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CRITIC’S PICKS | Classical Music Events You Absolutely Need To See This Week: October 7 – 13

By Hye Won Cecilia Lee on October 7, 2024

L-R (clockwise): Former TSO Music Director Jukka-Pekka Saraste (Photo courtesy of the artist); Toronto Music Garden with lights (Photo courtesy of TMG); Tania Miller conducts the Royal Conservatory Orchestra (Photo courtesy of the RCO)
L-R (clockwise): Former TSO Music Director Jukka-Pekka Saraste (Photo courtesy of the artist); Toronto Music Garden with lights (Photo courtesy of TMG); Tania Miller conducts the Royal Conservatory Orchestra (Photo courtesy of the RCO)

This is a list of concerts we are attending, wishing we could attend, or thinking about attending between October 7 and October 13, 2024. For more of what’s happening around Toronto, visit our calendar here.

Toronto Symphony Orchestra: Saraste Conducts Mozart’s Requiem

Wednesday, October 9, 8 p.m., Thursday, October 10, 8 p.m., Saturday, October 12, 8 p.m.
Roy Thomson Hall, $30+

The most favoured requiem of the people returns to Roy Thomson Hall this fall with TSO and the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir, under the baton of Jukka-Pekka Saraste. The requiem text developed along with early Gregorian chants, and once the variation of text became finalized in the Council of Trent (1545-1563), ‘requiem’ started to form itself as a distinctive musical form. Since the 16th century, there have been quite a few popular requiems — Verdi, Berlioz, Saint-Saëns, Brahms, Dvořák, Fauré, Duruflé — and these works are performed frequently (we remember seeing so many Fauré and Duruflé post-pandemic to commemorate the lives lost during those trying times), but the most popular requiem is still Mozart’s. Written at the end of his short and dramatic life, Mozart never got to finish it, and it was completed upon the request of Constanze, Mozart’s widow, by Franz Xaver Süssmayr. The finished product is a masterpiece in its operatic finesse and grandeur, and Mozart’s choice to omit flutes, oboes, clarinets, and horns creates a distinctive dark tone, contrasting to his brilliant mature orchestration. As the key piece of the madly popular movie Amadeus, you’d be hard pressed to find a better loved requiem. Joining the TSO are: Siobhan Stagg, Karen Cargill, Frédéric Antoun, Dashon Burton, and the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir under the Artistic direction of Jean-Sébastien Vallée. A great way to gather some thought, as we gingerly approach the darkest night of the winter, and the end of the year — and life. Info here.

Tania Miller Conducts the Royal Conservatory Orchestra

Thursday, October 10, 8 p.m.
Koerner Hall. $25+

Tania Miller, the youngest woman to lead a major Canadian Orchestra (appointed by Victory Symphony in May 2003), has been busy leading orchestras, creating leadership opportunities for women, and writing. Her exploration of wide-ranging topics, from the role of music in community, concept of leadership, and developing and appreciating personal intentions (for everyone), has been inspiring, and it is a pleasure to see her in the comprehensive role of conductor, where all these provocative thoughts are amalgamated and transformed in non-verbal communication through a group of people. The RCO will open the program with Berlioz’s brilliant Roman Carnival Overture, and close the program with Sibelius 1, with a lovely highlight in the middle: Brahms’ Violin Concerto with Isabella Perron, 2024 Glenn Gould School graduate. There is something special about an orchestra supporting one of its own family — congeniality, sense of belonging, and all these things strengthen the bond between the three: soloist, orchestra, and conductor. A lovely way to spend a Thursday evening. Info here.

Vesuvius Ensemble + Otterville

Friday October 11, 8 p.m.
Heliconian Hall. $40

Musical chameleon Andrew Downing is truly exactly that. In addition to his work in the jazz realm as composer/arranger/bassist, his projects, which tend to disregard the polite separation and lines in the sand drawn oh-so-very-carefully of different musical genres, have been super fun and beautiful. You may have seen his collaboration with established groups such as Tafelmusik (if you remembered to get tickets before it sold out), or through his curation, Confluence Concerts. On this Friday, Francesco Pellegrino and Lucas Harris of Vesuvius Ensemble, and Downing’s Otterville will present you music of — oh, where would they take you, what wonderful places will you go! They promise music from a true mixed bag: Kurt Weill, Billy Strayhorn, Eric Satie, Bill Frisell, to Italian film great Nino Rota. And yes, Vesuvius sells out all-the-time. Act quickly. Info here.

Music Garden Performances: WIBI A CAPPELLA

Saturday October 12, 7 p.m.
Music Garden, Free

ow for something different — as the day gets shorter and the night gets longer, we get to play with lights! Toronto’s Music Garden has put up lavish lighting, and has scheduled two live performances as dusk settles. The light installation will interact with the soundscape of the garden; the singing, and life spilling over- buses, passers-by, and all the sound in the city as it slips to the darkness. The two performance dates are October 12 and 19, and for this week, WIBI A CAPPELLA, Canada’s longest-running collegiate a cappella group. Come out for a gentle stroll and a pause. Info here.

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