This is a list of concerts we are attending, wishing we could attend, or thinking about attending between March 04 and 10, 2024. For more of what’s happening around Toronto, visit our calendar here.
Canadian Opera Company: Instrumental Series: Voices of the Harp
Tuesday Mar. 5, 12 p.m.
Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre, Four Seasons for the Performing Arts. Free.
Matt Dupont (harp) and Jérémie Roy (narration) present a program exploring harp, musicality and orality. Orality — speech and other verbal communication forms — has always been at the centre of human communication, and the common reference to the ‘voice’ as an essence of an instrument, or an idea, is the focus of this concert. Mixture of spoken poetry and solo harp promises an afternoon break full of beauty. Info here.
Royal Conservatory of Music: Discovery Series: GGS Chamber Competition Finals
Wednesday Mar. 6, 7:30 p.m.
Koerner Hall. Free tickets available through the box office.
An annual event for Glenn Gould School, GGS Chamber Competition is organized in two groups: duos, and chamber groups of three or more. Each group plays two contrasting pieces (maximum 35 minutes per group) on the first day, then the final round features selected groups performing repertoire from their preliminary round list, at the discretion of the jury. The open final round often features less-familiar combinations of instruments: last year’s final selection included harp-cello duo and woodwind quintet, in addition to the standard piano trio, and clarinet-piano duo. A great way to see upcoming young musicians, along with possible exposure to unexpected repertoire/ensemble combinations. The concert is free to the public, please register for tickets. Info here.
Payadora Tango Ensemble: A Night of Tango with Payadora
Wednesday Mar 6, 8 p.m.
Jazz Bistro, 251 Victoria St. $25 cover
A local favourite, Payadora players draw from wide traditions — Classical, Jazz, Latin, Eastern European folk music, and improvisation. A dance form born of a colourful mix of Argentine Milonga, Spanish-Cuban Habanera and Uruguayan Candombe, and of colonialism and slavery, tango has enticed many composers with its rhythmic virtuosity and harmonic complexity. This is a great chance to explore tango in a live, relaxed setting at the Jazz Bistro. Repertoire will include classic and modern tango, originals, and South American folk music. Info here.
Womens Musical Club Toronto: Music in the Afternoon: Dominic Desautels & Jean-Philippe Sylvestre
Thursday March 7, 1:30 p.m. Pre-concert talk at 12:15 p.m.
Walter Hall, University of Toronto. $50; Free for students
Established in 1898, Women’s Musical Club has been nurturing concert culture in Toronto through ‘Music in the Afternoon’, an annual series of five chamber music concerts of both established and upcoming musicians, and by creating scholarship and performance opportunities for young musicians. This week’s concert features Dominic Desaultels and Jean-Philippe Sylvestre. Though (very) hard to see from above, Dominic has been playing in the Canadian Opera Company pit since 2017 as the principal: with Jean-Philippe, and guest Zsófia Stefán (Bassoon), the program will feature clarinet-piano duo music of both Schumanns, Glinka, Norbert Burgmüller, and Brahms. Pre-concert lecture by Peter Stoll, starting at 12:15, will give a brief overview of the clarinet as a chamber music instrument. Info here.
TO Live/Attila Glatz Concert Productions: Amadeus Live
Thursday March 7, 7:30 p.m.
Meridian Hall, 1 Front St. East, Toronto. $59+
The live-orchestra-at-movies concept has been a great success in recent years— notable sell-out houses include Coco (TSO), The Lord of the Rings in Concert (GFN Productions & FILMharmonic Orchestra), and Harry Potter™ Film Concert Series (Attila Glatz Concert Productions). This week, TO Live Orchestra plays for Amadeus Live, a live-music version of the 1984 multi-Academy Award winning motion picture. For classical music enthusiasts, Amadeus was one of the most successful films ever made about classical music, and those heart-crushing scenes near the end, where Mozart struggles to finish the Requiem, will be sung by- of course- the Amadeus choir. Info here.
