Symphony finds ideal guest

By Marc Shulgold, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Thursday, January 24, 2008

Photo by J. Keenan

Douglas Boyd wasrecentlynamedprincipal guest conductor of the Colorado Symphony Orchestra, partly based on a past appearance with the CSO.

J. Keenan

Douglas Boyd was recently named principal guest conductor of the Colorado Symphony Orchestra, partly based on a past appearance with the CSO.

Scotsman Douglas Boyd's only visit to the Colorado Symphony's podium made such an impression that he's just been named principal guest conductor of the orchestra.

When reminded of the praise from critics and players (many of whom offered unsolicited backstage raves) after the 2006 performance, Boyd turned bashful. "I think we found a way to be an artistic team in a short amount of time," he said.

Two Decembers ago the conductor led the CSO in a stunning account of Beethoven's Eroica Symphony that elevated an extraordinary work to new heights. Even a newcomer to an orchestra is able to create some magic, he said.

"There can be a chemistry. The dynamic between a conductor and orchestra is intangible, but you can make an orchestra feel empowered in a short time."

Speaking from his London home before his return to Boettcher Hall as guest conductor this weekend, he discussed his new job, a three-year affiliation that begins with two weeks of concerts next season.

The CSO remains Jeffrey Kahane's orchestra, he stressed, but the principal guest can make a contribution. "I don't worry about the personality of the music director and how to deal with that. I just get on with it when we rehearse."

Boyd believes that he can leave his mark here through only a handful of appearances.

"There is a positive aspect of being a principal guest conductor. It's an additional relationship for the orchestra, a way for us to make a stronger connection. You can start to understand each other in a short time. I can work on projects with them, and focus on aspects of their playing."

By example, Boyd pointed to his two weeks of concerts next season, in which he'll balance classical-period pieces with large-scale masterworks from the late 19th Century.

"I'll be doing the (Haydn) Matin and Miracle Symphonies and matching each with Brahms' Fourth (Symphony) and with (Mahler's) Das Lied von der Erde. It will be a way to show the eclecticism of the orchestra."

Just as Kahane began as an instrumentalist before taking up the baton, Boyd recalled his two decades as an oboe player and founding member of the superb Chamber Orchestra of Europe - "an incredible learning experience. All I saw with them were the positive aspects of music. There were, for me, no moments that can drive a musician into cynicism."

He paid homage to two illustrious conductors of the COE, Claudio Abbado and Nikolaus Harnoncourt, citing them as his strongest influences.

"Abbado could make an orchestra sound extraordinary by the simplest of gestures. And Harnoncourt became a phenomenal influence on a whole generation of musicians by reinvigorating the classical repertory. He had a huge impact on my approach to Beethoven."

The 48-year-old never took a formal conducting lesson; he learned by watching. "Had I gotten into it early, say at 20 or 21, I would have missed out on the experience of playing with an orchestra.

"During my years in the COE, I was always fascinated with the dynamic between the conductor and us. I talked with Abbado now and then, going through some things with him. And I spent some valuable weekends talking with (noted conductors) Paavo Berglund and Colin Davis."

He began by conducting amateur groups. "You learn by doing. You need an orchestra in front of you."

This weekend's program includes Stravinsky's Rite of Spring, a work, by a quirky coincidence, last played by the CSO under its previous principal guest, Peter Oundjian. It's a difficult piece, but not one that worries Boyd: "The Rite is no longer a mountain for an orchestra to climb."

While Boyd acknowledged that his performing experience is steeped in the classical chamber-orchestra repertory, he sees that as an advantage to his new job with the full-size Colorado Symphony, particularly through the contributions of Kahane.

"Some orchestras have trouble with the classical part of the repertory - Haydn and Mozart. But not with your orchestra. They went with the old-school approach, and so there's an awareness (of that style). I believe that had a lot to do with Jeff."

Shulgoldm@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5296

At a glance

A quick look at Douglas Boyd:

* Biography: Born in Glasgow, Scotland; studied oboe at the Royal Academy of Music in London; founding member and principal oboe with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe. Married, with three children.

* Recordings: Beethoven's Symphonies Nos. 2 and 5; Mozart's Symphonies Nos. 40 and 41, as conductor (both on Avie). Concertos by Bach, as oboist/conductor (Deutsche Grammophon).

* Other conducting posts: Music director of the Manchester (England) Camerata; artistic partner of the St. Paul (Minnesota) Chamber Orchestra; principal guest conductor of the City of London Sinfonia; artistic director of the Boston- based Gardner Chamber Orchestra.

Colorado Symphony

* When and where: 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 2:30 p.m. Sunday, Boettcher Concert Hall, 14th and Curtis streets

* Cost: $15 to $69.50

* Information: 303-623-7876