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 27
St. Michael’s Concerts | Vesuvius Ensemble. 7 p.m. St. Michael’s Basilica, 65 Bond St. $25 (suggested donation).
The Vesuvius Ensemble, a chamber group dedicated to the preservation of folk music from southern Italy, is presenting Passio: The Mater Dolorosa In Popular Tradition. Soloists are Francesco Pellegrino (tenor), Marco Cera (mandolin, ciaramella), and Lucas Harris (lute, theorbo, and baroque guitar). It takes place in the magnificent St. Michael’s Basilica in downtown Toronto.| Listing
Wednesday 28
National Ballet of Canada | Made In Canada. 7:30 p.m. Four Seasons Centre. $65-$265. Repeats daily to Mar. 4. Start times vary
A trio of ballets by Canadian choreographers: Robert Binet’s The Dreamers Ever Leave You, James Kudelka’s The Four Seasons, and Crystal Pite’s Emergence. | Listing
Thursday 1
Piano Moderna/Adam Sherkin | Beethoven: Soliloquy and Vinyl EP Release. 5:30 p.m. Glenn Gould Studio Lobby. $22/$20(sr)/$17(35 and under)
Pianist/Composer Adam Sherkin plays Beethoven’s Bagatelles and Sibelius’s Kyllikki, followed by a launch party for Sherkin’s new vinyl disc, Soliloquy, on the Centrediscs label. | Listing
Toronto Symphony Orchestra | Lang Lang. 7 p.m. Roy Thomson Hall. $218-$255 (remaining tickets at press time)
Chinese pianist superstar Lang Lang returns to Toronto for this Gala fundraising concert in a revised program due to tendinitis in his left arm. Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 3 has been replaced by Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue, joined by 15-year old Maxim Lando, a Lang Lang International Music Foundation Scholar. Also Dukas’s The Sorcerer’s Apprentice and Ravel’s Daphis et Chloé Suite No. 2. Peter Oundjian conducts. | Listing
York University Department of Music | Catherine Robbin and Friends. 7:30 p.m. Tribute Communities Recital Hall, Accolade East Building, 4700 Keele St. $15/$10(sr/st)
The great Canadian mezzo Catherine Robbin comes out of retirement for this rare recital. She is joined by soprano Vania Chan and mezzo Lillian Brooks, collaborative pianists Susan Black and Doreen Simmons in a program of Handel, Schubert, Brahms, Mahler, plus French, English and Canadian contemporary songs. | Details
Friday 2
Opera York | The Marriage of Figaro. 7:30 p.m. Richmond Hill Centre for the Performing Arts, 10268 Yonge St., Richmond Hill. $40-$50/$25(st). Repeats Mar. 4 2 p.m.
Opera York presents Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro, at the Richmond Hill Centre for the Performing Arts. Geoffrey Butler conducts and Renee Salewski is stage director. A fine cast includes baritone Diego Catala (Conte), bass-baritone Anthony Cleverton (Figaro), soprano Annie Ramos (Contessa), soprano Elizabeth Polese (Susanna), mezzo Beste Kalender (Cherubino), mezzo Ramona Carmelly (Marcellina), and Doug Tranquada (Bartolo). | Listing
Toronto Consort | Illuminations. 8 p.m. Trinity-St. Paul’s Centre, 427 Bloor St. W. $15-$69. Repeats Mar. 3 8 p.m.
Toronto Consort presents a multimedia experience of combining music and imagery on Medieval illuminated manuscripts, with performances by Naghmeh Farahmand (percussion), Pejman Zahedian (setar), and Demetri Petsalakis (Oud). Pre-concert talk by Nicholas Herman, Curator of Manuscripts, Schoenberg Institute for Manuscript Studies, University of Pennsylvania. | Listing
Royal Conservatory of Music | Nicolas Alstaedt with Fazil Say. 8 p.m. Koerner Hall. Sold Out.
Cellist Nicolas Altstaedt and pianist Fazil Say join forces to present a program of Debussy, Janacek, Shostakovich and Say. | Listing
Yamaha Recital Space | Ensemble Vivant CD/DVD Release. 8 p.m. Yamaha Recital Space at Atelier Rosemarie Umetsu, 310 Davenport Road. Free, space limited. Attendees must RSVP at info@ensemblevivant.com
Ensemble Vivant gives a concert tribute to Rick Wilkins, together with a CD/DVD release. Guests include Guido Basso, Mike Murley, and Brian Barlow. | Listing
Saturday 3
Toronto Symphony Orchestra | New Creations Festival: Processions. 7:30 p.m. Festival Pass $30 for all three shows.
The annual New Creations Festival kicks off with the North American premiere of Processions, a piano concerto by Icelandic composer Daniel Bjarnason, with soloist Vikingur Olafsson. Also on the program are Symphony No. 4 by Larry Alan Smith and Dust Devils by Vivian Fung. Peter Oundjian conducts. | Listing
Sunday 4
University of Toronto Faculty of Music | Mozart Requiem. 7:30 p.m. St. Basil’s Church, 50 St. Joseph St. $30/$20(sr)/$10(st)
Ottawa Bach Choir, York University Chamber Choir, Schola Cantorum of the University of Toronto perform the Mozart Requiem, with chamber orchestra conducted by Daniel Taylor. | Details
LUDWIG VAN TORONTO