Tafelmusik: Bach Motets & Company
Friday March 8, 8:00 p.m.
Jeanne Lamon Hall, Trinity-St. Paul’s Centre. $40
Under the baton of Ivars Taurins, Tafelmusik choir presents motets from Bach, his family, and of his predecessors at St. Thomas Church, Leipzig, in a sparse setting of choir and organ, in this time of lent. Guest group Ori Shalva, led by Shalva Makharashvili, will sing traditional sacred Georgian music, weaving in-and-out of the Baroque motets. Recognized by the UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, the polyphonic Georgian sacred music will be an interesting contrast to the German Baroque motet- not only musically, but also in theological and spiritual context. Info here.
Women from Space Festival
Friday Mar 8, Sat Mar 9, Sun Mar 10
918 Bathurst Centre for Culture, Arts, Media and Education. $15+
It is impossible to summarize the Women from Space Festival in a single sentence. The festival happens annually on International Women’s Day weekend, with an emphasis on: ‘…all women artists, non-binary, genderqueer, genderfluid and gender non-conforming artists, and all who have a relationship to the term women.’ The three-day program is packed with 30+ true avant-garde musicians in 9 performances, giving ample chance to hear and see what may be possible for a ‘performance’— there will be new things for everyone, from contemporary music beginners to seasoned veterans of avant-garde performance.
The line-up varies wildly, ranging from solo artists with electronics, to the in-house 17-star improvising band of 3 percussionists, electronics, winds, strings, and voice: BIG BANG! (March 8), with support from the Canadian Music Centre, the Music Gallery, and the Toronto Dance Theatre. Info here.
Orpheus Choir of Toronto: Poulenc’s Gloria: Jewels of the French Repertoire
Saturday March 9, 7:30 p.m.
Grace Church on-the-Hill. $20+
It is rare to hear Francis Poulenc’s music in Toronto — a shame, as Poulenc’s extreme range from sublime, unconditional love and tenderness, to downright vulgarity and violence, is so powerful and distinctive. Poulenc’s Gloria, a commission from the Koussevitsky Foundation of America, was initially considered borderline sacrilegious — not a surprise, as his love for the extreme was well-known in his circle: ‘There is in him something of the monk and the street urchin.’ Orpheus Choir of Toronto, with soloist Midori Marsh, and organist Stephen Boda, will present this glorious work along with a selection of French choral works by Maurice Ravel, Lili Boulanger, Franco-Ontarian Marie-Claire Saindon and Haitian-American Sydney Guillaume. Info here.
Toronto Chamber Choir: The Muse of Novara
Saturday March 9, 7:30 p.m.
Calvin Presbyterian Church, $5+
Toronto Chamber Choir returns to the stage under the direction of Lucas Harris. Harris, who may be very familiar to Toronto audiences through his lute playing with Tafelmusik, Toronto Consort, and the Vesuvius Ensemble, brings his A-game as a choral conductor and a researcher. This program focuses on the music of Isabella Leonarda (1620-1704), who composed over 200 works while living in the Ursuline convent from age 16 till her death at age 83, ranging from motets and masses to sonatas. A lovely event to experience the essence of 17th-century Italian music from the perspective of a rare woman composer. Info here.
Igor Levit
Sunday March 10, 3 p.m.
Koerner Hall. $50+
Igor Levit brings a fresh program to Koerner Hall— orchestral transcriptions for solo piano, and Hindemith’s Suite 1922. Levit’s intellectual curiosity combined with flawless technique, always leads to interesting choices in programming, whether it be based on the true, tested canon of piano literature (he is a self-fessed lover of Franz Liszt), or a take on a Metallica song. This program is no exception, as he juxtaposes music from Mahler and Beethoven with Hindemith’s 1922, Op. 26, a satire on the petit-bourgeois culture, drawing from scenes from the circus. Info here.
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