CRITIC'S PICKS | Classical Events You Absolutely Need To See This Week: Dec. 7

L-R (clockwise): Itzhak Perlman (Photo courtesy of Roy Thomson Hall); The Toronto Symphony Orchestra's Messiah (Photo courtesy of the TSO); Yorkminster Baptist Church (Photo courtesy of the church) — L-R (clockwise): Itzhak Perlman (Photo courtesy of Roy Thomson Hall); The Toronto Symphony Orchestra’s Messiah (Photo courtesy of the TSO); Yorkminster Baptist Church (Photo courtesy of the church)

This is a list of concerts we are attending, wishing we could attend, or thinking about attending between Dec. 12 and Dec. 18, 2022. For more details on what’s happening around Toronto, visit our calendar here.

Itzhak Perlman and Friends/Roy Thomson Hall

Monday Dec. 12 at 8 p.m. Roy Thomson Hall. $99+

The violin headliner is joined by pianists Emanuel Ax and Jean-Yves Thibaudet plus the Juilliard String Quartet in a strictly non-seasonal program including Ernest Chausson’s rapturous Concert and Mozart’s Piano Quartet No. 2 in E-flat K. 493. This is a Roy Thomson Hall presentation. Info and tickets here.

Toronto Symphony Orchestra/Messiah

Saturday Dec. 17 at 8 p.m. (repeats Sunday Dec. 18 at 3 p.m. & Monday Dec. 19 through Wednesday Dec. 21 at 8 p.m.). Roy Thomson Hall. $77+

Handel’s Messiah? The Toronto Symphony Orchestra and Toronto Mendelssohn Choir know how it goes. The interest this year resides in a relatively operatic solo quartet and the presence on the podium of TSO music director Gustavo Gimeno, who is not exactly famous for baroque repertoire. All of which might be a good thing. There will be five performances on five days, stretching to Dec. 21. Info and tickets here.

Lessons and Carols

Sunday Dec. 18. Free admission.

Christmas concerts are everywhere, with the inevitable collisions. Four classically-inclined Lessons and Carols services compete for your attention on Sunday, at Yorkminster Park Baptist Church (4:30 p.m.), St. Thomas’s Anglican Church (5 p.m.), the Church of St. Mary Magdalene (6 p.m.) and Metropolitan United Church (7 p.m.).

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Arthur Kaptainis

Arthur Kaptainis was classical music critic of the Montreal Gazette from 1986 to 2022 and wrote for the National Post from 2010 to 2016. His articles appear in Classical Voice North America and Gramophone as well as Ludwig Van. Arthur holds an MA in musicology from the University of Toronto. He is president of the Music Critics Association of North America.

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