SPARKLING AFTERNOON WITH DE-LIGHT-FUL KYUNG-A LEE AND ORILLIA SILVER BAND ABLAZE

Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com

ORILLIA — After hearing Kung-A Lee play so sparkling it is tempting to rush to applause.

But give her her moment’s do.

Lest for a split second for Lee to bask in her own luminosity as the audience did each time she dropped her hands from the Bosendorfer keyboard, sighed, took a breath and burst into her beaming smile.

That’s gave the St. Paul’s Centre crowd their cue to repeatedly slap one hand to the other in appreciation of her mightily marvellous piano playing.

Add a de-light-ful trio ensemble, the blazing Orillia Silver Band and a musical treasure makes an autumn day a pleasure.

A exquisite trio ensemble of Muskoka musicians Kyung-A Lee, Karen Richard and Kim Barlow opened the afternoon with two de-light-ful pieces that set the Inner Light mood for the concert. PHOTOS Mark Clairmont MuskokaTODAY.com

“Inner Light” shone Sunday as Lee and the Silver Band glowed once more with a repeat of a concert previously performed this summer in Huntsville.

Opening a few minutes late, Lee began with a couple lovely romantic pieces by her absolute  favourite composer Chopin, including the “Scherzo No. 2 in Bb minor” by Frederic Chopin.

Before welcoming to the stage her friends and musical colleagues Kim Barlow on clarinet and Karen Richard on flute.

What a one-two start.

The three Muskoka women dazzled with Claude Debussy’s dreamy “Clair de Lune” (moonlight) and the riveting “Rhapsody on Carmen” by Michael Webster, which was out of this world, its rousing conclusion at a dizzyingly wicked tempo that left listeners spellbound with their beauty and virtuosity.

Lee, a concert soloist, followed with more piano wizardry with the diverse offerings of “The Lark from Mikail Glinka, the ‘Revolutionary’ Etude. And the “Prelude in G minor Op. 23 No. 5” by Sergei Rachmaninoff.

What a first half.

Neil Barlow had his always ablaze Silver Band in fine form as they combined with Kyung-A Lee in the stirring showcase piece of the afternoon that brightened the dimming late afternoon St. Paul Centre room.

Conductor Neil Barlow had his always ablaze Silver Band in full body sound to start the second half with a couple of wonderful works for band. Notably “Prelude on Tallis” by Peter Graham, an illuminating interpretation of a famous theme by Renaissance composer Thomas Tallis. The “Little Suite for Brass Op. 80,” is a seminal three-part 20th Century composition created specifically for brass band. It was written by Malcolm Arnold, who wrote the movie theme for Bridge on the River Kwai.

Barlow and Lee teamed up in the second half for the showcase piece of the afternoon: “Piano Concerto No. 2 in F major Op. 102” by Dimitri Shostakovich, with accompaniment for brass band arranged by Barlow.

Lee said the monumental uplifting work by Russia’s most renowned composer of the 20th century was written in 1957 after he emerged from his dark period when he fled Russia for Paris, but longed for his homeland.

 

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