If Maestro Bramwell Tovey ever decides to quit his career in music, the segue into being a stand-up comedian should come quite easily to him. His immense charm and talent were definitely one of the most delightful parts of a recent concert featuring those lilting Viennese Waltzes and a bit of Mahler, in the Mahler Plus Festival which Tovey conducted in mid-January. Prior to that concert I had the opportunity to speak with the maestro in his brand new offices in the Orpheum Annex Building — home of the new VSO music school and recital hall. The building is so new to Tovey that he hadn’t quite got his office organized, with boxes still lining one wall of an efficient-looking, modern office.
BT: I’ve just got into this office, I’ve not even unpacked these boxes. I got it about two weeks ago. Most of my work I do away from this room, as you can imagine .
Yes, I suppose we have come a long way. When I started with the VSO this building wasn’t here, and now we’ve got four storeys of a state-of-art music school, recital hall in the Orpheum Annex and these offices on top. In terms of bricks and mortar we’ve come leaps and bounds from where we were – 40,000 feet plus more.
There’s always the challenge of filling two-and-half thousand seats every week – three or four times, which we are sort of managing. This is our ninth successive year with no deficit, which we are very proud about. Jeff Alexander (VSO President and CEO) and I began with the VSO on the same day. We get along really well and we’ve had a united vision for the orchestra.
EV: So you and Vancouver Opera are almost on the same page, fiscally. I think it’s been nine or ten years that they’ve been in the black. You’ve done a lot of opera yourself. The Inventor and Filomena – tell me about that.
BT: I usually do one opera a year, sometimes two. They take a long time. Sometimes several weeks and it means being away from the kids and the kids don’t like that. Also, in the symphony business you change programs at least once a week, but if you do an opera you work with it for a month-and-a-half. You live with a piece and get deeply into it. That’s kind of fun. Once a year it’s fun.
EV: With the Mahler Plus you are also performing yourself.
BT: Yes, I am playing the piano this weekend, which is a bit of a sweat – I was playing quite intensely for a couple of months. In October/November I went to Australia and played and conducted. I still play a lot .
EV: What was the genesis for this Festival? I am always curious about these kinds of programmes get put together.
BT: We have a fixed number of Master Works and a fixed number at the Chan Centre, and a fixed number of Musically Speaking and Pops Concerts. We’ve been trying to expand the season, but with these fixed numbers of subscription series we either expand the schedule or try something new.
We thought we’d try something new on this occasion and after a lot of internal discussion we came up with the idea of Mahler Plus Festival, which was to end with a performance of the Mahler 2nd Symphony. And then we added chamber concerts, and a light music concert on Saturday. We are playing pieces that influenced Mahler; pieces by composers whom Mahler knew; or pieces that have been influenced by Mahler, or pieces that were somehow related to him.
For example tonight Marquita Lister will sing some Gershwin songs, which seems a bit of a stretch, but Mahler was in New York, as music director of the Philharmonic at exactly the time that young George Gershwin was growing up in Brooklyn and going to concerts. Mahler was the teacher of Schoenberg, and Schoenberg was the teacher of Gershwin. We have a Strauss Waltz arranged by Schoenberg. Mahler Plus gives us a chance to explore some of these connections.
EV: Good idea – I look at this and I find this fascinating – I like when you are tested mentally. I always think, “That’s interesting – why?”
You’ve got some stupendous concerts coming up – you’ve got Renee Fleming singing at the end of March.
BT: She’s wonderful. She came about two or three years. Unfortunately I will not be able to conduct for her this time, as I won’t be in town. But the last time I conducted for her and she’s a delight. She is every bit as nice as you would imagine.
EV: Yes. She certainly comes across that way in the intermission sessions with the Met Opera HD films. So coming up we have Renee and the Wizard of Oz!
BT: That will be interesting – those are specialized concerts, like West Side Story and Bugs Bunny, with Jeff Tyzik – gives us a chance to play with a live orchestra music from the films. It’s quite the spectacle.
EV: It’s quite fun. I’ve always been really happy when I see people who can lighten up the aspect of “serious music.”
BT: Really, what we do is very difficult, but it’s not brain surgery; it’s not rocket science. Nobody is going to die coming to a concert – at least I hope not. But I think we can have some fun with it. Sometimes the topics are very serious. Last year we did the John Adams “Dr. Atomic Symphony”, which deals with a very serious issue. It really depends on what the music is, but generally speaking – especially the charity music – the object of these hosted concerts is to – bring people into the hall so they can relax and can absorb what’s being done without being intimated by it. It’s amazing how many people feel intimated. No one should feel intimidated by coming to the symphony.
EV: You have succeeded in that, inasmuch as you are excellent in making people relaxed with your presentations and explanation of the music we are about to hear.
What about the coming season? Anything interesting to report there?
BT: Next year’s season will be announced at the beginning of March – but all kinds of things are coming up on the horizon – the 100th anniversary of Stravinsky’s “The Rite of Spring .” We’ve just had the 100th anniversary of the death of Mahler, coming up in a few weeks. Although we are not doing anything to commemorate it, in 2014 is the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic. And in a couple of years we shall have the 100th anniversary of the start of The Great Wear. These big historical events had a lot of bearing on music and music making. Stravinsky’s “Rite of Spring” was one of the epoch defining moments of that century.
EV: Again, I am so impressed with the work you have done with the VSO over the last 12 years. I hope that will continue for a long, long time.
BT: It’s been a wonderful time – I’m really enjoying it. My wife and kids, I don’t think, will ever want to leave Vancouver. The kids have grown up here. One of my children was actually born here. I have two girls. EmmeLine is 11 and Jessica is 13 and I have an older son Ben.
EV: Do you still play a lot of jazz piano?
BT: I am playing some jazz tonight, accompanying Marquita Lister in the Gershwin songs. I still enjoy playing and best of all I love accompanying, singers, and I love playing chamber music, and solo jazz – more than with a trio because I enjoy the freedom it gives you. With a trio you are restricted by conventions. I enjoy it. I notice that if I ever get out of practice when you are older it takes longer to get back in – harder than it was 10 years ago.
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You can see and hear Bramwell Tovey conduct the VSO in concerts featuring Stravinsky, Prokofiev and Tchaikovsky on February 4 and 6. Beethoven and Elgar will be the composers featured on Feburary 18 and 20. Tovey will also be conducting “The Last Night of the Proms” on May 30th. Order tickets through the VSO Customer Service line at 604.876.3434
