The Toronto Symphony and conductor Gustavo Gimeno opened their latest concert at Roy Thomson Hall with an unusual piece: Colin Matthews 2009 orchestration of the “Nicht zu schnell” movement from Mahler’s Piano Quartet, written when the composer was still in his teens. It’s a pretty accomplished piece with a brooding opening section that becomes brighter then very dramatic; accentuated here by brass and percussion. Then there’s a lyrical, pastoral passage before it fades out gently. It genuinely sounds like a Mahler orchestral work.
The main event of the evening came in the form of Strauss’ majestic Four Last Songs with soprano Rachel Willis-Sørensen. These settings of texts by Joseph von Eichendorff and Hermann Hesse are some of the most emotionally satisfying works in the realm of orchestral song and justifiably popular. With such a noted Straussian as Willis-Sørensen as soloist, expectations were high. Unfortunately, while this performance had its moments, disappointments were owed mainly to the effect of the hall’s notorious acoustic on Willis-Sørensen’s voice. The opening song, Frühling, pretty much set the tone. There was no lack of power or beauty in the voice but it was only just audible over the orchestra and any subtlety in quieter sections pretty much went for naught. It wasn’t a case of Gimeno covering his soloist – he’s too good a conductor to do that – but there just wasn’t the richness needed to generate the emotion one expects from these songs.
September was elegant but had the same overall impact as Frühling. More emotional depth was apparent in Beim Schlafengehen with the orchestra, especially the strings, sounding properly sumptuous, enhanced by a lovely violin solo from Jonathan Crow. Im Abendrot is late Strauss at his most romantic and with the right combination of power and subtle elegance it can really overwhelm the senses. Alas, here the power was attenuated by the hall and the subtlety was lost.
After the interval came Beethoven’s Fourth Symphony. Conducting from memory, Gimeno produced an account that combined drama and clarity in equal measure. The opening Adagio-Allegro vivace movement exemplified his overall approach; the slow, surprisingly dissonant opening leads into a faster passage which was dramatic and tightly structured combined with with subtle dynamics. The Adagio that followed was bright and sunny, although with some darker passages, with some particularly fine work from the Principal Flute. The Scherzo, marked Menuetto: Allegro vivace, was appropriately lively and dance-like though far faster than even the fleetest foot could dance a minuet to. The Allegro ma non troppo finale was so precise and tightly wrought that it was never in danger of running away with itself. The orchestra excelled itself in the sudden explosive passages with extremely precise playing from all sections to conclude a thoroughly successful effort.
