{"id":119353,"date":"2025-11-10T11:46:13","date_gmt":"2025-11-10T16:46:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/?p=119353"},"modified":"2025-11-10T13:00:02","modified_gmt":"2025-11-10T18:00:02","slug":"critics-picks-classical-music-events-absolutely-need-see-week-november-10-november-16","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2025\/11\/10\/critics-picks-classical-music-events-absolutely-need-see-week-november-10-november-16\/","title":{"rendered":"CRITIC\u2019S PICKS | Classical Music Events You Absolutely Need To See This Week: November 10 \u2013 November 16"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"L-R
L-R (clockwise): Pianist Cheryl Duvall (Photo: Shayne Gray); Pianist Jan Lisiecki (Photo: Zamoyski Studio); Lemon Bucket Orkestra (Photo: Matt Forsythe)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This is a list of concerts we are attending, wishing we could attend, or thinking about attending between November 10 and 16, 2025. For more of what\u2019s happening around Toronto, visit our calendar here<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Soundstreams: TD Encounters \u2014 For the Birds<\/h3>\n

Wednesday, November 12, 7:30 p.m.
\nHugh’s Room Live \u2014 Green Sanderson Hall, 296 Broadview Ave., free with registration<\/p>\n

This excellent Soundstreams\u2019 program brings the wild beauty of birds to downtown Toronto \u2014 perhaps with a hint of yearning, as days are now darker, and the solace of songbirds feels like a faraway memory. Louise Bessette, an amazing interpreter of Olivier Messiaen\u2019s complex, evocative music, will perform L\u2019alouette Lulu, and L\u2019alouette Calandrelle, from Catalogue d\u2019Oiseaux, with companion pieces \u2014 a brand new commission from Maria-Eduarda Mendes Martin, and music of Gilles Tremblay and Harry Somers. Often, people feel lost in the unfamiliarity and strange nature of new music; however, just like any new experience, with a wide-open mind and a little bit of guidance, these strange soundscapes may reveal their beauty with ease and grace. There will be a discussion and Q&A for those who are lost, intrigued, or simply besotted with the beauty of these languages, and this could be the chance that you find that little pathway into the landscapes of contemporary music. After all, how could we judge anything without a full commitment of sensory, intellect, and emotional investment? Take advantage of this free, open event, and see it for yourself. Info here<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Metropolitan United Church: Noon at Met \u2014 Pipes and Hammers<\/h3>\n

Thursday, November 13, noon
\nMetropolitan United Church, 56 Queen St. E., Freewill donation<\/p>\n

Though it may be strange to pair organ and piano, it used to be a fairly common combination \u2014 especially when people attended regular church services \u2014 for centuries. To see a concert grand piano, usually an impressive sight, paired with the massive organ of the Metropolitan \u2014 this particular one being the largest one in our country, with 8,333 pipes \u2014 is a comical sight; when was the last time a massive piano looked so cute and tiny? The organ-keyboard repertoire is fairly niche, and it\u2019s always great to experience something in person, especially when it involves performers of great musicianship and partnership. The organists of Toronto are a tight-knit group, and it will be a lovely, short and sweet noon series to see Aaron James and Jonathan Oldengarm share their love of keyboards. As both men are fluent in piano and organ, the communication and mashing of timbre and characters will give plenty of interesting things to listen for. Come and hear what they are capable of, from faraway benches. Info here<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

University of Toronto, Faculty of Music: U of T Opera \u2014 Viva la Mamma: Le convenienze ed inconvenienze teatrali, Donizetti<\/h3>\n

Thursday, November 13, 7:30 p.m., Friday, November 14, 7:30 p.m., Saturday, November 15, 7:30 p.m., Sunday, November 16, 2:30 p.m.
\nElgin and Wintergarden Theatre, $16+<\/p>\n

Come on and join in the brilliance full of chuckles of humour and joy \u2014 Donizetti is a true master of bel canto writing, and we still can\u2019t get enough of his lovely music, even in the 21st century. A main figure in the bel canto era, along with other two giants, Bellini and Rossini, Donizetti, with over 70 operas, was well-versed in both tragedy (Lucia di Lammermoor), and comedy (the Elixir of Love), and this charming opera, set in an opera workshop (ahahaha, it\u2019s already getting silly) goes full-out on all the silliness of archetypes. With the incredible diva who finds the rehearsal too taxing, quarrelling singers who threaten to walk off the project, mama who demands a special aria for her daughter, and the project that just might fail, it\u2019s all very silly and lovely. Against the certain grimness of November, join in the grandeur of the Elgin and Wintergarden Theatre, and fill the evening with the small, effervescent bel canto beauty of Donizetti. If you leave humming along (after all, Donizetti\u2019s melodies are so sticky), get your calendar marked for the COC\u2019s Barber of Seville for the coming February. Info here<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Canadian Music Centre: Cheryl Duvall \u2014 Amor Fati<\/h3>\n

