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Rolston's Unmistakable Star Power |
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Friday, 17 November 2006 00:00 |
New concerto proves an eloquent vehicle for cellist Shauna Rolston
Excerpted from review by David Gordon Duke, Special to the Sun (Published: November 20, 2006)
Shauna Rolston with the VSO (18/20 November, 8 p.m., Orpheum Theatre)
It may take a few more programs before the VSO's new Horizons series finds its feet. This week's installment, combining popular favourites by Debussy and Dvorak with a new concerto and Janacek's Taras Bulba, proved to be quirky although fundamentally rewarding programming.
Debussy's luxe Prelude a l'apres-midi d'un faune preceded the premiere performance of Toronto composer Gary Kulesha's Cello Concerto. Kulesha has followed the tried-and-true model of the "cello symphony," as essayed by Britten and Prokofiev. He blazes no trails, but has created an eloquent vehicle for soloist Shauna Rolston.
Kulesha likes his cello dark and dramatic. A portentous opening dialogue between cello and drums is followed by a snazzy scherzo-in-all-but-name that evaporates in a glittering shimmer. A sarabande provides the emotional core of the piece--a lyric elegy, powerful although perhaps lacking subtlety--before the rather conventional drama of the finale brings the work to an end.
Kulesha has made his music well; there's no reason to suppose it won't appeal to other cellists. But on Saturday it was Rolston's unmistakable star power that put the piece across…
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