Volume 28 Issue 4 | February - March 2023

VOLUME 28 NO 4 

FEBRUARY - MARCH 2023 

MUSIC! LISTINGS 

live and 

livestreamed 

STORIES 

profiles, previews 

and interviews 

RECORD REVIEWS 

and Listening Room 

Trio Arkel

A T G T H E A T R E C O M 

G E R a L D F I n L E Y 

C h a r L O T T E H E L L E K a n t 

B L u e b e a r d ' s 

C a s T L e 

B É L A B A R T Ó K 

A r a d i c a l r e t e l l i n g o f 

B a r t o k ' s t h r i l l i n g o p e r a , 

f e a t u r i n g a n e w E n g l i s h 

l i b r e t t o a n d o r c h e s t r a l 

a r r a n g e m e n t . 

M A R C H 2 9 & 3 1 / / A P R I L 1 

F L E C K D A N C E T H E A T R E , T O R O N T O O N 

S C A N T H E Q R C O D E F O R I N F O & T I C K E T S

2804_FebMar_cover.indd 1 

2023-02-03 10:38 AM 

Volume 28 No 4 | February - March, 2023 

ON OUR COVER 


FEBRUARY - MARCH 2023 

Trio Arkel 

PHOTO: CHUNG LING LO 

MUSIC! LISTINGS 

live and 

livestreamed 

STORIES 

profiles, previews 

and interviews 

RECORD REVIEWS 

and Listening Room 

8 FOR OPENERS | Some Things 

That Caught My Eye | 

DAVID PERLMAN 

STORIES & INTERVIEWS 

12 IN WITH THE NEW | 

Continuum’s Show Room and 

Soundstreams’ Reich | 

WENDE BARTLEY 

14 THE SOFT SEAT BEAT | A Tale of 

Three Halls | COLIN STORY 

The time of photographing the Arkel Trio was a blast! 

Their infectious energy and positive attitude made some 

fantastic shots. The dynamic between the three was electric 

and I couldn't help but smile behind the lens. The shoot was 

as inspiring and exciting as the music they created together. 

Their ability to bring the creative vision to life was simply 

remarkable, and it was an honour to be a part of the process. 

I had such a great time capturing the personalities of these 

talented and dedicated individuals. 

Chung Ling Lo 

16 MUSIC THEATRE | Canadian 

Identity Celebrated and 

Explored | JENNIFER PARR 

18 CLASSICAL AND BEYOND | 

Instant Kinships - Trio Arkel 

in Conversation | PAUL ENNIS 

22 EARLY MUSIC | To Everything 

there is a Season ... or Four | 

STEPHANIE CONN 

 

ACD2 2803 

ATMA Classique is proud 

to present Chopin Recital 

4, featuring the celebrated 

pianist Janina Fialkowska 

The newest album in this series 

gathers some of Chopin’s most 

beautiful pieces: Polonaises, 

Preludes, Nocturnes, Ballades, 

Waltzes and Scherzos. 

Release date - February 10, 2023 

12 

JOSEPH PEPELNAK 

ACD2 2422 

Choral music by J. S. Bach 

and late baroque composers 

including Johann Ludwig 

Bach, Jan Dismas Zelanka 

and Antonio Lotti. Directed 

by Matthias Maute. 

Release date - February 17, 2023 

VISIT OUR WEBSITE 

thewholenote.com February & March, 2023 | 5

The WholeNote 


FEBRUARY & MARCH, 2023 

EDITORIAL 

Publisher/Editor in Chief | David Perlman 

publisher@thewholenote.com 

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STORIES & INTERVIEWS 

26 ON OPERA | Mezzo Emily Fons 

on globetrotting and more | 

LYDIA PEROVIĆ 

28 REMEMBERING | Michael 

Snow | ANDREW TIMAR 

30 MOSTLY JAZZ | February 14 

It’s Clubs and Hearts | 

COLIN STORY 

LISTINGS 

32 EVENTS BY DATE 

Live and/or Live Streamed 

43 MAINLY CLUBS 

45 WHO’S WHO? 

Presenters, venues, 

choirs & more 

DISCOVERIES: 

RECORDINGS REVIEWED 

46 Editor’s Corner | DAVID OLDS 

48 Strings Attached | 

TERRY ROBBINS 

51 Vocal 

54 Classical and Beyond 

58 Modern and Contemporary 

62 Jazz and Improvised Music 

67 Pot Pourri 

68 Something in the Air | 

KEN WAXMAN 

69 Old Wine, New Bottles | 

BRUCE SURTEES 

70 New to the Listening Room, 

INDEX 

46 

an Ontario government agency 

un organisme du gouvernement de l’Ontario 

ANDRE LEDUC 

6 | February & March, 2023 thewholenote.com

KOERNER HALL 

2022.23 Concert Season 

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 15, 7:30PM & FRIDAY, MARCH 17, 2023 7:30PM 

KOERNER HALL TICKETS START AT ONLY $25. 

Students from The Glenn Gould School’s vocal program present their fully staged 

annual opera in Koerner Hall, conducted by Gordon Gerrard and directed by 

Anna Theodosakis. 

This modern-day Marriage of Figaro is an operatic comedy with more serious 

moments as the story of the refugee who lives in the airport – inspired by the 

true-life story of an Iranian refugee who lived at Charles de Gaulle Airport in 

Paris – unfolds around the different characters who find themselves delayed 

in the terminal. 

Part of the Price Opera Program 

TICKETS ON SALE NOW! 416.408.0208 RCMUSIC.COM/PERFORMANCE 

237 BLOOR STREET WEST 

(BLOOR ST. & AVENUE RD.) TORONTO

The WholeNote 


FEBRUARY & MARCH 2023 

IN THIS EDITION 

STORIES AND INTERVIEWS 

Wendalyn Bartley, Stephanie Conn, Paul Ennis, 

Jennifer Parr, David Perlman, Lydia Perović, 

Colin Story, Andrew Timar 

CD Reviewers 

Stuart Broomer, Max Christie, Sam Dickinson, 

Daniel Foley, Raul da Gama, Janos Gardonyi, 

Richard Haskell, Scott Irvine, Tiina Kiik, 

Kati Kiilaspea, Lesley Mitchell- Clarke, 

Cheryl Ockrant, David Olds, Ted Parkinson, 

Ivana Popovic, Cathy Riches, Terry Robbins, 

Michael Schulman, Andrew Scott, Sharna Searle, 

Bruce Surtees, Andrew Timar, Yoshi Maclear Wall, 

Ken Waxman, Matthew Whitfield 

Proofreading 

Paul Ennis, John Sharpe 

Listings Team 

John Sharpe, Gary Heard, Colin Story 

Design Team 

Kevin King, Susan Sinclair 

Circulation Team 

Jack Buell, Carl Finkle, Vito Gallucci, James Harris, 

Bob Jerome, Anita Lal, Miquela Leahy, 

Marianela Lopez, Chris Malcolm, Sheila McCoy, 

Lorna Nevison, Janet O’Brien, Tom Sepp, 

Lianne Tan, and Dave Taylor 

. 

UPCOMING DATES AND DEADLINES 

Weekly Online Listings Updates 

6pm every Tuesday for weekend posting 

for Volume 28 No. 5 

APRIL - MAY 2023 

Publication Dates 

Friday, March 24 (digital) 

Tuesday, March 28 , (print) 

Print edition listings deadline 

6pm Tuesday, March 14 

Print advertising, reservation deadline 

6pm Tuesday, March 14 

Printed in Canada 

Couto Printing & Publishing Services 

Circulation Statement - Dec 7, 2022 

9,000 printed & distributed 

Canadian Publication Product 

Sales Agreement 1263846 

ISSN 14888-8785 WHOLENOTE 

Publications Mail Agreement #40026682 

WholeNote Media Inc. accepts no responsibility or 

liability for claims made for any product or 

service reported on or advertised in this issue. 

COPYRIGHT © 2023 WHOLENOTE MEDIA INC 

But first, a couple of definitions, and a hypothesis 

Food desert: an area or community lacking adequate access to affordable, healthy, 

fresh food, due to factors such as lack of available options for both purchase and 

transportation, economic “redlining”, monoculture, etc. 

Arts desert: an area or community lacking adequate access to affordable space (to 

live and to work) and to resources for live performance, exhibition, rehearsal, artistic 

education, cultural enrichment, and/or community participation in the arts. 

Hypothesis: These two areas are related through systemic practices that allow, and 

even encourage, large scale for-profit consolidations of “public goods” (from food to 

real estate), over long term sustainability. In both cases, “desertification” is irreversible 

without addressing the root causes. 

Looking across a big lake or two 

Sometimes to see our own city (and what ails us) a bit more clearly, it helps to 

start by looking across a big lake (or two). This next quote caught my eye when I 

was googling desert definitions. 

“The term ‘arts desert’ makes me just a little bit crazy. 

It’s not about areas where art does not exist. It’s about 

areas where art does exist, but it’s underfunded, it’s 

under-resourced, it’s under-organized. And those reasons 

have to do with poverty, they have to do with racism.” 

The speaker is Jennifer Coleman (senior program 

officer for the Cleveland-based Gund Foundation), and 

I found the quote in a story on Ideastream Public Media 

– a website which aims, among other the other areas of 

public good it covers, “to connect with Northeast Ohio’s 

Jennifer Coleman 

vibrant arts and culture scene, via news and storytelling 

on TV, radio and digital platforms.” In turn, that story led me to the website of 

another Northern Ohio organization, Heights Arts, (based in the city of Cleveland 

Heights). 

Heights Arts seeded itself during a city-wide visioning process in the very early 2000s. 

“A group of Cleveland Heights residents became deeply involved in the visioning 

meetings,” the Heights Arts website explains. “Heights Arts was founded on the 

premise that capitalizing on our community’s rich artistic resources could positively 

impact all aspects of community life: community-building, economic development, 

education, and public spaces … as we began to tap into the creative spirit of our 

community.” 

Food for thought. 

FOR OPENERS 

Some Things That 

Caught My Eye 

CALLS FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST 

DESERTIFICATION: causes, impacts, and remedies 

Beginning in April 2023, The WholeNote is launching an exploration in all 

our media of ways to increase the visibility and viability of the arts in so-called 

“arts deserts” across Ontario. 

If you, as an individual or community organizer, are interested in participating 

or would like more information about the initiative, please contact 

David Perlman, publisher@thewholenote.com or 416-323-2232 x28 


Collaborative life on the choral scene 

Choirs were the first music sector to be choked off during the 

pandemic, and for the same reasons have been the slowest to 

re-emerge – but, from the things I see, they are doing so more energetically 

and more collaboratively than ever before. Which is 

good news when one considers that choral music is the bedrock 

of community participation in music life – bridging audience and 

performance in a way no other form of music can. Here’s a taste: 

Toronto Mendelssohn Choir’s Exchange: Community Singing 

Festival. On February 4, the TMChoir hosted three high school choirs, 

plus their friends and families, for a one-day non-competitive singing 

festival and showcase presentation at Yorkminster Park Baptist 

Church, the TMChoir’s home base “to celebrate our ability to sing 

together again, in a day of collaboration, learning, and community 

connection.” The invited schools reflect the sweep of the outreach 

they are doing: Agincourt Collegiate Institute (Scarborough); O’Neill 

Collegiate and Vocational Institute (Oshawa); and Mayfield Secondary 

School in Caledon East (one of two Arts Schools serving Peel Region). 

Add to that the recent reinstatement of the Toronto Mendelssohn 

Singers as the TMChoir’s 24-voice paid professional core, and the 

organization’s capacity for tackling chamber choir repertoire takes 

them far beyond the large-scale oratorios and Masses that were the 

raison d’etre for its founding in 1894. 

And speaking of non-competitive one 

day singing festivals, this year’s Ontario 

Senior Treble Festival, (the first since 2020!) 

is titled “Sending You Light” and is hosted 

by Young Voices Toronto, bringing together 

choristers in the senior ensembles of the 

Bach Children’s Chorus, Chorus Niagara, the 

Hamilton Children’s Chorus, Mississauga 

Children’s Choir, Oakville Choir for Children 

& Youth, the Toronto Beaches Children’s 

and Youth Chorus, the Toronto Children’s 

Chorus and Young Voices Toronto. Guest 

conductor this year is Kellie Walsh. 

Kellie Walsh 

Walk Together Children, at Christ Church 

Deer Park on March 4, may sound familiar. 

It is the second iteration of a concert curated 

in 2018 by Antiguan-born soprano Denise 

Williams, with the aim of bringing together 

the music of Toronto’s African, Jewish and 

Muslim diasporas. “Most of the artists – 

representative of the three diasporas – and 

the choir (the Jubilate Singers conducted 

by Isabel Bernaus) are the same as in 2018,” 

Williams told me. “We have incorporated 

a lot of the repertoire from 2018. This one 

will have more selections by the choir, more 

Denise Williams 

that integrate the soloists with the choir, 

many more contemporary selections that are by Toronto composers, 

and we are specially pleased to welcome multi-instrumentalist Waleed 

Abdulhamid, who represents both African and Muslim heritage.” 

Her sense of what constitutes “diaspora” has shifted, though, more 

than the construct for the event: “I see things more and more as 

involving cultural migration and integration as well. Toronto’s already 

multicultural mosaic continues to diversify but also to blend cultural 

identities as well. As I see it, two most recent historical globally 

impactful events – George Floyd and the pandemic – have increased 

understanding, unity, and cooperation among cultures, further 

dissolving the walls of division.” 

The related events that will take place are, from a community 

arts perspective, as important as the concert: on February 19, a 

community forum with the choir, Williams, and some of the other 

featured soloists, at the Neighbourhood Unitarian Universalist 

Congregation (NUUC); and, as part of Black History Month, a workshop-presentation 

for students at Rosedale Heights School of the Arts 

on February 10. 

AMINA ABENA ALFRED 

Tuesday, February 28 at 8 pm 

Angela Cheng 

Thursday, March 30 at 8 pm 

Gryphon Trio 

May 6, 20, June 3 

Celebration of 

Small Ensembles 

Tickets: 416-366-7723 

option 2 

27 Front Street East, Toronto 

| music-toronto.com 


Three Tours 

Billed as a “two act opera” the Nathaniel Dett Chorale’s Harriet 

Tubman: When I Crossed That Line to Freedom makes a three-city 

tour (Toronto, St. Catharines and Kingston) on February 17, 18 and 

24, respectively. While Tubman, the legendary Underground Railway 

conductor, is the towering backdrop to the story, the storyline, based 

on recent Tubman biographies, is more intimate – two sisters vowing 

never to let slavery tear them apart. 

Founded in 1998, and still under the direction of its founder, 

Brainerd Blyden-Taylor, the Chorale was, and remains, Canada’s first 

professional choral group dedicated to Afrocentric music of all styles, 

with a mission “to build bridges of understanding, appreciation, and 

acceptance … through the medium of music, seeking to dissolve the 

barriers of stereotype, and to empower humans in general, and those 

of African descent in particular.” 

Tuskegee Golden Voices Choir 

The Nagamo Project Concert Tour: 

Toronto, London, St. John’s, Winnipeg, 

Edmonton is the coast-to-coast-and-back 

again path that Vancouver-based choir 

Musica Intima and Andrew Balfour will 

take, featuring music from their recording, 

NAGAMO (reviewed on page 51). 

Revolving around Elizabethan choral 

music by Byrd, Tallis, and Gibbons, 

NAGAMO features the unique musical 

perspective of Balfour’s reimagining of these 

motets into Cree and Ojibway. 

“NAGAMO (Sings) reimagines history 

Andrew Balfour 

and the concept of nation to nation respect 

and musical dialogue” Balfour says. “During the beginning of the 17th 

century, several Chiefs and esteemed Indigenous leaders journeyed to 

Europe in the hope of forging alliances. NAGAMO explores the fantastical 

idea of what might have happened if the sharing of music, and 

the respect of culture had contrived, and how a different history might 

have played out.” 

The Nagamo Project Concert is at Eglinton St. George’s 

United Church in Toronto on March 4, 2023, with the Toronto Youth 

Choir, and in London, March 7, at Western University, with choirs 

from the Don Wright Faculty of Music. 

KRISTEN-SAWATZKY 

Welcome Tuskegee Golden Voices 

“There are few choirs anywhere with a history as illustrious as the 

Golden Voices,” writes Tom Mawhinney. “Booker T. Washington, a liberated 

slave, founded Tuskegee University in 1881 in rural Alabama, about 

40 kilometres east of Montgomery, eventually becoming the primary 

spokesperson for the Black community in the United Stated for more 

than two decades. He founded the Golden Voices choir in 1886; since 

then, the choir has won acclaim at national and international levels, 

and has sung command performances for Presidents Wilson, Roosevelt, 

Kennedy and Carter. The songs the Golden Voices sing have a special 

significance; many are the first choral arrangements, created between 

1931 and 1955 by Tuskegee choir director William Levi Dawson, of songs 

that were anchored in the years of slavery: songs like 

‘Follow the Drinking Gourd’, ‘Deep River’, ‘I Want to be Ready’, 

‘Wade in the Water’ and ‘Every Time I Feel the Spirit’.” 

Crossing a big lake or two in the opposite direction to get here, what 

promises to be a memorable Golden Voices Ontario tour starts on 

March 8 in London and travels east from there to Toronto, Kingston, 

and Ottawa, on March 9, 11, and 12. 

David Perlman can be reached at publisher@thewholenote.com 

STEVE REICH: 

Now & Then 

MARCH 25 

GEORGE WESTON RECITAL HALL 

Celebrate composer Steve Reich’s 86th 

birthday. Program to include the iconic 

Drumming, featuring NEXUS and TorQ 

Percussion Quartet. NEXUS lauded by the 

New York Times as “the most acclaimed 

percussion group on earth” and TorQ, 

described as “outstanding—no, make 

that astonishing!” (Ottawa Citizen) 

Presented in partnership with TO Live. 

Visit soundstreams.ca for more details 


KOERNER HALL 


“Rhapsody and the Blues” 

An Evening with Jens Lindemann, 

Jon Kimura Parker, and the 

Yamaha All Star Big Band 

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 8PM KOERNER HALL TICKETS START AT ONLY $75 

Rhapsody in Blue is the focal point in this special gala concert of big band jazz 

by composers such as Oscar Peterson, Nat King Cole, Tommy Dorsey, and more. 

Celebration Sponsor: Heather Edwards 

Anton Nel 

and Friends 

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2PM 

MAZZOLENI CONCERT HALL 

TICKETS ARE ONLY $25 

Anton Nel, “an uncommonly elegant 

pianist,” (The New York Times) will 

perform Brahms with James 

Anagnoson, Erika Raum (violin), 

Barry Shiffman (viola), and 

Alexandra Koerner Yeo Chair 

in Cello, Andrés Díaz. 

Supported by The Michael and Sonja Koerner 

Fund for Classical Programming 

The King’s Singers: Finding Harmony 

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 8PM KOERNER HALL TICKETS START AT ONLY $45 

An evening of iconic anthems of struggle and revolution 

through history, commissioned by and for The King’s Singers. 



Emily D’Angelo 

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 8PM 

KOERNER HALL 

TICKETS START AT ONLY $35 

Canadian mezzo-soprano Emily D’Angelo 

will perform works by Hildegard von 

Bingen, Missy Mazzoli, Arnold 

Schönberg, Aaron Copland, and others. 



Mingus Dynasty Band and 

John Beasley’s MONK’estra Quartet 

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 8PM KOERNER HALL TICKETS START AT ONLY $45 

Mingus Dynasty features musicians Mingus recorded or played with. 

MONK’estra is a six-time Grammy Award nominated band led by John Beasley. 

Imogen Cooper 

SUNDAY, MARCH 5, 3PM 

KOERNER HALL 


Sir Simon Rattle has said that 

Imogen Cooper is “one of the 

greatest musicians England has 

produced.” Program includes 

Liszt, Beethoven and Schubert 



TICKETS & SUBSCRIPTIONS ON SALE NOW! 416.408.0208 RCMUSIC.COM/PERFORMANCE 


(BLOOR ST. & AVENUE RD.) TORONTO 


IN WITH THE NEW 

Continuum’s Show Room 

and Soundstreams’ Reich 

WENDALYN BARTLEY 

JOSEPH PEPELNAK 

A 

fascinating yet seemingly ordinary scenario forms 

the basis for a tension-filled new opera by composer 

Rodney Sharman and librettist Atom Egoyan. The 

last time these two creators collaborated was for their 

opera Elsewhereless in 1998, which received over 35 

performances both across Canada and the Netherlands. 

The new work, commissioned by Continuum, is 

titled Show Room, and a concert presentation will be 

performed at the Music Gallery on March 18 and 19. The 

story reveals a complex relationship between a mother, 

her son, the mother’s clothing, and a woman who runs 

a haute couture business. The instrumentation consists 

of soprano, mezzo-soprano, baritone, two soprano 

recorders, alto and tenor recorders, an alto and tenor 

sackbut (a Renaissance- and Baroque-era trombone), 

percussion, piano, toy piano, violin, cello and double bass. 

I recently spoke with Jennifer 

Tung, conductor of the production, 

to find out what to expect 

from Show Room. She explained 

that in this opera, unlike many 

where a lot of action takes place 

quickly, the dramatic aspects of 

the story are stretched out slowly 

over time. Musically, Sharman 

makes use of microtonality in the 

score to create textures that also 

shift very slowly. “Text is repeated 

many times, which helps create 

the tension,” she explained. “In 

the libretto, as the relationships 

between the characters build, you 

think the story is going in one 

direction, but then it doesn’t end 

up there. Because Rodney knows 

Jennifer Tung 

the singers, he was able to write 

vocal lines specifically harnessed 

for the strengths of each individual voice.” 

Tung also commented on the unique way Sharman combines early 

instruments with contemporary harmonies and the specific way 

he writes out the degrees of the microtonal shifts. “For example, he 

indicates how many steps or changes the player needs to take to go 

from B to B-flat, which on the piano is only one step, but with the 

recorder, sackbut, or a string instrument, it’s possible to make four or 

six steps between these two notes.” 

In a video interview available in Continuum’s web series Press Play, 

Sharman says: “I’m able to move from major to minor keys in a strange 

and twisted way that reflects the twisted situation in this opera. There 

are places in the text where I simply stop and dwell on a word, on the 

beauty of the voices, or on the unusual timbres that are created.” In 

the same interview, Egoyan explains that the “characters are pushed 

to extremes and react in a perverse way, perversions that are rooted in 

emotion that creates a sense of need, fear, desire and yearning.” 

Tung comes to the project after extensive training, initially receiving 

degrees from the Eastman School of Music in singing performance 

and collaborative piano or vocal coaching. Over time, she has revived 

an earlier passion she had for conducting, even though when younger 

she was discouraged from pursuing that route because of the difficulty 

women had in developing conducting careers. 

She initially received mentoring from Maestro Denis Mastromonaco, 

conductor of the Mississauga Symphony Orchestra, learning “on 

the job.” She took on the role of conductor of the Mississauga Youth 

Symphony and was subsequently selected to be a participant in 

Tapestry Opera’s Women in Musical Leadership (WML) three-year 

program, designed to help women and non-binary conductors and 

music directors develop their skills. After conducting Brian Current’s 

Gould’s Wall this past summer, she was invited by Continuum’s 

artistic director Ryan Scott to take on this project. After a few years of 

COVID delays, the project is now ready to be rehearsed and premiered 

under Tung’s expert musical direction. 

Soundstreams Presents the Music of Steve Reich 

Soundstreams is celebrating the 86th birthday of American 

composer Steve Reich (b. October 3, 1936) with a concert in the 

George Weston Recital Hall on March 25 that will include a performance 

of Reich’s iconic work Drumming and the Canadian premiere 

of Reich’s more recent piece Reich/Richter. The latter was written to 

be performed with German visual artist Gerhard Richter and Corinna 

Belz’s film Moving Picture (946-3) and received more than one 

hundred performances at The Shed in New York in 2019. 

It has been close to seven years since Soundstreams last presented 

the music of Reich, when Music for 18 Musicians and Tehillim were 

performed at Massey Hall. Drumming, dating from 1970-71, goes 

back even further than that, being first performed in Toronto at a New 

Music Concerts event in February of 1976. Composed for nine percussionists, 

two female singers, whistler and piccolo, the percussion 

players begin on four pairs of tuned bongo drums in Part One, change 

to marimbas with the addition of the singers in Part Two, move to 

glockenspiels in Part Three (with the whistler and piccolo), and finally 

in Part Four, a full ensemble. The piece is continuous without any 

pause or break, and takes 58 minutes to perform. 


Drumming@50, Interview 3. Clockwise from top, at right: 

Sō Percussion’s Josh Quillen with NEXUS members Garry Kvistad, 

Russell Hartenberger and Bill Cahn talk about learning Drumming while 

Steve Reich was composing it, and about their many performances of it. 

Drumming is known for its use of repeating melodic patterns that 

shift into becoming one or more beats out of phase with each other 

that over time build up a hypnotic spell of sound. I remember well 

that 1976 performance in U of T’s Walter Hall with the members of the 

Nexus percussion ensemble performing. When the piece finished, the 

audience spontaneously rose to its feet with one singular movement in 

a standing ovation, a rarity in those days at new music events. 

For this 2023 performance, Nexus will once again be on hand to 

spin the audience through this mesmerizing world of musical bliss 

along with TorQ Percussion Quartet. Nexus members Bob Becker and 

Russell Hartenberger were key participants in the original composing 

and performing of the piece as members of the Steve Reich Ensemble 

and have created the website drumming@50.com. Full of videos, articles, 

conversations and historical documentation, this site is a treasure 

trove of all things Drumming. 

As Hartenberger states on the website: “For me, the gradual process 

of learning about Drumming was also the beginning of the gradual 

process of learning about rhythm.” He recounts the story of how Reich 

composed the piece while working interactively with the percussionists 

of his ensemble. Learning by rote was an essential part of the process, 

one that Hartenberger claims is essential for learning how to play this 

demanding piece. I’m sure that the piece will sound as fresh, adventurous 

and spellbinding as it did when it was initially performed. 

Wendalyn Bartley is a Toronto-based composer and electro-vocal 

sound artist. sounddreaming!@gmail.com. 

Hear! Hear! 

Remembering John Beckwith 

March, 1927 - December, 2022 

Friends, colleagues and family pay tribute 

in music and words 

A distinctly original and vital voice in all aspects of 

music in Canada, John Beckwith contributed over 

160 compositions and a large number of books and 

articles over the course of his 75-year career. 

Tuesday, February 28, 7:30pm 

at University of Toronto, Walter Hall 

Performers include: 

Soundstreams’ Choir 21, New Music Concerts Ensemble, 

Opus 8, Robert Aitken, Dianne Aitken, 

Monica Whicher, Peter Stoll and others. 

presented by 

The University of Toronto, Faculty of Music 

Friends & Family of John Beckwith 

A ticket is required, but admission is free of charge 

rcmusic.com/events-and-performances 

PHOTO: ANDRE LEDUC 


JAZZ NOTES 

The Soft-Seat Beat 

A Tale of Three Halls 

COLIN STORY 

JOHN WATSON 

Terri Lyne Carrington 

Of the many things that music audiences have regained 

in the 2022/2023 concert season, the most valuable 

may be the very concept of a “season” in and of itself. 

No longer must we sit, nails bitten to the quick, waiting 

for the inevitable notification that the concert – that very 

special concert to which we’ve looked forward for so long 

– has been suddenly and unceremoniously cancelled in the 

wake of the latest round of lockdown regulations. 

Now, well on the other side of our first post-COVID holiday season, 

we can confidently purchase tickets, mark dates in our calendars and 

rest assured that nothing will come between us and an evening of 

beautiful music (except the usual calamities: snowstorms, professional 

turmoil and the grim realization that we’ve become our parents). 

Terri Lyne Carrington in town 

One of the unexpected joys of this year has been the return of the 

post-secondary music-program concert as a major event. Toronto’s 

major classical and jazz programs have a full itinerary of events on 

the books, taking place both at the schools themselves and at many 

of the city’s main art-music venues. Students from the University 

of Toronto’s jazz program perform regularly on Monday nights at 

The Rex as part of their small-ensemble credit, students of all ages 

regularly perform in small and large ensembles at U of T and free 

masterclasses happen most weeks, featuring local and international 

musicians coaching students and performing. Each year, however, 

U of T also brings in a visiting artist for a week, a musician of some 

international renown to work with students, host masterclasses, and 

perform in a culminating concert. This year, that artist is drummer 

Terri Lyne Carrington. 

A Berklee professor; a veteran of bands led by the likes of Dizzy 

Gillespie, Wayne Shorter and Herbie Hancock; the recipient of 

multiple Grammy awards and nominations (including two separate 

entries in the Best Jazz Instrumental Album category at this year’s 

upcoming ceremony): Carrington has consistently worked at the 

centre of the jazz world since the beginning of her decades-long 

career. At this stage in her career, she is as invested in mentoring 

the next generation of jazz musicians as she is in performing; she is 

the founder and artistic director of the Berklee Institute of Jazz and 

Gender Justice, the artistic director for Berklee Summer Session’s 

Women’s Performance Program, and she plays as regularly with young 

musicians like esperanza spalding, Matthew Stevens and Kris Davis. 

After two days of masterclasses – both of which, in the late afternoon 

on March 6 and 7, appear to be open to the public – the even 

better news is that you can check out Carrington in concert with the U 

of T Jazz Orchestra at 7:30pm on March 8 at U of T’s Walter Hall. What 

to expect: an evening of exceptional drumming; a band that will likely 

be inspired, driven and enthusiastic about playing with a rhythmsection 

luminary; and a lot of undergraduate whooping. 

Cécile McLorin Salvant 

On the subject of award winners: at 8pm on March 30, Cécile 

McLorin Salvant performs at the Royal Conservatory’s Koerner Hall on 

the heels of her 2022 Nonesuch records release, Ghost Song. Selected 

by Glenn Gould Foundation Prize-winner Jessye Norman in 2019, to 

receive the Protégé Prize that goes with the Glenn Gould Prize, Salvant – 

a composer, singer and visual artist – has been in the concert-hall spotlight 

since winning the Thelonious Monk Vocal Competition in 2010. 

(Though still pretty much universally called the Monk Competition, 

the award is now known as the Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz’s 

International Competition.) Amongst Salvant’s other accolades: three 

Grammy awards, DownBeat Critics’ Poll Awards and a 2020 MacArthur 

Foundation Fellowship. Salvant’s extraordinary technique works in 


support of a deep sense of musicality, with an emphasis on reframing 

and re-examining the rich history of jazz and blues. 

TD Music Hall 

On the subject of soft-seater theatres: TD Music Hall, a brand-new 

venue from the Corporation of Massey Hall and Roy Thomson Hall, 

has its grand opening on February 10. A self-described “state-ofthe-art 

500-capacity performance space,” TD Music Hall is located 

in Allied Music Centre, a new performance hub attached to Massey 

Hall on Victoria Street. Allied Music Centre also includes several other 

notable rooms: the Basement Bar, a “magnetic and intimate performance 

space”; the seventh-floor Deane Cameron Recording Studio, 

conceptualized both “as a classroom for music education” and as “a 

professionally appointed recording studio”; the 6th Floor Theatre, a 

black-box affair for smaller shows; and a variety of small bars and 

SHAWN-MICHAEL JONES 

Cécile McLorin Salvant 

TD Music Hall, Allied Music Centre (artist rendering) 

other community-minded spaces. 

Marketed as something of a stepping-stone to the Massey Hall stage 

(official nomenclature: the Allan Slaight Stage at Massey Hall), TD 

Music Hall has an impressive range of acts booked throughout 2023. 

The inaugural show will take place on Friday, February 10, with The 

Halluci Nation, formerly known as A Tribe Called Red, whose combination 

of electronic music, hip-hop and Indigenous music has been a 

mainstay on concert stages since the group’s inception in 2007. Some 

other highlights: Canadian blues singer Shakura S’Aida, on Saturday, 

March 18; experimental American indie group Deerhoof, on Friday, 

March 31; and the Motown-inflected stylings of Canadian singer Elise 

LeGrow, on Saturday, April 22. 

Colin Story is a jazz guitarist, writer and teacher based in Toronto. He 

can be reached at www.colinstory.com, on Instagram and on Twitter. 

KPMB ARCHITECTS 

THE ROSE ORCHESTRA 

MAGIC OF THE MOVIES 

The excitement of lights dimming, theme music filling the theatre in 

“surround sound”, who can deny that feeling of exhilaration we’ve all 

enjoyed as we wait to watch our favourite actors come alive on the big 

screen? The Rose Orchestra welcomes you to re-live some of those 

moments as they present a collection of movie melodies sure to spark 

that excitement all over again. 

FEBRUARY 11, 2023 

7:30PM 

THE MARC 

JORDAN SHOW 

JAZZ @ LBP HOSTED BY JAYMZ BEE 

Join Performing Arts Brampton for another performance of Jazz @ LBP 

hosted by Jaymz Bee. This performance is an intimate one featuring 

Marc Jordan as he plays songs from all facets of his long career -- from 

the early Yatch Rock to jazz recorded with producer Lou Pomanti. Other 

familiar hits will feature songs from artists such as Joe Cocker, Cher, 

Bonnie Raitt, Amanda Marshall, Bette Midler, Josh Groban and more! 

BOOK TICKETS 

THEROSEBRAMPTON.CA 

FEBRUARY 14, 2023 

8:00PM 


MUSIC THEATRE 

Canadian Stage’s Fall On Your Knees ensemble 

members with Janelle Cooper at left. 

Canadian 

Identity 

Celebrated 

and Explored 

JENNIFER PARR 

DAHLIA KATZ 

New Canadian plays, musicals and music theatre 

works are popping up everywhere across the 

country this season. Three shows coming up this 

spring caught my eye in particular for how they are using 

music to explore and highlight various facets of our 

multicultural Canadian identity. 

of such World War One-era songs as Mademoiselle from Armentières 

and My Heart Belongs to Daddy sung by younger sister Frances in 

her Lebanese uncle’s speakeasy. Finally and notably in the second 

half of the six-hour show is the wonderfully smoky and contrasting 

exotic sound of the blues, sung by Janelle Cooper as Harlem star Sweet 

Jessie Hogan. 

In Part Two where the story focuses primarily on Kathleen’s sojourn 

studying opera in New York, the Harlem music scene is contrasted 

Fall On Your Knees 

In Toronto the world premiere of the theatrical adaptation of Fall 

on Your Knees, the internationally acclaimed 1996 novel by Canadian 

author and playwright Ann-Marie MacDonald, which I previewed 

in my previous column, has just opened to standing ovations at the 

Bluma Appel Theatre and will travel after an all-too-short Toronto run 

to Neptune Theatre in Halifax, the National Arts Centre in Ottawa and 

the Grand Theatre in London. 

One of the most exciting things about this new adaptation is how it 

uses music not just as an element of the production, nor even just as 

a character in the story, but as the essential material weaving together 

the many disparate elements of a multigenerational tale, compared by 

some watchers to the House of Atreus plays in classic Greek drama. 

Beginning in the early 20th century and ending in the 1960s, FoYK 

traces the emotional saga of the Piper family in Cape Breton Island, 

a location famously characterized by its Celtic heritage and lilting 

folk music. This is just the first note, as it were, in a kaleidoscope of 

musical styles. One of the first characters we meet, the eventual patriarch 

of the Piper clan, James Piper, is a young piano tuner whom we 

know from the novel has been taught piano by his mother as part of a 

strategy to keep him out of the coal mine. As he tunes the piano in the 

home of the Mahmoud family in Sydney, he meets and soon falls in 

love with their 13-year-old daughter, Materia. His musical theme will 

be early piano exercise phrases marked by the single plangent note of 

tuning, while hers will develop from traditional Lebanese vocals and 

dance music to the rollicking sound of the music hall where she will 

work later to help support the family. 

When their first daughter, Kathleen, shows an early aptitude for 

singing and is encouraged to study seriously, opera is introduced 

as a significant leitmotif that will grow in importance as the play 

progresses. Interwoven is a minor theme of religious music, the leitmotif 

for the middle sister, Mercedes, whose twisted religiosity is 

symbolically caught at one point by a disturbing plot placement of 

Ave Maria. An even more rebellious strand in the weave is made up 


illiantly with the strictly classical arias she sings in the studio – 

and yet, the richness of the interwoven opera and blues also comes 

to symbolise Kathleen’s growing artistry as her friendship with her 

accompanist Rose ripens into a deeper relationship. Samantha Hill as 

Kathleen has a clear classically trained voice which is a joy to listen 

to and a wonderful contrast to the jazzy richness of Janelle Cooper’s 

club turns. All the musicians, though usually hidden away upstage, 

do a superb job, easily trading instruments and contributing vocals – 

Maryem Toller’s vocals were a standout in Part One. 

One thing that I had expected from early rehearsal photos of the 

production and missed seeing onstage was a more experimental or 

expressionistic movement style – except in one instance when a line of 

uniformed soldiers tumbles up to, over and around the upright piano 

as Materia plays a song of the period, giving us an unforgettable image 

of James at war in the trenches of World War One. 

Under the symbolic giant piano strings strung above the stage from 

the flies to the wings like the sails of a ship, and under the careful 

music direction of Sean Mayes, music weaves together the acting and 

physical elements of this production making a whole that is deeper, 

richer, more evocative of the colours, depths, dark secrets and eventual 

redemption within the story of this family and all those who 

touch their lives. 

www.canadianstage.com In Toronto until Feb 5, Halifax Feb. 

10-March 5, Ottawa March 8-25, and London March 29-April 2. 

RUBABOO 

A second world premiere at the Grand Theatre in London, with 

the intriguing name of Rubaboo, explores and celebrates another 

facet of our Canadian mosaic, the Métis heritage of the prairies. 

Commissioned by the Grand from the well-known Métis actor, singer 

and activist, Andrea Menard, Rubaboo promises to be a delightful 

evening of song and story combined, according to the Manitobaborn 

Menard, into a truly theatrical whole that she prefers to term 

a “cabaret,” but a cabaret with 

a purpose. 

In a promotional video 

Menard says that when the 

Grand’s artistic director, Dennis 

Garnhum, asked her about 

possibly creating a show, she was 

not interested “unless I was using 

the platform to further reconciliation,” 

and that she “wanted to 

be somebody who was furthering 

education [about Indigenous 

people and their history] and 

expanding compassion.” While 

this sounds very serious the name 

of the cabaret indicates that the 

evening will also be a lot of fun. 

Derived from the Michif word 

for “leftovers stew” or “big pot” 

Rubaboo promises to be a feast of 

Andrea Menard 

music and masterful storytelling 

with the sound of drums and guitar adding grace notes to stories and 

songs of reconciliation, unity, love, frustration and resilience, to “help 

people fall in love with the Métis people.” 

At the Grand Theatre from March 7-25. 

Catch a glimpse of show and creator in a video here: 

https://grand theatre.com/event/rubaboo 

RETOLD 

From the East Coast to the Prairies and back east to Quebec: 

Back in Toronto, also in March, the Musical Stage Company and Yonge 

Street Theatricals are joining forces for the second edition of Retold 

via Launch Pad, their musical development program that gives three 

THE ROSE ORCHESTRA 

OPENING NIGHT AT THE OPERA 

Be transported to the excitement of opening night at the opera! 

The curtain rises on the drama of operatic overtures and the 

passion of arias sung for you by astounding soloists. Featuring 

four incredible GTA and Brampton based singers who trained with 

the Canadian Opera Company: Soprano, Lindsey Duggan; Mezzo- 

Soprano, Danielle MacMillan; Tenor, Adam Luther; and Baritone, 

Alexander Hajek. 

