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Toronto Symphony Orchestra. Alison Yun-Fei Jiang: Illumination. Hildegard von Bingen, Hildur Guðnadóttir, Missy Mazzoli, Sarah Kirkland Snider/arr. Jarkko Riihimäki: enargeia. Emily D’Angelo, mezzo-soprano. Gustavo Gimeno, conductor. Roy Thomson Corridor on Could 1, 2024. Repeats Could 2 at 8 p.m. Tickets right here.
One thing previous, one thing new: Gustavo Gimeno and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra are hedging their bets this weekend in Montreal and Ottawa. One hopes this system will fare higher on tour than it did Wednesday night in Roy Thomson Corridor.
The golden oldie after intermission was Brahms’s First Symphony, a grand rating that by no means fails. Virtually. The usually admirable TSO strings on this event sounded shrill. Balances with the winds have been off, and ensemble was hit or miss.
Quick tempos furnished solely an outward approximation of power. There have been, after all, some positives: The oboe managed to sound lyrical at a quickstep within the Andante sostenuto motion. Trombones have been cohesive within the finale. General, nevertheless — and regardless of an authoritative array of gestures from Gimeno — this was a disappointing run-through.
Within the first half there have been two premieres, beginning with Illumination, an 11-minute tone poem by TSO RBC affiliate composer Alison Yun-Fei Jiang. Toggling between forceful and lyrical passages, the rating appeared to supply the ear both an excessive amount of or too little. Harassed chords (presumably the thunderbolts referenced by the composer in her program notes) turned tedious with repetition. There was some attention-grabbing fluttering for the 2 trumpets.
Subsequent we heard Emily D’Angelo, a TSO highlight artist, within the first North American efficiency of enargeia, a compendium of music by 4 ladies composers (Hildegard von Bingen, Hildur Guðnadóttir, Missy Mazzoli, Sarah Kirkland Snider) primarily based on D’Angelo’s like-titled (and acclaimed) Deutsche Grammophon recital of 2021.
Boosted right here and there by a microphone, the Toronto mezzo-soprano made extra of an impression than she did in her TSO look in November. Her quick vibrato created a pleading tone that was suited to forlorn music.
Not all of the songs have been gradual and soulful. Snider’s “The Lotus Eaters” included a drum set at its climax. Nonetheless, the prevailing temper was melancholy and, in the end, monochromatic. It didn’t assist that D’Angelo, wearing black, maintained a static stage presence all through.
Jarkko Riihimäki, a Finnish arranger, equipped a quick cinematic overture. Principal cello Joseph Johnson was notable among the many orchestral soloists.
The live performance was devoted to the late Sir Andrew Davis. After a couple of phrases of appreciation, Gimeno led a heartfelt efficiency of Elgar’s Nimrod as a tribute.
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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.
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