Toronto Concert Orchestra
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An Evening with the Toronto Concert Orchestra
(by Christopher Caldwell, Nov 13, 2011. Read full article)
As a lover of the arts and talent in general, there was a specific love I had for the performers in this late afternoon seduction. Performing at the Toronto Centre for the Arts, the the Toronto Concert Orchestra romanced and invigorated me with Tchaikovsky, Symphony No 4. The playing was eloquent and reserved when necessary, but the pieces required subtlety and thunder in a moments change. I do not have a collection of the Russian romancer, but after this I think I will imbibe in Toronto’s version. The players were flawless and Kerry Stratton was charming - thank you Kerry for teaching us about the various movements in the piece before hand - it lent to a greater appreciation.
Some spectacular Tchaikovsky Saturday night
... The concert opened, not with a work by Tchaikovsky, but with a lovely symphonic poem titled Sea of Blossoms by Canadian composer, Kevin Lau. Played by the Toronto Concert Orchestra, under the baton of the eminent conductor maestro Kerry Stratton, the piece is an exploration of contrasts, from the delicate opening, which featured flute and triangle, to the expansiveness of the full orchestra and the thunder of the bass drum.
The second piece gave the crowd the Tchaikovsky they had been waiting for. Symphony No. 4 in F Minor is a well-known, classical masterpiece. Stratton delighted the audience by taking time to speak about each of the four movements, even asking the orchestra to introduce the themes of all but the last before launching into the performance proper.
The first movement opened with a loud and ominous declamation by the brass section. This represents fate and is alluded to through every movement of the work. After a musical journey with many twists and turns, tumbling descending passages, dancing melody over rhythmic timpani and quirky glissandos tossed to and fro, the first movement comes to an end with the reiteration of a final chilling statement in the brass.
The second movement introduced a mood of sadness and reminiscence. A beautiful oboe solo floats over pizzicato strings. More glissandos warble. The music flowed so compellingly that Stratton's hands stilled and he simply let the music happen. The third movement is one of rhythmic energy carried primarily by pizzicato strings whose sounds swell and diminish in wave-like intensity. Again, Stratton, in tune with the music and the musicians, seemed hardly to lift his baton. The fourth movement came as a surprise. A boom and a crash launched the orchestra into this gloriously noisy finale, filled with as many cymbal crashes as one could hope to find in a piece of music.
After intermission, Canadian pianist Lang Ning Liu, a graduate of Juilliard with a burgeoning international career, joined the orchestra to give a masterful performance of Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1 in B Flat Minor. From the first crashing chords (juxtaposed with the famous opening theme in the brass) to passages of quiet lyricism and extroverted energy, Liu's playing was both expressive and fittingly spectacular. The enthused crowd rose to their feet in appreciation of a truly inspirational evening.
Wonderful performance by masters
The sixth concert of the Barrie Concert Series on Saturday night was a performance of Rachmaninoff's 2nd Piano Concerto and Dvorak's 9th New World Symphony featuring pianist, Michael Kim and the Toronto Concert Orchestra under the direction of conductor, Kerry Stratton. Kim, a doctoral graduate of Juillard, has been the recipient of numerous Canadian and International awards over the course of his substantial career. Maestro Stratton is world-renowned for his conducting. Combine this artistry with the performance of magnificent standards of classical repertoire, and it's no wonder the crowd was at capacity.
The contrast between the crystal clear voice of the piano and the shifting colours of the orchestra was beautifully demonstrated in Saturday's concert. In response to a standing ovation, Kim offered one more treat, a calming solo performance of Schumann's Traumerai.
Curiouser and curiouser
Paisley Jura, who plays double bass with the TCO, offers her thoughts about our April 1 concert
I have been enjoying playing in orchestras lately and some of them are following our example and breaking out of the concert hall. On April Fool's Day, I played bass in Dvorak's New World Symphony and Rachmaninov's Second Piano Concerto (yes, the one with the love theme you know from the 70's pop song) at the Phoenix Concert Theatre, of all places. The Phoenix is a Toronto rock venue distinguished by its high ceilings, large bars, sticky floor and 1000 standing only capacity. The last band I saw there was Corb Lund, and he really ripped up the joint with his Alberta cow-calling two-step. For this show the orchestra was seated on the floor in front of the stage. I had folks standing at my shoulder reading the music on my stand and feeling the vibrations of my bass in their feet. Hopefully they could hear it, too. It was a crazy, topsy-turvy evening where no one knew what to expect (including all the classical musicians and the goth/punk/indie/establishment audience). I hope I get to play many more shows like it!website: Bill Eadie