Anne Francis

This week I attended the announcement of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra’s 2012-2013 season. After music director Peter Oundjian’s spirited presentation in the lobby of Roy Thomson Hall, we were invited into the auditorium for a rehearsal of Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 10, with Gunther Herbig conducting.

This is the first time I’ve been to this event (I’m a subscriber, but in the most minimal way possible, due to lack of funds), and I was curious to see not only what is coming, but how it’s communicated to folks like me. The TSO has a lot of exciting stuff lined up, including a performance of Leonard Bernstein’s West Side Story score accompanying a “live” screening of the digitally remastered movie, among other more esoteric fare…

What struck me, while Oundjian waxed rhapsodic about the coming season, was a) how skilfully a big-city orchestra must market itself, merely to survive, b) how creatively it must appeal both to its aging stalwart patrons and to a new generation of music-lovers, and c) how incredibly well the TSO does this, and how fortunate they are to have a guy like Peter Oundjian at the helm. He’s presentable, accomplished, genuine, comfortable in his skin, and infectiously enthusiastic about the whole enterprise.

And it was really nice of them to let us watch the rehearsal. (And fun to see the orchestra in civvies.) Really, I wouldn’t blame Gunther Herbig if he were mildly pissed off about having the public in the hall during his rehearsal. He didn’t say a word to us, despite Oundjian’s warm introduction, and since he was (obviously) facing the players and he was not miked, we couldn’t hear a word of his instructions to them (though there was much helpful pointing with bows to relevant bits of score by the string players to their colleagues, which makes me wonder if perhaps they had just as much trouble hearing him as we did). And given that the Shostakovich is not a particularly well-known piece, it was a bit like watching paint dry. I realize Herbig was not there to entertain us, that it was a rehearsal and that the orchestra was working. But I think the intent behind letting us in was that it be something like attending a master class, and with all these things conspiring against that, the effect was lost.

Oh well.

I’ll certainly be at that West Side Story screening (I’d go just for the music, but seeing the movie with the live score will be a swell treat). And no doubt the TSO’s very effective telemarketer will manage to sell me some other concerts when he calls, even if I can’t afford it. He always does.