MARCH 25, 2023 

7:30PM 

OAKLAND STROKE 

JAZZ @ LBP HOSTED BY JAYMZ BEE 

Get ready for the Greatest Horn Hits of the 70s! 

Featuring music by Tower of Power, Earth Wind & Fire, Blood 

Sweat & Tears, Chicago, and more! Oakland Stroke is a 10-piece 

juggernaut of soul and good vibes, featuring a 5 piece horn section. 

Led by Toronto native Lou Pomanti, experience them live. 

BOOK TICKETS 

THEROSEBRAMPTON.CA 

APRIL 11, 2023 


teams of writers and composers 

in-depth support and mentoring 

while they create new 30-minute 

musicals. For the first edition 

of Retold in 2019 the new 

musicals were inspired by articles 

published in The Globe and Mail, 

and performed in that newspaper’s 

headquarters. This new 

edition is inspired by three short 

stories by lauded Canadian writer 

Mavis Gallant (1922-2014) and 

Kaylee Harwood 

will be performed at the Toronto 

Reference Library. While much of 

her working life was spent abroad in Paris, Gallant is famous for her 

depiction of Acadian history and life in Quebec. One of the chosen stories, 

The Carrette Sisters, displays in particular what The New York Times 

called Gallant’s “Joycean evocations of a mundane haunting Montreal.” 

All three shows will be directed by Kaylee Harwood and will feature 

a cast of four talented actor/singers: Eric Craig, Emily Lukasik, Tracy 

Michailidis and Starr Domingue. 

Retold March 21-26. Tickets are free but need to be booked ahead 

of time. www.musicalstagecompany.com 

QUICK PICKS 

FEB 2-11, 7:30: The Magic of Assembly, Toronto Dance Theatre, 

Winchester Street Theatre. TDT Artistic Director Andrew Tay is 

making a strong imprint on the company, introducing new and raw 

influences to the repertoire, including this new creation by punk 

street dance artist Ashley “Colours” Perez and electronic music duo 

LAL who will play live. 

FEB 4-11, 7:30: Okay, you can stop now, Theatre Passe Muraille. 

In an immersive landscape filled with newspapers, Shakeil 

Rollock’s new physical theatre piece explores the tangible impact 

of history and the news on the lives of four people navigating their 

relationship to privilege and power. www.passemuraille.ca. 

FEB 16-19, 7:30: Firewater Thunderbird 

Rising, Friday Creeations and Native Earth 

Performing Arts, Aki Sudio. A return 

engagement of Christine Friday’s Dora 

Award-nominated multi-disciplinary 

one-woman, contemporary dance show, 

deeply rooted in the spiritual beliefs and 

way of living of the Anishinabek. 

www.nativeearth.ca. 

Christine 

Friday 

Toronto Dance 

Theatre 

FEB 24-25 7:30: Les corps avalés. Compagnie Virginie Brunelle, 

Fleck Theatre, Harbourfront “Torque” series, The celebrated 

Quebec-based company presents a stunning exploration of power 

relations, inequality and social upheaval, performed to live classical 

music from the Molinari Quartet. www.harbourfrontcentre.com. 

Jennifer Parr is a Toronto-based director, dramaturge, fight director 

and acting coach, brought up from a young age on a rich mix of 

musicals, Shakespeare and new Canadian plays. 

MARLOW PORTER 

JOHN LAUENER 

CLASSICAL AND BEYOND 

Instant Kinships 

TRIO ARKEL 

in Conversation 

PAUL ENNIS 

Trio Arkel – Marie Bérard (concertmaster of the COC 

Orchestra), Rémi Pelletier (associate principal violist 

of the TSO) and Winona Zelenka (assistant cello of the 

TSO) – are celebrating the tenth season of their concert 

series and we at The WholeNote were curious about how 

a string trio could thrive despite obstacles ranging from 

COVID-19 to the departure of founding member, violist 

Teng Li. The following email conversation with cellist 

Zelenka and violinist Bérard, took place in mid-January. 

WN: What was the origin of Trio Arkel? What brought you two 

together originally with violist Teng Li? 

Winona Zelenka: It was a kind of synergy that was surprising when 

we played our first concert back in 2008 at the same venue we play 

in now – Trinity-St. Paul’s – before Jeanne Lamon Hall was built. Our 

combination was an experiment, but we found that our three points 

of musical expression combined in an interesting way, and I think we 

were intrigued. 

Marie Bérard: Gradually we came to realize that we wanted to spend 

more time playing together but also collaborating with other musicians 

and the idea of having our own series was born. In 2013, ten 

years ago, we started out in the Church of the Holy Trinity next to 

the Eaton Centre, in the heart of the city, and we were there for a few 

years before switching to St. Paul’s Centre. 

When did Teng Li leave the group? Please describe the search for 

her replacement. 

MB: Teng won the extremely coveted position of principal viola in the 

Los Angeles Philharmonic and although she had such strong ties to the 

Toronto music community, she couldn’t pass on such an opportunity. 

WZ: Yes, it was in 2018, and it was a difficult thing for us, much as we 

were thrilled for her to win such an important post. The delicate balance 

and ease we had achieved was special, we felt. We played with many great 

musicians while we worried about finding that ease again. But then… 

MB: Rémi came to the Toronto Symphony from the New York 

Philharmonic; for him it was a return to his Canadian roots. We read 

trios with him soon after, feeling an instant kinship, and we haven’t 

looked back. Our rehearsals are filled with good cheer and mutual 

support and we are all aware of how special a gift that is. 

WZ: There is a unique warmth to our sound, we feel, and lots of 

joking around and talking about adventures, especially his. He has 

many interests – he’s a sushi chef and an enthusiastic traveller – he 

gives a lot as a person and as a musician. 

How did you cope during COVID? What was the experience of 

pivoting to an online video format for two years like for you? 

MB: The first casualty of COVID was the cancellation of our 


THURSDAY NOON AT MET 

WEEKLY FREE CONCERTS 

Jonathan Oldengarm, Minister of Music 

IN-PERSON & ONLINE 

metunited.ca/NAM 

Marie Bérard, Winona Zelenka and Rémi Pelletier of TRIO ARKEL 

May 2020 concert, which was such a disappointment. We quickly 

rallied and realized that since we had been recording all our concerts, 

streaming them on demand was a logical solution during the lockdown. 

At first, we found that playing with masks and without an 

audience was a strange experience but being able to play music at all 

was a blessing in those days so we just charged ahead and felt that 

recorded concerts were better than no concerts at all. 

WZ: We put on our bravest smiles; a concert I’ll never forget is the 

one in the spring of 2021 with Russell Braun, recorded with no audience 

and plexiglass shields separating him from us and us from 

Carolyn, his wife who is his pianist: but it was still amazing and I 

don’t really know how we all did it. Music is that powerful – but it was 

very strange. 

MB: The return to live concerts was very emotional and we all realized 

how much energy we get from an audience, something the 

pandemic taught us never to take for granted. 

How do you compensate for the fact that the string trio repertoire 

is less well known than the string quartet repertoire? 

WZ: Marie is the programming genius, and she’s discovered many 

unknown and lesser-known gems in the repertoire. 

MB: A lot of the trio repertoire has been wonderful to discover 

specifically because it is not as well known as the quartet repertoire. 

We found some lovely jewels, music that is very satisfying to explore 

and that our audiences seem to be excited to discover; some examples 

are Taneyev, Françaix, Gubaidulina, Schoenberg… 

Please describe the eclectic and collaborative nature of your 

programming. You often begin a concert with a string trio before 

pivoting to larger chamber music works. 

MB: There are a few different ways in which our programs come 

together. Sometimes it is our guests who propose a particular piece 

and we build around that, sometimes with a theme which could be 

music of a particular country or we find that sometimes a set of two 

very contrasting pieces can inform each other, providing a reflection 

for each other in a sense. On other occasions it is just a particular 

desire to play a much-loved piece that sends us looking for a guest 

CHUNGLING LO 

Feb. 9 

Feb. 16 

Feb. 23 

Mar. 2 

Mar. 9 

Mar. 16 

Mar. 23 

Mar. 30 

Jonathan Oldengarm, organ 

Joshua Duncan Lee, organ 

Silas Friesen, trumpet 

Jonelle Sills, soprano & 

Brahm Goldhamer, piano 

Peter Nikiforuk, organ 

Luis Medina & Daniel Turner, 

guitars 

Jonas Apeland Salomonsen, organ 

Stéphanie McKay-Turgeon, 

soprano & Dakota Scott-Digout, 

piano 

56 Queen St. E. 


who we feel would bring the right flavour to the piece. 

WZ: Being such an expert on the operatic repertoire and knowing so 

many wonderful singers, Marie has found some amazing vocal works 

to showcase as well, such as Jake Heggie’s Into the Fire or Respighi’s Il 

Tramonto; I’ve also loved some of the crazy things like Black Angels 

by George Crumb where I got to hit a gong. 

MB: That was a specific idea that came suggested by a colleague; one 

of the great things about the collaborative nature of chamber music is 

the excitement we can give each other in the planning of what journey 

to take on each program. 

How were your upcoming concerts of March 12 and May 28 

designed? The May 28 concert is filled with unusual repertoire. How 

did you select it? 

MB: We’ve long wanted to perform Oliver Knussen’s Cantata as it 

has at its core a string trio and the composer was a dear friend. The 

Mozart Oboe Quartet, such a superb example of Mozart’s genius, was 

a natural companion. We then will complete our March 12 program 

with trios by Taneyev and Sibelius. 

The meat of the May 28 program, the Strauss Metamorphosen, is 

this great reduction for seven players and since we have a bass player 

among us we looked for a somewhat less-perennially played piece 

than the Dvořák or Trout quintets, introducing [composer George] 

Onslow to most of our audience. 

WZ: We want to always program from our own repertoire of course, 

so this seemed like a good occasion to include three wonderful smaller 

pieces that are almost more like encores, but with this program will 

showcase the eclectic nature of music for string trio. 

Trio Arkel’s website: trioarkel.com 

Trio Arkel’s youtube channel: 

www.youtube.com/channel/UC4dvVDRh_Rz1WTbWefYIQvg 

Paul Ennis is the managing editor of The WholeNote. 

Kindred Spirits Orchestra 

Kristian Alexander | Music Director 

THE FOUR TEMPERAMENTS 

QUICK PICKS 

FEB 12, 2PM: British-born pianist Valerie Tryon who has made 

Canada her home since 1971, has a fondness for the Hamilton 

Conservatory of the Arts’ Black Box Theatre, giving an annual recital 

around Valentine’s Day for several years: this year, Chopin in the first 

half, followed by John Ireland, Ernst von Dohnányi and Franz Liszt. 

FEB 12, 3:15PM: Mooredale Concerts presents violinist Andrew 

Wan, concertmaster of the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal 

and pianist Charles Richard-Hamelin, silver medalist at the 2015 

International Chopin Piano Competition. Expect warmth and 

intimacy in sonatas by Schumann, Medtner and Franck. 

FEB 17, 7:30PM: The TSO and conductor Gustavo Gimeno return to 

Massey Hall with Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No.5 (which the orchestra 

played in 1923 at their first-ever concert). 

María Dueñas is the soloist in Bruch’s ever-popular Violin Concerto. 

The 20-year-old Dueñas, makes her Deutsche Grammophon recording 

debut in May with Beethoven’s Violin Concerto. 

FEB 18, 2PM: Five at the First’s latest presentation features 

music scored for an unusual combination of instruments – Susan 

Hoeppner, flute; Rachel Mercer, cello; and Angela Park, piano. 

FEB 22, 6:45PM: Louis Lortie will play Berg’s Piano Sonata Op.1 as 

his contribution to the TSO Chamber Soloists’ pre-concert performance 

- free to ticket holders for that evening’s 8PM main event. The 8PM 

program, FEB 22, 24 and 25, features conductor Sir Andrew Davis’ 

arrangement of the Berg sonata, and Lortie in Mozart’s heavenly Piano 

Concerto No.23 K488. 

MAR 5, 3PM: Imogen Cooper’s marvellous Koerner Hall program 

includes Beethoven’s Sonatas Op.109 and 111 and a handful of Liszt 

from a pianist Sir Simon Rattle calls “one of the greatest musicians 

England has produced. Mozart, Schumann, and Schubert could 

have been written for her.” 

MAR 22, 23 & 25, 8PM; MAR 26, 3PM: Gustavo Gimeno conducts 

the TSO in Beethoven’s eternal Symphony No.5 but not before the 

orchestra joins with Montreal-born cellist Jean-Guihan Queyras in 

concertos by Schumann and Ligeti. 

MAR 31, 8PM: The Benedetti Elschenbroich Grynyuk Trio – a 

“trio of true stars” (Daily Telegraph) – violinist Nicola Benedetti; 

cellist Leonard Elschenbroich; and pianist Alexei Grynyuk – 

perform two landmarks of the piano trio canon: Schubert’s Piano 

Trio No. 2 in E-flat Major, and Tchaikovsky’s Piano Trio in A Minor, 

Op. 50. At Koerner Hall. 

SUNDAY MARCH 12, 3PM 

MOZART 

KNUSSEN 

TANEYEV 

Guest Artist: 

Alex Liedtke, Oboe 

Season Sponsors 

Trinity St. Paul's Centre 

https://trioarkel.eventbrite.ca 


KOERNER HALL 


Chineke! Orchestra 

with Stewart Goodyear 

SATURDAY, MARCH 18, 8PM KOERNER HALL TICKETS START AT ONLY $50 

The London, England-based orchestra of Black, Asian, and ethnically diverse 

musicians, on its North American debut tour performing works by Samuel 

Coleridge-Taylor, Florence Price, and a calypso inspired concerto by Royal 

Conservatory Artist in Residence, Stewart Goodyear. 

Supported by The Michael and Sonja Koerner Fund for Classical Programming 

The Glenn Gould School Chamber 

Competition Finals 

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 29, 7PM KOERNER HALL FREE (TICKET REQUIRED) 

Hear the talented ensembles of The Glenn Gould School compete 

for over $11,000 in prizes. 

Presented in honour of R.S. Williams & Sons Company Ltd. 

Takács Quartet with Jeremy Denk 

THURSDAY, MARCH 23, 8PM KOERNER HALL 


The world-renowned Takács Quartet is joined by one of America’s 

foremost pianists Jeremy Denk to perform works by Schumann, 

Haydn, and Mendelssohn. 


Cécile McLorin 

Salvant 

THURSDAY, MARCH 30, 8PM 

KOERNER HALL 


The greatest voice in jazz since Ella! 

“The beauty of McLorin Salvant and her 

musical world comes from her curiosity, 

her depth, and the artists she brings 

into that world.” (DownBeat) 

Benedetti Elschenbroich Grynyuk Trio 

FRIDAY, MARCH 31, 8PM KOERNER HALL 


Monumental trios by Schubert and Tchaikovsky will be performed 

by this supergroup featuring violinist Nicola Benedetti, cellist 

Leonard Elschenbroich, and pianist Alexei Grynyuk. 


ARC Ensemble: 

The Music of Alberto Hemsi 

SUNDAY, APRIL 2, 2PM MAZZOLENI CONCERT HALL TICKETS ARE ONLY $25 

ARC’s concert of works by the Sephardic composer Alberto Hemsi follows 

the ensemble’s highly-praised Chandos release devoted to premieres of 

his chamber music. 


TICKETS & SUBSCRIPTIONS ON SALE NOW! 416.408.0208 RCMUSIC.COM/PERFORMANCE 


(BLOOR ST. & AVENUE RD.) TORONTO 


EARLY MUSIC 

To Everything there is a Season ... or Four 

Like the “O Fortuna’’ chorus from Orff’s Carmina Burana 

and the first bars of Rossini’s William Tell Overture, 

Vivaldi’s Le quattro stagioni (The Four Seasons) has 

a ubiquitous presence in the soundtrack of our lives via 

films, television commercials, malls and elevators. Thanks 

to the desire of audiences to experience these concerti 

repeatedly, and the ambition of many virtuoso violinists to 

play them, there are many thousands of recordings to date 

and countless yearly performances of symphonies all over 

North America and Europe. In fact, Toronto audiences 

who were quick enough off the mark will have their 

next opportunity to hear this classic work revisited on 

February 7 when Anne-Sophie Mutter and Mutter Virtuosi 

perform it at Roy Thomson Hall. I will be among them. 

STEPHANIE CONN 

Anne-Sophie Mutter and Mutter Virtuosi 

at Teatro Mayor Julio Mario Santo 

Domingo, Bogotá, Colombia (2019) 

Our endless fascination with 

this set of four violin concerti 

from Vivaldi’s Opus 8 suggests 

that, rather than being overplayed 

as some suggest, perhaps 

they contain layers of nuance 

and meaning that are worth 

unpacking again and again 

almost 300 years after their 

creation. First published in 

Amsterdam in 1725 as part 

of Vivaldi’s Op.8 Il cimento 

dell’armonia e dell’inventione 

(The Contest between Harmony 

Anne-Sophie Mutter 

and Invention), the four 

concerti known as Le Quattro Stagioni (The Four Seasons) had been 

composed years before and their manuscripts were already circulating. 

Vivaldi brought them together for Il cimento, Op.8 and added 

descriptive sonnets to accompany each of the movements, meant 

to suggest the characteristic of each season that Vivaldi illustrates 

in music; these are of unknown authorship but thought to be the 

JUAN DIEGO CASTILLO BARTEK BARCZYK 

CHORAL PASSIONTIDE 

DEVOTION 

PALM SUNDAY, APRIL 2, 2023 AT 4:30 p.m. 

A vocal and instrumental expression of faith for Holy Week and Easter. 

Presented by the Yorkminster Park Choir with William Maddox, Organist and Director 

and Sharon Beckstead, Associate Musician 

1585 Yonge Street | 416-922-1167 | yorkminsterpark.com 


work of Vivaldi himself – unlike his music, they are considered to be 

derivative and not of the highest quality. 

The poems refer to not only bucolic details like the murmuring breezes 

of spring or the songs and dances of fall festivals, but also the shooting of 

guns and the barking of dogs. (As I sit writing this, the lines in “Winter” 

(L’inverno) describing “nevi algenti” (freezing snow) and “orrido vento” 

(horrible wind) speak to me most directly.) Vivaldi himself was, of course, 

a highly skilled violinist and he had already forged many elements of the 

style we hear here in his previous violin concerti published as Opus 3, 

but even in Vivaldi’s time and place the first concerto, “Spring” (La 

Primavera) was particularly admired, and it became a popular showpiece 

throughout the 18th century and all over Europe. 

On the record 

As with all classic works, opinions are divided on which recording 

of The Four Seasons is best, but with so many to choose from there 

really is something for everyone — and who dares say which one is 

more authentic, if I may use that loaded term, or comes closest to 

expressing Vivaldi’s vision. The historical-performance movement of 

the last few decades has been divisive for both players and listeners 

with some claiming it has freed us, others suggesting it fetters. It 

has, however, reminded us more forcefully of the merely contingent 

authority held by any score (as Henry Kingsbury put it) and the role 

that oral tradition plays in the performance of music from any period. 

After all, in the 17th century this was new music; meant to “move 

the affects,” to provoke, excite and challenge its listeners. The 

performer was a partner with the composer as is the case in all music 

with an improvisatory element. Playing this music still “takes an act 

of imagination because the scores leave so many choices open to the 

players,” as Giovanni Antonini of Il Giardino Armonico has pointed 

out. His ensemble’s 1993 recording with Enrico Onofri caused a stir 

when it was released, and I still remember the excitement we all felt 

at hearing the liberties he took with tempi and the way they attacked 

From Tafelmuisik’s 2014 Four Seasons: Cycle of the Sun: (l to r) 

Inuit throat singers Beatrice Deer and, Sylvia Cloutier; Wen Zhao, 

pipa; Jeanne Lamon, violin; and Aruna Narayan Kalle, sarangi. 

Christina Mahler, cello, is seated behind the soloists. 

some sections almost with abandon. Its verve and physicality offered 

a very different interpretation than some of the more sedate performances 

we had heard from larger, modern-instrument symphony 

orchestras, prompting Alex Ross to write a New Yorker review titled 

“Violent Vivaldi.” 

Some performances experimented even more: in their 2013 London 

concert, The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment had their orchestral 

musicians interact with dancers on stage in an attempt to bring 

the sonnets’ poetic images to life even more tangibly; and on his 

recording Recomposed by Max Richter: Vivaldi – The Four Seasons, 

Richter responded to the original Vivaldi concerti with his own 

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interpretations, going far beyond the partnership inherent in improvisation 

to create some completely new music. 

A Cycle of the Sun 

Perhaps one of the most audacious and effective interpretations 

of the piece was Tafelmusik’s 2003 production “The Four Seasons: 

A Cycle of the Sun,” later documented in the film, The Four Seasons 

Mosaic. It was conceived by Tafelmusik’s Alison Mackay, who played 

double bass and violone with the ensemble from 1979 to 2019, 

and was the springboard to almost two decades’ worth of thoughtprovoking, 

challenging and creative productions placing beloved 

works in the period-music canon into what she called “a new historical 

and cultural context.” Her Four Seasons, revolving around 1725 

when Vivaldi’s Il Cimento was published, brought Tafelmusik’s 

European-style orchestra on period instruments together with players 

of the Chinese pipa and Indian sarangi, and Inuit throat singers. The 

fourth movement, Winter, was newly recomposed by Mychael Danna, 

an Oscar-winning Canadian composer. 

The production went far beyond the token inclusion of instruments 

from other cultures; instead, it showcases different kinds of virtuosity 

and different responses to the seasons in a way that respects both 

Vivaldi’s original and the guest musicians. 

Fresh ears 

As someone who has long been involved with historically informed 

performance, singing with Baroque violinist David Greenberg in the 

ensemble Puirt a Baroque and in choirs such as Tafelmusik and La 

Chapelle de Quebec among others, I can’t help but favour recordings 

which strive to approximate the kinds of performances that might 

have taken place in Vivaldi’s time and are played on historical instruments, 

with all that they make possible stylistically and sonically. But I 

am always ready for anything 

which calls me to hear 

familiar music in a new way, 

which is why the February 7 

Mutter Virtuosi performance 

at RTH piqued my curiosity. 

It’s been 39 years since 

Mutter first recorded Vivaldi’s 

‘The Four Seasons’ with 

Herbert von Karajan and 

the Vienna Philharmonic on 

EMI; in 1999, she teamed up 

with the Trondheim Soloists 

for a second recording of the 

2023 Bach Walk 

Celebrate Bach’s 

338th Birthday! 

SATURDAY, MARCH 25 

1:00pm: Christ Church Deer Park 

1570 Yonge Street 

Organ Recital with Patrick Dewell 

2:00pm: Calvin Presbyterian Church 

26 Delisle Avenue 

Instrumental Recital with 

Daniel Bickel and Friends 

3:00pm: Yorkminster Park Baptist 

Church - 1585 Yonge Street 

Organ Recital with William Maddox 

Birthday Cake reception 

at the end of the day 

Free Admission (donations welcome) 

to.rcco.enotice@gmail.com 

work, smaller in scale but still revelling in the lush vibrati and resonance 

of the modern violin. Even that, however, was 24 years ago now, 

and it will be interesting to hear how her ideas about these iconic 

pieces might have changed, and what choices she makes when she 

has control of the ensemble as well as her solos, as well as getting to 

choose what musical company the work will keep on the program. 

Mutter’s February 7 program includes a violin concerto by French 

Creole composer Joseph Bologne Chevalier de Saint-George (1745- 

1799), but also the Canadian premiere of a new double violin solo, 

Gran Cadenza by contemporary Korean composer Unsuk Chin, 

commissioned by Mutter. With its showcasing of modern virtuosic 

language it is a fitting accompaniment to the Vivaldi. 

Mutter cautions us that “one should not underestimate Antonio 

[Vivaldi],” yet many do. For his book Conversations with Igor 

Stravinsky (1959), Robert Craft asked Stravinsky’s opinion of Italian 

composers and received this response: “Vivaldi is greatly overrated 

– a dull fellow who could compose the same form so many 

times over.” What he failed to note, however, is that no piece could 

possibly be dull that inspires musicians to recreate it over and over 

in new and innovative ways, and which listeners are always ready to 

hear. In a recent interview with Mark Wigmore of 96.3FM, Mutter 

said of The Four Seasons that “you can never get tired of it” and that 

when she plays it with smaller ensembles like her 14-piece Mutter 

Virtuosi, “It’s really like a conversation between friends and a lot of 

spontaneity is possible.” 

Stephanie Conn is an ethnomusicologist, writer and editor, and 

former producer for CBC Radio Music. As a member of the ensemble 

Puirt a Baroque she sang on the Juno-nominated recording Return 

of the Wanderer. She has also sung with Tafelmusik, La Chapelle de 

Québec, Aradia and Sine Nomine, and is active as a traditional 

Gaelic singer and piano accompanist in Cape Breton. 

BEHOLD, HE CARRIED 

OUR SORROWS 

FRIDAY APRIL 15, 7:30PM 

Metropolitan Festival Choir 

Period Instrument Orchestra 

Michael Colvin, Evangelist 

Jacqueline Woodley, Tochter Zion 

Geoffrey Sirett, Jesus 

Jonathan Bach: Cantata Oldengarm, #23 direction and continuo 

St. John Passion (Selections) 

Buxtehude: Fürwahr 

HANDEL 

Brockes Passion 

Friday, April 7 

Tickets: $30 / $15 

Festival Choir, Soloists & Orchestra 

6:30 p.m. pre-concert talk 

Recognizing 7:30 p.m. concert Dr. Patricia Wright 

Conductor & Minister of Music 

metunited.ca/Handel 

LIVESTREAM/IN-PERSON metunited.ca/music 


QUICK PICKS 

FEB 12, 2PM: Don Wright Faculty of Music. Opera at Western: 

Scenes Gala With Early Music Studio. Paul Davenport Theatre, 

Talbot College, Western University (London). 

FEB 19, 3PM: Music at Met. Trinity Bach Project. Vocal and Period 

Instrument Ensemble. Metropolitan United Church (Toronto). 

FEB 23, 7PM: Vesuvius Ensemble. Ninna Nanna: Lullabies 

from Popular Tradition. Lullabies from Southern Italy. Francesco 

Pellegrino, voice; Romina Di Gasbarro, storyteller; Lucas Harris, lute 

& guitar; Louis Simão, accordion & colascione. Heliconian Hall. 

FEB 26, 2PM: Toronto Beach Chorale. Vivaldi and the Italian 

Baroque. Jennifer Krabbe, soprano; Rachel Miller, mezzo; Chamber 

Orchestra. Beaches Presbyterian Church. 

MAR 3, 8PM; MAR 4, 2PM; MAR 5, 3PM: Tafelmusik. Bach’s 

Library. Francesco Corti, harpsichord & guest director. Jeanne 

Lamon Hall, Trinity-St. Paul’s Centre. 

MAR 4, 7:30PM: Kingston Road Village Concert Series. Side by 

Side Winter Bach #2. Musicians of Toronto Symphony Orchestra; 

University of Toronto students; Mark Fewer, violin & leader. 

Kingston Road United Church. 

MAR 5, 8PM: Toronto Chamber Choir. The Return of Rosenmuller. 

Toronto Chamber Choir; Lucas Harris, artistic director. Calvin 

Presbyterian Church. 

MAR 10 & 11, 8PM: Toronto Consort. Canticum Canticorum. 

Canticorum Trombonorum, performing ensemble. Trinity-St. Paul’s 

Centre, Jeanne Lamon Hall. 

MAR 15, 7:30PM: Isabel Bader Centre for the Performing Arts. 

Arion Baroque Orchestra: Vivaldi and His Curious Friends. Mathieu 

Lussier, direction; Samantha Louis-Jean, soprano; Vincent Lauzer, 

recorder. Jennifer Velva Benjamin Performance Hall, Isabel Bader 

Centre for the Performing Arts (Kingston). 

MAR 23 & MAR 24, 7:30PM; MAR 25, 3:30PM: Tafelmusik. 

Bach St. John Passion. Ivars Taurins, director. Jeanne Lamon Hall, 

Trinity-St. Paul’s Centre. 

MAR 26, 3:30PM: Rezonance Baroque Ensemble. Crossing 

Borders. Rezan Onen-Lapointe & Kailey Richards, baroque violins; 

Erika Nielsen, baroque cello; Benjamin Stein, lute & theorbo; David 

Podgorski, harpsichord. St. David’s Anglican Church. 

MAR 28, 7:30PM: Toronto Mendelssohn Choir. Bach: Mass in B 

Minor, BWV232. Toronto Mendelssohn Choir; Baroque Orchestra; 

Jean-Sébastien Vallée, conductor. Koerner Hall. 

APR 6 & APR 7, 7:30PM: Opera Atelier. Handel: The Resurrection. 

Carla Huhtanen, soprano (Archangel); Meghan Lindsay, soprano 

(Mary Magdalene); Alyson McHardy, mezzo (Cleophas); Colin 

Ainsworth, tenor (St. John); Douglas Williams, bass-baritone 

(Lucifer) and others. Koerner Hall. 

APR 7, 8PM: Georgetown Bach Chorale. The Passion According to 

St. Matthew. Michael Taylor, tenor (Evangelist); Georgetown Bach 

Chorale Chamber Choir, Soloists, and Baroque Orchestra. Knox 

Presbyterian Church (Georgetown). 

The Spirit of Music in Community: 

Lecture-Recital Series 

Wednesdays in March at 7:30 p.m. 

March 1: Larry Beckwith 

March 8: Ian Cusson 

March 15: Stephanie Martin 

March 22: Waleed Abdulhamid 

March 29: John Abberger 

Free. Register via QR code or at stthomas.on.ca. 

Baroque Music by Candlelight 

Monday, April 3 at 8:00 p.m. 

Quiet reflection in Holy Week. Freewill offering. 

Choral Services | Holy Week Schedule 

Visit stthomas.on.ca for details. 

stthomastoronto smokytomsonhuron 

St. Thomas’s Church, 383 Huron Street 


ON OPERA 

Fons in the title role of Faramondo 

at the Göttingen International 

Handel Festival (Germany, 2014). 

Mezzo 

Emily Fons 

on globetrotting, managing 

your money, and those 

sweet, sweet trouser roles 

LYDIA PEROVIĆ 

THEODORA DA SILVA 

Probably the most melancholy production of The 

Marriage of Figaro around, the Claus Guthconceived 

Salzburg production first seen in Toronto 

in 2016, is back at the Canadian Opera Company for 

another run (January 27 - February 18), with a different 

set of principals, other than its Cherubino, Emily Fons, 

an American mezzo-soprano best known for Handel and 

Mozart trouser roles. 

At a crossroads 

When I reviewed the original, it was impossible not to highlight 

Fons’ athletic Cherubino as a case of perfect casting. Over coffee in 

a Queen East cafe earlier in January, she tells me that every mezzo 

excelling in boy and youth roles comes to a point when she needs to 

decide whether to graduate into singing the grown men of the repertoire 

(Giulio Cesare, Ariodante, Serse) or proceed to the other, more 

traditionally clad mezzo repertoire. What is needed for a successful 

career in trouser roles, I ask her. Voice type, physique? 

“These days companies are casting more women who don’t have the 

body type you would expect in a trouser role,” she says. “I think it’s 

good to push the boundaries, but there’s always going to be those of 

us who walk into a rehearsal room and people go, You must be singing 

Cherubino. Definitely the colour of voice, the Fach, but also personality 

plays a big part. If you enjoy a certain type of role, you tend to do 

well in it, and people will cast you more in it.” 

This is Fons’ seventh Cherubino; she has also sung Ariodante, 

Faramondo, Orlando, Hansel, l’Enfant, Prince Orlofsky, Nicklausse. 

But do North American opera houses generate enough opportunities, 

trousered and otherwise, for a mezzo-soprano operatic career? Or 

does every singer need to move to Berlin or Paris, and should they? 

“I have a lot of thoughts on this,” she says. “When I first started, 

about 13 years ago, I told my manager that I wanted an American 

career. I had a family 

that I cared about, 

I had my dog that I 

love to have with me 

and that shouldn’t 

fly on the plane. 

People thought that 

was highly unusual 

– an American opera 

singer who wanted 

to stay in America. It 

wasn’t that I didn’t 

want jobs in Europe, 

Emily and Lupita in New Orleans 

it’s that I didn’t want to be away for six months at a time.” (For the 

current gig at the COC, she drove from home in Wisconsin with her 

dog, Lupita, in the back seat.) 

The regional houses in America, she continues, have maybe three 

productions a year, and only two shows per each production. “That 

is a lot of work you have to string together to keep yourself afloat. 

And there’s a kinda push in America to consider opera companies 

as community service organizations, hiring an entirely different cast 

every season.” This is problematic. 

“As an artist, you are hired for many different community building 

and music education programs – in cities far away from where you 

live. If you’re on the road all the time, what [community] are you 

serving? And a lot of artists want a life, a family, and not to travel 11 

months of the year.” 

What would work better both for the regional houses and the artists 

themselves, Fons argues, is the ensemble model: hiring a group of 

singers for a specific number of years and casting from that pool of 

talent for all productions. “If companies really want a community 

service model and are not saying that just to get the grant money, then 

the model to adopt would be to keep the performers in the city where 

they are from … People who attend opera would get to know you. It’s 

hard to make an impact if you fly in and out constantly.” 


The high-risk soloist’s life 

I ask her if she’s read the Alan Clayton interview in the Times of 

London in which he says that life of an opera singer is a life of loneliness 

in hotels, not being paid for rehearsals, and not getting a dime 

if you get sick and cancel. That interview re-started the conversation 

around the issue of singers not being paid for rehearsals. (Directors 

get part of their fee from day one of work, for instance.) 

“I’m on the board of governors for the American Guild of Musical 

Artists, and we’re pushing for principal artists’ rehearsal time to 

be respected and paid. We still bear the most financial risk in this 

industry and it is not sustainable. Months ahead of rehearsal start 

time you’re looking for a place and booking and have airbnbs on 

your credit card. Then you arrive in a new city and start working and 

work for no money, and it’s only two months later that you get paid.” 

Musicians in the pit are paid for every hour that they work in 

rehearsals, I remind her. “And in the States, not sure if it’s the same 

in Canada, choristers and dancers are paid either weekly or hourly,” 

she responds. “We shouldn’t make those working in principal roles 

risk so much. Coming out of the pandemic and seeing that there is 

still no willingness to change, that is pretty shocking but, at least 

in the States, we are making strides in getting companies to pay a 

percentage upfront.” 

Is she still worried about COVID? “I think that the pandemic 

and the long shutdown of performing arts were tragic. For so many 

people. And the fact that even now people are having a hard time 

coming back out of the crisis and the never-going-out mindset.” 

The latest reports out of the UK have it that ticket sales in a lot of 

artistic disciplines are not going back to the 2019 levels, I offer. Fons 

is not surprised, and wonders if it’s possible to reverse the trend. “I 

don’t know what the answer is … The bigger companies are gonna 

suffer the most because they have the biggest costs: huge theatres, 

office spaces, they’re often downtown and employ a lot of people. 

They’re probably the most affected and the least nimble.” 

Looking after number one! 

Meanwhile Fons has just completed a book specifically geared 

towards singers on how to manage money as a freelance artist 

(co-authored with finance educator Rebecca Eve Selkowe). “I wish 

this book existed when I was starting out,” she says. “As a young 

artist you sometimes watch some of your colleagues take off to 

superstar status and you watch the same people burn every penny 

they earn and complain constantly that they’re broke. Meanwhile 

there are people in the trenches piecing it together and making it 

work. And you think, how does this happen? I wanted the people 

who took off to be able to manage that and to benefit long term from 

that boom. Simultaneously, the people who are piecing it together, 

I wish that they can enjoy a safe financial life and not always feel on 

the brink of collapse.” 

The book is written in two parallel tracks: the financial counsellor 

providing financial education; and the artist sharing her own experience. 

“One of the most challenging things for performers is we get 

these massive dumps of money on our accounts and I think it’s a 

confusing way to receive money. It leads you to sometimes spend the 

money in the way that you receive it. You get a chunk, you spend a 

chunk. Whereas people who are getting smaller amounts can’t really 

spend in large chunks. What we are saying is, you should spread your 

chunks into a nice layer.” 

They are currently searching for a publisher, she says, but would 

be fine with doing a print-on-demand book which universities and 

Young Artist programs could supply to their singers. “When I was in 

my YA program in Chicago we were earning around $50,000 a year, 

which is pretty decent for a young singer, and you have health insurance! 

I would have approached it differently, had I had this book.” 

Such as? “I would have paid off my student loans first. In YA 

programs you have the impression that you are still in school and 

that there’s no urgency to pay off the student debt yet. It was more 

fun to spend the money by, I don’t know, shopping at Whole Foods. 

“What we’re trying to impress on people with this book is that financial 

freedom is really artistic freedom, in a lot of ways. You give yourself 

more options when you set yourself up better financially.” 

operainconcert.com 

MÉDÉE 

by Luigi Cherubini 

FEB.19.2023 

2:30 pm 

In the Canadian Opera Company’s 2023 production of 

The Marriage of Figaro, (l-r) Lauren Fagan as the Countess, 

Emily Fons as Cherubino and Andrea Carroll as Susanna 

You can catch Fons’ Cherubino, seven years older and demonstrably 

wiser, at the Four Season’s Centre for the Arts until February 18, 2023. 

Lydia Perović is a freelance writer in Toronto. 

This story is excerpted from a more wide-ranging conversation 

that appeared on Perovic’s blog “Long Play” in January. 

Original French with 

English surtitles 

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MICHAEL COOPER 


REMEMBERING 

Remembering 

Michael 

Snow 

(1928-2023) 

Music as Shared Experience 

ANDREW TIMAR 

MICHAEL TOROSIAN 

Michael Snow, artist-at-large 

Sorry, but I’m going to have to skip over much of Toronto-born 

artist Michael Snow’s vast and diverse body of work, including milestone 

experimental films, sculptures, paintings, prints, photographs, 

holographs, slide projections, videos, books and recordings (78, LP, 

cassette, CD, streaming), among other media. While primarily highlighting 

his lesser-known career in live music, I’d be remiss if I didn’t 

first mention a few of his large scale Toronto public artworks. 

Perhaps like countless thousands you’ve walked past Michael 

Snow’s 1989 confrontational gold-painted fibreglass sculpture suite 

The Audience mounted on the brutalist concrete face of Toronto’s 

Rogers Centre. 

Or you’ve gazed up at Flight Stop, the 1979 site-specific sculptural-photographic 

work hanging from the ceiling in the Eaton Centre 

shopping mall. Appearing to depict a flock of some 60 Canada geese 

whiffling in for a landing, each Styrofoam and fibreglass goose is 

actually enrobed in a photographic sheet, the image taken from a 

single goose. This dynamic work evocatively freezes indoors an iconic 

outdoor Canadian aerial migratory event, while also confronting 

viewers’ preconceptions of photographic illusion. 

Then there was the controversy around his Walking Woman, first 

exhibited in 1962 at Toronto’s Isaacs Gallery. This iconic stylized female 

silhouette appeared in many guises and in many locations afterwards. 

A multiple highly reflective stainless steel version was featured in the 

Ontario Pavilion at Montreal’s Expo 67. The figure could be perceived 

variably as a presence to be looked at, or an absence to be looked 

through, manifesting the sort of duality that was a guiding principle 

in Snow’s work. 

