{"id":118131,"date":"2025-10-06T10:20:52","date_gmt":"2025-10-06T14:20:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/?p=118131"},"modified":"2025-10-06T10:20:52","modified_gmt":"2025-10-06T14:20:52","slug":"critics-picks-classical-music-events-absolutely-need-see-week-october-6-october-12","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2025\/10\/06\/critics-picks-classical-music-events-absolutely-need-see-week-october-6-october-12\/","title":{"rendered":"CRITIC\u2019S PICKS | Classical Music Events You Absolutely Need To See This Week: October 6 \u2013 October 12"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"L-R:
L-R: Orfeo ed Euridice at Canadian Opera Company, 2011 (Photo: Michael Cooper); JoAnn Falletta conducts the Royal Conservatory Orchestra (Photo courtesy of the RCO); Karoline Podolak (Photo courtesy of the artist)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This is a list of concerts we are attending, wishing we could attend, or thinking about attending between October 6 and 12, 2025. For more of what\u2019s happening around Toronto, visit our calendar here<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Canadian Opera Company: Vocal Series: Wanderer and Beloved<\/h3>\n

Tuesday, October 7, Noon
\nFour Seasons Centre, Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre, free<\/p>\n

The noon concerts at COC are a welcome break in the midst of the downtown bustle; for this Tuesday, Owen McCausland, current Tybalt in Gounod\u2019s Rom\u00e9o et Juliette, brings Schumann and Strauss lieder to the stage. Though all songs in the world celebrate a special relationship between words and sound, the German lieder, especially of these two great masters, are amongst the best examples that we have in Western culture. Come and experience the magic woven between words and sound, as McCausland brings these magical compositions to life. Info here<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Glenn Gould Foundation: The Promise of Music: Dan Brown\u2019s Wild Symphony<\/h3>\n

Wednesday, October 8, 7:30 p.m.
\nKoerner Hall, $39+<\/p>\n

The Glenn Gould Foundation\u2019s first world congress on the social impact of music: The Promise of Music, takes place in Toronto October 6 to 10<\/a>. There are many discussions, forums, workshops and performances scheduled throughout the week. Guest performances include well-known figures, such as Chilly Gonzales, brave ensembles that came from afar: Afghanistan National Institute of Music, and Firdaus Orchestra, amongst others. And for this particular performance, Dan Brown (yes, the writer of the Da Vinci Code)\u2019s Wild Symphony, a children\u2019s book about music, will be delivered live, with beautiful visuals by 145 young musicians of Sistema Toronto and Sistema New Brunswick Children\u2019s Orchestras, with narration by Viggo Mortensen. Yes, Aragorn of the Lord of the Rings trilogy. The youngster ensembles\u2019 terrific energy and great narration promises much fun and joy, in celebration of music, childhood, and the future. It\u2019s these young musicians who will carry the spirit and joy of music throughout their lives, and it is our responsibility, as adults, to continue to appreciate the bright young energy, and their passion for arts \u2014 after all, the arts exist within every single one of us, throughout our lives. What better way is there, than to be there, together, and celebrate the current and future energy we share through music? Info here<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Women\u2019s Musical Club of Toronto: Music in the Afternoon: Opera & Song Recital<\/h3>\n

Thursday, October 9, 1:30 p.m.
\nWalter Hall, Faculty of Music, University of Toronto, $50<\/p>\n

For the season opener, WMCT is bringing Karoline Podolak, a Toronto native, to the stage with a program full of beloved songs and arias. Podolak\u2019s Slavic song set includes a wide range of composers, both familiar and unfamiliar: Nowowiejski, Rachmaninoff, Dvo\u0159\u00e1k, and Alyabyev, and along with Chopin\u2019s Op. 74 song set and other operatic arias, this is looking good for a relaxed afternoon of vocal artistry appreciation. For this event, the pre-concert lecture will discuss the topic of singing through a lifetime \u2014 a focus on vocal health for all levels and ages of singers \u2014 by professor Lorna MacDonald, starting at 12:15 p.m. In the days of 24\/7 streaming, along with too-many-choices, it\u2019s easy to forget the power of live performance; so come out, open your eyes and ears to this real-music making, and remind yourself how powerful arts can be, when experienced in real time, with real presence. Info here<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Canadian Opera Company: Orfeo ed Euridice<\/h3>\n

Thursday, October 9, 7:30 p.m., Saturday, October 11, 7:30 p.m, with five additional performances throughout October
\nFour Seasons Centre, $45+<\/p>\n

The second opera for COC\u2019s 25\/26 first session, Gluck\u2019s Orfeo ed Euridice, opens this Thursday. This short and sweet opera (running 90 minutes with no intermission), may be just the perfect first operatic experience for many. Gluck, a major popular operatic composer of the late 18th century, has inspired many others, including Mozart, Cherubini, and Berlioz. His Orfeo is a great example of the stylistic transition from baroque to classical style, known for its direct, easy-to-follow plot, and simple, yet beautiful music. So come out with a light heart, and be ready to spend the rest of the evening with friends and family, to further discuss this little beautiful gem of an opera. Info here<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Royal Conservatory of Music: Royal Conservatory Orchestra with JoAnn Falletta<\/h3>\n

Friday, October 10, 8 p.m.
\nKoerner Hall, $25+<\/p>\n

The RCO, consisting mostly of current Glenn Gould School students, presents their first concert of the season, featuring two great orchestral works \u2014 John Adam\u2019s Short Ride in a Fast Machine and Rimsky-Korsakov\u2019s Scheherazade \u2014 with Beethoven\u2019s 3rd piano concerto, soloist Jonathan Alter. Falletta, current music director of the Buffalo Phil, was one of the very first women to lead a major American ensemble, and it will surely be great to see her talent and leadership with this young ensemble, full of energy and drive. Come out and enjoy this high-calibre performance, with unmatchable light pricing. Honestly, Rimsky-Korsakov\u2019s Scheherazade is one of the most beautiful compositions of the Western canon \u2014 what a great way to explore this work for both newcomers and classical music aficionados. Info here<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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Classical music and opera events in Toronto for the week of October 6 to 12, 2025. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":62,"featured_media":118132,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[41660,76,19,875,3895,43,63],"tags":[5937,40348,17017],"yst_prominent_words":[7173,6885,6871,10580,18810,9021,6616,8453,6884,18814,18805,12857,8282,10579],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/10\/Copy-of-CRITICS-PICKS-2025-10-06T101057.571.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9bakr-uJl","amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118131"}],"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=118131"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118131\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":118133,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118131\/revisions\/118133"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/118132"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=118131"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=118131"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=118131"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=118131"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}