The latest CD from the Toronto Symphony and Gustavo Gimeno features two works by Stravinsky and a Glenn Gould inspired piece by Kelly-Marie Murphy.  The first piece is the 24 minute long suite from the ballet Le baiser de la fée which is a sort of pastiche of what Tchaikovsky might sound like if Tchaikovsky could orchestrate as well as Stravinsky!  It’s well played but I don’t find it terribly exciting.

Murphy’s piece is another story.  There’s a running joke about short pieces by contemporary composers at the TSO.  They get called “garage pieces” because they get played at the beginning of concerts when half the patrons are still on their way up from parking.  Murphy’s Curiosity, Genius and the Search for Petula Clark absolutely does not deserve the label.  It was inspired by a road trip Glenn Gould took up north one time and it’s fascinating.  There’s a restless energy to it and a kind of flirting with atonality coupled with lyricism and a lot of percussion.  It’s kind of like a feral love child of Holst’s Mars; Bringer of War and a Shostakovich symphony crammed into ten minutes.

The most substantial piece on the disk is the full version of the ballet score Pulcinella with three vocal soloists.  Interestingly the last thing Stravinsky conducted in public was the orchestral suite from this work with the TSO in 1967.  Pulcinella is also a sort of pastiche; this time of a Pergolesi pastoral.  It’s got a young woman, a shepherd and a bass who makes trouble (but doesn’t drop rocks on anyone).  It’s definitely imbued with the spirit of the 18th century but it’s probably more virtuosic than any 18th century band could have managed and there’s interesting layering of textures.  It also calls for some very fine woodwind playing and playful brass, both of which are very well executed here.

The three soloists make an excellent trio.  Isabel Leonard is very musical and injects some really nice dark mezzo colours.  Paul Appleby shows lots of agility and lovely bright tenor tone and Derek Welton is properly sepulchral.  They sound especially good in the really beautiful trio “Sento dire no’ncè”.

The recording was made in Roy Thomson Hall in 2024 and it has a clarity and transparency I’ve never experienced live there!  It’s being released as a physical CD and digitally in MP3 and ALAC/FLAC/WAV in 44.1kHz/16bit and 96kHz/24bit resolutions.  I listened to the physical CD (44.1kHz/16bit).  There’s a booklet with full texts and useful background material.  All in all it’s an enjoyable and generous 75 minutes of music.

Catalogue information: Harmonia Mundi HMM905384 (due for release 15th February 2025)