Michael Snow, jazz pianist 

But before any of these public projects, came music. A self-taught 

pianist, the teenage Snow began by improvising on blues and jazz 

standards. In 1948 he cut several 78RPM recordings of them. (There’s 

a covert jazz connection even in Snow’s Walking Woman, supposedly 

modelled on his friend and fellow jazz musician Carla Bley.) 

Snow graduated to gigging as a pianist in downtown Toronto’s first 

smoky jazz clubs, a scene Don Owen evocatively captured in his 1963 

NFB film Toronto Jazz. We see Snow in action on the piano bench, in 

his artist studio and on the street carrying his Walking Woman. 

Right to the end, Snow’s enthusiasm for Jelly Roll Morton, Earl 

Hines, boogie and Thelonious Monk bubbled just under his fingers, 

though it had long since evolved into an elegant, richly multilayered 

idiosyncratic pianism. “Of course I always wanted to have my own 

style,” he acknowledged in a 2019 interview, “Free playing makes that 

more achievable than playing tunes and variations on them.” 

Moving to the Big Apple for the better part of the 60s, his film 

New York Eye and Ear Control (1964) was an important document 

of free jazz’s formative stage. On his return to Toronto, Snow brought 

that musical approach with him, sharing it with his jazz and artist 

colleagues here. In 1976 it was manifested in the foundation of the 

ensemble CCMC, which opened The Music Gallery the same year. 

Yet when asked in 2014 who his favourite composer/musician was, 

his (perhaps not so) surprising reply was “J.S. Bach.” 

GIORGIO-GALEOTTI. 

STEPHEN BEST 

(l-r) Michael Snow’s Flight-Stop 

at the Toronto Eaton Centre; The 

Audience at Toronto's Rogers Centre 

Mike White’s Imperial Jazz band at the Westover Hotel, 1958. 

Ian Arnott, clarinet; Ian Halliday, drums; Mike White, cornet; 

Bud Hill, trombone; Peter Bartram, bass; Michael Snow, piano. 

COURTESY ESTATE OF MICHAEL SNOW 

28 | February & March, 2023 thewholenote.com

Meet Mr. Snow 

Those who met Michael (Mike to some) can attest to his witty, affable, 

down-to-earth nature, an unlikely set of attributes for such an iconoclastic 

artist. Michael was invariably collegial with me. And the more I got 

to know him, the more I appreciated his insatiable artistic curiosity and 

musical creativity. The latter was on full display both in abstract musical 

thinking and in practical musicianship which often sparked into virtuosity 

in his piano playing. 

Michael Snow Memorial 

To celebrate the man and his career The Music Gallery and Array Music 

presented Michael Snow Memorial on January 26 at Toronto’s 918 Bathurst 

Street Centre. I arrived on a crisp ice-glazed night to find an expectant full 

house, abuzz with all the earmarks of a community celebration. 

It proved to be an evening full of smiles, fistbumps, handshakes, 

hugs and “How are you?” greetings of friends I hadn’t seen in years. 

Snow’s long and deep genre-leaping career had the power few others 

can boast: to bring Toronto’s disparate arts communities together 

under one roof. Snow – who when questioned in 2014 about the 

meaning of art, responded “shared experience” – would have loved it. 

Music critic/author Robert Everett-Green set the tone for the 

evening. Addressing the audience, he sited Snow’s vast interdisciplinary 

career in its biographical context, reminding us that when it 

came to his musical art Snow believed “musical improvisation was 

composition in real time.” Rather than working from a prepared score 

like most composers do, he chose early on to work musically outside 

the box, through improvisation. 

An insightful eight-minute tribute video In Memory of Michael 

Snow followed. Made by Laurie Kwasnik, it featured a montage of 

excerpts of Snow’s brilliant piano performances going back to the 50s 

and 60s, capped by later scenes spanning some four decades of him 

with CCMC. Judging from those clips, few can doubt his awesome 

keyboard skills and decisive real-time musical thinking. 

At one point in the film the senior Snow gingerly walks down the 

stairs. Cracking a modest smile he says softly, “This is a variation of 

Duchamp’s painting Nude Descending a Staircase, in this case Clothed 

Man Descending a Staircase.” His wry reference to Marcel Duchamp’s 

once-scandalous 1912 modernist painting appears to be an adlib. 

The brief scene underlines how central humour was to his approach 

to life and art. This likeable quality was amply reflected in Snow’s 

responses to the Marcel Proust questionnaire posed by the National 

Art Gallery of Canada in 2014. Best quality? “Funny” was Snow’s reply. 

CCMC takes the stage 

It wouldn’t be much of a Snow celebration without a performance 

by CCMC, the Toronto group he cofounded and loyally championed 

for 46 years. It began with an impressive solo by CCMC co-founding 

musician Nobuo Kubota, featuring his flexible voice which he 

garnished with clave accents and musical counterpoint emanating 

from a Cracklebox, a mini synth which fits in the palm of the hand. 

The sombre mood he established was then undercut by the sudden 

introduction of a (hopefully plastic) toy strike hammer Kubota struck 

against the side of his head. Producing a startling percussive sound, 

the Noh-like theatrical effect was particularly appreciated by children 

in the front rows. 

The CCMC this evening consisted of six musicians, both original and 

newer members. In addition to Kubota, John Oswald (sax), Al Mattes 

(electric bass), Paul Dutton (voice, harmonica, emcee), John Kamevaar 

(electronic drums) and Mani Mazinani (CAT synth) performed. Pianist 

Casey Sokol was unable to join in due to ill health. In performance, the 

current CCMC didn’t offer any audible sign of advancing age or dimming 

of the collective musical power that has marked it as the city’s longestlived 

free improv ensemble. 

With both original CCMC keyboardists missing, the grand piano fallboard 

stayed silently closed for the evening. 

Personal Memories 

For five years beginning in the fall of 1977, I spent long start-up 

hours working in the Musicworks magazine office on the second floor 

of the first Music Gallery. CCMC played downstairs twice a week, every 

CCMC in 2015 at The Music Gallery in Toronto. Piano, Michael Snow; 

alto sax, John Oswald; voice, Paul Dutton; sampler, John Kamevaar. 

CCMC at the Michael Snow memorial event: (l-r) John Oswald, Paul 

Dutton, Al Mattes, John Kamevaar, Mani Mazinani, Nobuo Kubota. 

week. During the day there was often an open jam. On occasion I’d 

join in. Sometimes jazz musicians from Snow’s NYC days dropped in. 

Snow rarely missed a gig, so there was plenty of opportunity to hang 

and talk (music) shop. 

By the 1990s I began to develop my Indonesian suling playing in 

free improv directions and Michael invited me to play with CCMC a 

couple of times. He mailed a cassette dub of the first concert, along 

with a handwritten letter encouraging me to keep playing. It was an 

unexpected, characteristically generous gesture. 

Legacies 

I last met Michael and his partner Peggy Gale in November 2019, 

sitting beside Toronto composer John Beckwith at Array Music’s 

Udo Kasemets @ 100 concert. I was invited to play suling in 

SUliNgFLOWER, a work Udo wrote for me. They sat in the front row, 

paying tribute with their presence to their older friend who’d fearlessly 

blazed Toronto’s mid-century avant-garde music scene. 

Snow’s and Beckwith’s careers, while taking markedly different paths, 

both emerged from Toronto’s percolating mid-century cultural scene, 

growing from the same fertile musical soil as say, Glenn Gould. To me, 

one was the ever-questioning improvising musical iconoclast and maker 

of cheeky public art, the other the very model of an academic composer. 

Was “Michael Snow … the most important artist Canada has 

produced,” as filmmaker Bruce Elder boldly averred in 2009? Well, I, 

for one, find it impossible to overestimate his work. 

Snow’s art investigated the endless wonder of seeing and hearing, 

and often found the inherent humour within its frustrations and joys. 

Often it came down to savouring beauty and wonder in the simplest 

things around us, like the repeated snapping of a window curtain in 

the breeze in a recent Snow video. 

I ran into him at Toronto openings and concerts, well into his 90s – 

there because he was genuinely interested. “Art is shared experience,” 

he might remind us still. 

Andrew Timar is a Toronto musician, composer and music 

journalist. He can be contacted at worldmusic@thewholenote.com. 

LAURIE KWASNIK 

JOHN PORTER 


MOSTLY JAZZ 

February 14 - it’s 

Clubs and Hearts 

COLIN STORY 

HIGH NOTES GALA 

FOR MENTAL HEALTH 

Monday March 27th, 2023 8:00 pm 

Flato Markham Theatre 

Join HIGH NOTES AVANTE as we 

showcase some exquisite artists who will dazzle you 

with their music and dance performances while touching 

your heart with their stories. 

Be a part of our safe community for those 

touched by mental illness. 

YOU ARE NOT ALONE. WE ALL HAVE A STORY. 

REGULAR TICKETS $50 STUDENTS $10 VIP TICKETS $75 

VIP tickets include a backstage meet & greet with artists, 

including Pelee Island bubbly and nibbles at 7:00 pm. 

Tickets at: www.highnotesavante.ca 

905.305.7469 

Proceeds support High Notes Avante’s efforts 

to raise the image of mental illness, give hope and inspire. 

Proceeds will also support our FREE music lessons, 

choir and other activities. 

#WEALLHAVEASTORY 

This month, a rosy cherub will emerge from the snow, 

cock its heart-shaped bow and let loose its velvet 

arrows somewhere in our general direction. Not 

everyone enjoys Valentine’s Day, of course. For those not 

in relationships, it can be a grim reminder – at such a cold 

time of the year – of the bleak overwhelm of enduring 

solitude (this writer’s advice: the Internet is vast). For 

those whose love boat is floundering on stormy seas, 

February 14 can be a tricky obstacle to navigate. (Helpful 

hint: it is probably not, as one might assume, a propitious 

time to send one’s partner that article about trying an 

open relationship.) For the lucky number of you, however, 

who are looking to hit the town and celebrate your love 

by listening to some live music, possibilities abound. 


At Jazz Bistro, impress your date with all of the 

conventional trappings of date-night romance 

(chandeliers! champagne! a red piano!) while 

being serenaded by vocalist Michael Dunston. 

Performing songs from the R&B/Motown songbook, 

Dunston is joined by the enviable rhythm 

section of Matt Horner on piano, Roberto 

Occhipinti on bass and Mark Kelso on drums 

(cost, including prix fixe menu: $80). 

At the venerable El Mocambo, vocalists Ori 

Dagan and John Alcorn take the stage with guitarist Nathan 

Hiltz, bassist Lauren Falls, saxophonist Jesse Ryan and special 

guest vocalist Joanne Morra. This particular evening, like that 

at Jazz Bistro, is a prix fixe event; $120 gets you the music, 

wine from Niagara on the Lake’s Two Sisters Vineyards, dinner 

from Mark McEwan and the knowledge that you – just like 

Mick Jagger – have gotten romantic at the El Mocambo. 

Michael Dunston 

Brian Dickinson 

Ori Dagan and 

John Alcorn 

DAN BROWN 

TRANZAC: the most musical event of the night may well 

be Thom Gill’s Eat The Wind album release, taking place at 

the Tranzac. Though he is the sole performer credited on the 

album, Gill – singer, songwriter, guitarist, pianist, and firstcall 

collaborator for some of North America’s most interesting 

and talented musicians – has assembled an incredible 

band to bring the project to life, with Todd Pentney, Edwin 

de Goeij, Phil Melanson, Bram Gielen, Robin Dann, Luka 

Kuplowksy, and Alex Samaras, as well as an opening set by the 

Ryan Driver Trio. The show starts at 8pm, with limited-edition 

tapes for sale (at $10, it is also surely Valentine’s Day’s most 

accessible outing). 

Kenny “Blues 

Boss” Wayne 

The Rex: Romance aside, the coming weeks still have a lot to 

offer. Notably, a new group takes the stage in February: BaruBaru, 

saxophonist Allison Au’s latest venture, with her longtime collaborator 

and partner Todd Pentney on synths, Chris Pruden (also 

on synths), and Ian Wright on drums. With Au’s athletic, expressive 

saxophone playing, two times the keyboards, and Wright’s propulsive, 

rhythmically sophisticated drumming, check out the group’s exciting, 

exploratory, fusion-tinged jazz every Friday at 5:30pm in February. 

Also at The Rex: “The Rhythm Method,” a project conceived by pianist 

Brian Dickinson in 2015. With saxophonists Kelly Jefferson and Luis 

Deniz, Neil Swainson on bass and Ted Warren on drums, expect topnotch 

straightahead modern jazz played with lusty abandon. 

At Lula Lounge on February 23: The Lula Reggae & Blues Revue 

presented by Lula Music and Arts Centre and the Toronto Blues 

Society. Kenny “Blues Boss” Wayne plays on a bill with Jay Douglas 

and Quincy Bullen during an evening of classic blues and reggae celebrating 

Black History Month, the evening is sure to be memorable. 

Born in Spokane, Washington in 1944, before eventually moving to 

California, where he was based in the 1960s and 70s, Wayne moved 

to Vancouver in the 1980s, and has been a stalwart of the Canadian 

music scene ever since. (In 2006, Wayne won a Juno Award for Blues 

Album of the Year.) 

Like Wayne, Douglas has also enjoyed a storied career; equally 

comfortable with reggae, blues, soul and funk, he has been the 

recipient of three Juno nominations, has had major performances 

with international reggae stars such as Beres Hammond, Ziggy Marley 

and Ernest Ranglin and released many albums as both performer and 

producer. The youngest on the bill, Quincy Bullen is a name that will 

be familiar to many in Toronto – a multi-instrumentalist, singer and 

producer, Bullen performs regularly in Canada and abroad, and is at 

home in a wide range of styles, playing funk, rock, R&B, and soul with 

equal aplomb. 

LONG & McQUADE 

FREE CLINICS 

DURING MARCH 

MARCH 1-31 

Quincy Bullen 

A series of free career-enhancing clinics 

specifically tailored to the needs of musicians, 

songwriters, producers and home studio enthusiasts. 

Visit www.long-mcquade.com/LearningSeries2023 

for all the information! 

Colin Story is a jazz guitarist, writer and teacher based in Toronto. He 

can be reached at www.colinstory.com, on Instagram and on Twitter. 


listings@theWholeNote.com 

Event listings are free of charge to 

artists, venues and presenters. 

This issue contains event listings 

from February 7 to April 4, 2022. 

LISTINGS IN THIS ISSUE 

● Beginning on this page you will find live and 

livestream daily listings for events with an announced 

date and time that one could circle on a calendar 

in order to “be there.” Listing requests that were 

received at the time of going to press are included on 

these pages. 

● Our listing requests continue to arrive every day and 

are updated and published each weekend in 

The WholeNote WEEKLY LISTINGS UPDATE e-letter 

(see below for further information). 

How to List 

1. Use the convenient online form at 

thewholenote.com/applylistings OR 

2. Email listings to listings@thewholenote.com. 

Please note, we do not take listings over the phone. 

Deadlines 

Weekly: Eligible listings received by 6pm Tuesday, 

each week, will be included in The WholeNote WEEKLY 

LISTINGS UPDATE e-letter sent to registered readers 

the following Sunday. Listings received for the Weekly 

Listings Update are simultaneously posted to JUST ASK, 

our searchable online listings database. The weekly 

listings update looks two weeks into the future on an 

ongoing basis. 

Print: Our next print issue, Volume 28 no.5 covers April 

and May 2023. The print submission deadline for that issue 

will be Tuesday March 14. 

Readers are encouraged to register for the Weekly 

Listings update, or to check our online listings regularly 

for new listings or updates to listings previously submitted. 

Each weekly update looks 5-6 weeks into the future. 

Register for the weekly updates at 

thewholenote.com/newsletter 

LIVE OR ONLINE | Feb 7 to Apr 4, 2023 

Tuesday February 7 

● 9:30am: Don Wright Faculty of Music. 

Guest Artists Masterclass: Sanya Eng, 

Harp & Ryan Scott, Percussion. Von Kuster 

Hall, Music Building, Western University, 

1151 Richmond St. N., London. 519-661-3767 

or www.music.uwo.ca/events. Free. 

● 12:10: Nine Sparrows Arts Foundation. 

Lunchtime Chamber Music. Tristan Savella, 

piano. Yorkminster Park Baptist Church, 

1585 Yonge St. www.yorkminsterpark.com. 

Free. Donations welcome. 

● 12:10: University of Toronto Faculty of 

Music. Tuesday Noon Series Presents: 

Vocalis II - Longing and Belonging. Walter 

Hall, Edward Johnson Building, University of 

Toronto, 80 Queen’s Park. 416-978-3750. Free. 

● 1:00: St. James Cathedral. Organ Recital. 

Mark Himmelman, organ. Cathedral Church 

of St. James, 106 King St. E. 416-364-7865 

X221 or www.stjamescathedral.ca/events/ 

recitals/. Free. 


Music. Vocalini. Walter Hall, Edward Johnson 

Building, University of Toronto, 80 Queen’s 

Park. 416-978-3750. Free. 

● 8:00: Attila Glatz Concert Productions. 

Anne-Sophie Mutter and Mutter Virtuosi. Vivaldi: 

Concerto for 4 Violins in b RV 580; Unsuk 

Chin: “Grand Cadenza” Duo for Two Violins; 

Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-George: 

Violin Concerto in A Op.5 No.2; Vivaldi: The 

Four Seasons. Anne-Sophie Mutter, violin; 

Nancy Zhou, violin; Mutter Virtuosi (14-member 

ensemble). Roy Thomson Hall, 60 Simcoe 

St. 416-872-4255 or www.glatzconcerts.com/ 

anne-sophie-mutter. From $45. 

Wednesday February 8 

● 12:30: Yorkminster Park Baptist Church. 

Noonday Organ Recital. Peter Nikiforuk, 

organ. 1585 Yonge St. www.yorkminsterpark. 

com. Free. Donations welcome. 

● 8:00: Hugh’s Room Live. Alfie Zappacosta. 

Guest: Silvio Pupo, keyboards. The Revival, 

783 College St. www.showpass.com/alfiezappacosta-revival/. 

$40. 

● 8:00: Reid’s Distillery. Dizzy & Fay Celebrate 

an Early Valentine’s. Guest: Richard 

Moore, bass. 32 Logan Ave. 416-465-4444. 

$10. 

● 8:00: Toronto Symphony Orchestra. 

Gimeno Conducts Romeo & Juliet. Moussa: 

Elysium; Lalo: Symphonie espagnole; Prokofiev:/comp. 

Gustavo Gimeno: Suite from 

Romeo & Juliet. María Dueñas, violin; Gustavo 

Gimeno, conductor. Roy Thomson Hall, 

60 Simcoe St. 416-598-3375. From $35. Also 

Feb 9. 

Thursday February 9 

● 12:00 noon: Music at Met. Thursday Noon 

at Met Concert. Works by Herbert Fricker 

and others, from the collection of Ivor Baldwin. 

Jonathan Oldengarm, organ. Metropolitan 

United Church, 56 Queen St. E. www. 

metunited.ca. Free. LIVE & STREAMED. 

● 7:30: Canadian Opera Company. Salome. 

Music by Richard Strauss. Ambur Braid, 

soprano (Salome); Michael Schade, tenor 

(Herod); Karita Mattila, soprano (Herodias); 

Frédéric Antoun, tenor (Narraboth); and 

others; Canadian Opera Company Orchestra; 

Johannes Debus, conductor; Atom 

Egoyan, director. Four Seasons Centre for the 

Performing Arts, 145 Queen St. W. 416-363- 

8231 or 1-800-250-4653. Also Feb 3, 5(2pm), 

11, 17, 19(2pm), 24. At 7:30pm unless otherwise 

noted. 

● 8:00: Canadian Stage/Mayday Production/Dance 

Immersion. Cabaret Noir. Created, 

Directed, and Choreographed by 

Mélanie Demers. Berkeley Street Theatre, 

26 Berkeley St. 416-368-3110. $29-$79. Also 

Feb 10 & 11. 

● 8:00: Rose Theatre. This Is Brampton: off 

the record. 1 Theatre Ln., Brampton. 905- 

874-2800 or www.therosetheatre.ca. $15. 


Gimeno Conducts Romeo & Juliet. Moussa: 

Elysium; Lalo: Symphonie espagnole; Prokofiev:/comp. 

Gustavo Gimeno: Suite from 

Romeo & Juliet. María Dueñas, violin; Gustavo 



Feb 8. 

Friday February 10 

● 12:10: Music at St. Andrew’s. Noontime 

Recital: Midwinter Night’s Dream - Romantic 

Cello. Works by Fauré, Schumann, Brahms, 

and Lee. Dongso Kim, cello; Ben Smith, piano. 

St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, 73 Simcoe 

St. 416-593-5600 X231. Free. 

● 12:30: Don Wright Faculty of Music. Fridays 

at 12:30 Concert Series: The Egbo Trio. 

Von Kuster Hall, Music Building, Western University, 

1151 Richmond St. N., London. 519- 

661-3767 or www.music.uwo.ca/events. Free. 

LIVE & LIVESTREAM. 

● 5:00: Link Music Lab. Hani Niroo: Rainbow 

Children’s Special. Presented in the 

Farsi language. Hani Niroo, guitar/xylophone/ 

vocals. Small World Music Centre, Artscape 

Youngplace, 180 Shaw St. 647-887-6739. $25; 

free(ages 2 and under). 

● 5:15: Music on Union. Robert Schumann 

and Johannes Brahms: The Two Geniuses 

Who Both Loved Clara Schumann. Schumann: 

Fantasiestücke Op.73; Brahms: Clarinet 

Sonata Op.120 No.2. Valery Lloyd-Watts, 

piano; Chris Alfano, clarinet. St. James 

Church, 10 Union St. W., Kingston. 613-548- 

7254 or www.stjameskingston.ca/concerts 

or www.facebook.com/MusicOnUnion. Freewill 

offering. In support of the St James pipe 

organ restoration. 

● 7:30: Canadian Opera Company. The 

Marriage of Figaro. Music by W. A. Mozart. 

Luca Pisaroni, baritone (Figaro); Louise 

Alder, soprano (Susanna); Johanni 

van Oostrum, soprano (Countess); Gordon 

Bintner, bass-baritone (Count); Emily 

Fons, mezzo (Cherubino); and others; Canadian 

Opera Company Orchestra & Chorus; 

Harry Bicket, conductor; Claus Guth, director. 

Four Seasons Centre for the Performing 

Arts, 145 Queen St. W. 416-363-8231 or 1-800- 

250-4653. Also Jan 27, 29, Feb 2, 9, 12(2pm), 

16, 18(4:30pm). At 7:30pm unless otherwise 

noted. 

● 7:30: Confluence Concerts. Tłabatsi - Copper 

Box: LifeGivers. Conceived by Marion 

Newman. Curated and Original music by Aqua 

Nibii Waawaaskone. Aqua Nibii Waawaaskone, 

Red Rhythm & Blues, next-generation 

musicians. Heliconian Hall, 35 Hazelton Ave. 

www.eventbrite.ca/e/tabatsi-copper-boxtickets-480053191017. 

From $10. 

● 7:30: Don Wright Faculty of Music. Western 

University Wind Ensemble Concert: 


Vinettes. Paul Davenport Theatre, Talbot College, 

Western University, 1151 Richmond St. 

N., London. 519-661-3767 or www.music.uwo. 

ca/events. Free. 

● 7:30: Isabel Bader Centre for the Performing 

Arts. Emilie Steele and The Deal. 

Jennifer Velva Benjamin Performance Hall, 

Isabel Bader Centre for the Performing Arts, 

390 King St. W., Kingston. 613-530-2050 

or www.queensu.ca/theisabel. $30-$43; 

$26-$39(faculty/staff); $10-$21(st). 


Music. Celebrating Our Humanity: Songs 

of Home and Heart II. Walter Hall, Edward 

Johnson Building, University of Toronto, 

80 Queen’s Park. 416-978-3750. Free. 






Feb 9 & 11. 

● 8:00: Flato Markham Theatre. The Original 

Wailers. 171 Town Centre Blvd., Markham. 

www.flatomarkhamtheatre.ca or 905-305- 

7469 or boxoffice@markham.ca. From $15. 

● 8:00: Link Music Lab. Alireza Mortazavi 

and Carson Teal. Part of Experimental Link 

Music Nights. Alireza Mortazavi, santur; Carson 

Teal, electronics. Small World Music 

Centre, Artscape Youngplace, 180 Shaw St. 

647-887-6739. $35. 

● 8:00: Roy Thomson Hall. Music at the Movies. 

FILMharmonic Orchestra; Francis Choinière, 

conductor. 60 Simcoe St. www.tickets. 

mhrth.com. From $81. 

● 8:00: Royal Conservatory of Music. Temerty 

Orchestra Program: Earl Lee Conducts 

the Royal Conservatory Orchestra. Koerner 

Hall, TELUS Centre, 273 Bloor St. W. 416-408- 

0208 or www.rcmusic.com/performance. 

From $25. 

● 8:00: Tafelmusik. La Passione: Haydn 

& Mozart. Haydn: Symphony No.49 (“La 

Passione”); Program of symphonies and 

concertos by Mozart, Haydn and their contemporaries. 

Rachel Podger, violin/director. 

Jeanne Lamon Hall, Trinity-St. Paul’s Centre, 

427 Bloor St. W. 1-833-964-6337. From $25. 

Also Feb 11(2pm), 12(3pm). 

● 10:00: Don Wright Faculty of Music. Faculty 

Concert Series: Schoenberg’s Pierrot 

Lunaire. Von Kuster Hall, Music Building, 

Western University, 1151 Richmond St. N., London. 

519-661-3767 or www.music.uwo.ca/ 

events. Free. Pre-concert talk at 9pm. LIVE & 

LIVESTREAM. 

Saturday February 11 

● 10:30am: Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony. 

Peer Gynt. Jung Tsai, violin. Conrad Centre 

for the Performing Arts, 36 King St. W., Kitchener. 

519-745-4711 or 1-888-745-4717. $14; 

$12(child). Also Feb 4(Stork Family YMCA). 

● 11:00am: Xenia Concerts/TO Live/Hand 

Over Hand. Ladom Ensemble. This concert is 

designed to be autism- and neurodiversityfriendly. 

All listeners are welcome. Prokofiev: 

Dance of the Knights from Romeo and Juliet; 

Brahms: Hungarian Dance No.5, Chopin: 

Tristesse; Canadian East Coast folksongs; and 

Argentinian tangos. Michael Bridge, accordion; 

Beth Silver, cello; Adam Campbell, hand 

percussion; Pouya Hamidi, piano & composer. 

Meridian Hall, 1 Front St. E. 647-896-8295 

or www.alz.to/event/xenia-concert-ladomensemble/. 

. Also broadcast live on Zoom. 







427 Bloor St. W. 1-833-964-6337. From $25. 


● 3:00: Don Wright Faculty of Music. Symphonic 

Band Concert: Modern Signatures. 

Paul Davenport Theatre, Talbot College, Western 

University, 1151 Richmond St. N., London. 


events. Free. 

● 4:00: Confluence Concerts. Tłabatsi - Copper 

Box: Music Is Good Medicine. Curated 

by Deantha Edmunds and conceived by Marion 

Newman. Original music performed by 

Deantha Edmunds, Nicole Joy Fraser, and Cris 

Derksen. Heliconian Hall, 35 Hazelton Ave. 

www.eventbrite.ca/e/tabatsi-copper-boxtickets-480053191017. 

From $10. 

● 4:00: Toronto Operetta Theatre. Cabaret: 

A Fair Ladies Valentine. Edward Jackman 

Centre, 947 Queen St. E., 2nd Floor. 416- 

366-7723 or 1–800-708-6754 or www.tolive. 

com. $45. 

● 5:30: Polky Music. Lullaby Mosaic: Lullabies 

From Around the World. A family-friendly 

concert featuring singers, artists and musicians 

of different backgrounds and traditions 

from five continents, exploring the universality 

and artistry of lullabies. Ewelina Ferenc, 

Alina Kuzma, Aline Morales, Gloria Gift 

Nankunda, Leen Hamo, and Rosary Spence, 

singers; and instrumental musicians. Small 

World Music Centre, Artscape Youngplace, 

180 Shaw St. www.eventbrite.ca/e/lullabymosaic-lullabies-from-around-the-worldtickets-514016566387 

or ewe.ferenc@gmail. 

com or 647-710-5513. $15-$20. 

● 7:00: Calvin Presbyterian Church. Love 

and Life: A Valentine’s Day Special. Music by 

Jonathan Kravtchenko and others. 26 Delisle 

Ave. 416-778-4628 or www.eventbrite.ca/e/ 

love-and-life-classical-music-like-neverbefore-tickets-467588609117. 

From $20; 

Free(children under 12 accompanied by a 

ticket holder). 

● 7:00: Opera Revue. Debauchery at The 

Dakota. Strauss: Meine Lippen; Weill: Youkali; 

Satie: Je te veux; Bizet: Toreador Song. Danie 

Friesen, soprano; Alexander Hajek, baritone; 

Claire Elise Harris, piano. The Dakota, 

249 Ossington Ave. 647-637-7491 or www. 

operarevue.com. Reservations: reso@erbar. 

ca. From $20. 


See Feb 9. Also Feb 17, 19(2pm), 24. At 7:30pm 

unless otherwise noted. 

● 7:30: Concerts at Scarborough Bluffs. Rising 

Stars Concert. Students in voice, piano 

and strings from the Taylor Academy of the 

Royal Conservatory of Music. Scarborough 

Bluffs United Church, 3739 Kingston Rd., 

Scarborough. 647-779-6356. $20. Proceeds 

to Springboard to Music, a not-for-profit 

music school for young people 6-18. 

● 7:30: Cuckoo’s Nest Folk Club. Paul Langille 

& Paul Simms. Chaucer’s Pub, 122 Carling St., 

London. www.ticketscene.ca. $25. 

● 7:30: Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra. 

Come Together: HPO Performs The Beatles. 

Darcy Hepner, guest conductor. FirstOntario 

Concert Hall, 1 Summers Ln., Hamilton. 905- 

526-7756. $20-$80. 

● 7:30: Niagara Symphony Orchestra. In The 

Mood! Zoltan Kalman, clarinet; Jeffrey Pollock, 

guest conductor. Partridge Hall, FirstOntario 

Performing Arts Centre, 250 St. Paul St., 

St. Catharines. 905-687-4993. $68; $60(sr); 

$39(arts worker with valid ID); $15(student-university 

or college with valid ID); 

$15(youth-18 and under with valid ID). Also 

Feb 12(2:30pm). 

● 7:30: Rose Theatre. The Rose Orchestra: 

Magic of the Movies. 1 Theatre Ln., Brampton. 

905-874-2800 or www.therosetheatre. 

ca. $15-$34. 

● 7:30: The Annex Singers. Into Flight. Choral 

music and art songs composed by Artistic 

Director Maria Case. Melanie Conly and Tina 

Torlone, soprano; Meghan Symon, mezzo; 

Joshua Clemenger, tenor; Ivan Jovanovic, 

piano; Annex Singers; Annex Chamber Choir. 

Grace Church on-the-Hill, 300 Lonsdale Rd. 

www.annexsingers.com. $15-$30. LIVE & 

STREAMED 






Feb 9 & 10. 

● 8:00: Cathedral Bluffs Symphony Orchestra. 

A Nordic Affair. Grieg: Peer Gynt Suite 

No.1 Op.46; Nielsen: Clarinet Concerto; 

Sibelius: Symphony No.2 in D Op.43. Graham 

Lord, clarinet; Martin MacDonald, conductor. 

P.C. Ho Theatre, Chinese Cultural 

Centre of Greater Toronto, 5183 Sheppard 

Ave. E., Scarborough. 416-879-5566. From 

$25. Free for children under 12. Pre-concert 

talk: 7:15pm. 

● 8:00: Kindred Spirits Orchestra. The 

Sport of Music. Honegger: Rugby; Stravinsky: 

Violin Concerto; Shostakovich: Symphony 

No.4. Flato Markham Theatre, 171 Town 

Centre Blvd., Markham. 905-604-8339. 

$20-$40. 7:10pm: Prélude: pre-concert 

recital. 7:20pm: Pre-concert talk. Intermission 

discussion and Q&A with Emmanuelle 

Sievers and Daniel Vnukowski. Post-concert 

reception with a complimentary glass of 

champagne. 

● 8:00: Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony. La 

traviata in Concert. Verdi: La traviata. Myriam 

Leblanc, soprano; Andrew Haji, tenor; James 

Westman, baritone; WLU Faculty of Music 

soloists & chorus; Andrei Feher, conductor. 

Centre in the Square, 101 Queen St. N., Kitchener. 

519-745-4711 or 1-888-745-4717. $29- 

$87. Also Feb 12(2:30pm). 

● 8:00: Mississauga Symphony Orchestra. 

MSO Opera in Concert: The Barber of Seville. 

Christopher Dunham, baritone (Figaro); Alessia 

Vitali, mezzo (Rosina); David Walsh, tenor 

(Count Almaviva); John Holland, baritone (Dr. 

Bartolo); Margaret Cormier, narrator; Denis 

Mastromonaco, conductor. Living Arts Centre, 

4141 Living Arts Dr., Mississauga. www. 

mississaugasymphony.ca or 905-306-6000. 

From $40. 

● 8:00: Royal Conservatory of Music. Season 

Gala: “Rhapsody and the Blues” with 

Jens Lindemann, Jon Kimura Parker, and 

the Yamaha All Star Big Band. Koerner Hall, 

TELUS Centre, 273 Bloor St. W. 416-408-0208 

or rcmusic.com/performance. $75-$150. 


NACO: Songs for Murdered Sisters. Emilie 

Mayer: Faust Overture; Heggie/text by 

Atwood: Songs for Murdered Sisters (NACO 

Co-commission); Brahms: Symphony No.4. 

Joshua Hopkins, baritone; National Arts Centre 

Orchestra, guest orchestra; Alexander 

Shelley, conductor. Roy Thomson Hall, 

60 Simcoe St. 416-598-3375. From $35. 

Sunday February 12 

● 1:15: Mooredale Concerts. Music & Truffles 

for Kids. Andrew Wan, violin; Charles 

Richard-Hamelin, piano. Walter Hall, Edward 


80 Queen’s Park. 416-922-3714 X103 or 647- 

988- 2102 (eve & weekends) or www.mooredaleconcerts.com. 

$20. 

● 2:00: CAMMAC Toronto Region. Bach’s 

Cantata No. 131. Reading for singers and 

instrumentalists. Mervin Fick, conductor. 

Christ Church Deer Park, 1570 Yonge St. 

smmoboe@gmail.com or www.cammac.ca/ 

toronto. $15; $10(members). 

● 2:00: Canadian Opera Company. The Marriage 

of Figaro. See Feb 10. Also Feb 16, 

18(4:30pm). At 7:30pm unless otherwise 

noted. 

● 2:00: Don Wright Faculty of Music. Opera 

at Western: Scenes Gala With Early Music 



Studio. Paul Davenport Theatre, Talbot College, 

Western University, 1151 Richmond St. 

N., London. 519-661-3767 or www.music.uwo. 

ca/events. Free. 

● 2:00: Hamilton Conservatory for the 

Arts. Performing Arts Sunday Series: Valerie 

Tryon, Piano. Works by Chopin, John Ireland, 

Dohnányi, and Liszt. 126 James St. S., Hamilton. 

www.HCADanceTheatre.com. $25-$30. 

● 2:00: Royal Conservatory of Music. Mazzoleni 

Masters: Anton Nel and Friends. Mazzoleni 

Concert Hall, TELUS Centre, 273 Bloor 

St. W. 416-408-0208. $25. 

● 2:30: Kingston Symphony Orchestra. 

Dvořák & Haydn. Joseph Bologne: Two Sinfonias; 

Dvořák: Czech Suite; Haydn: Symphony 

No.101 (“The Clock”). Isabel Bader Centre 

for the Performing Arts, 390 King St. W., 

Kingston. 613-530-2050 or www.kingstonsymphony.ca. 

$10-$50. 

● 2:30: Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony. La 

traviata in Concert. Verdi: La traviata. Myriam 

Leblanc, soprano; Andrew Haji, tenor; James 

Westman, baritone; WLU Faculty of Music 

soloists & chorus; Andrei Feher, conductor. 


519-745-4711 or 1-888-745-4717. $29- 

$87. Also Feb 11(8pm). 

● 2:30: Niagara Symphony Orchestra. In The 

Mood! Zoltan Kalman, clarinet; Jeffrey Pollock, 

guest conductor. Partridge Hall, FirstOntario 

Performing Arts Centre, 250 St. Paul St., 

St. Catharines. 905-687-4993. $68; $60(sr); 

$39(arts worker with valid ID); $15(student-university 

or college with valid ID); 

$15(youth-18 and under with valid ID). Also 

Feb 11(7:30pm). 

● 3:00: Burlington Symphony Orchestra. A 

Musical Valentine’s Day Treat. Works by Mahler, 

Rachmaninoff, and Tchaikovsky. Burlington 

Performing Arts Centre, 440 Locust St., 

Burlington. 905-681-6000. $12-$46. 

● 3:00: Dundas Valley Orchestra. Travelling 

Again. Beethoven: Twelve German Dances; 

Martini: Plaisir d’amour; Traditional (arr. 

Coakley): Bonavist Harbour; Parry: Symphony 

No.3 in C (“The English”); and others. 

St. Paul’s United Church, 29 Park St. W., Dundas. 

905-808-0256. Free. Donations gratefully 

accepted. 

● 3:00: Hannaford Street Silver Band. 

Dearly: Live, Love, and Margaret Atwood. 

Measha Brueggergosman-Lee, soprano; Hannaford 

Smaller Band. Jane Mallett Theatre, 

St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts, 27 Front St. 

E. www.hssb.ca/events/dearly/. $48. 







427 Bloor St. W. 1-833-964-6337. From $25. 


● 3:15: Mooredale Concerts. Schumann & 

Franck. Andrew Wan, violin; Charles Richard- 

Hamelin, piano. Walter Hall, Edward Johnson 

Building, University of Toronto, 80 Queen’s 

Park. 416-922-3714 X103 or 647-988- 2102 

(eve & weekends) or www.mooredaleconcerts.com. 

$45; $40(sr); $30(under 30). 

● 4:00: Confluence Concerts. Tłabatsi - 

Copper Box: Sharing Stories. Curated by 

Evant Korbut and conceived by Marion Newman. 

Music by Ian Cusson, Brian Current, 

Mozart, Korngold, Verdi, and others. Evan 

Korbut, Camryn Dewar, Gabrielle Côte- 

Picard, and Christopher Bagan. Heliconian 

Hall, 35 Hazelton Ave. www.eventbrite.ca/e/ 

tabatsi-copper-box-tickets-480053191017. 

From $10. 

● 8:00: Hugh’s Room Live. Amai Kuda & 

Donné Roberts: Double Bill. Revival Bar, 

783 College St. www.showpass.com/amaikuda-revival. 

$25. 



Lunchtime Chamber Music: Clarinet Chamber 

Group. With Peter Stoll. Yorkminster Park 

Baptist Church, 1585 Yonge St. www.yorkminsterpark.com. 



Music. Tuesday Noon Series: “In meinem Lieben, 

in meinem Lied”. Walter Hall, Edward 


80 Queen’s Park. 416-978-3750. Free. 


Dan Norman, organ; Michael Broder, bass. 

Cathedral Church of St. James, 106 King St. E. 

416-364-7865. Free. Retiring collection. 

● 6:00: El Mocambo. A Valentine’s Serenade: 

John Alcorn & Ori Dagan. Romantic classics 

by Gershwin, Porter, Rodgers & Hart, 

Ellington and others. John Alcorn, vocals; Ori 

Dagan, vocals; Nathan Hiltz, guitar; Lauren 

Falls, bass; Jesse Ryan, sax. Guest: Joanne 

Morra, vocals. 464 Spadina Ave. 416-509- 

3137. $120. Includes entertainment, dinner 

and wine. Also at 8:30pm. 


