{"id":10037,"date":"2013-02-25T09:04:37","date_gmt":"2013-02-25T14:04:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/?p=10037"},"modified":"2013-02-25T09:04:37","modified_gmt":"2013-02-25T14:04:37","slug":"critics-picks-toronto-concerts-for-february-25-to-march-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2013\/02\/25\/critics-picks-toronto-concerts-for-february-25-to-march-3\/","title":{"rendered":"Critic\u2019s picks: Toronto concerts for February 25 to March 3"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_10044\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-10044\" style=\"width: 720px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2013\/02\/isabel1.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-10044\" alt=\"Isabel Bayrakdarian helps Amici celebrate 25 years on Friday night (Ruzanna Tantushyan photo).\" src=\"http:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2013\/02\/isabel1.jpg\" width=\"720\" height=\"685\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-10044\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Isabel Bayrakdarian helps Amici celebrate 25 years on Friday night (Ruzanna Tantushyan photo).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong>MONDAY<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Art song and chamber music are nicely represented tonight:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Soprano Lorna MacDonald and pianist Henri-Paul Sicsic, both faculty members at University of Toronto, present a very promising all-French programme of art song and music for solo piano at Walter Hall, starting at 7 p.m. Details <a href=\"http:\/\/www.music.utoronto.ca\/events\/calendar\/mec0225.htm?ViewMode=View&amp;DateTime=634974156000000000&amp;PageMode=View\" target=\"_blank\">here<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/ul>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The Associates of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra have a rich programme in store featuring a sextet of current and past members of the TSO. One of the highlights is bound to be Giacomo Puccini&#8217;s <em>Crisantemi<\/em>. The concert starts at 7:30, at Trinity-St Paul&#8217;s Centre. Details <a href=\"http:\/\/www.associates-tso.org\/5small.html\" target=\"_blank\">here<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>TUESDAY<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>A lecture by British keyboard scholar Peter Williams at Christ Church Deer Park, 7:30 p.m. Free.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>A remarkable combination of performer, scholar and teacher, Bach expert Peter Williams is visiting at University of Toronto this week for a series of lectures and master classes. Tuesday&#8217;s public installment is titled &#8220;What it is to write a biography of J.S. Bach.&#8221; You&#8217;ll find the details <a href=\"http:\/\/www.music.utoronto.ca\/events\/calendar\/org0226.htm?ViewMode=View&amp;DateTime=634975038000000000&amp;PageMode=View\" target=\"_blank\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Williams is hosting <a href=\"http:\/\/www.music.utoronto.ca\/events\/calendar\/org0225.htm?ViewMode=View&amp;DateTime=634973958000000000&amp;PageMode=View\" target=\"_blank\">a public master class<\/a> with UofT organ scholars at Church of the Holy Trinity on Monday at 1:30 p.m. and a <a href=\"http:\/\/www.music.utoronto.ca\/events\/calendar\/org0227.htm?ViewMode=View&amp;DateTime=634975902000000000&amp;PageMode=View\" target=\"_blank\">lecture-concert<\/a> on Wednesday (about playing Bach chorales on the harpsichord) at Trinity College Chapel at 7:30 p.m. These events are free, as well.<\/p>\n<p><strong>WEDNESDAY<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2013\/02\/vienna.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-10045\" alt=\"vienna\" src=\"http:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2013\/02\/vienna.jpg\" width=\"864\" height=\"219\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra with conductor Franz Welser-M\u00f6st at Roy Thomson Hall, 8 p.m.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>This is one of <em>the<\/em> orchestra concerts of the year. We get to hear one of Franz Schubert&#8217;s symphonies (<em>No. 6<\/em>), which are almost never heard in Toronto anymore. The programme also features Richard Strauss&#8217;s colourful <em>Till Eulenspiegel&#8217;s Merry Pranks<\/em> and a recent work by J\u00f6rg Widmann. Details <a href=\"http:\/\/www.roythomson.com\/eventdetail\/1253\" target=\"_blank\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>THURSDAY<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The Faur\u00e9 Piano Quartett performs for Music Toronto at the Jane Mallett Theatre, 8 p.m.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>There are not a lot of full-time piano quartets in the world, so it&#8217;s a treat to have this group of Germans who have been performing together for 17 years present something particularly intriguing in their Toronto d\u00e9but: An arrangement for their ensemble of Modest Mussorgsky&#8217;s <em>Pictures at an Exhibition<\/em>. We also get to savour Richard Strauss&#8217;s broad-shouldered C-minor <em>Piano Quartet<\/em>. Details <a href=\"http:\/\/music-toronto.com\/quartets\/faure.htm\" target=\"_blank\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Because we don&#8217;t hear it often, here is the Strauss quartet performed by four members of <a href=\"http:\/\/ensembleraro.com\/biography\/ensemble-raro\/\" target=\"_blank\">Ensemble Raro<\/a> (a hip, young eight-member chamber music ensemble that&#8217;s been getting a lot of great buzz in central Europe) &#8212; violinist Alexander Sitkovetsky, violist Razvan Popovici, cellist Bernhard Hedenborg and pianist Diana Ketler:<\/p>\n<div class=\"jetpack-video-wrapper\"><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/s9SFbDQ7bCE?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"jetpack-video-wrapper\"><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/w_tmAn9MlMk?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"jetpack-video-wrapper\"><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/EoWBEvyCKiQ?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"jetpack-video-wrapper\"><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ZwVaH2VfoFM?