Last year’s splashy Bradley Cooper-directed biopic turned a spotlight onto Leonard Bernstein as a conductor, composer, and complex personality. To open the 2024/25 season, Toronto’s Amici Ensemble keeps the focus on his compositions, with the help of mezzo-soprano Beste Kalender and violinist Erika Raum.
The concert takes place on October 6 at Trinity-St. Paul’s Centre, and the program samples from Bernstein’s diverse catalogue of works.
Leonard Bernstein, Composer
“Bernstein for me personally has always been a musical idol. He was a musical polymath. He was a conductor, pianist, composer, educator, producer… I don’t think he left out anything in music that he couldn’t do. He was this vibrant personality, and that’s what we want to show in our program at [Maestro Bernstein],” says Serouj Kradjian in a statement.
Bernstein’s work as a composer spans multiple genres, from the iconic score to the hit Broadway musical West Side Story, to his three symphonies, choral works, ballets, chamber music, piano pieces, and much more.
Bernstein contributed the score to acclaimed theatre works of the era, including On the Town (1944), Candide (1956), and others. He worked with noted director Elia Kazan on his seminal movie On the Waterfront (1954).
He captured the American spirit in his music, and left a body of artistic work that is still being explored.
The Program
The concert is anchored by a West Side Story Medley arranged by Amici Co-Artistic Director (and pianist) Serouj Kradjian, but aims to present a showcase of Bernstein’s diverse legacy as a composer.
Instrumental Works:
- Variations on an Octatonic Scale (originally written for recorder and cello, performed as a Duo for clarinet and cello by Co-Artistic Directors Joaquin Valdepeñas and David Hetherington)
- Clarinet Sonata, written by a young Bernstein in his 20s
Vocal Works:
- West Side Story Medley (arranged by Serouj)
- I Can Cook Too
- Dream With Me
- Little Smary — Greeting
- Simple Song
- A Little Bit In Love
- Send in the Clowns
- I Feel Pretty
- Candide
Guest Artists
Two guest artists join Amici Ensemble of Co-Artistic Directors clarinetist Joaquin Valdepeñas, cellist David Hetherington and pianist Serouj Kradjian for the concert.
Beste Kalender
Mezzo soprano Beste Kalender grew up Antalya and Istanbul, Turkey, where she got her early music training singing in a children’s opera chorus. She went on to study at the State Conservatory and Bogazici University in Turkey, followed by graduate research at the University of Toronto. Her graduate studies focused on music cognition and developmental psychology.
She began to explore performance via music festivals, notably with Opera on the Avalon in Newfoundland, Les Choregies D’Orange (France), and Music Academy of the West in California. Beste went on to earn an Artist Diploma from the Glenn Gould School at the Royal Conservatory.
Since then, she has developed a varied performance career. Early this year, she performed with noted pianist Fazil Say and Friends at Koerner Hall, along with guest appearances with Sinfonia Toronto and Niagara Symphony.
Erika Raum
Violinist Erika Raum got her first professional playing gig at the age of 12. She went on to graduate from the University of Toronto, where she now teaches. She is also on the faculty of The Glenn Gould School of The Royal Conservatory.
Erika won first place at the 1992 Joseph Szigeti International Violin Competition in Budapest, along with the award for best interpretation of a Mozart concerto. It led to an extensive performing career throughout Europe, along with guest appearances and recitals across Canada. She has performed at the Beethoven Festival in Warsaw, the BargeMusic Festival in New York, and the Seattle Chamber Music Festival, among many others.
She is a member of the ARC Ensemble, and has been since its inception. Her recording catalogue includes four releases with ARC, along with her own discography.
- Find more details, and tickets, for the October 6 concert [HERE].
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