Arts. National Arts Centre Orchestra: 

Brahms/Atwood/Heggie. Emilie Mayer: 

Faust Overture; Jake Heggie and Margaret 

Atwood: Songs for Murdered Sisters; 

Brahms: Symphony No.4 in e Op.98. Joshua 

Hopkins, baritone; Alexander Shelley, conductor. 

Jennifer Velva Benjamin Performance 

Hall, Isabel Bader Centre for the Performing 

Arts, 390 King St. W., Kingston. 613-530- 

2050 or www.queensu.ca/theisabel. $45- 

$64; $41-$60(faculty/staff); $10-$31(st). 

● 8:00: Rose Theatre. The Marc Gordon 

Show. 1 Theatre Ln., Brampton. 905-874- 

2800 or www.therosetheatre.ca. 

● 8:30: El Mocambo. A Valentine’s Serenade: 

John Alcorn & Ori Dagan. Romantic classics 

by Gershwin, Porter, Rodgers & Hart, 

Ellington and others. John Alcorn, vocals; Ori 

Dagan, vocals; Nathan Hiltz, guitar; Lauren 

Falls, bass; Jesse Ryan, sax. Guest: Joanne 

Morra, vocals. 464 Spadina Ave. 416-509- 

3137. $120. Includes entertainment, dinner 

and wine. Also at 6pm. 


● 12:30: ORGANIX Concerts. Imre Olah, 

Organ. Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic Church, 

3055 Bloor St. W. 416-571-3680 or organixconcerts.ca. 

Freewill offering ($20 

suggested). 


Noonday Organ Recital. Patrick Dewell, 



● 7:30: Don Wright Faculty of Music. Choral 

Concert: Les Choristes & St. Cecilia Singers. 

Von Kuster Hall, Music Building, Western University, 

1151 Richmond St. N., London. 519- 

661-3767 or www.music.uwo.ca/events. Free. 



at Met Concert. Works by Samuel Coleridge- 

Taylor, Florence Price, Kola Owolabi, and 

others. Joshua Duncan Lee, organ. Metropolitan 



● 7:30: Canadian Opera Company. The 

Marriage of Figaro. See Feb 10, Also 

Feb 18(4:30pm). At 7:30pm unless otherwise 

noted. 

● 8:00: Hart House Orchestra. Winter Concert. 

Shostakovich: Symphony No.5; Prokofiev: 

Winter Bonfire, Op.122; Arvo Pärt: If Bach 

Had Been a Beekeeper. Henry Janzen conductor. 

Hart House, Great Hall, 7 Hart House 

Circle. 416-978-2452 or www.harthouseorchestra.ca. 

Free. Donations appreciated at 

the door and online. 

● 8:00: Hugh’s Room Live. Radiohead Jazz 

Project. Hugh’s Room, 3030 Dundas St. W. 

www.showpass.com/radiohead-jazz-project- 

3030-dundas. . 

● 8:00: Roy Thomson Hall. Classic Albums 

Live: The Beatles - Let It Be. 60 Simcoe St. 

www.tickets.mhrth.com. From $57. 

● 8:00: Royal Conservatory of Music. Power 

Corp. of Canada Vocal Concerts: The King’s 

Singers: Finding Harmony. I have a dream; 

The Singing Revolution; The Many Sounds of 

Georgia; Lost Songs of the Highlands; The 

Musical Reformation and others. Koerner 

Hall, TELUS Centre, 273 Bloor St. W. 416-408- 

0208 or www.rcmusic.com/performance. 

From $45. 



Recital. Beethoven: Cello Sonata No.3 in A Op. 

69. Tristan Savella, piano. St. Andrew’s Presbyterian 

Church, 73 Simcoe St. 416-593-5600 

X231. Free. 

● 5:15: Music on Union. Organ Concert. 

Works by Bach, Clérambault, Mendelssohn, 

Karam, and Bales. Michael Capon, organ. St. 

James Church, 10 Union St. W., Kingston. 

613-548-7254 or www.stjameskingston.ca/ 

concerts or www.facebook.com/MusicOnUnion. 

Freewill offering. In support of the St 

James pipe organ restoration. 

● 7:00: Music at St. Andrew’s. Mardi Gras 

2023. Traditional New Orleans music including 

When the Saints Go Marchin’ In, Jambalaya, 

and other works. Patrick Tevlin, trumpet; 

Jordan Klapman, piano; and guests. St. 

Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, 73 Simcoe St. 

416-593-5600 X231 or www.standrewstoronto.org. 

$20. 


See Feb 5. Also Feb 19(2pm), 24. At 7:30pm 

unless otherwise noted. 

● 7:30: Nathaniel Dett Chorale. Voices of the 

Diaspora: Harriet Tubman - When I Crossed 

That Line to Freedom. Grace Church onthe-Hill, 

300 Lonsdale Rd. www.nathanieldettchorale.org. 

. 


Return to Massey Hall. Moussa: Elysium; 

Bruch: Violin Concerto No.1; Tchaikovsky: 

Symphony No.5. María Dueñas, violin; Gustavo 


60 Simcoe St. 416-598-3375. From $41. 

● 8:00: Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony. 

The Magical World of Harry Potter. Mike 

Nadajewski, host; Grand Philharmonic Youth 

Choir; Martin MacDondald,conductor. Centre 

in the Square, 101 Queen St. N., Kitchener. 

519-745-4711 or 1-888-745-4717. $29-$87. Also 

Feb 18. 

● 8:00: TD Sunfest Global Music & Jazz Series. 

Cheikh Ibra Fam (Orchestra Baobab). 

Wolf Performance Hall, 251 Dundas St., London. 

www.sunfest.on.ca. $30. 

● 8:30: Caliban Arts Theatre/CONTXT/ 

Redwood Theatre. Kahil El’Zabar’s Ethnic 

Heritage Ensemble (EHE): Now’s the Time 

2023 Tour. Redwood Theatre, 1300 Gerrard 

Ave. E. . $35(adv); $45(after Feb 3). 


● 2:00: Five at the First. Hoeppner-Mercer- 

Park: Music for Flute Trio. Philippe Gaubert: 

Trois Aquarelles; Dorothy Chang: Miniatures 

for Flute, Cello & Piano; Debussy: Prélude 

à l’après-midi d’un faune; Rota: Trio. Susan 

Hoeppner, flute; Rachel Mercer, cello; Angela 

Park, piano. First Unitarian Church of Hamilton, 

170 Dundurn St. S., Hamilton. 905- 

399-5125 or www.5atthefirst.com. $5-$20; 

Free(under 12). 


Good Vibrations. TorQ Percussion Ensemble; 

Martin MacDonald, conductor. Centre in the 

Square, 101 Queen St. N., Kitchener. 519-745- 

4711 or 1-888-745-4717. $19; $12(child). 


The Art of 

the Piano 

BRUCE VOGT 

February 18, 2:30pm 

brucevogt.com 

● 2:30: St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church. 

Music of Schubert, Chopin, and Clementi. 

Bruce Vogt, piano. 73 Simcoe St. www. 

brucevogt.com. $30; $15(st). 

● 4:30: Beach United Church. Music for the 

Soul with Gillian Stone. 140 Wineva Ave. www. 

beachunitedchurch.com or 416-691-8082. 

Free. Donations accepted. 

● 4:30: Canadian Opera Company. The Marriage 

of Figaro. See Feb 10. 



That Line to Freedom. FirstOntario Performing 

Arts Centre, 250 St. Paul St., St. 

Catharines. www.nathanieldettchorale.org. 

$5-$75. 

● 7:30: Opera by Request. Die Zauberflöte 

(The Magic Flute). Music by Wolfgang Amadeus 

Mozart. Alexander Capellazzo, tenor 

(Tamino); Kira Braun, soprano (Pamina); 

Michael Robert-Broder, baritone (Papageno); 

Chiara Urban, soprano (Papagena); Maryam 

Toumrai, soprano (Queen of the Night); and 

other soloists. William Shookhoff, piano & 

music director. College St. United Church, 

452 College St. 416-455-2365. $20. 


The Magical World of Harry Potter. Mike 

Nadajewski, host; Grand Philharmonic Youth 

Choir; Martin MacDondald, conductor. Centre 


519-745-4711 or 1-888-745-4717. $29-$87. Also 

Feb 17. 


● 12:30: Jubilate Singers/Denise Williams. 

Roots and Intersections: The Musical Intersections 

of the Black, Jewish, and Muslim 

Diasporas - A Community Music Presentation. 

Performance and lecture. Denise Williams, 

soprano; Waleed Abdulhamid, voice 

& multiple instruments; Daniel Barnes & 

Sam Donkoh, percussion; Brahm Goldhamer, 

Babak Naseri and Darryl Joseph-Dennie; 

pianos; Ben MacDonald, reed & tenor sax; 

Jubilate Singers; Isabel Bernaus, conductor. 

Neighbourhood Unitarian Universalist Congregation, 

310 Danforth Ave. 416-686-6809. 

Free. Donations welcome. See also Mar 4 

concert. 


See Feb 9. Also Feb 24. At 7:30pm unless 

otherwise noted. 

● 2:30: Orchestra Kingston. Celebrating 

Women in Music. Bruch: Violin Concerto 

No.1; Beach: Symphony No.2 “Gaelic”. Clara 

Moellman, violin. The Spire/Sydenham 

Street United Church, 82 Sydenham St., 

Kingston. www.eventbrite.ca/e/orchestra-kingston-celebrating-women-in-musictickets-495674625147. 

$25; $20(sr/st); 

Free(children). 

● 2:30: VOICEBOX: Opera in Concert. 

Médée. Music by Luigi Cherubini. Natalya 

Gennadi, soprano (Médée); Julie Resrallah, 

mezzo (Néris); Scott Rumble, tenor (Jason); 

Danlie Rae Acebuque, baritone (King Créon); 

Amy Moodie, soprano (Dircé); Voicebox: 

Opera in Concert Chorus; Robert Cooper, 

chorus director; Narminsa Afandiyeva, music 

director and pianist. Jane Mallett Theatre, St. 

Lawrence Centre for the Arts, 27 Front St. E. 

www.operainconcert.com or 416-366-7723 

or 1-800-708-6754. $38-$50. 

● 3:00: Music at Met. Trinity Bach Project. 

Bach: Cantata 23; Bach: Singet dem Herren 

(Motet); and works by Brahms. Vocal and 

Period Instrument Ensemble. Metropolitan 

United Church, 56 Queen St. E. www.metunited.ca. 

Free. LIVE & STREAMED. 

● 5:00: Opera Revue. Opera Revue at The 

Emmet Ray: Valentine’s Show. Works by Mozart, 

Verdi, Heggie, Weill, and Strauss. Danie 

Friesen, soprano; Alexander Hajek, baritone; 

Claire Elise Harris, piano. The Emmet Ray, 

924 College St. 647-637-7491 or www.operarevue.com. 

Reservations: reso@erbar.ca. $10. 

Plus optional tip jar. 

● 7:30: Cuckoo’s Nest Folk Club. New Cumberland. 

Chaucer’s Pub, 122 Carling St., London. 

www.ticketscene.ca. $25. 

Monday February 20 

● 7:30: St. Wulfric’s Concert Society. In 

Recital. Works by Bach, Louis Andriessen, 

Hans Poser, and Colin Eatock. Alison Melville, 

recorder; Christopher Bagan, harpsichord. 

Heliconian Hall, 35 Hazelton Ave. 416-926- 

8954. By donation ($20 suggested). 



Lunchtime Chamber Music: Rising Stars 

Recital. Featuring students from the Glenn 

Gould School. Yorkminster Park Baptist 

Church, 1585 Yonge St. www.yorkminsterpark.com. 



Aaron James, organ. Cathedral Church of St. 

James, 106 King St. E. 416-364-7865. Free. 

Retiring collection. 


● 7:00: Church of St. Mary Magdalene. Solemn 

Mass for Ash Wednesday. Presented 

in traditional language, Gregorian chant 

and polyphony. Ritual and Gallery Choir. 

477 Manning Ave. Freewill offering. LIVE & 

LIVESTREAM. Religious Service. 

● 8:00: Royal Conservatory of Music. Power 

Corp. of Canada Vocal Concerts: Emily 

D’Angelo. Works by Bingen, Mazzoli, Snider 

and Guðnadóttir. Koerner Hall, TELUS Centre, 

273 Bloor St. W. 416-408-0208 or www. 

rcmusic.com/performance. From $35. 

● 8:00: Toronto Symphony Orchestra. Mozart 

& Rachmaninoff. Berg/orch. Davis: Sonata 

(North American Premiere); Mozart: Piano 

Concerto No.23 K.488; Rachmaninoff: Vocalise, 

Symphonic Dances. Louis Lortie, piano; 

Sir Andrew Davis, conductor. Roy Thomson 

Hall, 60 Simcoe St. 416-598-3375. From $35. 

Also Feb 24(7:30pm), 25. 



at Met Concert Series. Silas Friesen, trumpet; 

Jonathan Oldengarm, organ & piano. Metropolitan 



WOMEN’S MUSICAL CLUB OF TORONTO 

FEBRUARY 23 | 1.30 PM 

FJÓLA EVANS 

with 

Aizuri Quartet, VC2 Cello Duo 

Talisa Blackman, piano, 

Krista Kais-Prial, vocals 

416-923-7052 | wmct.on.ca 

● 1:30: Music in the Afternoon. Fjóla Evans: 

An Icelandic Composer’s Creative Canadian 

Journey. Fjóla Evans: New Commissioned 

Work (premiere); Ann Southam: Glass 

Houses (excerpts); Grieg: String Quartet 

No.1 in g; Fjóla Evans: Ridge & Furrow; Gyorgy 

Ligeti: Sonata for Solo Cello; Icelandic songs. 

Aizuri String Quartet (Emma Frucht, violin; 

Miho Saegusa, violin; Ayana Kozasa, viola; 

Karen Ouzounian, cello); VC2 Cello Duo; Talisa 

Blackman, piano; Krista Kais-Prial, vocalist. 

Walter Hall, Edward Johnson Building, University 

of Toronto, 80 Queen’s Park. 416-923- 

7052 X1. $45; free(st with ID). 

● 7:00: Vesuvius Ensemble. Ninna Nanna: 

Lullabies from Popular Tradition. Lullabies 

from Southern Italy. Francesco Pellegrino, 

voice; Romina Di Gasbarro, storyteller; Lucas 

Harris, lute & guitar; Louis Simão, accordion 

& colascione. Heliconian Hall, 35 Hazelton 

Ave. www.bemusednetwork.com/events/ 

detail/977. $30. 

● 8:00: Hugh’s Room Live. Soul Stew. Hugh’s 

Room, 3030 Dundas St. W. www.showpass.com/soul-stew-3030-dundas. 

$25; 

$10(livestream). 


● 12:00 noon: Roy Thomson Hall. Choir 

& Organ Series: Voices Chamber Choir. 

60 Simcoe St. www.tickets.mhrth.com. Free. 


Recital. R. Strauss: Sonata in E-flat Op.18 

(arranged for flute and piano); and music by 

Denisov. Paulo do Nascimento Brito, piano; 

Jin Cho, flute. St. Andrew’s Presbyterian 

Church, 73 Simcoe St. 416-593-5600 X231 or 

www.standrewstoronto.org. Free. 

● 5:15: Music on Union. Anticipation of 

Spring. A new work by David Cameron and 

other works. Doug Handforth, violin & viola; 

Jennifer Timdale, cello; Fran Harkness, piano. 

St. James Church, 10 Union St. W., Kingston. 

613-548-7254 or www.stjameskingston.ca/ 

concerts or www.facebook.com/MusicOnUnion. 

Freewill offering. In support of the St 

James pipe organ restoration. 


See Feb 9. 



That Line to Freedom. Grand Theatre, 

218 Princess St., Kingston. www.nathanieldettchorale.org 

or www.kingstongrand.ca/ 

events/harriet-tubman-when-i-crossed-thatline-to-freedom. 

From $19.50. 









● 8:00: Royal Conservatory of Music. Global 

Music: Somi - Zenzile. Koerner Hall, TELUS 

Centre, 273 Bloor St. W. 416-408-0208 or 


● 8:00: Scarborough Philharmonic Orchestra/Akashic 

Rekords/Canadian Sinfonietta. 

Night Star Concert. Debussy: Danse sacrée et 

danse profane, for harp and strings; Debussy: 

L’isle joyeuse, for piano; Ravel: String Quartet 

in F; Ronald Royer: Danzon Overture, for 

string quartet and percussion; and works by 

Ronald Royer. Erica Goodman, harp; Alexander 

Panizza, piano; Kaye Royer, clarinet; Alejandro 

Céspedes, percussion; Odin Quartet; 

Canadian Sinfonietta Chamber Ensemble 

(Joyce Lai, artistic director & violin). Metropolitan 

Community Church, 115 Simpson Ave. 

647-482-7761 or www.spo.ca/Concerts. $35; 

$25(sr); $15(st). 

● 9:00: Small World Music. Remix ⟷ Culture: 

HAT & Hasheel. Small World Music Centre, 

Artscape Youngplace, 180 Shaw St. www. 

smallworldmusic.com/shows/remix-culturehat-featuring-hasheel. 

$25. 


● 2:00: Amadeus Choir of Greater Toronto. 

Celtic Kitchen Party. Featuring a footstompin’ 

Celtic band, a silent auction, delicious 

food, a cash bar, and a variety of 

fundraising games and activities. Jubilee 

United Church, 40 Underhill Dr. www.amadeuschoir.com/celtic. 

From $25. Also 7:30pm. 

● 2:00: Peterborough Singers. Back in Full 

Swing. Works including: Dream a Little Dream 

of Me, Cheek to Cheek, Tuxedo Junction, 

T’aint What You Do, The Way You Look Tonight, 

and Mack the Knife. Geoff Bemrose & Barry 

Haggarty, guitars; Andrew Affleck, bass; 

Steve McCracken, saxophone; Curtis Cronkwright, 

drums. Emmanuel United Church, 

534 George St. N., Peterborough. 705-745- 

1820 or www.peterboroughsingers.com. 

$35; $10(st). 

● 7:30: Guitar Society of Toronto. Irina 

Kulikova. St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, 

73 Simcoe St. www.guitarsocietyoftoronto. 

com. Advance: $35; $30(sr); $15(st); Door: 

$40; $35(sr); $20(st). 


Celtic Kitchen Party. Featuring a footstompin’ 

Celtic band, a silent auction, delicious 

food, a cash bar, and a variety of 

fundraising games and activities. Jubilee 

United Church, 40 Underhill Dr. www.amadeuschoir.com/celtic. 

From $25. Also 2pm. 



● 7:30: Oakville Chamber Orchestra. Vivaldi’s 

Four Seasons. Elgar: Serenade for 

Strings Op.20; Britten: Simple Symphony 

Op.4; Vivaldi: The Four Seasons. Oakville Centre 

for the Performing Arts, 130 Navy St., 

Oakville. 1-877-532-6787. $40; $30(ages 

12-30); $10(12 and under). 

● 8:00: Acoustic Harvest. The Marigolds - 

Suzie Vinnick, Caitlin Hanford, Gwen Swick. 

St. Paul’s United Church, 200 McIntosh St., 

Scarborough. www.acousticharvest.ca 

or 416-729-7564 or AH YouTube Channel: 

www.m.youtube.com/channel/UCtVJ3ig- 

14FE8mP2c4zGqk6g. $30(adv) or $35(cash 

at door). 

● 8:00: Massey Hall. Blue Rodeo: Songs Seldom 

Heard. 178 Victoria St. 416-872-4255 or 

www.ticketmaster.ca. From $72. 

● 8:00: Royal Conservatory of Music. 

Jazz Concerts: The Great Composers: Mingus 

Dynasty Band and MONK’estra Quartet. 

Koerner Hall, TELUS Centre, 273 Bloor St. W. 

416-408-0208 or www.rcmusic.com/performance. 

From $45. 

● 8:00: Small World Music. Innov Gnawa. 

Aga Khan Museum, 77 Wynford Dr. www. 

ticketing.agakhanmuseum.org. From $30. 

● 8:00: TD Sunfest Global Music & Jazz Series. 

Culturas 360°. Showcasing emerging & 

established music artists. ONLINE, . www.culturas360.com. 

Free. 








Also Feb 22, 24(7:30pm). 


● 10:00am: Church of St. Mary Magdalene. 

Sung Mass for the First Sunday in Lent. Combined 

mass in modern and traditional language 

with Gregorian chant and polyphony. 

Ritual and Gallery Choir & Orff Ensemble. 

477 Manning Ave. . Freewill offering. LIVE & 

LIVESTREAM. Religious Service. 

● 2:00: Chamber Music Hamilton. In Concert. 

Works by Corelli, Paganini, Schubert, 

Dvořák, Granados, Piazzolla, McFadden, 

and Jarvlepp. Jeffrey McFadden, guitar; 

Michael Schulte, violin. Art Gallery of Hamilton, 

123 King St. W., Hamilton. chambermusichamilton@gmail.com 

or 905-627-1627 or at 

the door. $35; $15(st). Free admission to the 

Art Gallery of Hamilton. 

● 2:00: Toronto Beach Chorale. Vivaldi 

and the Italian Baroque. Vivaldi: Gloria in D 

RV589; Vivaldi: Dixit Dominus RV595; Pergolesi: 

Magnificat. Jennifer Krabbe, soprano; 

Rachel Miller, mezzo; Chamber Orchestra. 

Beaches Presbyterian Church, 65 Glen Manor 

Dr. www.torontobeachchorale.com. $30; 

$15(youth under 18). 

● 3:00: Greater Toronto Philharmonic 

Orchestra. London Calling. Walton: Music 

from Henry V; Elgar: Serenade for Strings; 

Britten: Simple Symphony Op.4; Vaughan Williams: 

Serenade to Music; Vaughan Williams: 

English Folk Song Suite; Delius: Winter Night. 

David Fallis, conductor. Calvin Presbyterian 

Church, 26 Delisle Ave. www.tickets@gtpo.ca 

or 647-238-0015. $25-$30. 

● 3:00: Guelph Concert Band. Monsters, 

Mutants, and Mythology. Music from The 

Lord of the Rings, Jurassic Park, and Star 

Wars; Holst: “Mars” from The Planets; Mussorgsky: 

Night on Bald Mountain. Lauren 

Helmer, conductor. River Run Centre, 

35 Woolwich St., Guelph. www.riverrun.ca 

or 519-763-3000. $25; $15(sr/st); $5(18 and 

under). Audience members are encouraged 

to dress up as their favourite fantasy character, 

superhero, or villain. 

● 3:00: Orchestra Toronto. Dances of the 

Americas. Price: Dances in the Canebrakes; 

Márquez: Danzón No.2; Piazzolla: Bandoneón 

Concerto “Aconcagua”; Bernstein: Symphonic 

Dances From West Side Story. Denis 

Plante, bandonéon; Michael Newnham, conductor. 

George Weston Recital Hall, Meridian 

Arts Centre, 5040 Yonge St. 416-467-7142 

or www.ticketmaster.ca. $52. Pre-concert 

chat at 2:15pm. 

Monday February 27 

● 7:30: Xenia Concerts/Flato Markham Theatre/Hand 

Over Hand. OKAN. This concert 

is designed to be autism- and neurodiversity-friendly. 

All listeners are welcome. Prokofiev: 

Dance of the Knights from Romeo 

and Juliet; Brahms: Hungarian Dance No.5, 

Chopin: Tristesse; Canadian East Coast folksongs; 

and Argentinian tangos. Elizabeth 

Rodriguez, violin & vocals; Magdelys Savigne, 

percussion & vocals; Rubén Vásquez, piano; 

Roberto Riveron, bass. Flato Markham Theatre, 

171 Town Centre Blvd., Markham. 647- 

896-8295. $5. 

Tuesday February 28 



Recital. Featuring performance students 

from the U of T Faculty of Music. Yorkminster 

Park Baptist Church, 1585 Yonge St. 

www.yorkminsterpark.com. Free. Donations 

welcome. 


Music. Hear! Hear!: Remembering John 

Beckwith. Choir 21, Monica Whicher, New 

Music Concerts Ensemble, Opus 8, Robert 

Aitken, Dianne Aitken, Peter Stoll, and others. 

Walter Hall, Edward Johnson Building, University 

of Toronto, 80 Queen’s Park. . Free. 

Tickets required. Donations welcome. 

February 28 at 8 pm 

ANGELA 

CHENG 

music-toronto.com 

● 8:00: Music Toronto. Angela Cheng, Piano. 

Haydn: Sonata in C Hob.XVI/50; Beethoven: 

Sonata No.31 in A-flat Op.110; Chopin: Polonaise-Fantasie 

in A-flat Op.61; Ballade No.1 in 

g, Op. 23; Ballade No.4 in f Op.52. Jane Mallett 

Theatre, St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts, 

27 Front St. E. 416-366-7723 option 2. $47.50 

or $52; $10(st). 

Wednesday March 1 


Noonday Organ Recital. Nathan Jeffery, 




Mozart’s Haffner Symphony. Britten: Four 

Sea Interludes; Mazzoli: Dark with Excessive 

Bright; Mozart: Symphony No.35 K.385 

(“Haffner”). Jeffrey Beecher, double bass; 

Kerem Hasan, conductor. Roy Thomson Hall, 


Mar 2. 

Thursday March 2 

● 12:00 noon: Encore Symphonic Concert 

Band. Monthly Concert. 35-piece concert 

band performing band concert music, 

pop tunes, jazz standards (2 singers) and 

the occasional march. Trinity Presbyterian 

Church York Mills, 2737 Bayview Ave. www. 

encoreband.ca. $10. 


at Met Concert Series. Jonelle Sills, soprano; 

and Brahm Goldhamer, piano. Metropolitan 

United Church, 56 Queen St. E. www.metunited.ca. 


● 8:00: Massey Hall. Regina Spektor. 

178 Victoria St. 416-872-4255 or www.ticketmaster.ca. 

From $154. 

GREATER 

PHILHARMONIC 

LONDON 

CALLING 

TORONTO 


Mozart’s Haffner Symphony. Britten: Four 

Sea Interludes; Mazzoli: Dark with Excessive 

Bright; Mozart: Symphony No.35 K.385 

(“Haffner). Jeffrey Beecher, double bass; 

Kerem Hasan, conductor. Roy Thomson Hall, 


Mar 1. 

Friday March 3 

ORCHESTRA 

● 7:00: Grand River Opera. Suor Angelica. 

Music by Giacomo Puccini. Jennifer Carter, 

soprano (Angelica); Laura Pudwell, mezzo 

(Principessa); Rachel Cleland, conductor; 

Renee Salewski, stage director; Susan Black, 

piano. First United Church, 16 William St. 

W., Waterloo. 519-591-7464. Early Bird until 

Feb 10: $25; $17(st/sr). General: $30; $20(st/ 

sr); Free(under 13). Also Mar 4(7pm), 5(2pm). 

● 7:30: Opera York. The Magic Flute. Music 

by W. A. Mozart. With chorus, orchestra, and 

supertitles. Geoffrey Butler, music director; 

Penny Cookson, stage director. Richmond Hill 

Centre for the Performing Arts, 10268 Yonge 

St., Richmond Hill. www.tickets.rhcentre.ca. 

From $34. Also Mar 5(2pm). 


Recital. Works by Beethoven, Liszt, and Scriabin. 

Beatrice Duong, piano. St. Andrew’s 

Presbyterian Church, 73 Simcoe St. 416- 

593-5600 X231 or www.standrewstoronto. 

org. Free. 

● 12:30: Don Wright Faculty of Music. Fridays 

at 12:30 Concert Series: Ein Liederkonzert. 

Von Kuster Hall, Music Building, 

Western University, 1151 Richmond St. N., London. 


events. Free. LIVE & LIVESTREAM. 

● 7:30: The Jeffery Concerts. Cameron Crozman, 

Cello. Kajia Saariaho: Sept Papillons; 

Bach: Suite No.3 in C; and works by Alexina 

Louie, Kelly-Marie Murphy, and Jordan 

Pal. St. John the Evangelist Anglican Church 

(London), 280 St. James St., London. 519- 

672-8800 or www.jefferyconcerts.com or 

jefferyconcerts@gmail.com. $40; Free(st 

with ID). Tickets at Grand Theatre Box Office, 

471 Richmond St. 

● 8:00: Rose Theatre. This is Brampton: 

Hype. Jemane Kent. 1 Theatre Ln., Brampton. 


ca. $10. 

● 8:00: Roy Thomson Hall. Classics Albums 

Live: Credence Clearwater Revival - Chronicle, 

Vol 1. 60 Simcoe St. www.tickets.mhrth. 

com. From $57. 

● 8:00: Royal Conservatory of Music. Global 

Music: DakhaBrakha. Koerner Hall, TELUS 

Centre, 273 Bloor St. W. 416-408-0208 or 


● 8:00: Tafelmusik. Bach’s Library. Steffani: 

Ouverture to Orlando generoso; Bach: 


Orchestral Suite No.1 in C BWV1066; Bach: 

Harpsichord Concerto in d BWV 1052; Harpsichord 

Concerto in D BWV1054; Hasse: Sinfonia 

in g Op.5 No.6; Zelenka: Ouverture a 7 

in F ZWV188. Francesco Corti, harpsichord 

& guest director. Jeanne Lamon Hall, Trinity-St. 

Paul’s Centre, 427 Bloor St. W. 416-964- 

6337 or www.tafelmusik.org. From $25. Also 

Mar 4(2pm), 5(3pm). 

Saturday March 4 

● 4:00: Pax Christi Chorale. Paths to Hope. 

Matthew Emery: On the Beach at Night; 

Emily Green: I Will Fly Again; Tracy Wong: 

Sehati; Mark Sirrett: May You Heal; Katerina 

Gimon: A Path to Hope; and other works. Pax 

Christi Chorale; University of Toronto Soprano/Alto 

Chorus; Elaine Choi, conductor; 

Joshua Tamayo, piano. Holy Blossom Temple, 

1950 Bathurst St. www.paxchristichorale. 

org. $35; $15(young adult); $10(st). 










● 7:30: Burlington Performing Arts Centre. 

Kevin Hearn: Dreaming of the 80s. Burlington 

Performing Arts Centre, Community Studio 

Theatre, 440 Locust St., Burlington. 905- 

681-6000 or www.burlingtonpac.ca/events/ 

kevin-hearn. $59.50; $54.50(Members). 

● 7:30: Jubilate Singers/Denise Williams. 

Roots and Intersections: The Musical Intersections 

of the Black, Jewish, and Muslim 

Diasporas. Denise Williams, soprano; Waleed 

Abdulhamid, voice & multiple instruments; 

Daniel Barnes & Sam Donkoh, percussion; 

Brahm Goldhamer, Babak Naseri and Darryl 

Joseph-Dennie; pianos; Ben MacDonald, reed 

& tenor sax; Jubilate Singers; Isabel Bernaus, 

conductor. Christ Church Deer Park, 

1570 Yonge St. 416-485-1988. $35; $25(sr/st/ 

arts workers). See also Feb 19 performance 

and lecture. 

● 7:30: Kingston Road Village Concert Series. 

Side by Side Winter Bach #2. J. S. Bach: 

Double Violin Concerto; C. P. E. Bach: String 

Symphony; J. S. Bach: Orchestral Suite No.1. 

Musicians of Toronto Symphony Orchestra; 

University of Toronto students; Mark Fewer, 

violin & leader. Kingston Road United Church, 

975 Kingston Rd. www.bachsidebyside2. 

eventbrite.com. $35(adv); $40(at door). 

Foodbank donations accepted. 

● 7:30: Mississauga Chamber Singers. Magnificent 

Mozart. Mozart: Mass C “Coronation 

Mass” K317; Regina coeli K276; Alma Dei 

Elaine Choi 

ARTISTIC DIRECTOR & CONDUCTOR 

creatoris K277. Mississauga Chamber Singers; 

Chamber Orchestra; Soloists. Christ 

First United Church, 151 Lakeshore Rd. W., 

Mississauga. 647-549-4524. $30; $15(7-18); 

free(under 7). 

● 7:30: Opera by Request. The Consul. Music 

by Gian Carlo Menotti. Brigitte Bogar, soprano 

(Magda Sorel); Sebastien Belcourt, 

baritone (John Sorel/Assan); Karina Bray, 

mezzo (Mother); Maddy Cooper, mezzo (Secretary); 

Gregory Finney, baritone (Secret 

Police Agent/Mr. Kofner); and other soloists. 

William Shookhoff, piano & music director. 

College St. United Church, 452 College St. 

416-455-2365. $20. 

● 7:30: Stratford Symphony Orchestra. 

Brahms & Dvořák. Brahms: Violin Concerto 

in D Op.77; Dvořák: Symphony No.8 in 

G Op.88. Sarah Pratt, violin; William Rowson, 

conductor. Avondale United Church, 

194 Avondale Ave., Stratford. www.stratfordsymphony.ca. 

$45; $15(st); Free(under 12). 

● 8:00: Flato Markham Theatre. Nikki 

Yanofsky. 171 Town Centre Blvd., Markham. 

www.flatomarkhamtheatre.ca or 905-305- 

7469 or boxoffice@markham.ca. $15-$85. 

● 8:00: Massey Hall. Alan Cumming and Ari 

Shapiro: Och & Oy! - A Considered Cabaret. 

178 Victoria St. www.tickets.mhrth.com. 

From $51. 

● 8:00: Sinfonia Toronto. Mozart & Shostakovich. 

Mozart: Piano Concerto No.21 in C 

K467; Angelova: Passacaglia (world premiere); 

Shostakovich: Chamber Symphony in 

F Op.73a. Sunny Ritter, piano; Nurhan Arman, 

conductor. George Weston Recital Hall, 

Meridian Arts Centre, 5040 Yonge St. 416- 

499-0403 or info@sinfoniatoronto.com. 

● 8:00: St. Jude’s Celebration of the Arts. 

The Zodiac Trio Presents Portraits of the 

Americas. Works by Piazzolla, Gershwin, 

Arturo Marquez, Benny Goodman, David 

Baker and Peter Schickele. The Zodiac Trio. 

St. Jude’s Anglican Church, 160 William St., 

Oakville. 905-844-3972 or www.eventbrite. 

ca/e/the-zodiac-trio-portraits-of-the-americas-tickets-389890401687?aff=ebdssbcate 

gorybrowse. . 

Sunday March 5 

● 11:00am: Toronto Symphony Orchestra. 

Relaxed Performance: Why Sci-Fi? Works 

by Williams, Holst, Debussy. Daniel Bartholomew-Poyser, 

conductor. Roy Thomson 

Hall, 60 Simcoe St. 416-598-3375. From 

$23. Designed to be welcoming to neurodiverse 

patrons. 

● 1:30: Toronto Symphony Orchestra. YPC: 

Why Sci-Fi? Works by Williams, Holst, and 

Debussy. Daniel Bartholomew-Poyser, conductor. 

Roy Thomson Hall, 60 Simcoe St. 416- 

598-3375. From $29. Also 4 pm. 

● 2:00: Georgetown Bach Chorale. Brahms 

German Requiem. Brahms: German Requiem, 

for 2 pianos and chamber choir; Piano Sonata 

No.2 in b-flat; Schubert Lieder. Nune Ananyan, 

soprano; Gordon Wright, baritone; 

Georgetown Bach Chorale; Ron Greidanus 

& Matthew Pope, pianos. St. John’s United 

Church, 11 Guelph St., Georgetown. www. 

georgetownbachchorale.com or 905-873- 

9909. $35; $15(st). 










● 2:00: Opera York. The Magic Flute. Music 

by W. A. Mozart. With chorus, orchestra, and 

supertitles. Geoffrey Butler, music director; 

Penny Cookson, stage director. Richmond Hill 

Centre for the Performing Arts, 10268 Yonge 

St., Richmond Hill. www.tickets.rhcentre.ca. 

From $34. Also Mar 3(7:30pm). 

● 2:30: OperOttawa. Handel’s Alcina. Erinne- 

Colleen Laurin, soprano; Kathleen Radke, 

soprano; Carole Portelance, ????; Alexander 

Cappellazzo, and other soloists; OperOttawa 

Orchestra and Chorus; Frédéric Lacroix, 

continuo. First Baptist Church Ottawa, 

140 Laurier Ave. W., Ottawa. www.eventbrite. 

ca. $40; $20(st under 18). 

● 3:00: Royal Conservatory of Music. Piano 

Recitals: Imogen Cooper. Beethoven: Piano 

Sonata No.30 in E Op.109; Liszt: 3 Petrarch 

Sonnets S.158, 4 Valses oubliées S.215 

R.37, Bagatelle sans tonalité S.216a R.60c; 

Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.32 in c Op.111. 

Koerner Hall, TELUS Centre, 273 Bloor St. W. 

416-408-0208 or rcmusic.com/performance. 

$45-$100. 

● 3:00: Tafelmusik. Bach’s Library. Steffani: 

Ouverture to Orlando generoso; Bach: 

Orchestral Suite No.1 in C BWV1066; Bach: 

Harpsichord Concerto in d BWV 1052; Harpsichord 

Concerto in D BWV1054; Hasse: Sinfonia 

in g Op.5 No.6; Zelenka: Ouverture a 7 

in F ZWV188. Francesco Corti, harpsichord 

& guest director. Jeanne Lamon Hall, Trinity-St. 

Paul’s Centre, 427 Bloor St. W. 416-964- 

6337 or www.tafelmusik.org. From $25. Also 

Mar 3(8pm), 4(2pm). 

● 3:30: Orpheus Choir of Toronto. 

Beethoven: Missa Solemnis. Guests: Chorus 

Niagara. Jocelyn Fralick, soprano; Lillian 

Brooks, alto; Andrew Haji, tenor; Giles Tomkins, 

bass. Eastminster United Church, 

310 Danforth Ave. 416-530-4428. $45; 

$35(sr); $20(st). 


YPC: Why Sci-Fi? Works by Williams, Holst, 

Debussy. Daniel Bartholomew-Poyser, conductor. 

Roy Thomson Hall, 60 Simcoe St. 416- 

598-3375. From $29. Also 1:30pm. 

● 7:30: Amici Chamber Ensemble. Música 

de Cámara. Osvaldo Golijov: Levante; Joaquin 

Turina - Quartet in A minor Op.67 for piano 

and string trio; Joaquin Gutiérrez: Quintet for 

clarinet and string quartet; Osvaldo Golijov: 

Mariel for cello and marimba; Arturo Márquez: 

Suite Arbórea for clarinet and string 

quartet. Guest Artists: Scott St. John, violin; 

Noa Sarid, violin; Theresa Rudolph, viola; 

Charles Settle, marimba. Amici Chamber 

Opera 

York 

The 

MagicFlute 

March 3, 2023 7:30 pm 

March 5, 2023 2:00 pm 

Geoff Butler, Music Director 

Penny Cookson, Stage Director 

Tickets : 905 787. 8811 • rhcentre.ca 

Richmond Hill Centre for the Performing Arts 



MARCH 5, 2023 

7:30PM 

Ensemble: Joaquin Valdepeñas, clarinet; 

David Hetherington, cello; Serouj Kradjian, 

piano. Trinity-St. Paul’s Centre, 427 Bloor 

St. W. www.amiciensemble.com. $50; 

$30(under 30); $100(donor/VIP). 

