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May 2019
Canadian Music Centre | Prehistoric Ligeti/Classical Context
Prehistoric Ligeti / Classical Context Closing its 2018 / 2019 season, Classical Context will be hosting a concert-lecture featuring the music of Ligeti written prior to his escape from the Soviet Union. Andrew James Clark will guide listeners through the staggering events of Ligeti’s early life while he and other former graduate students from the University of Toronto tackle the unique technical virtuosity of Ligeti’s music, much of which was forbidden to be performed at the time. Metamorphoses Nocturnes will be showcased by Montreal’s…
Find out more »June 2019
National Ballet of Canada | Physical Thinking
However you choose to see William Forsythe—willful provocateur, poet of the anti-ballet, master of anarchic beauty—there is no doubt that he has extended the reach and possibility of modern dance as few other contemporary choreographers have done. The three works that compose this programme exemplify the extraordinary range and flavour of his work. The Vertiginous Thrill of Exactitude is a short, but fiercely demanding work created by the choreographer in 1996 for his Ballet Frankfurt company. Set to the final movement…
Find out more »Opera by Request | Nabucco
Opera by Request presents Verdi’s Nabucco, in concert with piano accompaniment, Saturday, June 1, 7:30 pm, Christ Church UCC, 1700 Mazo Crescent, Mississauga. All tickets $20.00. Phone 416 455-2365 for reservations and information. Nabucco………………….Gene Wu, baritone Abigaille…………………..Cristina Pisani, soprano Zaccaria…………………..Dylan Wright, bass-baritone Ismaele……………………Cian Horrobin, tenor Fenena…………………….Meghan Symon, mezzo-soprano William Shookhoff, pianist and music director Details, here.
Find out more »North York Concert Orchestra | Ode to Joy
Beethoven’s 9th Symphony PLUS Beethoven – Egmont Overture Villa-Lobos – Melodia Sentimental Schubert – Gretchen am Spinnrade (Gretchen at the Spinning Wheel) Schubert – Ständchen (Serenade) Andrea Lett, soprano Danielle MacMillan, mezzo soprano Michael Barrett, tenor Bradley Christensen, baritone TWO PERFORMANCES Saturday June 1, 2019 at 8:00 pm Yorkminster Citadel, 1 Lord Seaton Road, Toronto ON, M2P 1C1 (Yonge & 401) Pre-concert chat at 7:30pm Sunday June 2, 2019 at 7:30pm The Church of St Peter and St Simon-the-Apostle, 525…
Find out more »North York Concert Orchestra | Ode to Joy
Beethoven’s 9th Symphony PLUS Beethoven – Egmont Overture Villa-Lobos – Melodia Sentimental Schubert – Gretchen am Spinnrade (Gretchen at the Spinning Wheel) Schubert – Ständchen (Serenade) Andrea Lett, soprano Danielle MacMillan, mezzo soprano Michael Barrett, tenor Bradley Christensen, baritone TWO PERFORMANCES Saturday June 1, 2019 at 8:00 pm Yorkminster Citadel, 1 Lord Seaton Road, Toronto ON, M2P 1C1 (Yonge & 401) Pre-concert chat at 7:30pm (Listing here) Sunday June 2, 2019 at 7:30pm The Church of St Peter and St…
Find out more »Tafelmusik | Tafelmusik Baroque Summer Festival: Opening Night
OPENING NIGHT – PRIORITY-SEATING TICKETS SOLD OUT Monday, June 3, 2019 at 8pm Jeanne Lamon Hall, Trinity-St. Paul’s Centre (427 Bloor Street West, Toronto) map Tickets required* The Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra and Chamber Choir, directed by Elisa Citterio and Ivars Taurins, and with guest artist baritone Peter Harvey. Important Information for Opening Night Concert run time: approximately 1 hour. There will not be an intermission. *Doors open at 7:30pm for ticket holders. Ticket holders have access to priority seating until 7:45pm. Patrons without tickets will enter after 7:45pm pending…
Find out more »Toronto Symphony Orchestra | Brahms Symphony 4
Distinguished German conductor Karl-Heinz Steffens makes his TSO début in this exquisite program of central-European gems. Jan Lisiecki, already one of the world’s most admired pianists, performs a fiery and poetic concerto by Mendelssohn that he recently recorded for Deutsche Grammophon. The last of Brahms’s symphonies crowns the concert with music of immense strength and power. (Pictured: Jan Lisiecki, piano) Concert running time is approximately two hours including a 20-minute intermission. Tickets, here.
Find out more »Canadian Music Centre | The Canadian Piano Left-Hand Commissioning Project
In order to cope with some recent serious injuries to his right arm, composer Adam Scime has commissioned eight Canadian composers to write works for piano left hand. He will premiere the pieces in this concert alongside a wonderful set of Canadian and international piano repertoire performed by Adam Sherkin. The event is PWYC, so come on out to the CMC on June 5 for 8pm! You can purchase the full set of new left hand piano compositions at the…
Find out more »Syrinx Concerts Toronto | Ishay Shaer in Concert
June 6, 2019 Ishay Shaer, piano this concert is held at Mazzoleni Hall Telus Centre, at 7:30 Program: Works by Debussy, Chopin, Beethoven, Canadian Composer: Jean Coulthard Details, here.
