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Aisslinn Nosky Leads Tafelmusik

4/25/2015

Violinist Aisslinn Nosky.

This review originally appeared on the Musical Toronto website (here).

Perhaps there’s no such thing as an entirely typical Tafelmusik concert – but Thursday night’s program at Trinity-St. Paul’s Church, titled “Baroque Misbehaving,” was especially unusual, for a couple of reasons.

First, it threw a spotlight on Aisslinn Nosky, who can usually be found playing in Tafelmusik’s violin section. For this program, she was front and centre as both a concertmaster and soloist.

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The COC's Barber of Seville

4/23/2015

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Dr. Bartolo gets a shave. Photo: Michael Cooper

Now here’s a show that’s fun for the whole family! It’s called The Barber of Seville, and it’s by the best tunesmith ever to be born on February 29 – Gioacchino Rossini.

Our story begins with the dashing young Count Almaviva, serenading beneath the window of the lovely Rosina. Trouble is, she’s kept under lock-and-key by her curmudgeonly old guardian, Dr. Bartolo. Tough luck for the Count! But just then, the town barber – a wise-guy named Figaro – arrives on the scene, and offers to help Almaviva. He figures that the Count should …

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Opera Atelier's Orpheus et Eurydice

4/21/2015

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Lebel and Kriha Dye in Orpheus et Eurydice.

On Saturday, I caught the last performance in Opera Atelier’s spring production of Christoph Willibald Gluck’s Orpheus et Eurydice at Toronto’s Elgin Theatre – and I’m glad I did.

The version presented was an unusual hybrid: Hector Berlioz’s 1859 arrangement of Gluck’s 1762 opera (incorporating Gluck’s 1774 revisions), but performed on baroque instruments by the Tafelmusik Orchestra. And if it was neither fish nor fowl, it was a lovely creature in its own right.

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Garrick Ohlsson on Chopin

4/19/2015

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Pianist Garrick Ohlsson.

About two weeks ago, I interviewed the American pianist Garrick Ohlsson for the Houston Chronicle. And I am happy to say that he was one of the most articulate, pleasant and easy-to-talk-to musicians I’ve ever interviewed.

Garrick Ohlsson has a remarkable memory – which is a very good thing for a concert pianist to have. Speaking from Dallas last week, the 66-year-old musician immediately recalled the first time he played Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 1 with the Houston Symphony.

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The TSO plays Mahler's Fifth

4/13/2015

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Saraste returned to Toronto to lead Mahler's Fifth

Thursday’s Toronto Symphony Orchestra concert took place in a week that the TSO probably wishes had simply never happened.

I’m referring, of course, to the pianist who wasn’t on the program – Valentina Lisitsa. And if, gentle reader, you don’t know why Lisitsa and the Rachmaninoff concerto she was supposed to play weren’t on the program, I can only wonder what planet you’ve been on lately.

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Power, Politics and Valentina Lisitsa

4/8/2015

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LIsitsa: too hot for the TSO.

Valentina Lisitsa is a hot topic in Toronto.

A couple of days ago, the news broke that her upcoming performance of Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2 with the Toronto Symphony was abruptly cancelled. The reason for this was that the TSO’s management decided they weren’t happy about some of her controversial tweets.

Controversy is nothing new for Lisitsa. According to a 2013 New York Times article, “Lisitsa, a self-described ‘contrarian,’ is argumentative and outspoken, tweeting about politics and berating concert promoters who have irked her.”

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Elliot Madore in Recital

4/3/2015

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Canadian baritone Elliot Madore.

This review was originally written for the Musical Toronto website (here).

There are some singers who sound great in opera productions. And there are also singers who excel in Lieder. But, unfortunately, there aren’t very many who are masters of both genres.

Is Elliot Madore one of these rare creatures?

On Thursday evening, when Music Toronto presented baritone Elliot Madore at the Jane Mallet Theatre, vocal enthusiasts had the opportunity to hear how the native Torontonian sounds in a song recital. For the occasion, he and pianist Rachel Andrist prepared Schumann’s Liederkreis, Poulenc’s Banlités and five songs by Charles Ives.

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Aisslinn Nosky Leads Tafelmusik

The COC's Barber of Seville

Opera Atelier's Orpheus et Eurydice

Garrick Ohlsson on Chopin

The TSO plays Mahler's Fifth

Power, Politics and Valentina Lisitsa

Elliot Madore in Recital

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