“With the right conductor, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra is as good as the world’s best orchestras. They handed an enraptured audience the proof at Roy Thomson Hall on Wednesday night with the help of guest French conductor Stéphane Denève.”
(…) “Denève managed to saturate the already colourful and theatrical music with even more colour and imbue it with a master storyteller’s sense of spontaneity.” (…)
“Then came the pièce de résistance, Hector Berlioz’s 1830 masterpiece, the Symphonie Fantastique, which lived up to its title.” (…)
“The biggest revelation of all was how Denève managed to make the work sound fresh and in the moment. Throughout, he emphasized much detail in an overwrought score without ever losing momentum or musical meaning.”
“It’s hard to imagine hearing this piece, or any of the others on this program, played any better. It would be a shame to waste the opportunity.”