[Originally published via the Toronto Star.]
Over the last quarter-century, the Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra has enjoyed the kind of PR that other arts organizations can only dream of. But to compare it with other orchestras is unfair, or is it?
Where one typically finds modern orchestras adorning stern faces and taut demeanours (especially when performing Beethoven), Tafelmusik comes across as breezy and happy to be there. They are like a huge family, with everyone smiling, as if to say, stop scowling, Beethoven, you are loved.
Aside from the genial faces, Thursday’s concert at Koerner Hall marked the first time Montreal Symphony Orchestra conductor Kent Nagano has come to Toronto to perform with Tafelmusik.
Their relationship originally began with a performance of Bach’s Mass in B Minor in Montreal, in 2009. It was a major success and they aimed to replicate it with Beethoven’s Mass in C Major and the ever-popular Symphony No. 5 in Toronto. Boy, what a difference a conductor can make.
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