● 8:00: Toronto Chamber Choir. The Return 

of Rosenmuller. Johann Rosenmuller: Siehe 

an die Wercke Gottes; Missa Brevis à 4; 

Welt, ade, ich bein dein müde; Ad Dominum 

cum tribularer; Magnificat in B-flat. Toronto 

Chamber Choir; Lucas Harris, artistic director. 

Calvin Presbyterian Church, 26 Delisle 

Ave. 416-763-1695. $20-$40. 

Tuesday March 7 


Lunchtime Chamber Music: Clarinet Chamber 

Group. With Ellen Meyer. Yorkminster 

Park Baptist Church, 1585 Yonge St. www. 

yorkminsterpark.com. Free. Donations 

welcome. 

● 8:00: Toronto Symphony Orchestra. Windborne’s 

The Music of Queen. MiG Ayeas, 

vocalist; Brent Havens, conductor. Roy Thomson 

Hall, 60 Simcoe St. 416-598-3375. Also 

Mar 8(2 & 8pm), 9. 



Noonday Organ Recital. William Maddox, 






Hall, 60 Simcoe St. 416-598-3375. Also 

Mar 7(8pm), 8(8pm), 9(8pm). 

● 8:00: Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony. Bohemian 

Rhapsodies. Schubert: German Dances; 

Čekovská: Shadow Scale; Vaňhal: Symphony in 

d; Suk: Serenade for Strings. First United Church 

- Waterloo, 16 William St. W., Waterloo. 519-745- 

4711 or 1-888-745-4717. $37. Also Mar 10(Harcourt 

Memorial United, Guelph), 11(Central Presbyterian 

Church, Cambridge). 




Hall, 60 Simcoe St. 416-598-3375. TBA. 

Also Mar 7, 8(2pm), 9. 

J o c e l y n F r a l i c k , s o p r a n o 

L i l l i a n B r o o k s , m e z z o - s o p r a n o 

A n d r e w H a j i , t e n o r 

G i l e s T o m k i n s , b a s s - b a r i t o n e 

Tickets at 

orpheuschoirtoronto.com 


● 12:00 noon: Music at Met. Thursday 

Noon at Met Concert Series. Peter Nikiforuk, 

organ. Metropolitan United Church, 

56 Queen St. E. www.metunited.ca. Free. LIVE 

& STREAMED. 

● 7:00: Canada Ireland Foundation. Bound 

For Canada: A Musical Journey from Hardship 

to Hope. Odhrán Ó Casaide: Orchestral 

Suite (world premiere). Sibéal Ní Chasaide, 

vocalist; North York Concert Orchestra; 

Toronto Choral Society; The Irish Garda Band. 

Winter Garden Theatre, 189 Yonge St. 416- 

366-7723. From $30. 

● 7:00: Magisterra Soloists. Tchaikovsky 

Piano Trio. Haydn: Trio in C; Chia Patiño: Nina 

Sol; Tchaikovsky: Piano Trio in a Op.50. Guest: 

Yevgeny Yontov, piano. Museum London, 

421 Ridout St. N., London. www.magisterra. 

com. $35; $30(sr); $15(st); $10(child). 


Arts. Trio Fibonacci: Slavic 

Romance. Dvořák: Trio No.3 in Op.65; Smetana: 

Trio in g Op.15. Trio Fibonacci (Julie-Anne 

Derome, violin; Gabriel Prynn, cello; Meagan 

Milatz, piano). Jennifer Velva Benjamin Performance 

Hall, Isabel Bader Centre for the 

Performing Arts, 390 King St. W., Kingston. 

613-530-2050 or www.queensu.ca/theisabel. 

$45-$64: $41-$60(faculty/staff); $10-$31(st). 


Music. U of T Opera: A Tale of Two Cities. 

Music by Arthur Benjamin. Kelly Robinson, 

stage director; Sandra Horst, conductor. 

MacMillan Theatre, Edward Johnson Building, 

80 Queen’s Park. 416-978-3750. From $10. 

Also Mar 10, 11, 12(2:30pm). 

● 8:00: Burlington Performing Arts Centre. 

Classic Albums Live: The Beatles’ - Let 

it Be. 440 Locust St., Burlington. 905-681- 

6000 or www.burlingtonpac.ca/events/ 

classic-albums-live-let-it-be/. $69.50; 

$64.50(Members). 

● 8:00: Flato Markham Theatre. Forever 

Seger: The Silver Bullet Experience. 171 Town 

Celebrate the longtreasured 

bonds 

between Ireland 

and Canada 

March 9 at 7 pm 

Winter Garden Theatre 

canadairelandfoundation.com 

Centre Blvd., Markham. www.flatomarkhamtheatre.ca 

or 905-305-7469 or boxoffice@markham.ca. 

$60-$65. 




Hall, 60 Simcoe St. 416-598-3375. TBA. 

Also Mar 7, 8(2 & 8pm). 



Recital. Works by Coulthard, Debussy, Louie, 

and Beethoven. David Potvin, piano. St. 

Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, 73 Simcoe St. 

416-593-5600 X231 or www.standrewstoronto.org. 

Free. 

● 7:30: Confluence Concerts. A Woman’s 

Voice. Works by Alice Ping Ye Ho, in collaboration 

with Canadian writers Marjorie 

Chan, Madeleine Thien, Carole Languille, 

Phoebe Tsang, Tong Wang, Thomass Muir, 

Anna Camara, and Michael O’brien; David 

Braid: Dark Butterflies, with text by Patricia 

O’Callaghan. Patricia O’Callaghan, soprano; 

Gryphon Trio; Ryan Davis, vocalist; Vania 

Chan, soprano; Alex Hetherington, mezzo; 

Katy Clark, soprano; Jialiang Zhu, piano. Heliconian 

Hall, 35 Hazelton Ave. info@confluenceconcerts.ca. 

$25. Also Mar 11. 


Arts. Kris and Dee. Jennifer Velva 

Benjamin Performance Hall, Isabel Bader 

Centre for the Performing Arts, 390 King 

St. W., Kingston. 613-530-2050 or www. 

queensu.ca/theisabel. $30-$43; $26-$39(faculty/staff); 

$10-$21(st). 







Also Mar 9, 11, 12(2:30pm). 


Bohemian Rhapsodies. Schubert: German 

Dances; Čekovská: Shadow Scale; Vaňhal: 

Symphony in d; Suk: Serenade for Strings. 

Harcourt Memorial United Church, 87 Dean 

Ave., Guelph. 519-745-4711 or 1-888-745- 

4717. $37. Also Mar 8(First United Church, 

Waterloo), 11(Central Presbyterian Church, 

Cambridge). 

● 8:00: Massey Hall. Judy Talk. 178 Victoria 

St. www.ticketsmaster.ca. From $48. Also 

Mar 11. 

● 8:00: Rose Theatre. This Is Brampton: Rising 

Vibes. TCspades. 1 Theatre Ln., Brampton. 


ca. $10. 

● 8:00: Toronto Symphony Orchestra. Murdoch 

Mysteries: Murder in F Major. Music 

by Robert Carli. Exclusive screening of the 

all-new never-before-seen episode “Murder 

in F Major” accompanied by a live orchestral 

performance of Robert Carli’s epic score. 

Includes a sneak peek behind the scenes 

as you learn how the music for your favourite 

series is created. Special guests including 

Yannick Bisson; Lucas Waldin, conductor. Roy 

Thomson Hall, 60 Simcoe St. 416-598-3375. 

From $55. Also Mar 11. 

● 8:00: Toronto Consort. Canticum Canticorum. 

Spoken excerpts and motets set by 

late-Renaissance and early-baroque Italian 

composers, instrumental interludes exploring 

the different possible combinations of 

two trombones, organ, and a high voice. 


2022-2023 Season: 

A Golden Anniversary Celebration 

CANTICUM 

CANTICORUM 

MARCH 10 & 11, 2023 AT 8PM 

A Concert by Canticum Trombonorum 

Live at Trinity-St. Paul’s Centre 

TorontoConsort.org 

Canticorum Trombonorum, performing 

ensemble. Trinity-St. Paul’s Centre, Jeanne 

Lamon Hall, 427 Bloor St. W. www.torontoconsort.org 

or 416-964-6337. From $28. Also 

Mar 11. Also available on EarlyMusic.TV on 

demand. 

Satuday March 11 

● 11:00am: Xenia Concerts/Phoenix the 

Fire. Seeing the Music. A family-friendly concert 

that embraces neurodiversity and disability. 

Designed to adapt to the diverse needs 

and interests of audience members who 

identify as neurodivergent or having a disability. 

All listeners are welcome. Works by Canadian 

musical icons including Leonard Cohen 

paired with artwork from the AGO Collection 

and musical ASL interpretation. Kyla Charter, 

vocalist; Gaitrie Killings, musical ASL interpretation. 

Art Gallery of Ontario, 317 Dundas 

St. W. 647-896-8295 or www.ago.ca/events/ 

xenia-concerts-phoenix-fire-and-kyla-charter-seeing-music. 

$5. 


Crate Clash. 1 Theatre Ln., Brampton. 905- 

874-2800 or www.therosetheatre.ca. $10. 

● 7:30: Confluence Concerts. A Woman’s 

Voice. Works by Alice Ping Ye Ho, in collaboration 

with Canadian writers Marjorie 

Chan, Madeleine Thien, Carole Languille, 

Phoebe Tsang, Tong Wang, Thomass Muir, 

Anna Camara, and Michael O’brien; David 

Braid: Dark Butterflies, with text by Patricia 

O’Callaghan. Patricia O’Callaghan, soprano; 

Gryphon Trio; Ryan Davis, vocalist; Vania 

Chan, soprano; Alex Hetherington, mezzo; 

Katy Clark, soprano; Jialiang Zhu, piano. Heliconian 

Hall, 35 Hazelton Ave. info@confluenceconcerts.ca. 

$25. Also Mar 10. 







Also Mar 9, 10, 12(2:30pm). 

● 8:00: Kindred Spirits Orchestra. Matthias 

the Painter. Stravinsky: Fireworks; Strauss: 

Burlesque; Hindemith: Mathis der Mahler. 

Alexander Panizza, piano. Richmond Hill Centre 

for the Performing Arts, 10268 Yonge St., 

Richmond Hill. 905-604-8339. $20-$40. 


Bohemian Rhapsodies. Schubert: German 

Dances; Čekovská: Shadow Scale; Vaňhal: 

Symphony in d; Suk: Serenade for Strings. 

Central Presbyterian Church, 7 Queens 

Square, Cambridge. 519-745-4711 or 1-888- 

745-4717. $37. Also Mar 8(First United Church, 

Waterloo), 10(Harcourt Memorial United 

Church, Guelph). 

● 8:00: Massey Hall. Judy Talk. 178 Victoria 

St. www.ticketsmaster.ca. From $48. Also 

Mar 10. 

● 8:00: Nagata Shachu. Nagata Shachu, 

DJ Dopey, Onton & Konatsu of Supernaturalz 

Crew. Fleck Dance Theatre, Harbourfront 

Centre, 235 Queens Quay W. www. 

harbourfrontcentre.com/event/spin-off or 

www.nagatashachu.com. $35-$45(adults); 

$25-$35(sr/st). 

● 8:00: Toronto Consort. Canticum Canticorum. 

Spoken excerpts and motets set by 

late-Renaissance and early-baroque Italian 

composers, instrumental interludes exploring 

the different possible combinations of two 

trombones, organ, and a high voice. Canticorum 

Trombonorum, performing ensemble. 

Trinity-St. Paul’s Centre, Jeanne Lamon Hall, 

427 Bloor St. W. www.torontoconsort.org or 

416-964-6337. From $28. Also Mar 10. Also 

available on EarlyMusic.TV on demand. 

● 8:00: Toronto Symphony Orchestra. Murdoch 

Mysteries: Murder in F Major. Music 

by Robert Carli. Exclusive screening of the 

all-new never-before-seen episode “Murder 

in F Major” accompanied by a live orchestral 

performance of Robert Carli’s epic score. 

Includes a sneak peek behind the scenes 

as you learn how the music for your favourite 

series is created. Special guests including 

Yannick Bisson; Lucas Waldin, conductor. Roy 


From $55. Also Mar 10. 


● 2:30: Niagara Symphony Orchestra. Invisible 

Cities. Wijeratne: Invisible Cities; Rachmaninoff: 

Symphony No.2. TorQ Percussion 

Quartet; Bradley Thachuk, conductor. Partridge 

Hall, FirstOntario Performing Arts 

Centre, 250 St. Paul St., St. Catharines. 905- 

687-4993. $68; $60(sr); $39(arts worker 

with valid ID); $15(student-university or college 

with valid ID); $15(youth-18 and under 

with valid ID). 







Also Mar 9(7:30pm), 10(7:30pm), 11(7:30pm). 

● 3:00: Trio Arkel. Chamber Music Concert. 

Mozart: Oboe Quartet in F; Knussen: Cantata 

for Oboe and String Trio; Taneyev: String 

Trio in D Major. Marie Bérard, violin; Rémi 

Pelletier, viola; Winona Zelenka, cello. Guest: 

Alex Liedtke, oboe. Trinity-St. Paul’s Centre, 

427 Bloor St. W. www.eventbrite.ca or 

admin@trioarkel.com or 647-229-6918. $40. 




Recital. Featuring performance students 

from the U of T Faculty of Music. Yorkminster 

Park Baptist Church, 1585 Yonge St. 

www.yorkminsterpark.com. Free. Donations 

welcome. 


● 12:30: ORGANIX Concerts. Alexander 

Straus-Fausto, Organ. Our Lady of Sorrows 

Catholic Church, 3055 Bloor St. W. 416-571- 

3680 or organixconcerts.ca. Freewill offering 

($20 suggested). 


Noonday Organ Recital. Nicholas Wanstall, 




Arts. Arion Baroque Orchestra: Vivaldi and His 

Curious Friends. Vivaldi: “Alma oppressa” from 

La fida ninfa RV614; Laudate pueri RV601; A solis 

ortu; Gloria patri e filio; “Armatae face et angibus” 

from Juditha triumphans RV644; and other 

works. Mathieu Lussier, direction; Samantha 

Louis-Jean, soprano; Vincent Lauzer, recorder. 

Jennifer Velva Benjamin Performance Hall, Isabel 

Bader Centre for the Performing Arts, 390 King 

St. W., Kingston. 613-530-2050 or www. 

queensu.ca/theisabel. $45-$64: $41-$60(faculty/ 

staff); $10-$31(st). 

● 7:30: Royal Conservatory of Music. The 

Glenn Gould School Spring Opera: Flight. 

Music by Jonathan Dove. Gordon Gerrard, 

conductor; Anna Theodosakis, stage director. 

Koerner Hall, TELUS Centre, 273 Bloor St. 

W. 416-408-0208 or www.rcmusic.com/performance. 

$25-$60. Also Mar 17. 



at Met Concert Series. Luis Medina and Daniel 

Turner, guitars. Metropolitan United 

Church, 56 Queen St. E. www.metunited.ca. 




Recital. Music for St. Patrick’s Day. Jordan 

Klapman, jazz piano; Shelley Hamilton, 

vocalist. St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, 

73 Simcoe St. 416-593-5600 X231 or www. 

standrewstoronto.org. Free. 

● 7:30: Royal Conservatory of Music. The 

Glenn Gould School Spring Opera: Flight. 

Music by Jonathan Dove. Gordon Gerrard, 

conductor; Anna Theodosakis, stage director. 

Koerner Hall, TELUS Centre, 273 Bloor St. 

W. 416-408-0208 or www.rcmusic.com/performance. 

$25-$60. Also Mar 15. 

● 7:30: Opera by Request. Così fan tutte. 

Music by W. A. Mozart. Grace Quinsey, soprano 

(Fiordiligi); Madeline Cooper, mezzo 

(Dorabella); Veronika Anissimova, soprano 

(Despina); Arieh Sacke, tenor (Ferrando); 

Mikhail Shemet, baritone (Guglielmo); John 

Holland, bass-baritone (Don Alfonso); Claire 

Harris, pianist and music director. College 

St. United Church, 452 College St. 416-455- 

2365. $20. 

● 8:00: Rose Theatre. Classic Albums Live: 

U2 & Joshua Tree. 1 Theatre Ln., Brampton. 

905-874-2800 or www.therosetheatre.ca. 

$15-$49. 


● 5:30: Kitchener Waterloo Community 

Orchestra. Opernball Dinner Concert and 

Silent Auction. Works by di Curtis, Verdi, and 

others. Caroline Déry, soprano; Adam Luther, 

tenor. St. George Banquet Hall, 665 King St. 

N., Waterloo. 519-744-2666 or www.Onstage- 

Direct.com. $100. Three-course plated meal. 

Kindred Spirits Orchestra 

Kristian Alexander | Music Director 

MATTHIAS THE PAINTER 



Vegetarian, children’s meals, and special dietary 

needs are available upon request. 

● 7:30: Barrie Concerts Association. A Night 

at the Opera. Toronto Concert Orchestra; 

Sara Papini, soprano; Romulo Delgado, tenor; 

Marcus Scholtes, conductor. Hiway Pentecostal 

Church, 50 Anne St. N., Barrie. www. 

barrieconcerts.org. . 

● 7:30: Flato Markham Theatre. The Music 

of the Night: The Concert Tour. Selections 

from Phantom of the Opera, Evita, Cats, Jesus 

Christ Superstar, Sunset Boulevard, and 

other productions. 171 Town Centre Blvd., 

Markham. www.flatomarkhamtheatre.ca or 

905-305-7469 or boxoffice@markham.ca or 

www.musicofthenight.live. $60-$65. 

● 7:30: Toronto Mendelssohn Choir. Little 

Match Girl Passion. David Lang: Little Match 

Girl Passion; Shireen Abu Khader: Newly 

Commissioned Work. Toronto Mendelssohn 

Singers; Jean-Sébastien Vallée, conductor. 

Church of the Holy Trinity, 19 Trinity 

Sq. www.tmchoir.org/event/little-matchgirl-passion 

or 416-408-0208. Section A: 

$59.95; $54.35(sr); $24.95(VoxTix). Section 

B: $39.95; $36.35(sr); $24.95(VoxTix). 

● 8:00: Acoustic Harvest. Mike Stevens 

and His Band. St. Paul’s United Church, 

200 McIntosh St., Scarborough. www. 

acousticharvest.ca or 416-729-7564. $30(adv) 

or cash at door. 


Bluebird Brampton. Curated by Johnny Rivex. 

1 Theatre Ln., Brampton. 905-874-2800 or 

www.therosetheatre.ca. $15. 

● 8:00: Royal Conservatory of Music. Chamber 

Music Concerts: Chineke! Orchestra with 

Stewart Goodyear. Coleridge-Taylor: Othello 

Suite; Goodyear: Callaloo - Caribbean Suite 

for Piano & Orchestra; Price: Symphony No.1 

in e. Koerner Hall, TELUS Centre, 273 Bloor St. 

W. 416-408-0208 or rcmusic.com/performance. 

$50-$120. 



Arts. Power and Pedal. Beethoven: 

Piano Sonata No.30 in E Op.109; Beethoven: 

Piano Sonata No.31 in A-flat Op.110; Rachmaninoff: 

13 Preludes Op.32. Boris Giltburg, piano. 

Jennifer Velva Benjamin Performance Hall, 

Isabel Bader Centre for the Performing Arts, 

390 King St. W., Kingston. 613-530-2050 

or www.queensu.ca/theisabel. $45-$64; 

$41-$60(faculty/staff); $10-$31(st). 

● 2:30: VOICEBOX: Opera in Concert. 

L’Amant anonyme. Music by Joseph Boulogne, 

Chevalier de Saint-Georges. Colin Ainsworth, 

tenor; Joshua Clemenger, tenor; and 

Dion Mazerolle, baritone; Voicebox: Opera in 

Concert Chorus; Robert Cooper, chorus director; 

Stephen Hargreaves, music director 

and pianist. Jane Mallett Theatre, St. Lawrence 

Centre for the Arts, 27 Front St. E. 

www.operainconcert.com or 416-366-7723 

or 1-800-708-6754. $48-$60. 




Recital. Featuring students from the Glenn 

Gould School. Yorkminster Park Baptist 

Church, 1585 Yonge St. www.yorkminsterpark.com. 




Noonday Organ Recital. Angus Sinclair, 

organ; Autumn Debassige, mezzo. 1585 Yonge 

St. www.yorkminsterpark.com. Free. Donations 

welcome. 


Gimeno Conducts Beethoven 5. Harman: 

Celebration Prelude (World Premiere/TSO 

Commission); Schumann: Cello Concerto; 

Ligeti: Cello Concerto; Habibi: Jeder Baum 

spricht; Beethoven: Symphony No.5. Jean- 

Guihen Queyras, cello; Gustavo Gimeno, conductor. 

Roy Thomson Hall, 60 Simcoe St. 

416-598-3375. From $35. Also Mar 23, 25, 

26(3pm-George Weston Recital Hall). 



at Met Concert Series. Jonas Apeland Salomonsen, 

organ. Metropolitan United Church, 

56 Queen St. E. www.metunited.ca. Free. LIVE 

& STREAMED. 

● 7:30: Tafelmusik. Bach St. John Passion. 

Ivars Taurins, director. Jeanne Lamon 

Hall, Trinity-St. Paul’s Centre, 427 Bloor 

St. W. 1-833-964-6337. From $48. Also 

Mar 24(7:30pm), 25(3:30pm). 

● 8:00: Royal Conservatory of Music. Chamber 

Music Concerts: Takács Quartet with Jeremy 

Denk. Haydn: String Quartet in F Op.7 

no.2 Hob III:82; Mendelssohn: String Quartet 

in E-flat; Schumann: Piano Quintet in E-flat 

Op.44. Koerner Hall, TELUS Centre, 273 Bloor 

St. W. 416-408-0208 or www.rcmusic.com/ 

performance. $50-$105. 









416-598-3375. From $35. Also Mar 22, 25, 



● 11:00am: Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra. 

Talk & Trea: Mozart in Paris. Stage Door 

@ FirstOntario Concert Hall, 10 MacNab St. 

S., Hamilton. 905-526-7756. $10-$20. Talk 

with light refreshments & sneak peek at HPO 

rehearsal. 


Recital. Works by Haydn, Chopin, and Ginastera. 

Naomi Wong, piano. St. Andrew’s Presbyterian 

Church, 73 Simcoe St. 416-593-5600 

X231 or www.standrewstoronto.org. Free. 




St. W. 1-833-964-6337. From $48. Also 

Mar 23(7:30pm), 25(3:30pm). 

● 8:00: Etobicoke Philharmonic Orchestra. 

Inspiration of a New World. Dvořák: Symphony 

No.9 in e “From the New World” Op.95. 

Etobicoke Philharmonic Orchestra; Matthew 

Jones, conductor. Martingrove Collegiate 

Institute, 50 Winterton Dr., Etobicoke. www. 

Eventbrite.com or www.EPOrchestra.ca. 

$30; $25(s); $15(st). 

● 8:00: Exultate Chamber Singers. Water 

Forms: Immersion. Exploring our intimate 

connection to water in its many forms. 

Includes music from a variety of time periods 

plus three immersive works by contemporary 

Canadian composers Katerina Gimon, 

Carmen Braden, and Bruce Sled. Calvin Presbyterian 

Church, 26 Delisle Ave. 416-971-9229 

or www.exultate.net/event-details/waterforms-immersion. 

$40 or PWYC from $5. 

● 8:00: Massey Hall. Classic Albums 

Live: Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon. 

178 Victoria St. www.tickets.mhrth.com. 

From $45. 

● 8:00: Rose Theatre. Bachman & Bachman. 

Randy Bachman & Tal Bachman. 1 Theatre 

Ln., Brampton. 905-874-2800 or www.therosetheatre.ca. 

$15-$79. 


● 10:00am: Church of St. Mary Magdalene. 

Procession and Solemn Mass for the Feast 

of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin 

Mary. Presented in traditional language. 

Dvořák From the 

New World 

Symphony 

FRIDAY, MARCH 24 

www.eporchestra.ca 

477 Manning Ave. Freewill offering. LIVE & 

LIVESTREAM. Religious service followed by 

refreshments. 

● 11:00am: Toronto Symphony Orchestra. 

Relaxed Performance: Gimeno Conducts 

Beethoven 5. Schumann: Cello Concerto; 

Beethoven: Symphony No.5. Jean-Guihen 

Queyras, cello; Gustavo Gimeno, conductor. 

Roy Thomson Hall, 60 Simcoe St. 416-598- 

3375. From $23. Designed to be welcoming to 

neurodiverse patrons. 

● 1:00: Royal Canadian College of Organists. 

The Great Bach Marathon. Works by Bach. St. 

George’s Cathedral, 270 King St. E., Kingston. 

www.rcco-kingston.ca. Free. Freewill offering 

in support of RCCO Scholarship Fund and 

St. George’s Cathedral. 

● 1:00: Royal Canadian College of Organists 

Toronto Centre. Toronto Bach Walk 

2023: Celebrate Bach’s 338th Birthday! 

Organ recital with Patrick Dewell. Christ 

Church Deer Park, 1570 Yonge St. to.rcco. 

enotice@gmail.com. Free. Donations welcome. 

Also 2pm(Calvin Presbyterian Church); 

3pm(Yorkminster Park Baptist Church). 

Birthday cake reception at the end of the day. 


Toronto Centre. Toronto Bach Walk 2023: 

Celebrate Bach’s 338th Birthday! Instrumental 

recital with Daniel Bickel and friends. 

Calvin Presbyterian Church, 26 Delisle Ave. 

to.rcco.enotice@gmail.com. Free. Donations 

welcome. Also 1pm(Christ Church 

Deer Park); 3pm(Yorkminster Park Baptist 

Church). Birthday cake reception at the end 

of the day. 


Toronto Centre. Toronto Bach Walk 2023: 

Celebrate Bach’s 338th Birthday! Organ 

recital with William Maddox. Yorkminster 

Park Baptist Church, 1585 Yonge St. to.rcco. 

enotice@gmail.com. Free. Donations welcome. 

Also 1pm(Christ Church Deer Park); 

2pm(Calvin Presbyterian Church). Birthday 

cake reception at the end of the day. 

Immersion 

FRIDAY, MARCH 24 TH 

8:00PM 

WWW.EXULTATE.NET 


● 3:00: Scarborough Philharmonic Orchestra. 

Joy of Strings. Elgar: Serenade in e 

Op.20; Sibelius: Humoresque in D Op.87 No.2, 

for solo violin and strings; Bologne, Chevalier 

de Saint-George: String Quartet in g; 

Op.1 No.3 (arr. for string orchestra); Peter 

Ashbourne: Jamaica Folk; Shreya Jha: Farmyard 

Adventure; and other works. Strings of 

the Scarborough Philharmonic Orchestra 

(Ronald Royer, conductor); Sistema Toronto 

String Ensemble (Andres Tucci Clarke, conductor); 

University of Toronto Scarborough 

Campus String Ensemble and Sir Oliver 

Mowat C.I. String Ensemble (Tony Leong, 

conductor; Corey Gemmell, violin. Sir Oliver 

Mowat Collegiate Institute, 5400 Lawrence 

Ave. E., Scarborough. 647-482-7761 or www. 

spo.ca/Concerts. Free. 




St. W. 1-833-964-6337. From $48. Also 

Mar 23(7:30pm), 24(8pm). 

● 7:00: Bravo Niagara! Festival of the Arts. 

Alex Cuba. FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre, 

Robertson Theatre, 250 St. Paul St., St. 

Catharines. 289-868-9177. $50; $25(University/College 

st); $10(18 and under). 

● 7:30: Counterpoint Community Orchestra. 

Hello Spring. Schumann: Symphony No.1 

in B-flat (“Spring”); Dustin Peters: A Stone’s 

Throw” (Canadian premiere). Church of St. 

Peter and St. Simon-the-Apostle, 525 Bloor 

St. E. 416-762-9257 or hol12jo@sympatico.ca. 

$20; $12(18 and under). 

● 7:30: Guitar Society of Toronto. Cowan 

Ciccillitti Duo. Adam Cicchillitti and Steve 

Cowan, guitar duo. St. Andrew’s Presbyterian 

Church, 73 Simcoe St. www.guitarsocietyoftoronto.com. 

Advance: $35; $30(sr); 

$15(st); Door: $40; $35(sr); $20(st). 

● 7:30: Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra. 

Mozart in Paris. Ravel: Pavane pour une 

infante défunte; Moussa: Polarlicht; Ibert: 

Flute Concerto; Plessis: New Work; Mozart: 

Symphony No.31 “Paris”. Leslie Newman, 

flute; Pierre Simard, guest conductor. 

Boris Brott Great Hall, FirstOntario Concert 

Hall, 1 Summers Ln., Hamilton. 905-526-7756. 

$20-$80. Pre-concert talk at 6:30pm. 

● 7:30: Niagara Symphony Orchestra. The 

Music of Phil Collins & Genesis. Jeremy Saje, 

vocalist; Braley Thachuk, conductor. Partridge 



687-4993. $68; $60(sr); $39(arts worker 



with valid ID). Also Mar 26(2:30pm). 

● 7:30: Rose Theatre. The Rose Orchestra: 

Opening Night at the Opera. Lindsey Duggan, 

soprano; Danielle MacMillan, mezzo; Adam 

Luther, tenor; and Alexander Hajek, baritone. 

David Rehner, violin. 1 Theatre Ln., Brampton. 


ca. $15-$34. 

● 7:30: York Chamber Ensemble. Aspects 

of Love. Bach: Little Suite from Anna Magdalena 

Bach’s Notebook; Florence Price: Piano 

Concerto in One Movement (Toronto premiere); 

Wagner: Siegfried Idyll; Rachmaninoff: 

Vocalise. Christina Petrowska Quilico, 

piano; Michael Berec, conductor. St. Paul’s 

Anglican Church, 227 Church St., Newmarket. 

416-931-7899 or www.yorkchamberensemble.ca. 

$25. 


Bénédicte Plays Tchaikovsky. Kay: Fantasy 

Variations; Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto in 

D; Kalinnikov: Symphony No.1 in g. Bénédicte 

Lauzière, violin; Andrei Feher, conductor. Centre 


519-745-4711 or 1-888-745-4717. $29-$87. Also 

Mar 26(2:30pm). 

● 8:00: Soundstreams/TO Live. Steve Reich: 

Now and Then. Celebrating composer Steve 

Reich’s 86th birthday. Steve Reich: Drumming 

and other works. NEXUS and TorQ Percussion 

Quartet. George Weston Recital Hall, 

Meridian Arts Centre, 5040 Yonge St. www. 

soundstreams.ca or www.ticketmaster.ca. 

From $31.50. 

● 8:00: Tapestry Opera/Obsidian Theatre 

Company. Of the Sea. Music by Ian Cusson. 

Libretto by Kanika Ambrose. Philip Akin, 

stage director; Jennifer Tung, music director. 

Bluma Appel Theatre, St. Lawrence Centre 

for the Arts, 27 Front St. E. 437-326-9410 

or www.am.ticketmaster.com/tolive/ofthesea-events. 

From $52. Also Mar 28(8pm); 

29(8pm); 31(8pm); Apr 1(4pm). 









416-598-3375. From $35. Also Mar 22, 23, 


● 9:00: Axis Club Theatre. Sunshine Daydream: 

A Live Grateful Dead Tribute with 

Mars Hotel. 722 College St. www.sunshinedaydream-mars-hotel.eventbrite.ca. 

$27; 

$20(Early Bird pricing). 



Bénédicte Plays Tchaikovsky. Kay: Fantasy 

Variations; Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto in 

D; Kalinnikov: Symphony No.1 in g. Bénédicte 

Lauzière, violin; Andrei Feher, conductor. Centre 


519-745-4711 or 1-888-745-4717. $29-$87. Also 

Mar 25(8pm). 

● 2:30: Niagara Symphony Orchestra. The 

Music of Phil Collins & Genesis. Jeremy Saje, 

vocalist; Braley Thachuk, conductor. Partridge 



687-4993. $68; $60(sr); $39(arts worker 



with valid ID). Also Mar 25(7:30pm). 








George Weston Recital Hall, Meridian 

Arts Centre, 5040 Yonge St. 416-598-3375. 

From $54. Also Mar 22(8pm-RTH), 23(8pm- 

RTH), 25(8pm-RTH). 

● 3:30: Rezonance Baroque Ensemble. 

Crossing Borders. Works by Muffat, 

Dall’Abaco, Francesco Geminiani, LeClair, 

Matteis, and Handel. Rezan Onen-Lapointe & 

Kailey Richards, baroque violins; Erika Nielsen, 

baroque cello; Benjamin Stein, lute & 

theorbo; David Podgorski, harpsichord. St. 

David’s Anglican Church, 49 Donlands Ave. 

647-779-5696 or www.rezonanceborders. 

eventbrite.com. $25; $20(st). 

Monday March 27 

● 8:00: High Notes Avante Productions. Gala 

for Mental Health. Flato Markham Theatre, 

171 Town Centre Blvd., Markham. www.highnotesavante.ca 

or 905-305-7469. $75(VIP); 

$50(general); $10(st). 

Tuesday March 28 



Recital. Featuring performance students from 

the U of T Faculty of Music. Yorkminster Park 

Baptist Church, 1585 Yonge St. www.yorkminsterpark.com. 


● 7:30: Toronto Mendelssohn Choir. Bach: 

Mass in B Minor, BWV232. Toronto Mendelssohn 

Choir; Baroque Orchestra; Jean- 

Sébastien Vallée, conductor. Koerner Hall, 

TELUS Centre, 273 Bloor St. W. 416-408- 

0208. $39.95-$89; $36.79-$80.92(sr); 

$24.95(VOXTix). 








From $52. Also Mar 25(8pm); 

29(8pm); 31(8pm); Apr 1(4pm). 


● 7:30: Against the Grain Theatre. Bluebeard’s 

Castle. Music by Béla Bartók. English 

libretto and stage direction by Daisy Evans. 

Gerald Finley, baritone (Bluebeard); Charlotte 

Hellekant, soprano (Judith); Stephen 

Higgins, conductor & arranger. Fleck Dance 

Theatre, Harbourfront Centre, 235 Queens 

Quay W. www.harbourfrontcentre.com/ 

event/bluebeards-castle. $50-$150. Also 

Mar 31(7:30pm); Apr 1(1:30pm). 


Visions of Spain: Gimeno Conducts Boléro, 

Rodrigo & More. Coll: Aqua Cinerea (North 

American Premiere); Dutilleux: Symphony 

No.1; Falla: Selections from El amor brujo 

(with Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra); 

M A R C H 2 9 , 3 1 , A P R I L 1 

B L u e b e a r d ' s 

B É L A 

C a s T L e B A R T Ó K 

Rodrigo: Concierto de Aranjuez for Guitar 

& Orchestra; Ravel: Boléro. Juan Manuel 

Cañizares, guitar; Toronto Symphony Youth 

Orchestra; Gustavo Gimeno, conductor. Roy 


From $35. Mar 31(7:30pm), Apr 1, 2(3pm). 



at Met Concert Series. Stéphanie McKay-Turgeon, 

soprano; Dakota Scott-Digout, piano. 

Metropolitan United Church, 56 Queen St. E. 

www.metunited.ca. Free. LIVE & STREAMED. 

● 7:30: Rose Theatre. Brampton Music Theatre: 

Kinky Boots. Music by Cyndi Lauper. 

Book & Lyrics by Harvey Fierstein. 1 Theatre 


$20-$39. Also Mar 31(7:30pm), 

Apr 1(1pm & 7:30pm), 2(1pm). 

● 8:00: Massey Hall. Buddy Guy. 178 Victoria 

St. www.tickets.mhrth.com. From $63. Also 

Mar 31. 

● 8:00: Music Toronto. Gryphon Trio. 

Beethoven: Piano Trio No.2 Op.70 (“Ghost”) - 

1st movement; Robert Rival: Nature Rhythms 

1 (world premiere); Two new works by former 

students of the Earl Haig Collegiate program; 

Mendelssohn: Piano Trio in c Op.66. 

Jane Mallett Theatre, St. Lawrence Centre for 

the Arts, 27 Front St. E. 416-366-7723 option 2. 

MARCH 30 at 8 pm 

GRYPHON 

TRIO 

music-toronto.com 


$47.50 or $52; $10(st). 




Recital. Brahms: Ballades Op.10 and works 

by Albeniz. Emily Chiang, piano. St. Andrew’s 

Presbyterian Church, 73 Simcoe St. 416- 

593-5600 X231 or www.standrewstoronto. 

org. Free. 










Mar 30(7:30pm); Apr 1(1:30pm). 





$20-$39. Also Mar 30(7:30pm), 

Apr 1(1pm & 7:30pm), 2(1pm). 












From $35. Mar 29(8pm), Apr 1(8pm), 2(3pm). 

● 8:00: Etobicoke Community Concert Band. 

Winter’s End. Etobicoke Collegiate Auditorium, 

86 Montgomery Rd., Etobicoke. 416-410- 

1570 or www.eccb.ca. $15; Free(under 12). 


Troupe Vertigo. Troupe Vertigo, circus performers; 

Andrei Feher, conductor. Centre in 

the Square, 101 Queen St. N., Kitchener. 519- 

745-4711 or 1-888-745-4717. $29-$87. Also 

Apr 1. 

● 8:00: Massey Hall. Buddy Guy. 178 Victoria 

St. www.tickets.mhrth.com. From $63. Also 

Mar 30. 

● 8:00: Royal Conservatory of Music. String 

Concerts: Benedetti Elschenbroich Grynyuk 

Trio. Schubert: Piano Trio No.2 in E-flat D.929; 

Tchaikovsky: Piano Trio in a Op.50. Koerner 

Hall, TELUS Centre, 273 Bloor St. W. 416- 

408-0208 or rcmusic.com/performance. 

$50-$105. 









28(8pm); 29(8pm); Apr 1(4pm). 

Saturday April 1 





$20-$39. Also Mar 30(7:30pm), 

31(7:30pm), Apr 1(7:30pm), 2(1pm). 

2023 

Performing Arts Sunday 

Series Spring Season 

presents 

Dance a Mile 

in My Shoes 

/Bells 

Sunday, April 2, 

2023 • 2pm 

DANCE 

MUSIC 

THEATRE 

For Tickets visit 

HCADanceTheatre.com 

Sheng Cai 

Pianist 

Sunday, April 23, 

2023 • 2 PM 

Every 

Brilliant 

Thing 

by Duncan Macmillan 

with Jonny Donahoe 

May 5, 6, 2023 at 7 PM 

& May 7, 2023 at 2 PM 


Symphonic Fairy Tales. Troupe Vertigo, circus 

performers; Andrei Feher, conductor. 


519-745-4711 or 1-888-745-4717. $13; 

$11(child). 










Mar 30(7:30pm); 31(7:30pm). 









28(8pm); 29(8pm); 31(8pm). 

● 4:00: Toronto Operetta Theatre. Cabaret: 

Latin Fiesta. Music from the Hispanic world. 

Edward Jackman Centre, 947 Queen St. E., 

2nd Floor. 416-366-7723 or 1–800-708-6754 

or www.tolive.com. $45. 

● 7:30: Etobicoke Centennial Choir. On the 

Sunny Side of the Street. An eclectic concert 

of show tunes, spirituals, folk songs, and standards 

of the jazz repertoire. Carl Steinhauser, 

piano; Henry Renglich, conductor. Runnymede 

United Church, 432 Runnymede Rd. 

416-779-2258. $30. 

● 7:30: Northumberland Orchestra/Oriana 

Singers of Northumberland. In the Moment. 

A collaborative concert of quiet reflection. 

