Blog Archives

McDermott and Boreyko at the TSO

11/29/2014

American pianist Anne-Marie McDermott.

Judging by the modest attendance at Roy Thomson Hall on Thursday, it seems that the evening’s Toronto Symphony Orchestra program was passed over by some classical music fans. Perhaps the replacement of one piano soloist with another didn’t help much at the box-office.

And that’s a shame – because those who weren’t there missed out on pianist Anne-Marie McDermott (stepping in for Ingrid Fliter) in Haydn’s Piano Concerto in D Hob. XVIII No. 11. A Haydn concerto may seem an unlikely vehicle for and impressive debut (it was McDermott’s first appearance with the TSO), but her performance was one that I’ll remember as a highlight of the season.

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Soundstreams' Vespers

11/28/2014

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Quebec composer Gilles Tremblay.

Soundstreams Canada took on a solemn aspect on Tuesday evening, at Trinity-St. Paul’s Centre, presenting an evening of sacred choral music. The program consisted of just two works: Claudio Monteverdi’s Vespro de la Beata Vergine of 1610, and Gilles Tremblay’s Les Vêpres de la Vierge, from 1986.

The vocal ensemble at the centre of this veneration of the Virgin Mary was Soundstreams’ own Choir 21, directed by David Fallis. As well, there were two instrumental groups on stage (at different times): a baroque “period” band for the Monteverdi; and a modern ensemble for the Tremblay, which also included a soprano soloist, Shannon Mercer.

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Nielsen and Beethoven at the TSO (2)

11/26/2014

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Pianist Jan Lisiecki.

Pianist Jan Lisiecki performed the “Emperor Concerto” with the Toronto Symphony on Saturday night – the third in a clutch of three Beethoven concertos he played with the TSO at Roy Thomson Hall over the last two weeks.

I heard his Fourth Concerto last week (see the review below). His “Emperor” was, in some ways, a striking contrast to his approach to the Fourth – and together, the two performances offered complementary views of the kind of pianist the 19-year-old from Wunderkind from Mississauga has become.

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Nielsen and Beethoven at the TSO (1)

11/20/2014

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Dausgaard knows his Nielsen.

This review was originally written for Classical Voice North America.

It’s a truism of criticism that the musical world’s fondness for celebrating composers’ big anniversary years is a facile and clichéd approach to programming. But sometimes it’s a good thing, and this is one of those occasions. This concert season marks the 150th anniversary of Carl Nielsen’s birth, which means the Danish composer has a moment in the spotlight, and another chance to find a wider audience.

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Booster Shots from Tapestry Opera

11/20/2014

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Krisztina Szabó as Jane Ward.

Tapestry Opera likes to wear its creative heart on its sleeve, presenting opera as both a process and a product. Always on the lookout for composers and librettists who are eager to write new operas, the adventurous little company often presents scenes from works-in-progress.

And so it was on Sunday, when I went down to Toronto’s historic Distillery District’s Cannery Building to see a program called Booster Shots – the latest batch of 12 excerpts from Tapestry-developed operas, in various stages of completion.

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Victoria Symphony Delivers a Strong War Requiem

11/12/2014

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VSO Maestra Tania Mller.

It was clear to me, as I arrived at Victoria’s Royal Theatre on Saturday, that the evening’s concert was a big production for the Victoria Symphony Orchestra. There was just one piece on the program: Benjamin Britten’s sprawling War Requiem. And the concert wasn’t just a concert – it was also a commemorative event, marking the 100th anniversary of the start of World War I. As a reminder of the occasion, the stage was bursting with bright red lapel poppies.

Indeed, the stage was also bursting with performers. The combined forces of the VSO, the Victoria Choral Society and the Vox Humana choir just barely squeezed on to the stage – and the chamber orchestra called for in the score couldn’t be physically separated from the larger orchestra. The St. Michael`s University School Children’s Choir was positioned in the back of the balcony.

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Tafelmusik's Galileo Project in Houston

11/10/2014

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The original "Renaissance man."

Here’s something I wrote for the Houston Chronicle about Tafelmusik’s current tour of the baroque orchestra’s Galileo Project.

The term “Renaissance man” fits Galileo Galilei to a T. The astronomer who famously insisted that the Earth revolved around the sun also was a philosopher, an author and a musician.

Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra explores the connections between music and astronomy in the “Galileo Project: Music of the Spheres.” Presented by Da Camera of Houston, the multimedia concert will be staged on Thursday at the Wortham Theater Center.

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Symphonie fantastique in Vancouver

11/4/2014

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Does this man want to be the VSO's next conductor?

Writing about an unfamiliar orchestra in an unfamiliar hall is a dicey proposition. Yet that’s exactly what I now find myself doing – because on Monday night I attended a concert by the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra in the Vancouver’s Orpheum Theatre. For the record, it was the second time in my life that I have ventured west of the Rockies to hear the VSO in its own hall.

This evening’s program consisted of José Pablo Moncayo’s Huapango, Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 27 in B Flat K.595 (with Marc-André Hamelin tickling the ivories), and Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique. On this occasion, the band wasn’t led by its regular conductor, Bramwell Tovey (who has announced he’ll be leaving the orchestra in a couple of years). The guest conductor was 30-year-old Diego Matheuz, from Venezuela, making his VSO debut.

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McDermott and Boreyko at the TSO

Soundstreams' Vespers

Nielsen and Beethoven at the TSO (2)

Nielsen and Beethoven at the TSO (1)

Booster Shots from Tapestry Opera

Victoria Symphony Delivers a Strong War Requiem

Tafelmusik's Galileo Project in Houston

Symphonie fantastique in Vancouver

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