“This year’s season opening concert of the Tallinn Chamber Orchestra marked the orchestra’s 20th anniversary. It was also Risto Joost’s first concert as the TCO’s principal conductor. Just a few days ago, the orchestra had been awarded the Estonian Music Council’s prize for interpretation. The atmosphere in the House of Blackheads was dignified and the audience gathered in the hall were expectant.”
“There is an air of mutual understanding and respect between Risto Joost and his orchestra, creating good grounds for subtle and refined performances. The fruits of their cooperation were immediately visible in how sensitively the orchestra reacted to Joost’s rubato and the changes in dynamics. Throughout the concert, the audience was repeatedly delighted with a beautifully silent piano, or with a forte that gave the impression of twice as many players on the stage. In addition to a clear dynamic plan, Joost’s conducting also displays narrativity: he infuses the piece with expressive dynamics and gives emphatic cues to both the sections and soloists, valuing players as characters whose entries and exits form an important part of the story. The symbiosis of musical narrative and delicate dynamics is what makes the music so enchanting and allows it to captivate the audience. And this is exactly what it did.”