{"id":27806,"date":"2015-04-25T20:18:55","date_gmt":"2015-04-26T00:18:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/?p=27806"},"modified":"2015-04-26T08:37:57","modified_gmt":"2015-04-26T12:37:57","slug":"scrutiny-yannick-nezet-seguin-brings-signature-dazzle-to-toronto","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2015\/04\/25\/scrutiny-yannick-nezet-seguin-brings-signature-dazzle-to-toronto\/","title":{"rendered":"SCRUTINY | Yannick N\u00e9zet-S\u00e9guin Brings His Signature Dazzle to Toronto"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Superstar
Superstar conductor Yannick N\u00e9zet-S\u00e9guin brings Montreal’s Orchestre M\u00e9tropolitain to Koerner Hall for their Toronto debut. Photo: Lisa Sakulensky<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Conductor Yannick N\u00e9zet-S\u00e9guin and cellist St\u00e9phane T\u00e9treault with Orchestre M\u00e9tropolitain, Koerner Hall, Friday April 24.<\/em><\/h3>\n

What do you get when an all-French Canadian orchestra, playing an all-British program, performs to an all-Torontonian audience? There are few finer things, but let\u2019s see if we can break it down for those who missed it.<\/p>\n

Watching conductor Yannick N\u00e9zet-S\u00e9guin, one can\u2019t help notice a nonchalance that conceals the effort behind pulling music from Montreal\u2019s civic Orchestre M\u00e9tropolitain (OM) for their Toronto debut.<\/p>\n

One quibble was the all-English program of Elgar and Vaughan Williams, played with the French twist that comes from a Qu\u00e9b\u00e9cois orchestra that rarely leaves its home province. The chestnut seemed like an unnecessary linguistic affectation, but was a premise nonetheless, and more than you can say for most concert programs these days.<\/p>\n

The commotion began with Elgar\u2019s \u201cEnigma Variations\u201d, which N\u00e9zet-S\u00e9guin conducted from memory. His approach was authoritative and carried an appreciation for the variations that emerge in a natural flow. Nothing was pushed, and the OM relished each dynamic with a cool sense of spontaneity.<\/p>\n

Perhaps a bit fearful of overwhelming the warm acoustics of Koerner Hall, the orchestra\u2019s brawn was a tad restrained. But by the time the muscular \u2018Troyte\u2019 variation rolled in, N\u00e9zet-S\u00e9guin relaxed, allowing the orchestra to open up with a less reserved sound.<\/p>\n

After the opening came Elgar\u2019s Cello Concerto \u2013 a work composed as a last-ditch effort to turn the composers declining popularity around. The 1919 premiere was a total flop, and largely ignored until cellist Jacqueline du Pr\u00e9 got hold of it in 1960, turning it into a cornerstone of the cello repertoire.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

In the hands of young virtuoso cellist St\u00e9phane T\u00e9treault, it was nearly just as impressive. He electrified the four movements with an exceedingly shiny cello, which reflected the halls stage lighting like a Hollywood searchlight. His gaze leaned between N\u00e9zet-S\u00e9guin and concertmaster Yukari Cousineau, and each exchanged playful and mischievous grins. The tempo was consistent throughout, and intensified the music\u2019s underlying sense of loss. It marked a fairly unusual reading that moved beyond the notes and towards the intricate details of the phrasing.<\/p>\n

After an intermission, a roving band of latecomers held out at the bar\u00a0and interrupted the concert. The hoard bustled into the hall and down the aisles, suspending N\u00e9zet-S\u00e9guin\u2019s introduction. \u201cExcuse me, coming through\u201d; \u201cOuch, my foot!\u201d; \u201cThat\u2019s my seat over there\u201d; \u201cI need you to move, thanks, thank you.\u201d\u2026 N\u00e9zet-S\u00e9guin was gracious, adding, \u201cTogether, hot and loud.\u201d<\/p>\n

Once the latecomers were seated, the orchestra dug into another unusual interpretation, this time Ralph Vaughan Williams\u2019 Symphony No. 4. The OM didn\u2019t hold back, especially the Scherzo, which bit hard and nearly peeled the veneer off Koerner\u2019s pristine walls. It was the first time I had ever felt my seat vibrate during a classical music concert.<\/p>\n

After the swashbuckling display and pensive emotion, the orchestra was rewarded with a rousing ovation and an open invitation to return to Toronto any time. Let\u2019s hope they noticed.<\/p>\n

#LUDWIGVAN<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

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Superstar conductor Yannick N\u00e9zet-S\u00e9guin brings Montreal’s Orchestre M\u00e9tropolitain to Koerner Hall with St\u00e9phane T\u00e9treault with for their Toronto debut.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":27813,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[118,76,19,875,52,63],"tags":[2521,5410,3627],"yst_prominent_words":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2015\/04\/image007.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9bakr-7eu","amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27806"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27806"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27806\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27828,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27806\/revisions\/27828"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27813"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27806"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27806"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27806"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=27806"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}