{"id":109919,"date":"2024-12-02T10:48:18","date_gmt":"2024-12-02T15:48:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/?p=109919"},"modified":"2024-12-02T10:48:18","modified_gmt":"2024-12-02T15:48:18","slug":"critics-picks-classical-music-events-absolutely-need-see-week-december-2-8","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2024\/12\/02\/critics-picks-classical-music-events-absolutely-need-see-week-december-2-8\/","title":{"rendered":"CRITIC\u2019S PICKS | Classical Music Events You Absolutely Need To See This Week: December 2 \u2013 8"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"L-R
L-R (clockwise): Conductor Semyon Bychkov (Photo: Marco Borggreve); Lara St. John (Photo courtesy of the artist); Ensemble Mistral (Photo courtesy of the artists)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This is a list of concerts we are attending, wishing we could attend, or thinking about attending between December 2 and 8, 2024. For more of what\u2019s happening around Toronto, visit our calendar here<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Toronto Mendelssohn Choir: Festival of Carols<\/h3>\n

Tuesday, December 3, 7:30 p.m., Wednesday, December 4, 7:30 p.m.
\nYorkminster Park Baptist Church, $25+<\/p>\n

Yep, \u2018tis the season. As we all make a mad dash towards the end of the year (where did the time go?), we need to remind ourselves that this is not only a time of stress and logistical nightmares, but it is the time to celebrate, open our arms, and welcome all the beauty, especially with the trials, that we\u2019ve experienced this year, and beyond. The excellent Mendelssohn Choir brings us riches of traditional carol and festive music, and a new work by Aaron Manswell \u2014 a lovely mix of old and new. Come and hear the resonance in the huge space of the Yorkminster, as TMC draws you in, and submerges you into a great resonance that is unique to the human voice \u2014 with its 160+ members. And do remember the pains that the year has brought, and be ready to share generously \u2014 there will be a food drive in support of Daily Bread Food Bank. Check out our Preview here<\/a>. Info here<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Soundstreams\/Music Toronto: Invocations<\/h3>\n

Thursday, December 5, 2024, 7:30 p.m.
\nJane Mallett Theatre, $63+<\/p>\n

The fierce Lara St. John \u2014 as a musician, and as an activist \u2014 brings her tour-de-force presence to Toronto in an eclectic program, joining the Gryphon Trio, Aviva Chernick, Noa Sarid, and Sheila Jaffe. Soundstream\u2019s programming, consistently amongst the best in Canada, features amazing music that many simply have not yet heard \u2014 you must come! The music of Avner Dorman, James Rolfe, Copland, Vivian Fung and Amy Beach adorns this program, along with a familiar favourite: Schumann\u2019s Piano Quintet. Abandon that feeling of uncertainty, that hint of neophobia, and trust these musicians. One will be inspired. Read our Preview here<\/a>. Info here<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Yorkminster Park\/Citytv: City Carol Sing<\/h3>\n

December 7, 2 p.m.
\nYorkminster Park Baptist Church, Free, donations encouraged<\/p>\n

The famed carillon of the Yorkminster signals the start of this lovely afternoon, with Naoko Tsujita from the bell tower at 1:30 p.m. The Yorkminster Park Baptist Church Choir, with its open door, is joined by guests Hedgerow Singers, John Wanless Gr. 6 Choir, the Toronto Brass Quintet, and oh-so-many-more, including the familiar voice of Heather Bambrick, and Devo Brown from Breakfast Television as MC. One of the most devastating outcomes of the pandemic was the breakdown of physical connection to our communities. And we really have not recovered from that \u2014 perhaps it will be sealed as a permanent paradigm shift, where we forget to appreciate\u2018being there in real-time with our bodies and minds, experiencing things as a rich physical phenomenon. This concert celebrates and supports a very important community program: Churches on-the-Hill Food Bank, and by creating a real open celebration, where all levels of ensembles join in, with free admission, this is an excellent way to bring oneself back, to re-experience what it is like, to be there, and to refresh that we do belong within a community. Come, be joyous, and please consider sharing with our community, whether it be a physical presence, or with a real precious gift of donation to the COTH foodbank. Info here<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Amadeus Choir, Bach Children\u2019s Chorus, Hannaford Street Silver Band: Holiday Serenade<\/h3>\n

December 7, 7:30 p.m.
\nGeorge Weston Hall, Meridian Arts Center, $26.53+<\/p>\n

In truly extravagant fashion, this is a great traditional large-scale holiday spirit celebration. With two choirs and an award-winning brass band of our own, this will be an easy-going, gold-and-silver celebration. Hannaford Street Silver Band may not be a common name to many; however, they have won, and continue to win numerous international awards, including the North American Brass Band Association President\u2019s Award this year, and considering the sheer number of bands that exist in the States, this is no small feat. Come out and ease into the familiar tunes \u2014 slightly tinged with British sentiment, featuring some of the best arrangements done by John Rutter, and Sir David Wilcocks, with literal brass fanfares. Info here<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Royal Conservatory: Czech Philharmonic<\/h3>\n

December 7, 8 p.m., December 8, 3 p.m.
\nKoerner Hall, $100<\/p>\n

Semyon Bychkov and Czech Philharmonic bring Dvo\u0159\u00e1k\u2019s music, with the amazing Daniil Trifonov (piano) who performs on Dec. 7, and Jan Mr\u00e1\u010dek (violin) who performs on Dec. 8, over two nights at Koerner Hall. Simply one of the best old world orchestras, the Czech Phil\u2019s excellence, recognized since its debut concert in 1896 with Dvo\u0159\u00e1k on the podium, continues on well into the present, recently marked by the 2022 Gramophone\u2019s Orchestra of the Year award. Despite the stiff pricing, both concerts are nearly sold out \u2014 and yes, it is cheaper than flying out to Prague. Totally worth the splurge, though if you snooze, you will lose \u2014 get your tickets soon. First night features an all Czech program, and the second show, a matin\u00e9e, features a mix of Dvo\u0159\u00e1k and Mahler.\u2028\u2028 Info for Dec. 7 here<\/a><\/strong>, and Dec. 8 here<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Ensemble Mistral: Dans l\u2019univers d\u2019Astor<\/h3>\n

Saturday, December 7, 8 p.m.
\nAlliance Fran\u00e7aise de Toronto, 24 Spadina Road, $18<\/p>\n

A nice contrast from the bustle of Christmas holiday music \u2014 Ensemble Mistral brings the Tango Nuevo of Astor Piazzolla to this intimate concert. Take yourself out onto the streets of Argentina, as violin, saxophone\/flute\/clarinet, guitar, and bass, weave scenes from faraway. It is amazing to continue to experience true cultural diversity in our mid-sized city \u2014 as clich\u00e9 as that may sound \u2014 and let the evocation of Piazzolla\u2019s music take us away to a different place, where emotions, despite our differences, still ring true. Info here<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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Classical music and opera events in Toronto for the week of December 2 to 8, 2024. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":62,"featured_media":109920,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[40967,74,41392,11,76,19,3895,5722,38,43,63,72],"tags":[1910,6437],"yst_prominent_words":[7173,10121,6744,10287,10122,10115,10123,10114,6705],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/12\/Copy-of-CRITICS-PICKS-2024-12-02T103320.990.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9bakr-sAT","amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/109919"}],"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\/62"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=109919"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/109919\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":109921,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/109919\/revisions\/109921"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/109920"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=109919"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=109919"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=109919"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=109919"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}