It was not the first time that Spanish-born TSO music director Gustavo Gimeno conducted Spanish music in Toronto, and more is scheduled for next season. And why not? It is mostly music worth hearing and Gimeno has shown that he has a real flair for conducting it. Add to the mix the Spanish-born flamenco guitarist Juan Manuel Cañizares, and the Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra, and you have the ingredients for an afternoon of musical enjoyment. In the event, we heard virtuoso guitar playing, first-rate playing from old and young musicians alike, superb conducting, and even some surprise drumming from the Maestro himself.
The concert opened with a piece by Francisco Coll (1985-). This man is a young Spanish composer Gimeno has made his personal mission to promote. He has recorded several of his works and has already conducted a great deal of it in Toronto. Aqua Cinerea is Coll’s Opus 1, written when he was 19. The composer’s publisher says the title is “ambiguously poetic…evoking ash-grey water, or perhaps even the image of ash falling as rain.” The music is presumably impressionistic. It is only ten minutes in length but it demonstrates remarkable mastery of orchestral effects, including some pretty frightening whooping from the horn section. I can’t say I have yet warmed to any of the Coll compositions I have heard so far but due credit to Gimeno for trying to bring the music of a young composer to a wider audience.
What came next was the Symphony No. 1 by French composer Henri Dutilleux (1916-2013). It dates from 1951 when the composer was 35. Dutilleux was a major French composer and his first symphony is wonderfully well-crafted and consistently engrossing. But what was it doing on a program titled ‘Visions of Spain.?’ Presumably, the title was meant to cover music by Spanish composers as well as music by other composers – Ravel’s Bolero concluded the concert – influenced by Spanish music. Dutilleux doesn’t fit at all. In fact, it was questionable programming to put two uncompromising contemporary works like the Coll and the Dutilleux works back to back in the first half of the concert. This was the first-ever performance of the Dutilleux by the TSO and it was long overdue, but it should have been placed in a different concert. Be that as it may, the TSO played it brilliantly and Gimeno appeared to know this difficult score inside and out.
After intermission the TSO was joined by members of the Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra for selections from El Amor Brujo (Love, the Magician), a ballet by Manuel de Falla. Gimeno led a vivid performance and most of the solos were taken by TSYO players. They played very well indeed, reminding us that the TSYO continues to be a fine training ground for young musicians.
Juan Manuel Cañizares describes himself as a flamenco guitarist and he was a close collaborator with the legendary Paco de Lucía. He is also very much at home in the classical repertoire and a composer of numerous concertos, and works by the Spanish National Ballet Company. For his TSO debut he played Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez, perhaps the best-known guitar concerto. The work was inspired by the gardens at the Royal Palace of Aranjuez near Madrid. The acoustic guitar was assisted by discreet amplification. Unquestionably, Cañizares is a master of his instrument. The rapid scale passages went like greased lightning and the sadness of the slow movement was fully realized with a full range of tonal colours. The English horn solo played by Cary Ebli was eloquent too. The tricky rhythms in the last movement were navigated with ease by soloist, conductor and orchestra.
And then came a special treat for the audience. After a standing ovation Cañizares returned for an encore. But to the audience’s delight he was joined by conductor Gustavo Gimeno. And on this occasion we were reminded that before becoming a globe-trotting conductor Gimeno was a percussionist in the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. Gimeno joined his soloist carrying what looked like a wooden box. Presumably, Gimeno was going to sit on it to enjoy Cañizares’ encore at close quarters. And he did sit on it and sat quietly while Cañizares began to play. But after a few minutes Gimeno joined in by drumming with his hands on the box. I would guess that the encore was an improvisation and that the box Gimeno was sitting on and playing was a cajón, a box drum originally from Peru but also used now in flamenco music. It was great fun to see and hear, and the audience loved it.
For a finale on this Visions of Spain program, Gimeno and the TSO gave us Ravel’s ever-popular and overplayed Bolero. It is a showcase for the various instruments of the orchestra, and the TSO musicians gave of their very best. And Gimeno did his best to make it fresh. In fact, for the first half of the piece, until the violins first use their bows, he didn’t conduct at all. He just stood there, observing as much as controlling the proceedings. Then he conducted only with his hands. Toward the end he finally picked up the baton for the big build-up. In a way, Gimeno, like the various soloists in Bolero, was waiting his turn to do his stuff. An interesting idea. As is often the case in performances of Bolero, there were two snare-drummers. One started things off, almost inaudibly, then much later as things got louder, a second drummer joined in from the other side of the orchestra.
As I have said, I had reservations about the Coll, and about the inclusion of Dutilleux’s Symphony No. 1 in a Visions of Spain program. But I left the hall with a smile on my face and my partner did too. Lots of joyous music-making on a splendid sunny afternoon in Toronto. And while I had seen Gustavo Gimeno several times before in videos this was the first time I had seen him on the podium with the TSO. As a conductor he is very well-prepared, his gestures are elegant and expressive, and, as the TSO musicians must really appreciate, he beats time with clarity and precision. No doubt about his rhythmic sense either: he is both a gifted drummer and conductor.
VISIONS OF SPAIN. Toronto Symphony Orchestra & Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra/Gustavo Gimeno. Juan Manuel Cañizares, guitar. Music by Coll, Dutilleux, Falla, Rodrigo and Ravel. Sunday, April 2, 2023, Roy Thomson Hall, Toronto.
