{"id":123708,"date":"2026-04-27T10:29:26","date_gmt":"2026-04-27T14:29:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/?p=123708"},"modified":"2026-04-27T10:29:26","modified_gmt":"2026-04-27T14:29:26","slug":"critics-picks-classical-music-events-absolutely-need-see-week-april-27-may-3-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2026\/04\/27\/critics-picks-classical-music-events-absolutely-need-see-week-april-27-may-3-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"CRITIC\u2019S PICKS | Classical Music Events You Absolutely Need To See This Week: April 27 \u2013 May 3 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"L-R
L-R (clockwise): Conductor Elim Chan (Photo courtesy of the artist); violinist Kerson Leong (Photo courtesy of the artist); The Orpheus Choir of Toronto (Photo courtesy of Orpheus Choir)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This is a list of concerts we are attending, wishing we could attend, or thinking about attending between April 27 and May 3, 2026. For more of what\u2019s happening around Toronto, visit our calendar here<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra: Hearing Her Voice<\/h3>\n

Thursday, April 30, 7:30 p.m., Friday, May 1, 8 p.m., Saturday, May 2, 8 p.m., Sunday, May 3, 3 p.m.
\nTrinity St. Paul’s United Church, $23.50+<\/p>\n

This is a great selection drawn from numerous female composers, past and present, featuring the lovely voice of Amanda Forsythe. There may be many different reasons for the lack of stage time for so many women composers, especially from the past: lack of familiarity, the ever-present worrying from the marketing team, the varying size of their outputs, etc. Hence, variety programs are a great way to present and experience these new-to-me works: a sampler, shall we say. Come and lend your ears to the music of Elisabeth Jacquet de la Guerre, Barbara Strozzi, Mademoiselle Duval, Wilhelmine von Bayreuth, Maria Teresa Agnesi, Maria Margherita Grimani, Marianna Martinez, Mrs Philarmonica, and the premiere of Canadian composer Karen Sunabacka and Joyce Clouston, librettist. If you feel uncertain, put your faith in Forsythe\u2019s amazing singing \u2014 after all, not everyone has a Grammy, or two! Read our Preview of the concert here<\/a>. Info here<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Toronto Symphony Orchestra: Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 3<\/h3>\n

Thursday, April 30, 7:30 p.m., Friday, May 1, 7:30 p.m.
\nRoy Thomson Hall, $69+<\/p>\n

Elim Chan, a fast rising young star, was once planning to become a medical doctor; however, things changed fast once she took up the baton in her second year of university. By winning the Donatella Flick LSO Conducting Competition, Chan became the assistant conductor of the London Symphony, and since then, the rest is history. With pianist Vondr\u00e1\u010dek, winner of the Queen Elisabeth Competition 2016, these two musicians will bring that daring energy to execute the familiar favourites: Shostakovich Symphony 9, and Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto 3 \u2014 and let\u2019s be frank, those Rachmaninoff Piano Concertos, especially 2 and 3, are perfect works, with great writing for the soloist and orchestra, lush melodies and plenty of drama. The spectacular sight of the black, gleaming piano with its golden innards reverberating with a full-sized orchestra is hard to resist. The neophiles among us can keep their senses open especially for Cris Derksens\u2019 Premi\u00e8re\/Art of Healing Program Commission in partnership with CAMH: \u2018Still Here\u2019. Info here<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Royal Conservatory of Music: Royal Conservatory Orchestra with Conductor Earl Lee<\/h3>\n

Friday, May 1, 8 p.m.
\nKoerner Hall, $25+<\/p>\n

Earl Lee returns to Toronto to lead the RCO in this sumptuous program of Bloch\u2019s Schelomo, Mahler 1, and a nod to Canadiana: Samy Moussa\u2019s Elysium. Bloch\u2019s exploration of his Jewish heritage led to many rich compositions, dripping with pathos and emotion. Along with Sacred Service (1933), \u2018Schelomo: Rhapsodie H\u00e9bra\u00efque for Violoncello and Orchestra\u2019, the last work from Bloch\u2019s Jewish cycle, is a perennial favourite, with its beautiful and evocative writing for both cello and orchestra. Come and hear cellist Sabina Sandvoss (winner of The Robert W. and G. Ann Corcoran Concerto Competition) unfurl this masterwork. Read our Interview with conductor Earl Lee here<\/a>. Info here<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Orpheus Choir of Toronto: Sound \/ Space<\/h3>\n

Saturday, May 2, 7:30 p.m.
\nRunnymede United Church, 432 Runnymede Road, $22+<\/p>\n

Orpheus and their guest choir, Guelph Chamber Choir, present a program of antiphonal choral music. Unlike the usual united front of choral singing, antiphonal works develop and explore the spatial elements of two separate groups, as music is passed and contrasted back and forth \u2014 the original stereo music making. Featuring a wide range of works from Eric Whitacre, Josef Rheinberger, Urmas Sisask, Swani Zubayeer, Hussein Janmohamed, and Caroline Shaw, this is a great, real way to experience choral antiphonal writing \u2014 no stereo speakers can do justice, as they simply aren\u2019t built to create such architectural richness. Info here<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Mooredale Concerts: Kerson Leong, Violin<\/h3>\n

Sunday, May 3 3:15 p.m.
\nWalter Hall (University of Toronto), 80 Queen’s Park, $40+<\/p>\n

Kerson Leong and his Ex-Bohrer, \u2018Baumgartner\u2019 Guarneri will explore the technical fieriness of the violin, featuring two Ysa\u00ffe solo sonatas, Kreisler\u2019s Recitativo and Scherzo, and Bach\u2019s Chaconne, amongst others. Known for his technical mastery \u2014 including great recordings of the Britten Violin concerto, a fiendishly difficult work, and of Ysa\u00ffe \u2014 the violin fanatics of Toronto should definitely come out for this Sunday matinee. For the littles, there\u2019ll be a Music & Truffles children\u2019s concert at 1:15 p.m. \u2014 this short and interactive program is a great way to enjoy music, not only for the young, but for the whole family. Info about the concert here<\/a><\/strong>; info about Music & Truffles here<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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Classical music and opera events in Toronto for the week of April 27 to May 3, 2026. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":62,"featured_media":123709,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[42533,74,11,76,19,875,3895,38,46,63],"tags":[42844,7875,5065,9497,2890,3224,3360],"yst_prominent_words":[7173,12592,14729,7855,17180,12857,14728,20362],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/04\/Copy-of-CRITICS-PICKS-2026-04-27T102101.334.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9bakr-wbi","amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/123708"}],"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=123708"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/123708\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":123710,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/123708\/revisions\/123710"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/123709"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=123708"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=123708"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=123708"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=123708"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}