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The Glenn Gould Studio opened its doors to the season opener
of Via Salzburg on September 25. The much anticipated concert of
Toronto’s finest String Chamber Orchestra had of course been meticulously
planned and spiked with surprises by its artistic director and founder
Mayumi Seiler. The incomparable; Gwendolyn Mok of San Francisco
is quite the Ravel specialist and told the audience astounding tit
bits of this composer she so much identifies with. We even learned
that he had visited Toronto. Undoubtedly, if he would have been
able to meet Glenn Gould they would have had a lot to talk about.
Ms. Mok performed several solo pieces she found especially profound
and that asked her tremendous skills to be in peek condition, which
they certainly were. Even people that usually are not too enamored
with Ravel found the performance stunning.
Next she performed together with Mayumi Seiler Ravel’s Sonata for
Violin and Piano. This time the difficulty was stressed for the
violin. Ms. Seiler astounded with amazing dexterity, verve and clarity,
producing an exquisite tonal quality. It was good that there was
an intermission to recover from such a tour de force.
The rest of the program surprised even more. The entire string orchestra,
in a newer constellation, was introduced and played Gershwin’s Lullaby.
Who knew that he had written such a tender piece of music? And yet,
we all thought we had heard parts of it, it was familiar, like lullabies
are… easily hummed along, comforting, even though this piece is
sophisticated and even elegant. It certainly opened the door to
yet another wonderful experience, which followed, a Bassoon Concerto,
composed by Marjan Mozetich, who was present that opening night.
Famed Michael Sweeny commissioned it and performed it that evening
to an adoring crowd. No one expected a modern piece of music to
be so universally pleasing and interesting. Layers of sheer musical
delights just pearled through the studio, leaving the crowd wanting
more. The applause was hardly enough to thank the Via Salzburg Chamber
Orchestra and the soloist for this offering. It left the audience
united as a community of music lovers.
 The reception afterwards proved to verify what we had suspected.
Everyone is looking forward to the next concert, December 18 and
19, just in time for Christmas. Single tickets can be purchased
at the box office.
 In the meantime however there is a Gala fundraiser
October 23. Tickets are $150.00 and you can find out more on the
website at www.viaslazburg.com.
Sybille Forster-Rentmeister
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