This is a list of concerts we are attending, wishing we could attend, or thinking about attending between March 24 and 30, 2025. For more of what’s happening around Toronto, visit our calendar here.
Canadian Opera Company: Vocal/Dance Series: David and Jonathan
Tuesday, March 25, Noon
Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre, Four Seasons Centre, Free
In anticipation of Opera Atelier’s Canadian premiere of Charpentier’s David and Jonathan, this Tuesday noon hour is filled with delicate slivers of the grandeur of high French Baroque. OA’s lavish production was created and performed at the Royal Chapel of Versailles in 2022, with all the bells and whistles, including the period costumes and ballet sequence — setting OA a step above the average opera experience. Come and see what co-directors Marshall Pynkoski and Jeannette Lajeunnesse have created for the full production at the Koerner Hall later in April. The scrumptious music of Charpentier is definitely highly flavoured — it ain’t Vivaldi, Bach, or Purcell — defining the nationalistic palettes of the Baroque era is a complicated topic, with so many moving parts from one another. However, the French Baroque, especially Charpentier’s music, is full of Louis XIV, the Sun King’s gold-leafed glory built on wealth the world had never seen before, and Charpentier is one of the best composers there ever was. Not sure if you agree? Come and see it for yourself — what a way to energize yourself on Tuesday afternoon! Info here.
Royal Conservatory of Music: Martin Fröst, Antoine Tamestit, and Shai Wosner
Friday, March 28, 8 p.m.
Koerner Hall, $50+
The Swedish clarinet genius Martin Fröst, easily one of the best clarinetists of our time, if not the best, brings intimate chamber music to Koerner Hall with Antoine Tamestit (viola) and Shai Wosner (piano). The general public only really get to see a few instruments and singers in the classical hall spotlight — think concerto instruments: piano, violin, cello, and voice. There are occasional performances of brass or wind concertos — considered a light highlight of larger programming — and specific chamber music programming such as string quartets, piano trios, etc. — but it’s not so common to see the clarinet, or the viola, to be the star of the entire program. So, come and see this eclectic program performed with world class finesse, creativity, and sensitivity: for many, it’ll be wild to hear the clarinet, and the viola take the centre stage with piano, truly displaying their full potential. Info here.
Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra: Choral Splendours: Bach & Zelenka
Friday, March 28, 8 p.m., Saturday, March 29, 8 p.m., Sunday, March 30, 3 p.m.
Jeanne Lamon Hall, Trinity-St. Paul’s Centre, $20+
Who is Jan Dismas Zelenka? Bach considered him one of the best, and we are lucky to have Ivars Taurins, Tafelmusik Chamber Choir’s director, champion Zelenka’s music for the Toronto audience. For Tafel’s annual summer music institute final concert, Taurins always programmes a bit of Zelenka, along with Bach, and Charpentier — it is that good, way up there with the familiar greats. Tthis particular performance will mark Tafelmusik’s completion of Zelenka’s five high Masses. Come and hear glorious choral music, with soloist Myriam Leblanc, explode with energy and superb technique for Zelenka’s amazing music, along with Bach’s great hits. Read our Preview here. Info here.
Confluence Concerts.: The Line Between
Saturday, March 29, 7:30 p.m., Sunday, March 30, 3 p.m.
Heliconian Hall, $30
One of the best intimate chamber series in town, Confluence presents The Line Between, a Suba Sankaran curation. Sankaran, a multifaceted musician, has woven magic, drawing from world music, pop, jazz, folk, gospel, and a new song suite: Blue Skies, Red Earth, Tall Pine. If you are interested in the in-depth philosophy and decisions that lead to this truly boundary-free programming, come a little earlier (45 minutes before the concert downbeat), to join the artists for the pre-concert chat. Musicians: Dylan Bell, Andrew Downing, Aidan McConnell and Patricia O’Callaghan join Sankaran in this lovely program. Info here.
Royal Conservatory of Music: Chamber Music Series: Vivaldi’s Four Seasons at 300
Saturday, March 29, 8 p.m.
Koerner Hall, $60+
One of the best Baroque troupes in the world, Les Arts Florrisants, return to Toronto with Théotime Langlois de Swarte (violin). The perennial favourite, a true celebration of string instruments, Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, along with Monteverdi, Uccellini and Geminiani, promise plenty of excellence and pyrotechnics from de Swarte and Les Arts Florissants. Les Arts, with nearly 100 recordings, and de Swarte, a fast-rising star still in his 20s, already with the 2022 Diapason D’or of the year (Vivaldi, Locatelli, and Leclair concertos) means that anything, and just about everything might be possible. Come and hear the familiar Four Seasons, but this time, with such virtuosity, you just might hear things that you never heard before — it is amazing what can be conjured from scores in the hands of true masters. Read our Preview here. Info here.
Mooredale Concerts: Duo Sonidos
Sunday, March 30, 3:15 p.m.
Walter Hall, 80 Queen’s Park, $30+
Duo Sonidos — William Knuth (violin) and Adam Levin (guitar) — brings intimacy and the brilliance of these two rarely matched instruments to Walter Hall. As the violin is bowed and the guitar is plucked, though closely related, somehow they don’t get paired very often. So, join in this Sunday afternoon to hear DS, winners of the first prize at the Luys Milan International Chamber Music Competition in Valencia, play a program of Assad, Pereira, Foss, Gershwin, Morales-Caso and Muñizl. There is so much potential for new discoveries for the audience here — for fresh compositions and intimate conversation between the instruments. Come with joyful curiosity, and sink into Duo Sonidos’ unique sound world. For the young’uns, there’s the option for Music & Truffles, an hour-long exploration of music, starting at 1:15 p.m., with plenty of encouragement for dancing and clapping. Info here.
#LUDWIGVAN
Get the daily arts news straight to your inbox.