This is a list of concerts we are attending, wishing we could attend, or thinking about attending between November 4 and November 10, 2024. For more of what’s happening around Toronto, visit our calendar here.
Friends of Music at St. Thomas’s Church: Lute Legends Collective & The Butter Quartet: There Is a Season: A Musical Mosaic
Tuesday, November 05, 7 p.m.
St. Thomas’s Anglican Church, 383 Huron St. Pay-what-you-can.
All things that look like the guitar — aren’t guitars. It is silly, but how often do we hear a ‘guitar’ and think: hmmm, that’s a bit out there? The guitar family is a fascinating bunch. In addition to the common guitar, including classical, steel-stringed, 12 string, steel guitar, double neck, and touch guitar, they all are in common use, even when many of us cannot tell them apart by looking. When we add international variations: the lute from Europe, setar and ‘ūd from Persia, Pipa from China, Kora from west Africa, the variety and subtle differences are quite rich — and the more you know, the more you will hear. To see and hear them all together would be a great way to learn the finesse and tradition of each instrument that carried stories and voices from the past, and now. Toronto’s Lute Legends Collective, joined by visiting Butter Quartet from Netherland, will present the infinite beauty of these instruments through the contrasts and harmony of music of the seasons from Austria, Italy, China, Turkey, and India. A great way to look closely at what we thought we already knew — a worthwhile journey for a Tuesday evening. Info here.
Toronto Symphony Orchestra: John Adams Returns
Wednesday, Nov 06, 8 p.m., Saturday, Nov 9, 8 p.m.
Roy Thomson Hall, $30+
American master John Adams returns to TSO presenting an iconic favourite: ‘This is Prophetic!’ from the opera Nixon in China, featuring lyric soprano Anna Prohaska, and a Canadian premiere of Adams’ new work ‘Frenzy’. Adams’ mastery of rhythm and orchestration drove many people to explore contemporary classical music for the very first time, and the excellence of his music has been recognized by both the critics and classical fanatics — as winner of the Grawemeyer Award for Music Composition, the Erasmus Prize, and the Pulitzer, and the general public, as a permanent fixture on Classic FM, and Bachtracks’ Top 10 living composers list. See the maestro lead the TSO through his own world, as Adams’ take on Debussy’s Le Livre de Baudelaire, and a nod to the past great, Ravel’s Alborada del gracioso, fills out the evening — he’s a fantastic conductor, and it’ll be a joy to see this large orchestra in a synched pulsation of such great programming. Read our Interview with John Adams here. Info here.
Esencia Flamenca
Thursday, Nov 7, 7:30 p.m.,
The Elgin & Winter Garden Theatres, $50+
The Castro Romero family is a legend in the international Flamenco community. Since Castro Romero siblings Rosario, Ricardo, and Jose Romero founded the Flamenco Suite Española in 1994, their superb musical and dancing ability, paired with great programming and amazing company members, have brought the passion of flamenco to all corners of the world: from the Mariinsky Theatre, the Bolshoi, to the American Ballet, Paris Opera, and the Royal Ballet, to name a few. Winner of the Spanish National Prize for Cultura Viva dance, their 2024 Esencia Flamenca Canada Tour stops at the historic Elgin theatre this Thursday. A must, for an evening full of infectious rhythm and dramatic tension calling for flourished explosions and a celebration of the depth of human emotion. Info here.
Elmer Iseler Singers: Fall Mysticism
Friday, November 8, 7:30 p.m.
St. Basil’s Church, 50 St. Joseph St., $25+
The Elmer Isler Singers is a 20-member professional choir — a rarity. Traditionally, choral singing is community-based music making, which incorporates many shades of musical experience and ability, a true celebration of diversity; however, professional choirs, few and far between, may be a unique experience for the audience, as the depth of experience and superb musicianship from the members can be stunning — it’s certainly a level up. EIS opens their 46th season with Fall Mysticism, featuring a world premiere by Peter-Anthony Togni’s ‘The Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom’. Composer Togni sang in the St. Vladimir Orthodox Church in Halifax for five years, and the tradition of the Russian Orthodox choral singing has inspired many — including Rachmaninoff’s Vespers. To see how Togni has been transformed and inspired to create from this rich tradition, through the excellence of the EIS, is a great way to experience the beauty of mysticism. The Elora Singers will be joining the EIS for this concert. Info here.
Leonidas Kavakos: Complete Bach Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin
Saturday November 9, 8 p.m., Sunday November 10, 5 p.m.
Koerner Hall, $55+
Over two concerts, Kavakos presents all six of Bach’s works for the solo violin. Work of impossibility — asking the melodic violin to create canons and fugues, the work is an enigma: what is possible? And how would it be possible? Would it ever — ? This impossible beauty has attracted many aficionados and serious musicians, and along with Bach’s cello suites, its impressive depth and philosophic interest has kept the work at the top of the mountain of violin music for centuries. Brilliant in his superb ability while being an understated man, Kavakos is an enigma himself. His recording of the work in 2022 with Sony is referred as ‘… a contemplation of the divine’ (The Strad), as Kavakos somehow let the music be the master, despite what seems like an endless reserve of technique that he holds. This is no small feat, and it’s exciting to hear this phenomenon live, in the literature that demands so much more beyond perfect technique. Come, for the contemplation of human emotions, explored through nothing but a man and his instrument. First concert features Partita 3, Sonatas 2 and 3, and the second concert features Sonata1, and Partitas 1 and 2. Read our Interview with Leonidas Kavakos here. Info here.
That Choir Remembers 2024
Saturday November 9, 8 p.m., Sunday November 10, 3 p.m.
Church of Holy Trinity, 10 Trinity Square, Pay-what-you-can
This a cappella group has already totally blown me away with their rendition of ‘When David Heard’ (Whitacre) at the end of the COVID-pandemic. The work is beautiful, but fraught with difficulties — 17 minutes of Whitacre’s closely-spaced, highly dissonant harmony, requires dedication and superb musicianship. And they delivered. For this early November, That Choir brings us a chance for reflection and connection through honouring and remembering those who we love, and continue to love, despite the constrictions of time and death. A great way to experience the calm and contemplativeness of November, where we are reminded of the fleeting nature of life — memento mori, and the love that we seek to express beyond that boundary. Info here.
Amici Ensemble: Was Brahms a God
Sunday, November 10, 3 p.m.
Trinity-St. Paul’s Centre, $50+
When we know something well, it is easy to forget how amazing it must’ve been initially. As we age, we often settle into a mould we’ve created for ourselves — the youthful outreach, the sense of wonder, these jubilant feelings, become distant over time, and remembrance of them, rather than experience, becomes more common. As often said in a litany: youth is wasted on youth. In his late 50s, as Brahms contemplated retiring from composing, two things happened: he heard young Ernő Dohnányi’s first piano quintet, aged just 18. Brahms extended his friendship and opened many doors for the youth. And when Brahms heard legendary clarinettist Richard Mühlfeld’s playing, he embarked upon binge writing for the clarinet: both clarinet sonatas, the clarinet trio, and the clarinet quintet were written for Mühlfeld. Now, 133 years after its premiere, it’s difficult to imagine how ‘new’ that clarinet quintet (1891) must’ve sounded — the ensemble format has been largely forgotten, and no major new work has come up since Mozart’s K. 581 (1789) — and boom, there it was, an instant icon. These two powerful works have become standards of the canon and deserve to be heard with a fresh mindset, even in the 21st century. Come out to hear Amici and guests play these classics with superb musicianship and ease this Sunday. Info here.
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