February
15, 2007 A tale of the unexpected is not something you usually expect out of a night at the symphony. But most people forget that the Cupid of classical mythology is a trickster at heart. Yesterday's snowstorm, coupled with the just-in-time schedule of Russian conductor Valery Gergiev, meant his flight from New York was grounded and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra went without its main attraction on Valentine's Day. Fortunately, there was a happy ending to this kafuffle. This week's program pairs two works for piano and orchestra by Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971) with two orchestral poems by Claude Debussy (1862-1918). Veteran pianist (and regular Toronto Symphony guest) Alexander Toradze was joined by the TSO's composer-adviser Gary Kulesha on the podium. The Debussy pieces, moved to the second half of the program, were conducted (thanks to the extreme kindness of the COC) by young Montrealer Yannick Nézét-Séguin, who is in town conducting the Canadian Opera Company's current production of Charles Gounod's Faust. A generous Nézet-Séguin left his COC players at intermission and was whisked to Roy Thomson Hall. COC general director Richard Bradshaw picked up the slack (and asked the assistant) for the last two acts of Faust at the Four Seasons Centre. (...) The public, expecting Valery Gergiev until intermission, showed its gratitude to the young maestro with warm applause. Ironically, the Montrealer is taking over from Gergiev as the music director of the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra in Holland at the end of next season. John Terauds, Toronto Star, February 15 2007 (See some extracts of this review in Press, on this Website) |