EARLY MUSIC THE MORE IT
EARLY MUSIC THE MORE IT CHANGES … TAFELMUSIK WELCOMES RACHEL PODGER LARRY BECKWITH DAHLIA KATZ Rachel Podger and Tafelmusik Artistic Co-Directors (L-R) Dominic Teresi, Rachel Podger, Brandon Chui and Cristina Zacharias It has always been fascinating to observe the processes that Tafelmusik engages in to keep up with the times, while remaining consistent to the principles that have marked the organization since its inception: highly successful concert series with innovative programming; decades of international touring; award-winning recordings; annual education programs, a deep commitment to historically-informed performance practice and scholarship; and inspired and inspiring leadership. The opening weekend of their 46th season of concerts in Toronto, September 27-29, marks the start of yet another chapter in the life of an organization whose legacy is already legendary. It features an all- Mozart program, led by their new Principal Guest Director, violinist Rachel Podger, who accepted the position in early 2023 at the invitation of Tafelmusik’s Artistic Co-Directors violist Brandon Chui, bassoonist Dominic Teresi and violinist Cristina Zacharias. Passing the torch: From 1981-2014, Tafelmusik’s Music Director was the remarkable violinist Jeanne Lamon, who oversaw programming and project development and effectively and collaboratively led the orchestra on stage. After Lamon’s retirement (and untimely death in 2021) and a period of transition, Italian violinist Elisa Citterio became Tafelmusik’s Music Director for an all-too-short time, complicated by the COVID-19 pandemic and other insurmountable challenges. The current Co-Directorship of Chui, Teresi and Zacharias began in 2022, as the organization emerged from the pandemic years – a positive new approach which is already yielding great results, both in terms of a focus on exciting music-making and in terms of organizational health. In response to a series of written questions from me, the Artistic Co-Directors pooled ideas and wrote back collectively. My very first question had to do with how a collaborative model of programming was working out, given the organization’s decades of strong individual leadership. “As a conductorless orchestra, led by a playing leader, we’ve always operated collaboratively,” they pointed out. “Our current artistic leadership model is a natural outgrowth of that. Since 2022, our model has allowed us to work creatively with the leading artists of our day, without imposing more responsibility on them, [because] the Artistic Co-Directors are responsible for overall season planning, developing seasons that are well-balanced, exciting and nourishing. And that includes work with a wide variety of extraordinary artists. We consult with Choir Director Ivars Taurins on choral programs, work closely with each guest director, and now have Rachel [Podger] in the mix as well. We invited her to join us in a Principal Guest Director role to be able to work with her multiple times in a season. The sheer vitality and energy she brings to the stage is palpable.” Enter Rachel Podger: I can attest to Podger’s vitality and energy: a few minutes after meeting her for the first time, last May, I felt I’d known her for years. We got together for a cup of tea on a beautiful spring afternoon in midtown Toronto. She had blown into town to meet the Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra and Chamber Choir staff and donors prior to taking up the Principal Guest Director position at the start of the 24/25 season. She is clearly as excited about the collaboration as Chui, Teresi and Zacharias are. The relationship with the Tafelmusik musicians seems to have fallen into place almost immediately. “I was here last year,” Podger recalls. “February of 2023; they’d asked me to put a program together. We did a couple of Haydn symphonies and a Mozart concerto. And I remember, we started off rehearsing the Haydn Symphony, and it was a little bit like playing in a string quartet, but just extended. And I 8 | September 2024 thewholenote.com
was trying to work out what was going on. Why is this so easy? It was really amazing.” Her respect for the entire ensemble is tangible. “I don’t know how else to describe it. It’s an understanding with all of them. They’ve been in the leader’s position. They know what it takes. They know what you’re having to do. They know the vision that you need and they play with you. It’s quite extraordinary and supportive and I fell in love with it right away.” A MIRACLE Challenges of collective leadership: Chui, Teresi and Zacharias talked about the ensemble’s supportiveness in much the same way when I inquired about the challenges of leading the organization while also playing in the ensemble. Doesn’t it split your focus? I asked. “It’s more of a benefit than a challenge,” was the response. “We’re very connected to our colleagues in the ensemble and that helps us to always keep the music first and foremost in our artistic decisions.” With the core orchestra composed of highly skilled and specialized players, the ensemble can bring extraordinary music to life in uniquely compelling ways, “and this is why we all fell in love with period performance in the first place – to be able to create at this level.” Podger’s path: Podger’s love for the violin and her path to historical performance at the highest level seems also to have come quite naturally. “I had a musical family and an early love of singing,” she says. “My father was a choral scholar at King’s College (Cambridge) as a boy and my mother was a wonderful singer and my brother sings as well. He’s a tenor, based in Vienna. And there were lots of instruments, too. We all played recorder, string instruments, flute, piano. So there was lots of chamber music and singing and I think that’s a really wonderful way to start.” Her interest in early music came naturally, as well. She was part of a choir in Germany, “singing quite a bit of Bach” and the director was interested in performance practice and passed that interest on to his choristers. “He would teach us to sing in a certain way that highlighted the harmonies, in which he allowed us to lean into the dissonances, encouraging us to think vertically rather than just sing our line, you know?” Podger’s most recent performing encounter with Tafel in February 2023 showcased her abilities as violinist and director in equal part, with Mozart’s Violin Concerto in B-flat K.208 and Rondo in C for violin & orchestra sharing the spotlight with two Haydn symphonies – No.43 in E-flat (“Mercury”), and No.49 in f (“La Passione”). By contrast, this September’s concert, as mentioned earlier, is an all-Mozart affair, with his Violin Concerto No.2 in D K211 sandwiched between Entr’actes from Thamos, King of Egypt (the only time he ever wrote incidental music for a stage play) and his Symphony No.41 in C “Jupiter”. Tafelmusik patrons won’t have to wait long for their Haydn fix though, Chiu, Teresi and Zacharias advise: “Keep an eye out for our first CD release since pre pandemic! In October, we are proud to release Haydn Symphony 43 “Mercury” and Symphony 49 “La Passione” with Rachel Podger.” They are the same two symphonies Toronto audiences were treated to in February 2023, but don’t expect Haydn Symphonies 43 & 49: identical performances. Flexibility Mercury & La Passione is and spontaneity have always been Tafelmusik’s inaugural recording an important ingredient and aspiration of Tafelmusik’s music-making, release on October 11, 2024. with Rachel Podger slated for and Podger’s philosophy is the same. “Every night it’s going to be slightly different”, she says. “You’re going to have a different timing or a different sound or you have different ideas. It’s a constantly changing thing and it also really depends on the audience. You know, it’s a unique thing: you’re performing with that collection of people. Maybe a few times, but only ever once with that constellation. Of those people in the audience.” ACIS AND GALATEA G.F. HANDEL Oct 24–27, 2024 | Elgin Theatre Full of sensuality, vivacity and humour, Handel’s Acis and Galatea is one of the composer’s most beloved operas. DAVID AND JONATHAN M.A. CHARPENTIER Apr 9–13, 2025 | Koerner Hall THE OPERA EVENT OF THE YEAR! Charpentier’s greatest masterpiece, never before staged in Canada. SUBSCRIPTIONS ON SALE NOW! operaatelier.com thewholenote.com September 2024 | 9