Thursday, November 13, 8 p.m.
\nCanadian Music Centre, 20 Saint Joseph St., $15+<\/p>\n

James O\u2019Callaghan\u2019s new ambitious composition: Amor Fati, will stretch across the evening, with Cheryl Duvall on the piano. This hour-long work for piano and offstage electronics will be set in pitch dark, deconstructing the world that we\u2019ve built with our eyes open, and the clock constantly ticking. One of the main advantages of incorporating electronics into analogue instruments is that the world that was essentially inaccessible \u2014 the quietest sounds, the most delicate articulation, and all the subtle harmonics and undertones, all the subtleties that are too vulnerable to survive the distance between the performer and the audience \u2014 becomes a tangible reality for everyone. Just like the way the Hubble telescope, and extreme microscopy capable of attoseconds, lets us glimpse into the extremes of the world, expect the usual soundscape of the piano as you know it, to be deconstructed and manipulated to evoke unrecognizable phantasms. Info here<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Lemon Bucket Orkestra\/Sutartronica: One More Party Before Winter Hits<\/h3>\n

Saturday, November 15, 8:30 p.m.
\nLithuanian House, 1573 Bloor St. W., $40 (advanced)\/$50 (door)<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a party that will go late into the end of autumn darkness. Sutartronica, drawing from the Lithuanian polyphonic singing tradition with electronica, has been playing all over the world, and their music \u2014 a true mix of modern and tradition, is hypnotic, beautiful, and different. Lemon Bucket Orkestra, based in our own backyard, is a phenomenally fun band, with versatility, wit, and amazing energy. With their signature mix of Ukrainian polyphony, Balkan energy, hip hop, punk, and jazz, and whatever takes their fancy, LBO\u2019s shows are always kinetic \u2014 you won\u2019t be sitting much of the time. Come out against the dark, cold night as we step towards the solstice with narrowing days, and remind yourself of the joy that life brings \u2014 brilliant, effervescent, and foot-stomping, full-out fun. Info here<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Royal Conservatory of Music: Jan Lisiecki<\/h3>\n

Sunday, November 16, 3 p.m.
\nKoerner Hall, $60+<\/p>\n

Canadian pianist Lisiecki has been busy criss-crossing the world playing the top favourite concertos and solo piano repertoire. For this calm Sunday matinee program, Lisiecki is bringing perhaps the most beloved works of the solo piano repertoire \u2014 the rich, decadent, dramatic, and heartbreaking music of Chopin and Rachmaninoff, along with rich, modern takes by Szymanowski, G\u00f3recki, Messiaen, and the giant of Western classical music, Bach. It will be intimate and beautiful. Come and soothe yourself through the late autumnal nostalgia \u2014 or hope, and everything in between. Info here<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Lindsay McIntyre \u2014 Three Voices, Morton Feldman<\/h3>\n

Sunday, November 16, 7:30 p.m.
\nArray Space, 155 Walnut Avenue, $33.28, or Pay what you can<\/p>\n

Another time bender for this week. Feldman was a brilliant composer who left amazing concepts and possibilities for contemporary music. He left us with a few things to think about \u2014\u00a0the use of indeterminacy (think John Cage and all the chances that a reality could take, at any given time \u2014 3\u201944\u201d, anyone?) \u2014 graphic notations (inspired by his friends Mark Rothko and Jackson Pollock), an obsessive look at the birth, life, and death of a sound (as a sound is made, travel through time, and decays into the silence), and death of time as he experimented with music that defies rigid barlines and cognitive phrasing units as \u2018music\u2019 stretched out in extreme durations. Three voices involves three voice parts, which may be performed by three singers, or by a single singer who created the other two lines through recording; the work stretches into a full-hour, and as strange as it may be, these plain, simple lines will merge and diverge through the hour, creating a real physical sensation that is entirely different from their existence as singular lines \u2014 similar to optical illusions. Vocalist Lindsay McIntyre is ambitious in planning this performance, and her finesse and insight into contemporary music promise a rich evening of extreme intimacy and sensuality. Come awake and ready, to be taken into another dimension. Feldman\u2019s world is magical. Info here<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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