This is a list of concerts we are attending, wishing we could attend, or thinking about attending between April 17 and April 23, 2023. For more details on what’s happening around Toronto, visit our calendar here.

RCM/Beatrice Rana

Tuesday April 18 at 8 p.m. Koerner Hall. $45+

This Italian laureate of the Montreal (first prize) and Van Cliburn (silver medal) competitions performs Beethoven’s “Hammerklavier,” the Everest of piano sonatas, along with Bach (French Suite No. 2 in C Minor) and Debussy (Pour le piano). Info here.

RCM/Blake Pouliot/Henry Kramer

Friday April 21 at 8 p.m. Koerner Hall. $35+

Brahms’s Violin Sonata Op. 108 and Chausson’s Poème are the passionate mainstays of a recital by the fast-rising Torontonian Blake Pouliot. Also on the program are works by Miklós Rózsa, Clara Schumann, Derrick Skye (for violin and electronics) and Kaija Saariaho (for solo violin). Henry Kramer of the Université de Montréal is the pianist. Info here.

Toronto Symphony Orchestra/Avi Avital

Saturday April 22 at 8 p.m. (repeats Sunday April 23 at 3 p.m.). Roy Thomson Hall (Saturday), George Weston Recital Hall (Sunday). $35+

The TSO goes folk-baroque this week with the assistance of the acclaimed mandolinist (and Deutsche Gramophone artist) Avi Avital. Concertos by Bach, Vivaldi and Avital’s fellow Israeli Avner Dorman; Bartók’s Romanian Folk Dances; and Six Miniatures on Georgian Folk Themes by Sulkhan Tsintsadze (1925-1991). Avital functions as leader as well as soloist. Info here.

Esprit Orchestra/Season Finale

Sunday April 23 at 8 p.m. Koerner Hall. $20+

Alex Pauk and his charges return to Koerner Hall for a program comprising selections from Max Richter’s The Four Seasons Recomposed (Aaron Schwebel, violin), John Corigliano’s formidable Symphony No. 1 and premieres by Chris Paul Harman and Eugene Astapov. Info here.

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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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