Also published at Seen and Heard International
Anticipation crackles in the air, thick like summer lightning before the storm breaks. A hush descends, settling over an expectant audience. Every cough or rustling program feels like a desecration. At the podium, conductor Kahchun Wong stands at the edge of creation – shoulders squared, back straight, baton held aloft. A moment’s pause, pregnant with possibility, his hand dips, slow and deliberate, tracing the first stroke of a masterpiece – Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony.
For sixty minutes Beethoven’s motifs ebb and flow, a struggle between light and shadow, order and chaos. Wong, a captain at the helm, guides the orchestra through the tempestuous waves. His every gesture framing the music’s path: joy, anguish, defiance, triumph.
By the end, Wong succeeded in taking the audience gathered at Benaroya Hall on a journey they would not soon forget. Wong conducted four performances from December 28th to 31st. Most years, Seattle’s traditional end-of-December performances of Beethoven’s Ninth are an afterthought for devoted concertgoers. They’re reliable revenue generators – and who doesn’t like a little uplift and possibility of Beethoven’s Magnum Opus (or one of them) to ring in the New Year?
Continue reading Kahchun Wong’s musical alchemy: Beethoven and Mahler in perfect harmony
Gathering Note 