Arts

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Bakin’ for a cause
The 3rd annual Vancouver Cupcake Throwdown

 

By Allie Davison, Staff Writer

( “haveto are moving up in the world, all you
have to do is turn on the TV to see it (check
out Cupcake Wars, Vancouver’s own The

Cupcake Girls, and the upcoming Cupcake Sisters). So

why shouldn’t Vancouver have its very own cupcake
competition?

Now in its third year, the Vancouver Cupcake
Throwdown is picking up speed. There are 20
participants, mostly made up of local small business
bakers, but home bakers can compete as well. Initially,
each participant must of course make some delicious
cupcakes (yum!). Then, come February 16, The Chapel
Arts Gallery and Event Space will open its doors and
let the public taste to their hearts’ content. A $10 ticket
will get you five tasting tickets (that’s right, you get
FIVE whole cupcakes), plus you can buy additional
taste tickets for $1 each. There will also be a DJ and
refreshments available, and event attendees will be
given the chance to win a KitchenAid stand mixer
through a raffle.

The founder and organizer of the Cupcake
Throwdown says she originally organized the event
“because [she] is a firm believer of bringing community
together,” adding that, to paraphrase, although
Vancouver is a great foodie city, there aren’t enough
foodie events!

Not only will this be the most delicious event of
February, but it’s for an excellent cause as well. The
H.A.V.E. Culinary Society has been training people
from Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside to cook since
2007. They are a non-profit organization that takes in,
trains, and Food Safe certifies people from the low-
income community. H.A.V.E. also provides its students
with work placement support. The organization’s
main belief, as stated on their website, is that “by
providing residents of our community with culinary
training, Food Safe certification and supportive work
placements, [we aim] to eliminate the experience of
social isolation associated with unemployment in
Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside community while
increasing self sufficiency and access to employment for
those who have been excluded from meaningful work.”
For more information about H.A.V.E. visit their website
at http:/ /have-cafe.ca.

Come out and enjoy what organizers call
Vancouver’s only “democratic cupcake event.” Taste
some treats and cast your vote: who will be this year’s
cupcake queen (or king!)? A chance to eat cupcakes and
support an excellent cause? Well, I’m sold! Hope to see
you there!

What: Vancouver Cupcake Throwdown
When: Chapel Arts, 304 Dunlevy Avenue
Where: February 16 from 7 to 10 p.m.
Cost: $10

Website: www.cupcakethrowdown.com

8

 

Four hands are better than two

Ellen and Robert Silverman perform four-handed piano in Arts at One

By Kealy Doyle

his week’s installment of the Arts at
[ox concert series saw husband-and-

wife team Ellen and Robert Silverman
take a full Laura C. Muir Theatre through
some of the biggest names in 18" and 19%
century classical music: Mozart, Brahms,
Dvoyak. Only they did it on the same piano,
at the same time.

The Silvermans certainly had the
pedigree to do the task justice. Ms. Silverman
coordinates the Piano Department at
Douglas College, and has toured widely as
a soloist and chamber player. Mr. Silverman
is an acclaimed international concert and
orchestral pianist with over 30 recordings
to his name, including a 10-CD recording
of Beethoven’s sonatas, which was short-
listed for a Juno Award. Together, they have
performed four-hand and two-piano pieces
in BC and the Far East.

Mr. Silverman opened the hour-long
performance with a surprising introduction:
some of the well-known pieces we typically
associate with sweeping orchestras or a solo
virtuoso—Brahms’ Requiem and Dvorak’s
Slavonic Dances—were originally written for
four-handed piano. He and Ms. Silverman
then launched into a strident, fluid account of
one of the most familiar Mozart compositions
from his later period: the Allegro from
Eine Kleine
Nachtmusik.
The four-
handed
arrangement
by Otto Singer
preserved
much of the full, rich sound of the original
string orchestra. Side by side, heads bobbing
in concert with the delicate trills and shifting
dynamics, the Silvermans gave fresh life to
old music and set the tone for the technically
excellent hour to follow.

Elegant phrasing and elegant playing
continued into the Nachtmusik’s Romance
and Minuet. Tumbling, trilling melodies
flowed from the Steinway’s polished
keyboard, Mr. Silverman occasionally
breathing the beat as they reached a
particularly satisfying resolution. The
concluding Rondo was brisk yet flawless.

At the bass end of the piano, Ms. Silverman
picked out a confident counterpoint to Mr.
Silverman’s agile treble.

After buoyant applause, the atmosphere
grew pensive with the resounding opening
notes of the Selig sind (“Blessed are they that
mourn”) from Brahms’ Fin Deutsches Requiem,
completed in 1868. It was Mr. Silverman’s
turn to provide a stately, measured bass
line, which built to a powerful crescendo.

At times, the Silvermans swayed with the
swell of emotion—surging and receding

as it veered between sombre and hopeful.
The contemplative mood persisted into
Denn alles Fleisch es ist wie Gras (“For all flesh,
it is as grass”). The Silvermans united in

big, mournful chords disintegrating into a
beautiful descending motif, which returned
throughout the lengthy piece.

“,..the urgency of the thundering crescendos were
reflected in Mr. and Ms. Silverman's faces as they rose
forward with the music. It was a pleasure to see such unity
between piece and performer.”

Both Brahms pieces are normally
performed with a full choir and orchestra.
Little can compare with the sheer power
and resonance of so many instruments,
particularly skilled voices, for immersing
the audience in the emotion of such charged,
solemn compositions. But the lone piano
had a dignity of its own, and the urgency of
the thundering crescendos were reflected in
Mr. and Ms. Silverman’s faces as they rose
forward with the music. It was a pleasure to
see such unity between piece and performer.

The pace and mood lifted again with
the first of Dvorak’s Slavonic Dances,

Furiant, which echoed the crisp allegro of
the opening Mozart. This was playful and
determined, tumbling and climbing as Mr.
and Ms. Silverman echoed one another. The
second of the Dances, Dumka, is instantly
recognizable: lilting, exotic, and intriguing.
The rapid, complex phrases always return
to a satisfying reminder of the main melody.
The Silvermans handled it with ease.

The final dance, also named Furiant,
was appropriate: pounding, uplifting, and
punctuated by rising and falling interludes.
The finale was triumphant, and the
Silvermans’ pleasure evident as they finished
the final, decisive chord. It was certainly an
expression matched by the audience, whose
applause was heartfelt.

The four-handed sound certainly
impressed many
listeners. “I’ve
sung the German
Requiem with
the choral society
and I’ve never
heard it arranged
like that,” said audience member Anne
Norman, who'd taken a half-day vacation
from work to attend the performance. “It’s
so expressive. It’s just amazing that they’re
hitting keys and this sound is coming out.”

“This is a real treat,” added Jane Player.
“We're so fortunate to have this.”

The Arts at One series continues on
February 9 with a student showcase.
Performances are free to attend and begin
every Thursday at 1 p.m. in the Laura
C. Muir Performing Arts Theatre, New
Westminster campus.

What: Arts at One presents Student
Showcase

Where: Laura C. Muir Performing Arts
Theatre

When: Thursday, February 9 (this Thursday!)
Cost: Free!

@ Ellen Silver