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T A F E L M U S I K
Bach In Leipzig :: Tafelmusik bassist Alison Mackay has created another imaginative conceptual concert, Bach in Leipzig. Jeanne Lamon and Ivars Taurins
direct the Orchestra and Chamber Choir in this narrated programme that brings Bach's years in Leipzig to life with words and music. Mackay's previous creations include Metamorphosis,
Four Seasons: A Cycle of the Sun and The Galileo Project— programmes that have resonated with audiences around the world.
Mar. 11 - Mar. 13 @ 8:00 PM
Mar. 10 @ 7:00 PM Mar. 14
@ 3:30 PM Trinity-St. Paul Centre, 427 Bloor St. W. | Tickets: $31 - $76 Phone: 416 964-6337 or order online by clicking here
Enchantress :: Tafelmusik welcomes back the superb JUNO Award-winning soprano Karina Gauvin for Enchantress, featuring the music of Vivaldi and Handel.
Gauvin's 2007 collaboration with Tafelmusik coaxed superlatives from music critics: "Gauvin's voice … seems utterly free, entering generously the very heart of what she is singing. Her baroque ornamentation
and her trill are impeccable. Add to that the redoubtable orchestra … and you have all you need to make Handel's music riveting and unforgettable." (The Globe and Mail)
Mar. 25 - Mar. 27
@ 8:00 PM Mar. 28 @ 3:30 PM Trinity-St. Paul Centre, 427 Bloor St. W. Mar. 30
@ 8:00 PM George Weston Hall, Toronto Centre For the Arts | Tickets: $31 - $76 Phone: 416 964-6337 or order online by clicking here
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La Pasion :: The second concert of the
New Creations Festival
adopts a theatrical slant. Highlights include a suite from Peter Lieberson's opera about the visionary, third-century B.C. leader who unified all India, and selections from the work that swept Osvaldo Golijov to global fame: the dynamic, multi-flavoured St. Mark Passion.
These compositions are paired with the world première of a piece for narrator and orchestra by Andrew Paul MacDonald. Enjoy a pre-concert Spoken Word Concert in the lobby of Roy Thomson
Hall by the Toronto Poetry Project featuring David Silverberg, Amanda Hiebert, Krystle Mullin and White Noise Machine. Casual Concerts are followed by a party for the whole audience in the North
Lobby. On February 27, mingle with TSO musicians and listen to the Nathaniel Dett Chorale conducted by Brainerd Blyden-Taylor. Programme: Andrew P. MacDonald
Ode to the West Wind (TSO Commission/World premiere) - World premiere Peter Lieberson Suite from Ashoka's Dream (TSO Commission/World premiere)
- Canadian premiere Osvaldo Golijov Suite from La Pasión según San Marcos - Canadian premiere
Sat. Feb. 27
@ 7:30 PM Roy Thomson Hall, 60 Simcoe St. | Tickets: $28 - $87 Phone 416 597-7840 or to order online
please click La Plus Forte :: The New Creations Festival
reaches its stunning climax with Irish composer Gerald Barry's The Stronger, an intense mini-opera based on a play by the revered Swedish playwright, August Strindberg.
The performance will feature the artist the opera was written for, soprano Barbara Hannigan. Also on the bill are the world première of a symphony by Québec's great composer, Jacques Hétu,
and Last Round, Osvaldo Golijov's riveting tribute to the fire and the poetry of the Argentine tango master, Astor Piazzolla.
Wed. Mar. 3
@ 8:00 PM Roy Thomson Hall, 60 Simcoe St. | Tickets: $29 - $128 Phone 416 597-7840 or to order online
please click Best Of British :: The classics that put Britain on the musical map!
Christopher Bell conducts poignant and soul-stirring music from "across the pond," including Vaughan Williams' Fantasia on Greensleeves and The Lark Ascending, Malcolm Arnold's Scottish Dances,
Elgar's Nimrod, and a medley of Gilbert and Sullivan favourites. Maestro Bell is joined by one of the UK's fastest-rising young stars, violinist Nicola Benedetti, in her TSO début.
Programme: Walton (Rev.: 1963): Crown Imperial March Vaughan Williams (Revised 1920): The Lark Ascending for Violin and Orchestra Elgar:
"Nimrod" from Enigma Variations, Op. 36 Holst (ed. Curwin): "Jupiter" from The Planets Sullivan (Mackerras, Charles; Arranged): Suite
from Pineapple Poll Bruch: Scottish Fantasy for Violin and Orchestra, Op. 46 Mvt. 2 Malcolm Arnold: Four Scottish Dances, Op. 59
Sat. Mar. 6
@ 7:30 PM Sun. Mar. 7
@ 3:00 PM Roy Thomson Hall, 60 Simcoe St. | Tickets: $28 - $75 Phone 416 597-7840 or to order online please click
Grieg Piano Concerto & Elgar Enigma Variations ::
Outstanding compositions from Scandinavia and England share the bill on this richly emotional programme. Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg's evergreen piano concerto, a melodious
theatre score by Jean Sibelius, and a tribute to Bach created by Sibelius's fellow Finn, Magnus Lindberg, represent the north.
