Although the pandemic may have slowed down some musicians, Adam Levin stayed as busy as ever. For one thing, the virtuoso guitarist, who will perform with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra this weekend, is now the proud father of a 10-month-old son. So, he knows how to change diapers as well as guitar strings.
“It feels like the grand circus act,” Levin said. “I’m walking a tightrope while delivering coffee. But being a musician means that you have to be very agile, and that helped to prepare me for children. You have to be flexible and open to new experiences, be spontaneous, and change in the moment.”
One of the projects that Levin successfully juggled over the past year is his latest recording, “21st Century Spanish Guitar, Volume 4,” which was released on the Frameworks Label. Containing newly commissioned works, including a piece by Salvador Brotons, the CD hit No. 1 on Billboard’s Traditional Classical Albums chart.
But that’s not all. Levin also teamed up with mandolinist Jacob Reuven to create “Music from the Promised Land” on the Naxos label. The album explores Israeli music from the past 75 years. It also reached the top position on Billboard’s Traditional Classical Albums chart.
To top off those musical exploits, Levin has continued to develop Kithara, an international, nonprofit music program dedicated to improving the lives of children and youth through classical guitar. He also honchoed and performed in the University of Rhode Island Guitar Festival.
When asked how he manages family and multiple projects, Levin replied, “coffee, dreaming, 30 minutes of burpees, pile-driving work day and night, and a very, very supportive wife, Ornela, all make for an ideal platform to conquer the guitar world.”
Almost a year ago to the day, Levin made his debut with the Vancouver Symphony, playing Leonardo Balada’s “Caprichos No. 1.” This weekend, he returns to Skyview Concert Hall to perform Joaquin Rodgrigo’s “Concierto de Aranjuez,” which is probably the most famous guitar concerto in the orchestral repertoire.
“The Rodrigo is a perfect piece to reemerge from the pandemic,” Levin said. “The piece was written at the very end of the Spanish Civil War when Rodrigo lived in Paris. He had to capture the essence of his country from afar. The music allows the audience to transport themselves away from isolation that we’ve experienced to a place that is beautiful and almost magical.”
Many great composers for the guitar have not been guitarists themselves. Rodrigo was a pianist and almost blinded by diphtheria at age 3, but his work has captivated audiences ever since it was first performed in 1940.
“The piece is challenging,” Levin said. It begins with strumming “and segues into ripping and roaring scales. In the second movement, you have to completely remove yourself from the energy of the first movement and enter a nostalgic, sorrowful mood. It’s 11 minutes of reflection. Then you have a dance into the courtlike third movement, which prances to the very end. The concerto masterfully balances the intimate sound of the guitar with the orchestra.”
The concert will begin with Samuel Coleridge-Taylor’s “Ballade.” Written in the Romantic style, this one-movement piece weaves a stormy opening with lovely themes before returning to the turbulent statement. “Ballade” received glowing reviews when it premiered in 1898 but suffered from neglect because Coleridge-Taylor was a biracial Englishman. He did become famous for “The Song of Hiawatha” cantata, but he sold it for very little money. That caused much financial stress, and he died at the age of 37 after becoming ill with pneumonia.
Jean Silbelius’ First Symphony is also on tap. It has a big opening solo for clarinet, sweeping thematic statements, pummeling timpani and memorable melodic lines. Although the work reflects some influence from Tchaikovsky, it presents the style that can only be Sibelius.
From Rodrigo to Sibelius, the music will travel from the Mediterranean to Finland with an excursion on the side via Coleridge-Taylor that may evoke a watery passage. All should be in good hands with music director Salvador Brotons, who will lead the entire program.
