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Review | Toronto Mendelssohn Choir’s B Minor Mass a Fine Performance of a Great Work

By Joseph So on 29 March 2023 Choral, Concert Reviews, Toronto, Vocal

Soloists: Jacob Abrahamse, Neil Aronoff, Julia Barber, Lesley Emma Bouza, Rebecca Claborn, Simon Honeyman, Kieran Kane, Rebecca McKay, Nicholas Nicolaidis, and Sinéad White; Toronto Mendelssohn Choir; Baroque Orchestra, Jean-Sébastien Vallée, conductor. Koerner Hall, March 28, 2023. With Easter just around the corner, we are at the height of the oratorio season. Toronto Mendelssohn Choir’s offering this year was Bach’s great B Minor Mass. It was a large and enthusiastic audience gathered last evening at Koerner Hall, where they were treated to a superlative performance from the 100+ voices and baroque orchestra, under the assured and knowing baton of its Maestro,…

Takács Quartet, photo: Amanda Tipton Photography

Review | Takács Quartet Performance with Insight and Passion

By Paul E. Robinson on 25 March 2023 Chamber Music, Concert Reviews, Piano, Strings, Toronto

Takács Quartet with Jeremy Denk. Music by Haydn, Fanny Mendelssohn and Schumann. Koerner Hall, Toronto. March 23, 2023. Rating: ***** Bringing together thoughtful and talented musicians for a concert nearly always guarantees time well spent, and the experience might even be revelatory. That was certainly the case on March 23, 2023 at Koerner Hall in Toronto when the Takács Quartet led by Edward Dusinberre and American pianist Jeremy Denk took the stage. The Takács Quartet has been around since 1975 and Edward Dusinberre has been its first violinist since 1993. Dusinberre is a wonderful violinist and leader but he is…

Review | Rarities Galore Grace TSO’s Buffet of Cultural Delights

By Andrea Rush on 24 March 2023 Concert Reviews, Orchestral, Romantic, Strings, Toronto

Brian Harman : Madrigal – Celebration Prelude – premiere, commissioned by the TSO As the TSO celebrates its 100th anniversary, the premiere commissioned from Canadian Brian Harman provided a fitting regal tone to open the evening. The joyful fanfare of this tonal, contemporary work is light and uplifting. Harman counts among his influences Prof. Brian Cherney, of McGill, with whom he studied during his PhD degree in composition. The hall bubbled with enthusiasm as Harman took a bow on stage following the TSO performance. Jean-Guihen Queyras: cellist As an additional, rare treat, solo cellist Jean-Guihen Queyras performed two concerti. The…

Amadeus Choir: An Immersive Experience of a Unique New Commission

By Denise Lai on 24 March 2023 Classical Music, Toronto

When Artistic Director and Conductor Kathleen Allan first took the helm of the Amadeus Choir in 2019, she commissioned Cree cellist and composer Cris Derksen to write the 30-minute Mass for Nîpîy which is about to make its world première. Allan was impressed with the expressiveness of Derksen’s works and “how beautifully she weaves together Indigenous traditional sounds with classical music.” Water Derksen was drawn to the idea of water (nîpîy in Cree) and wants to highlight the issue of water sovereignty—the inequitable access to clean water supply in Canada, especially among Indigenous communities. In Indigenous belief, water is alive,…

Esprit Orchestra’s New Wave Festival

By Eva Stone-Barney on 24 March 2023 Classical Music, Toronto

Esprit Orchestra is looking ahead to a busy second half of their 40th anniversary season. First up is the return of their New Wave Festival. Established in 2002, the festival aims to feature works by celebrated, international composers of new and experimental music alongside pieces by young emerging composers, both from Canada and abroad. This year, concerts will take place in the new TD Music Hall, an intimate performance venue nestled within the walls of Toronto’s Massey Hall. With its in-hall bar, state-of-the-art technical capabilities, and a more relaxed atmosphere than the traditional concert hall, this space is well suited…

