Critic’s Picks (Oct. 2-8)

Classical music and opera events happening in and around Toronto for the week of Oct. 2 to 8. (Photo: Ken Howard)

Ludwig van 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. 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 curated concert listings here.

Tuesday 3

Canadian Opera Company | Berio: Folk Songs. Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre, Four Seasons Centre. 12 p.m. Free.

As part of COC’s free noon-hour concert series this week, Canadian mezzo-soprano Krisztina Szabo sings Folk Songs by Luciano Berio, accompanied by artists of the Esprit Orchestra conducted by Alex Pauk. Be sure to arrive an hour early to ensure a seat. Full program details here.

Toronto Symphony Orchestra | Music of John Williams. Roy Thomson Hall, 8 p.m. $63.95-$123.35 Repeats Oct. 4 (2 & 8 p.m.) and 5 (8 p.m.)

TSO Pops Maestro Steven Reineke conducts this very popular program featuring the film music of John Williams, including Star Wars series, E.T., Jaws, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Jurassic Park, Schindler’s List and others. It opens with a two-minute “Sesquie for Canada’s 150” — this time it’s Toboggan! by Darren Fung. | Listing

Thursday 5

Canadian Opera Company | Piano Virtuoso Series: White on White. Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre, Four Seasons Centre. 12 p.m. Free

Italian pianist Luca Buratto, the 2015 Laureate of the Honens International Piano Competition in Calgary, gives a recital of György Ligeti’s Etudes Book III, Janácek’s Piano Sonata 1.X1905, and Schumann’s Humoreske, Op. 20. Find out more about Sig. Buratto in his website. Be sure to show up an hour ahead to ensure a seat. Program details here.

Women’s Musical Club of Toronto | Music in the Afternoon: Shiksa Walter Hall, Edward Johnson Building, University of Toronto. 1:30 p.m. $45

WMCT opens its season with violinist Lara St. John and pianist Matt Herskowitz, playing selections from the Shiksa Project, a collection of traditional folk tunes from the Jewish Diaspora in Eastern Europe, Balkans, Caucasus and the Middle East, and reimagined for today. For a taste, watch the video clips from her Shiksa album available on her website. Particularly worth watching is the Czardashian Rhapsody which won the Best Music Video prize at the Toronto Independent Film Festival. Also on the program is Sonata in A for violin and piano by César Franck. | Listing

University of Toronto Faculty of Music | New Orford String Quartet. Walter Hall, Edward Johnson Building, University of Toronto. 7:30 p.m. $40; $25 (sr); $10 (st).

The New Orford String Quartet (violinists Jonathan Crow and Andrew Wan, violist Eric Nowlin and cellist Brian Manker) gives a recital of works by Ravel, Gerllman and Tchaikovsky. | Listing

Canadian Opera Company | Strauss: Arabella. Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts. 7:30 p.m. $25-$350 Repeats Oct. 10, 14, 18, 20, 22, 28. Check website for start times.

Richard Strauss’s scintillating Arabella is part of the standard repertoire in Europe, so it’s rather shocking that the COC presentation is its Canadian premiere! This gorgeous traditional production comes from Santa Fe Opera, which I saw five years ago. Then as now, it stars Canadian soprano Erin Wall in the title role. Polish baritone Tomasz Konieczny is Mandryka; Zdenka is Canadian soprano Jane Archibald. German conductor Patrick Lange is at the helm. | Listing

Friday 6

University of Toronto Faculty of Music | U of T Symphony Orchestra. 7:30 p.m. MacMillan Theatre, Edward John Building. $30; $20 (sr), $10 (st).

U of T Symphony Orchestra kicks off the season with Beethoven’s Symphony No. 6, “Pastoral,” Debussy’s La Mer, and a piece by Canadian composer and U of T Faculty member Christof Hatzis, The Isle is Full of Noises. There’s a pre-performance chat, but time specified on the website. | Listing

Royal Conservatory of Music | Royal Conservatory Orchestra. 8 p.m. Koerner Hall. $25

Hungarian conductor Gábor Takács-Nagy leads the RCO in Mendelssohn The Hebrides Overture; Liszt Piano Concerto No. 1 (Leon Bernsdorf, piano), and Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 4. Complete program here. | Listing

Saturday 7

Toronto Symphony Orchestra | Adizokan. Roy Thomson Hall. 7:30 p.m. No intermission. Tickets unavailable online at press time. Call TSO Patron Services at (416) 598-3375.

World premiere of Adizokan, a TSO Commission, by Eliot Britton. Gary Kulesha conducts. Soloists include Nelson Tagoona, throat boxer; Fara Palmer, vocalist; and Michel Muniidobenese Bruyere, musician/dancer. The concert celebrating Canada’s indigenous peoples is curated and directed by Sandra Laronde, founder and artistic director of Red Sky Performance. | Listing

Met Live in HD | Norma. 12:55 p.m. Select Cineplex Cinemas in the GTA. $28

The 2017-18 Met Live in HD season begins with that bel canto gem, Bellini’s Norma. It stars Canadian/American soprano Sondra Radvanovsky in the title role. Maltese tenor Joseph Calleja is Pollione and American mezzo Joyce DiDonato is Adalgisa. Italian conductor Carlo Rizzi is at the helm, and David McVicar directs. Info here.

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Joseph So

Joseph So is Professor Emeritus at Trent University and Associate Editor of Opera Canada.He is also a long-time contributor to La Scena Musicale and Opera (London, UK). His interest in music journalism focuses on voice, opera as well as symphonic and piano repertoires. He appears regularly as a panel member of the Big COC Podcast.He has co-edited a book, Opera in a Multicultural World: Coloniality, Culture, Performance, published by Routledge (Taylor & Francis Group).

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