Tonight the Toronto Symphony continue their winning streak, another wonderful program of diverse musical compositions, played brilliantly.

A key contributor to our enjoyment was guest conductor Kristiina Poska.

We heard three pieces tonight after the obligatory Oh Canada performance. Speaking of displays of patriotism, our Estonian conductor started us off with a minimalist work from her countryman Arvo Pärt, Cantus in Memoriam Benjamin Britten, a short piece clearly articulated.

The big work in the first part of the concert was composed and performed by pianist Stewart Goodyear. It’s a Carnival-inspired suite for piano and orchestra, named Callaloo in honour of his Trinidadian roots, accompanied by a big brash orchestral sound from the TSO. In his program notes Stewart alludes to Rhapsody in Blue, comparing the orchestration. I think it’s a worthwhile allusion, considering that just as Gershwin’s work combines pianistic virtuosity with a jazzy sound that fearlessly defies the stuffy barriers to popular music being heard in the cold halls of classical music, so too for Stewart’s composition, every bit as exciting.

Instead of jazz we’re in the presence of something Caribbean and also something very personal for the composer – pianist.

I am a huge admirer of Stewart, indeed when I met him awhile back I was completely star-struck, in awe of his remarkable talent, as he keeps ascending to greater heights. I first encountered him as the interpreter of Beethoven piano sonatas, daring to play all 32 in one spectacular day. He recorded them, and Beethoven’s concerti, and much more besides. Indeed his insight into Beethoven had me thinking he probably could make a great account of the Eroica himself, either in a piano transcription or conducting the TSO. Perhaps we’ll find out someday. But let me repeat, Stewart is a remarkable artist .

Then I discovered that the pianist is also a composer. In 2019 Sewart played the premiere of Ur, a work of dazzling virtuosity. I remember wondering whether this kind of composition would be picked up by other artists. And I noticed that another pianist has recorded Stewart’s intricate Introduction & Rondo Capriccioso, although this pianist doesn’t play it as quickly or with as much energy as the version by Stewart on YouTube. Tonight Stewart played the piece in the Roy Thomson Hall lobby (I didn’t arrive in time to hear it, but saw it listed in the program). I’m sharing this video to show that on top of his brilliance as an interpreter at the piano, Stewart appears to be making an impact as a composer.

And it’s exciting even before we come to the piece we heard Stewart play tonight with the TSO, conducted by Kristiina Poska. Stewart explains in his program note about the cultural subtexts for the piece, a celebration of Caribbean culture in five movements. And like the Gershwin Rhapsody in Blue, we’re hearing challenging piano music incorporated into a dense orchestral texture of rhythms & bright timbres.

I wish I had a better sense of how difficult the music is, as Stewart plays so brilliantly it’s hard to tell. But we’re in a realm of syncopation rhythms, calypso allusions sometimes dazzling in intensity & speed, sometimes slower and more thoughtful. Here’s a sample.

If he did nothing but play Beethoven or Rachmaninoff, or write his analyses in the program he’d be a force to be reckoned with. I’m looking forward to hearing more of Stewart’s compositions in the years ahead. He is an important Canadian artist.

After intermission we came to a brisk reading of Beethoven’s 3rd symphony, conducted by Kristiina. When I googled her, (an artist I have never heard before), I saw that she is currently the chief conductor of the Flanders Symphony, and is recording a cycle of the Beethoven symphonies with them, having already released a recording including this very symphony.

It’s always exciting to encounter a conductor with clear ideas about a piece, especially one that is as well known as Beethoven’s Eroica. Based on what we heard I believe Kristiina is a talent to be reckoned with. When I say “brisk” I mean quite literally the fastest reading of all four movements that I have ever encountered: and accomplished with precision, including the repeats and with great clarity of the inner voices.

I think perhaps Kristiina has been influenced by the movement of historically informed performance, given that her reading is as fast as theirs but employing the modern instruments of the TSO. I was mindful of the version I listened to most as a teen, conducted by Herbert von Karajan leading the Berlin Philharmonic, that seems so slow in comparison. With some interpreters the “Eroica” and its associations with Napoleon and heroism encourages macho bombast, loudness that is bravado and empty rhetoric. How ironic that a woman conductor shows us what real heroism can sound like. The TSO was never harsh sounding even when loud, but many of the passages I’ve known as loud were more delicate in Kristiina’s interpretation, so that the climactic section of the development –leading to the loud dissonances– seemed especially powerful. At other times the quick triple time of the opening movement was confident and effortless, dancing rather than stomping, the blitzkrieg completely absent, and shown to be unnecessary. Thank goodness. Kristiina was able to inspire the orchestra to play for her, not just quickly but cleanly. I love the sense that she knew exactly what she wanted and was able to get the TSO to do it.

The funeral march of the second movement also was faster than usual, but still with sufficient gravitas to be meaningful, particularly in the last part of the movement. The scherzo was delightfully energized, the trio featuring the most impressive playing from the horns. And as we continued the quick tempo in the final movement, the logic of this approach is confirmed in the final bars, when the seemingly endless passage Beethoven writes to finish the symphony finally works: when done at this speed. It was truly fabulous and well received.

The TSO, Stewart, Kristiina, Arvo, and Ludwig will be back with the same program Friday and Saturday night.