Toronto Symphony Orchestra music director Gustavo Gimeno leads a rehearsal at Roy Thomson Hall in 2023. Amateur conductor Mandle Cheung will lead a TSO performance at the same venue next Wednesday.Ammar Bowaihl/The Globe and Mail
Some musicians in the Toronto Symphony Orchestra are privately shocked that management has accepted money from an entrepreneur-turned-amateur conductor to lead them in a performance next week of Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 in C minor.
Mandle Cheung is the founder and chief executive officer of the Markham, Ont., contact-centre company Computer Talk Technology Inc. For about a decade, he has channelled his wealth into his passion: a second career in conducting, studying whenever possible and later establishing a namesake orchestra of freelance professionals.
The Mandle Philharmonic has performed works by composers including Beethoven and Ravel – as well as two other Mahler symphonies – at venues such as Koerner Hall, the Glenn Gould Studio and the Meridian Arts Centre.
But Mr. Cheung’s scheduled performance next Wednesday of Mahler’s second symphony with the TSO at Roy Thomson Hall carries higher stakes. Instead of leading his own musicians, he will conduct one of Canada’s pre-eminent orchestras.
Three of its members say there are deep concerns in the musicians’ ranks that a self-taught amateur conductor would not be able to tackle the intricacies of the complex symphony, risking the TSO’s reputation.
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“The musicians’ concerns are very legitimate – this is a very difficult piece of music,” Mr. Cheung said in an interview. “I have heard orchestras that have no idea what this music is about. I have heard orchestras that have done absolutely astounding performances of this work. They run the whole gamut.”
After what he said was months of rehearsals with freelancers, Mr. Cheung said he is “confident” in his ability to conduct Mahler’s second symphony. He described it as a rare treat for Torontonians, having not been performed by the TSO since 2019: “I think we should pack the hall.”
Mr. Cheung is paying the TSO for its services for the performance, which is outside of the orchestra’s regular season. Both he and TSO chief executive Mark Williams declined to disclose the value of the transaction.
When some musicians raised concerns about the paid performance, TSO chief executive Mark Williams said he called a meeting to discuss it with them.Russell Lee/Supplied
In an era of precarious arts funding, it is common for arts organizations to seek alternative income streams. Still, the situation sheds light on the extent to which wealthy individuals can spend their way into cultural opportunities that would not normally be available to others – even highly trained professionals.
The Globe and Mail is not naming the three sources because they could face professional retaliation. One described the frustration as broad within orchestra membership, though a second person added that the concerns appear to be primarily individual and have not resulted in co-ordinated protest, with a sense of acceptance having settled in.
“While Mandle has not formally studied conducting, this is someone who is using his personal resources to support musicians in our community, whether he’s doing that via hiring freelance musicians as part of the Mandle Philharmonic, or collaborating with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra,” Mr. Williams said in an interview.
He added that he had been to some of Mr. Cheung’s personal rehearsals with other musicians: “They’re very fine freelance musicians, and they’re sounding pretty good.”
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It is not unusual for the TSO or other orchestras to contract their services to outsiders to draw in extra revenue. Mr. Williams outlined several recent examples in an interview, including concerts with Andrea Bocelli and Devonté Hynes, and performances music from the Harry Potter and Pirates of the Caribbean films in conjunction with arts organization TO Live.
In each of these instances, however, the orchestra was led by a professionally trained conductor.
The Mandle-led TSO performance of Mahler’s second symphony – which will also include the Amadeus Choir of Greater Toronto, plus soloists – came after discussions with music director Gustavo Gimeno and others, including orchestra musicians and the TSO’s artistic advisory committee. When some musicians raised concerns about the performance, Mr. Williams said he called a meeting to discuss it with them directly.
“We believe that they can make this happen,” he said. “I and the board and the staff work to bolster the reputation of the organization, and we wouldn’t do this if we felt it would be damaging.”
David Kent, the TSO’s principal timpanist and orchestra personnel manager, said he joined Mr. Cheung’s own orchestra for a recent rehearsal and said it was “fine.” He said such a situation was bound to frustrate at least some of a nearly 100-member orchestra.
He acknowledged that Mr. Cheung would need to lean on musicians: “There are going to be moments where an orchestra has to be quite helpful.” And he praised Mr. Cheung’s generosity in funding musicians in conjunction with fulfilling his passion of conducting, including the latest, ambitious tier of conducting a major orchestra.
The New York Philharmonic similarly courted internal frustration with a well-moneyed amateur guest conductor in 2008, when it allowed financial publisher Gilbert Kaplan to conduct – coincidentally – Mahler’s second symphony.
Mr. Kaplan had dedicated much of his life that single work of music, conducting it around the world, recording it professionally and acquiring its manuscript.
In a blog post that year, Philharmonic trombonist David Finlayson described the performance as “rudderless” and “a simplistic reading,” calling the whole affair “a woefully sad farce.”
