Toronto Symphony Orchestra. Adès: Paradiso from Dante; Concerto for Piano and Orchestra (Kirill Gerstein, soloist). Holst: The Planets. Thomas Adès, conductor. Roy Thomson Corridor on Feb. 26, 2025. Repeats Feb. 27 and March 1; tickets right here.
Fairly a combo Wednesday evening in Roy Thomson Corridor. On the rostrum was Thomas Adès, arguably the best-known residing British composer of live performance music, making his Toronto Symphony Orchestra debut. On this system was the Canadian premiere of his Concerto for Piano and Orchestra, with Russian-born, Berlin-based Kirill Gerstein because the stellar soloist.
After intermission we heard Holst’s The Planets, arguably the most well-liked work within the British orchestral repertoire. Fairly a combo, and a wholesome crowd to match.
Which isn’t to say the live performance obtained off to the strongest attainable begin. Paradiso from Dante’s Divine Comedy is an formidable topic for musical therapy. Adès has conceived of it as a beehive of sonority. Many have been the repetitive rising figures, together with a motif that sounded (to me) like a borrowing from Brahms.
Rhythms have been heavy and protracted. The sudden entry of 18 feminine voices (from the Soundstreams Choir 21) halted the perpetual movement solely quickly. This amply orchestrated piece (in actual fact Act 3 of a full-evening ballet known as Dante) lasted 24 minutes. I had had my fill of paradise after about 10.
The concerto was extra participating. Greatest was the moonlit center motion, with its delicate (relatively than overwhelming) touches of percussion and equitable steadiness of piano and orchestra. Harmonies have been principally dissonant however melodic motifs have been surprisingly easy. The solemn coda featured a bass drum, evidently one among Adès’s favorite devices.
The outer actions have been frenetic and full of unpredictable results. We heard parts of jazz, Ravel and Prokofiev. Typically the function of the soloist was to calm issues down, if solely briefly. Liszt made a cameo look within the last minute, full with double octaves, to carry the rating to a rollicking shut. Gerstein, who has carried out the piece greater than 50 occasions, mustered the required bravura. It’s important that he nonetheless retains a pill in entrance of him, simply in case.
Holst
A tall and athletic determine with an exacting baton approach, Adès proved an authoritative conductor of his personal music. And the music of others. Removed from a run-through, his therapy of The Planets was stuffed with character and idiosyncratic tempo adjustments. Venus, the Bringer of Peace, was splendidly smooth and mild. Saturn, slower than normal, was really the Bringer of Outdated Age.
Mercury sparkled, Uranus hobbled humorously. The climaxes of Mars have been actually loud sufficient. The large tune in Jupiter was surprisingly brisk and détaché. Absolutely we’d like extra sentiment right here. Neptune — essentially the most distant of the planets for Holst in 1916 — was accomplished fluidly, nearly and not using a pulse. Area itself appeared to disintegrate. The choristers (ready by David Fallis) have been backstage for the mesmerizing fadeout.
The TSO adopted Adès’s inspirations faithfully. Solos have been splendid. Principal oboe Sarah Jeffrey was maybe first amongst equals. The silky-sounding concertmaster was Ji Yoon Park, a customer from the Radio France Philharmonic.
After a number of seconds of post-Neptune silence, the group applauded lustily, if not for lengthy. It was a heterogeneous mixture of casually dressed newcomers and veteran subscribers. Some gave the impression to be conscious that a number of planets today are sharing the seen sky. I noticed at the least two listeners carrying astronomy-themed clothes. I doubt that the TSO booked the Holst with the conjunction in thoughts.
Anyway, the orchestra is clearly doing one thing proper.
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Arthur Kaptainis was classical music critic of the Montreal Gazette from 1986 to 2022 and wrote for the Nationwide Submit from 2010 to 2016. His articles seem in Classical Voice North America and Gramophone in addition to Ludwig Van. Arthur holds an MA in musicology from the College of Toronto. He’s president of the Music Critics Affiliation of North America.