{"id":124540,"date":"2026-05-25T09:04:49","date_gmt":"2026-05-25T13:04:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/?p=124540"},"modified":"2026-05-25T09:04:49","modified_gmt":"2026-05-25T13:04:49","slug":"critics-picks-classical-music-events-absolutely-need-see-week-may-25-may-31-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2026\/05\/25\/critics-picks-classical-music-events-absolutely-need-see-week-may-25-may-31-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"CRITIC\u2019S PICKS | Classical Music Events You Absolutely Need To See This Week: May 25 \u2013 May 31 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"L-R
L-R (clockwise): Composer and conductor Joe Hisaishi with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra (Photo courtesy of TSO); Violinist Shunske Sato (Photo: Eduardus Lee); Arkel Chamber Concerts (Photo courtesy of Arkel Chamber Concerts)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This is a list of concerts we are attending, wishing we could attend, or thinking about attending between May 25 and 31, 2026. For more of what\u2019s happening around Toronto, visit our calendar here<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Toronto Symphony Orchestra: Hisaishi Conducts Hisaishi: Joe Hisaishi Returns<\/h3>\n

Thursday, May 28, Friday, May 29, Saturday, May 30, all three shows at 7:30 p.m.
\nRoy Thomson Hall, remaining tickets at $447<\/p>\n

The international legend, Joe Hisaishi returns to Toronto, this time with two new works: a Viola Saga, and the Concerto for Orchestra (TSO Co-Commission\/Canadian Premi\u00e8re). Hisaishi has scored many popular anime scores, including nearly all major works from the Studio Ghibli, such as Kiki\u2019s Delivery Service, Spirited Away, Howl\u2019s Moving Castle, Nausica\u00e4 of the Valley of the Wind, and the last work by Hayao Miyazaki: The Boy and the Heron. The three dates at the cavernous Roy Thomson Hall are nearly sold out. There are literally a handful of tickets left \u2014 at north of 400 dollars \u2014 with Saturday completely sold out. The hype and love for this man\u2019s music is real. The Viola Saga soloist, Antoine Tamestit, who you may have heard at last year\u2019s chamber music concert at Koerner Hall with Martin Frost, is a superb world-class star, making this program even more enticing. The concert seems casual to straight classical music fans, but the ticket sales show that this is a significant, much beloved event for many. It would be a lovely chance for pure classical music fans to meet a new group of people \u2014 who also love classical orchestral music with a full heart. Info here<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra: Beethoven & Bologne: The Winds of Change<\/h3>\n

Friday, May 29, 8 p.m., Saturday, May 30, 8 p.m., Sunday, May 31, 3 p.m.
\nKoerner Hall, $48+<\/p>\n

A season ender from Tafelmusik features a new guest music director, Shunske Sato. Concertmaster of Concerto K\u00f6ln and former Artistic Leader of the Netherlands Bach Society, this polyglot man is known for on-the-edge excitement in his playing and musical leadership. He will be the featured soloist for the Bologne Violin Concerto Op.3, no.2, a demanding piece with much pyrotechnics and musicianship. The finisher for the evening is Beethoven\u2019s Symphony 3, Eroica, a seminal work that launched symphonic form into its next phase. Perennially loved for its explosive energy and deep expression \u2014 the second movement, the funeral march, is one of the most memorable examples of the genre \u2014 it\u2019s a real rouser. Come out and join in the festivities as summer approaches, to witness Sato\u2019s finesse and charisma with Tafelmusik. Read our Interview with Shunske Sato here<\/a>. Info here<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

New Music Concerts: Future Resonance Festival: The Swara Sutras Ensemble in Concert<\/h3>\n

Saturday, May 30, 7 p.m.
\nSt. George’s Grange Park Church, 30 Stephanie St. $30+, $20 (Student)<\/p>\n

A night of true collaboration, NMC hosts the Swara Sutras Ensemble in a program of group compositions, including music from Steven Webb, Tsz Long (Fish) Yu, Andrew Staniland, Laurie Radford, and Myriam Boucher. SSE is a real mixed bag of cultural backgrounds and traditions involving the fiddle, sarod (Northern Indian lute), double bass, Peul flute (African transverse flute), and guzheng, its six members will bring many new sounds and expressions, along with hints of familiarity \u2014 but it\u2019s only for one night, so don\u2019t miss it! Get your tickets now, and come to experience this eclectic beauty in person. After all, such cultural diversity is the true strength of our city, Toronto. Read our Interview with Artistic Director Brian Current and Director of Operations and Communications Emily Schimp about the Festival here<\/a>. Info here<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Arkel Chamber Concerts: Grand Romance<\/h3>\n

Sunday, May 31, 3 p.m.
\nTrinity St. Paul’s United Church, $40<\/p>\n

The ACC are joined by many friends this afternoon to present three varied string ensemble formats: a quartet, a sextet, and an octet. Featuring music of Haydn, Richard Strauss and George Enescu, this lovely program will show you the changing possibilities of different string ensembles \u2014 as adding just one person brings so much more complexity and excitement to the group. Any musician will tell you that much of real musical joy is in playing, and that nothing beats a good play with friends \u2014 making this program attractive to audience and players alike. Come and see what ACC and their friends: Annalee Patipatanakoon, Aaron Schwebel, and Min-Jeong Koh (violins), Sharon Wei and Hezekiah Leung (violas), and Guillaume Artus, cello, will create. Info here<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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\nHERE<\/a>.<\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Classical music and opera events in Toronto for the week of May 25 to 31, 2026. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":62,"featured_media":124543,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[42533,74,10,18,19,875,3895,41496,38,59,63],"tags":[41482,40758,2373,42920,3224],"yst_prominent_words":[6715,29993,35301,6616,12857,6674,6826,6827,6825],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/05\/Copy-of-CRITICS-PICKS-2026-05-25T090413.912.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9bakr-woI","amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124540"}],"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=124540"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124540\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":124544,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124540\/revisions\/124544"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/124543"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=124540"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=124540"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=124540"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=124540"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}