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CRITIC'S PICKS | Classical Events You Absolutely Need To See This Week: March 27 – April 2

By Arthur Kaptainis on March 27, 2023

L-R (clockwise): J.S. Bach (Photo courtesy of the Library of Congress/Public domain); ARC Ensemble (Photo courtesy of the RCM); Cast of Bluebeard’s Castle (Photo: Mihaela Bodlovic, courtesy of the Theatre of Sound)
L-R (clockwise): J.S. Bach (Photo courtesy of the Library of Congress/Public domain); ARC Ensemble (Photo courtesy of the RCM); Cast of Bluebeard’s Castle (Photo: Mihaela Bodlovic, courtesy of the Theatre of Sound)

This is a list of concerts we are attending, wishing we could attend, or thinking about attending between March 27 and April 2, 2023. For more details on what’s happening around Toronto, visit our calendar here.

This is a list of concerts we are attending, wishing we could attend, or thinking about attending between March 20 and March 26, 2023. For more of what’s happening around Toronto, visit our calendar here.

Toronto Mendelssohn Choir/Bach Mass in B Minor

Tuesday March 28 at 7:30 p.m. Koerner Hall. $25+

Jean-Sébastien Vallée leads the TMC and a baroque orchestra in Bach’s most monumental work. Soloists are drawn from the choir’s professional core. Info here.

COC/Slavonic Dances

Wednesday March 29 at noon. Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre, Four Seasons Centre. Free.

Students from the Glenn Gould School pair up for a performance of Book 2 of Dvorak’s irresistible Slavonic Dances. Info here.

Toronto Symphony Orchestra/Juan Manuel Cañizares/Gustavo Gimeno

Wednesday March 29 at 8 p.m. (repeats Friday March 31 at 7:30 p.m., Saturday April 1 at 8 p.m. and Sunday April 2 at 3 p.m.). Roy Thomson Hall. $71+

A popsy second half of Spanish-flavoured favourites — Ravel’s Boléro, Rodrigo’s Concerto de Aranjuez (with guitarist Juan Manuel Cañizares as soloist) and selections from Falla’s El Amor Brujo (with the Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra) — follows a serious first half coupling a work by a contemporary Spanish composer, Francisco Coll, and Henri Dutilleux’s Symphony No. 1. Info here.

Against the Grain/Bluebeard’s Castle

Wednesday March 29 at 7:30 p.m. (repeats Friday March 31 at 7:30 p.m. and April 1 at 1:30 p.m.). Fleck Dance Theatre, 207 Queens Quay W. $50+

This contemporary British adaptation of Bartók’s powerful one-act opera features Gerald Finley in the title role and Charlotte Hellekant as Judith (who, in this version, is suffering from dementia). Stephen Higgins conducts his own chamber reduction. Read our preview here. Info here.

RCM/Benedetti Elschenbroich Grynyuk Trio

Friday March 31 at 8 p.m. Koerner Hall. $50+

This formidably-named visiting piano trio featuring the Scottish violinist Nicola Benedetti offers a solid coupling of Schubert (Trio No. 2 in E flat Major D. 929) and Tchaikovsky (Trio in A Minor Op. 50). Info here.

RCM/ARC Ensemble/Alberto Hemsi

Sunday April 2 at 2 p.m. Mazzoleni Concert Hall. $25+

Alberto Hemsi, 1898-1975, a widely travelled composer who drew on his Sephardic Jewish heritage, is the focus of this concert by the RCM’s enterprising ARC Ensemble. Info here.

Mooredale Concerts/Mathieu Gaudet

Sunday April 2 at 3:15 p.m. Walter Hall. $45 ($40 senior, $30 under 30)

Is there a doctor in the house? There will be one on stage as the Quebec pianist and emergency room physician offers an all-Schubert program, including the Sonata in C minor D. 958 and Four Impromptus Op. 90. Read our interview with Mathieu Gaudet here. Info here.

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Arthur Kaptainis
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