{"id":122708,"date":"2026-03-23T09:27:33","date_gmt":"2026-03-23T13:27:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/?p=122708"},"modified":"2026-03-18T15:37:53","modified_gmt":"2026-03-18T19:37:53","slug":"critics-picks-classical-music-events-absolutely-need-see-week-march-23-march-29-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2026\/03\/23\/critics-picks-classical-music-events-absolutely-need-see-week-march-23-march-29-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"CRITIC\u2019S PICKS | Classical Music Events You Absolutely Need To See This Week: March 23 \u2013 March 29 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"L-R
L-R (clockwise): Composer Ana Sokolovi\u0107 (Photo: Raoul Manuel Schnell); Violinist Joshua Bell (Photo courtesy of the artist); Marc-Andr\u00e9 Hamelin and Charles Richard-Hamelin (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 March 23 and 29, 2026. For more of what\u2019s happening around Toronto, visit our calendar here<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Canadian Opera Company: Vocal Series: An Afternoon of Lieder<\/h3>\n

Thursday, March 26, Noon
\nRichard Bradshaw Amphitheatre, Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, free<\/p>\n

Join the COC Ensemble Studio artists for this hour-long exploration of German lieder. All songs are a magical mix of words, emotions, and melody, however, the German lieder is an exceptional genre, thanks to its strong amalgamation of music and words. With particular attention to detailed and varied piano writing, lieder exploded in richness from the great genius of Franz Schubert, followed by Schumann, Brahms, Wolf, and many others. Come this afternoon with open ears, and let the artists of COC Ensemble take you on journeys \u2014 each song a perfect vignette of emotions, scenes, and evocations. Info here<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

University of Toronto Faculty of Music: Thursdays at Noon: Laureates \u2014 Norcop & Koldofsky Prize Winners’ Recital<\/h3>\n

Thursday, March 26, Noon
\nWalter Hall, Faculty of Music, 80 Queen\u2019s Park, free<\/p>\n

This Thursday seems to be marked as voice-piano celebrations day! Another year has flown by, and we gather to celebrate the Norcop and Koldofsky prizewinners\u2019 noon concert for this 25\/26 academic year at the Faculty of Music. Featuring Grace Ronan and Rebeca Lluveras, chosen as the most promising voice and accompanist partnership for the song repertoire, this noon hour will feature the two young musicians in sync, covering a variety of classical art song styles. Come and sink into the magic of voice and piano, and who knows, you might be listening to the very next opera star \u2014 previous winners include big voices, including Emily D\u2019Angel, and Simona Genga. Info here<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

New Music Concerts\/Tapestry Opera: Ana Sokolovi\u0107\u2019s Love Songs<\/h3>\n

Thursday, March 26, 7 p.m.; Friday, March 27, 7 p.m.; Saturday, March 28, 4 p.m.; Sunday, March 29, 2 p.m.
\nNancy and Ed Jackman Performance Centre, 877 Yonge St., $50+<\/p>\n

One of the best Canadian composers, Ana Sokolovi\u0107, has a knack for writing for the voice. Soprano Xin Wang is no stranger to this mesmerizing work \u2014 back in 2020, Wang presented the work with the addition of saxophone. This time, Wang and Michael Hidetoshi Mori are going back to the solo performer version. As Sokolovi\u0107\u2019s writing contains such a depth of expression, Wang\u2019s embodiment of the music through singing, speaking, snapping, and other body percussion, will be the event. However, this time, the dancer Rumi Jeraj will embody the lost love, as Wang wanders from joy to despair. Lost love may not interfere, nor react. But it\u2019s there, in its simultaneity, presenting the real world we live in, where reality exists in many different forms, often free of the tyranny of time. It may be hard to get one\u2019s head around this unorthodox \u2018opera,\u2019 but let us be reminded that \u2018opera\u2019 simply meant \u2018work, labour.\u2019 Come and share as Wang and Jeraj explore love through their labour, in this ethereal, unfamiliar soundscape. Read our Interview with Ana Sokolovi\u0107 and Michael Hidetoshi Mori here<\/a>. Info here<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Toronto Symphony Orchestra: Joshua Bell Plays Bruch + Beethoven<\/h3>\n

Thursday, March 26, 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, March 28, 7:30 p.m.; Sunday, March 29, 3 p.m.; Roy Thomson Hall, $67+<\/p>\n

Joshua Bell, the famed violinist who busked at Washington D.C. subway with his $3.5 million Strad, earning just over 30 bucks from strangers in 45 minutes, is a true powerbrand. Over the decades, he\u2019s been favoured by international audiences, and this time, he\u2019s bringing the full-blooded, super romantic Bruch Violin Concerto 1. This time, the fun continues as Bell takes to the podium to conduct Florence Price, and Beethoven\u2019s Egmont Overture and Symphony No. 7. There are many string players who dabble in conducting in their later careers. Some are great. Some are alright. Some, we probably continue to love them regardless of what they choose to do. To see someone so capable of playing the violin, now with a white baton, is an interesting proposition, as there is no doubt about his musicality \u2014 and he\u2019s been carving since 2011. Come out and listen to a well-seasoned interpretation of Bruch, and stay for Bell\u2019s Beethoven 7th. Info here<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Royal Conservatory of Music: Marc-Andr\u00e9 Hamelin with Charles Richard-Hamelin, Duo Piano<\/h3>\n

Sunday, March 29, 3 p.m.
\nKoerner Hall, $60+<\/p>\n

The two Canadian piano giants, Hamelin and Richard-Hamelin, take over Koerner with a beautiful two-piano repertoire. Ranging from Mozart, Chopin and Chaminade, to Medtner and Gershwin, the program covers a good few generations of composers, and there\u2019s something amazing about witnessing two people being in total sync live \u2014 something that a recording simply cannot duplicate. Take a seat, and see the magic unfold \u2014 after all, art is a human venture, and there\u2019s nothing more beautiful than a hall full of audience, under a true enchantment. Info here<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

#LUDWIGVAN<\/b><\/em><\/h3>\n

Get the daily arts news straight to your inbox.<\/em><\/p>\n

Sign up for the Ludwig Van Toronto e-Blast! \u2014 local classical music and opera news straight to your inbox <\/em>HERE<\/a>.<\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Classical music and opera events in Toronto for the week of March 23 to 29, 2026. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":62,"featured_media":122709,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[42533,76,18,19,3895,38,63],"tags":[266,4678,1789,2061,4699],"yst_prominent_words":[25260,9143,12941,35691,28059,27642,27950],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/03\/Copy-of-CRITICS-PICKS-2026-03-18T152925.429.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9bakr-vVa","amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122708"}],"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=122708"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122708\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":122710,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122708\/revisions\/122710"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/122709"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=122708"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=122708"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=122708"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=122708"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}