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THE CLASSICAL TRAVELER | Great Music (and Poutine) Deep in the Heart of Texas

By Paul E. Robinson on December 4, 2014

CRITIC’S PICKS | 11 Things You Absolutely Must Do This Week

By Michael Vincent on December 3, 2014

THE VOICE | Gianandrea Noseda Tells All

By Neil Crory on December 3, 2014

The dynamic Italian conductor, Gianandrea Noseda, needs little introduction to Torontonians. Since his local debut in April 2002, he has conducted nearly a dozen programmes with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. For his upcoming appearance, however, Noseda is bringing his own orchestra and chorus from the Teatro Regio Torino in Italy, together with twelve soloists for a single, not-to-be-missed performance of Rossini's epic William Tell (or, more appropriately, Guglielmo Tell).

COFFEE BREAK | Chopin Boogie Woogie

By Michael Vincent on December 3, 2014

Filmed on location at Domaine Forget, Québec, Canada, pianist Matt Herskowitz plays his version of Chopin's most famous étude, all in one take.

SCRUTINY | Itzhak Perlman makes Roy Thomson Hall feel intimate (Review)

By Michael Vincent on December 2, 2014

Itzhak Perlman is one of the last of the Violin Rat Pack — an exclusive club with members including Jascha Heifetz, Yehudi Menuhin, David Oistrakh and Isaac Stern. It is a club in decline, making virtuosi like Perlman all the more valuable.

COFFEE BREAK | How Often is Each Piano Key Pressed in Chopin's Op. 25 Etudes?

By Michael Vincent on December 2, 2014

Pianists, which etude will you scale next? We'll be looking for the complementary set to Chopin's Opus 10 next...

LINES OF ENQUIRY | Indie-Classical, For All its Boundary-Shifting, Is Another Boys Club

By Curtis Perry on December 2, 2014

Let’s presume this ‘indie-classical’ moniker isn’t going away. We have a cast of certain regular suspects: Nico Muhly, Bryce Dessner, Richard Reed Parry, Max Richter, Hauschka, and Jonny Greenwood. I enjoy these folks’ work as much as anyone, but unfortunately they represent, in aggregate, a systemic issue that listeners ought to leave behind in the classical world. This isn’t anyone’s fault in particular. Dismantling a patriarchal system that took hundreds of years to build is simply going to take some time. It’s why we hear about “women composers” in the papers, but never hear about “men composers.” It’s why there is a lopsided gender ratio among members at the Canadian Music Centre. It’s why we don’t ask men how their gender and maleness informs their music. And this all needs to be reconsidered.

COFFEE BREAK | When Should you Clap - A Helpful Guide

By Michael Vincent on December 1, 2014

SCHMOPERA | Can Opera Make Money?

By Jenna Douglas on December 1, 2014

Opera doesn't make money, it never has, and we all know it. I was recently asked about opera's economy and why opera companies have never functioned as a for-profit theatre company. The theoretical comparison was between the Canadian Opera Company and Mirvish Productions. My initial response to the question of a business model was that there was simply not enough money. Opera is expensive to put up, and expensive to maintain; Mirvish Productions was funded with Ed Mirvish's wealth, and designed to make money from its theatres and productions. As with most opera and theatre companies worldwide, the COC receives government grants, and both corporate and individual donations to supplement their revenue from ticket sales. Without that kind of support, the math simply wouldn't add up. We know this in the theatre industry; it's nothing new. So, with all the generous donors keeping opera afloat, why hasn't there been a notable attempt to invest in starting an opera company that will eventually self-sustain?

CD REVIEW | Jurowski Conducts Shostakovich

By Paul E. Robinson on December 1, 2014

Just over a month ago the London Philharmonic and its music director Vladimir Jurowski gave a concert in Roy Thomson Hall that elicited rave reviews. The major work on the program was the Symphony No. 8 by Shostakovich. Clearly, Jurowski had a special affinity for the music of this composer. Here they are again, on a new CD on the orchestra’s own label, and again playing symphonic music by Shostakovich. And again it would be appropriate to reach for the superlatives.