Critic’s Picks (Mar. 4 – 10)
Ludwig van Toronto’s weekly Critic’s Picks are a curated list of some of the best concerts happening now through the end of the week. For a look at the full breadth of what’s available in and around Toronto, check out our curated concert listings here.
Monday 4
University of Toronto Faculty of Music | What Makes it Great? With Rob Kapilow. 7:30 p.m. Walter Hall, Edward Johnson Building, University of Toronto, 80 Queen’s Park. $40/$25(sr)/$10(st).
Conductor and host Rob Kapilow, the Wilma and Clifford Smith Visitor in Music, analyses Tchaikovsky’s Serenade for Strings and leads the U of T Strings in a performance of this work.| Details
Tuesday 5
Canadian Opera Company | Vocal Series: Le Récital des Anges: Songs of Ian Cusson. 12 p.m. Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre. Free. Limited Seating.
Metis-French Canadian Ian Cusson composer/pianist presents two of his song cycles: Five Orchestral Songs on Poems of Marilyn Dumont, sung by First Nations mezzo Marion Newman, and the world premiere of Le Récital des Anges, on poems of Émile Nelligan sung by Canadian mezzo Marjorie Maltais. | Details
Toronto Symphony Orchestra | The Second City Guide to the Symphony. 8 p.m. Roy Thomson Hall. Repeats Mar. 6 (2 & 8 p.m.), 7 (8 p.m.). $49.25-$113
Second City and the TSO may be strange bedfellows, but it’s bound to be fun. Colin Mochrie is the host and the TSO Pops conductor Steven Reineke is at the helm. | Details
Musical Toronto | Danny Driver. 8 p.m. Jane Mallett Theatre, St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts, 27 Front St. E. $47.50-$52/$10(st)
British pianist Danny Driver returns to Music Toronto for a program of CPE Bach, Schumann, Saariaho, Ravel, and Medtner. | Details
Thursday 7
National Ballet of Canada | Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. 7:30 p.m. Four Seasons Centre, 145 Queen St. W. Thirteen performances to March 17 (Start times vary, check listings for details) $45-$265.
Based on Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, British choreographer Christopher Wheeldon, composer Joby Talbot and set/costume designer Bob Crowley join forces in this re-telling of the famous fairytale. | Details
Friday 8
Orpheus Choir of Toronto | Raising Her Voice. 7:30 p.m. Grace Church on-the-Hill, 300 Lonsdale Road. $45/$35(sr)/$20(under 30)
A concert of choral works by female composers (Olson, Donkin, Gimon, Forget and others), and the premiere of four commissioned Canadian works. Orpheus partners with Diaspora Dialogues in mentoring female composers and poets with emerging female artists to highlight the very best of established and undiscovered Canadian talent. | Details
Aspirare Vocal Collective | Reflection & Hope: Howells Requiem. 7:30 p.m. Trinity College Chapel, University of Toronto, 6 Hoskin Ave. $10-$40.
Aspirare (Asitha Tennekoon, Artistic Director) is a newly formed, Toronto-based 19 member vocal collective focusing on choral chamber music of the 20th and 21st centuries. This concert marks its inaugural performance, featuring works by Stanford, Vaughan Williams, Jackson and the Howells Requiem. | Details
Toronto Consort | Four Quarters of Jerusalem. 8 p.m. Trinity-St. Paul’s Centre, 427 Bloor St. W. Repeats Mar. 9. $15-$69.
The Toronto Consort presents the early/world-music ensemble Rose of the Compass (Guest director, Nina Stern) in a program that “celebrates the diversity of faith and musical traditions of the city of Jerusalem, that includes the Muslim, Christian, Armenian, and Jewish Quarters.” | Details
Saturday 9
Toronto Symphony Orchestra | Shostakovich Symphony No. 5. 7:30 p.m. Roy Thomson Hall. Repeats Mar. 10 (mat). $40.75-$113.
According to the TSO website, the Shostakovich Symphony No. 5 is the most performed symphony of the 20th century. Guest conductor Gemma New, Music Director of the Hamilton Philharmonic, leads the TSO. Principal Flute Kelly Zimba and Principal Harp Heidi Van Hoesen Gorton are soloists in Mozart Concerto for Flute and Harp. | Details
University of Toronto Faculty of Music | Theatre of Early Music: Israel in Egypt. 7:30 p.m. St. Patrick’s Church, 131 McCaul St. $30/$20(sr)/$10(st).
Jeanne Lamon and Daniel Taylor conduct musicians from Tafelmusik and the Choir of the Theatre of Early Music, Schola Cantorum and Collegium Musicum in Handel’s Israel in Egypt. Tenor Charles Daniels is the soloist.| Details
Sunday 10
University of Toronto Faculty of Music | Monteverdi and the Glory of Venice. 7:30 p.m. Trinity College Chapel, 6 Hoskin Ave. $30/$20(sr)/$10(st).
David Fallis conducts the Schola Cantorum and Collegium Musicum in the music of Claudio Monteverdi. The soloist is tenor Charles Daniels. | Details
LUDWIG VAN TORONTO
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