Vancouver Symphony Orchestra hits every high note

The Vancouver Symphony Orchestra brought the audience to its feet Friday night in Artemus Ham Hall at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas with its rousing performances of Edvard Grieg’s “Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 16,” and Sergei Prokofiev’s “Symphony No. 5 in B-flat minor, Op. 100.”

The highlight of the evening was watching Bramwell Tovey perform. The Grammy Award-winning conductor seemed to will the music from his entire body as he led the musicians. His hands moved gracefully and with emotion, and his face showed his love of the music.

Before the performance, Tovey offered some insight into the pieces the orchestra would be performing, bringing his trademark warmth and a bit of humor to the concert.

For example, when introducing some of the unusual instruments the percussionists would be playing during their performance of “Totem,” he had musicians crank the handle on a red emergency siren and tap the thunder sheet. “Eight years of Juilliard for this,” he said, referring to the prestigious performing arts school in New York City.

“Totem,” performed in front of an audience for just the fourth time Friday, was commissioned for the orchestra by Edward Top, its composer-in-residence. Consisting of three tableaus, Angst, Rite and Mosh, the piece pays homage to native cultures, in particular the First Nations People of the Northwest Coast, where the orchestra is based.

The music is raw and edgy, especially in the appropriately named Angst and Mosh. It could be compared to a modern dance interpretation of a classical ballet in its approach, which was sometimes jarring and disjointed.

From the opening notes of Grieg’s well-known piano concerto to the galvanizing end, the orchestra held the audience captive with its performance.

The first movement was marked by deep, soulful sounds of the cello. The second movement was highlighted by the soft, delicate work of guest pianist Jon Kimura Parker, whose fingers gracefully mastered the keyboard throughout the concerto. The third movement was dramatic with is marchlike theme.

Prokofiev’s symphony brought to life the political struggles of the time it was written through its mournful sounds. With a military cadence and strong percussions, the symphony epitomized the turmoil the Russian composer must have experienced in 1945 during its debut as Soviet soldiers began their victorious march into Nazi Germany.

Two short extras completed the evening.

The first, a piano solo by Parker entitled “An Animated Piece,” put a symphonic spin on Danny Elfman’s theme song for “The Simpsons.”

The second, Johannes Brahms’ “Hungarian Dance No. 5,” ended the concert on an upbeat note. It was a beautiful rendition with dramatic pauses interspersed with lightning-quick bowing by the string instruments.

Not even the rainy weather could dampen the spirits that were raised by the music that brought smiles to the faces of those who attended the performance.