“Those who walked past the Orpheum late Thursday and heard the crowd inside could be forgiven for assuming a rock ‘n’ roll legend had taken to the stage,” writes Nick Eagland in Thursday’s (5/31) Vancouver Sun (Canada). “After 18 years of leading the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra on a remarkable journey, 64-year-old conductor Bramwell Tovey stood at the podium saying thank you and goodbye. For two inspirational hours, the celebrated VSO music director kept his audience enraptured with an intimate night of performance (and some nostalgia) at a special gala to celebrate his illustrious career, one of his final scheduled performances in the city. In an interview … Tovey tried to argue that the ‘Bramwell Tovey Gala Celebration’ wasn’t all about him … but maybe a bit more ‘about the continuing traditions of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra.’ The orchestra will celebrate the centennial of its first concert early next year…. ‘The orchestra is bigger than any one person, including me, and I think it’s always important to keep that in perspective,’ he said…. ‘There’s a brilliant young conductor (Otto Tausk) who’s coming in and so the cycle of renewal starts again. That’s a very healthy thing.’ ”
Posted June 6, 2018
