The Latest
By Joseph So on March 19, 2015
Since its premiere on December 17th 1864, Offenbach’s La belle Helene has remained one of the most popular of French operettas. It’s easy to see why – a piece that takes place in mythical Greece, with larger than life characters caught in improbable situations, set to an inspired score full of memorable tunes. For a work that celebrated its 150th anniversary last December, its hold on the public remains strong...
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By Michael Vincent on March 19, 2015
This has so be one of the best versions of Rossini's Duetto buffo di due gatti we have ever heard. A popular encore, the "lyrics" consist entirely of the repeated word "meow". The boys are members of “Les Petits Chanteurs a la Croix de Bois (PCCB)” in Paris and take the humorous meow meow song it to a whole new level...
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By Paul E. Robinson on March 19, 2015
These performances were recorded live during the Pull Out All the Stops Festival launching the refurbished Royal Festival Hall organ, fully operational again for the first time since 2005. The organ sounds terrific and the performances are first-rate...
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By Robin Elliott on March 17, 2015
The Los-Angeles-based Canadian trumpet virtuoso Jens Lindemann gave a varied and highly entertaining recital for the Women’s Musical Club of Toronto on Thursday afternoon (March 12th). The ten selections on his program ranged widely across both classical and jazz idioms. And that’s where history was made – this was the first time in 117 years that jazz has been featured on a WMCT program...
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By Michael Vincent on March 17, 2015
In honour of St. Patricks Day, we give you this gorgeous Celtic remix of a melancholy song Behold a Wonder Here by John Dowland. It is arranged for Irish flute, recorder, fiddle, lute, cittern, shruti-box, and cello by Michael Slattery and members of La Nef. Dowland’s 400 year-old songs never sounded so good...
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By Michael Vincent on March 16, 2015
Musical Toronto’s weekly Critic’s Picks are a fully curated list of some of the best concerts happening now through the end of the week. Of course this is not to say we are the provocateurs of taste, but simply seek to provide a good weekly summary. For a look at the full breadth of what’s available in and around Toronto, check out the comprehensive concert listings from our friends at Wholenote Magazine.
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By Paul E. Robinson on March 14, 2015
Elgar is practically part of the DNA of a certain group of Canadian classical music lovers; it goes with their Anglo-Saxon heritage and recognition of the Queen of England as their sovereign. For many classical music lovers in the United States and beyond, it is a different matter. Elgar’s music, while regularly programmed by British orchestras, was never widely performed or appreciated in the USA or Europe in the past and that is still the case today...
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By Michael Vincent on March 13, 2015
We are saddened to report the passing of one of Canada's foremost horn virtuosos and educators. Joan Thelma Watson was the Principal Horn of the Canadian Opera Company, and worked as a soloist and pedagogue. She died early this week in Owen Sound, Ontario.
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By Michael Vincent on March 13, 2015
Nicole Lizée is a Montreal based composer who has been called a “brilliant musical scientist”. Her voice is inspired by an eclectic mix of influences including old MTV videos, turntablism, rave culture, Hitchcock, Kubrick, 1960s psychedelia and 1960s modernism. She is fascinated by forgotten sounds, analogue technology and, "glitches", which she weaves throughout her work...
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By Michael Vincent on March 12, 2015
The internet can be a fun, but weird place sometimes. Especially these shred video memes where they take the original sound and satirize it with an entirely different soundtrack. No one is safe, not even Alfred Brendel...
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