Great music well played. Those four simple words sum up a programme of complex, masterful musicmaking by the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, music director Peter Oundjian and pianist Emanuel Ax at Roy Thomson Hall on Wednesday.
- 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
This was one of those blue-chip concerts, with top-drawer compositions getting first-rate performances. But there were a couple of pleasant surprises that were the equivalent of a surprise increase in the dividend payout.
The biggest smile — and ideal metaphor for the innate goodness of this night — came at the very end, when Ax gave in to the prolonged standing ovation to deliver an encore.
He sat down on the piano bench, turned to the audience, and announced that he would play with Toronto Symphony principal cellist Joseph Johnson, who had enjoyed a gorgeous solo moment during the slow movement of the Piano Concerto No. 2 by Johannes Brahms.
In doing so, Ax completely turned the musical tables, becoming the accompanist to Johnson’s solo voice in Robert Schumann’s Op. 73 Fantasiestücke. That they both played from memory and with unity of purpose further underlined the depth of musical commitment being demonstrated on stage all evening.
It was also a way for Ax to show off his ability to switch dramatic personalities, from a largely extroverted, boisterous interpretation of the Brahms piece, impeccably accompanied by Oundjian and his orchestra, to something more intimate. The pianist made the music sound and look fun and easy, when it really is anything but.
Wednesday’s concert had started off on the right foot with a crisp, clean, light and bright interpretation of Joseph Haydn’s Symphony No. 96, one of the works he wrote for his legions of fans in London, England in the early 1790s.
This the (wrongly named) “Miracle” Symphony is one of his finest, just as the concerto is one of Brahms’ notable masterworks.
Both men, living a century apart, were seasoned professionals at the top of their craft when they wrote these pieces.
Could it be something as insignificant as coincidence that Toronto composer Gary Kulesha wrote his Third Symphony at the same time of life?
Commissioned and premiered by the National Arts Centre Orchestra in 2007, the Third Symphony has to be one of the finest pieces of Canadian symphonic writing ever produced — and that’s not intended as faint praise.
Oundjian knows this; how else could he have programmed it against two Germanic titans of centuries afore?
Kulesha’s three-movement handiwork, structured like a classical symphony, really does stand up to the greats. The slow middle movement is its finest, blending a recognizable melody (impressively rendered by associate principal oboe Keith Atkinson) with harmonies and textures that were familiar yet novel.
Only the final movement lacked a bit of critical mass, perhaps due to the lack of brass. Nonetheless, if there is a piece of early-21st century Canadian symphonic music being played in the distant future, Kulesha’s Symphony has a fighting chance to be it.
And, as has been the case for much of the past three seasons, the orchestra sounded fantastic, especially in the quiet work.
In short, there is no reason not to go and sample all this musical finery for yourself. You’ll find Thursday’s concert 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