Fauré: Requiem; Vaughan Williams: The Lark 

Ascending. Emily Rocha, soprano; Joseph 

Song Chi, baritone; Victoria Yeh, concertmaster 

& solo violin; Robert Grandy, organ. 

Trinity United Church (Cobourg), 284 Division 

St., Cobourg. www.nocmusic.ca and www. 

orianasingers.com. $25. Also Apr 2(3pm). 





$20-$39. Also Mar 30(7:30pm), 

31(7:30pm), Apr 1(1pm), 2(1pm). 

● 7:30: The Jeffery Concerts. TorQ Percussion 

Quartet. Wolf Performance Hall, 

251 Dundas St., London. 519-672-8800 

or www.jefferyconcerts.com or jefferyconcerts@gmail.com. 

$40; Free(st with 

ID). Tickets at Grand Theatre Box Office, 

471 Richmond St. 

● 8:00: Kindred Spirits Orchestra. The Four 

Temperaments. Górecki: Concerto for Harpsichord; 

Hindemith: The Four Temperaments; 

Honegger: Symphony No.2. Antonia De Wolfe, 

piano. Cornell Recital Hall, 3201 Bur Oak Ave., 

Markham. 905-604-8339. $20-$40. 


Troupe Vertigo. Troupe Vertigo, circus performers; 

Andrei Feher, conductor. Centre in 

the Square, 101 Queen St. N., Kitchener. 519- 

745-4711 or 1-888-745-4717. $29-$87. Also 

Mar 31. 












From $35. Mar 29, 31(7:30pm), 2(3pm). 

Sunday April 2 

● 1:15: Mooredale Concerts. Music & Truffles 

for Kids. Mathieu Gaudet, piano. Walter 

Hall, Edward Johnson Building, University of 

Toronto, 80 Queen’s Park. 416-922-3714 X103 

or 647-988- 2102 (eve & weekends) or www. 

mooredaleconcerts.com. $20. 

● 2:00: Hamilton Conservatory for the Arts. 

Performing Arts Sunday Series: Dance a 

Mile in My Shoes/Bells. Exploring the connections 

between Flamenco and traditional 

Indian Kathak dance. Carmen Romero and 

Bageshree Vaze, dancers; Vineet Vyas, tabla 

drums; Nicolas Hernandes, guitar. 126 James 

St. S., Hamilton. www.HCADanceTheatre. 

com. $25-$30. 

● 2:30: Barrie Concerts Association. 

Magisterra Soloists Play Schubert’s “The 

Trout”. Bethel Community Church, 128 St. 

Vincent Street, Barrie. www.barrieconcerts.org. 

. 

● 3:00: Northumberland Orchestra/Oriana 

Singers of Northumberland. In the Moment. 

A collaborative concert of quiet reflection. 

Fauré: Requiem; Vaughan Williams: The Lark 

Ascending. Emily Rocha, soprano; Joseph 

Song Chi, baritone; Victoria Yeh, concertmaster 

& solo violin; Robert Grandy, organ. 

Trinity United Church (Cobourg), 284 Division 

St., Cobourg. www.nocmusic.ca and www. 

orianasingers.com. $25. Also Apr 2(3pm). 












From $35. Mar 29(8pm), 31(7:30pm), 1(8pm). 


● 3:00: West Plains United Church. Live!@ 

WestPlains: Corey Gemmell, Violin & Benjamin 

Smith, Piano. Works by Bach, Mozart, 

Fauré, and Sarasate. 549 Plains Rd. W., 

Burlington. 905-529-4871 or www.westplains.ca. 

PWYC to $29. LIVE & LIVESTREAM. 

Livestream video available for a limited time 

following the live performance. 

● 3:15: Mooredale Concerts. Mathieu Gaudet, 

Piano. An all-Schubert program: Twelve 

German Dances D.790; Sonata No.18 in 

c D.958; Two Scherzos D.593; and Four 

Impromptus Op.90 D.899. Walter Hall, 

Edward Johnson Building, University of 

Toronto, 80 Queen’s Park. 416-922-3714 X103 

or 647-988- 2102 (eve & weekends) or www. 

mooredaleconcerts.com. $45; $40(sr); 

$30(under 30). 


Vespers. A collaboration with the Guelph 

Chamber Choir. Ian Cusson: New Work 

(world premiere); Rachmaninoff: All-Night 

Vigil; and works by Larysa Kuzmenko and 

Uģis Prauliņš. St. Anne’s Anglican Church, 

276 Gladstone Ave. www.eventbrite.ca/e/vespers-tickets-501286981857. 

From $12. 

● 7:30: Rose Theatre. Brampton Music 

Theatre: Kinky Boots. Music by Cyndi 

Lauper. Book & Lyrics by Harvey Fierstein. 

1 Theatre Ln., Brampton. 905-874-2800 

or www.therosetheatre.ca. $20-$39. Also 

Mar 30(7:30pm), 31(7:30pm), Apr 1(1pm & 

7:30pm). 

Tuesday April 4 

● 8:00: Rose Theatre. Big Wreck. Bombs 

Away, Fields, High on the Hog. 1 Theatre Ln., 

Brampton. 905-874-2800 or www.therosetheatre.ca. 

$15-$54. 

MAINLY CLUBS 

3030 Dundas West 

Emmet Ray, The 

Mezzetta Restaurant 

Reservoir Lounge, The 

3030 Dundas St. W. 416-769-5736 

3030dundaswest.com 

A large, airy space that plays hosts to concerts, 

events, and more, 3030 Dundas is 

home to a wide variety of music and a topnotch 

Trinidadian-Canadian food menu. 

Burdock 

1184 Bloor St. W. 416-546-4033 

burdockto.com 

A sleek music hall with exceptional sound 

and ambience, featuring a draft list of housemade 

brews. 

BSMT 254 

254 Landsdowne Ave. 416-801-6325 

bsmt254.com 

A cozy music venue with an underground 

vibe, BSMT 254 has a wide variety of shows, 

from jazz to hip-hop to DJ nights. 

Cameron House 

408 Queen St. W. 416-703-0811 

thecameron.com 

An intimate, bohemian bar with ceiling 

murals & nightly performances from local 

roots acts on 2 stages. 

Capone’s Cocktail Lounge 

1573 Bloor St. W. 416-534-7911 

caponestoronto.com 

A self-described perfect marriage of an 

intimate cocktail den and comfortable neighbourhood 

bar, with live music Wednesday 

through Sunday. 

Castro’s Lounge 

2116 Queen St. E. 416-699-8272 

castroslounge.com 

Featuring an ever-changing selection of specialty 

beers, Castro’s hosts a variety of local 

live music acts, including bluegrass, jazz, 

rockabilly, and alt-country. 

C’est What 

67 Front St. E. 416-867-9499 

cestwhat.com 

A haven for those who appreciate real cask 

ale, draught beer from local Ontario breweries, 

and live music. 

Drom Taberna 

458 Queen St. W. 647-748-2099 

dromtaberna.com 

A heartfelt homage to the lands that stretch 

from the Baltic to the Balkans to the Black 

Sea, with a wide variety of music. 

924 College St. 416-792-4497 

theemmetray.com 

A whisky bar with a great food menu, an everchanging 

draft list, and live jazz, funk, folk and 

more in the back room. 

Grossman’s Tavern 

379 Spadina Ave. 416-977-7000 

grossmanstavern.com 

One of the city’s longest-running live music 

venues, and Toronto’s self-described “Home 

of the Blues.” 

Hirut Cafe and Restaurant 

2050 Danforth Ave. 416-551-7560 

hirut.ca 

A major destination for delicious and nutritious 

Ethiopian cuisine, with monthly jazz 

residencies and jam sessions. 

Home Smith Bar – See Old Mill, The 

Hugh’s Room 

296 Broadview Ave. 416-533-5483 

hughsroom.com 

A dedicated listening room with an intimate 

performing space, great acoustics, and an 

attentive audience. 

Jazz Bistro, The 

251 Victoria St. 416-363-5299 

jazzbistro.ca 

In an historic location, Jazz Bistro features 

great food, a stellar wine list, and world-class 

jazz musicians in airy club environs. 

Jazz Room, The 

Located in the Huether Hotel, 59 King St. N., 

Waterloo. 226-476-1565 

kwjazzroom.com 

A welcoming music venue dedicated to the 

best in jazz music presentations, and home to 

the Grand River Jazz Society, which presents 

regular series throughout the year. 

Lula Lounge 

1585 Dundas St. W. 416-588-0307 

lula.ca 

Toronto’s mecca for salsa, jazz, afro-Cuban, 

and world music, with Latin dance classes 

and excellent food and drinks. 

Manhattans Pizza Bistro & Music Club 

951 Gordon St., Guelph 519-767-2440 

manhattans.ca 

An independently owned neighbourhood restaurant 

boasting a unique dining experience 

that features live music almost every night 

of the week. 

681 St. Clair Ave. W. 416-658-5687 

mezzettarestaurant.com 

With a cozy atmosphere and a menu of Middle-Eastern 

cuisine, Mezzetta hosts music on 

Wednesday evenings. 

Monarch Tavern 

12 Clinton St. 416-531-5833 

themonarchtavern.com 

With a café/cocktail bar on the main floor and 

a pub with microbrews upstairs, Monarch 

Tavern regularly hosts indie, rock, and other 

musical genres on its stage. 

Old Mill, The 

21 Old Mill Rd. 416-236-2641 

oldmilltoronto.com 

The Home Smith Bar: 

With a stone-lined room and deep, plus seating, 

the Home Smith Bar provides elevated pub food 

and cocktails along with straightahead live jazz. 

Oud and the Fuzz, The 

21 Kensington Ave. 647-283-9136 

theoudandthefuzz.ca 

An Armenian bar and live music venue, The 

Oud and the Fuzz features an excellent menu 

of Armenian food, inventive cocktails, and a 

rotating cast of top-notch musicians. 

Pamenar Café 

268 Augusta Ave. 416-840-0501 

http://cafepamenar.com 

Café by day, bar by night, Pamenar serves 

some of the best coffee and cocktails in the 

city, with a rotating cast of musicians playing 

both recurring gigs and one-off shows. 

Pilot Tavern, The 

22 Cumberland Ave. 416-923-5716 

thepilot.ca 

With over 75 years around Yonge and Bloor, 

the Pilot is a multi-level bar that hosts live jazz 

on Saturday afternoons. 

Poetry Jazz Café 

1078 Queen St West. 

poetryjazzcafe.com 

A sexy, clubby space, Poetry hosts live jazz, 

hip-hop, and DJs nightly in its new home on 

Queen Street West. 

Reposado Bar & Lounge 

136 Ossington Ave. 416-532-6474 

reposadobar.com 

A chic, low-light bar with top-shelf tequila, 

Mexican tapas, and live music. 

52 Wellington St. E. 416-955-0887 

reservoirlounge.com 

Toronto’s self-professed original swingjazz 

bar and restaurant, located in a historic 

speakeasy near St. Lawrence Market, with 

live music four nights a week. 

Rev, La 

2848 Dundas St. W. 416-766-0746 

https://larev.ca 

La Rev offers their guests an authentic taste of 

comida casera (Mexican homestyle-cooking), 

and a welcoming performance space featuring 

some of Toronto’s most talented musicians 

Rex Hotel Jazz & Blues Bar, The 

194 Queen St. W. 416-598-2475 

therex.ca 

With over 60 shows per month of Canadian and 

international groups, The Rex is Toronto’s longestrunning 

jazz club, with full bar and kitchen menu. 

Sauce on Danforth 

1376 Danforth Ave. 647-748-1376 

sauceondanforth.com 

With Victorian lighting, cocktails, and an 

extensive tap and bottle list, Sauce on Danforth 

has live music Tuesday through Saturday 

(and sometimes Sunday). 

The Senator Winebar 

249 Victoria St 416 364-7517 

thesenator.com 

An intimate, upscale French-inspired bistro 

with live music serving hearty, delicious comfort 

food alongside a curated selection of 

wine and cocktails. 

Smokeshow BBQ and Brew 

744 Mt. Pleasant Rd 416-901-7469 

Smokeshowbbqandbrew.com 

A laid-back venue with an emphasis on barbecue 

and beer, Smokeshow hosts cover artists 

and original music Thursday through Sunday, 

with Bachata lessons on Tuesdays and Karaoke 

on Wednesdays. 

Tranzac 

292 Brunswick Ave. 416-923-8137 

tranzac.org 

A community arts venue dedicated to supporting, 

presenting, and promoting creative 

and cultural activity in Toronto, with live shows 

in multiple rooms every day of the week. 


Ongoing, On Demand & Other 

COMMUNITY GROUPS 

● Apr 01 7:00: Toronto Gilbert & Sullivan 

Society. April Fool’s Day Celebration. 

Excerpts from The Yeomen of the Guard, 

humorous anecdotes, a tricky quiz, a singalong, 

refreshments, and more. St. Andrew’s 

United Church (Bloor St.), 117 Bloor St E. 

Free(members); $5(non-members). All 

welcome. 

COMPETITIONS 

● Azrieli Music Prizes. Call for Submissions 

- Choral Competition. Deadline: May 5, 2023. 

Further information at www.azrielifoundation.org/amp. 

● International Music Festival and Competition. 

Providing musicians with opportunities 

to perform, to conduct and to write 

music while receiving professional guidance 

by leading experts in the classical 

music industry. Students and young professionals 

of all nationalities, ages, levels, and 

musical disciplines are invited to apply. Further 

information at www.intermusic.ca. Visit 

www.intermusic.ca/registration. Registration 

deadline: Sunday, March 5, 2023, 11:59 

p.m. (EST). 

LIVE REHEARSAL OPPORTUNITIES 

● Feb 05 1:30: Toronto Early Music Players 

Organization (TEMPO). Franco-Flemish 

Delights. Music from the 15th and 16th century. 

Femke Bergsma, recorder & instructor. 

Grace Church on-the-Hill, 300 Lonsdale Rd. 

www.tempotoronto.net or info@tempotoronto.net. 

● Feb 12 2:00: CAMMAC Toronto Region. 

Bach’s Cantata No. 131. Reading for singers 

and instrumentalists. Mervin Fick, conductor. 

Christ Church Deer Park, 1570 Yonge 

St. smmoboe@gmail.com or www.cammac. 

ca/toronto. $15; $10(members). 

● May 20 2:00: CAMMAC Toronto Region. 

Beethoven’s Mass in C. Reading for singers 

and instrumentalists. Robert Cooper, 

conductor. Christ Church Deer Park, 

1570 Yonge St. 416-482-6562 or www.cammac.ca/toronto. 

$15; $10(members). 

● The Choralairs. Welcoming singers in 

all voice parts as they resume in-person 

rehearsals (with masks & Covid safety protocols) 

on Tuesdays. Rehearsals are 7pm- 

8:45pm at Edithvale C.C. 131 Finch Ave W. 

Toronto. Please contact Elaine at 905-731- 

8416 or choralairs@gmail.com to let us know 

if you are coming. Check out our website at: 

www.choralairschoir.com. 

● Chorus York, Richmond Hill. Welcoming 

singers in all voice parts as we resume in-person 

rehearsals (with masks & COVID safety 

protocols) starting Jan 10, 2023. Rehearsals 

are from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. at the Richmond Hill 

Presbyterian Church, 10066 Yonge St., Richmond 

Hill. Feel free to come and sit in on a 

rehearsal as we prepare for our spring concert. 

Contact Mary-Lou at 905-884-7922 or 

email info@chorusyork.ca to let us know that 

you are coming so we can have some music 

ready for you. Check out our website at www. 

chorusyork.ca for information about the choir. 

● Etobicoke Community Concert Band. Full 

rehearsals every Wednesday night at 7:30pm. 

309 Horner Ave. Open to all who are looking 

for a great band to join. Text Rob Hunter at 

416-878-1730. 

● North Toronto Community Band. Openings 

for drums, clarinets, trumpets, trombones, 

French horns. Rehearsals held at Willowdale 

Presbyterian Church 38 Ellerslie Ave. 

(just north of Mel Lastman Square). Monday 

evenings 7:30-9:30 pm. Contact ntcband@ 

gmail.com. 

● Strings Attached Orchestra, North York. 

Welcoming all string players (especially viola, 

cello, bass) starting Jan 9. Rehearsals are 

Mondays 7 to 9 p.m. at the Earl Bales Community 

Centre, 4169 Bathurst St. (Bathurst/ 

Sheppard). Come sit in on a rehearsal as 

we prepare for our June season finale, with 

works by Bernstein, Vaughan Williams, Warlock, 

and more. Email us first at info.stringsattached@gmail.com 

to receive music and 

other details. Check out our website at www. 

stringsattachedorchestra.com for more 

information. 

MASTERCLASS 

● 9:30am: Don Wright Faculty of Music. 

Guest Artists Masterclass: Sanya Eng, 

Harp & Ryan Scott, Percussion. Von Kuster 

Hall, Music Building, Western University, 

1151 Richmond St. N., London. 519-661-3767 

or www.music.uwo.ca/events. Free. 

ONGOING EVENTS 

● Mix 669. Beyond the B-side: Open Mic @ 

The Mix 669. Adam Golding, host. 669 College 

St. 647-909-2109. $5 cover. Weekly on Wed 

at 7pm. 

ONLINE GROUPS 

● Recollectiv: A unique musical online meeting 

group made up of people affected by 

memory challenges caused by illness (such 

as dementia) or brain injury (stroke, PTSD, 

etc.) and their care partners. Participation is 

free with pre-registration. Email info@recollectiv.ca 

for meeting times, information and 

registration. 

ONLINE ON DEMAND & PODCASTS 

● Arts@Home. A vibrant hub connecting 

Torontonians to arts and culture. Designed to 

strengthen personal and societal resilience 

through the arts. www.artsathome.ca. 

Search listings 

online at thewholenote.com/just-ask 

Piano, Voice, Guitar, Harp 

Strings, Woodwinds, Brass 

Conducting, Composition 

Awards, Prizes and Scholarships 

Recitals, Concerts, Workshops 

Career advancement 

Marketing and promotions 

InterMusic.ca | 905.604.8854 | office@InterMusic.ca 

Choose between in-person or via recorded performance. 


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Located in our Recordings tab, this online feature offers enhanced versions of 

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WHO'S WHO 

Our online directories 

Under the Who’s Who tab on our home page you can find 

● our 2022-23 Blue Pages annual directory of music makers, with detailed profiles 

of presenters and organisations; 

● our 2023 Summer Music Education directory. Starting February 15 we’ll be 

uploading this summer’s profiles, with weekly updates as more arrive 

Starting in spring of 2023 we’ll begin updating 

● our Canary Pages choral directory online, followed by 

● our Green Pages Summer Music Festivals directory, in late spring, updating into 

the summer. 

WHO’S WHO in print! 

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and Choral directories with “teaser” information to guide online reading. 

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DISCOVERIES | RECORDINGS REVIEWED 

DAVID OLDS 

I 

received the sad news shortly before Christmas that my friend, 

iconic Canadian composer John Beckwith, had died at the age of 95 

from complications of a fall. I had seen him some ten days earlier 

when I dropped by to have him autograph my copy of his latest book 

– his 17th! – MUSIC ANNALS: Research and Critical Writings by a 

Canadian Composer 1974-2014 (Institute for Music in Canada 2022) 

which you likely read about in last September’s issue of The 

WholeNote. You may also have read the many insightful CD reviews 

John contributed to this magazine between 2001 and 2016, running 

the gamut from early Canadiana (1753 – Livre de Montreal) and 

period performance practices (Haydn – Five Sonatas on Fortepiano 

performed by Malcolm Bilson), through Beethoven Late String 

Quartets (Takács Quartet), Schubert’s Winterreise (Russell Braun) and 

Chopin Nocturnes and Impromptus (Angela Hewitt) to 20th-century 

American composers (Toch, Persichetti, Bolcom) and his Canadian 

contemporaries Harry Somers, Henry Brant and Eldon Rathburn to 

name but a few. These can all be found on thewholenote.com website. 

Of course, numerous recordings of his own music were also reviewed 

in these pages. 

John’s career was many faceted, encompassing a range of fields 

from music critic, composer, teacher, writer, historian, administrator 

– he served as Dean of the Faculty of Music at U of T and Director of 

the Institute for Music in Canada – and performer, but he preferred to 

refer to himself simply as a musician. His knowledge and breadth of 

interest was vast, and his own compositions tended to incorporate and 

synthesize several of these at a time. John’s oeuvre spanned virtually 

all genres of art music from folk-song arrangements to art songs, 

choral works and operas, symphonic works, chamber music, duets 

and solo pieces. Although his stage works are strikingly underrepresented, 

recordings of a good cross section of his other works can be 

found at the Canadian Music Centre (cmccanada.org). Also available 

from the CMC is his moving personal autobiography, Unheard Of: 

Memoirs of a Canadian Composer, which I highly recommend. 

One work that I have particularly enjoyed 

revisiting in recent days is Quartet as 

recorded by the Orford String Quartet (John 

Beckwith Centrediscs CMC-CD 5897). Back 

in 1986 I had the pleasure of interviewing 

John on my radio program, Transfigured 

Night at CKLN-FM. When speaking about 

Quartet John mentioned that, like Bartók, 

who had drawn on his Hungarian heritage 

and had the string instruments mimic the sounds of cimbaloms and 

hurdy-gurdies, he wanted to reflect the traditional music of Canada in 

his string quartet. Although John was not particularly well versed in 

popular music, his father had played the mandolin and his oldest son 

played guitar, so he had a bit of a head start and as usual was willing to 

do some homework. He began researching fiddling styles and attended 

the finals of the Canadian Open Fiddle Championship in Shelburne, 

Ontario. The resulting work, while not sounding like fiddle music 

per se, draws on gestures and nuances of fiddle technique and adds a 

surprising innovation. The two violinists share a third instrument in an 

alternate tuning enabling different open string chords and unexpected 

harmonics and producing a “distorted fiddle tune at the same time as 

the real one” towards the end of the piece. It’s quite a stunning effect. 

Hear! Hear! Remembering John Beckwith takes place at 7:30 on 

February 28 at Walter Hall, U of T. Performers include Choir 21, 

Monica Whicher, New Music Concerts Ensemble, Opus 8, Robert 

Aitken, Peter Stoll and others. 

As mentioned, Beckwith’s Quartet doesn’t 

sound like traditional fiddle music, but I 

had no shortage of the “real” (or should that 

be “reel”) thing over the past month or so. 

I was inundated with folk recordings by 

local artists in a variety of styles and from a 

variety of traditions. First up, a disc simply 

called Fiddle Music by Elise Boeur and 

Adam Iredale-Gray (Fiddlehead Recordings 

FHR013 eliseandadam.ca). Boeur plays both fiddle and hardingfele 

(Norwegian hardanger fiddle) while Iredale-Gray alternates on 

fiddle and guitar. They are accompanied by upright bassist Robert 

Alan Mackie, who also provides lyrical solos on some of the numbers. 

The personal liner notes give the authors and origins of each of the 

tunes and how they came to be in the group’s repertoire. The disc 

begins with a medley of lively traditional Irish tunes featuring fiddle 

and guitar. This is followed by La Coccinelle (ladybug), a bourrée by 

French fiddler Jean Blanchard combined with a tune by Norwegian 

accordionist Kristoffer Kleiveland, performed on two fiddles with 

added bass. The lyrical valse à cinq Evening Glory, penned by 

Belgian Toon Van Mierlo, is arranged here for fiddle, guitar and bass. 

Other eclectic offerings include more traditional Irish, American 

and Swedish tunes and several for hardingfele – a rull and a Setesdal 

Gangar – that Boeur learned while studying folk music in Norway. 

The disc concludes with a stark tune by the Icelandic jazz band ADHD, 

followed by another medley that starts slowly with the melancholic 

Frank Thornton, gets moving with Cock and the Hen and finishes 

with a rousing rendition of Cottage in the Grove. All in all, a feast for 

the ears, with fine playing from all concerned. 


Bassist Robert Alan Mackie reappears as a 

member of Vinta on the next disc, Beacons 

(vintamusic.com). Other members include 

Emilyn Stam (fiddle and piano accordion), 

John David Williams (clarinet, diatonic 

accordion, bass clarinet) and Nathan Smith 

(fiddle and viola). One might expect hints of 

Klezmer from the ensemble’s instrumentation, 

but Vinta is based in the folk-dance 

traditions of Europe, especially those of France and Sweden. Growing 

out of Balfolk gatherings in the High Park neighbourhood of Toronto, 

the enforced isolation of the COVID lockdown also provided an aspect 

of the group’s inspiration. “At a time when joy and celebration were 

far away, the four of us came together and shared everything we could. 

First came the old tunes, hot meals and loud laughter – sure enough, 

then came the new tunes.” The result is an album of original music in 

traditional style(s), and one cover – Seduction, a 1929 waltz by 

Frenchman Mario Cazes, which is combined with Mario and Everest 

by Stam, “a wedding waltz written for dear friends.” A highlight for 

me is another waltz, Rosedale Valley by Mackie, once again paired 

with a composition by Stam, Regent Street Parade. Other pieces of 

note include High Park by Williams, and the group composition Le 

réveil des coccinelles, yes, those ladybugs again. Producer (and 

mandolinist extraordinaire) Andrew Collins praises Vinta’s “unique 

aesthetic driven by their original composing, arranging and virtuosic 

playing. […] one certainty is that you will have a smile on your face.” I 

couldn’t have said it better myself. 

The next disc features half the members of 

Vinta, Emilyn Stam and John David 

Williams performing as a duo. I thought 

Stam was a familiar name and searching 

back a few years I found a disc by a local 

group called The Shoeless – a “cross-cultural 

stew, combining the sounds of Klezmer, 

French, Celtic, Appalachian and English 

music” in a trio with fiddle (Stam), banjo 

and cello – so obviously her roots spread far afield. The current album 

focuses on her Dutch heritage and draws on a collection of tunes 

published in the early 1700s, the title of which translates as Old and 

New Farmer Songs and Contradances from Holland. On The Farmer 

Who Lost His Cow and other old Dutch tunes (emilynandjohn.com) 

Stam plays five-string fiddle, piano and piano accordion, while 

Williams adds harmonica to his arsenal of clarinet and diatonic accordion. 

To 21st-century ears there is a certain sameness to the melodies, 

but differing tempos and the way the duo switches up the accompaniments 

makes for an entertaining listen that kept my attention. I’m not 

sure if it is just the novelty of the titles, but highlights included The Pig 

Scratches His Hole, The Mullet Fish and, of course, the title track, 

along with the almost minimalistic The Friction Drum and the 

haunting Farewell My Love with its harmonica lead. As well as songs, 

there are numerous Gaillardes interspersed throughout this compelling 

disc. And I feel I must mention, the graphic art includes… 

ladybugs! 

David Greenberg’s Multiple voices for One 

(Leaf Music DG2022A davidgreenbergviolinist.bandcamp.com/album/multiplevoices-for-one) 

is another disc that 

combines traditional fiddling styles with 

dance forms, contemporary arrangements 

and compositions. For over three decades, 

Greenberg has enjoyed a double career as a 

Baroque violinist and Cape Breton fiddler. 

His international career spans continents and his Toronto connections 

have included performing as a member of Tafelmusik and Toronto 

Consort among others. This disc features movements from Bach’s 

partitas and sonatas for solo violin and other classical movements 

intercut with a variety of jigs, reels and marches from various sources 

and original tunes by Greenberg and his son Owen, as well Toronto’s 

late legendary fiddler Oliver Schroer’s Enthralled. Greenberg plays 

both Baroque and octave violins on the album, both tuned in period 

style at A414. There is no overdubbing involved, he just plays one or 

the other on each track, but the booklet includes a clever picture in 

which he appears to be playing both at once with the smaller one 

tucked under his chin, the other on his shoulder and the bow spanning 

both instruments. Greenberg is an acknowledged master of 

violin and fiddle techniques and, as this recording attests, possesses a 

consummate musicality that spans genres and styles. An accomplished 

clinician, he offers a variety of online tuition opportunities, 

that latest of which is “Making Tunes with Intention,” a three-week 

course exploring the composition and arrangement of traditional style 

tunes – Celtic, Baroque, and classical – beginning February 26. You 

will find details and registration at davidgreenbergviolinist.com/ 

mti-home. 

Sticking with the violin family, but moving 

away from the fiddle tradition, the next disc 

features music for solo viola by longtime 

CBC producer and frequent contributor to 

The WholeNote, David Jaeger. In the spirit of 

full disclosure I will say that I have had a 

lengthy professional relationship with Jaeger 

over the years as the administrator of New 

Music Concerts but of course almost 

everyone in the contemporary music 

community could say the same. Since retiring from the CBC, Jaeger, 

when not busy producing independent recordings for some of 

Toronto’s finest musicians, has expanded his activities as a composer 

and there has been a wealth of new work in recent years. Conjuring: 

Viola Music of David Jaeger (Redshift Records TK524 redshiftrecords. 

org) spans four decades. The soloist is Hamilton native, now Vermont 

resident, Elizabeth Reid who rises to the various challenges the works 

present with aplomb and conviction. She is accompanied by Alison 

Bruce Cerutti in Sonata, Tristan and Isolde, written in 1992 in honour 

of the 70th birthday of the composer’s mother (and her dog and cat), 

and Sonata No.1 for viola and piano written just four years ago. The 

Six Miniatures for unaccompanied viola are based on verses by 

Scottish poet David Cameron, the texts of which are included in the 

booklet, with the violist “in effect, playing the role of the reciter.” As 

befitting a founding member of the Canadian Electronic Ensemble, 

Jaeger’s three remaining works involve the use of technology in one 

form or another. Constable and the Spirit of the Clouds is an adaption 

of a work originally for solo cello. At the suggestion of Reid, Jaeger 

reworked the cello score for viola and added an electronic track 

“composed using a similar process,” i.e., examples of linear variation 

observed in the work of English Romantic artist John Constable. The 

result is intriguing. The final two works were written for the 

thewholenote.com/listening 

Multiple Voices for One 

David Greenberg 

The joyful rhythmic drive of Cape 

Breton music meets the wondrous 

fantasy of Bach’s musical tapestry 

in an exciting collision of styles. 

Conjuring: 

Viola Music of David Jaeger 

Elizabeth Reid, Alison Bruce 

Cerutti, David Jaeger 

Melodic viola, piano, and space-age 

electronics highlight "Conjuring: Viola 

Music of David Jaeger." Introducing the 

compelling composing, and expressive 

interpretations from Reid and Cerutti. 


internationally renowned Israeli violist Rivka Golani who made her 

home in Toronto for some years. Favour for viola and live digital delay 

controlled by the performer was composed in 1980. Sarabande was 

composed to address the issue of the complicated set-up required for 

the live electronics aspect of Favour, here replaced by a single playback 

track for the performer to play against. Favour was originally 

released on Golani’s Viola Nouveau (Centrediscs CMCCD 0883), still 

available from the Canadian Music Centre, providing a rare opportunity 

to compare two interpretations of a contemporary Canadian 

piece. By pairing these two works we are presented with Jaeger’s 

“second take” on the same material and also a second performer’s take 

on them both. It’s great to see a new generation of musicians taking 

up the mantle and championing existing works along with the new. 

Mid-career American super-star composer 

Missy Mazzoli "inhabits an exquisite and 

mysterious sound-world that melds indierock 

sensibilities with classical traditions… 

[equally at home in] concert halls, 

opera houses and rock clubs." Dark with 

Excessive Bright (BIS-2572 missymazzoli. 

com) is a portrait disc spanning 15 years 

of Mazzoli’s international career, featuring 

Norwegian violinist Peter Herresthal. Once again, we are presented 

with a composer’s alternate takes on several works. The title piece 

was originally a concerto for double bass and string orchestra that 

at Herresthal’s request Mazzoli reworked for violin, “essentially flipping 

the work upside down.” Dark with excessive bright is a phrase 

from Milton’s Paradise Lost, a surreal and evocative description of 

God’s robes, written by a blind man. Mazzoli says: “I love the impossibility 

of this phrase and how perfectly it describes the ghostly, heartrending 

sound of strings.” It appears here twice, bookending the 

disc, opening with the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra conducted 

by James Gaffigan and closing with a reduced version for solo violin, 

string quartet and double bass performed by members of Norway’s 

Arctic Philharmonic under the direction of Tim Weiss. Both versions 

are extremely powerful, with a sound palette that belies the all-string 

instrumentation, and it’s hard to comprehend that in the latter all 

that sound is being created by just six players. Vespers for Violin is 

a reimagining of the earlier Vespers for a New Dark Age, in which 

“sampled keyboards, vintage organs, voices and strings from that 

composition, drenched in delay and distortion,” are used to create an 

effective work for a solo violinist. Full orchestral resources are utilized 

in Sinfonia (for Orbiting Spheres) with music “in the shape of a 

solar system.” The title draws on two meanings of the word sinfonia: 

a Baroque work for chamber orchestra and the old Italian term for a 

hurdy-gurdy. Mazzoli describes it as “a piece that churns and roils, 

that inches close to the listener only to leap away at breakneck speed, 

in the process transforming the ensemble into a makeshift hurdygurdy, 

flung recklessly into space.” There’s a Toronto connection in 

Orpheus Undone. It’s an orchestral suite, fragments of which have 

their origins in Orpheus Alive, a work composed for the National 

Ballet of Canada back in 2019. In its present form, it depicts “a single 

instant in Orpheus’s life, in the immediate aftermath of his wife 

Eurydice’s death. I have used the Orpheus myth… to explore the ways 

traumatic events disrupt the linearity and unity of our experience of 

time.” It was composed in 2021, no doubt in response to the trauma 

of COVID-19. Concert Note: Speaking of Toronto, Mazzoli’s Dark 

with Excessive Bright will be performed in its original double bass 

version by the Toronto Symphony and guest conductor Kerem Hasan, 

with TSO principal Jeffrey Beecher as soloist on March 1 and 2 at Roy 

Thomson Hall. 

We invite submissions. CDs, DVDs and comments should be sent 

to: DISCoveries, WholeNote Media Inc., The Centre for Social 

Innovation, 503 – 720 Bathurst St. Toronto ON M5S 2R4. 

David Olds, DISCoveries Editor 

discoveries@thewholenote.com 

STRINGS 

ATTACHED 

TERRY ROBBINS 

Vagues et ombres (Waves and shadows), 

the latest release from the Montreal string 

ensemble Collectif9 features music by 

Debussy and Canadian-American composer 

Luna Pearl Woolf (Alpha Classics 858 

collectif9.ca/en). 

The central work on the disc is Woolf’s 

Contact, an extremely effective and fascinating 

piece described as “a sonic view into 

the underwater world of beluga whales in the St. Lawrence Estuary,” 

including the impact of human actions. 

It’s the Debussy selections that steal the show, however, in quite 

brilliant arrangements by Thibault Bertin-Maghit, the group’s bass 

player. Four piano pieces – Étude No.4, Des pas sur la neige, and 

Passepied and Clair de lune from the Suite Bergamasque open the 

CD, the increase in players and the resulting expansion of textures 

being balanced by the challenge faced in reducing Debussy’s orchestral 

masterpiece La Mer to nine players. The latter is an astonishing 

reinterpretation that draws quite remarkable playing from the 

ensemble in music in which – as they note – timbre and colour are 

paramount. It’s breathtakingly brilliant in all respects. 

Baroque violinist Gottfried von der 

Goltz is the soloist on Mozart Violin 

Concertos Nos.3-5 with the Freiburger 

Barockorchester under Kristian 

Bezuidenhout (Aparté AP299 prestomusic. 

com/classical/products/9364986--mozartviolin-concertos-nos-3-5). 

The three concertos – the G Major K216, 

the D Major K218 and the A Major K219 – 

are “presented in a new version: in accordance with practices of the 

time, Bezuidenhout improvises a pianoforte part, while conducting 

the orchestra… A totally new and exciting approach to these works!” 

Well, don’t get too excited about the resulting impact – the pianoforte 

is almost totally inaudible, although it may well be subtly adding 

to the texture; if I hadn’t known I would never have noticed it, except 

possibly in a few moments in the D Major concerto. 

No matter, for these are superb performances any way you look at 

them, beautifully judged and balanced, with faultless solo work and 

orchestral playing that is full of life on one of the finest Mozart discs 

you will hear. 

The brilliant Norwegian violinist Vilde 

Frang is in top form on Beethoven 

Stravinsky Violin Concertos, with 

The Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie 

Bremen under Pekka Kuusisto (Warner 

Classics 0190296676437 vildefrang.com/ 

beethoven-stravinsky). 

Kuusisto, himself a violinist makes his 

debut recording as a conductor, and what 

a debut it is, forming a perfect partnership with Frang. There’s a 

decided chamber orchestra feel to the performance with the timpani 


prominent, the lengthy first movement cadenza being a transcription 

of the one (with timpani) that Beethoven wrote for his own piano 

transcription of the concerto. 

Stravinsky’s spiky and neoclassical Violin Concerto in D Major Op.8 

isn’t heard as often as it should be, the performance here underlining 

what we’re missing. It’s full of life and never merely academic, with 

an emotionally deep Aria II third movement. 

Frang started studying both concertos at the same time in her teens, 

always feeling some sort of relation between the two. Certainly they 

make an ideal pairing on an outstanding CD. 

With Schumann: The Three Violin Sonatas 

violinist Andrew Wan and pianist Charles 

Richard-Hamelin continue the partnership 

that gave us the recent outstanding 

3CD set of the complete Beethoven sonatas 

(Analekta AN 2 9003 analekta.com/en). 

The Violin Sonatas No.1 in A Minor 

Op.105 and No.2 in D Minor Op.121 are from 

1851, written at the suggestion of violinist 

Ferdinand David. The Violin Sonata No.3 in A Minor WoO27 incorporates 

the two movements Schumann contributed to the F-A-E sonata, 

the 1853 collaboration with Brahms and Albert Dietrich that was a gift 

for Joseph Joachim, Schumann adding a first movement and a scherzo 

to complete an original third sonata. 

Effortlessly beautiful playing from both performers coupled with 

exemplary recording quality makes for another outstanding release. 

Concert note: Mooredale Concerts presents Andrew Wan and Charles 

Richard-Hamelin in works by Schumann, Medtner and Franck, 

Sunday February 12, at Walter Hall. 

From one outstanding duo release to 

another: Shostakovich Rachmaninoff 

Sonatas for Cello & Piano finds cellist 

Carmine Miranda and pianist Robert Marler 

in superb form in two of the great cello 

sonatas (Navona NV6475 navonarecords. 

com/catalog/nv6475). 

Miranda’s deep, rich cello and Marler’s 

clear, warm piano, perfectly balanced and 

beautifully recorded, immediately promise great things – and boy, 

do they deliver! Shostakovich’s Cello Sonata in D Minor Op.40 from 

1934 is described as a lyrical, classical work, but it still has the painridden 

slow movement and frantic fast movements so typical of his 

later works. 

The Rachmaninoff Cello Sonata in G Minor Op.19 from 1901 is a big 

Romantic work that requires a big technique from both players, its 

third movement Andante surely one of the most glorious movements 

ever written. It’s hard to imagine a more gorgeous performance than 

this one. 

Violinist Patricia Kopatchinskaja and 

pianist Fazil Say have been playing together 

as a duo since 2004, and the close nature of 

their musical relationship is clearly evident 

in the three sonatas on Janáček Brahms 

Bartók (Alpha Classics ALPHA885 outheremusic.com/en/classical-music-shop/ 

latest-releases). 

The Janáček and Bartók sonatas were both 

completed in 1921, and both show the influence of folk music on the 

two composers. The Brahms work is the last of his three, the Sonata 

No.3 in D Minor, Op.108, completed in 1888. 

