In the city, Toronto Summer Music wraps up with a full Friday that includes an open 4 p.m. rehearsal, a rich, all-star chamber music concert at 7:30 p.m. and a Saturday featuring two Mentors and Fellows concerts at Walter Hall. Details here.

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John Terauds

John Terauds, Editor-Emeritus of Ludwig van Toronto, is currently a Divinity student at the University of Toronto and a church music director. He joined the Toronto Star in 1988, was the classical music critic from 2005 to 2012, and continues as a freelance critic for the paper. He is the co-author of Roy Thomson Hall: A Portrait, a book written with Toronto Star Colleague, William Littler.

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• Classical Music 101: What Does A Conductor Do? - June 17, 2019
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Out-of-town festival organizers have decided that a long weekend is no time for art music. There are many fine choices of light fare, but Niagara-on-the-Lake is the only option for anyone looking for something classically serious:

MUSIC NIAGARA

Friday: Hot young Quebec cellist Stéphane Tetrault brings Haydn, Tchaikovsky and Brahms to the lovely acoustics of St Mark’s Anglican Church at an early 4:30 p.m.

Monday: With Toronto Symphony Orchestra concertmaster Jonathan Crow’s Toronto Summer Music duties out of the way, he can join his New Orford String Quartet colleagues for a St Mark’s Church recital of French delicacies featuring quartets by Claude Debussy, Maurice Ravel and the late Jacques Hétu at 4:30 p.m.

Here, courtesy of CBC Music, are the New Orfords in the opening movement of Beethoven’s (Op. 59 No. 1) String Quartet No. 7:

Music Niagara runs to Aug. 11. You’ll find all the details here.

ELORA FESTIVAL

Saturday: I’ve been mystified by the festival’s website this year, which has failed to identify soloists for some of its big concerts — like the 7:30 p.m. Gambrel Barn presentation of music from Gilbert and Sullivan’s oh-so-politically-incorrect-in-2013 Mikado. Will there be an orchestra or two pianos on stage? Who might the conductor be? Your guess is as good as mine.

Could it be that some summer music festival audiences don’t care who the performers are, as long as they recognize the names of the works they are going to see or hear?

The Elora Festival continues to Aug. 4. You’ll find all the details here.

John Terauds

• Author
• Recent Posts

John Terauds

John Terauds, Editor-Emeritus of Ludwig van Toronto, is currently a Divinity student at the University of Toronto and a church music director. He joined the Toronto Star in 1988, was the classical music critic from 2005 to 2012, and continues as a freelance critic for the paper. He is the co-author of Roy Thomson Hall: A Portrait, a book written with Toronto Star Colleague, William Littler.

Latest posts by John Terauds (see all)

• 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