TSO's The Orchestral Piano

Last night, Dad and I went to see the Toronto Symphony Orchestra Concert "The Orchestral Piano." I didn't know what to expect. I thought that we'd hear the orchestra and the piano together.

The musicians came out on stage and warmed up as usual but they all got up and left the stage. I wondered what was going on and then pianists Emanuel Ax and Stewart Goodyear took their places. They played Four Dances by Carl Maria von Weber. Then the orchestra came out and played  Hindesmith's Symphonic Metamorphosis and Themes of Carl Maria von Weber. They were very similar but Metamorphosis was composed years later for the orchestra.

We moved on to Brahms: Variations on a Theme by Joseph Haydn. He composed it on 2 pianos before he arranged it for orchestra. We got to hear both versions. Pianists Anagnoson and Kinton came out to play the piano version and then the orchestra came back out to play the orchestral version. It was the exact same piece and I liked both of them equally. I love piano and I love all of the instruments of the orchestra.

For Ravel's La Valse, we got to hear Emanuel Ax and Stewart Goodyear again. They played the piano version and the orchestra came out to play their version. The piano version of La Valse was crazy! I loved it! I really liked both versions but I loved the piano!

It was a very different concert! But, it was totally cool!

TSO's Carnival of the Animals

Last night I went to see TSO's Carnival of the Animals conducted by Peter Oundjian.

They played:
Mozart: Concerto for Two Pianos, K. 316a/365
Kevin Lau: Foothills of Heaven
Saint-Saens: The Carnival of the Animals

Pianists Jan Lisiecki and Emanuel Ax played Mozart's Concerto for Two Pianos. It was wonderful!

My favourite part of the evening was Saint-Saens' The Carnival of the Animals. They played Aquarium, the Pianists, the Swan, the Elephant, the Coockoo and lots more. But of those, I really loved The Tortoises!

Peter Oundjian told a joke about a tortoise.
He said:

"I once was friends with a tortoise. 

I never knew him well. 

It was so hard for me
to get him out of his shell.

We had an argument. 

We were friends no more. 

He decided to leave, 

but it took him one month 

to get to the door." 

Emanuel Ax pretended to fall asleep while they were playing "The Tortoises," and Joseph Johnson 'woke" him up by tapping him with his bow.

There were so many jokes and they fooled around but they are so talented that they can do that and still sound great!

The Carnival of the Animals is such a fun work and it has so many different moods.
It was cool seeing it in person instead of just listening to a recording.