The University of Manitoba Symphony Orchestra is inviting audiences on a river cruise of sorts to open its 2024-2025 season.
Along the River Elbe will transport audience members inside the Desautels Concert Hall through Scandinavia over the mountains of Czechia before winding its way through Bohemia.
The music, chosen by the of U of M Symphony’s conductor and music director Monica Chen, traces that winding journey with its musical choices.
“It’s one river that manages to touch every country from which every piece originates from,” Chen explains. “The other part is that there is quite a flow in quality to some of these pieces, and it really is luxurious but really natural at the same time.”
The program starts off with what Chen describes as a “bang” with Edvard Grieg’s “Holbrook Suite”, before flowing into Bela Bartok’s “Romanian Folk Dances” and Einojuhani Rautavaara’s “Divertimento”. This work will be a new one for Winnipeg audiences, as it was only published in the last couple of years.
The program’s second half will feature the “Serenade for Strings” by Antonin Dvorak, a piece that highlights the lushness of the landscape that the Elbe River flows through in Czechia.
This concert also marks a new journey for the U of M Symphony as it is their first concert inside the brand-new Desautels Concert Hall. It’s a change that Chen is excited about, but also admits will take some getting used to. “The previous year, we were performing exclusively at a church, and that lends itself to a lot of natural resonance,” she says. “When I first went into [the Desautels Concert Hall], I noticed that the sound traveled for like a second or two before it completely dropped off. So we’re going to have to see what it sounds like as an ensemble.”
Regardless of how it sounds, Chen knows that music will be the thing that makes Along the River Elbe a memorable evening. “The concerts that always leave the deepest impression on me are the ones where you feel physically and emotionally, too. But when you actually feel it on your skin and in your body, those are the ones that I really step away from remembering. And that’s kind of what I’m trying to bring to the students here at the university is how to perform with your entire mind, your body, your soul.”
Along the River Elbe takes place October 24 at the Desautels Concert Hall at 7:30 p.m. For tickets and more information, visit the Desautels Faculty of Music website.