The gallery in which Sir Edward Elgar lovingly and wittily portrayed his closest friends carries the banner for England. Programme: Sibelius: Suite from King Kristian II, Op. 27
Grieg: Piano Concerto in A Minor, Op. 16 Magnus Lindberg: Chorale (after J.S. Bach, "Es ist genug")
- Canadian premiere Elgar (Elgar extended Finale in August, 1899): Variations on an Original Theme ("Enigma"), Op. 36
Thurs. Mar. 11
@ 8:00 PM Sat. Mar. 13
@ 8:00 PM Roy Thomson Hall, 60 Simcoe St. | Tickets: $29 - $128 Phone 416 597-7840 or to order online
please click Symphonie Fantastique :: Under the insightful and eloquent baton of the
widely experienced Spanish maestro Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, the dream-like landscapes of the Symphonie fantastique of Berlioz come to life with extraordinary vividness. The guitar soloist extraordinaire,
Pepe Romero, offers the warmth and wit of Rodrigo's Concierto de Aranjuez.
On Mar. 25 @ 7:15 PM, join Rick Phillips for a relaxed and enlightening discussion about the performance, with a Pre-Concert Chat in the lobby. Programme: Turina:
La Oración del torero, Op.34 ("The Bullfighter's Prayer") Rodrigo: Concierto de Aranjuez Berlioz: Symphonie fantastique, Op. 14
Wed. Mar. 24 @ 8:00 PM Thurs. Mar. 25 @ 8:00 PM Roy Thomson Hall, 60 Simcoe St. | Tickets: $29 - $128 Phone 416
597-7840 or to order online please click TSO Goes to Vegas :: Jack Everly returns to the TSO with a jackpot of hip Vegas hits, including Luck Be a Lady, Big Spender, Viva Las Vegas, My Way, and Lady is a Tramp. He's
joined by a cast of showgirls and high rollers, including stars from Broadway and the Vegas Strip, and Mr. Showmanship himself, Martin Preston, as the legendary Liberace. It's Vegas, baby - Symphony style!
Wed. Mar. 31 @ 8:00 PM Thurs. April 1 @ 2:00 PM & 8:00 PM Roy Thomson Hall, 60 Simcoe St. | Tickets: $28 - $99
Phone 416 597-7840 or to order online please click
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C A N A D I A N O P E R A C O M P A N Y
Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre: 2009 - 2010 Free Concert Series :: The insanely popular Free Concert Series returns for it's second season at the 3rd floor Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre, which allows for breath-taking views
through floor to ceiling glass windows of University Avenue as a backdrop, includes concerts, performances and presentations by young artists, Canadian and international opera stars and COC staff.
This is an exciting opportunity for Torontonians to experience the artistic excellence and cultural diversity of the city in the beautiful new Four Seasons Centre For The Performing Arts.
All concerts are free to the public. "Brown bag" lunches are welcome for the noon performances.
For a complete listing of concert dates and performances please click here _______________________ M U S I C T O R O N T O Rachael Kiyo Iwassa pianist :: Rachael Kiyo Iwassa plays with flutist Mark Takeshi McGregor in the duo Tiresias; their CD Delicate Fires was nominated for a 2008 Western Canadian Music Award. Ms.
Iwaasa's teachers included Jane Coop, Menahem Pressler and Robin Wood. After studies at the University of Victoria, she received 2 scholarships to study at the Hochschule für Musik "Hanns Eisler" in Berlin,
added a master's from Indiana, and obtained a doctorate from UBC. Iwaasa is now Piano Chamber Music Coordinator and Instructor at UBC, and performs chamber music and recitals in Canada, the US and
Europe.
Thurs. Mar. 18
@ 8:00 PM St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts, Jane Mallett Theatre, 27 Front Street E. | Tickets: $15 Phone: 416 366-7723 or order online by clicking here
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M U S I C I A N S I N O R D I N A R Y A Night Of Sweet 16th
Century Italian Madrigals ::
Soprano Hallie Fishel and lutenist John Edwards present O Dolce Nocte (O Sweet Night), with guest tenors Bud Roach and Kevin Skelton, and baritone Neil Aronoff. John
Edwards says listeners will hear little gems in music that sounds somewhat familiar. "The church music, the motets and masses, of this generation are heard every Sunday in churches with decent choirs, but
these beautiful miniatures are hardly known. They use the same musical vocabulary as the church music, but distilled and concentrated."
The subjects are also more secular. Fishel re-creates some of the entertainments that the 16th century courtesan would have provided with solo song arrangements of some of the madrigals.
To accompany the tenor solos, Edwards will play a large bass lute in D. Fishel also gets to play and sing, using a small lute in A. As Edwards says, "It's like playing the accompaniments on a
violin and a cello depending on what pitch the singer needs.
