Since the beginning of this season, the Vancouver Symphony has been on the move. Literally. The orchestra has been unable to use its regular venue at Skyview Concert Hall because the school district has forbidden rentals of its facilities to outsiders due to COVID. This decision caused the plucky ensemble to scramble for another performance space, which resulted in the downtown Portland’s Newmark Theatre as the only option for the first concert series of the season. For its second set, the musicians travelled a few miles north of Vancouver and played at the ilani Casino where I heard them play on last Saturday (October 23) evening.
You might not think of a gaming palace as a place for a classical music event, but once you got past the gauntlet of glitzy machines, roulette wheels, card games, huge screens projecting football, baseball, basketball, food courts, fancy bars, and swanky restaurants, you could enjoy sitting in the darkened and hushed space of the Cowlitz Ballroom. The hustle and bustle of gamers winning and losing seemed far away.
However, the orchestra was surrounded on three sides by heavy curtains, and the drapery diminished the amount of sound from the musicians. So crescendo and decrescendos were subdued, and the volume confined to the soft to medium-loud range.
The setting meant that Ravel’s “Pavane for a dead princess,” a mellow number, became mellower. The lovely and clear tone from the French horn of Charles Crabtree was a highlight of the piece, but I didn’t hear it swell or diminish. The orchestra, under music director Salvador Brotons, delivered a stately and somber “Pavane,” with the acoustics of the ballroom reducing the music’s impact.
The Suite from Stravinsky’s ballet “Pulcinella” faired a little better through its shifting between movements are sprightly and those that are solemn. The woodwinds showed fine work with various combinations, including trio involving the flute, French horn, and bassoon. Concertmaster Eva Richey excelled in her brief solos. The brass delivered several good licks and the trombone and bass duet had a wonderful lopsided charm.
Even with the acoustical challenges, Debussy’s “Petite Suite” received a sensitive interpretation. The flutes (principal Rachel Rencher and Corrie Cook) started the gentle motion of drifting along in a boat on summer day. The second movement evoked a carefree stroll, and the courtly dance of the third had a light step, and the last movement ended robustly.
Urged on by Brotons, the orchestra convincingly swept the audience into the melodies in Kodály’s “Dances of Galánta.” Following the extended solo by principal clarinetist Igor Shakhman, each section of the orchestra had a moment to shine. The fortes finally came through and the orchestra caught the spirit of the piece, including the whirlwind passages the end of the piece, and that inspired the audience to a standing ovation.
But the “Dances of Galánta” would have been much more thrilling at Skyview Concert Hall, which has much better acoustics. The good news, announced at the beginning of the concert, is that the orchestra will return to its home base for the next concert with Broadway star Liz Callaway. That should prove to be an exciting homecoming, a superior treat for the ears.
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