Musical pyrotechnics will be lighting up the stage in Squamish, said a local pianist who’s bringing in talent from the London Royal Philharmonic Orchestra for a performance of classical compositions. Erik Musseau, a longtime piano teacher who’s lived in town for 12 years, will be performing a show with his friend and colleague, violinist Natasha Hall, on Dec. 18.
The musicians will be playing classical songs from several eras spanning about 250 years, including modern pieces alongside the works of renowned composers, such as Mozart and Brahms. Musseau said the set list will be filled with compositions emphasizing virtuosity and complicated technique on the violin.
“These pieces are challenging technically... but they’re also difficult interpretatively,” he said. “It also takes a lot of work to get the piano and violin parts combined in a way that showcases the structure of the works.”
The end result, he said, should be a performance that succeeds in pushing the boundaries of what a violinist can play.
“These are generally pieces that are considered the top, in terms of difficulty, amongst the musical elite,” Musseau said. “I expect that [the audience] will be completely blown away.”
Mozart’s Haffner Rondo, as arranged by Fritz Kreisler, will begin the set, followed by work from Canadian composer Scott Good. Compositions that pay tribute to early Italian baroque music will also be played, as well as Tzigane by Maurice Ravel, which is an energetic interpretation of gypsy melodies.
The night is expected to be topped off by a performance of the third violin sonata of Johannes Brahms in its entirety, which consists of four movements.
Musseau’s enthusiasm for working with Hall was borne out of a long-standing musical relationship. He met Hall when he was living in Nelson and playing piano to accompany violin students.
Hall was studying the instrument at the time and was introduced to Musseau through a music teacher. Musseau played backing piano for her and they discovered they had artistic chemistry.
“We hit it off musically right away,” he said.
When Musseau started looking for a new place to stay, Hall’s family agreed to let him stay in their home rent-free as long as he accompanied her.
Hall would later move to London, England, to become a regular performer with the Royal Philharmonic and English Chamber orchestras and, along the way, garnered accolades at the Calgary Concerto and Music Bridge Chamber Music competitions. She has also shared the stage with notable musicians such as Rohan de Silva and Andres Cardenes and has also appeared on CBC’s The Nature of Things with David Suzuki.
The show will be on Dec. 18 at 3 p.m. at St. John the Divine Anglican Church. Tickets are for sale at Billie's Flower House on Cleveland Avenue or at the door. .