Find out more »Attila Glatz Concert Productions | Jonathan Antoine Live In Concert
Crossover British tenor and star of Britain’s Got Talent, Jonathan Antoine transforms the Winter Garden Theatre into a musical fantasy world featuring iconic music ranging from Disney anthems to popular songs and the world’s greatest arias (including his debut performance of “Nessun Dorma”), all performed by the young, 24 year-old vocal sensation. This magical concert, which will be filmed for television, also features the internationally acclaimed, Grammy-nominated virtuoso electric cellist, Tina Guo and Disney’s own a cappella vocal sensation DCappella. Along with an orchestra, these artists will bring their audience into…
Find out more »Tapestry Opera | Book of My Shames
In the premiere of his new solo show – part confessional comedy, part opera séance, part love letter to lost innocence – Canadian tenor, writer, and composer Isaiah Bell (Antinous in the world premiere of Rufus Wainwright and Daniel MacIvor’s Hadrian) traces the roots and ramifications of the war inside. The Book of My Shames takes a unique perspective on the conflict between our naked primal longing and that basic modern need to make everything seem OK. It manages to find the…
Find out more »Luminato Festival | KIRA: The Path/La Voie
KIRA, The Path | La Voie celebrates humanity as one village and its sacred bond to nature. It features a dynamic cast of dancers and percussionists whose evocative chants and powerful drum beats invoke Mother Earth's wisdom and echo her auspicious warning: the invisible cord that links us to her is wasting away. The interpreters are guided by the voices of our ancestors - the guardians of our moral code and spiritual guides. Choreographer and composer Fara Tolno is one of…
Find out more »Tafelmusik | Tafelmusik Baroque Summer Festival: Baroque Portraits
BAROQUE PORTRAITS Saturday, June 8, 2019 at 12:30pm Walter Hall, Faculty of Music, University of Toronto (80 Queen’s Park, Toronto) Tickets not required A casual noon-hour concert of baroque chamber music by members of the TBSI Faculty. Concert run time: approximately 1 hour. There will not be an intermission for this concert. Details, here.
Find out more »Tafelmusik | Tafelmusik Baroque Summer Festival: Many Strings Attached
MANY STRINGS ATTACHED Sunday, June 9, 2019 at 12:30pm Walter Hall, Faculty of Music, University of Toronto (80 Queen's Park, Toronto) map Tickets not required A concert featuring the participants in the Viola d'Amore Workshop, led by Thomas Georgi. Concert run time: approximately 1 hour. There will not be an intermission for this concert. Details, here.
Find out more »Off Centre Music Salon | Russian Salon: Ages & Stages
Date: June 9, 2019 at 3pm “I am as though dead. But as a comfort to the world, with its thousands of souls, I live on in the hearts of all loving people. And that means I am not dust.” – Michelangelo Buonarroti We begin with Mussorgksy’s visionary Nursery cycle, in which the composer attempts to musically embody the stilted charm of a child’s patter, feelings and thoughts. We end with Shostakovich’s Suite on Verses of Michelangelo Buonarroti which captures the…
Find out more »Toronto Symphony Orchestra | Modern Broadway
Show-stopping! Steven Reineke leads the TSO and stage stars Betsy Wolfe and Jeremy Jordan in today’s greatest Broadway hits from such Tony-winning shows as The Book of Mormon, Once, The Baker’s Wife, The Last Five Years, and Newsies, along with songs from such modern classics as Les Misérables, Cats, Miss Saigon, Little Shop of Horrors, and more. Concert running time is approximately two hours including a 20-minute intermission. Tickets, here.
Find out more »Tafelmusik | Tafelmusik Baroque Summer Festival: TRSI Orchestras And Choirs
TBSI ORCHESTRAS AND CHOIRS Wednesday, June 12, 2019 at 1:00pm Walter Hall, Faculty of Music, University of Toronto (80 Queens Park, Toronto) map Tickets not required Featuring the Institute participants, led by Jeanne Lamon, Elisa Citterio, and Ivars Taurins. Concert run time: approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes. There will not be an intermission for this concert. General Admission: Admission to concerts on June 8, 9 & 12 is assigned on a first-come, first served basis. Doors open 15 minutes prior…
Find out more »Ann Cooper and Errol Gay | Let’s Make a Fuss!
