Photographs by Rick Clifford.
Celebrating the 40th year of the relationship between the master conductor, Sir Andrew Davis, and Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the two were first joined by Toronto Children’s Chorus, which Davis co- founded, to perform the debut premiere of a piece composed by Sir Andrew’s son, Ed Frazier Davis, titled “The Stolen Child”, in which the children’s choir sang a text by Yeats. The second part of the program was the performance of Edward Elgar’s four-movement Cello Concerto, in which the legendary Cellist, Yo-Yo Ma, joined the Toronto Symphony Orchestra to celebrate his 40th performance with the TSO, as well as to showcase quite possibly the best Cello performance that can be physically experienced. Creating a fine blend of dynamic, emotion, control, and technique, Mr. Ma shared the depth of his musical knowledge and understanding which has been built and expressed through 90+ recordings and 18 Grammy Awards, through out the decades of dynamic performances, recordings and collaborations, with the audience of the sold-out show at the stellar Roy Thomson Hall.
After two standing ovation at the end of the Concerto, Mr. Ma offered a complimentary piece, Edward Elgar’s “Salut d’amour”, to Sir Andrew Davis for the 40th year of his relationship with the TSO, in which he was joined by TSO principal cellist Joseph Johnson, cellist Winona Zelenka, and principal double bassist Jeffrey Beecher. Sir Andrew sat down on the conductor’s podium, facing the audience while accompanying the performance occasionally with his signature grace and humor. Couple more standing ovations at the end of the piece, was indeed a proper way to express the joy and appreciation for the music and the musicianship.
After the intermission, the TSO and Sir Andrew Davis were back on the stage for the last performance of the night, Gustav Holst’s The Planets: Mars, the Bringer of War Venus, the Bringer of Peace Mercury, the Winged Messenger Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity Saturn, the Bringer of Old Age Uranus, the Magician and Neptune, the Mystic, which ended with Toronto Children Chorus’s accompaniment from behind the half-opened stage door which was used as the mean to control the level of the choir who faded out by walking away as the door was being closed through the final notes of Uranus, marking a glorious memorable end to an excellent performance of The Planets. The show ended with yet another standing ovation.
