Theodore Deacon writes about music for Opera Magazine, was General Artistic Director of the U.W. Opera Department, and has taught music history, stagecraft, aesthetics, opera workshop, music theatre.
It was conductor Yamada's calm manner that made the edgy Takemitsu Requiem a remarkably effective prelude to Fauré's more familiar, soft-edged lament for the departed.
Under the taut leadership of conductor Tianyi Lu this seemingly quixotic program proved to be successfully coherent, flowing from one distinct genre to the next with effortless exhilaration.
It is a tall order for a conductor to mold these aural images together while driving them forward and keeping the audience's interest. This the guest conductor from New Zealand, Gemma New, did brilliantly.
I am generally put off by conductors who are more flamboyantly animated in their podium antics than necessary, but in this case conductor Wong's dynamic way with communicating musical ideas fit the piece.