Kopatchinskaja has a clear, bright tone that can sound quite light 

at times without ever losing strength, and the ease with which she 

handles the technical demands never lacks depth and conviction. Say 

is an equal partner in all respects on an excellent disc. 

Xuefei Yang was the first Chinese guitarist to study at London’s Royal 

Academy of Music, and the first to launch a worldwide professional 

career. Guitar Favourites, her latest CD, 

reviews her 35 years with the guitar, 

returning to the quintessential guitar music 

that first drew her under its spell (Decca 485 

8195 xuefeiyang.com). 

Her technique is flawless and apparently 

effortless, but it’s what she does 

with it that makes this such a remarkable 

disc; the clarity, definition, dynamics 

and flowing, flexible phrasing making even the most familiar pieces 

sound fresh. Works include Albéniz’s Asturias, Tárrega’s Recuerdos 

de la Alhambra (with rubato!) and Capricho Árabe, Sor’s Variations 

on a Theme by Mozart Op.9, four pieces by Augustín Barrios Mangoré 

including the three-part La Catedral, Yang’s own Xinjiang Fantasy, 

the first recording of When the Birds Return by guitarist John 

Williams and single pieces by Rodrigo, Lauro and Villa-Lobos. 

A gorgeous arrangement of Danny Boy completes a stunning 

recital. 

A composition by the British pianist 

Stephen Hough opens Hough, Dutilleux 

& Ravel String Quartets, the latest CD 

from the Takács Quartet (Hyperion 

CDA68400 hyperion-records.co.uk/ 

dc.asp?dc=D_CDA68400). 

Hough’s six-part String Quartet No.1, “Les 

Six rencontres” was written in 2021 specifically 

as a companion piece to the Dutilleux 

and Ravel works. It’s extremely attractive, finely crafted and idiomatic 

writing, dedicated to the Takács Quartet and given what must be a 

definitive performance here. 

Henri Dutilleux’s Ainsi la nuit from 1973-76 began as a group of 

short studies in sonority, the seven linked sections creating fascinating 

effects and tonal colours. Again, there’s superbly controlled and 

nuanced playing from the quartet. 

A dazzling reading of Ravel’s String Quartet in F Major from 

1902-03 completes a terrific CD. 

2022 saw the Tippett Quartet mark 

their 25th anniversary year and the 

150th anniversary of Vaughan Williams’ 

birth with Ralph Vaughan Williams 

& Gustav Holst String Quartets 

(SOMM Recordings SOMMCD 0656 

somm-recordings.com/recording/ 

vaughan-williams-holst-string-quartets). 

Vaughan Williams spent the year 1907-08 

Rosebud String Quartet’s new album, Haydn Op. 77 & Mozart 

K. 614, is out now! Bringing together three great works 

by masters of Viennese classicism, Mozart and Haydn, the 

Rosebud String Quartet’s remarkable chemistry and depth 

bring these compositions to life. 

Haydn Op. 77 & Mozart K. 614 is available 

on all major streaming platforms! 

www.leaf-music.ca 

www.rosebudquartet.com 


studying with Ravel in Paris; his String Quartet No.1 in G Minor 

from 1909 showed a resulting greater textual clarity, although it 

remained unpublished until a revised version appeared in 1922. The 

viola, Vaughan Williams’ own instrument, is prominent in the String 

Quartet No.2 in A Minor from 1942-43; the work is dedicated to Jean 

Stewart, violist in the Menges Quartet that gave the first performance 

in 1944. The beautiful Romance second movement, in particular, is 

Vaughan Williams at his most characteristic. 

Holst wrote his Phantasy Quartet on British Folksongs Op.36 in 

1916, but eventually withdrew it, feeling it to be “insufficient.” His 

daughter Imogen published a string orchestra version some years after 

his death. The viola is again prominent in this charming quartet 

edition by Roderick Swanston. 

There’s more Vaughan Williams on Boyle, 

Moeran, Ireland, Vaughan Williams, his 

Household Music – Three Preludes on Welsh 

Hymn Tunes from 1940-41 opening the 

new CD from the Piatti Quartet (Rubicon 

RCD1098 rubiconclassics.com/release/ 

piatti-quartet-boyle-vaughan-williamsmoeran-ireland). 

The main work here though is the 

premiere recording of the lovely String Quartet in E Minor from 1934 

by the unjustly neglected Irish composer Ina Boyle (1889-1967), who, 

apart from travelling to London for lessons with Vaughan Williams, 

from 1923 spent virtually her entire life in the family home in County 

Wicklow. This attractive work remained in manuscript until a new 

performing edition was made in 2011. 

John Ireland’s brief The Holy Boy is his 1941 arrangement of a 1913 

piano solo. The disc ends with E.J. Moeran’s undated two-movement 

String Quartet No.2 in E-flat Major, discovered in his papers after his 

death in 1950. The Novello edition felt it to be “clearly an early work,” 

but while the first movement may support this view the Irish folksong 

nature of the second movement suggests a strong post-war influence 

of the songs he collected in County Kerry, some of which he 

published in 1948. 

On Beethoven Shostakovich Schubert 

String Quartets the four Russian musicians 

of the David Oistrakh Quartet, 

all soloists in their own right, “embrace 

the fury of these three works” with 

full-blooded playing (Praga Digitals 

PRD250426 prestomusic.com/classical/ 

products/9408438--beethoven-schubertshostakovich-string-quartets). 

Beethoven’s String Quartet No.4 in C Minor, Op.18, if a little rushed 

at times, certainly shows passion, which works particularly well in the 

Allegro prestissimo fourth movement. 

Shostakovich’s String Quartet No.3 in F Major, Op.73 from 1946, 

is the heart of the disc, both physically and emotionally. It became 

known as his “war quartet” after the composer renamed the movements 

in the manner of a war story to avoid being accused of 

“formalism” or “elitism.” Blythe ignorance of the future cataclysm, 

Rumblings of unrest and anticipation, Forces of war unleashed, In 

memory of the dead and The eternal question: why? and wherefore? 

give a clear indication of the music‘s soundscape. 

Schubert’s String Quartet No.12 in C Minor, D703 “Quartettsatz” 

from 1820 is the brief first movement from an unfinished quartet. The 

final track, not mentioned in the booklet notes, is the quartet’s violist 

Fedor Belugin’s dazzling arrangement of Paganini’s Caprice Op.1 

No.24 in A Minor. 

On Beautiful Passing the title track is the 

single-movement violin concerto written 

by the American composer Steven Mackey 

in 2008 and inspired by the death of his 

mother. Anthony Marwood is the soloist, 

with David Robertson conducting the 

Sydney Symphony Orchestra (Canary 

Classics CC-22 canaryclassics.com). 

Consisting of two halves separated by 

a cadenza, it’s a tough, uncompromising work that has passages of 

real beauty above and amid the sometimes-brutal orchestral texture, 

with a demanding and finely woven violin line brilliantly played 

by Marwood. It’s a work that invites and will surely reward further 

listening. 

The remainder of the CD consists of Mackey’s Mnemosyne’s Pool 

from 2014, a five-movement symphonic saga dealing with aspects of 

remembering, Mnemosyne being the Greek goddess of memory. 

Described by Musical America as “the first great American symphony 

of the 21st century” it’s a hugely impressive orchestral canvas that 

receives an outstanding performance. 

Mieczysław Weinberg Complete Works for 

Violin and Piano, Volume Four completes 

the series of music by the Polish-born Soviet 

composer and close friend of Shostakovich 

that began in September 2010. Yuri Kalnits 

is the excellent violinist and Michael Csányi- 

Wills the equally fine pianist (Toccata TOCC 

0188 toccataclassics.com). 

This final release covers music from 

Weinberg’s teenage years – the Three Pieces from 1934-35 – to the 

1959 Sonata for Two Violins Op.69, in which Kalnits is joined by 

What we're listening to this month: 


Vagues et ombres 

collectif9 

Juno-nominated string nonet 

collectif9 creates a world of 

nuance with music of Debussy 

(including his iconic La Mer) and 

Luna Pearl Woolf. 

Portrait: Alex Baranowski 

Angèle Dubeau & La Pietà 

Several key works including 

three previously unreleased 

pieces - wonderfully expressive, 

sensitive writing for violin. The 6th 

album in her series dedicated to 

contemporary composers. 

Nagamo 

Andrew Balfour & musica intima 

Ground-breaking collaboration 

with composer & curator of Cree 

descent, Andrew Balfour, reshapes 

Elizabethan masterworks with 

Ojibway and Cree perspectives. 

Tu me voyais 

Christina Haldane 

Tu me voyais is anchored around 

Gionet’s new arrangements of 

“Twelve Acadian Folk Songs”, 

tailored for Haldane’s voice, and 

evolves the songs of Acadie. 


Igor Yuzefovich. The Largo in F Major from 1944, only rediscovered 

in 2012, was originally part of the Sonata No.2 Op.15. The Two Songs 

without Words from 1947 and the Concertino in A Minor Op.42 from 

1948, originally for violin and string orchestra, complete an excellent 

disc and series. 

Composer Alex Baranowski is the latest subject in the Portrait series 

that has been so successful for violinist Angèle Dubeau and her La 

Pietà string ensemble (Analekta AN 2 8750 analekta.com/en). 

The CD follows the usual format of short pieces and extracts 

arranged – in this case by the composer himself – for Dubeau’s 

group. This collaboration was clearly a joy for composer and artist 

alike, Dubeau calling Wiosna, the piece 

she commissioned, the heart of the album, 

while Baranowski calls it one of the most 

personal pieces he’s ever written. 

Most of the tracks reflect Baranowski’s 

work for screen and stage, with several 

extracts from the movies The Windermere 

Children and Nureyev, and the ballets 

Nineteen Eighty-Four and Kes. There’s not a 

great deal of variety, but the beautiful writing and top-notch performances 

will make this a sure-fire winner with Dubeau’s many fans. 

VOCAL 

Andrew Balfour – Nagamo 

Musica Intima vocal ensemble 

Redshift Records TK522 

(musicaintima.org) 

! Often, in histories 

of rock music, 

one confronts 

the idea that the 

so-called “concept 

album” is the sole 

province of this 

genre. Friendships, 

I’m told, have 

been ruined as a 

result of heated debates as to whether Frank 

Zappa’s Freak Out!, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely 

Hearts Club Band or Pet Sounds by the 

Beach Boys can rightly lay claim to being 

the inaugural blending of music with an 

extra musical meaning in conceptual form. 

All of this is ridiculous, of course. Woody 

Guthrie was recording dust bowl ballads 

with a shared narrative theme through his 

recordings as early as 1940. Further, Frank 

Sinatra’s 1955 In the Wee Small Hours is most 

certainly united by way of the themes of 

melancholy and unrequited love, weaving a 

requisite and consistent thread through the 

tracks that, by all accounts, is a hallmark of 

the concept album. 

Regardless of the aforementioned problematic 

claims to historic ownership of the 

format, composer Andrew Balfour, a selfdescribed 

“former choir boy” and Sixties 

Scoop survivor, has waded into this conceptual 

format in an extraordinary and beautiful 

way with his 2023 release Nagamo. The 

title, like several of the album’s lyrics, is 

Cree (other texts featured here come from 

Ojibway, English, Latin and Gaelic sources) 

and the concept mines the fantastical question 

of what might have happened musically 

should Indigenous and European musics 

and cultural expressions come together in a 

manner collaborative and respectful, rather 

than divisive. The suggested result, as manifested 

on the beautiful album here, captures 

12 crystalline skilled voices working their way 

through motets and Elizabethan choral music 

reimagined into Cree and Ojibway languages, 

alongside a duo of fine original pieces by 

Balfour with a Scottish Gaelic text. A beautifully 

recorded and interesting new release 

from the ensemble musical intima. 

Andrew Scott 

Concert note: Andrew Balfour and musica 

intima join the youth choir of the Toronto 

Children’s Chorus to present The Nagamo 

Project in Toronto at Eglinton St. George’s 

United Church on March 4. 

Nelligan 

Various artists 

ATMA ACD2 2814 (atmaclassique.com/en) 

! The tragic life 

story of Émile 

Nelligan, one of the 

most renowned 

19th-century 

Canadian poets, 

has been a subject 

of several contemporary 

artistic 

endeavours and inspires wonder and speculation 

in creators and audiences alike. Born 

in 1879, Nelligan joined the École littéraire 

du Montréal at 17 and produced a significant 

body of poetic works by the time he was 19, 

at which point he was committed to a psychiatric 

hospital by his parents, for reasons that 

are not entirely clear. He stayed there for 

another 40 years and never wrote a word of 

poetry again. 

Although characterized as a pop opera, 

Nelligan’s score is built on a classical foundation 

mixed with several musical genres, 

including pop and musical theatre. It is 

not surprising that the cast on this album 

is comprised of 15 stellar actors/singers, 

who brought to life both the emotional and 

circumstantial aspects of Nelligan’s story. 

Written by French Canadian icons, André 



Jules Massenet Intégrale des 

mélodies pour voix et piano 

333 songs, 17 singers, the 

groundbreaking 13 CD box set 

features a who’s who of Canadian 

operatic talent. 

Pachelbel Magnificat Fugues 

Space Time Continuo 

"Space Time Continuo performs 

with the abandon of folk musicians 

sitting around your living room, 

and the fun is infectious." 

- CBC Music 

Time 

Klaudia Kudelko 

Listen to this captivating debut 

recording by Polish pianist Klaudia 

Kudelko with pieces by Schumann, 

Chopin & Bacewicz 

Children's Corner 

Music for Solo Piano 

Melody Chan 

Originally a concert program for 

young audiences, the album is for 

music lovers of all ages - song, 

dance and story elements from 

the past and present 


Gagnon (music) and Michel Tremblay 

(libretto), the full operatic version was 

premiered in 1990 to critical acclaim. The 

more intimate version appearing on this 

album, splendidly arranged for two pianos 

and cello by Anthony Rozankovic, has an 

alluring element of confidentiality, as if 

the characters are spilling their innermost 

thoughts to our ears. It could be argued that 

the score does not quite access the emotional 

intensity of Nelligan’s life, but the featured 

elements of restraint, melancholy, purpose 

and poignancy, as well as beautiful melodies, 

certainly make up for the lack of raw 

emotion. Tremblay’s libretto is both potent 

and subtle, displaying societal oppression of 

artistic freedom and sexual orientation, the 

explorative tendencies of young artistic minds 

and linguistic tensions in Nelligan’s bilingual 

family all in one breath. 

It is interesting that Tremblay chose to 

portray two Émiles – a young one, completely 

consumed by poetry, and a much older one, 

nearing the end of his life in the hospital. 

Dominique Côté and Marc Hervieux are 

simply stunning in their portrayal of these 

two characters. Their heartfelt performance 

in one of the arias, Les Muses, into 

which the chanting of nuns is interpolated, 

is a perfect example of the power of this 

opera. Kathleen Fortin is poignant in the role 

of Émilie Hudon, Nelligan’s mother, especially 

in La dame en noir. The strong instrumental 

ensemble, featuring Esther Gonthier 

(piano and direction), Rosalie Asselin (piano) 

and Chloé Dominguez (cello) underlines the 

lyricism and storminess of the music with 

perfect sensibility. 

Ivana Popovic 

Tu Me Voyais 

Christina Raphaëlle Haldane; Carl Philippe 

Gionet 

Leaf Music LM257 (leaf-music.ca) 

! Christina 

Raphaëlle Haldane 

and Carl Philippe 

Gionet come 

together on Tu me 

Voyais to take us 

on a fascinating 

journey with lieder 

richly evocative of 

Acadian culture. Haldane is an agile soprano 

with a whisper-soft, tremulous vibrato. 

Always plangent and eloquent, she often 

inhabits a range that is dramatically lower 

than her soprano and darker in tone texture. 

Gionet is an equal partner in this exquisite 

recital and Haldane’s renditions of these 

songs is borne aloft throughout on Gionet’s 

delicate, shimmering – often spellbinding 

– pianism. 

The song poetry does much to elevate 

the music on this album. With repertoire 

that ranges from (the fin-de-siècle) Douze 

chansons folkloriques acadiennes, exquisitely 

arranged by Gionet, the dramatic Icare: 

premier fragment by Adam Sherkin, and 

pour une Amérique engloutie (IV) and Il va 

sans dire by Jérôme Blais, vocalist and pianist 

create a canvas that is by turns sensuous, 

ruminative, teasing and dramatic. 

Both artists weave mighty artistic spells 

throughout – Haldane with her impassioned 

and often amorous vocals that are melismatic 

and hauntingly beautiful, and Gionet 

with unmatched pianism that is marked 

with subtle lyricism. Listening to them is like 

experiencing an exquisitely choreographed 

pas de deux – one moment graceful and 

balletic, the next robust and athletic. Their 

supple ornamentation, informed by evidence 

of theatricality in the traditional Acadian 

sources, is also most effective. The open sound 

of this finely balanced recording enhances the 

ethereal quality of these delicate songs. 

Raul da Gama 

Wagner – Der Ring des Nibelungen 

Stemme; Hilley; Paterson; Jovanovich; 

Teige; Pesendorfer; Deutsche Oper Berlin; 

Donald Runnicles 

Naxos DVD 2107001 (naxos.com/ 

CatalogueDetail/?id=2.107001) 

! Deutsche Oper 

in Berlin has always 

been famous for 

avant-garde, innovative, 

even iconoclastic 

versions 

of operas, so this 

brave new production 

was eagerly 

awaited. Filmed 

by Naxos on seven 

DVDs, all in HD 

full stereo sound in a deluxe edition, Der 

Ring des Nibelungen is a tetralogy that 

took Wagner 25 years to compose while in 

exile in Switzerland. It is directed by Stefan 

Hernheim, a multiple award-winning 

Norwegian-German director. It is a visionary 

Ring for the 21st century with today’s 

complex issues like the refugee crisis, inclusiveness 

and gender equality worked in, but 

fully respecting Wagner’s drama and music. 

It’s a stunning production, a visual knockout 

with an international cast of the best singers 

available today, masterfully conducted by 

Donald Runnicles. 

Das Rheingold begins with an empty stage. 

A group of refugees with worn out suitcases 

walk across it stopped by a grand piano. The 

leader of the group strikes an E-flat note and 

the music begins. The E-flat triad is the basis 

of the Prelude and represents pure unspoiled 

Nature, the depth of the river Rhine; from 

here onwards things start to go awry (like the 

Expulsion from Paradise, the Original Sin). 

The group then breaks up, some become the 

singers, like the Rhine maidens, plus many 

extras. The backdrop is a white silk handkerchief 

that has a life of its own and expands 

into a giant screen. It undulates like the 

waves of the Rhine but later, with clever 

videography and projections, becomes a 

forest, mountains, fire or the majestic hall 

in Asgard. At the Finale the sheet is spectacular 

with all the colours of the rainbow 

as a backdrop to the Gods entering Valhalla. 

Outstanding singers are the young Wotan 

(Derek Welton), Alberich (Markus Brück) and 

Fricka (Annika Schlicht). Thomas Blondelle’s 

performance of the clever demi-god Loge is 

exceptional. 

The grand piano is omnipresent at centre 

stage. Interestingly it stands for musical 

inspiration and is said to represent the famous 

Érard on which Wagner composed the entire 

Ring cycle. At emotionally charged moments 

a singer sits down and pretends to play with 

enthusiasm. Another important feature is 

the extras who do many different things, but 

mainly form a group like a Greek Chorus and 

at key points watch and silently comment 

on the action. Also, the director constantly 

reminds us of the plight of refugees with 

worn black suitcases piled up and forming a 

rocky terrain in the outdoor scenes. 

In Die Walküre there are magnificent 

scenes. In the first act when the weaponless 

Siegmund desperately cries Wälse, 

Wälse! wo ist dein Schwert!? he is elevated 

on a platform some 20 feet above the stage 

which suddenly turns pitch black with only 

Siegmund illuminated. Spring bursts in as a 

giant translucent ball lit up inside in springtime 

colours – just gorgeous. The passionate 

love duet is beautifully sung by Brandon 

Jovanovich and Elizabeth Teige. In the Third 

Act the Ride of the Valkyries becomes pandemonium. 

The score is seing thrown around 

and the singers occasionally check it as if 

not sure of what they are doing. The corpses 

they carry come alive, crowd the stage and 

try to rape the warrior maidens(!). Finally 

they are all hustled off the stage by the angry 

Wotan. Wotan’s Farewell to Brünnhilde is 

affectionately sung by Iain Paterson as the 

stage becomes enveloped in fire (which is 

spectacular). 

Some say that in Wagner one must sit 

through long boring bits to reach the 

gorgeous climaxes. Not so here, as the 

director, by closely working with the actors, 

ensures that every detail in the music is 

correlated to the stage action. This way there 

are no boring bits. The Second Act’s very long, 

angry monologue by Wotan venting his anger 

to Brünnhilde (the wonderful Nina Stemme) 

becomes interesting, even exciting. 

In Siegfried, the title character (American 

heldentenor sensation Clay Hilley “who 

brought vocal heft and clarion sound to the 

role” – The New York Times) is raised in the 

forest by the evil dwarf Mime (the terrific 

Ya-Chung Huang). The Forging Scene is spectacular 

with vocal fireworks; the slaying of 

the dragon is fearsome and there is a lovely, 

tender scene of Siegfried’s dialogue with a 

forest bird, sung by a little boy soprano. In 

the final love scene the group of extras who 

surround the rock are interracial, sometimes 

even same sex young men and women 


eager to make love and urge Siegfried and 

Brünnhilde to do the same. They applaud and 

rejoice when it finally happens. 

In Götterdämmerung we leave the fairy 

tale and enter reality, the world of men who 

are cunning and greedy. Hagen, Alberich’s 

evil son (Albert Pesendorfer) is a tremendous 

basso and there are great musical highlights 

like Siegried’s Rhine Journey and his gradual 

awakening from the magic spell (just before 

being murdered by Hagen) and the magisterially 

conducted Funeral Music. 

In a cataclysmic ending – Brünnhilde’s selfsacrifice 

throwing herself into a giant funeral 

pyre – the Ring returns to the Rhine and 

in the conflagration Valhalla collapses and 

the age of the Gods is over. The stage is now 

empty in a silvery light and there is hope for 

a new era. 

Janos Gardonyi 

Mahler – Das Lied von der Erde 

Claudia Huckle; Nicky Spence; Justin 

Brown 

Champs Hill Records digital 

(claudiahuckle.com) 

! This recent disc 

is a self-described 

“lockdown project” 

from the accomplished 

Anglo- 

German contralto 

Claudia Huckle, 

released with the 

support of the 

British Gustav Mahler Society. Recorded in 

2021, it utilizes Mahler’s own rediscovered 

piano version published in 1989. Prepared in 

conjunction with the final orchestral version, 

this piano reduction offers the option of a 

more intimate interpretation of the work, 

notably so concerning the bellicose tenor part 

which must normally blast its way through 

perilous orchestral onslaughts; this possibility 

has been demonstrated in several recordings 

of the 1920 chamber version prepared 

for Arnold Schoenberg’s short-lived “Society 

for Private Musical Performances,” notably 

by the Smithsonian Chamber Players with a 

plangent John Elwes in 2007 and Reinbert de 

Leeuw’s 2020 release with the supple Yves 

Saelens. Nicky Spence however sings in full 

heldentenor voice throughout. Be that as it 

may, he’s quite excellent despite his stentorian, 

operatic approach, which might not 

seem so inappropriate in an orchestral setting. 

Huckle’s intense and moving performance 

brings us far deeper into the emotional world 

of these songs, however. As she writes in her 

liner notes, “One thing I realized during that 

beautiful spring of 2020 was that if I never 

performed again, my greatest regret would be 

never having sung Das Lied von der Erde.” 

Her deep commitment shines through in 

every bar. 

Equally splendid is the masterful pianism 

of the American conductor Justin Brown, who 

contributes an impressive tonal palette and 

sensitive dynamic shadings to the complex 

keyboard part. 

Daniel Foley 

Jules Massenet – Intégrale des mélodies 

pour voix et piano 

Various Artists 

ATMA ACD2 2411 (atmaclassique.com/en) 

! The prospect of 

even approaching 

a presentation 

as epic in scope 

as this 13CD box 

set, Intégrale des 

mélodies pour 

voix et piano from 

the pen of Jules 

Massenet, is utterly 

daunting. The reason is that the reviewer is, to 

paraphrase the words of Pliny, “being choked 

with gold.” This is not such a hyperbolic 

metaphor once you traverse this repertoire. 

The majestic sweep of these songs is the more 

significant when you consider that Massenet 

was once pilloried as “Mademoiselle Wagner” 

with a style of light, lyrical “saccharine” 

music. Green-eyed comments such as those 

are only some of the epithets that were 

directed at one of 19th century France’s finest 

and most prolific composers of oratorios and 

opera, examples of which include Manon, 

Werther and the now-celebrated Thaïs. 

With the soaring arias in those operas, 

Massenet redefined the lyrical French tradition 

– the tradition of Gounod – in the light 

of Wagner’s advances in dramatic structure. 

This “lyric French” tradition clearly also found 

its way into Massenet’s shorter works – the 

songs that have been collected and presented 

in this mammoth set. 

It has often also been said of Massenet that 

he was uninterested in profundity of any sort, 

but on evidence contained in these songs it 

is also clear that few composers have ever 

created such attractive, lyrical works. The 

composer Vincent d’Indy also suggested that 

Massenet’s work had a “discreet and pseudoreligious 

eroticism” (borne out by his 1872 

opera Marie-Magdeleine). This eroticism, 

together with an affection for orientalism, 

coloured most of Massenet’s subsequent work 

– including some of these songs. Massenet 

never denied or admitted to those characteristics. 

However, he was openly cynical about 

pandering to the French taste for religiose 

themes, even declaring: “I don’t believe in all 

that creeping Jesus stuff, but the public likes it 

and we must always agree with the public.” 

Massenet gained a firm handle on operatic 

scoring and with the inherent melodiousness 

of the aria form it was only natural that 

the composer fused his prodigious gift for the 

lyric and the dramatic into a shorter art song 

form. He put all of this brilliantly to work in 

the airborne poetry of the songs that make 

up the breathtaking repertory of the Intégrale 

des mélodies. 

There are 333 songs in these 13 CDs. The 

selection constitutes an almost complete 

edition of Massenet’s shorter work. The box 

also includes 13 unpublished and 31 neverbefore 

recorded songs. In short the box has 

epic proportions by any standard applied to 

any one musical genre – in this case, the song 



Kaleidoscope 

Music for Mallet Instruments 

Bill Brennan 

“Bill Brennan's Kaleidoscope is 

perfectly named - a constantly shifting, 

twirling, entrancing and enchanting 

swirl of beauty and fascination” 

– Tom Allen, CBC’s About Time 

ILTA 

Stefanie Abderhalden & Kyle Flens 

Anyone not immediately 

enchanted or left spellbound by the 

diaphanous resonances of these 

performances must surely have a 

heart of steel. – DMG News 

After 

Kate Read 

After artfully mixes baroque 

repertoire with experimental 

electronics, delivering a stirring 

mix of antiquity and modernity 

from one of Newfoundland’s most 

in-demand violists 

Poul Ruders: Clarinete Quintet 

Rudersdal Chamber Players 

In this acclaimed recording, 

Grammy-nominated composer 

Poul Ruders again proves his music 

will ‘entertain, enrich, and disturb, 

not necessarily in that order.’ 


form. Each of the CDs features marqueeworthy 

stars including the great Canadian 

coloratura Karina Gauvin (cue L’Inquiétude 

and Le soir from CD 2). Of course Gauvin is 

not the only celebrity soprano featured here. 

Others include the quite brilliant Magali 

Simard-Galdès (Voix de femmes, CD 9). Still 

others include: mezzo Julie Boulianne (Avant 

la bataille, CD 10), contralto Florence Bourget 

(Le Noël des humbles, CD 5). Tenors include 

Eric Laporte (Napolitana, CD 2), while 

baritones feature Jean-François Lapointe 

(Amoureaux d’une étoile, CD 12), and among 

the narrators is Jean Marchand (Le vision de 

Loti, CD 12). 

While the vocalists are indubitably the 

stars on these discs the accompanists also 

deserve special mention. The cast of musicians 

includes violinist Antoine Bareil, cellist 

Stéphane Tétreault, guitarist David Jacques, 

harpist Valérie Milot and Olivier Godin who 

plays a radiant 1854 Sébastien Érard piano, 

harmonium and harpsichord. All the accompanists 

play with sublime idiomatic grace 

and must be recognised for their restrained 

artistry, which allows the vocalists to shine 

through the poesy of these works. Rarely has 

any box of CDs offered the kind of thrill-aminute 

listening as this one. 

Raul da Gama 

Artur Schnabel – Complete Vocal Works 

Sara Couden; Jenny Lin 

Steinway & Sons 30208 (steinway.com/ 

music-and-artists/label) 

! In his book The 

Great Pianists, 

music critic Harold 

Schonberg devoted 

an entire chapter 

to Austrian Artur 

Schnabel (1882- 

1951), the first 

to record all 32 

Beethoven sonatas. (I especially cherish 

his soul-searching Schubert recordings.) 

Yet now almost forgotten is that Schnabel 

also composed – a lot! – including three 

symphonies and five string quartets. 

This first complete collection of his vocal 

music memorializes Schnabel’s relationship 

with contralto Therese Behr, who brought 

her young accompanist (she was six years 

older) to public attention. The visually odd 

couple – Behr six feet tall, Schnabel five-four 

– married in 1905. 

Schnabel composed 22 songs for Behr 

between 1899 and 1906, influenced by 

Brahms’ warm lyricism, rather than the 

febrile emotionalism of Mahler or Richard 

Strauss. Making her CD debut, American 

contralto Sara Couden, with her dark sepia 

timbre, perfectly suits the songs’ restrained, 

autumnal moods, prevalent even when the 

texts rhapsodize about the beauties of nature 

or love’s joys and sorrows. Pianist Jenny 

Lin admirably provides pianist-composer 

Schnabel’s often elaborate accompaniments. 

Schnabel wasn’t immune, however, to 

the stylistic revolutions of Schoenberg 

and Stravinsky preceding World War I. 

His 22-minute Notturno, Op.16 (1914), 

written for Behr, marked a significant departure 

from his previous compositions. In 

Richard Dehmel’s lengthy poem, the narrator 

recounts an agonized dream about a dead 

friend. Dispensing with bar-lines, Schnabel’s 

music creates metric ambiguity along with 

discordant touches of the atonality he later 

firmly embraced. It’s a compelling musical 

psychodrama. 

Texts and translations are included. 

Michael Schulman 

Milton Babbit – Works for Treble Voice and 

Piano 

Nina Berman; Steve Beck; Eric Huebner 

New Focus Recordings FCR349 

(newfocusrecordings.com) 

! Milton Babbitt 

(1916-2011) 

was one of the 

20th century’s 

most significant 

composers and 

music theorists, 

whose analytical 

work on the music 

of the Second Viennese School continues to 

influence theory seminars throughout the 

world. Babbitt gained notoriety from his 1958 

article Who cares if you listen? in which a 

strong case for the avant-garde composer 

is made, whether conventional audiences 

appreciate their efforts or not. 

As a composer, Babbitt wrote both electronic 

and serial works, including the 

songs contained on this album which span 

throughout his career. Performed by soprano 

Nina Berman and pianists Steve Beck and Eric 

Huebner, this recording provides a window 

into Babbitt’s inherently complex, yet surprisingly 

tuneful style of composition. 

Unlike Schoenberg and other proponents 

of the Second Viennese School, whose 

12-tone methods permit some semblance 

of almost-tonality, the serialist approach 

employed by Babbitt strips away any reference 

to earlier systems of melody and harmony. 

Although the scores themselves are incredibly 

dense and challenging to execute and the 

music is undoubtedly atonal, there is much 

for listeners to focus on, for even the most 

random and aleatoric method of composition 

still results in some semblance of both 

melody and harmony, albeit far removed from 

the music of earlier times. 

Performing and recording music of this 

complexity is no small feat and Berman, 

Beck and Huebner deserve double praise: 

first, for masterfully presenting this collection 

of 20th-century art song; secondly, for 

bringing greater awareness to one of the 

greatest “musician’s musicians” to ever live. 

While Babbitt publicly eschewed easy accessibility 

and immediate audience gratification, 

his music continues to stimulate, challenge 

and reward musicians brave enough to engage 

with his masterful body of work. 

Matthew Whitfield 

CLASSICAL AND BEYOND 

Pachelbel – Magnificat Fugues 


Analekta AN 2 8911 (analekta.com/en) 

! This recording 

is fascinating, 

both in conception 

and execution. 

Comprised entirely 

of Baroque continuo 

instruments (i.e. 

cello, lute and 

organ), typically 

heard as the bassline 

foundation of early music ensembles, 

Montreal-based Space Time Continuo 

presents a variety of Johann Pachelbel’s pipe 

organ works arranged and performed for 

their unique makeup. 

As indicated by the album title, this 

recording features a number of Pachelbel’s 

fugues based on the Magnificat, a canticle 

often known as the Song of Mary. Perhaps 

best known for its multi-movement setting 

by J.S. Bach and the many smaller-scale 

versions written by English Cathedral tradition- 

composers for use in the Evensong 

liturgy, Pachelbel’s Magnificat arrangements 

are purely instrumental, with no expression 

of the text itself. 

Pachelbel wrote a great number of these 

little fugues: 95 in all and, while there is 

some debate on whether these organ works 

were composed for intonation or alternation, 

there is no doubt that they were used 

in the context of the sung text, either before, 

during or after. For this performance, director 

and cellist Amanda Keesmaat arranged 13 

of these fugues, along with the well-known 

Chaconne in F Minor – one of Pachelbel’s 

largest-scale organ works – resulting in music 

that, although contrapuntally identical to its 

original, is strikingly different both in timbre 

and texture. 

Known largely for his Canon in D and little 

else, this recording demonstrates that there 

is much music by Pachelbel that deserves 

to be rediscovered. From the serious and 

solemn to buoyant and joyful, there is much 

here for everyone to enjoy and the uniqueness 

of having this terrific music performed 

by an equally magnificent bass-instrument 

ensemble makes this sophomore release 

from Space Time Continuo worthwhile 

listening for all. 



Lost in Venice 

Infirmi d’Amore; Vadym Makarenko 

Eudora Records EUD SACD-2206 

(eudorarecords.com) 

! No less a figure 

than Friedrich 

Nietzsche once 

wrote “When I seek 

another word for 

‘music,’ I never 

find any other word 

than ‘Venice’.” Over 

the years, many 

have written glowingly about this magical city 

and this Eudora recording is a fitting musical 

homage, featuring works by Vivaldi, Marcello 

and Veracini performed by the Baroque 

ensemble Infermi d’Amore led by Vadym 

Makarenko. The six-member group draws 

musicians from the entire world, all of whom 

studied at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis in 

Basel, Switzerland. 

Of the six pieces by Vivaldi – four 

concertos, a single movement and a sinfonia 

– three are the result of reconstructions by 

musicologist Olivier Fourés, and four of them 

are world-premiere recordings. Similarly, 

the scores by Veracini and Marcello were 

unearthed in Venetian libraries, thus making 

the disc very much one of “undiscovered 

treasures.” 

Clearly this small ensemble derives great 

enjoyment from playing together – what a 

fresh and robust sound they produce! And 

this vibrancy is further enhanced by a technical 

excellence evident throughout. As 

an example, the final movement from the 

Vivaldi Concerto in E Major RV263 presented 

here on its own was the original finale for 

another concerto, RV263a from the collection 

La Cetra. Nevertheless, Fourés points out 

that it was originally deemed “unplayable” 

for the average violinist of the time and was 

substituted at the request of the publisher. 

Here, soloist Makarenko easily meets the 

technical challenges, delivering a virtuosic 

performance. 

The Overture No.6 by Veracini and the 

Violin Concerto Op.1 No.9 by Marcello are 

both worthy inclusions and their respective 

discoveries were truly fortuitous. 

A fine recording of some unfamiliar repertoire 

from the Baroque period – we should 

all be so fortunate to be lost in Venice with 

such wonderful music accompanying our 

meanderings! 

Richard Haskell 

Bach – The Art of Life 

Daniil Trifonov 

Deutsche Grammophon 073 6270 

(deutschegrammophon.com/en/artists/ 

daniil-trifonov/daniil-trifonov-bach-the-artof-life-2062) 

! While the 

term ambitious is 

perhaps an overused 

descriptor for 

musical recordings 

(or anything 

else artistic for that 

matter), the adjective 

most certainly 

rings true for 

Daniil Trifonov’s 

2022 Deutsche Grammophon release: Bach: 

The Art of Life. Spanning two CDS with 

liner notes by Oscar Alan, plus an extensive 

live concert Blu-ray disc, the recording 

provides a welcome window into comprehensive, 

sublime and historically accurate 

Baroque solo piano playing (in as much as 

anything originally written for the harpsichord 

or organ but played on the piano could 

be historically accurate)! That aside, this 

recording beautifully mines the music of the 

family Bach (J.S., of course, but also W.F., 

C.P.E. and J.C.) proving, at least musically, 

E.O. Wilson’s famous aphorism: 

“genes hold culture on a leash.” 

If, as the German musicologist Carl 

Dahlhaus pronounced, the 19th century 

belonged to Beethoven and Rossini (so much 

so that Johannes Brahms equated composing 

post-Beethoven to hearing “the tread of a 

giant behind him”), how then must it have 

felt to be a composer (not to mention, “son 

of”) following the supreme legacy left by 

patriarch Bach? And although this recording 

is centred around the elder’s Art of the 

Fugue, all the pieces featured here, father or 

sons notwithstanding, are given equal heft 

and import, and are dealt with rigorously by 

Trifonov (who up to this point has not necessarily 

been known for his Bach playing) in a 

manner that is egalitarian, rather than lesser 

than, and with a keyboard touch that one 

hopes will bring these deserving works more 

in line with the ever-expanding canon of 

Western art music. 

Andrew Scott 

Mozart – The Piano Sonatas 

Robert Levin 

ECM New Series 2710-16 

(ecmrecords.com) 

! Although it is 

not uncommon 

to find one or two 

of Mozart’s piano 

sonatas on recital 

programs, it is 

much less common 

– and much more 

Herculean a task – 

to present all 18 of his sonatas in one marathon 

session. Fortepianist Robert Levin 

embraces this challenge wholeheartedly 

with this remarkable six-and-a-half-hour 

release, featuring not only all of Mozart’s fully 

finished piano sonatas, but also a number of 

miscellaneous sonata-form movements, all 

performed on Mozart’s fortepiano. 

This reference to “Mozart’s fortepiano” 

requires some clarification, as his first six 

sonatas were most likely written not for the 

fortepiano, but rather the harpsichord or 

clavichord. Invented in 1698 by the Italian 

instrument maker Bartolomeo Cristofori, 

Mozart first encountered the fortepiano as 

developed by Johann Andreas Stein in 1777 



Album for Astor 

Bjarke Mogensen 

Accordionist Bjarke Mogensen, 

percussionist Johan Bridger, 

harmonica star Mathias Heise, and 

The Danish Chamber Players bring 

Piazzolla’s sultry music to life! 

Suite Tango 

Denis Plante & Stéphane Tétreault 

Original tango-flavoured album 

inspired by the unaccompanied 

cello suites of J.S. Bach. 

Featuring 

Caity Gyorgy 

The debut LP from jazz vocalist 

Caity Gyorgy featuring special 

guests including Christine Jensen, 

Allison Au, Virginia MacDonald, Pat 

LaBarbera, Jocelyn Gould and more! 

