Musical Toronto’s weekly Critic’s Picks are a fully curated list of some of the best concerts happening now through the end of the week. Of course, this is not to say we are the provocateurs of taste, but simply seek to provide a good weekly summary. For a look at the full breadth of what’s available in and around Toronto, check out our concert listings in the Musical Toronto Datebook.
Tuesday 16
COC | Vocal Series: Doug MacNaughton at Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre. Noon. Free!
Few classical singers can match the eclecticism of baritone Doug MacNaughton, who is not only a fine singer of opera and oratorio but also a songwriter and guitarist of note. On Tuesday, Feb. 16 in a noon hour concert at the Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre, MacNaughton is presenting Light and Shadow, a program that includes John Rutter’s song cycle, Shadows, and the singer’s own arrangements of songs from the folk, jazz, and classical repertoires, including a new work by Canadian composer Dean Burry. Here is the full program (PDF). More details found here.
Wednesday 17
TSO | Baiba Skride: Brahms Violin Concerto at Roy Thomson Hall. 8:00 p.m. $43.75-148 (Repeats Feb. 18)
The headliners at the Toronto Symphony Orchestra concerts this week are Latvian violinist Baiba Skride and French conductor/Orchestre symphonique de Quebec Music Director Fabien Gabel. Skride is the soloist in the Brahms Violin Concerto. Also on the program is Cesar Franck’s Symphony in D Minor. The opener is Simon Bertrand’s Rideaux et Fanfares. Feb. 17 and 18, 8 pm at Roy Thomson Hall. More info found here.
COC | Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro at The Four Seasons Centre. 7:30 p.m.$40-345 (Repeats through Feb. 21; start times vary)
Meanwhile at the Four Seasons Centre, The Marriage of Figaro, the second production of the Canadian Opera Company’s winter season continues with performances on Feb. 17, 19, 21. Claus Guth’s take on the Mozart is idiosyncratic to be sure, but musically this production is impeccable, with a great cast featuring Josef Wagner, Russell Braun, Erin Wall, Jane Archibald and Emily Fons. Johannes Debus conducts. I intend to catch it one more time, on Feb. 22 for the special Ensemble Studio performance. Details here.
Thursday 18
MUSIC TORONTO | St. Lawrence String Quartet at Jane Mallett Theatre, St. Lawrence Centre. 8:00 p.m.$10-55
One of the premiere chamber groups in Canada, the St. Lawrence String Quartet is giving a recital at the Jane Mallett Theatre under the auspices of Music Toronto on Thursday, Feb. 18 8 p.m. The program features works by Schumann, Haydn and Samuel Adams. You’ll find all the details here.
Friday 19
THE CANADIAN ART SONG PROJECT | The Pilgrim Soul at the Enoch Turner Schoolhouse. 7:30 p.m.$45
Who says the classical song recital is dead or at best moribund? The Canadian Art Song Project was founded by tenor Lawrence Wiliford and pianist Steven Philcox a few years ago to preserve and promote existing Canadian art songs and to encourage the creation of new ones. On Feb. 19 7:30 p.m. at the Enoch Turner Schoolhouse (106 Trinity Street near Parliament and King in downtown Toronto), baritone Philip Addis and pianist Emily Hamper will perform works by Canadian composers Chester Duncan, Larysa Kuzmenko, Imant Raminsh, as well as Gustav Mahler and Dominick Argento. Event info found here.
Saturday 20
TSO | Pavel Kolesnikov: From Mozart to Rachmaninoff’ at Roy Thomson Hall. 7:30 p.m. $33.75-107 (Repeats Feb. 21, 3:00 p.m.)
The brilliant Honens Laureate, pianist Pavel Kolesnikov, is the soloist in Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, in a mixed program that also features works by Mozart, Berlioz, Debussy and Bizet. RBC Resident Conductor Earl Lee conducts the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, for two performances, Saturday, Feb. 20th and Sunday 21st at Roy Thomson Hall. Details here.
ALLISON ARENDS | Forget Your Winter Blues at Heliconian Club. 2:30 p.m.$15-20
Soprano Allison Arends is presenting Forget Your Winter Blues, an afternoon of selections from opera and musical theatre. She is joined by soprano Michelle Righetti, tenor Patrick Jang, and pianist Rachael Kerr. The concert is on Feb. 20 at 2:30 p.m. The venue is Heliconian Club, 35 Hazelton Ave. in Yorkville. See here for all the details.
Sunday 21
RCM | Dmitri Hvorostovsky at Koerner Hall. 7:00 p.m. $60-155
The big news for voice fans this week is the return of the great Russian baritone Dmitri Hvorostovsky to Toronto in recital on Sunday, Feb. 21st 7 p.m. at Koerner Hall. His public was stunned when it was announced last spring that Hvorostovsky was suffering from a brain tumour. The treatment turned out to be successful, and he returned to performing in the fall. He was in fine voice as Count di Luna at the Met in HD Il trovatore, although he did not sing the full slate of engagements originally contracted. Hvorostovsky has had a long history of performing in Toronto – the first time was back around 1992 at Roy Thomson Hall. He has since returned with regularity to sold out houses. This time is no exception – in fact, I heard they are adding stage seating to meet the demand for tickets. His pianist is Ivari Ilya but other than that, no program details on the Koerner Hall website. This is a recital not to be missed. See here for more info.
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