Sinfonia Toronto will launch a celebratory 25th season on October 21 with a programme anchored by Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony. During its 24 seasons so far, Sinfonia Toronto has covered a lot of ground. That includes a JUNO Award, along with an ongoing recording programme.
In terms of repertoire, the chamber orchestra has championed new works as well as offering the usual blockbusters of the genre. That includes 42 world premieres, 28 of them by Canadian composers. They’ve toured Ontario from Brockville to Sault Ste-Marie to Sarnia, and gone on international tours to Germany, Spain, Florida, and South America (Argentina, Peru and Uruguay). Most recently, Sinfonia Toronto toured China in 2019 pre-pandemic.
We spoke to conductor and artistic director Nurhan Arman about the orchestra, the new season, and the future.
The Interview
Arman formed Sinfonia Toronto not long after he came to the city. “I think the city of Toronto had just lost a chamber orchestra, only two three seasons before I came,” he recalls. “I always liked chamber orchestras.”
Arman spent his childhood in Turkey. “I grew up in Istanbul,” he says. The city was visited by touring orchestras from all over Europe. “I always admired the intimacy of chamber orchestras,” he says. It was an idea that would live in the back of his mind for some time before it was put into practice.
What keeps him going after so many years is that enduring love for the art form. “Season after season, that’s still a goal,” he says of the quest for the perfect season. “I think the orchestra now is very fine,” he says.
Many things have changed over the years; funding issues have always been a problem. “It’s a problem in North America in general,” he observes. “I think music itself keeps me going.”
There have been many highlights in the 24 seasons so far.
Touring has provided many of Sinfonia Toronto’s memorable moments. “When we do these tours […] it’s a great experience,” he says. The ensemble is exposed to many different audiences and concert halls. “The orchestra is playing literally every night.” It amounts to an intense collaboration. “That results in some unique performances.”
Although they didn’t know it at the time, the pandemic had already started during their tour of China in late 2019. Luckily, no one was affected.
Naturally, home ground has also made for special moments. “The concerts that we play in Toronto are very special — that’s our home audience.”
Looking back, he also recalls some of the soloists that have performed with Sinfonia Toronto, some of them making their Canadian debuts through the chamber orchestra.
The mix of new and traditional pieces has been part of Sinfonia Toronto’s programming since the beginning. “We always programme new music juxtaposed with the classics,” Arman says. It’s important to introduce new repertoire.
“I’m not a big fan of separating periods. When I started this orchestra, I didn’t want to specialize in one period,” he says. As he points out, Toronto’s classical music scene already includes period music specialists.
“To me, juxtaposing it, we see the old and the new within a frame of a couple of hours, [and it] is a totally different experience than just hearing constantly the same thing.” He likens it to juxtaposing different languages in music.
“When I first started doing some new Canadian composers works, by the second season, I remember that a few subscribers started complaining to me. But, what happened was, little by little, people started getting the message.” He found that inviting the composers on stage to talk about their works added to their popularity. He reports that the same subscriber who’d complained about unfamiliar pieces became an avid follower of the new composer talks.
“It helps to develop the audience. Sometimes, we take risks in programming.”
Balancing familiar repertoire with new works is important. “When you go outside the household names, there is always some resistance,” he says. “But we have to go outside.”
The Future
In the wake of the collapse of the Kitchener-Waterloo Orchestra, and more bad news from the Winnipeg, it’s impossible not to contemplate the future.
“I think the future of Sinfonia Toronto will also be depending a lot on the future of classical music and live concerts,” says Arman. “At the moment, I’m quite concerned about the future.” The pandemic took its toll. Sinfonia Toronto kept the music going digitally, but found interest in music on the screen waned over time. Since then, classical music’s older audience demographics have led to a slower return to live performance. “It’s difficult to bring the audiences back. It’s not back to where it used to be. We need to go back there very quickly, or we will be losing quite a number of organizations.”
Is there anything to be hopeful about?
“I’m hopeful there are more people studying classical music all over the world,” he notes.
“My concern is not that classical music is dying,” he adds. It’s certainly true that a new generation is falling in love with timeless classical music, but with a difference. They’re streaming it online, and neoclassical’s social media fuelled stars don’t perform on the concert hall circuit. They’re more likely to be found in smaller and alternate venues.
“A grassroots movement can be much more agile and flexible,” he says. “The difficulty is that if audiences stop [supporting] established forms of consuming classical music, we are in trouble.” As he points out, it’s also a labour issue in that orchestras provide stable pay and conditions at union rates.
Music schools are turning out so many talented classical music artists on a yearly basis. “I just hope there are jobs for them,” he says.
The Season Opener
For the anniversary season, the idea is to include a celebratory note in each programme. There will be two world premieres on the programme, including Louis Sauter’s Regard de l’anniversaire XXV world premiere, written for the occasion.
Sauter also wrote a piece commemorating the orchestra’s 20th anniversary. “It’s actually based on Happy Birthday,” Arman explains. Sauter reworked the well known theme using the harmonies of Olivier Messiaen. “It’s going to be fun.”
Toronto composer Frank Horvat was also commissioned to write a piece for the anniversary season. “I had asked him to write something for the orchestra’s anniversary, and we share the same passion for the environment,” says Arman. Horvat searched out a 250 year-old oak tree, reputed to be the oldest tree in Toronto. It inspired the composition of Magnificent Roots.
Violinist Elisso Gogibedaschwili joins the orchestra for Taktakishili’s Violin Concerto No.2 in a Canadian premiere. “Nobody knows the name,” says Arman. “He was Georgian, a friend of Shostakovich. It’s a beautiful piece. Even at first hearing, it’s accessible.” It will be the Canadian premiere of the concerto.
Elisso Gogibedaschwili first performed with Sinfonia Toronto when she was only 13. She returns now in her 20s as an international performing artist. “She is an amazing violinist,” he says.
Naturally, the lynch pin is Beethoven’s beloved Symphony No. 5, however it too will incorporate a North American premiere in its arrangement for string orchestra by violinist and composer Sreten Krstič, who wrote it for the Zagreb soloists. “I heard it online, and like it very much.” Sinfonia Toronto had already peformed Beethoven’s 6, 7 and 8, and 5 seemed a logical choice. “The fifth works remarkably well in this version.” He got in touch with Sreten Krstič personally to get the arrangement. “We’ll be the first orchestra to play this version in North America.”
Sarasate’s Gypsy Airs rounds out the programme, the only non-premiere on the list.
Tickets to the new season, and more information, [HERE].
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