Conductor Rafael Fruhbeck de Burgos (Photo courtesy of Columbia Artists Management)

Review: Spanish Maestro Rafael Fruhbeck de Burgos returns to Toronto

Joseph K. So

We are in an era of the "youth movement" in conducting, witness the ascent of wunderkinder the likes of Gustavo Dudamel, Yannick Nezet-Seguin and Philippe Jordan, just to name a few. Yet, conductors are like fine wine - they get better with age, or if they are great to begin with, the best ones have staying power. This is certainly true with Spaniard Rafael Fruhbeck de Burgos. Born in Burgos, Spain in 1933 and trained in Spain and Germany, de Burgos at 76 is an elder statesman among conductors, having led many of the great orchestras of the world, including a stint as the chief conductor of the Montreal Symphony in the pre-Charles Dutoit era. Colourful and flamboyant are oft-used adjectives to describe the conducting style of de Burgos - it seems that he is incapable of making ugly sounds. Among conductors, his fluid and graceful movements make him a joy to watch. Despite the aforementioned youth movement, de Burgos is still around and going strong, his energy and charisma in full display this evening, the first of his two performances with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra.

The first half of the evening’s program consisted of two Spanish pieces – Joaquin Turina’s La Oracion del torero, Op. 34, and the famous Concierto de Aranjuez by Rodrigo. Originally composed in 1925 for string quartet, it was later adapted for string orchestra and is one of Turina's most popular pieces. de Burgos gave a masterful reading of the score, bringing out the lush, Debussy-like lyricism of the work. This was followed by arguably the most popular piece of the evening - Concierto de Aranjuez. The appearance of Pepe Romero elicited quite a stir from the large audience. Pepe Romero is of course a member of the legendary Romero family that dominated classical guitar for generations. I recall my undergrad days attending many Angel Romero’s concerts on campus, hearing him play many pieces including the Concierto de Aranjuez. The magical second movement remains one of the most evocative in all of classical repertoire. There is no denying that the large Roy Thomson Hall isn’t an ideal venue for the guitar, an instrument that requires a more intimate space. The soloist was discreetly miked, and de Burgos held down the orchestra for him. A beloved figure, the audience was very supportive of Romero, although I feel that at 66, he has lost a bit of the fleetness in his fingers, more noticeable in the first movement, which came across as rather choppy and tentative. The long second movement with it exquisite lyricism went considerably better. With such wondrous music, it's hard to criticize! The audience clearly loved him and gave him a standing ovation.

The centerpiece of the evening was Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique, which took up all of the second half. This piece is considered by many to be the composer's signature work. It certainly is a staple in the standard repertoire. The composer revised it several times between 1830 and 1855. In the 1855 version, Berlioz was supposedly under the influence of opium, through which he saw visions which inspired the central themes of the work. This massive work with its five moments can be challenging for any conductor, but de Burgos held it together beautifully, bringing out fully the lyricism without sacrificing the intensity inherent in the score. He was rewarded with sustained ovations at the end. All in all, a most enjoyable evening of music-making.

This Week in Toronto (March 22 - 28)

Soprano Karina Gauvin (Photo: Michael Slobodian)

There are a number of very interesting concerts on offer this week. For one thing, English Canada's favourite Quebec singer, soprano Karina Gauvin is in town. She is appearing with the Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra in selections from Handel's Alcina. Gauvin has had a big success in this piece, so it is a great chance to hear her live singing these arias. It is part of a program called Enchantress - the character of Alcina is a sorceress afterall. In addition to Alcina, we also get to hear the Vivaldi Motet In furore justissimae irae. The dates are March 25, 27, and 28 at the Trinity St. Paul's Centre, and March 30 at the George Weston Hall. It is good to have Tafelmusik still playing at this woefully underused North York venue. I remember so fondly the wonderful music I heard there throughout the 1990's. For concert times and tickets, go to http://www.tafelmusik.org/index.php

The Royal Conservatory of Music's production of Massenet's Cendrillon continues this week, with performances on Tuesday March 23 at the very odd time of 11:00 am at Koerner Hall. The last of four performances is on Thursday, March 25 at 7:30 pm. It features students from the Glenn Gould School program.

Another high profile visitor to TO this week is welcome return of conductor Rafael Fruhbeck de Burgos, the music director of the Dresden Philharmonic. He conducts Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, together with Spanish music - a piece by Turina and the perennial audience favourite Concierto di Aranjuez by Rodriqo, with Pepe Romero as the guitar soloist. Pepe Romero is of course part of the legendary Romero Family of great guitar players. Throughout my undergraduate days, I went to all the concerts of Angel Romero whenever I could. If you like the guitar, this is not to be missed - two performances on March 24 and 25 at 8 pm at Roy Thomson Hall. On Saturday March 27, at 1:30 and 3:30 pm, the TSO presents Spanish Fire! a program for young audiences of Spanish music at popular prices, featuring Pepe Romeo and the Esmeralda Enrique Spanish Dance Company.

On March 23 8 pm at the St. Lawrence Centre, Music Toronto presents pianist Stephane Lamelin in a program of Schubert Sonatas. The innovative Tapestry New Opera Works under music director Wayne Strongman - who incidentally was recently award the Order of Canada - is presenting Opera To Go, a revival of five short operas it had previously presented. It takes place at the fermenting Cellar, 55 Mills Street in the Distillery District of downtown Toronto. Performances on March 24, 25, and 26 at 8 pm. On Sunday March 28 at 2:30 pm, Opera in Concert presents Bellini's I Puritani at the Jane Mallet Theatre of the St. Lawrence Centre. This is a concert performance and with piano, but it seems unlikely this opera will be staged by our opera companies in town, so this is a good opportunity to hear it live.

Finally, a company previously unfamiliar to me, Wish Opera, is presenting an opera concert on March 25 and 27 8 pm at the Sandra Faire and Ivan Fecan Theatre of York University. Soloists are tenor Ermanno Mauro, soprano Sinead Sugrue, baritone James Westman, with orchestra conducted by Sabatino Vacca. Globe and Mail's Deirdre Kelly is the emcee. Wish Opera's very intriguing mission is to "create a modern vision of opera by fusing the existing beauty of operatic sound with contemporary fashion and design" - a most intriguing idea! For more information, go to http://www.wishopera.ca/