TUESDAY
- Pianist Lucille Chung at the Richmond Hill Centre for the Performing Arts, 8 p.m.
Lucille Chung, who originally hails from Montreal, is a very fine pianist who hasn’t played here in a long time. It’s been 10 years since she blew me away at a live recital, and I’d love to hear what she’s up to artistically these days. But how can I be tempted to travel all the way up to Richmond Hill’s new arts centre if I don’t know what she is going to perform? If you’re feeling adventurous, you may be rewarded with an evening of fine music in a relatively intimate setting. Details (or lack thereof) here.
UPDATE: Chung’s agent, Andrew Kwan, has provided details of the programme, which looks fantastic:
Mozart – Sonata in Bb Major K. 570
Scriabin – Five Selected Preludes
Liszt – Hungarian Rhapsody No. 13 in A Minor
Schumann – Fantasiestücke Op. 12
Liszt – Concert Paraphrase on Verdi’s Rigoletto
WEDNESDAY & THURSDAY
- Conclusion to Toronto Symphony Orchestra’s Mozart@257 festival, 8 p.m.
The Toronto Symphony has phenomenal principals in viola Teng Li and concertmaster Jonathan Crow, who can show off their greatness in the Sinfonia concertante K320d/K364. The orchestra’s excellent woodwinds can demonstrate their poise and balance in a Serenade, K384a, and the whole ensemble will get music director Peter Oundjian’s clear-headed leadership in Symphony No. 40, K550. This should be Mozart at his best. Details here.
THURSDAY
- Pianist Mehdi Ghazi at the Richnard Bradshaw Amphitheatre, noon. Free.
This young Algerian, who has made Montreal his new home, has been impressing many people with his sensitive, expressive playing. He presents a classic recital in miniature for the Canadian Opera Company’s free lunchtime recital series. It begins with Bach (with a bit of help from Ferrucio Busoni), includes a Beethoven sonata (“Quasi una fantasia”) and György Ligeti’s “Arc-en-ciel” Etude and concludes with two great pieces by Franz Liszt. Details here.
THURSDAY TO SUNDAY
- Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra with R.H. Thomson at Trinity-St Paul’s Centre, 8 p.m. (3:30 p.m. on Sunday) — repeats Jan. 22 at George weston Recital Hall.
Actor R.H. Thomson loves classical music and is a longtime fan of Tafelmusik. He has blended his passions as well as his vocation into a themed programme of words and music. He becomes Mr Richard Neale, retired oboist of the Orchestra of Her Majesty’s Theatre, Haymarket, a perch from which he — and we — can survey the state of concert music in 1740s London. You can read extensive programme notes and background information — as well as check out ticket availability — here.
SATURDAY
- Pianist Lara Downes at Gallery 345, 8 p.m.
Last year, Californian Lara Downes wowed us with 13 Ways of Looking at the Goldberg. Now she’s returning with a pile of music united by a theme of exile. I’ll have more on this great-looking programme later in the week. In the meantime, check out the details here.
- Ensemble SurPlus performs for New Music Concerts at the Music Gallery, 8 p.m. (Introductory talk at 7:15 p.m.)
Fans of heavy-duty new music can check out the current state of central European affairs with this dynamic, now well-travelled Freiburg-based ensemble that has been devoted to non-mainstream repertoire for just over 20 years. If clear melodies bore you and rhythmic clarity leaves you feeling wan, check out the details here.
SUNDAY
- The Opera Student Composer Collective of University of Toronto Faculty of Music presents Antigone at the MacMillan Theatre, 2:30 p.m. Free.
Nothing will beat the fuss and amusement U of T’s student composers caused last year with Rob Ford, the Opera. So rather than try for a comic repeat, this year’s new student opera reaches back to the roots of serious Western theatre, in Sophocles’ Antigone. Resident grown-up director Michael Patrick Albano has written the libretto, which has been set to music by four student composers and will be sung by six opera students. Erik Thor, a fledgling master at doing a lot with very little, has staged it. Sandra Horst will keep everything together from the conductor’s podium. Details here.
John Terauds