Critic’s Picks (March 9 – 15)
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 9
Piano Lunaire | Worm Moon with Jana Luksts 7:30 p.m. Bunker Lane Press, 1001 Bloor St. W. (rear entrance) Suggested donation: $18/$10(st)
New music specialist Jana Luksts plays works by Karlheinz Stockhausen, Cassandra Miller and Esthir Lemi. | Details
Tuesday 10
Canadian Opera Company | Rolston String Quartet 12 p.m. Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre, Four Seasons Centre, 145 Queen St. W. Free. Arrive early to secure a spot.
The Rolston String Quartet (Luri Lee and Emily Kruspe, violin; Hezekiah Leung, viola; Jonathan Lo, cello) plays a program of Mendelssohn, Tchaikovsky, and Erwin Schulhoff. | Details
Music Toronto | Andre Laplante 8 p.m. Jane Mallett Theatre, St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts, 27 Front St. E. $47.50-$52/$10(st)
Canadian pianist André Laplante plays Bach/Busoni Adagio in a minor, from Toccata, Adagio and Fugue in C Major, BWV 564; Mozart Piano Sonata in E-flat Major K.282; Beethoven Piano Sonata No. 26, in E-flat Major, Op. 81a (Les Adieux); François Morel Deux Études de Sonorité; and Schubert Piano Sonata No. 21 in B-flat Major, D 960. | Details
Wednesday 11
National Ballet of Canada | Romeo and Juliet 7:30 p.m. Four Seasons Centre, 145 Queen St. W. $65-$245. Thirteen performances to March 22. Check website for time and casting details.
Choreographer Alexei Ratmansky created this version of Romeo and Juliet, set to the magnificent score by Prokofiev, for the National Ballet of Canada in 2011 in celebration of the Company’s 60th anniversary season. | Details
Thursday 12
St. Michael’s Concerts | Sacred Elegies 7 p.m. St. Michael’s Cathedral, 65 Bond St. Freewill offering.
Stabat Mater – Gregorian Chant; Handel’s Saul (Dead March); and the Mozart Requiem (soprano Teri Dunn, mezzo Krisztina Szabo, tenor Michael Colvin, and bass Robert Pomakov). Schola Cantorum of the St. Michael’s Choir School; Schola Cantorum Orchestra (S. Bryan Priddy, conductor). | Details
University of Toronto Faculty of Music | Mansfield Park 7:30 p.m. MacMillan Theatre, Edward Johnson Building, 80 Queen’s Park. $40/$25(sr)/$10(st) Opera Talk half hour before each performance. Repeats Mar. 13, 14, 15
Tim Albery directs the Canadian premiere of Jonathan Dove’s Mansfield Park, based on the Jane Austen novel. Anyone familiar with the book will know the story is extremely complex. I understand the opera is much pared down plot-wise. Production designed by Michelle Tracey with lighting by Jason Hand. Sandra Horst conducts. | Details
Friday 13
Toronto Symphony Orchestra | Pictures At An Exhibition. 7:30 p.m. Roy Thomson Hall, 60 Simcoe St. $41-$154. Repeats March 14 (8 p.m.) & 15 (3 p.m.)
Italian conductor Jader Bignamini, who led Trio Magnifico with the late Dmitri Hvorostovsky and is slated to conduct the COC Aïda this spring, conducts the TSO in Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto no. 1 with pianist Sergei Babayan, Mussorgsky’s Pictures At An Exhibition, and Capriccio concertante by Russian-born Canadian composer Sophie-Carmen Eckhardt-Gramatté. | Details
Saturday 14
Met Live in HD/Cineplex Canada | Der fliegende Hollander. Select Cineplex Canada locations. Check website for details. $28.
This new production of Der fliegende Hollander is by Canadian stage director Francois Girard, whose much acclaimed production of Parsifal will open the COC’s 2020-21 season. Russian bass Evgeny Nikitin is Dutchman, and German soprano Anja Kampe sings Senta. It opened last week to mixed reviews, but go see it and decide for yourself! | Details
Toronto Chamber Choir | Rosenmüller @ 400 8 p.m. Calvin Presbyterian Church, 26 Delisle Ave. $12.50-$30 Pre-concert chat at 7:15 p.m.
Now in its 51st season, the Toronto Chamber Choir celebrates the 400th birthday of German composer Johann Rosenmüller by performing his works. No program details available on website. | Details
Sunday 15
Royal Conservatory of Music | John O’Conor and Beethoven. 2 p.m. Mazzoleni Concert Hall, 273 Bloor St. W. $30. It’s listed as sold out, but do contact the box office for possible returns.
As part of the Beethoven 250 celebrations, renowned Irish pianist John O’Conor returns to the RCM to perform an all-Beethoven program of Piano Sonatas No. 30 in E Major, op. 109; No. 31 in A flat Major, op. 110; and No. 32 in C Major, op. 111. | Details
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