Critic’s Picks (Nov. 25 – Dec. 1)
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 25
Opera 5 | Elizabeth Krehm Memorial Concert. 7:30 p.m. Christ Church Deer Park, 1570 Yonge St. PWYC. Fundraiser to benefit St. Michael’s ICU.
The Seventh Annual Elizabeth Krehm Memorial Concert presents a program of Bruch: Kol Nidrei with cellist Michel Strauss; Shostakovich: Symphony No. 5; Richard Strauss: Four Last Songs with soprano Rachel Krehm. The Canzona Chamber Players Orchestra conducted by Evan Mitchell. This annual event has raised over $100,000 in the past six years. All proceeds to benefit St. Michael’s Hospital’s Medical-Surgical Intensive Care Unit. | Details
Tuesday 26
Confluence Concerts | An Evening with Marion Newman. 8 p.m. Heliconian Hall, 35 Hazelton Ave. $30/#25(sr)/$20(under 30). Pre-concert talk at 7:15 p.m.
Kwagiulth and Stó:lo First Nations + English/Irish/Scottish mezzo-soprano Marion Newman curates a special program asking the question: “What is Indigenous classical music?” Joining her are mezzo-soprano Rebecca Cuddy, baritone Evan Korbut, pianist Gordon Gerrard and composer Ian Cusson. | Details
Wednesday 27
National Ballet of Canada | Etudes/Piano Concerto No. 1/Petite Mort 7:30 p.m. Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, 145 Queen St. W. $41-$240. Five more performances to Dec. 1. Check website for start times.
Set to music by Czerny, Harald Lander’s Etudes is a fantastic, heart-stopping piece on virtuosic technique in ballet. I saw this many years ago at ABT and never forgot it. Only dancers with the requisite bravura technique qualify, and the National certainly has the dancers! Also on the program is Alexei Ratmansky’s Piano Concerto No. 1, and Petite Mort by Czech choreographer Jiří Kylián. | Details
Royal Conservatory of Music | Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin 8 p.m. Koerner Hall, 273 Bloor St. W. $45-$95.
The Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, a world-renowned chamber group playing on period instruments, performs an All-Bach program, including Brandenburg Concertos No. 1-5. | Details
Toronto Symphony Orchestra | All Tchaikovsky 8 p.m. Roy Thomson Hall, 60 Simcoe St. $41-$154. Repeats Nov. 28, 30, Dec. 1 (3 p.m.)
RBC Resident Conductor Simon Rivard and the TSO perform an All Tchaikovsky program of Symphony No. 1 “Winter Dreams,” Violin Concerto with soloist Daniel Lozakovich; and the 1812 Overture. | Details
Thursday 28
Canadian Opera Company | Vocal Series: Schulich a la carte 12 p.m. Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre, Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, 145 Queen St. W. Free. Arrive early to secure a seat.
Schulich School of Music’s Wirth Vocal Prize winner tenor Marcel d’Entremont sings a program of songs and arias, “from Schubert’s timeless classic Erlkönig to Copland’s hilarious I Bought Me a Cat.” Full program details not available at press time. | Details
Saturday 30
Pax Christi Chorale | Children’s Messiah. 4 p.m. Church of the Redeemer, 162 Bloor St. W. PWYC. Proceeds will be donated to Church of the Redeemer’s The Common Table Drop-In Program.
The Pax Christi Chorale is joined by musicians from the Glenn Gould School and the Taylor Academy of the RCM in a performance of the Children’s Messiah, aimed to introduce young audiences to a great choral work in a one-hour interactive performance, with simple narration and sing-along carols. | Details
Ottawa Bach Choir | A Bach Christmas. 7:30 p.m. Grace Church on-the-Hill, 300 Lonsdale Road. $50/$40/$35(sr)/$15(st).
The Ottawa Bach Choir, joined by the Ensemble Caprice Baroque Orchestra and a quartet of soloists (soprano Meredith Hall, countertenor Nicholas Burns, tenor Philippe Gagné and bass Andrew Mahon), presents a program of Bach’s Christmas music, including “Meinen Jesum laß ich nicht,” BWV 124; “Ach Gott, wie manches Herzeleid,” BWV 3; and “Was mein Gott will, das g’scheh allzeit,” BWV 111. The program will be repeated on Dec. 1 at the Knox Presbyterian Church in Ottawa. | Details
Sunday 1
Off Centre Music Salon | Runaway Waltz. 3 p.m. Trinity-St. Paul’s Centre, 427 Bloor St. W. $50/$40(sr)/$15(13-25).
A concert hosted by Dr. Julia Zarankin, with soprano Allison Angelo, pianist Helen Becqué, accordionist John Lettieri, pianist Inna Perkis, tenor Ernesto Ramirez, pianist Boris Zarankin, and soprano Ilana Zarankin. No program information on the website. | Details
Esprit Orchestra | Sustain. 8 p.m. Koerner Hall, 273 Bloor St. W. 7:15 p.m. pre-concert chat. $20-$65.
Alex Pauk conducts the Esprit Orchestra in a program of works by new music composers Andrew Norman, Adam Scime, and José Evangelista. Véronique Mathieu, violin. | Details
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