Toronto Symphony Orchestra: Reicha, Overture in D Main; Mozart, Piano Concerto No. 21 in C Main, Ok. 467; Mendelssohn, Symphony No. 3 in A Minor, Op. 56 (“Scottish”). Marta Gardolińska, conductor; Angela Hewitt, piano. March 26, 2025, Roy Thomson Corridor. Repeats March 27, 29 (Roy Thomson Corridor), and March 30 (George Weston Recital Corridor). Ticket holders to Thursday’s live performance can hear Hewitt with the TSO Chamber Soloists carry out Mozart’s Quintet in E-flat Main for Piano and Winds at 6:45 p.m. Tickets right here.
“Masterworks” is commonly used as a advertising and marketing time period to advertise live performance packages to the final viewers. At its coronary heart, a masterwork is a bit of nice music that has withstood the take a look at of time. In glancing over season brochures, I feel the time period is usually loosely utilized.
Nevertheless, this isn’t the case with Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 21 in C main, a piece that’s, for sure, a masterpiece.
Of the nice compendia of piano repertoire, three stand out — Bach’s Effectively-Tempered Clavier, Beethoven’s piano sonatas, and Mozart’s piano concertos. Within the later assortment, No. 21 together with No. 20 in D minor are probably the most well-known.
Angela Hewitt’s efficiency of this concerto, No. 21, with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra is a part of her formidable “Mozart Odyssey,” a undertaking by which she’s going to carry out all of Mozart’s piano concertos over the course of 2024 to 2026. No stranger to milestone initiatives, Hewitt accomplished “The Bach Odyssey”, by which she carried out all of Bach’s keyboard works.
We frequently consider a concerto as a duel between the soloist and the orchestra. On this concerto, Mozart’s craftsmanship and the interpretation of tonight’s musicians elicited a way more pleasant affair, akin to a collaboration of a chamber ensemble.
Led by Marta Gardolińska, the orchestra, itself was barely smaller, with fewer string gamers. Hewitt engaged in pleasant musical dialogue with the orchestra — significantly with the winds. She typically solid glances or made refined arm gestures of their route to bolster the musical connection.
The second motion, with its well-known melodic theme featured within the 1967 movie Elvira Madigan, was delicate with out being overly valuable. Some pianists take a slower (Andante) tempo, which dangers making it overly sentimental. In my opinion, Hewitt’s interpretation struck the fitting stability. It was nonetheless very poetic.
Glorious pianism was on show, particularly within the third motion. The virtuosic passages all the time sparkled with readability and effortlessness.
This night’s efficiency showcased why Hewitt is an clever, considerate, and masterful artist. Hewitt’s frequent performances in Toronto have made her a neighborhood favorite. The viewers leapt to its ft in a standing ovation, and in return, we had been handled to the Aria motion from Bach’s Goldberg Variations as an encore.
Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 3
After intermission, extra wind and string gamers stuffed the stage to carry out Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 3 in A minor, Op. 56 (“Scottish”). The composition was impressed by Mendelssohn’s journey to Scotland, and particularly, a go to to the ruined chapel of Holyrood Fort close to Edinburgh.
The opening melody, known as the “Holyrood Fort” theme, rises and falls in a fashion that evokes the arches of the chapel’s home windows, making a musical reflection of its structure. The viola part, accompanied by the winds, launched this opening melody with a safe and current sound that left a long-lasting impression.
Carried out with out breaks between actions, the symphony’s two outer actions present a stable anchor, whereas the second (Vivace non troppo) and third (Adagio) actions supply contrasts.
Gardolińska’s route was exact and environment friendly, to which the orchestra responded nicely and delivered a dedicated and dynamic efficiency. The orchestra was in fantastic type, and I used to be significantly taken by the wind part. Principal clarinetist Eric Abramovitz’s clarinet solo within the second motion left me breathless.
Closing Ideas
This system started with Anton Reicha’s Overture in D main, a piece notable for being one of many first orchestral items in quintuple time (5/8). Sadly, the piece didn’t go away a long-lasting impression on me.
One last be aware: Canadian patriotism was proudly on show with the singing of ‘O Canada’ to open the live performance. Angela Hewitt additionally stood out in a surprising purple costume, complemented by matching footwear.
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Albert Wong is a author, composer and musician primarily based in Toronto. He’s energetic within the choral group and sings with the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir and Babεl. He additionally has a specific curiosity in gamelan music, and performs Balinese gendèr wayang with Seka Rat Nadi.
