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CRITIC'S PICKS | 6 Concerts You Should Absolutely See This Week (Jan. 1–7)

By Joseph So on January 1, 2018

Classical music and opera events happening in and around Toronto for the week of January 1 to 7.
Classical music and opera events happening in and around Toronto for the week of January 1 to 7.

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 1

Attila Glatz Concert Productions/Roy Thomson Hall | Salute to Vienna New Year’s Concert. 2:30 p.m. Roy Thomson Hall. $85-$155 (Remaining tickets are $145-$155)

The brainchild of Hungarian-Canadian impresario Attila Glatz and his wife Marion, the Salute to Vienna New Year’s Concert is back, in its 24th season. The program is always light-hearted and whimsical, ideal to start the new year. American-born Danish conductor Niels Muus leads the Strauss Symphony of Canada. Hungarian coloratura soprano Lilla Galambos and Austrian baritone Thomas Weinhappel are joined by dancers from the Kiev-Aniko Ballet of Ukraine and the International Champion Ballroom Dancers. | Listing

Thursday 4

Adam Sherkin/Steinway Piano Gallery | Rachmaninoff: Let Hands Speak 5:30 p.m. Glenn Gould Studio, CBC, 250 Front St. W. $28/$25(sr)/$22(<35)

Canadian pianist-composer Adam Sherkin opens his new performance season in a new location – the Glenn Gould Studio of the CBC Building on Front Street, at 5:30 p.m. in a series that takes place the first Thursday of every month. He plays Rachmaninoff Morceaux de fantasie, op.3 plus his own compositions, in this case, Elegiac Variants (2017) for saxophone and piano, with guest saxophonist David Zucchi. | Listing

Li Delun Music Foundation | Ryan Wang Piano Recital. 7:30 p.m. Fairview Library Theatre, 35 Fairview Mall Dr. $25/$33(VIP) 416-490-7962.

Canadian pianist and child prodigy Ryan Wang, age 10, is appearing in solo recital, under the auspices of the Li Delun Music Foundation. Here’s Ryan at five on the Ellen Show. Lest you think it’s all showbiz razzle-dazzle, he can really play! Here he is again, at 9, in an astounding performance of Chopin Fantasie-Impromptu Op. 66. No information found online

Friday 5

Toronto Operetta Theatre | Candide 8 p.m. Jane Mallett Theatre, St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts, 27 Front St. E. $49-$95. Repeats Jan. 6 (8 p.m.) and 7 (3 p.m.)

2018 being Leonard Bernstein’s Centenary, Toronto Operetta Theatre is presenting Candide, previously staged by TOT in Dec. 2006. This revival has fine singing, led by Tonatiuh Abrego (Candide), Elizabeth Beeler (Old Lady), Vania Chan (Cunegonde), Nicholas Borg (Pangloss), and Cian Horrobin (Governor). Derek Bate conducts. | Listing

Saturday 6

Li Delun Music Foundation | New Year’s Concert. 7:30 p.m. George Weston Recital Hall, 5040 Yonge St., North York. $30-$45

The annual New Year’s Concert, billed as an “East-Meets-West” event, is back, featuring the Toronto Festival Orchestra conducted by Dong Xiao Xu, conductor of the China National Symphony Orchestra. Ten-year-old pianist Ryan Wang is the headliner, joined by soprano Yuanyuan Huo. On the program are works by Elmer Bernstein, Beethoven, Verdi, Tchaikovsky, and Anlun Huang. | Listing

Sunday 7

Royal Conservatory of Music | Sunday Interludes: Rachel Barton Pine, violin. 2 p.m. Mazzoleni Hall, Royal Conservatory of Music, 273 Bloor St. W. Free tickets can be reserved starting Tuesday, Jan. 2, at 10 a.m.

American violinist Rachel Barton Pine debuted with the Chicago Symphony at age 10 and was the youngest winner of the gold medal at the International Johann Sebastian Bach Competition. She will be playing Bach’s Ciaccona from Partita No. 2 in D Minor, Mozart’s Sinfonia concertante, and her own arrangements of Black Sabbath/Ozzy Osborne Medley and The Spirit of Radio. Appearing with her are violist Barry Shiffman, conductor Samuel Tam, and the Glenn Gould School Ensemble. | Listing

LUDWIG VAN TORONTO

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Joseph So
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