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/div>\n<p><strong>FRIDAY<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Amici Chamber Ensemble with Isabel Bayrakdarian at Koerner Hall, 8 p.m.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>It&#8217;s a good thing the Toronto Symphony Orchestra isn&#8217;t performing on this night, because its finest principals are going to be sharing the stage with Amici core members Joaquin Valedpe\u00f1as, David Hetherington and Serouj Kradjian &#8212; as well as special guest Isabel Bayrakdarian.<\/p>\n<p>Amici gets to put a word in for the 50th anniversary of Francis Poulenc&#8217;s death with a performance of the wacky, surrealist <em>Le bal masqu\u00e9<\/em>, a &#8220;cantata&#8221; from 1932. The rich programme also includes <em>Chanson perp\u00e9tuelle<\/em> by Ernest Chausson, a septet by Beethoven and Kradjian&#8217;s arrangement of the gorgeous <em>Cinco canciones niegras<\/em> by Xavier Montsalvage.<\/p>\n<p>You&#8217;ll find all the details <a href=\"http:\/\/performance.rcmusic.ca\/event\/amici-chamber-ensemble-isabel-bayrakdarian-and-special-guests\" target=\"_blank\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Here is Pierre Bernac, Poulenc&#8217;s favourite baritone (the two were born five days apart in Paris, in 1899), helping render the grand silliness of <em>Le bal masqu\u00e9<\/em>. The six movements are Preamble and Bravura Aria, Intermezzo, Malvina, Bagatelle, the [very creepy] Blind Lady [&#8220;with the eyes that bleed&#8221;] and Finale:<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/g6MyO-tb4P8\" height=\"315\" width=\"560\" allowfullscreen=\"\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>FRIDAY &amp; SATURDAY<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Against the Grain Theatre presents staged song at the Extension Room, 8 p.m.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Not ones to take any artform for granted, the young company that brought us last season&#8217;s stunning production of <em>The Turn of the Screw<\/em> is presenting an intense programme of staged artsong featuring the music is Leos Jan\u00e1cek and Gy\u00f6rgy Kurt\u00e1g in a post-industrial yoga studio on Eastern Ave. I&#8217;ll have more on this soon. For ticket details, click <a href=\"http:\/\/www.againstthegraintheatre.com\/index\/Home.html\" target=\"_blank\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>SATURDAY<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Here are two fine choices from opposite ends of the Western musical spectrum:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The Tallis Choir, which is celebrating its 35th season and the 10th anniversary of countertenor Peter Mahon becoming its artistic director, presents the intense <em>Tenebrae Responses<\/em> by Carlo Gesualdo as the centrepiece of a Renaissance programme they have titled &#8220;Gesualdo: Murderer &amp; Musician,&#8221; at St Patrick&#8217;s Church, 7:30 p.m. Details <a href=\"http:\/\/uofttix.ca\/view.php?id=939\" target=\"_blank\">here<\/a>. Here&#8217;s the fine amateur choir singing a bit of Giovanni Gabrieli:<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div class=\"jetpack-video-wrapper\"><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/31CVYqp0CE4?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/div>\n<ul>\n<li>The opening of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra&#8217;s annual New Creations Festival at Roy Thomson Hall, 7:30 p.m.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The first of this year&#8217;s New Creations concerts is a casual affair &#8212; right down to the video-game visuals that will accompany art music composer Nicole Lis\u00e9e&#8217;s <em>Arcadiac<\/em>. There are Canadian premieres by two American composers on the bill: this year&#8217;s star Tod Machover and Mason Bates (who will also be performing onstage). Music director Peter Oundjian hosts. You&#8217;ll find the details <a href=\"http:\/\/tso.ca\/Concerts-And-Tickets\/Events\/2012-2013-Season\/Arcadiac.aspx\" target=\"_blank\">here<\/a>. Here&#8217;s a promotional video for Bates&#8217; piece, <em>Alternative Energy<\/em>, made by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra:<\/p>\n<div class=\"jetpack-video-wrapper\"><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/-JVIR_TmnnU?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/div>\n<p><strong>SUNDAY<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The Windermere String Quartet at St Olave&#8217;s Church, 3 p.m.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The period-instrument chamber group adds guest violist Emily Eng to perform a programme of quintets by Mozart, Boccherini and one in E minor by one of my favourite forgotten composers, George Onslow. You&#8217;ll find the details <a href=\"http:\/\/windermere.braveform.com\/docs\/upcoming.html\" target=\"_blank\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Here, to give a taste of Onslow&#8217;s fine craft is a later E-minor quintet, performed by Les Alchimistes Berlin:<\/p>\n<div class=\"jetpack-video-wrapper\"><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ZjZFIHWjuXk?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/div>\n<p><em>John Terauds<\/em><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>MONDAY Art song and chamber music are nicely represented tonight: Soprano Lorna MacDonald and pianist Henri-Paul Sicsic, both faculty members at University of Toronto, present a very promising all-French programme of art song and music for solo piano at Walter Hall, starting at 7 p.m. Details here.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":10044,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[3,4,10,11,76,19,21,26,36,44,46,47,57,58,60,63,1,70,71],"tags":[6451,257,6455,1260,1642,2065,2366,6474,3359,3486],"yst_prominent_words":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2013\/02\/isabel11.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9bakr-2BT","amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10037"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10037"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10037\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10044"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10037"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10037"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10037"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=10037"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}