Friday, March 9, 2018

A Glimpse Into Grandeur - Carter Johnson and the UBC Symphony Orchestra

It is no small feat. Choosing Prokofiev's monster Piano Concerto No. 3 in C Major, Op. 26 to enter UBC's annual piano concerto competition is an unequivocally all-or-nothing decision. There is no such thing as a "just okay" performance of this piece. The risk will either guarantee your success, or you will crash and burn in its grips.

Tonight, I listened to Carter Johnson of Campbell River, BC and a 4th year student at the UBC School of Music, conquer this tremendous piece of music. As I watched him move to the pulse of the orchestra around him, it felt akin to witnessing a rare manifestation of the young Van Cliburn -- invited to an overwhelming and expansive Russian musical environment, only to tame it by his calming charisma and musical generosity. Johnson started his first notes, not turning internally into his own world with the piano keys, but intently watching the conductor for the entire length of the first musical segment -- perhaps his way of drawing himself into the symphonic collective. Then Johnson graced the piano with what felt like a never-ending slough of technical impossibilities. It was nothing short of breath-taking. The audience was bedazzled to the point that there was no choice but to break the code of silence between movements and offer an ovation of praise after the first movement. Johnson gave a brief nod of thanks, and then it was back to the business at hand -- the rest of this unforgiving and haunting repertoire.

I felt an immense rush of inspiration listening to this performance. It would stand up to any professional performance I have witnessed. It was not to be missed, and I'm so grateful to have made the decision to attend.

Johnson gave an encore that was the perfect dessert after the complex flavours we had just ingested . A fusion of contemporary classical and jazz-like stylings on Richard Rodgers' "My Favorite Things" was a delight to listen to and the "cool down" I needed to recover my emotional faculties.

The only response I have to this experience is, "I want more." This is a budding artist to follow. An already nationally accomplished musician, he has so much more to him than just his music. Of course, I found his Facebook page, appropriately using "postmilpianist" as his extension and "Liked" it right away. You may want to do the same.

I have to give a nod to the UBC Symphony Orchestra for overcoming the incredible challenge that is Prokofiev. It is not easy keeping pace with the tempo without letting it get away from you. My hats off to their conductor, Jonathan Girard, and guest conductor Jaelem Bhate, for a wonderful evening. If you have not attended a UBC Symphony Orchestra concert, for $8 tickets, I guarantee you will not find a better concert deal in town!

Click here to replay the Live Stream.
Not the same as being in the Chan Centre live, but a nice taste of what transpired tonight.

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