The concert is presented by Ann Cooper Gay (opera singer, conductor, musician and formerly the Artistic Director of the Canadian Children’s Opera Company, 2000-2015) and Dr. Errol Gay (composer, conductor, and musician) and features members of the TSO, COC and other musical artists, including Jonathan Crow, Russel Braun, Adi Braun, Peter Barcza, Lauren Margision and more.. All proceeds will be donated to Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre’s Focused Ultrasound (FUS) Research, currently being tested to treat Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). Non-Ticketed…
Find out more »Luminato Festival | Obeah Opera
Obeah Opera is a hand-clapping, foot-stomping, spirit-lifting, musical sensation. Steeped in Black music and sung entirely a cappella by a powerful all-female cast, Obeah Opera tells the story of the legendary Salem witch trials from the spellbinding perspective of the first woman accused, the young Caribbean slave Tituba. In February 1692 the people of Salem, Massachusetts fell into a mass hysteria and paranoid state, which resulted in a massive witch hunt. Hundreds of people were arrested and tried for witchcraft, and over the…
Find out more »Tafelmusik | Tafelmusik Baroque Summer Festival: The Grand Finale
THE GRAND FINALE Saturday, June 15, 2019 at 7:30pm Grace Church on-the-Hill (300 Lonsdale Road, Toronto) TICKETS REQUIRED** The combined forces of the TBSI Orchestra and Choir, and Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra and Chamber Choir, all in a baroque extravaganza! Directed by Jeanne Lamon and Ivars Taurins. Concert run time: approximately 2 hours including a 20-minute intermission. Dress lightly for the heat. Water is allowed in the hall. **This event is general admission and tickets are required. Limited tickets available on June…
Find out more »National Ballet of Canada | The Merry Widow
A frothy blend of whimsical comedy, romance and the delights of the Parisian Belle Époque in all its effervescent splendor, The Merry Widow is popular ballet at its finest. Based on the 1905 operetta of the same name by Franz Lehár, The Merry Widow sets out to entertain and amuse at every step and never puts a foot wrong. The story imagines a fictional Balkan principality, Pontevedro, which is on the brink of economic disaster. In an effort to prevent certain ruin, a…
Find out more »Soundstreams | Hell’s Fury, The Hollywood Songbook
Hanns Eisler’s life was the story of exile. The brilliant Austrian, Jewish, Marxist composer fled to Hollywood in 1938, only to be deported a decade later, an early casualty of the McCarthy era. Between film scores, he wrote these passionate songs of nostalgia, horror and longing, adapting lyrics by Brecht, Goethe and Shakespeare. Despite his troubles, this song cycle established Eisler’s reputation as one of the 20th century’s great composers of German lieder.
Find out more »Toronto Symphony Orchestra | Carmina Burana
Esteemed Scottish conductor Donald Runnicles leads the TSO, a cast of outstanding soloists, the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir, and the Toronto Children’s Chorus in Orff’s Carmina Burana, a choral extravaganza celebrating many of life’s greatest pleasures—from springtime and love to food and wine. Master violinist James Ehnes presents the gorgeous melodies and high-flying emotions of the concerto by Erich Wolfgang Korngold. Concert running time is approximately two hours including a 20-minute intermission. Tickets, here.
Find out more »Toronto Symphony Orchestra | Gustavo Gimeno Conducts The Firebird
The Toronto Symphony Orchestra’s fantastic 2018/19 concert season culminates with an explosive orchestral coda, as Gustavo Gimeno, the TSO's next Music Director, returns to the podium to lead the Orchestra in the ever-popular suite from Stravinsky’s blazing, fairy-tale-inspired ballet. Sibelius’s virtuosic Violin Concerto—a majestically lyrical evocation of the North, and the only concerto he ever composed—features the TSO’s supremely talented Concertmaster, Jonathan Crow, as soloist. Prokofiev’s light and spirited First Symphony, “Classical”, rounds out this final program. (Pictured: Gustavo Gimeno) Post-concert…
Find out more »Kindred Spirits Orchestra | Iron and Steel
The Kindred Spirits Orchestra returns to the CBC Glenn Gould Studio for a special concert featuring renowned European conductor Maestro Jiří Petrdlík and the internationally renowned Canadian pianist Christina Petrowska-Quilico. Inspired by the little-known works of the 19th-century romantic composer Carl Maria von Weber, 20th-century composer Paul Hindemith weaves his own voice into the bombastic crowd-pleaser Symphonic Metamorphosis. Once hailed the “Canadian Mozart,” composer André Mathieu wrote his long-lost Piano Concerto No. 4 at the youthful age of eighteen: a truly remarkable accomplishment for such an incredibly…
Find out more »July 2019
Toronto Summer Music | Opening Night – Beyond Borders
Opening Night – Beyond Borders Join us for a post-concert reception in the lobby for the entire audience! Tom Allen, host Adrianne Pieczonka, soprano Jon Kimura Parker, piano Kerson Leong, violin Rachael Kerr, piano Steven Philcox, piano New Orford String Quartet Mozart: Piano Sonata No. 11 in A Major, K. 331 Ravel: Cinq mélodies populaires grecques (Five Popular Greek Songs) Sarasate: Zigeunerweisen, Op. 20 Kreisler: Selections for violin and piano Chopin: Ballade No. 4 in F minor, Op. 52 Strauss:…
Find out more »Toronto Summer Music | Celebrating 10 Years
