Thanks For the Music, Peter: An Appreciation

This month marks the end of Peter Oundjian's tenure as Music Director of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra.  It's been a 14-year period of steady growth and development for both the orchestra and its leader.  I have no hesitation in saying that Oundjian is leaving the orchestra in better shape than any of the five other music directors who have led the TSO during my concert-going career.

The most striking development by far has been the notable improvement in the orchestra's string sections.  The strings always had a good firm sound above the mezzopiano level, but the lower dynamic levels have now become much clearer and cleaner  as well, while keeping a silky sheen on the sound.  Articulation and phrasing now stand comparison with the finest.  It's not surprising that Oundjian, himself a violinist, should have paid so much attention to the string personnel and the results have been all gain.

Other great strengths have emerged.  The horn section now sounds finer than they ever have in my recollection.  There's no more need for the hoary trumpet, trombone, and timpani jokes about never being able to play quietly -- they all do, and they do it very well indeed.  

One way to chart the progress and development that's occurred in Oundjian's leadership of the orchestra is through his multiple performances of Beethoven's majestic Ninth  Symphony, dotted at regular intervals through his tenure (there's a final one coming up next week).  Over the years, his reading has grown from a somewhat tentative, workmanlike performance into a complete vision of the symphony, clearly individual in approach but not to the point of becoming merely idiosyncratic.  

This brings up another key point.  All my life, I have had a strong fondness for the great choral masterpieces with orchestra.  Not since Sir Andrew Davis has the Toronto Symphony had a music director who possessed such skill and finesse in leading large choral forces along with the orchestra.  In this connection I think of such beauties as the Sea Symphony of Vaughan Williams, The Dream of Gerontius by Elgar, the German Requiem of Brahms, and a rousing Carmina Burana -- as well as the Beethoven.  Above all of them stood Oundjian's towering interpretations of the Mahler Second and Eighth Symphonies, by far the most successful live performances of those works which I have heard.

More central in importance is the orchestra's repertoire when playing on its own, and here there has been a quantum improvement in the representation of contemporary music.  Such events as the annual New Creations Festival and the orchestra's Canada Mosaic project for Canada 150 have opened doors for a wide spectrum of Canadian composers, as well as introducing Canadian musicians and audiences to music from composers in other countries.

There's also been a greater diversity in the repertoire from earlier centuries.  While there's been no shortage of the central composers like Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms, and Mahler, music by such less-heard composers as Bruckner, Shostakovich, and Vaughan Williams has been better represented than in most of my lifetime -- good thing, too, as I love all of them, and Vaughan Williams most of all.

Among Peter's orchestral performances, there were many that stand out in my memory. I've heard the orchestra play Rachmaninoff's Symphonic Dances three times under Oundjian's direction, and his reading remains the most hair-raising version of the work I have ever heard. We heard a magisterial Brahms Concerto # 1 and a haunting Lied von der Erde of Mahler. The strings gave a heart-tugging reading of the Tallis Fantasia by Vaughan Williams. The sweeping panorama of the Mahler Third was engrossing, right across its 1-hour-45-minute span. The rare original version of Bruckner's monumental Eighth was a must-hear highlight for me this year.

Nor was this tenure simply marked by fine performances. Oundjian has also displayed a real flair for innovative and unusual programming. As an example, consider the multi-year Decades Project, in which music composed in a single decade of the twentieth century was assembled into concert programmes that highlighted the great diversity of musical styles being used -- one example being a 1900-1910 programme which brought together Webern, Elgar, and Stravinsky. And then there was the sea-themed programme from the same decade which combined Debussy's La Mer with the Sea Symphony of Vaughan Williams.

More than any other conductor in my lifetime, Peter Oundjian has raised the Toronto Symphony Orchestra's international profile, through touring and recordings.  Audiences in other centres and on other continents have been greatly impressed, and rightly so, by the orchestra's proficiency in challenging repertoire off the beaten track, with such works as Shostakovich's Eleventh and the Symphonic Dances leading the charge.

As for recordings, the orchestra produced a notable series of live concert recordings on the orchestra's own label, some of which won plaudits far from home.  Recordings of the Vaughan Williams Fourth and Fifth symphonies received high praise in the pages of the renowned English journal, Gramophone.  Personal favourites of mine in this series were the Shostakovich Seventh and Eleventh, and the pairing of Symphonic Dances with The Rite of Spring. There then followed a recent series of three recordings for one of the world's finest record labels, Chandos Records.  The last of these, just released, featured the rarely-performed Vaughan Williams Piano Concerto, alongside more of that master's most beguiling music.

In some ways, I think that Peter Oundjian's most important legacy is the success of his initiatives to put younger bums on seats in Roy Thomson Hall.  Among the major arts organizations in Toronto, the TSO has led the way in the drive to engage and involve younger audiences rather than depending overmuch on the established old-timers such as myself.  The profusion of twenty- and thirty-somethings you now see in the audience at every concert augurs well for the orchestra's long-term health and prosperity.

In spite of all the diverse repertoire, tours, recordings, and programming initiatives, I'll always think of Peter Oundjian in the context of his stage announcements. It's become common practice for him to step to the front of the stage before the concert, and give a quick talk about what's coming up. These talks are always delivered with a humorous flair, as for instance when he was introducing Webern's Five Pieces and said that he had to make sure the talk wasn't longer than the work! I particularly value his sense of deep emotional commitment to the music he presents, which is clearly audible in these pre-concert chats. Traditionalists will grumble, but Oundjian's little talks add a layer of personality to the concert experience which is both valuable and enjoyable in its own right. In effect, he makes it easy for the audience to think of him as both an artist and a friend.

As with his predecessor from the 1970s and 1980s, Sir Andrew Davis, I will definitely look forward to Peter Oundjian returning as a guest conductor for many more rewarding musical experiences during the years to come.

Thanks for the music, Peter.