Classical music and opera events for the week of Sept. 13–19.

This is a list of amazing concerts we are attending, wishing we could attend, or thinking about attending between September 13–19, 2021. For more details on what’s happening from our trusted partners, visit our calendar here.

Toronto International Film Festival | Oscar Peterson: Black + White

📅 Monday — September 13, 2021, 5 PM EST
📍 LINK
💸 $19

TIFF is taking over Toronto this week with its Hollywood North glitz and glamour. There is one film, in particular, that’s on our radar: Oscar Peterson: Black + White. Director Barry Avrich brings a new in-depth documentary of personal and professional life. Streaming online, this film is a must for any jazz fan. | Details

Small World Music | Andrew Kay & Ravi Naimpally (online)

📅 Monday — September 13, 2021, 7 PM EST
📍 LINK
💸 Free!

This concert (recorded live at the Small World Centre) is part of 25 for 25 — Small World Music’s 25th Anniversary Program which runs through Sept 19. This concert immerses you in Indian Classical Music with a Jugalbandi (duet) by the outstanding performers. Abbas Janmohammed (Sarangi) and Andrew Kay (Saxophone & Himalayan Singing Bowls) perform alongside Pankaj Mishra (Sarangi) and Andrew Kay (Saxophone & Himalayan Singing Bowls) (Tabla). | Details

Berlin Philharmoniker | Musikfest Berlin: Justin Doyle, Rias Kammerchor And Kammerakademie Potsdam (online)

📅 Wednesday — September 15, 2021, 3 PM EST
📍 LINK
💸 Subscription

Looking for some deep cuts? European-based conductor Justin Doyle has a unique taste for the extremes of Renaissance and contemporary music. RIAS Kammerchor places the excerpts from “Lamentationes” — the lamentations of the prophet Jeremiah — at the centre of this concert. Various settings of the impressive text from the Old Testament will be heard, from music by the great masters of the Renaissance to Igor Stravinsky’s Threni. This event streams on the Berlin Philharmoniker’s Digital Concert Hall platform, which requires a subscription. | Details

Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra | The Joy Of Beethoven (in-person)

📅 Friday — September 17, 2021, 7:30 PM EST
📍 LINK
💸 $30

While Ontario is still limiting public events due to the pandemic, orchestras like the Hamilton Phil have been extra imaginative in programming smaller chamber music concerts around the community. Tonight, we recommend coming down to the Royal Botanical Gardens in the hamlet of Waterdown. You’ll see violinist Stephen Sitarski lead a string quartet in a program of Beethoven, Grieg and Musgrave. It’s a beautiful space, so come early to have a tour. | Details

Westben | Sounds in Nature — Andy Thompson Sound Installation (in-person)

📅 Saturday — September 18, 2021, 10 AM EST (repeats Sept 25)
📍 LINK
💸 $45

If you’re open for a weekend trip, we recommend Wesben for their annual Festival that has opened this week. You can start with a trip out to Mary West Nature Reserve just outside of Westben for a guided sound installation by Northumberland Music Studio owner and Westben Sound Engineer Andy Thompson. Once you’re done, stay and take in a concert or two from Leahy (2 p.m.), and Laila Biali (7 p.m.) | Details

National Arts Centre Orchestra | Ehnes and Beethoven’s Fifth (online & in-person)

📅 Saturday — September 18, 2021, 6 PM EST
📍 LINK
💸 $15

Iconic as it is, it’s not the Beethoven we’re that caught our eye. It’s violinist James Ehnes and the other works on the bill that make this concert worth seeing. Canadian songwriter and composer Sarah Slean has a new arrangement of Lili Boulanger Nocturne for Violin and Orchestra. Jessie Montgomery’s Strum for string orchestra borrows from American folk idioms to create a nostalgic narrative that turns to a colourful celebration. Ehnes closes the program with Sarasate’s classic Zigeunerweisen. You can catch it live online or in-person. | Details

SweetWater Music Festival | Saturday Night Mainstage (online)

📅 Saturday — September 18, 2021, 7 PM EST
📍 LINK
💸 $10 (online) $45 (in-person)

The Sweetwater Music Festival (Sept 16-19) runs this week with a small but worthwhile four days of chamber music running both in-person and online. We recommend checking out the Saturday night mainstage event with Barber and Faure performed by Philip Chiu, Rosebud String Quartet, Julie Hereish, Edwin Huizinga. | Details

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Michael Vincent

Michael Vincent is the Editor-in-chief Ludwig Van and CEO of Museland Media. He publishes regularly and writes occasionally. A specialist in digital media for over 15 years, he has worked as a senior editor and is a former freelance classical music critic for the Toronto Star. Michael holds a Doctorate in Music from the University of Toronto.