On a continent beset with bad news for orchestras this season, it was a particular pleasure to witness the coming of age of a great group of contenders in Toronto as the Ontario Philharmonic played the first of three programmes at Koerner Hall on Tuesday night.
- Classical Music 101: What Does A Conductor Do? - June 17, 2019
- Classical Music 101 | What Does Period Instrument Mean? - May 6, 2019
- CLASSICAL MUSIC 101 | What Does It Mean To Be In Tune? - April 23, 2019
Born as the Oshawa Philharmonic in 1957, the recently renamed Ontario Philharmonic has been building its ambitions since the start of the 21st century, first partnering with the University of Ontario Institute of Technology in its hometown to become the principal musical tenant at the Regent Theatre. For each of the last two seasons, the Ontario Philharmonic has travelled to Toronto to present a single concert at Koerner Hall.
This year, in an act of daring, the organization has programmed three concerts, each featuring a star guest and the orchestra’s longtime music director Marco Parisotto.
Based on Tuesday night’s performances, the gamble — and the long, deliberate road westward along the 401 and down the Don Valley Parkway to the city’s core — has paid off.
In fact, I want to boldly state that this city finally has a credible, professional, full-size alternative to the Toronto Symphony Orchestra for audiences looking for more popular-themed programming. Perhaps the Ontario Philharmonic can, with continued good financial luck and fine leadership, become Toronto’s answer to Montreal’s Orchestre Métropolitain.
We’ll see.
For now, we can celebrate Tuesday’s excellent, all-Tchaikovsky programme that had veteran Russian-Israeli violinist Shlomo Mintz give a virtuosic, masculine, even somewhat hard-edged interpretation of the warhorse Violin Concerto. The playing was vivid, if unsubtle — and the audience thought it fabulous, judging from its noisy appreciation.
Parisotto and the Ontario Phil were fine accompanists all the way through, showing grace and flexibility as well as nice ensemble work.
The music director and his players took the spotlight in the Symphony No. 5. Parisotto, conducting from memory, shaped and paced the music beautifully. It was a very good performance — far from a run-of-the-mill trot through a popular chestnut.
I had the benefit of a stage-side seat, much closer than nearly anyone in Roy Thomson Hall would get to an orchestra. I could see what each musician was doing and catch every gesture and many of Parisotto’s facial expressions. It felt incredibly intimate.
It was also loud, at times, as Koerner Hall is slightly less than half the size of Roy Thomson Hall. But, in return for coping with too many decibels, it was possible to sample every colour and texture in Tchaikovsky’s rich orchestration. There is no hiding from anything at Koerner Hall, which further underlined the quality of the Ontario Philharmonic’s playing.
Based on these performances, the next two concerts are something to look forward to: First up is Toronto pianist Anton Kuerti in an all-Brahms programme, on Dec. 4 (Nov. 30 at Oshawa’s Regent Theatre); and, on Jan. 29 (Jan. 26 in Oshawa), young American diva Angela Meade sings Richard Strauss’s Four Last Songs and the orchestra plays Anton Bruckner’s Symphony No. 4. You’ll find the details here.
John Terauds
- Classical Music 101: What Does A Conductor Do? - June 17, 2019
- Classical Music 101 | What Does Period Instrument Mean? - May 6, 2019
- CLASSICAL MUSIC 101 | What Does It Mean To Be In Tune? - April 23, 2019