New Orford String Quartet Haydn: String Quartet No. 34 in D Major, Op. 20 No. 4, H.III:34 Christos Hatzis: String Quartet No. 5 “The Transforming” Beethoven: String Quartet No. 9 in C Major, Op. 59, No. 3 “Razumovsky” This world-class ensemble celebrates its tenth anniversary with a remarkable and far-reaching program. It opens with a quartet by Austrian composer Joseph Haydn, the first master of this challenging musical medium. He composed it in 1772 for the Esterházy family, who were his employers and fabulously wealthy Hungarian nobles. Regarding the six quartets that…
Find out more »Toronto Summer Music | reGENERATION
Repertoire and artists for the reGENERATION concerts will be announced in May 2019. There will be 3 reGENERATION concerts on July 13 featuring Academy Fellows from the Art of Song program and the Chamber Music Institute. Festival Artists will also perform alongside the Academy Fellows. Tickets here: July 13 at 1:00 pm July 13 at 4:00 pm July 13 at 7:30 pm
Find out more »Toronto Summer Music | Crossings: In the Footsteps of the Griot
Ensemble Constantinople with Ablaye Cissoko For five years, the musicians of Montréal’s middle eastern/early music group, Constantinople, and a griot (pronounced “gree-oh”; a West African storyteller), Ablaye Cissoko, have been touring the stages of the world with their program, Itinerant Gardens. This ongoing collaboration has produced captivating new works, the fruit of dialogue and communion between the four artists. Their TSM program crosses land and sea, conveying us from the East to the New World by way of Africa. Constantinople continues its international musical explorations through…
Find out more »Toronto Summer Music | Griffey & Jones in Recital
Anthony Dean Griffey, tenor Warren Jones, piano Bridge: Three Songs, H.76 Griffes: Three Poems of Fiona MacLeod, Op. 11 Griffes: Barcarolle, Op. 6, No. 1 Barber: Three Songs, Op. 10 Finzi: Let Us Garlands Bring, Op. 18 Laitman: Four Dickinson Songs Niles: The Roving Gambler Black is the Color of my True Love’s Hair Ives: Berceuse The Circus Band TSM Festival welcomes the celebrated American tenor, Anthony Dean Griffey, for an outstanding recital…
Find out more »Toronto Summer Music | Dover Quartet
Dover Quartet Britten: String Quartet No. 1 in D Major, Op. 25 Bartók: String Quartet No. 3 Dvořák: String Quartet No. 12 in F Major, Op. 96, “American” “The young American string quartet of the moment” (New Yorker) plays a meaty and substantial program of music by composers from England, Hungary, and Bohemia (Czech Republic) – all of which have strong links to the USA. England’s Benjamin Britten composed his highly inventive first quartet in 1941, while living in California. Hungarian…
Find out more »Toronto Summer Music | Voices Across the Atlantic
Daniel Taylor, countertenor and conductor Charles Daniels, tenor Steven Philcox, harpsichord TSM Academy Fellows Barber: Dover Beach, Op. 3 Brahms: Four Quartets, Op. 92 Britten: Canticle No. 2, “Abraham and Isaac” Op. 51 Britten: Canticle No. 4, “The Journey of the Magi,” Op. 86 Monteverdi: Madrigals (selections) Daniel Taylor – one of the most sought-after countertenors in the world (“Beauty of his voice will stop you in your tracks.” – Gramophone magazine) – and who has more than 100 CD recordings to his credit –…
Find out more »Toronto Summer Music | Charles Richard-Hamelin
Members of the Dover Quartet Charles Richard-Hamelin, piano Rachmaninoff: Morceaux de fantaisie, Op. 3 Chopin: Andante spianato et grande polonaise brillante in E-flat Major, Op. 22 Brahms: Piano Quartet No. 1 in G minor, Op. 25 Renowned Canadian pianist Charles Richard-Hamelin displays the brilliant skills that won him the silver medal and the Krystian Zimerman Prize (for the best performance of a sonata) at the 2015 International Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw. His solo selections begin with a suite of sharply-etched miniatures by Russian composer Sergei Rachmaninoff. It includes the dramatic Prelude…
Find out more »Toronto Summer Music | reGENERATION
Repertoire and artists for the reGENERATION concerts will be announced in May 2019. There will be 3 reGENERATION concerts on July 20 featuring Academy Fellows from the Art of Song program and the Chamber Music Institute. Festival Artists will also perform alongside the Academy Fellows. Tickets here: July 20 at 1:00 pm July 20 at 4:00 pm July 20 at 7:30 pm
Find out more »Toronto Summer Music | KLEZTORY
For nearly 20 years now KLEZTORY has wandered across the globe playing klezmer music. Like the music itself, KLEZTORY takes its musical influences from the band members who have come together from across the world. Although deeply rooted in the Jewish tradition KLEZTORY takes the liberty of adding their own personality and infusing their arrangements with hints of jazz, a touch of classical, or a few drops of the blues. From China to Brazil, from Norway to Mexico, across Eastern…
Find out more »Toronto Summer Music | Rolston String Quartet
Rolston String Quartet Join your friends and enjoy a program of great music in a totally casual, totally sociable venue! To quote the Toronto Star, the Rolston String Quartet “…already belongs to a generation of string players performing at a level difficult to imagine in generations past.” In 2017, the RSQ received the prestigious Cleveland Quartet Award for the 2018/19 and 2019/20 seasons. Last winter, the recital tour that was included in their award took them to Carnegie Hall in New York, Wigmore Hall in…
Find out more »Toronto Summer Music | Collectif
This unique performance by the Toronto-based ensemble Collectif deals with ghost stories from around the world, and will be an exciting look at how people across the globe experience the paranormal. The company will be creating brand new video translations for this semi-staged concert. The repertoire includes selections from Mahler’s famous song cycle Kindertotenlieder (Songs on the Death of Children), brand new Canadian folk arrangements, and other spooky tales. Tickets, here.