Photo : Sim Canetty Clarke

Review | Imogen Cooper’s Solo Piano Debut captivates Koerner Hall

By Andrea Rush on 8 March 2023 Concert Reviews, Toronto

Pianist Imogen Cooper has many rare gifts. One is to convey the thoughts and emotions of others with clarity. This is a trait that is prized in all walks of life. For Dame Cooper, it has defined a legendary career as a concert pianist, recipient of many prestigious accolades in the U.K. Her influences include her music critic father, her studies in Paris and Alfred Brendel. What you missed On March 5, Cooper stopped by Koerner Hall in Toronto, to perform a program consisting of mainstream “classical” music – Liszt, Beethoven and Schubert. The acoustics of the Hall are ideal.…

Review | TSO and Kerem Hasan, Youthful Energy

By Andrea Rush on 3 March 2023 Concert Reviews, Orchestral, Toronto

This week’s program at the TSO bursts with the musical contemplation of youth– the composers and TSO guest conductor, Kerem Hasan. Britten’s Four Sea Interludes, op. 33a, were followed Missy Mazzoli’s Dark with Excessive Light, a contemporary Concerto for Contrabass and String Orchestra. Sparkling effervescence, Mozart’s Haffner Symphony opened the second half, followed by a return to more of Britten.c What you missed? Guest conductor Kerem Hasan exudes self-confidence onstage. He is the recipient of a Bachelor of Music degree from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and many prizes for his principal studies, piano and conducting. The TSO is well…

Review | TSO, Davis and Lortie Provide Wonderful Evening

By Andrea Rush on 24 February 2023 Concert Reviews, Orchestral, Toronto

The style was casual elegance at Roy Thomson Hall last night, and the mood buoyant. Back from a multi-city tour through Ottawa, Montreal, New York and Chicago, the tireless TSO members were charged and ready for more stellar performances. This week’s program features Sir Andrew Davis, Conductor Laureate and Principal Conductor of the TSO from 1975-1988 and one of Canada’s foremost concert pianists, Louis Lortie. What you missed? As a pre-concert appetizer, Lortie spoke about and played Alban Berg’s Piano Sonata, Op. 1 (consisting of 1 movement). It was a teaser to the orchestral arrangement by Sir Andrew Davis that…

Ambur Braid as Salome (front) and Karita Mattila as Herodias (back) in the Canadian Opera Company’s production of Salome, 2023. Photo: Michael Cooper

Review | Canadian Opera Company’s Salome a Love-Hate Production

By Denise Lai on 6 February 2023 Concert Reviews, Orchestral, Toronto

Richard Strauss’ Salome is a story of lust, obsession and unrequited love. Salome, step-daughter of King Herod, is the object of desire of both Herod and his army captain, Narraboth. Salome, however, only has eyes for Jochanaan (John the Baptist), who is being held prisoner by Herod. Jochanaan denounces the adulterous Herod and his wife Herodias, and spurns Salome’s advances. When Herod offers Salome anything she desires for a dance, she demands Jochanaan’s head on a silver platter. What you missed A sense of déjà vu hit me when the curtain lifted—the steeply raked stage bears an eerie semblance to…

Review | TSO’s The Hockey Sweater

By Andrea Rush on 6 February 2023 Classical Music, Toronto

TSO’s program, The Hockey Sweater, fittingly opened with “Canada’s second national anthem”, composer Deloris Claman’s Hockey Night in Canada theme, led by RBC resident conductor Trevor Wilson, (in referee attire). What you missed? Host Abigail Richardson-Schulte introduced the two TSO teams, Team Woodwinds Brass and Percussion and Team Strings. Sections of the orchestra (many wearing hockey sweaters) displayed their instruments as the host drew analogies to hockey players positioned on the rink. The TSO launched into the William Tell Overture (Finale), Team Strings and Team Winds, Brass and Percussion engaged in frenetic melodic pursuit. In a slow motion ’replay’, the…

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