Yes, the joining of Canada's Anglo and Franco strains was of underlying significance. But there didn't seem to be anything under the surface of the praise showered on Nézet-Séguin: In a preconcert ceremony, he received the $25,000 National Arts Centre Performing Arts Award - an honor reserved for the original and the accomplished, such as director Robert Lepage and Cirque de Soleil.
A peak moment in his Canadian profile? Undoubtedly. The prestige of the award was heightened by Sunday's news that he will become Philadelphia's music director in 2012, an appointment that clearly has prompted a renewed appreciation for this native son. When his institutional commitments were enumerated during the award ceremony, mention of "l'Orchestre Philadelphie" caused one audience member to blurt, "Wow!" No worries about losing him completely, though; at a postconcert reception, the conductor made a ringing commitment to future work with his Montreal orchestra.
With a symphony as imposing as Mahler's 8th, there was no chance the music would get lost amid the celebration. Though not necessarily his greatest, it commands attention like none other, and is so expensive to mount that it's heard infrequently.
Nézet-Séguin's reputation for speed was definitely confirmed in the symphony's 25-minute Part One, the Bach-on-steroids "Veni, Creator Spiritus," with orchestra and chorus pushed hard and often to thrilling effect. Yet like a cathedral facade, this work is full of porticos, each of which was given a distinctive character and tempo.