Find out more »Toronto Summer Music | From Franz Schubert to Freddie Mercury
Art of Time Ensemble Andrew Burashko, director and pianist Sarah Slean, singer-songwriter John Southworth, singer-songwriter No one can put together music and musicians in a more dazzling, moving, and brilliant way than Andrew Burashko and the Art of Time Ensemble. Every concert is thrilling, inspiring, and leaves you longing for the next one. Surprise and accomplishment only begin to describe Art of Time’s achievements. – the Rt. Hon. Adrienne Clarkson To mark its twentieth season, ATE is currently reviving many of its favourite and most highly-praised programs, including tributes to…
Find out more »Toronto Summer Music | TSM Late Night
Jonathan Crow, violin TSM Academy Fellows Beethoven: String Quartet No. 13 in B flat Major, Op. 130 and Grosse Fuge, Op. 133 Double your evening’s pleasure! Come back after the Art of Time concert and enjoy one of Beethoven’s masterful “late” string quartets. They are his final and most prophetic works. Once Missa Solemnis and the Ninth Symphony had been premiered in 1824, he created no further works on a grand, public scale. In the three remaining years of his life, he returned to the intimate…
Find out more »Toronto Summer Music | Souvenir de Florence
Jennifer Koh, violin Jonathan Crow, violin Beth Guterman, viola Julie Albers, cello Yegor Dyachkov, cello Phil Chiu, piano Prokofiev: Five Melodies for violin and piano, Op. 35-bis Debussy: Piano Trio in G Major Tchaikovsky: Pezzo Capriccioso, Op. 62 Tchaikovsky: String Sextet in D minor, Op. 70 “Souvenir de Florence” Infrequently heard but decidedly worthwhile works by major composers make up this appealing program. They were created in an impressive variety of locations. Tchaikovsky composed much of the luxurious String Sextet in 1890, while visiting one of his favourite cities,…
Find out more »Toronto Summer Music | reGENERATION
Repertoire and artists for the reGENERATION concerts will be announced in May 2019. On July 27, in addition to 2 reGENERATION concerts featuring Academy Fellows from the Chamber Music Institute, there is an exciting new concert named “Source and Inspiration” featuring up-and-coming singer-songwriters and composers mentored by Sarah Slean, John Southworth, Christos Hatzis, and Robert Carli. Tickets here: July 27 at 1:00 pm – SOURCE & INSPIRATION (NEW!) July 13 at 4:00 pm – Chamber Music July 13 at 7:30 pm – Chamber…
Find out more »Toronto Summer Music | Europe and the New World
Jonathan Crow, violin Philip Chiu, piano Brahms: Sonatensatz (Scherzo from the F.A.E. sonata) Franck: Sonata for Violin and Piano in A Major Gershwin/Heifetz: Porgy and Bess Suite John Corigliano: Sonata for Violin and Piano TSM Artistic Director Jonathan Crow, and pianist Philip Chiu, who’s been praised in Montréal’s La Presse as “…a pianist-painter who turns every musical idea into a beautiful array of colours,” join forces for an artfully varied trans-Atlantic concert by German, Belgian/French, and American composers. The beloved Sonata by Belgian-born composer César…
Find out more »NYO Canada | 2019 TD Odyssey Tour
For more than 50 years, the National Youth Orchestra of Canada (NYO Canada) has enjoyed a reputation as Canada’s orchestral finishing school, devoted to the discovery and training of our country’s best young classical musicians. This summer, the NYO returns to Koerner Hall as a part of their 2019 TD Odyssey Tour. The 95-piece Orchestra will perform a program that includes works by Brahms and Prokofiev at this special concert.
