Yes, I did go to this Classical Kids concerts as a child!) The Turning Point Ensemble (a group of 19 core musicians, and several other guests) is a different feel, as most of the music is within the range of the instrument and as such, very downplayed and subtle.
A central theme of the concert was the deconstruction of music and some of the more discordant looks into symphony music. Though the music can be enjoyed by many, reactions will probably be extreme on both sides of the scale. Some may love the simplicity of the music and the way the musicians play off of each other to combine the many stuttering notes. Others may find the compositions to be plodding, and contain a tad too much plinking and plonking.
Colourful World rides the middle road between the two reactions, as it was very interesting to hear almost every section have their moments in 2 to 3 second solos. On the other hand, some of the pieces were overlong and were repetitive.
The show opened with “A Very Short Trumpet Piece” by Morton Feldman and performed by Marcus Goddard, followed by the first full piece which was Toru Takemitsu’s “Rain Coming.” Even though it was interesting for the ears because of its distinct lack of melody, it also felt over-extended. Pianist Jane Hayes was enthralling to watch, as she fully put her body into her performance, hair flying and twitching in time with the notes.
This was a plus since she was one of the two soloists in “Cello Sonata” by Claude Debussy, the other being Ariel Barnes on the cello. The piano sections were very distinct, but the cello felt underused in this duet. The range wasn’t that complex either, so even though there was a prologue, serenade, and final sections, it all felt like one big 11 minutes.
The same could not be said of the world premiere of “Chamber Symphony,” composed by Rodney Sharman. During the two movements, it felt the most complete and also the most emotional. The rest all portrayed their emotion very well, but didn’t convey much emotions past that. The momentary bouts of sweeping strings here were very welcome as well.
 After the intermission was Takemitsu’s second entry, “Archipelago S.” This was for 21 players, the biggest of the program, so we got to see some of the guests. Harpist Heidi Krutzen had the best parts, and the most diversity in her notes, though it was another instance of a little too much repetition overall. Although the image of the piece is supposed to be 5 islands separate from each other, each beginning in the letter S, there wasn’t enough differentiation to decipher which parts were for which islands.
The finale was “Jeux,” also by Debussy. Commissioned for the notoriously infamous ballet of the same name, the subjects are two women and men who are constantly changing their minds willy-nilly. The abrupt and hopping music may be jarring to some, but since it was constructed for a ballet it was made to match movements of the dancers, the stilted instrumentation is not out of place. The flitty and impertinent characterization between the three was clear, and the modern arrangement by Michael Bushnell (also the world Premiere) was well integrated. Even so, it might have been more noticeable had it switched places with “Chamber Symphony”, as its ending wasn’t quite as abrupt.
Though the whole of the show was enjoyable, and certainly intriguing to the ear, the chosen music didn’t completely convey a multitude of emotions, and at the time the barrenness of the compositions felt a little lonely. However, it was also an enlightening experience, as they showcased some of the composers that we don’t often explore, and show that classical music isn’t always just sweeping orchestras. It can be quite innocuous as well.
The next show for Turning Point is Jump For Joy on April 1st, 2012, also at Fei and Milton Wong Experimental Centre, which will feature the music of Duke Ellington, Igor Stravinsky, Dave Douglas and Brad Turner.
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