Well, I finally experienced the symphony for the first time in my life. What I saw was a uniquely beautiful geometrically charged facility with its geometrical designs and luxurious plush carpeting with layers and layers of mirrors and glass, chrome and brass.
Winding staircases everywhere with large doorways that brought you to whichever level of the stage you would be lucky enough to enter. The pictures of the actual stage were taken when the concert was finished, as we were forbidden to take pictures (for obvious reasons) while the concert was on.What I heard was something else! The most eloquent balance of harmony and transparency ever before heard. There were 3 pieces all conducted by Peter Oundjian. The first piece was composed by Kati Agocs, a young female composer who was humbled by the experience of having the Toronto Symphony playing "Shenanigan", which sounded very exotic to me.
The second piece, composed by Sergei Rachmaninoff, Piano Concerto No. 2 in C Minor was a crowd favorite, which featured Joyce Yang, a 26 year old pianist who has been playing since she was 4 years old! She completely nailed it! A flawless performance.
The third and final piece was my favorite, Modest Mussorgsky "Pictures at an Exhibition". It sounded like a soundtrack of a movie, very moving. Although it was written over 130 years ago, it isn't too hard to see where modern day composers get their inspirations from.
The entire duration lasted two hours, which is fine by me as I usually become restless by that time.
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| lower right was the art display out the window :) |
We left for the "after party" which featured a male trio playing several instruments in the lobby, which had free coffee, and entertainment. This allowed me the opportunity for plenty of photo ops around. You may have heard about the Nuit Blanche (sponsored again by Scotiabank), in Toronto, where artists were displaying their works, while Torontonians walked the streets all night long checking out various exhibits. Right out front of the Roy Thompson Hall is a water feature, and looking through the glass window I thought someone was littering! It appeared like a bicycle, several articles of clothing, a cane and a pizza box. It wasn't until later, it was revealed that this was in fact ...art....