IN CONCERT
What: Julian Kuerti conducts the Victoria Symphony
When: 2:30 p.m. Sunday
and 8 p.m., Monday
Where: Royal Theatre
Tickets: $16 to $67.50
For more information, visit:
victoriasymphony.ca
or call: 250-385-6515
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If Julian Kuerti ever had to ask his dad to bail him out, he picked the perfect moment a few months ago.
Kuerti, 31, was making his debut as guest conductor with the Boston Symphony Orchestra. On the final night of four concerts, pianist Leon Fleisher caught food poisoning and couldn't perform Beethoven's "Emperor" Piano Concerto No. 5.
Luckily, Kuerti's dad was in town. Pianist Anton Kuerti is known as one of the best Beethoven interpreters around. The father-son pair had even performed the piece together once before.
"I was just taking a shower, getting ready to watch the show when I got the call," Anton Kuerti said from his home in Toronto. He had come to see his son conduct the final concert because he had been in Calgary performing himself the previous nights. He stepped in at the final hour -- literally -- to perform the concerto under his son's baton.
"It was very exciting. We both had to be on our toes," he said.
Julian Kuerti, in Boston, said knowing his father's musical quirks helped the performance despite having no time to rehearse.
"With him, it's easy to know what he's going to do because I grew up with it," Julian said. Julian's mother Kristine Bogyo was also a musician, a professional cellist and founder of the Mooredale Youth Orchestra and concert series. She died last year after battling cancer. "There was always music around, happening, in our house," he said.
Both he and his father are full-time musicians with hectic travel schedules. They crossed paths at home in Toronto last week, where a younger brother lives and works at a record shop, and will perform together in Edmonton next month.
But the Kuertis will just miss each other in Victoria, where they will both appear with the Victoria Symphony in coming weeks.
This weekend, Julian will conduct the orchestra in works by Bela Bartok, Joseph Haydn and Mozart. The highlight is sure to be VS clarinet principal Keith MacLeod performing Mozart's Clarinet Concerto.
"This is going to be a very exciting piece to conduct," said Julian, lauded as the w脙录nderkind of the conducting scene since sparking the interest of the BSO and Toronto Symphony Orchestra. He only came to a conducting career in recent years, after completing an honours degree in engineering physics from the University of Toronto.
"It seemed like an Ironman kind of challenge after high school but when I finished I realized, 'Why should I spend the rest of my life doing something I'm not nuts about,' " said Julian, who has never conducted in Victoria before.
As for the elder Kuerti, Victoria is familiar stomping grounds, both musically and otherwise.
"I am a nature lover. I always try to hike when I'm there performing," said Anton, who still wants to climb Golden Hinde mountain after two attempts over the years.
He performs with the Victoria Symphony and Kees Bakels in Duncan, 7:30 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 15, at the Cowichan Theatre and in Victoria, 8 p.m. Monday, Nov. 17 at the Royal Theatre.
