Lang Lang performs Beethoven at Toronto Symphony Orchestra gala

Toronto Symphony Orchestra’s gala struck all the right notes at Roy Thomson Hall on Sept. 24. It’s no surprise that music ruled the evening: a woodwind trio at the reception and Mozart over canapés by a Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra quartet. Later, 29 TSO musicians made their way through the dinner crowd with a fiery “Carmen” interlude. The centrepiece was pianist Lang Lang’s performance of Beethoven’s “Emperor Concerto,” under the baton of music director Gustavo Gimeno. With committee chairs Tony Gagliano and Deborah Lau-Yu at the helm, the event underscored the TSO’s century-long investment in the city’s young people.