TonyV
Senior Member
Toronto Symphony Orchestra October 20th, 2011 (guest conductor Stephane Denéve).
This concert was not part of my TSO subscription series. An email promotion offered half price tickets, and I bit. The hall was packed with a high-quality audience. Quite glad that I went. This was a very interesting program if only because of a different approach to music-making. Different, but not necessarily better.
Stravinsky; Dumbarton Oaks (concerto for chamber orchestra)
A tiny orchestra of magnificent first-desk players was used to present this little three movement gem. A gorgeous performance.
Mozart Piano Concerto 16, D Major, with Lars Vogt playing the Steinway
I think Lars Vogt was overall quite good in this, even if his start was rough. In general, something was a tiny bit off, and my suspicion is that the conductor and the pianist have a differing view of the score. The piece itself is a charmer in a sneaky sort of way, with lots of complex runs for the piano. There are a couple of spots where all music making is paused; a deft touch by the composer, very well executed here by Vogt. The piece features the typical Mozart rhythm and pacing, then at the end it slips into a waltz - a couple of minutes in glorious 3/4 time. The audience did not give this performance a strong ovation. The reason, I believe, is that there was something oddly cool, but not cold, about this performance.
Rachmaninoff's sprawling and romantic Symphony No. 2
The conductor demanded an exciting and rapid take on this warhorse and he effectively obtained it. A huge orchestra with fabulous cohesiveness, with one exception.
In the first movement the effects were not exactly bang-on, because antiphonal violin seating was used. This conductor has done this to better effect in a Shostakovich work a few years back; this time around I could sense that the orchestra sections had some trouble sensing one-another - it is not easy to switch seating patterns and get it right in two days of rehearsing. From my perspective, six rows away, it was only the first movement that suffered; the parts and pieces were too exposed, perhaps in a clinical way. They players picked it up and perfected it from second movement onward. The third movement, a very famous part, put the strings on display, big-time. This is where the TSO excels -- their string department is one of the world's very best. At the end, the big nods went to the woodwinds (really well deserved), then all horns, and then Denéve asked each section to take a bow, one by one. The ovation for this piece was huge, as usual.
It was obvious to me that the orchestra really enjoyed this guest conductor.
This concert was not part of my TSO subscription series. An email promotion offered half price tickets, and I bit. The hall was packed with a high-quality audience. Quite glad that I went. This was a very interesting program if only because of a different approach to music-making. Different, but not necessarily better.
Stravinsky; Dumbarton Oaks (concerto for chamber orchestra)
A tiny orchestra of magnificent first-desk players was used to present this little three movement gem. A gorgeous performance.
Mozart Piano Concerto 16, D Major, with Lars Vogt playing the Steinway
I think Lars Vogt was overall quite good in this, even if his start was rough. In general, something was a tiny bit off, and my suspicion is that the conductor and the pianist have a differing view of the score. The piece itself is a charmer in a sneaky sort of way, with lots of complex runs for the piano. There are a couple of spots where all music making is paused; a deft touch by the composer, very well executed here by Vogt. The piece features the typical Mozart rhythm and pacing, then at the end it slips into a waltz - a couple of minutes in glorious 3/4 time. The audience did not give this performance a strong ovation. The reason, I believe, is that there was something oddly cool, but not cold, about this performance.
Rachmaninoff's sprawling and romantic Symphony No. 2
The conductor demanded an exciting and rapid take on this warhorse and he effectively obtained it. A huge orchestra with fabulous cohesiveness, with one exception.
In the first movement the effects were not exactly bang-on, because antiphonal violin seating was used. This conductor has done this to better effect in a Shostakovich work a few years back; this time around I could sense that the orchestra sections had some trouble sensing one-another - it is not easy to switch seating patterns and get it right in two days of rehearsing. From my perspective, six rows away, it was only the first movement that suffered; the parts and pieces were too exposed, perhaps in a clinical way. They players picked it up and perfected it from second movement onward. The third movement, a very famous part, put the strings on display, big-time. This is where the TSO excels -- their string department is one of the world's very best. At the end, the big nods went to the woodwinds (really well deserved), then all horns, and then Denéve asked each section to take a bow, one by one. The ovation for this piece was huge, as usual.
It was obvious to me that the orchestra really enjoyed this guest conductor.