Find out more »Toronto Summer Music | Angela Hewitt
Angela Hewitt, piano Bach: Goldberg Variations, BWV 988 Through her many superlative recordings and live concerts, Canadian pianist Angela Hewitt has earned a fantastic international reputation. She performs a broad repertoire, from Couperin to Messiaen, but she is perhaps known best for her interpretations of Bach. A reviewer in Gramophone magazine greeted her 2012 recording of the “Goldberg” Variations with these words of praise: “Beautifully co-ordinated Bach playing, with all voices colourfully defined and spontaneity as a constant virtue. In my view, she has never…
Find out more »Toronto Summer Music | Ensemble Made in Canada
Mozart: Piano Quartet No. 2 in E-flat Major, K. 493 Excerpts from the Mosaïque Project Fauré: Piano Quartet No. 1, in C minor, Op. 15 Prepare yourself for an elegant program of music from Austria, France, and Canada. Mozart pioneered the form of the classical piano quartet (piano, violin, viola, and cello); his two masterworks in the genre set the bar tremendously high for later composers, and relatively few have risen to the challenge. Frenchman Gabriel Fauré stepped up to the plate twice, and here Ensemble…
Find out more »August 2019
Toronto Summer Music | Song of the Earth
Gemma New, conductor Rihab Chaieb, mezzo-soprano Mario Bahg, tenor Jonathan Crow, violin Mozart: Violin Concerto No. 5 in A Major, K. 219 “Turkish” Mahler: Das Lied von der Erde (arr. Schoenberg/Riehn) Mozart adopted the quasi-Middle Eastern or “Turkish” style that was popular in his day on several occasions, such as the comic opera The Abduction from the Seraglio and the Piano Sonata that opens this year’s Festival. Violin Concerto No. 5 is another example. The influence comes to the fore mid-way through the concluding Rondo, where he switches to a minor key…
Find out more »Toronto Summer Music | Mendelssohn Octet
Barry Shiffman, violin Jennifer Frautschi, violin Aaron Schwebel, violin Elissa Lee, violin Hsin-Yun Huang, viola Desmond Hoebig, cello Emmanuelle Beaulieu-Bergeron, cello Kelly Zimba, flute Eric Abramovitz, clarinet Philip Chiu, piano Joel Quarrington, bass Charles Settle, percussion Cowell: Homage to Iran Alexina Louie: * Sarasate: Introduction et Tarantelle, Op.43 Mendelssohn: Octet for Strings in E-flat major, Op. 20 During the mid-1820s, the beautifully polished Octet and the magical overture to Shakespeare’s romantic comedy, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, heralded Mendelssohn’s graduation from prodigy to master. The Octet is true chamber music, not…
Find out more »Toronto Summer Music | TSM Finale
Join us for a celebration of the 2019 Festival! TSM Festival Artists, Academy Fellows, and Community Academy participants come together for an exciting finale performance. Tickets, here.
Find out more »Ontario Youth Choir | From Nostalgia to New
Talent, energy, dedication – for 47 years the Ontario Youth Choir has been pushing the boundaries of choral excellence and amazing crowds with the quality of their performances. Chosen by rigorous audition, the university and secondary school age singers from all over the province gather once a year to rehearse and perform. This year's concert includes a diverse range of repertoire from the Renaissance to the 21st century.
Find out more »September 2019
Mysterious Barricades Toronto | Live Concert
The Mysterious Barricades Concert Society hosts a series of 15 one-hour concerts across Canada between September 5th and September 14th to mark World Suicide Awareness Week. This concert series comprises of performances by some of Canada’s finest musicians and includes genres of classical, choral, jazz, and more. People touched by suicide, mental health professionals, community figures, politicians, and ordinary Canadians stand up on this day to speak about mental health and suicide in hopes of reducing stigma and providing support.…
Find out more »Piano Lunaire/Rainhard Brewery | Harvest Moon Vinyl Album Launch: Romance from the Coda
Adam Sherkin launches his latest album, ROMANCE FROM THE CODA, released exclusively on 12-inch vinyl. This record features works for piano by Franz Liszt, Frédéric Chopin and Sergei Rachmaninoff as well as spoken word in German by Friedrich Schiller (read by Elisabeth Bihl) and in English David James Brock, (reading his own monologues, as companion pieces to Chopin’s scherzi, “Gallows Humour.”) Save the date and join us for this unique performance event. Rainhard Brewing Co. will be pouring signature beers…
Find out more »International Resource Centre for Performing Artists (IRCPA) | In Conversation with Barbara Hannigan
The IRCPA hosts a live, up close and personal conversation with Barbara Hannigan, phenomenal Soprano, Conductor, Ojai Festival Artistic Director, and Founder of Equilibrium, a program for emerging professionals, which she founded in Europe. She generously “gives back” by sharing with young colleagues her knowledge of the international music industry. Writer/critic William Littler will interview Ms. Hannigan about her personal experience and general advice for emerging professionals. Their conversation will be followed by a Question and Answer opportunity.
