The Toronto Symphony Orchestra continues to thrive, playing to a packed Roy Thomson Hall on May 28, each part of the program receiving multiple standing ovations. Wednesday evening ticket holders could also enjoy a pre-concert offering with TSO Chamber Soloists Eri Kosaka, violin; Theresa Rudolph, viola; and Emmanuelle Beaulieu Bergeron, cello. They were joined by the main concert’s soloist and Toronto native, pianist Stewart Goodyear to perform two of his own compositions, Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso, and Piano Quartet. Goodyear’s trademark versatility and musicality opened the evening and shone throughout the rest of the night.
As a whole, the program featured repertoire that is technically challenging, requiring the performers to cross over from classical to contemporary with ease and technical fluency. Beethoven was in the air in a program culminating with his Symphony No. 3 in E-flat Major, Op. 55 (“Eroica”). Goodyear also happens to be a leading interpreter of Beethoven as well as a contemporary classical composer. This series of performers marked Estonian conductor Kristiina Poska’s debut with the TSO.
The first work on the main program was Estonian composer Arvo Pӓrt’s Cantus in Memoriam Benjamin Britten. It highlights the potential haunting beauty of a single tone that can be produced by a bell. Pӓrt is the creator/ inventor of the “tintinnabull” style of musical composition. The bell sound was woven through progressively fulsome orchestration of a simple descending scale. Repetition of the descending scale in a dialogue between bell and orchestra creates a sense of suspense from start to finish.
Aspiring performers should never worry that practicing scales with an ear to producing a beautiful tone for each note is a waste of time! Pӓrt uses descending scales which restart at the top, to create a loop. Sisyphus, tried and tried to push a rock to the top of the hill. Pӓrt’s efforts do not end in a similar frustration.
Next, Goodyear joined the orchestra to perform his Callaloo—A Caribbean Suite for Piano and Orchestra written in five movements for full orchestra. The pianist’s reputation for boundless energy and technical fluency in all genres precede him all over the world as a performer and contemporary classical composer. He has cited Leonard Bernstein as the 20th-century composer he most admires most because the American was inspired by all styles of music, defying convention to create music that communicates to audiences of all demographics.
The title itself, Callaloo, is a term used in Trinidad to describe a mix of flavours, cultures, and traditions, mirroring the musical fusion in the suite. Goodyear has described it as a blend of Calypso and Lisztian pianism. The second movement’s sound effects even include a train whistle! The solid TSO brass selection was deservedly appreciated. Percussion and winds set up Goodyear’s lyricism, contrasting it with glissandi to tell a great musical story. The work is rejuvenating and refreshing.
The “Eroica” was featured in the second half. Beethoven heroically wrote the symphony after coming to terms with his deafness. It is a study in contrasting emotions: from elation to grief, to freshness and rebirth. The range of human emotions that the composer confronts is vast. The audience endures grief offset by optimism. One of the tasks of a conductor is to select a tempo that is endurable both from an emotional and technical perspective. To Poska’s credit—and that of the TSO—the effort was blissfully successful. She is currently recording the complete Beethoven symphony cycle with the Flanders Symphony Orchestra for the label Fuga Libera. Recordings to watch for!
Full information on Toronto Symphony Orchestra’s upcoming 2025-26 season can be found at www.tso.ca