Sat. Feb. 27
@ 8:00 PM Heliconian Hall, 35 Hazelton Ave. (north of Scollard Street in Yorkville; Bay St. subway) | Tickets: $15 - $20 Phone: 416-535-9956 ____________________________ A R T O F T I M E E N S E M B L E Songbook, featuring Steven Page :: Singer-songwriter and guitarist Steven Page performs his favourite songs with Toronto's Art of Time Ensemble in a concert that includes songs originally performed by
Leonard Cohen, Elvis Costello, Jane Siberry, Paul Simon, Rufus Wainwright, Radiohead, and others, in fresh new arrangements created by composer-musicians from the worlds of pop, jazz and classical music,
including such Canadian talents as Gavin Bryars, Glen Buhr, Rob Carli, Phil Dwyer, Kevin Fox, Jonathan Goldsmith, Jim McGrath, and Cameron Wilson.
The program will also feature Prokofiev's Sonata No. 1 in F Minor for Violin and Piano. Toronto-based musician Steven Page has long been admired for his dynamic, physically exuberant
performances, powerful tenor, quick wit and songwriting styles that span the gamut between humour and pathos. Perhaps best known as founding member, lead singer and principle songwriter of the music group
Barenaked Ladies, who collectively have sold nearly 15 million albums worldwide, Page began his solo endeavours in 2005 with an album titled The Vanity Project, a co-writing partnership with musician Stephen
Duffy (Tin Tin), and more officially, upon leaving Barenaked Ladies and contributing music for a theatre production which debuted at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival in 2009. A Singer Must Die is Page's
first post-BNL release, preceding a solo album to be released later in 2010.
Thurs. Mar. 4
@ 8:00 PM Koerner Hall at The Royal Conservatory, 273 Bloor Street West | Tickets: $40 - $50 Phone: 416 408-0208 or order online by clicking here
The Kreutzer Sonata ::
Capitalizing on the tremendous sold-out success of The Kreutzer Sonata
last season, the Art of Time Ensemble, under the artistic direction of founder Andrew Burashko, re-stages this outstanding concert evening inspired by and featuring Ludwig Van Beethoven's Kreutzer Sonata
(Sonata for violin and piano No. 9 in A Major, Op. 47) This unique evening moves in a bold direction with a collage of theatre, dance and music that features a dramatic adaptation of
Leo Tolstoy's passionate novella, The Kreutzer Sonata, written and performed by award-winning actor/director Ted Dykstra. The second half features James Kudelka's 15 Heterosexual Duets
: a virtuosic work choreographed by one of Canada's most eminent choreographers to Beethoven's Kreutzer Sonata,
and danced by the acclaimed Coleman Lemieux & Compagnie to the accompaniment of Andrew Burashko on piano and Marie Bérard on violin. Like the Tolstoy story, it explores the male/female relationship.
Coleman Lemieux & Compagnie is led by Bill Coleman and Laurence Lemieux, who are also life partners. 15 Heterosexual Duets
features some of the most talented dancers in the country.
Thurs. Mar. 18 - Sun. Mar. 21 (Sun. is a matinee 2:00 PM performance) Enwave Theatre, 231 Queens Quay W.
(Harbourfront) | Tickets: $19 - $49 Phone: 416 973-4000 or order online by clicking here ______________________________ M O O R E D A L E C O N C E R T S :: Canada's internationally celebrated chamber orchestra Les Violons du Roy
perform a whole afternoon of splendid concerti by Antonio Vivaldi, including the popular Four Seasons during their only Toronto performance by "Les Violons" in their 25th
anniversary season. Conducted by harpsichordist Richard Paré, one of the orchestra's founding members, Les Violons du Roy play four Vivaldi concerti in the first half of the concert – two concerti
for strings and basso continuo, the Concerto for Two Cellos in G minor and the Concerto for Four Violins in B minor. In the second half, four of the ensemble's virtuoso violinists are featured
in the violin concerti that constitute Vivaldi's greatest hit, the Four Seasons. The Violons du Roy are unique in that each player is a distinguished soloist, and in this concert almost
every member is featured as a concerto soloist.
Sun. Mar. 7
@ 3:15 PM MacMillan Theatre, Edward Johnson Building, (south of the ROM, Museum subway) | Tickets: $35; $30 seniors and students Phone: 416 922-3714
M A R I I N S K Y O R C H E S T R A :: Under the dynamic leadership of musical director
Valery Gergiev, the internationally-acclaimed Mariinsky Orchestra (formerly known as the Kirov Orchestra) is a favourite with Toronto audiences and always a sellout; the orchestra returns for its 5th
appearance at Roy Thomson Hall. "The Kirov Orchestra is a perfectly balanced, impeccably blended virtuoso instrument, and Gergiev plays it with masterly élan."
-- The Los Angeles Times. There will be seperate programmes for each evening. Programme for Tues. Mar. 16 - Berlioz: Royal Hunt and Storm from
Les Troyens, Berlioz: Introduction, Ball, Adagio, Scherzo, March to the Grave from Romeo and Juliet, Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 5
Programme for Wed. Mar. 17 - Liadov: Enchanted Lake, Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No. 3 with pianist Denis Matsuev, Shostakovich: Symphony No. 5
Mar. 16 & Mar. 17 @ 8:00 PM Roy Thomson Hall, 60 Simcoe St. | Tickets: $50 - $170 Phone: 416 872-4255 or to order online please click
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