Find out more »Toronto Wagner Society | An Evening with Robert Wilson
The Society is delighted to announce that renowned director Robert Wilson will be interviewed on September 17th, 2019 at 7:30 p.m. The meeting will take place at the Arts and Letters Club, 14 Elm St. Members are encouraged to bring their friends. The meeting is open to everyone, and non-members are welcome, without cost. For more information about Mr. Wilson, please check out his biography which can be found here. The meeting should be very enjoyable, and everyone is encouraged to attend. PLEASE PLAN ON ATTENDING…
Find out more »Toronto Symphony Orchestra | Dynamic Duo: Hannigan & Storgårds
A doubly dramatic opening! Barbara Hannigan conducts Beethoven’s overture to Goethe’s play, Haydn’s inventive orchestral showpiece, and, with John Storgårds as soloist, a Dutilleux nocturne. Then, Storgårds conducts the symphony that marked the turning point of Sibelius’s composing style, as well as Brett Dean’s re-examination of Shakespeare’s ill-fated heroine, sung by Hannigan. (Pictured: Barbara Hannigan, conductor and soprano, and John Storgårds, conductor and violin) Performances are roughly two hours long, including a 20-minute intermission. Join TSO Chief Executive Officer Matthew Loden,…
Find out more »Tafelmusik | Tafelmusik Meets Tchaikovsky
Tafelmusik plays Tchaikovsky for the first time, alongside inventive string symphonies by Mendelssohn. Pre-concert Chat Join us one hour before each concert for a free pre-concert chat with cellist, gambist, and researcher Kate Bennett Wadsworth. Program Mendelssohn Sinfoniesatz in C Minor (1823) Mendelssohn String symphony no. 7 in D Minor (1821/22) Mendelssohn Scherzo from A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1842), arranged by Carlo Citterio Intermission Andrew Balfour Pytor's Dream (2019) – World premiere Tchaikovsky Serenade for String Orchestra, op. 48 (1880) Concert run time: approximately 2 hours, including a 25-minute intermission. Tickets,…
Find out more »Tafelmusik | CD Launch at Istituto Italiano di Cultura
Tafelmusik Music Director Elisa Citterio in conversation with IIC Director, Alessandro Ruggera. Elisa Citterio will be launching Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra’s new recording. This is the orchestra’s first release under Citterio’s directorship.
Find out more »Canadian Opera Company | Free Concert Series: Recovered Voices
CHAMBER MUSIC SERIES The MIR trio aims to bring rare gems of music to the concert stage, in a quest to give recognition to underrepresented composers of past and present generations, emphasizing music by living composers, specifically representing the Jewish people and culture.
Find out more »Canadian Opera Company | Free Concert Series: The Offering
JAZZ SERIES Canadian jazz pianist Thompson Egbo-Egbo leads his trio in music from his latest album, The Offering, which follows his acclaimed debut album, A New Standard. Egbo-Egbo balances his prodigious technical abilities with raw emotion in his compositions which are harmoniously complex, groovy, and memorable.
Find out more »The Glenn Gould Foundation | Gould’s Variations & the Human Qualities that Foster Remarkable Creativity
In 1955, Glenn Gould recorded Bach’s Goldberg Variations catapulting him to international fame and becoming the top-selling classical music recording of all time. In 1981, Gould, following a transformation in his conception of the masterpiece, re-recorded the work. In his exploration of these two landmark recordings, Prof. Cohen reveals the brilliance of Bach’s creation and Gould’s innovative vision to re-create and his belief in the imperative of artists to engage with technology as a moral, spiritual and democratizing force. About…
Find out more »University of Toronto Faculty of Music | Thursday at Noon Concert Series
Erika Raum, violin and Lydia Wong, piano SZÉKELY Sonata for Solo Violin, Op. 1 BARTÓK Violin Sonata No. 2, Sz. 76 Walter Hall, 80 Queen's Park
Find out more »Art of Time Ensemble | The Beatles’ Abbey Road
Art of Time Ensemble revives its loving exploration of Abbey Road on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the album’s release. The company’s roster of accomplished composers was set loose upon the source material, creating arrangements that maintain The Beatles’ impeccable vocal lines while pushing the boundaries of the underlying textures. The result: an imaginative journey through a towering work of music. Tickets, here.
Find out more »Toronto Symphony Orchestra | Romantic Brahms
Donald Runnicles leads Brahms’s haunting Third Symphony and two transcendent works highlighting the evolution of Richard Strauss over six decades, including his movingly existential tone poem, Death and Transfiguration. (Pictured: Sarah Jeffrey, TSO Principal Oboe) Performances are roughly two hours long, including a 20-minute intermission. Tickets, here.
Find out more »RCM | Tania Miller conducts the Royal Conservatory Orchestra
On the podium, Maestra Miller projects authority, dynamism, and sheer love of the experience of making music. As one critic put it, she delivers “a calm intensity … expressive, colourful and full of life … her experience and charisma are audible.” As Music Director of the Victoria Symphony for 14 years, she has gained international acclaim. Recipient of the 2017 Friends of Canadian Music award from the Canadian League of Composers and Canadian Music Centre for her acclaimed commitment to…
Find out more »Toronto Operetta Theatre | Viva La Zarzuela
The fire and passion of the bolero, seguidilla and flamenco conjure an exotic vision of Spain and Latin America… dazzling entertainment in a whole new dimension!
