Bartók: The Miraculous Mandarin. Concerto for Orchestra Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Toronto Mendelssohn Choir & Gustavo Gimeno

• Béla Bartók (1881 - 1945): The Miraculous Mandarin, Op. 19, Sz. 73:
• 1 Bartók: The Miraculous Mandarin, Op. 19, Sz. 73: I. Beginning. Curtain rises 03:03
• 2 Bartók: The Miraculous Mandarin, Op. 19, Sz. 73: II. First seduction game 03:37
• 3 Bartók: The Miraculous Mandarin, Op. 19, Sz. 73: III. Second seduction game 03:08
• 4 Bartók: The Miraculous Mandarin, Op. 19, Sz. 73: IV. Third seduction game. The Mandarin enters 04:11
• 5 Bartók: The Miraculous Mandarin, Op. 19, Sz. 73: V. Dance of the girl 04:51
• 6 Bartók: The Miraculous Mandarin, Op. 19, Sz. 73: VI. The chase. The tramps leap out 04:27
• 7 Bartók: The Miraculous Mandarin, Op. 19, Sz. 73: VII. Suddenly the Mandarin's head appears 07:17
• 8 Bartók: The Miraculous Mandarin, Op. 19, Sz. 73: VIII. The Mandarin falls to the floor 02:15
• Emilie Cecilia LeBel (b. 1983): the sediments (Original Concert Version):
• 9 LeBel: the sediments (Original Concert Version) 15:37
• Béla Bartók: Concerto for Orchestra, BB 123, Sz. 116:
• 10 Bartók: Concerto for Orchestra, BB 123, Sz. 116: I. Introduzione 10:18
• 11 Bartók: Concerto for Orchestra, BB 123, Sz. 116: II. Giuoco delle coppie 06:22
• 12 Bartók: Concerto for Orchestra, BB 123, Sz. 116: III. Elegia 07:09
• 13 Bartók: Concerto for Orchestra, BB 123, Sz. 116: IV. Intermezzo interrotto 04:20
• 14 Bartók: Concerto for Orchestra, BB 123, Sz. 116: V. Finale 09:46
• Total Runtime 01:26:21

Info zu Bartók: The Miraculous Mandarin. Concerto for Orchestra

Gustavo Gimeno und das Toronto Symphony Orchestra erklimmen die Gipfel zweier musikalischer Meisterwerke Bartóks: sein schillerndes Konzert für Orchester und sein berühmt-berüchtigtes Stück Der wunderbare Mandarin, das hier in seiner vollständigen Fassung präsentiert wird. Als Pendant dazu ist das vom Orchester in Auftrag gegebene Werk der kanadischen Komponistin Emilie Cecilia LeBel eine faszinierende Meditation über die Natur, ihre Schichten und das kollektive Gedächtnis, das sie in sich birgt.

Toronto Mendelssohn Choir
Toronto Symphony Orchestra
Gustavo Gimeno, Dirigent

Toronto Mendelssohn Choir
(TMChoir) is proud to be one of Canada’s oldest, largest, and best-known choral organizations. The choir presented its first concert on January 15, 1895, as part of Massey Hall’s inaugural season, and has been a leader in choral music in Canada ever since, commissioning works by Canadian composers, and presenting world and Canadian premieres. The choir also regularly performs and records with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. In May 2021, Jean-Sébastien Vallée was named as Artistic Director, only the eighth conductor in TMChoir’s 130-year history.

Through its performances, educational programs, and community engagement, TMChoir aspires to introduce its audiences to choral masterworks from the past and present—and make both renowned and lesser-known pieces available, accessible, and inspirational to all.

TMChoir includes a core of professional singers and more than 160 auditioned and experienced volunteer choristers. The smaller professional ensemble, the Toronto Mendelssohn Singers (TMSingers), was created to deliver more intimate repertoire in a variety of nontraditional venues. This past 130th anniversary season included a commercial recording Remember: 130 Years of Canadian Choral Music, by ATMA Classique, and a recording with Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra and Orchestre symphonique de Québec celebrating the late composer Jacques Hétu.

Toronto Symphony Orchestra
For more than a century, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra (TSO) has played a fundamental role in shaping and celebrating Canadian culture.

The TSO’s commitment to musical excellence and ability to spark connection remain as strong as ever. With a storied history of acclaimed concerts and recordings, Canadian and international tours, and impactful community partnerships, we are dedicated to engaging and enriching local and national communities through vibrant musical experiences. Music Director Gustavo Gimeno brings an expansive artistic vision, intellectual curiosity, and sense of adventure to programming the 93-musician orchestra that serves Toronto—one of the world’s most diverse cities. As a group of artists, teachers, and advocates who share the belief that music has the power to heal, inspire, and connect people from all walks of life, we engage audiences young and old through an array of community-access, health-and-wellness, and education initiatives including the TSO-affiliated Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra—a tuition-free training program dedicated to cultivating the next generation of Canadian artists.

Gustavo Gimeno
Gustavo’s tenure as the tenth Music Director of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra began in 2020/21.

Since his appointment, he has reinvigorated the artistic profile of the orchestra, engaged with musicians and audiences alike, and brought performances of familiar works as well as some of today’s freshest sounds. Further, he has overseen renewed community engagement and sown the seeds for an ambitious program of commissioning new works from emerging and established composers.

During the 2025/26 season, Gimeno and the TSO explore major symphonic works—including Beethoven’s Symphonies Nos. 6, 8, and 9, Prokofiev’s Symphonies Nos. 3 and 5, Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 4, and Mahler’s Symphony No. 9—as well as vital compositions from contemporary creators. Gimeno shares the stage with, among other soloists, Lang Lang, María Dueñas, Pablo Ferrández, Abel Selaocoe, and Anoushka Shankar. Highlighting their international presence, Gimeno and the orchestra embark on a six-country European tour, performing with soloists Bruce Liu, Patricia Kopatchinskaja, Anna Prohaska, and Christina Landshamer.

February 2024 saw the release of the first commercial recording Gimeno and the TSO made together, in May 2023, memorializing Messiaen’s Turangalîla-Symphonie as part of a new multi-disc partnership with Harmonia Mundi. It received the 2025 JUNO Award for Classical Album of the Year (Large Ensemble). Subsequent recordings with Harmonia Mundi have included Stravinsky’s Pulcinella and Bartók’s The Miraculous Mandarin. This builds on Gimeno’s relationship with the label, for which he recorded Rossini’s Stabat Mater, Puccini’s Messa di Gloria, and Stravinsky’s ballets The Firebird and Apollon musagète with Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg (OPL).

Gimeno served as Music Director of OPL for a decade, beginning in the 2015/16 season. The 2025/26 season marks his inaugural year as Music Director of Madrid’s Teatro Real. As an opera conductor, he has appeared at renowned houses such as the Liceu Opera Barcelona, Opernhaus Zürich, and Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia, Valencia. He is also much sought-after as a symphonic guest conductor worldwide: In 2025/26, he débuts with the New York Philharmonic and returns to the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and recent highlights include appearances with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, and Berliner Philharmoniker.

In March 2025, Gimeno was appointed a Commander of the Order of Civil Merit by His Majesty King Felipe VI of Spain. Additionally, following Gimeno’s tenure with OPL, His Royal Highness the Grand Duke of Luxembourg appointed him an Officer of the Order of Civil and Military Merit of Adolph of Nassau.

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