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Media Room
November 12, 2017
The Toronto Symphony Remembers…
2017-18 Season
Jeff Mitchell, Toronto Concert Reviews. (T)he Toronto premiere of an hour-long work entitled Afghanistan: Requiem for a Generation, by Vancouver-based composer Jeffrey Ryan, with text by Canadian poet Suzanne Steele, who spent time with the Canadian Light Infantry in Afghanistan between 2008 and 2010. Her “observations of a Canadian battle group’s road to war and that of their loved ones, before, during and after war”, as expressed through her vivid and graphic poetry, set the stage for the dramatic and visceral music composed by Ryan. The work is written for orchestra, vocal soloists, as well as adult and children’s choruses. Each of the soloists were exceptional, singing music that was not as lyrical or melodic as one often hears in a requiem but that was, at turns, percussive, violent, plaintive and emotionally raw, even at its quietest moments.
November 10, 2017
Toronto Symphony Orchestra lifts war into art with Afghanistan: Requiem for a Generation
2017-18 Season
John Terauds, Toronto Star. Art loves conflict and resolution, while the real world muddles along in the sludgy mass between the two. But art, carefully applied and administered as it was by the Toronto Symphony Orchestra on Thursday night, can lift that sludgy mass up and turn it into something almost as beautiful as neat resolution.
November 10, 2017
Toronto Symphony Remembers Afghanistan War With Deeply Moving Tribute
2017-18 Season
John Terauds, ludwig van Toronto. The second half of the program belonged to Ryan and Steele’s 60-minute Requiem, with full orchestra and four vocal soloists augmented by the always-excellent Toronto Mendelssohn Choir and Toronto Children’s Chorus. Soprano Measha Brueggergosman, mezzo Allyson McHardy, tenor Colin Ainsworth and baritone Brett Poegato did excellent work with what was often difficult singing, bringing genuine emotion to the text.
November 10, 2017
Review: Afghanistan: Requiem for a Generation
2017-18 Season
John Gilks, operaramblings. It’s a new piece by Jeffrey Ryan that sets lines from the Latin Requiem Mass combined with words by poet Suzanne Steele who joined up with the PPCLI on a tour of duty in Afghanistan. So there are structural resemblances to the Britten work but whereas in the War Requiem we have a clear delineation between sections of the mass (for soprano and chorus) and Owen’s poetry (for the baritone and tenor), in Afghanistan: Requiem for a Generation the two parts are blended and there’s an underlying narrative. Generally, the Latin is given to the adult and children’s choruses and set quite lyrically while Steele’s words are given to the four soloists with generally more abrasive, sometimes atonal music and sometimes even, spoken. Steele’s texts are redolent of the discomfort and danger and, sometimes, the essential pointlessness of the Afghanistan campaign. There’s a longing for home and a sense of wonderment at Nature but never, thankfully, bogus nationalism or sentimentality.
September 29, 2017
Review: A Triple Concerto & A German Requiem with the TSO
2017-18 Season
Jenna Simeonov, Schmopera. The TMC sounded spectacular under the direction of Noel Edison, as did the solo singing by Braun and Wall – Wall in particular filled the Hall with her stunning soprano.
September 28, 2017
TSO Gives Substance to Brahms Requiem Redux
2017-18 Season
Arthur Kaptainis, ludwig van Toronto. (The Toronto Mendelssohn Choir) of about 130 as prepared by Noel Edison furnished what a devout listener might call a firm foundation, confidently projected yet carefully balanced. The Mendelssohnians are about three-fifths female, and generally sound it, but there was no difficulty in hearing the gentlemen in Brahms’s fugues, which came across as urgent and stirring rather than academic. Words were admirably clear.
June 25, 2017
A Fiery Finish to the Toronto Symphony Orchestra Season
2016-17 Season
Joseph So, Musical Toronto. Indeed, energy and passion were what defined the performance on Friday night. Peter Oundjian threw himself into the monumental work, conducting with a deft baton. Most importantly, there was a real sense of joy, something lovely to see. With appropriately brisk tempi, he raised the musical temperature to a scorching level: exciting, yes; raw, never! From the very striking opening of “O Fortuna,” one is completely drawn into the drama. The Toronto Mendelssohn Choir sang with impressive power, energy and incisiveness. I was particularly struck by how youthful the women sounded, almost like a treble choir – and I mean that in a good way! The Toronto Children’s Chorus provided the proper sound of innocence, so important in this piece.
June 23, 2017
TSO’s Carmina Burana is a memorable conclusion to its 16/17 season!
2016-17 Season
David Richards, Toronto Concert Reviews. Carmina Burana, Carl Orff’s masterpiece of ritualistic primitivism, the main event of the week’s concerts, was everything one could hope for. The performance was a tour de force. Peter Oundjian led the orchestra, choirs and soloists through the medieval poetic settings paying homage to the ebb and flow of “fortune”. The celebration of spring time, the decadence of life in the tavern and the joys and sorrows of love-making all took their turn. The large orchestra that included two pianos and five percussionists filled the hall with rhythmic drive, virtuosic passages and subtle melancholy. The work held its high energy throughout the full hour of intense music making. The Toronto Mendelssohn Choir was in fine form in both the explosive O Fortuna choruses and the delicate a capella sections.Toronto Children’s Chorus added to the large choral sound and had some tender moments of its own.
June 22, 2017
A Sensational Night of Music at the Toronto Symphony Orchestra’s Carmina Burana
2016-17 Season
Taylor Long, Broadway World Toronto. Following the suspense of watching over one hundred choir members enter the hall – Orff’s CARMINA BURANA begins. “O Fortuna” may be one of the most popular pieces of classical music, but I can’t recall if I’ve ever heard it sung with such incomparably crisp diction. Oundjian makes CARMINA BURANA extremely exciting in the way he drives the tempo and skillfully manipulates the work’s dynamics. The work has a wonderful flow to it, adding to the excitement – some moments are serene and hushed, before being interrupted by jubilant fanfare.