This morning, I was surprised to see nearly 100 seats still unsold for tonight’s recital by baritone Philippe Sly and pianist Julius Drake at Walter Hall. This is, after all, one of the most promising young singers to have emerged from one of our educational institutions so far this decade.
- Classical Music 101: What Does A Conductor Do? - June 17, 2019
- Classical Music 101 | What Does Period Instrument Mean? - May 6, 2019
- CLASSICAL MUSIC 101 | What Does It Mean To Be In Tune? - April 23, 2019
Sly is barely out of university (he graduated from McGill) and has flitted through several young-artist programmes, including the Canadian Opera Company’s Ensemble Studio, and a win at the Montreal International Voice Competition just last year, straight into the mighty arms of CAMI, the big artist management firm, in New York City.
His voice is remarkable and his artistry is developing nicely. But he is only in his mid-20s, so his most interesting work still lies ahead.
Tonight offers a great opportunity to see and hear exactly how much is there. Art song leaves the performer with nowhere to hide, no crutch to lean on, and I for one am very curious to see how Sly does in a programme mixing German and French song.
Drake is one of the great accompanists of our time — and will spend the afternoon coaching the festival’s fellows in the art of pianistic collaboration, also at Walter Hall.
The masterclass begins at 2:30 p.m. — details here.
The recital is at 7:30 p.m. — details here.
If you want to make a full day of it, Rick Phillips is presenting a lecture on the Ravel and Debussy string quartets at 1:30 p.m. in the Geiger-Torel Room, just down the corridor from Walter Hall, at University of Toronto’s Edward Johnson Building.
John Terauds
- Classical Music 101: What Does A Conductor Do? - June 17, 2019
- Classical Music 101 | What Does Period Instrument Mean? - May 6, 2019
- CLASSICAL MUSIC 101 | What Does It Mean To Be In Tune? - April 23, 2019
