Cann puts pizzaz and jazz into Vancouver Symphony’s season opener

Pianist virtuoso Michelle Cann made the most of her debut with the Vancouver, delivering over-the-top performances with the orchestra in its season opener. Her scintillating playing on Sunday afternoon (September 25) ignited the nearly full house at Skyview Concert Hall twice, bringing the audience to its feet with cheers and thunderous applause.

Cann, who teaches at the Curtis Institute of Music where she holds the Eleanor Sokoloff Chair in Piano Studies, brilliantly played the “Concerto in One Movement” by Florence Price, whose music is undergoing a rediscovery and appreciation after being ignored for much too long. In the first section of the piece, Cann grabbed everyone’s attention with splashy, grand flourishes that used the entire keyboard - much in the Romantic vein. In the second section, she eased into gentle and intimate reflections, and in the third, she made the music bounce along in a carefree way that ended up sweeping the audience off its feet.

The Price concerto was complemented by a vibrant and evocative interpretation of Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue.” Cann and the orchestra gave it plenty of pizzaz, but her take on the cadenzas were especially intriguing. She excelled at giving each one her own interpretation, which seemed jazzier than any I’ve ever heard before.

Cann displayed a terrific sense of timing with a couple of brief, but well-placed pauses – as if to tease the audience just a bit. The orchestra’s brass section chimed in with outstanding wah-wahs, and principal clarinetist, Igor Shakhman unleashed the extended glissando at the beginning.

The enthusiastic audience coaxed Cann back to the piano, and she responded with Rachmaninoff’s “Prelude in C-sharp minor” in an over-the-top jazzy arrangement by Hazel Scott that almost veered into boogie woogie. It was an absolutely fun, toe tapping encore, and a great way to end the first half of the concert.

After intermission, the orchestra performed Tchaikovsky’s Suite No. 3. It is the best known of the four orchestral suites that he wrote and with four movements that last forty minutes, it has the feel of full-sized symphonic work.

Although maestro Salvador Brotons seemed to be conducting the smallest score imaginable (well, at least it was not as small as a cell phone), he led the orchestra with his characteristic verve. The musicians conveyed the melodic charms of the piece very well, bringing out its underlying optimism. The violas briefly got a bit out of sync in the second movement but realigned themselves quickly. The light, musical chatter between sections of the orchestra in the third came across refreshingly. The twelve variations on a theme gave the entire ensemble a full workout with some fine horn calls and concertmaster Stephen Shepherd expertly playing his solos.

Mendelssohn’s “The Hebrides” (also known as “Fingal’s Cave”) received a warm rendition from the orchestra. The musicians evoked the ebb and flow of ocean waves, the rocky coastline, and the majestic yet solitary landscape of that remote part of Scotland that inspired Mendelssohn.

The audience welcomed Brotons, who marked his 34th year on the podium with the orchestra, with cheers and extended applause. All Classical FM’s Suzanne Nance emceed the show with elan, leading the audience in a rousing introduction for concertmaster Shepherd. She also cheekily suggested auctioning off a pair of glasses that were found during intermission. Of course, the money would go to the orchestra!

There was one note of sadness regarding the performance. Cellist Suzanne Rague, a longtime member of the cello section, passed away during the summer months. The concert was dedicated to her memory.