Toronto Symphony Orchestra: Lang Lang’s Emperor | Dukas, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice; Beethoven, Piano Concerto No. 5 “Emperor”. Gustavo Gimeno, conductor; Lang Lang, piano; Wednesday, September 24, 2025, Roy Thomson Hall.
On Wednesday night, over 2,000 Torontonians gathered at Roy Thomson Hall for the hottest ticket in town — a rare performance by a superstar pianist who has not graced the Toronto stage for over 10 years.
Arguably one of the finest pianists of our generation, Lang Lang needs no introduction. He has received numerous awards and honorary doctorates, and performed for international dignitaries and major world events.
This Toronto Symphony Orchestra concert was a special gala celebration, in which some well-heeled patrons paid upwards of $1,500 to attend a lavish dinner after the concert, the proceeds in support of the TSO’s music education and community outreach programs. The TSO is celebrating 100 years of school concerts. In addition, it regularly engages the community through concerts in libraries, senior homes, hospitals and beyond, making music inclusive and accessible to everyone.
The Music
The concert opened with the lively The Sorcerer’s Apprentice the single claim to fame by French composer Paul Dukas. The piece is made even more famous by the 1940 Disney movie Fantasia, and one could not listen to it without conjuring the image of Mickey Mouse. The music vividly tells the story of a young apprentice who, left alone by his master, uses magic to animate a broom to carry water. But when he doesn’t know how to stop it, chaos ensues as the broom multiplies and floods the room.
Wielding his baton, TSO music director Gustavo Gimeno performed his version of magic by seamlessly passing the theme from section to section, each getting its own shining moment. He intricately weaved the tumultuous layers of instrumentation, creating a beautiful soundscape out of the chaos.
Watching this masterwork performed live was a next-level experience, and the TSO brought this story alive with all-round excellent playing.
Lang Lang
Lang Lang is usually known for his unreserved, flamboyant style. Although there are still exaggerated physical gestures like the theatrical flying arm, stomping feet and whiplash head toss, there is much less acrobatic flair compared to his younger days.
In the first movement Allegro of Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 5 in E-flat Major, fondly known as “The Emperor,” his fingers flew in dizzying, breakneck speed that was accompanied by equally insane pedal work. His pianissimo passages oozed with sensual delicacy.
Without excessive flourish, he played a supportive role to the orchestra, which was the real star of the movement.
The second Adagio un poco moto movement was the epitome of romance, and a showcase for the piano.
Lang invoked velvety, lyrical lines with utmost tenderness. Again, pianissimo notes in the high register shimmered like angelic bells. He made liberal use of rubatos, most effectively in the deliberately slow transition at the end of second movement, building tension that erupted into the fiery third movement, Rondo: Allegro. Here, Lang unleashed his bravado in full force, attacking the presto passages with remarkable clarity, while exercising excellent dynamic control.
This was surely no traditional interpretation of the Emperor. Lang made it his own, and there was fine interplay and balance between the soloist and the orchestra. This performance was both a visual spectacle and a delight to the auditory senses.
Coda
After a few long rounds of applause and ovations, as if by cue, the audience collectively fell into the quickest hush as Lang sat down to play his encore — an animated arrangement of Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf? from Three Little Pigs — another nod to Disney, a page taken from Lang’s wildly successful The Disney Book album.
Although the spotlight was all on Lang, he did not make the show all about himself. He graciously explained how his Lang Lang International Music Foundation has been nurturing top young piano talents since 2008.
Lang watched proudly by the stageside as the audience was then treated to another encore by Ryan Huang. This 15-year-old Toronto-born Lang Lang Young Scholar, a student at the Taylor Academy of the Royal Conservatory, has already garnered multiple awards and performed internationally with prestigious orchestras. Lang’s protégé performed The Serpent’s Kiss by William Bolcom, a dramatic showpiece that is not only rollercoaster fast, it also features coordinated rhythmic taps on the cover of the piano. Huang’s technical brilliance is beyond his years, and he is already a true showman, destined to follow in Lang’s footsteps.
The TSO announced that in partnership with Lang’s foundation; it will feature Lang Lang Scholars as soloists in their upcoming seasons.
With so much bright talent, Toronto audiences have much to look forward to, and hopefully this will also bring Lang Lang back to the city for more dazzling performances. Judging by the audiences’ extremely enthusiastic reaction, he is definitely one artist we can never get enough of!
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