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Welcome, Matthew Halls! Toronto
Roy Thomson Hall
02/13/2013 - & February, 15, 16, 2013
Ludwig van Beethoven: Coriolan Overture, Op. 62 – Symphony No. 9 in D Minor, Op. 125
Edward Elgar: Serenade in E Minor for String Orchestra, Op. 20
Erin Wall (Soprano), Allyson McHardy (Mezzo-soprano), Joseph Kaiser (Tenor), Shenyang (Bass-baritone)
The Toronto Mendelssohn Choir Noel Edison (Artistic Director), The Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Matthew Halls (Conductor)
M. Halls (© Eric Richmond)
Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony is one of those works one becomes enthralled by, which means one becomes overly familiar with it and subsequently cannot hear it again properly without some sort of cleansing procedure beforehand. I have deliberately left it alone for several years with the hope that I can greet it (somewhat) afresh all over again.
Debuting conductor Matthew Halls got this gig just a couple of months ago, when Jiri Belohlávek bowed out of his Toronto engagements (which included Tristan und Isolde with the Canadian Opera Company). His experience has been mainly with J. S. Bach - in fact he is to be the next director of the Oregon Bach Festival, succeeding Helmuth Rilling. This Toronto appearance marks his first performances of the Choral Symphony, but anyone expecting a light, period-influenced approach would be quickly disabused. This is a big, modern performance for a large hall (2600 seats) with a chorus of 130 or so. However, there is nothing heavy or mushy about it; every element is well defined and clearly detailed. Here is a conductor who seems to know what he wants and is able to accomplish it.
The choir seems to be permanently decamped from the choir loft and now occupy five raked rows of seating at the rear of the platform. The effect of this seems to be a closer cohesion with the orchestra (and conductor). The words of Schiller’s poem emerge crisply. The soloists are seated in the first row of the choir. The one debuting singer, bass-baritone Shenyang, makes a terrific impression. One minor drawback is that Joseph Kaiser’s voice doesn’t quite ring out ideally in his final repeat of “Held zum Siegen”.
The concert opens with Beethoven’s Coriolan Overture which gives a good indication of what is to follow, what with the crisp definition of the gripping opening chords. The second work, the Elgar serenade, involves 40 players and expresses all the ebbs and swells of that composer’s distinctive cadences. The conductor maintains a nice silence at the end which is respected by the near-capacity audience.
There seems to be some discussion as to the importance of a conductor working without a score. For the record, Halls conducts all three works from memory.
Conclusion: even if you are feeling a bit jaded about Beethoven’s Ninth, this performance is likely to bring it back to glowing life.
Michael Johnson
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