Critic’s Picks (April 1 – 7)
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.
Tuesday 2
Toronto Symphony Orchestra | Best of Hollywood. 8 p.m. Roy Thomson Hall, 60 Simcoe St. $40-75-$113. Repeats Apr. 3(mat & eve), Apr. 6.
Guest conductor Richard Kaufman leads the TSO in a concert of selections of well-known tunes from the movies, including Ben Hur, Out of Africa, The Godfather, Dr. Zhivago, Meet Me in St. Louis, Mary Poppins, The Untouchables, To Kill a Mockingbird, Gone with the Wind, The Wizard of Oz, and The Magnificent Seven. Whitney Claire Kaufman is the vocalist. | Details
Music Toronto | Hilario Durán with the Hilario Durán Trio. 8 p.m. Jane Mallett Theatre, St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts, 27 Front St. E. $53.50-$58.00
In a departure from its purely classical programming, Music Toronto presents the Hilario Duran Trio, in a program of Afro-Cuban jazz. Duran is joined by Roberto Occhipinti, bass, Mark Kelso, drums, Annalee Patipatanakoon, violin, and Roman Borys, cello, in classical jazz-world music they used to perform at the Lula Lounge. | Details
Thursday 4
Women’s Musical Club of Toronto | Mariam Batsashvili, piano. 1:30 p.m. Walter Hall, Edward Johnson Building, University of Toronto, 80 Queen’s Park. $45.
Georgian pianist Mariam Batsashvili performs works of Liszt, Schubert, Mozart, and Beethoven. | Details
Opera Atelier | Idomeneo. 7:30 p.m. Ed Mirvish Theatre, 244 Victoria St. $39-$184. 5 performances to Apr. 13.
Opera Atelier’s spring season is a revival of its production of Idomeneo, marking a return of soprano Measha Brueggergosman as Elettra. She is joined by Colin Ainsworth in the title role, Wallis Giunta (Idamante), Meghan Lindsay (Ilia), and Olivier Laquerre (Arbace). David Fallis conducts the Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra. Note venue change from the Elgin to the Ed Mirvish Theatre. | Details
Against the Grain Theatre | Kopernikus. 8 p.m. Theatre Passe Muraille, 16 Ryerson Ave. Five performances to Apr. 13. $25-$85.
French Canadian composer Claude Vivier’s only opera, Kopernikus, with Danielle MacMillan, mezzo; Krisztina Szabó, mezzo; Alain Coulombe, bass; Dion Mazerolle, baritone; and Jonelle Sills, soprano. While the AtG website states that this opera is frequently performed outside but not in Canada, it was performed in Toronto as part of an international tour, on June 21, 2001, at the MacMillan Theatre, by Autumn Leaf Performance. See our review of the Banff premiere in 2017 here. | Details
Friday 5
Esprit Orchestra | New Wave Reprise. 8 p.m. Trinity-St. Paul’s Centre, 427 Bloor St. W. Keynote address by John Rea (7 p.m.). $15
Esprit Orchestra (Alex Pauk, conductor) presents an evening of all world premieres: Eugene Astapov, Emblem; Quinn Jacobs, Music About Music; Bekah Simms, Foreverdark; Christina Volpini, as within, so without; Alison Yun-Fei Jiang, Temporal. Guest Artist: Amahl Arulanandam, cello. | Details
Royal Conservatory of Music | Roby Lakatos. 8 p.m. Koerner Hall, 273 Bloor St. W. $45-$70.
Born into a family of Gypsy violinists, Roby Lakatos is well known in classical, jazz, and Hungarian folk music, as a player, improviser, and composer. | Details
Attila Glatz Concert Productions | Zoltan Maga. 8 p.m. Roy Thomson Hall, 60 Simcoe St. $35-$85.
Zoltan Maga and his Budapest Gypsy Virtuosi perform a program of works by Bartok, Liszt, Kodaly, Monti, and Brahms. | Details
Saturday 6
Royal Conservatory of Music | Vienna Boys Choir. 3 p.m. Koerner Hall, 273 Bloor St. W. Sold Out! But check with box office for returns.
The Vienna Boys Choir returns to Koerner Hall for a performance that’s already sold out. The varied program includes pieces from Orff, Purcell, Brahms to Bernstein and Piazzolla. | Details
University of Toronto Faculty of Music | U of T Symphony Orchestra. 7:30 p.m. MacMillan Theatre, Edward Johnson Building, 80 Queen’s Park. $30/$20(sr)/$10(st)
Veteran maestro Uri Mayer leads the U of T Symphony Orchestra in Stravinsky The Rite of Spring and Eliot Britton Adizokan. | Details
Sunday 7
Royal Conservatory of Music | Richard Goode, piano. 3 p.m. Koerner Hall, 273 Bloor St. W. $50-$110.
Pianist Richard Goode plays an All-Beethoven program. | Details
LUDWIG VAN TORONTO
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