The Whorls of Robertson

The Music Academy of the West launched a directing fellow position three years ago, but MAW still doesn’t have something similar for conductor trainees, despite offering five to six orchestral concerts every summer. If they ever decided to create such a position, luring David Robertson to direct it would be a great idea. The Malibu-raised Robertson has served as chief conductor of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, music director of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, and currently Director of Orchestral Studies at Juilliard, not to mention the fact that he is one of the more in-demand guest conductors in the land. 

But even more than his vast experience, his love for teaching is combined with a particular ability to connect with musicians, whether amateur or professional (the New York Times made special note of the orchestra’s players “lighting up with smiles at the conductor” in his most recent guest shot last October). Although the players in the Academy Festival Orchestra will have changed, smiles and enthusiasm are also likely when Robertson, who first led the AFO at MAW in 2007, returns for this Saturday’s concert at the Granada. 

“I use the expertise of everyone in the orchestra who are the artisans, almost as a project manager, to utilize all their knowledge and talent and to come up with something that is a unified vision,” Robertson said. “That requires both a certain flexibility so that you don’t outright negate anything that the players are suggesting to you through their music making, but with such a detailed knowledge of the score that you know where there are possibilities for expansion and where things can’t change. When the whole group is playing together, what everyone works towards is an overall vision of the piece that takes into account the uniqueness of the piece and the uniqueness of the players.”

That excitement will also be sparked by the spectacular program that calls for the fellows to be fronted by violinist Leila Josefowicz for John Adams’ “Violin Concerto” followed by Prokofiev’s “Symphony No. 5 in B-flat Major, Op. 100.”

While Robertson has a close connection to Adams – the world premiere of the conductor’s “Whorls and Eddies” was conducted by Adams with the LA Phil last April – it’s the superstar violinist who has made the concerto, originally written for the late violinist Jorja Fleezanis, one of her signature pieces, having performed it more than 150 times. 

“No one plays it like she does,” said Robertson, who has been the conductor for at least two previous performances of the piece with Josefowicz just this year. “One of the most exciting experiences you can have in music is to listen to her play this piece, which in itself is a phenomenal narration, like an actress doing a scene that covers all sorts of different types of word play and styles. Leila plays it in a way that sounds as though she’s making it up on the spot, but it’s so perfectly precise and together with the orchestra that it becomes a spellbinding experience.” 

Robertson paired the Adams with the Prokofiev symphony, another piece he loves performing. 

“It’s one of those works that really does light up the landscape of the human soul in a way that is both remarkable and an unflinching glare into darker corners.”

Thursday, July 25: It’s mid-summer, so there’s been a hiatus on petulant children who don’t want to do their homework or other chores. That is, unless you’re coming to see Maurice Ravel’s L’enfant et les sortilèges (The Child and his Enchanted Room), the one-act opera with libretto by the poet Colette. The ballet-opera is a fantastical story in which a naughty child – whose toys and furniture have taken the brunt of his temper tantrum – receives his punishment when the abused items in his room come to life to take their revenge; think what happens to Sid in Toy Story or a dark version of Beauty and the Beast or Alice in Wonderland. The armchairs dance together to escape the child, taking the bench, couch, stool and wicker chair with them. Also enacting vengeance are the grandfather clock, teapot and even the fire that leaps out of the hearth, and shepherds ripped from the wallpaper. Seeking refuge outside, the child only finds the animals and trees similarly aligned against him before he finds his compassion. Acclaimed director Mary Birnbaum helms the intimate production at Hahn Hall featuring 14 of the Lehrer Vocal Institute fellows, with William Long conducting the singers and four instrumental fellows. In a rare post-performance piece, Birnbaum discusses the opera with the audience after its conclusion. (Hahn, 7:30 pm; $65)

Friday, July 26: Fourteen fellows are featured in tonight’s Fellow Friday’s concert, with a program that includes Andy Akiho’s percussion-powered piece “to wALk Or ruN in wEst harlem;”Britten’s late-career “Canticle V: The Death of Saint Narcissus, Op. 89,” based on a poem by T. S. Eliot and performed by tenor Jackson Allen accompanied by harpist Chai Lee; and Joan Tower’s brass quintet “Copperwave,” among other works. (Hahn, 7:30 pm; $45)

Saturday, July 27: Mosher Guest Artist Lawrence Brownlee already dove into his musical past in recital and led a master class for vocal fellows earlier this week. Now, the tenor winds up his residency behind the scenes, as the coach and inspiration for a program called “Uprising / Rising Up”based on his Grammy-nominated album Rising. The singing will be done by the seven LVI vocal fellows who weren’t in Thursday’s opera, who have this afternoon assignment along with vocal pianists Deven Shah and Tzu Kuang Tan, collaborating on just shy of 23 songs – ranging from Amy Beach and Damien Sneed to Schubert and Strauss – that echo Brownlee’s album in exploring search, discovery and celebration of the human spirit. (Hahn, 1:30 pm; $65)

Sunday, July 28: Sing! Sing! Sing! – The budding artists of the Music Academy’s Sing! Chorus – drawn from hundreds of Santa Barbara County youth participants – have already served as the children’s chorus for MAW productions of Bizet’s Carmen andRavel’s L’enfant et les sortilèges earlier this summer. Tonight, a six-day immersive experience with the renowned Young People’s Chorus of New York City culminates in a combined performance featuring YPC of NYC, Music Academy’s Sing! chorus, and the YPC National ensemble Concinamus in a new venue for MAW. The wide-ranging 90-minute program includes a traditional Chumash blessing, An African spiritual, and South African song, along with selections from Bernstein’s Mass, a Beatles tune, and the world premiere of “Rabbit on the Moon”by Yuka C. Honda. The Sing!-sters will also appear at Old Spanish Days “La Fiesta Pequeña” pre-show on the steps of the Old Mission. (Marjorie Luke Theatre; 7 pm; $10)

Monday, July 29: The final week of MAW 2024 gets underway with the finals of the Duo Competition in which five instrumental fellows covering flute, violin, cello, trombone and percussion team with collaborative pianists to claim the top prize. (Hahn, 4 pm; $55)

Tuesday, July 30: In one of the festival’s late summer favorites, the six solo piano favorites, who wound up their competition a few weeks ago, perform pianistic fireworks in a concert-only format for savoring and astonishment. (Hahn, 4 pm; $40)

Wednesday, July 31: A baker’s dozen of the summer’s sensational fellows are featured in the final Salon Series concerts of the festival. Rounding out the repertoire in the intimate environs are “Four Songs” by André Previn, plus Beethoven’s “Quintet for Piano and Winds in E-flat Major, Op. 16,” and the opening movement of Mendelssohn’s “Octet in E-flat Major, Op. 20.” (Lehmann, 7:30 pm; $45)