Critic’s Picks (October 16-22)

Classical music and opera events happening in and around Toronto for the week of Oct. 16 to 22. (Photo: Bo Huang)

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.

Monday 16

Soundstreams | Northern Encounters Koerner Hall 8 p.m. $47.50-$67.50

Soundstreams’ 35^th season opens with music and dance from Canada and Finland featuring the Lapland Chamber Orchestra in their Toronto debut. John Storgårds conducts music by Sibelius, Somers, and Vivier. The performance also features dancer Ceinwen Gobert, and the choreography of Michael Greyeyes. | Listing.

Tuesday 17

Gallery 345 | The Art of the Piano: Niklas Sivelov. 8 p.m. 345 Sorauren Ave. $25/$10 (cash only at the door)

Swedish pianist Niklas Sivelov plays works by Haydn, Beethoven, Stenhammar, Piazzolla, and Bartok. | Listing.

Wednesday 18

Canadian Opera Company | Arabella. 7:30 p.m. Four Seasons Centre. $50-$350 Repeats 20, 22 (2 p.m.)

The Canadian premiere of Richard Strauss’s Arabella boasts a beautiful production from Santa Fe Opera, directed by Tim Albery and a superb cast led by soprano Erin Wall in the title role. Tomasz Konieczny is a fantastic Manryka. COC’s first Artist-in-Residence Jane Archibald sings her first Zdenka. Patrick Lange conducts. | Listing.

Thursday 19

Canadian Opera Company | Vocal Series: Songs and Duets. 12 p.m. Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre, Four Seasons Centre. Free.

Former COC Ensemble artists and husband-wife team of soprano Simone Osborne and bass-baritone Gordon Bintner make their joint recital debut. On the program are songs by Saint-Saëns, Finzi, Mendelssohn, Strauss and Fauré. The originally planned Schumann songs seems to have disappeared! Liz Upchurch is the pianist. Be sure to show up an hour early for a seat. | Listing.

Music Toronto | Quatuor Mosaïques. 8 p.m. St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts. $55/$50

Music Toronto opens its 2017-18 season with the Toronto debut of the period-instrument quartet (Erich Höbarth, violin; Andrea Bischof, violin; Anita Mitterer, viola; and cellist Christophe Coin). On the program are works by Mozart and Haydn. | Listing.

Toronto Symphony Orchestra | A Tribute to Maureen Forrester. 8 p.m. Roy Thomson Hall. $40.75-$154.00. Repeats Oct. 20 (7:30 p.m.)

The TSO pays tribute to the great contralto Maureen Forrester, hosted by Ben Heppner. The centrepiece is Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde, very much part of Forrester’s repertoire, here sung by Susan Platts and Michael Schade. The concert also features a new song cycle for mezzo and orchestra by composer Howard Shore. John Abram’s Start: Sesquie for Canada 150 opens the concert. Peter Oundjian conducts. | Listing.

Friday 20

Toronto Masque Theatre | Dido and Aeneas/Aeneas and Dido. 8 p.m. Trinity-St. Paul’s Centre. Pre-show event 7:15 p.m. $52.74/$45.50(sr) Repeats Oct. 21.

Lamentably this is Toronto Masque Theatre’s Farewell Season, after 13 years and over 60 productions. This concert juxtaposes Purcell’s iconic Dido and Aeneas composed in 1687 with James Rolfe’s Aeneas and Dido (2007). Soloists are Krisztina Szabo, Alexander Dobson, Andrea Ludwig and Jacqueline Woodley. | Listing.

Royal Conservatory of Music | Khachaturian Trio. 8 p.m., Koerner Hall. $35-$85.

Named after Armenian composer Aram Khachaturian, the Khachaturian Trio (Armine Grigoryan, piano; Karen Shahgaldyan, violin; Karen Kocharyan, cello) makes its Canadian debut with this concert, performing works by Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninov, Khachaturian and Babadjanian. Pre-concert talk with Rick Phillips. | Listing.

Saturday 21

Toronto Symphony Orchestra | With Glowing Hearts 7:30 p.m. Roy Thomson Hall. Repeats Oct. 22 (3 p.m.) $40.75-$113 Special Offer: $18-$29 when you buy three or more.

An All-Canadian program featuring the works of Somers, Freedman, Beckwith, Champagne and others. Christina Petrowska Quilico, piano. Earl Lee and Victor Feldbrill conductors. Feldbrill, 93, was the resident conductor of the TSO from 1973 to 78. | Listing.

Kindred Spirits Orchestra | Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. 8 p.m. Flato Markham Theatre for the Performing Arts. $30-$40/$25(sr). Pre-concert talk with Jurgen Petrenko, Artistic Director of Toronto Classical Singers 7:30 p.m.

The Kindred Spirits Orchestra performs Beethoven’s 9^th with soloists Sarah Forestieri, soprano; Danielle MacMillan, mezzo; Michael Barrett, tenor; and John Holland, baritone; joined by the Toronto Classical Singers. Kristian Alexander conducts. | Listing.

Sunday 22

Royal Conservatory of Music | Adi Braun Presents Moderne Frau 7:30 p.m. Temerty Theatre. $25

Now for something a little different – in a launch of her new CD, Moderne Frau, Canadian jazz vocalist Adi Braun and her ensemble presents “a program celebrating the spirit of the new and independent women that emerged during the Weimar Republic, one that defined a new culture in Berlin.” Braun comes from a distinguished family of classical musicians: her father is the late Canadian baritone Victor Braun, and her brother is baritone Russell Braun. Adi herself is classically trained and started as an operatic mezzo-soprano before transitioning to jazz. | Listing.

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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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