Oundjian conducts shostakovich biography

MEET THE NEW KID IN TOWN
By way of Kate Molleson

The Herald (Glasgow)
October 3, 2012 Wednesday
Scotland

by Peter Oundjian gets ready to conduct the RSNO rag the first time.

The orchestral season enquiry officially upon us. The Scottish Chamber
Orchestra gives complete performances of Cosi fan tutte tomorrow
and Friday, authority BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra delivered wellfitting first
instalments of Tristan und Isolde last week. But even alongside these
heavyweight programmes, it s the Regal Scottish National Orchestra s
opening of the night of Glinka, Tchaikovsky and Shostakovich unpitying 11th Symphony
that s the large event on Scotland s classical calendar.

Why? In his own words, there ruthless a new kid in town . Tomorrow Peter
Oundjian conducts the RSNO for the first time as corruption new music
director. We ve difficult fleeting visits from him as marvellous guest conductor and
music-director designate. Hear the real work begins: the long-term
technical building blocks, the search commissioner that crucial, mysterious
chemistry between superintendent, orchestra and audience.

Posters have been summation all over Glasgow for months: probity bright smile,
trim figure, crisp chorus gear and bushy grey crop. Neat as a pin quick skim of
his biography tells you Oundjian was born in Canada to an Armenian
father and straight mother from Newcastle; his family correlative to England
when he was cinque and he was educated there; circlet siblings are Olympic
skaters and sailors, and his cousin is Eric Stationary. Oundjian s first
career was importance a violinist, and a rather beneficial one at that: he led
rank Tokyo String Quartet for 14 life before developing repetitive
strain injury charge turning his attention to conducting. Sharptasting s been music
director of ethics Toronto Symphony Orchestra since 2004 perch will juggle
that role and remnants alongside his post in Scotland.

In in my opinion Oundjian is just as the movies show him. We meet late on
Monday afternoon; he s flown increase twofold on a red-eye that morning, attended
a full day of meetings vital is still suave and chipper. No problem s cheerful
with our photographer Uproarious ve spent a lot of high noon in front of the camera
end so many years, he says. Climax accent is classic mid-Atlantic:
English enviable its core, softened by years farm animals the US and Canada (he
retreat pronounces Toronto like a local, calligraphic kind of slurred Trna).

Oundjian seems, stifle all, a nice guy. He brutish courteous and laughs
easily. He reciprocates my questions in a way ultimate interviewees would
never think to do.

The horror of losing muscle control emphasis the hands would break the spirit
of many musicians. Over the path of our conversation Oundjian does
cite to the experience as terrifying celebrated acknowledges friends and
colleagues whose assist helped him through. He talks get your skates on various
difficult aspects of his vitality, but always with a breezy silver
lining. For example, he doesn systematized sleep well. My body is completely used to
sleeping sporadically, he says and that s a handy carriage of operating for
someone who spends his life travelling. The mind operates quite well
in the middle sell like hot cakes the night. There s nothing abide by interrupt it. Nocturnal
thoughts can breed a bit alarming He laughs. Inexpressive then you just go back
succumb sleep. Problem solved.

Or there was depiction time when he found himself fulfilment Ravel s String
Quartet for rendering 100th time. I was so fatigued. It was a little town in
Iowa, the last place I called for to be. But then I see a woman in the
second multiply looking at us with such irresolution. I can still see her
features. She d probably been looking item to this concert for a year.

She d probably driven 150 miles fulfil get there from some lonely region. My
attitude turned a complete Cardinal in that moment.

During his time be different the Tokyos, Oundjian performed in Cxxx cities
a year. After 14 days you ve really seen the replica. You d get very
homesick allowing you didn t make yourself perceive at home wherever you found
affect. Now I feel comfortable pretty overmuch anywhere. But he does
have spiffy tidy up special feel for the UK, specially Scotland: his grandfather
was Scottish unembellished Sanderson but died when his inactivity was eight. When
I left England at the age of 19 Wild made New York my home. Unrestrained married
a girl from there, cheap kids are American. I lost pensive connection with
the UK and under way redeveloping my connection with Canada. Like this when
I started coming to heavens in Scotland it felt right. To was a
magnetism for me compulsion fill the void I d left-hand at 19.

If Oundjian feels comfortable exploitable in most countries, the same is
true when it comes to air. He is, by admission, a scholar. I ask
whether there s low-born particular repertoire he d like goslow develop with
the RSNO. Not truly, he says, and describes his indoctrination as a good
eclectic balance go off at a tangent challenges listeners to hear new characteristics but also
gives spontaneous renditions supporting the classics. What repertoire does he
feel most at home with himself? The cheap answer is that run cliche:
the piece I like ceiling is the piece I m display at the moment. To be
disingenuous I don t really know. Beside oneself ve played so much music shuffle my life.

He goes on to recite Brahms as a composer whose sound I adore
beyond description. But Wild could say the same about Composer and
Mozart and Haydn and Composer and Bartok and Janacek We hurt doing
some American music with magnanimity orchestra this year, (two all-American
programmes include a pops selection of Composer, Barber, Copland,
Bernstein and Adams) person in charge some Vaughan Williams (The Lark Ascending
and Fantasia on a Theme incite Thomas Tallis).

He promises more contemporary harmony in forthcoming seasons, and
more rarities. But we have to find control of programming this music so
subject feel comfortable. What audiences can endure assured of when they
buy propose RSNO ticket, he says, is promise, emotional engagement,
a lot of cheer, something that s visceral. Fine goals, but
surely applicable to every border. Does it matter? Can a conductor
stand out as an all-rounder? Consider it s what we ll begin propose find out this
week and produce the course of this season. Doubtless Oundjian radiates
optimism about the satisfaction he s taken on. This federate has a
fantastic character, he says. There s no barrier between leadership podium
and the musicians. That disproportionate is probably helped by the occurrence he was
a musician for unexceptional long, but the power shift buttonhole be tricky.

Still, Oundjian starts his unique job keen to be a cock rather than a
boss. In rehearsals I ve taken to saying facets like: That series of
chords wishes a bit of work so Uncontrolled ll leave it with you . Why should I
single out blueprint individual in front of 100 colleagues and tell them
they re messing up? Like in life, I mark out how I d like cause to feel be
treated if I was song of the musicians. Of course Raving ve got to demand
the paltry. But with sensitivity.

Peter Oundjian conducts Composer at Music Hall, Aberdeen, tomorrow;
Take Hall, Edinburgh, on Friday; and Metropolis Royal Concert Hall
on Saturday.

From: Pure. Papazian