Traditional, arr. Kathleen Allan: Come and I Will Sing You; Brahms: “O Schöne Nacht”; Vivaldi: Excerpts from Gloria; Elgar: Sea Pictures, Op. 37; iii. Sabbath Morning at Sea; Nicole Percifield, mezzo—soprano (Art of Song Fellow); Steven Philcox, piano (Art of Song Program Director); Chopin: Ballade No. 4 in F minor, Op. 52; Richard Wang, piano (Community Program — Piano Masterclass); Gershwin — Mangani: Blues from “An American in Paris”; Eric Abramovitz*, clarinet, Philip Chiu*, piano; Humperdinck: “Abendsegen” from Hänsel und Gretel, Caitlin Wood, Sarah Mole, sopranos; Claire Heinrichs, violin; Jonathan Crow viola; Sabina Crow, cello; Jennifer Mak, piano (TSM Staff); Florence Price: Piano Quintet in A minor iii. Juba – Allegro, Lauren Conroy, Ria Honda, violins; Daniel Simmons, viola, Kelcey Howell, cello; Yumi Jang, piano (Chamber Music Institute Fellows); Ravel: String Quartet in F Major, M. 35 i. Allegro moderato — Très doux, Jean—Paul Desaulniers, Aaron Schwebel*, violins; Julia Pacitti, viola, Stuart Mutch, cello (Community Program — Chamber Music); Rheinberger: Nonet in E—flat Major, Op. 139, i. Allegro — Moderato — Adagio — Allegro vivo, Kate Sohn, violin; Barry Shiffman*, viola; Christie MacCallum, cello, Ian Werker, bass, Claire Lee, flute; Cristina Sewerin, oboe, Jonathan Krehm, clarinet, Samuel Banks, bassoon, Gabriel Radford, horn; Michael Chiarello, coach (Community Program — Chamber Music); Iman Habibi: Haft (World Première, TSM Commission), Shane Kim, violin; Rémi Pelletier, viola, Leana Rutt, cello, Jesse Dale, bass, Miles Haskins, clarinet, Mikhailo Babiak, horn, Nicolas Richard, bassoon; Mozart: String Quintet No. 3 in C Major, K. 515, iv. Allegro, Ria Honda, Hudson Ye Hyung Chung, violins; Yura Lee,** Celia Morin,, violas; Juliana Moroz, cello (Chamber Music Institute Fellows)
The Toronto Summer Music Finale was a wonderful showcase of the musical activities that have been happening over the past number of weeks. On this hot Saturday summer evening, Walter Hall was nearly full of an appreciative and supportive audience. It goes to show the dedication of classical music lovers in Toronto to get their dose of live performances.
There are two main components to Toronto Summer Music (TSM). There is the Festival, in which world—renowned musicians give performances. A good number of these Festival concerts were sold out, as indicated by TSM’s Artistic Director, and host for the evening, Jonathan Crow.
Then, there is the TSM Academy, which is a rigorous training program for emerging performers. The Community Program within the TSM Academy provides advanced adult amateurs the exciting opportunity to learn from and to perform with professional musicians.
This Finale concert offered a delectable sampling of the various components of TSM. Given the number of participants, for the most part, only a single movement of a larger work was performed.
All the three streams within the Community Program – Chamber Choir, Piano Masterclass, and Chamber Music – were represented on the program. I was particularly impressed by the string quartet’s performance of Ravel’s String Quartet in F Major. There was a liveliness to the performance, but it was also able to evoke the “très doux” marking of the movement.
From the TSM Academy, the emerging artists (fellows) in the program gave outstanding performances. The Piano Quintet in A minor (3rd movement: Juba – Allegro) by Florence Price was performed with the requisite dance quality that captured that character of the juba dance and the spirit of the Southern USA. The performance of Mozart’s String Quintet No.3 in C Major (K.515, 4th movement: Allegro) was brimming with delight and charm. In both of these performances, the chamber music ensembles were cohesive and acutely attentive to each other. It was as if they were performing together for years rather than just weeks.
Nicole Percifield (Art of Song Fellow), sang Elgar’s Sabbath Morning at Sea from Sea Pictures, Op. 37, supported by Steven Philcox on the piano. Percifield’s voice has marvellous colour and depth that suited the emotions of the poem. Her phrasing evoked a sense of the sea waves, while still having forward direction.
In addition to familiar works, some festival mentors and artists came together to give the world premiere of Haft, a TSM Commissioned work by Iranian-Canadian composer Iman Habibi. Unfortunately, there was no program note for this new piece provided. I suspect that Haft refers to the Persian word for seven, which is the number of instruments required for the piece: violin, viola, cello, bass, clarinet, horn, and bassoon. The piece was written idiomatically for the instruments, and there were wonderful contrasts between the string and wind instruments. Sustained harmonies contrasted with repeated note patterns. Individual melodic gestures were clear and effective. The entire piece had audibly clear sections, but I was longing for an overarching structure to tie it all together. Perhaps a second listening would unveil something more.
There were two gems that stood out in the evening.
Firstly, Eric Abramovitz, clarinet, and Philip Chiu, piano performed Blues from “An American in Paris” by Gershwin, arranged by Michele Mangani. These two highly accomplished musicians demonstrated their versatility and delivered a marvellous performance with their nuanced rhythms and impeccably appropriate tone.
Secondly, the TSM staff, who are fine musicians in their own right, performed “Abendsegen” from Engelbert Humperdinck’s opera, “Hänsel und Gretel”. Caitlin Wood and Sarah Mole, sopranos, not only have angelic voices, but were most adorable when they theatrically fell asleep on stage.
Next year’s edition will be the TSM’s twentieth and the festival will run from July 10 to August 2, 2025. I’ve already got my calendar marked.
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