Find out more »Canadian Opera Company | Turandot
TURANDOT Giacomo Puccini SEPTEMBER 28 TO OCTOBER 27, 2019 Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts Performance time is approximately two hours and 25 minutes, including one intermission. CAST AND CREATIVE TEAMS Conductor Carlo Rizzi Director, Design, and Lighting Concept Robert Wilson Co-Director Nicola Panzer Assistant Directors Fani Sarantari & Marilyn Gronsdal Co-Set Designer Stephanie Engeln Costume Designer Jacques Reynaud Assistant Costume Designer Davide Boni Co-Lighting Designers John Torres Make-up Designer Manu Halligan Dramaturg José Enrique Macián Video Artist Tomek Jeziorski Price Family Chorus Master Sandra Horst Production Consultant Richard Lee Turandot Tamara Wilson/Marjorie Owens* Calaf Sergey…
Find out more »University of Toronto Faculty of Music | What Makes It Great? U of T Symphony Orchestra with Rob Kapilow
Conductor Rob Kapilow, this year's Wilma and Clifford Smith Visitor in Music, presents Beethoven's Symphony No. 7 with the U of T Symphony Orchestra. 7:30 pm in MacMillan Theatre, 80 Queen's Park What Makes It Great?® For over 20 years, Rob Kapilow has brought the joy and wonder of classical music – and unravelled some of its mysteries – to audiences of all ages and backgrounds. Characterized by his unique ability to create an “aha” moment for his audiences and collaborators, whatever…
Find out more »Elmer Iseler Singers | Sounds of the Festival: Parry Sound Comes to Toronto
In the first Toronto series concert, we will present the program set out at the opening concert of 40th anniversary of Parry Sound’s Festival of the Sound (which also coincided with our 40th anniversary year). The program will include the Toronto Premiere of “The Sound – A Musical Evocation of Georgian Bay” by Eric Robertson, text by Gary Michael Dault. There will be a Prelude concert followed by refreshments at 2:00pm.
Find out more »University of Toronto Faculty of Music | Chamber Music Series: Nathalie Paulin
Soprano Nathalie Paulin and pianist Steven Philcox present a program inspired by Messiaen’s Chants de Terre et de Ciel (1938), a deeply personal song cycle celebrating the birth of Olivier Messiaen’s son in 1937. U of T students admitted free with a valid TCard, space permitting. Tickets, here.
Find out more »October 2019
Canadian Opera Company | Free Concert Series: The Maiden and the Nightingale
VOCAL SERIES Colombian-American soprano Vanessa Vasquez (Liù in the COC’s Turandot) is a winner of the 2017 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and has been praised by Opera News Magazine as an “unmistakable audience favorite whose exquisitely floated conclusion to Liù's ‘Signore ascolta!’ all but brought the house down.” She is joined by pianist Miloš Repický for a recital which ranges from the music of Richard Strauss to Enrique Granados.
Find out more »Canadian Opera Company | Free Concert Series: The Art of Song
VOCAL SERIES Dramatic soprano Marjorie Owens (title role in the COC’s Turandot) has been praised for her “star quality and strong dramatic presence” (Opera News). Joined by Michael Shannon on piano, she demonstrates the full range of her “voice of silken softness as well as laser-focused volume” (Washington Classical Review) in a recital of song that includes the heroic and unmistakable music of Richard Strauss.
Find out more »University of Toronto Faculty of Music | The Calidore String Quartet
The Calidore String Quartet, violinists Jeffrey Myers and Ryan Meehan, violist Jeremy Berry and cellist Estelle Choi, perform Ludwig van Beethoven string quartets Op. 74 (Harp), Op. 18 No. 2, and Op. 131. 7:30 pm in Walter Hall, 80 Queen's Park $40, $25 senior, $10 student U of T students admitted free with a valid TCard, space permitting. Tickets, here. The Calidore String Quartet is the James D. Stewart Quartet-in-Residence.
Find out more »Fall for Dance North | Program 1
A signature mix of exceptional dance from Canada and around the world. PROGRAM 1: "A signature mix of exceptional dance from Canada and around the world" Toronto Dance Theatre (Toronto) "GH 5.0" by Hanna Kiel, with live music by Greg Harrison “Against a wall of sound, they ride the edge of risk. Athletic. Kinetic.” _ The New Zealand Dance Company (New Zealand) "Sigan" by KIM Jae Duk, with live music “Two, then four, these dancers spar in symmetries and synchronies,…
Find out more »Canadian Opera Company | Free Concert Series: Ode to an Earworm
CHAMBER MUSIC SERIES Hailed as “a charismatic virtuoso” (The Times), Tabea Debus is constantly exploring the horizons of music for recorder and challenging perceptions of the instrument. In this recital accompanied by Alon Sariel on the lute, she brilliantly explores the innately memorable melodies from the 16th century, when music was predominantly an aural tradition, until the present day.
Find out more »Women’s Musical Club Of Toronto | Trio Fibonacci
Trio Fibonacci is internationally recognized for breadth of repertoire and brilliance of presentation. From the works of Haydn to collaborations with over forty living composers on four continents, the Trio explores every aspect of the piano trio oeuvre. Besides regular appearances across North America, concert tours to Europe, South America, South Africa, and the Far East, including TV and radio broadcasts, have established Trio Fibonacci as a significant force in the development of the medium. Enrique Fernández Arbós — Three original…
Find out more »Toronto Symphony Orchestra | Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi – In Concert
In the spectacular sixth episode of the Star Wars saga, the fate of the entire galaxy hangs in the balance as father and son face off in the ultimate battle of good versus evil. Revisit the original trilogy’s climactic finale and experience John Williams’s grand, emotional score like never before as the TSO performs it live with the film! This film is 137 minutes long plus a 20-minute intermission. Intermission occurs approximately 60 minutes into the film. Steven Reineke, conductor…
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