Lush Life 

Heather Ferguson 

This is a very accomplished 

and warmly recommended 

debut album by a singer whose 

reputation must surely spread 

internationally. 

- Bruce Crowther, Jazz Journal UK 


and, after giving this instrument a rave 

review, obtained his own from the manufacturer 

Anton Gabriel Walter. Haydn also owned 

a Walter fortepiano, Beethoven expressed a 

desire to own one, and it is on this instrument 

that Levin performs this Mozartian marathon. 

The main difference between the historical 

fortepiano and the modern grand piano 

is that the hammers are much smaller, lighter 

and thinly covered with leather, rather than 

felt. The lighter strings and gentler hammer 

action produce a sound that is considerably 

different than modern pianos, with more 

overtones and a more rapid decay. Where 

modern pianos can be murky and weighty – 

particularly in the lower register, fortepianos 

are lighter and more agile, with great clarity 

across the keyboard’s entire compass. 

The fortepiano continued to develop after 

Mozart’s death, growing larger and more 

robust, and eventually evolving into the 

modern piano as we now know it. While 

we often think of the Romantic composers 

performing on Bösendorfers and Steinways, 

Chopin, Mendelssohn, Schumann and Liszt 

all performed on fortepianos that, although 

considerably different from the instrument of 

a century earlier, were nonetheless still quite 

closely related to their classical-era ancestors. 

For those accustomed to hearing Mozart’s 

piano sonatas performed on a modern piano, 

this recording will serve as a revelation. 

The idiomatic nature of Mozart’s writing is 

immediately apparent as the clarity, subtle 

dynamic range (as compared to modern 

pianos), and unique lyricism of the fortepiano 

result in a profound paradigm shift in the 

listener. Passages that once seemed unclear 

or required slower-than-expected tempi to 

avoid muddying the acoustic waters are here 

presented with utmost transparency, as the 

instrument and written score combine with 

great effect. 

Consider, for example, the ubiquitous 

Sonata facile (No.16, K545), one of the most 

frequently performed and frequently heard 

of all Mozart’s piano sonatas. Here one can 

clearly discern that the rapid decay of the 

fortepiano determines a great deal of Levin’s 

interpretive decisions, for each note of this 

well-known melody now has a definite period 

of sustain and, to maintain the lyrical line, a 

“minimum velocity” is required by the instrument 

itself. 

This recording is highly recommended to all 

who enjoy playing and listening to Mozart’s 

music, for not only does it present an ingenious 

composer’s works performed by an 

expert interpreter, it also provides a window 

into what Mozart himself might have heard as 

he was crafting these pieces at his fortepiano 

almost three centuries ago. 


Time 


C2 Management (klaudia-kudelko.com) 

! Klaudia Kudelko 

is an extraordinarily 

talented young 

pianist from Poland, 

highly accomplished 

in Europe 

and the USA, 

winning competitions, 

gathering 

prizes and enchanting audiences. She 

even played at Carnegie Hall. Her impressive 

website features her at a Bechstein grand 

performing Chopin’s Revolutionary Etude. It 

is an immensely difficult piece written during 

bombardment by Russian guns, very fast, her 

powerful left hand cascading non-stop fortissimo 

creating a constant turbulence while a 

defiant, heroic theme emerges in the right 

hand. Wow! 

Time is her debut CD, the title referring 

to three time periods: early Romanticism of 

Schubert, high Romanticism of Chopin and 

the present represented by Polish composer 

Grażyna Bacewicz. Time, she says, always 

changes, but what never changes is relevance. 

The centre of attention is naturally Chopin 

with two Etudes: the fast and turbulent 

Op.10 No.12 in C Minor, the Revolutionary as 

mentioned above, and the slow, introspective 

Op.25 No.7in C-sharp Minor, very complex 

and full of feeling, beautifully performed. 

I was most impressed by the Polonaise- 

Fantasie, a free-wheeling rhapsodic piece, 

notoriously difficult to interpret. Kudelko 

superbly controls the ebb and flow of emotion 

while maintaining the strict 3/4 polonaise 

rhythm and there is a magnificent ending. 

The program begins with Schubert, six 

short pieces from Moments Musicaux Op.94, 

each with simple themes but all different 

and highly inventive. The popular No.3 is 

played with infinite charm, utmost delicacy 

and playfulness while No.5 is stormy with a 

syncopated (somewhat equestrian) rhythm 

that attests to Kudelko’s superb technique. 

The concluding work is a beautifully crafted 

Sonata No.2 by Bacewicz that harkens back to 

the Second World War and here again is Time 

and Relevance. A memorable debut disc. 

Janos Gardonyi 

From Afar 

Vikingar Ólafsson 

Deutsche Grammophon 00289 481 1681 

(vikingurolafsson.com) 

! Award-winning 

Icelandic pianist 

Víkingur Ólafsson 

(b.1984), dubbed 

“Iceland’s Glenn 

Gould” by The 

New York Times, 

is well known for 

his challenging 

programming. His 22-track (times two) 

double album From Afar is no exception, 

revealing his eclecticism in surprising and 

satisfying ways. 

As he recounts in the booklet, Ólafsson’s 

album project was the result of a chance 

encounter with nonagenarian Hungarian 

composer György Kurtág. It turned out to be 

an impromptu, life-changing, private recital 

for Ólafsson. The wide-ranging program on 

this album is his thank-you note, pivoting 

on several Kurtág piano works, both original 

compositions and arrangements of Bach 

keyboard opuses. Another novel aspect of the 

record is that the entire recital is played twice. 

CD 1 features a Steinway grand, while on CD 

2 Ólafsson plays an upright piano with felt 

covering the strings, rendering a permanent 

soft pedal effect. Thus, two contrasting sound 

worlds are evoked from the same repertoire: 

the public concert hall, and the intimate 

living room. Interestingly, I often preferred 

the upright performances. 

In addition to Kurtág, Bach, Mozart, 

Schumann, Brahms, Bartók and others, 

Ólafsson gives the world premiere of British 

composer Thomas Adès’ aphoristic, impressionistic 

The Branch, dedicated to Kurtág. 

Ólafsson’s sensitive touch and pellucid, 

singing tone – often with slower than usual 

tempi – explores the mellow end of the 

piano’s dynamic and expressive range. Might 

one expect more variety in such a highconcept 

re-examination of three centuries 

of European piano music? Well, I found this 

brilliantly curated and played recital set just 

the right mood this snowy winter night. 

Andrew Timar 

Destination Riverdale – Brahms; Verhey 

Robert Dilutis; Mellifera Quartet 

Tonsehen (tonsehen.com) 

! Pessimism never 

sounded as sweet 

as in the last great 

chamber work of 

the 19th century, 

Brahms’ Quintet 

for Clarinet and 

Strings Op.115. If 

music is meant to 

console, this work will assure you that your 

grief is entirely justified. Weep freely. The 

very capable Mellifera Quartet and clarinetist 

Robert Dilutis join forces for this, and 

to present an arrangement of the Concerto 

for Clarinet and Strings by Theodorus Verhey. 

An effective arrangement by Ray Fields 

notwithstanding, the piece doesn’t hold 

a candle to Brahms. Its inclusion reflects 

Dilutis’ enthusiasm for discovering repertoire, 

coupled with the odd fact that clarinetist 

Richard Muhlfeld served as muse for both 

composers. Only one of the two managed 

something truly worth keeping. 

There’s a great deal to like about this 

version of Opus 115. The tempi keep the 

piece buoyant, when too easily it can become 


lumberish. Cellist Benjamin Wensel’s sound 

is just so deep, as God and Brahms intended. 

Sometimes I find the balances odd and I 

suspect a heavy hand at the mixing board. 

Dilutis plays a keen and expressive clarinet, 

usually in tune with the strings, if tending 

sharp at times. 

The group make interesting pacing decisions 

in the rhapsodic section of the Adagio, 

not all of which I agree with, but respect 

nevertheless. The third movement reminds 

one that joy is still accessible to the aged (he 

was only 60-ish for heaven’s sake). Its two 

opposing characters are played (correctly) in 

a uniform pulse; smaller beat subdivisions 

rather than a change in tempo bring forth the 

contrast. In general, the group avoids any selfindulgent 

tempo variation, which feels somewhat 

austere: they might have allowed more 

flexibility in pulse, especially in the development 

section of the first movement. Wellresined 

horsehair renders the heartbeat motif 

accompanying the sad duet between the 

clarinet and first violin. They remind one that 

the heart is, after all, a muscle. The devastating 

return of the opening thematic material 

that arrives at the very close of the Con Moto 

finale plays at the same pulse as the opening, 

undermining the tragedy. Call me sentimental, 

but I think the sorrow-filled final 

utterances should linger just a bit more. 

Max Christie 

Coleridge-Taylor 

Chineke! Orchestra 

Decca 485 3322 (chineke.org/news/ 

new-album-release-coleridge-taylor) 

! New Yorkers 

called him the 

“Black Mahler,” 

probably because he 

and then-New Yorkbased 

Mahler were 

both composers 

and conductors. 

Now, his 

very un-Mahlerish, Weltschmerz-free 

compositions are increasingly performed and 

recorded, paralleling America’s belated recognition 

of Black composers. 

London-born Samuel Coleridge-Taylor 

(1875-1912) was the son of Englishwoman 

Alice Martin and physician Daniel Taylor from 

Sierra Leone, who returned to Africa before 

Samuel’s birth. His mother named him after 

the famous poet; Samuel added the hyphen. 

Successful in England, he made three U.S. 

tours and was welcomed at the White House 

by Theodore Roosevelt. Coleridge-Taylor’s 

early death was from pneumonia. 

This two-CD set presents seven of his 

compositions and one by his daughter 

performed by London’s Chineke! Orchestra, 

founded in 2015 as Europe’s first predominantly 

Black and ethnic-minority orchestra. 

(Chineke means “God” in Nigeria’s Igbo 

language.) 

American violinist Elena Urioste’s warm, 

velvety tone caresses Coleridge-Taylor’s 

lyrical melodies in two works conducted 

by Kevin John Edusei. The songful, openhearted, 

31-minute Violin Concerto in G 

Minor, Op.80 features imposing fanfares and 

a sweet, wistful violin melody (Allegro maestoso), 

a serenely reverent nocturne (Andante 

semplice) and a cheerful, Scottish-tinged 

marching tune (Allegro molto) –themes from 

the previous movements joining in at the 

concerto’s celebratory conclusion. The nineminute 

Romance in G, Op.39, is a dreamy 

pastorale with a brief, dramatic central 

section, Urioste’s violin singing throughout. 

Two works purportedly influenced by 

Coleridge-Taylor’s African heritage instead 

conjured for me fin-de-siècle Vienna or Paris. 

Edusei conducts the genial, light-textured, 

African Suite, Op.35; Kalena Bovell leads 

the more dramatic, colourful, Ballade in A 

Minor, Op.33. 

The theatrical Othello Suite, Op.79, 

conducted by Fawzi Haimor, begins with 

Dance – urgent fanfares and a headlong 

march – followed by the smiling Children’s 

Intermezzo, stately Funeral March and The 

Willow Song, poignantly “sung” by a trumpet 

over hushed winds, strings and percussion. 

The grandiose Military March ends the suite. 

Anthony Parnther conducts Coleridge-Taylor’s 

Petite Suite de Concert, Op.77, its frothy, 

sentimental, balletic tunes once frequently 

heard at band and salon concerts, on piano 

rolls and recordings. The Chineke! Chamber 

Ensemble performs the Brahmsian, fourmovement 

Nonet, Op.2, for winds, strings 

and piano. Composed by the 19-year-old 

Coleridge-Taylor while studying at London’s 

Royal College of Music, it displays his already 

considerable melodic gift. 

Roderick Cox conducts the 13-minute 

Sussex Landscape, Op.27 (1936) by Avril 

Coleridge-Taylor (1903-1998). Her rhapsodic, 

powerful evocation of a storm-swept, 

grey-shrouded English seacoast receives its 

overdue, much-deserved first recording. 


Children’s Corner – Music for Solo Piano 

Melody Chan 

Independent (melodyyvonnechan-li.com) 

! FACTOR – 

The Foundation 

Assisting Canadian 

Talent on 

Recordings was 

set up in 1982 “to 

provide assistance 

toward the growth 

and development 

of the Canadian Music industry.” Among its 

primary mandates is to support the production 

of sound recordings by Canadian musicians 

and Children’s Corner is among the 

recent CDs resulting from this worthy 

endeavour. 

It features American-Canadian pianist 

Melody Chan presenting a thoughtfully 

chosen program of music spanning a 

250-year period, including works by Mozart, 

Brahms and Debussy. Born in Los Angeles, 

Chan was raised in Vancouver and studied 

at the University of British Columbia, later 

receiving her doctorate in performance from 



Funk Poems for 'Bird' 

Timuçin Şahin's Flow State 

Funk Poems for 'Bird' (Charlie 

Parker), is a document of Şahin’s 

unique collage of influences from 

the classical and improvisational 

avant-garde. 

Songwriter 

Alex Bird & Ewan Farncombe 

The charismatic musical bond of 

2022 JUNO nominees Alex Bird 

and Ewen Farncombe continues. 

Hooked 

Dizzy & Fay 

Composed entirely of original 

jazz songs, a killer band, horn 

section and 28 strings; Hooked is a 

“thank you” card to the American 

Songbook. 

Within 

Die Hochstapler 

Die Hochstapler draws inspiration 

from the rich tradition of Jazz, 

Improvised Music and oral culture. 

This 5th album was recorded live 

at Au Topsi Pohl (Berlin). 


the University of Toronto. She has appeared 

with Orchestra Toronto and has taken 

part in the International Music Festival at 

Casalmaggiore, Italy. 

The disc opens with Mozart’s well-know 

variations on Ah vous dirai-je Maman! K265, 

completed around 1782. Chan’s approach is 

poised and elegant, and she easily handles 

the technical requirements of this deceptively 

challenging work. 

Four selections from Brahms’ Sixteen 

Waltzes Op.39 from 1865 – originally for 

piano four hands – are wonderfully spirited, 

while Debussy’s familiar Children’s Corner 

Suite from 1908, is an endearing depiction 

of childhood from a simpler time. Beginning 

with Dr. Gradus ad Parnassum, Chan’s 

playing is sensitively articulated, with just the 

right amount of tempo rubato. 

In Summer by Canadian composer 

Christine Donkin is less familiar, but this 

languorous essay artfully depicts a summer’s 

day in northern Alberta, while the fourmovement 

suite Music for Piano by Alexina 

Louie is an attractive study in contrasts, 

providing a fitting conclusion to a satisfying 

program. 

Richard Haskell 

Horizons – Gershwin; Piazzolla; Saint- 

Saëns 

Buzz Brass 

Analekta AN 2 8929 (analekta.com/en) 

! World-renowned 

Canadian quintet 

Buzz Brass was 

formed in 2002. 

Here eight tracks 

of genre-spanning 

compositions are 

arranged for their 

brass instrumentation 

and occasional special guest musicians. 

Buzz Brass’ own arrangement of 

Khachaturian’s Gayaneh: Sabre Dance showcases 

their tight clear ensemble work in 

performing the composer’s famous steady 

groove beat, descending melody sliding glissandos 

and contrasting higher-pitched 

section. Guest arrangers of the remaining 

tracks complement their brass sound. 

François Vallières’ arrangement of Saint- 

Saëns’ Danse macabre has guest harpist 

Valérie Milot adding colourful plucks against 

brass legato themes and detached notes. His 

intricate arrangement of Gershwin’s Cuban 

Overture, with guest pianist Philip Chiu, 

is a bouncy, uplifting and true to classic 

rendition. Arranger/friend Javier Sebastián 

Asencio provides a bras-only arrangement 

of Piazzolla’s dance Milonga del ángel. The 

melodies and rhythm sounds generated by 

the bandoneon bellows air movement translate 

successfully to breathing into brass 

instruments especially in held notes and loud 

volumes. His Montréal Hora Cero five-piece 

medley adds vibraphone with unexpected 

vibe and horn slides, drums, and slower 

brass tunes with vibe backdrop. His Claude 

Bolling swinging brass Toot Suite: Allègre 

arrangement opens with trumpet solo in a 

mix of Baroque and jazz ideas like fast horn 

lines, ringing vibraphone tones, electric bass 

and short drum solo/accompaniments. Paul 

Dukas and Lew Pollack composition arrangements 

by Enrico O. Dastous and Steve Cooper 

respectively are enticing too. 

So many clear brass sounds to listen to 

here as each Buzz Brass member is an aweinspiring 

passionate musician alone and 

in ensemble. 

Tiina Kiik 

LOOP – Ligeti’s Inspiration & Legacy 

Rose Wollman 

Acis APL30100 (acisproductions.com) 

! Some new classical 

releases are 

concept albums, 

finding meaning 

in underlining 

connections 

between pieces from 

different composers 

and periods. The 

pieces may relate to each other through style, 

gestures, compositional techniques, tonality 

or themes. Loop: Ligeti’s Inspiration & Legacy 

is brimming with such relations. The album 

is centred around György Ligeti’s Sonata for 

Viola Solo, written in the late 20th century 

and expressing distinct elements of the 

Baroque sonata, with six movements based on 

different tempi, rhythms and themes. Violist 

Rose Wollman’s ingenious concept is based on 

imaginative yet logical pairing of each of the 

six movements with a piece from the Baroque 

era and commissioning six contemporary 

composers to write a companion piece to the 

Ligeti/Baroque set. The result is remarkably 

insightful: pieces within each triptych segue 

beautifully, as if they had all been written at 

the same time. The companion pieces support 

and illuminate aspects of Ligeti’s movements, 

sometimes in unexpected ways. 

Featured Baroque composers include 

Bach, Tartini, Gabrielli, Corelli, Telemann 

and Biber, with their recognizable rhythmical 

and thematic elegance. Ligeti’s movements 

have Eastern European folk elements as 

well as jazz and Latin influences, but they are 

very much written in Ligeti’s unique language 

and display clever compositional techniques. 

Contemporary composers – Garth Knox, 

Alexander Mansour, Rose Wollman, Atar Arad, 

Melia Watras and Natalie Williams – match and 

mix the colours, gestures, language and structure 

in the most imaginative ways. 

Wollman’s extensive liner notes give a 

detailed explanation of her creative and 

analytical process in finding common 

threads. Her playing is agile, intelligent, 

movingly expressive; her articulation superb. 

The intimate atmosphere makes this album 

even more appealing. 

Ivana Popovic 

MODERN AND CONTEMPORARY 

Bill Brennan – Kaleidoscope: Music for 

Mallet Instruments 

Bill Brennan; Rob Power; Étienne Gendron 

Centrediscs CMCCD 30822 

(centrediscs.ca) 

! Canadian 

percussionist, 

pianist and 

composer Bill 

Brennan has racked 

up an impressive 

100 album credits to 

date. Kaleidoscope, 

however, is the 

first album featuring his keyboard percussion 

compositions. While Brennan’s career 

has focused on contemporary concert music 

and jazz genres, he has also long immersed 

himself in the music of other cultures. He 

gratefully acknowledges the deep influences 

of the music of Ghana, Brazil, Indonesia and 

India in his liner notes. Those international 

music influences are on display throughout 

the album. 

For 20 years a core musician with Toronto’s 

Evergreen Club Contemporary Gamelan, 

Brennan’s Shadows and Istana were originally 

scored for its eight-piece [gamelan] 

degung – though they get an instrumental 

makeover here. Yes, Istana and Shadows are 

cast in the five-tone gapped scale of the West 

Javanese degung mode. But the use of vibes, 

tam-tams, finger cymbals, and especially the 

glistening tones of the glass marimba in these 

effective arrangements give the music a gently 

shimmering effect, as though heard through a 

permeable cultural gauze. 

Brazilian influences are evident in several 

works. Brennan describes Belo Horizonte as a 

musical representation of a morning stroll in 

a park in the Brazilian city of Belo Horizonte, 

enlivened with the sounds of breezes, 

bamboo, chirping birds and chattering 

monkeys. Scored for two vibes and marimbas, 

Brennan skillfully evokes that soundscape by 

layering syncopated Brazilian bell patterns, 

making judicious key changes, and shifting 

harmonies, textures and dynamics. 

Then there are the appealing Nostalgie 

and Vinyl Café Waltz, which lean toward the 

composer’s gentler, tonally unambiguous, 

melancholy side. I feel others will also pick up 

on the tinge of East Coast saudade in several 

sections. And that’s a good thing. 

Andrew Timar 


ILTA 

Stefanie Abderhalden; Kyle Flens 

Neuma 162 (neumarecords.org) 

! Chicagoarea 

musicians 

– flutist Stefanie 

Abderhalden and 

percussionist Kyle 

Flens – get top 

billing in this satisfying, 

yet also occasionally 

quirky, 

recital of modernist 

and postmodernist concert music. Despite 

the billing on the cover, the album’s repertoire 

is considerably more focused on percussion 

than flute: five of the seven titles are 

scored for percussion alone. In addition, 

percussionists Malika Green, Katie (Wiegman) 

Burdett and Thomas Loretto add their skills 

to works by American composers Robert 

Fleisher, Robert Honstein, David Maki, 

plus iconoclastic Greek-French composer 

Iannis Xenakis. 

Live performances, studio recordings and 

electroacoustic elements can all be found on 

this eclectic album. Yet it all hangs together 

as a satisfying percussion-centric recital. 

The 2008 title track Ilta (“evening” in Finnish) 

by Maki opens with Thai gongs, the alto 

flute and vibraphone sounds emerging from 

their resonant tones. The middle section’s 

instrumentation shifts to the higher C flute 

and crotales, the soundscape returning in 

last section to gong long tones animated by 

flute melodies. 

The best-known work here is Rebonds A 

(1988) by Xenakis (1922-2001). This virtuoso 

work for multiple bongos, tom-toms and bass 

drums, played convincingly by Flens alone, 

grows ever more complex over its 6’33’’ 

duration. Exhibiting a kind of rhythmic accelerando 

or perhaps metric compression, it 

reflects the composer’s considerable interest 

in mathematics, specifically in the Golden 

Section, a numeric ratio associated with the 

Fibonacci sequence. I found Flens’ performance 

an architecturally taut and emotionally 

intense listen. 

Andrew Timar 

20 for 2020 

Inbal Segev 

Avie AV2561 (avie-records.com) 

! While in the 

heart of the 2020 

pandemic, Israeli- 

American cellist 

Inbal Segev 

commissioned 

20 works from 

some of today’s 

leading composers 

– some with whom she has worked before 

– asking them to document their responses 

to the challenging times. With this collection 

of mostly new compositions it is nearly 

impossible to speak on every piece but suffice 

to say there was not a single track on this 

double CD set that I was not moved by. There 

is a richness to the selections that are innovative 

and challenging, but still beautifully 

accessible. 

The complete work is an exploration of dark 

and light, of despair and joy, not only documenting 

the many layered issues around the 

pandemic and isolation, but also world events 

in general. With two CDs of chamber-style 

compositions, it is worth noting that Segev’s 

choice in composers represents a diversity of 

time and cultures. With the youngest (Sophia 

Bass, b.1996) to the most established (“the 

most obscure great composter of our time”) 

Gloria Coates (b.1938) this album is essential 

listening for any lover of contemporary classical 

music, not just the cello. I was hooked 

from the first track, Room to Move by Viet 

Cuong, a cathartic, sweeping work written 

for octet played entirely by Segev, splitting 

the eight parts between two cellos, her 1673 

Ruggieri and her modern 1957 Becker, to 

add nuance and colour to the different parts. 

This piece had me dreaming of being a circus 

hoop performer. From here, Fernando Otero’s 

first movement of a Cello Concerto revised 

here for cello, string quartet and bass is a 

challenging work “infused with tango and 

jazz.” James Lee III’s Ekah, a heartbreaking 

lament on how there can be so much hate 

in the world, ends with a stunning prayer. 

The whole piece is surely destined to be a 

recital feature. Complex pizzicato work in 

Timo Andres’ Agita is followed by Sophia 

Bass’ mesmerizing piece Taal-Naad Naman 

for cello, tabla and tanpura. Bruce Wolosoff’s 

Lacrymae for cello choir was again overdubbed 

solely by Segev, in true pandemic 

fashion. Jazz pianist Vijay Iyer’s The Window 

exposes the powerful complexities of hope 

while avoiding sentimentality. Christopher 

Cerrone’s The Pleasure at Being the Cause is 

a minimalist play on simultaneously holding 

and moving, as was the constant during the 

pandemic. The first CD ends with Puerto 

Rican composer Angélica Negrón’s Ruta 

Panorámica, a delightful road trip complete 

with traffic and road sounds for cello, bandoneon 

and electronics. 

The second CD is just as varied, again 

each composition is uniquely noteworthy. 

Though there is simply ot space to recognize 

the beauty of every track, standouts for 

me included composer and environmental 

activist John Luther Adams’ A Weeping of 

Doves, Molly Joyce’s It Has Not Taken Long, 

Immanuel Wilkins’ Exhale, a speeding, 

breathtaking saxophone-style solo that is so 

relentless one can only wonder how Segev 

manages to pull it off, and Stewart Goodyear’s 

wonderous Kapok, which packs a powerful 

ending to the project. The bonus encore of 

Segev’s own composition Behold, for cello 

quartet, adds yet another work to the cello 

ensemble repertoire. 

Segev’s tone throughout this challenging 

project manages to be every colour 

imaginable, while both clear and vibrant, 

and warm and dark. The entire double album 

encompasses a stunning display of fireworks 

and gentleness. That so many of these works 

will surely be iconic mainstays of the contemporary 

cello repertoire, for those who dare to 

take them on, is a testament to the leadership 

and investment in the cello repertoire from 

this great artist. 

Cheryl Ockrant 

Kate Read – After 

Kate Read 

Leaf Music LM258 (leaf-music.ca) 

! A curious 

mixture of contemporary 

solo viola 

compositions and 

Baroque pieces, 

this debut album 

by Kate Read is 

engaging and 

explorative, as well 

as enterprising. 

Although not a theme, the music on this 

album indirectly depicts the natural elements 

of Newfoundland, where Read currently 

resides – beauty amidst ruggedness, vastness 

of (sonic) space, wildness of possibilities. 

Read is a powerful performer, fully present in 

every phrase and turn, adventurous, always 

aware of the structure and direction. Her 

sound is imposing yet gentle, with an array of 

colours and expressions. 

All contemporary pieces on the album 

involve electronics but don’t venture 

into the avant-garde, entailing structural 

symmetry and classical aesthetics. Two are 

new commissions by Kate Read: Evennight 

by Benton Roark, a neverending joyful 

cascade of 16th notes using amplified viola 

with analogue electronics, and Blackwood 

Sketches by Andrew Staniland. The latter is 

a visceral, expressive take on an acclaimed 

etching by David Blackwood, Fire Down 

on the Labrador, and involves synth tones 

and low notes to depict the whale, ice and 

wood underneath and in between the viola’s 

segments. Keep in Touch by Nico Muhly 

features an unusual, pre-recorded track that 

blends with the viola exquisitely. The album 

closes with Aftermath, a collaborative improvisation 

on two of Bach’s pieces with Michelle 

LaCour, featuring synthesized and found 

sounds, pedals and layering. 

Baroque pieces by Biber (Passacaglia from 

Mystery Sonata No.16) and Bach (movements 

from Violin Sonata No.3) are arranged 

for viola by Read and played with passion. 

The unusual programming gives a spark to 

this album. 

Ivana Popovic 


The Lakota Music Project 

South Dakota Symphony Orchestra; Delta 

David Gier 

Innova 1 081 (innova.mu) 

! This highly 

creative project is a 

stunning combination 

of material 

composed by six 

gifted Indigenous 

Americans of 

the Lakota Sioux 

nation featuring 

the eminent South Dakota Symphony under 

the musical direction of Delta David Gier. 

The Lakota Project is a brilliantly constructed 

collection of music specifically written and 

designed to dissolve the walls between the 

Lakota peoples and their horrific history 

of abuse and near genocide at the hands 

of European settlers. The music itself was 

created in an atmosphere of trust and open 

communication and is a pure, resplendent 

boon to the process of reconciliation. 

Black Hills Olowan by Brent Michael 

Davids features the Creekside Singers 

dynamic; mystical motifs depict the incredible 

power of natural forces and the ensemble’s 

magnificent voices serve to intensify 

the magic. The composition and arrangement 

here are nothing short of superb, and 

awash with emotional and musical gravitas – 

chaos and destruction, and then rebuilding. 

Also exceptional is the six-movement, 

Victory Songs (Wakétgli olówan) by Jerod 

Impichchachaaha’ Tate, which fluidly moves 

the listener through time and history – from 

the beginning of the world to the horrific 

murder of Sitting Bull. Stephen L. Bryant’s 

sonorous voice digs deep into the soul, at 

once elevating us up into etheric dimensions 

and plunging us back down into the grief and 

horror of one group of the human race determined 

to exterminate another. 

Of particular delight is Desert Wind by 

guitarist Jeffrey Paul. Paul drags us into the 

present time and place with his cheeky, 

relentless electric guitar, soothed by Robert 

Erhard and Sharon Mautner-Rodgers on 

cellos and the Creekside Singers. The closing 

track is (ironically) John Newton’s 1772 

Christian hymn, Amazing Grace. Arranged 

by Theodore Wiprud, this song celebrates a 

transformation that speaks to the oneness of 

all… a radiant and much needed message in 

our present world. 

Lesley Mitchell-Clarke 

American Stories 

Anthony McGill; Pacifica Quartet 

Cedille CDR 90000 216 

(cedillerecords.org) 

! This is a great 

recording. What is 

not to like here? The 

Pacifica quartet are 

excellent, Anthony 

McGill turns the 

clarinet into a 

beautiful distinct 

voice, and the 

stories? Well, let’s talk. 

Leaving aside the question of whether 

music can function as narrative, let’s at least 

say that while American Stories doesn’t push 

the inclusion-and-equity button too hard, 

it includes equally compelling tales from 

a variety of voices. Richard Danielpour’s 

threnody Four Angels reflects on the aching 

sorrow caused by the Birmingham church 

bombing now almost 60 years in the past. The 

angels are the four young girls who lost their 

lives to the hatred of a racist. The piece derives 

real beauty from that reflection and opens 

our hearts to hope. Despicable acts seem to 

be part of the curse of humanity, and courage 

and hope two blessings we require in order 

to persist. Commissioned by McGill in early 

2020, it was premiered online in 2021. 

The longest and most entertaining work is the 

final one, Valerie Coleman’s Shotgun Houses. 

Coleman grew up in West Louisville, Kentucky 

as did the subject of the piece. Muhammed Ali’s 

early life and rise to prominence as an African 

American hero is depicted in three movements: 

the first, with the same title as the entire work, 

describes the neighbourhood itself, the architecture 

of poverty celebrated for the strength of 

the inhabitants. Grand Avenue is one of those 

streets, notably Ali’s home address when he 

was still Cassius Clay and before his Olympic 

triumph in Rome 1960. In this last movement 

Coleman pencil strokes Ali at the speed 

bag, on a flight (his first ever) to Rome, and 

in the ring for three rounds on his way to the 

gold medal, in under seven minutes; the entire 

work lasts about 18. I hope the composer at 

least considers whether it might be expanded, 

perhaps even with an epilogue to honour Ali’s 

later years as an activist, and his struggle with 

Parkinson’s disease. 

Between these are two other great pieces: 

High Sierra Sonata by Ben Shirley and James 

Lee III’s Clarinet Quintet. More tone poem 

than narrative, Shirley’s piece is an honest 

response to the dynamic beauty of the 

American southwest, in American vernacular 

style, if that means anything. Lee has a 

heavier task, addressing the treatment of the 

Indigenous peoples who were cheated out of 

promised territory in the Dakotas. Made me 

think of a half-finished monument to Crazy 

Horse that sits near Mount Rushmore. Both 

pieces substantially add to a growing genre: 

the clarinet quintet. 

Max Christie 

Invocation 

Duo Kermani-Gentili 

Pro Classics 7025 

(duo-kermani-gentili.com/en/cd) 

! Is music by 

women composers 

like the dark matter 

of the musical 

universe: influential, 

yet somehow 

undetectable by 

current means? 

Try again. 

Invocation sheds light on this element, 

featuring works for clarinet and piano. 

The duo of clarinetist Kymia Kermani and 

pianist Alba Gentili-Tedeschi have focused 

on European composers, all women, most 

presenting (I would argue) mid-20th-century 

style. An exception is the first composer 

featured, Marie Clémence de Grandval (1823- 

1907), whose Deux Pièces include the title 

track for the disc. Apart from her importance 

as an established female composer in 

the 19th century, I don’t think hers was the 

strongest opening play; tuneful and sweet, 

a bit like Adolph Adam, but less observed; 

de Grandval was kind enough NOT to write 

Minuit Chretien. 

A selection of well-performed miniatures, 

there are 27 separate tracks through 

its 58 minutes. It’s as if the composers were 

afflicted by modesty. I feel most compelled 

by the music of Holocaust escapee Ursula 

Mamlock’s Rückblick, in Erinnerungan die 

Reichspogromnacht 9. November 1938, a 

brief but harrowing depiction of her family’s 

flight from Berlin in the wake of Kristallnacht. 

The tracks are linked by short interludes 

by Barbara Heller (b.1936). Her Luftspuren 

are lovely enigmatic epigrams that serve as a 

“promenade” between the other works. 

Composition dates are absent in the jacket 

material, but with help from their publicist 

I learned Polish composer Krystyna 

Moszumańska-Nazar, who studied composition 

at the same school as Krzysztof 

Penderecki, quite possibly a bit earlier, was 

nine years his senior. Isn’t it wonderful to 

imagine that her clever (and also earlier) 

Three Miniatures for Clarinet and Piano 

influenced the much more celebrated man 

whose work of the same title was published 

in 1959? Now there’s some dark matter! 

Max Christie 


Poul Ruders – Clarinet Quintet; Throne; 

Piano Quartet 


Our Recordings 8.220680 

(ourrecordings.com) 

! The Rudersdal 

Chamber Players 

lift the music of 

Poul Ruders off the 

page and into the 

ether with finesse 

and passion. Liner 

notes include 

Ruders’ own quirky 

accounting for the pieces, and players’ biographies, 

which one senses were written by 

themselves. The group has been together 

since 2017, with members mostly of the 

current generation, all excellent. No explanation 

is offered for the similarity of the names, 

so call it a coincidence. The group is named 

for a music festival whose home is Rudersdal. 

The music itself is intense and compelling. 

Three works fill out the roughly 60 minutes 

of track time: Throne for clarinet and piano 

(1988); and the more recent Clarinet Quintet 

(2014) and Piano Quartet (2016). Describing 

or categorizing Ruders’ music requires more 

space than allotted, so I decided to list some 

adjectives and some possible likenesses to 

other composers: swinging, soaring, wailing; 

sweet and then astringent; moody and meditative; 

then boisterous and exuberant. 

Sometimes in the style of a chorale, 

featuring monody or homophony, with 

minimal vibrato (the Adagio movement of 

the Clarinet Quintet). At others (especially in 

the Piano Quartet) he reverts to more boldly 

modern style in the sense that his usual 

tonalism gives way to expressionistic chromaticism. 

And especially in the playing of 

the terribly capable clarinetist Jonas Frøland, 

expect keening notes at the top of the spectrum 

to tug on your emotions. 

If he has forebears, they are Messiaen 

(although Ruders is doubtless a pantheist) 

and Ruders’ compatriot Carl Nielsen (minus 

the melancholy). His contemporary cadre 

might include Gavin Bryars and Anders 

Hillborg, and possibly Kaija Saariaho. In his 

own words, the most important defining 

feature of his music is its soul and I urge you 

to discover that for yourself. 

Max Christie 

Works for Violin and Percussion Orchestra 

Nicholas Kitchen; New England 

Conservatory Percussion Ensemble; Frank 

Epstein 

Naxos 8.574212 (naxos.com/Search/ 

KeywordSearchResults/?q=Agocs) 

! American 

composer Lou 

Harrison (1912- 

2003) enjoyed 

mixing non- 

Western musical 

exoticism with 

lots of percussion. 

In his Arabicflavoured, 

21-minute Concerto for Violin and 

Percussion Orchestra, he augmented conventional 

noisemakers with novel “instruments” 

including flowerpots, metallic coils and washtubs. 

Sinuous violin melismas and pulsating 

percussion decorate its first two movements, 

composed in 1940; Harrison added the roisterous 

belly-dance finale in 1959. It’s energetically 

performed by Nicholas Kitchen, first 

violinist of the Borromeo String Quartet, New 

England Conservatory quartet-in-residence, 

and the NEC Percussion Ensemble conducted 

by Frank Epstein, its founding music director. 

Insistent rhythms and pentatonic 

melodies, including an ancient Mayan 

dance-song, evoke tropical steaminess in 

the five-movement Xochiquetzal (2014) by 

Robert Xavier Rodríguez (b. San Antonio, 

Texas 1946). Kitchen’s violin vividly represents 

Xochiquetzal, Aztec goddess of beauty, 

love and fertility, among hummingbirds, 

casting a love spell, alongside her raingod 

husband, weeping tears of flowers 

and bestowing music and dance upon her 

worshippers. 

The four-movement Concerto for Violin 

and Percussion Orchestra (2018) by NEC 

faculty member Kati Agócs (b. Windsor, 

Ontario 1975) begins with Incanta, gentle 

tinkles accompanying a long-lined, sentimental 

violin melody. In the animated 

Inquieto, staccato percussion punctuates 

rapid, repeated violin figurations. Maestoso 

presents another extended, soulful violin 

melody, slowly throbbing percussion, an 

intense violin cadenza leading to a dramatic 

tutti climax before returning to the opening 

lyricism. Brioso.Cantabile’s piquant melodies 

and propulsive rhythms create a whirlwind, 

Gypsy-like dance, its exultant final flourish 

ending both the concerto and this very entertaining 

CD. 


Album for Astor 

Bjarke Mogensen; Danish Chamber Players 

Our Recordings 8.226916 

(ourrecordings.com) 

! Danish accordionist 

Bjarke 

Mogensen writes in 

his liner notes that 

this Astor Piazzolla 

instrumental release 

is for “the centenary 

of his birth.” 

Mogensen bases his 

accordion performances and instrumental 

arrangements here in his admiration, studies 

and understanding of Piazzolla’s compositions 

and bandoneon playing. Combined 

with Mogensen’s personal sound, this is over 

one hour of perfect Piazzolla. 

The attention-grabbing opening track is 

Mogensen’s accordion solo arrangement of 

Adiós Nonino, Piazzolla’s work composed in 

memory of his father. An accented fast beginning 

leads to the famous slow, sad, emotional 

melody with rubato, then back to faster lush full 

glissandos and colours, showing off Mogensen’s 

skillful musicality, fast technique and respectful 

interpretations. The closing track solo arrangement 

Despertar (cadenza) is calming. 

The other tracks feature ensembles. 

Mogensen arranges six works for himself 

and the Danish Chamber Players. Highlight 

is Fuga Y Misterio, from Piazzolla’s opera 

Maria de Buenos Aires. Contrapuntal writing 

with fast attention-grabbing accordion single 

lines, fugal instrumental lines, then full 

instrumentals with accented accordion and 

orchestra detached notes produce spirited 

dance sounds. 

Mathias Heise on harmonica joins 

Mogensen on their co-arrangement/duet 

of Café 1930 from Histoire du Tango. The 

harmonica blends surprisingly well with 

the accordion, especially in high-pitched 

lines above accordion bellow vibratos. 

Co-arranger Johan Bridger’s melodious virtuosic 

ringing vibraphone playing competes 

with and complements accordion tango runs 

in Vibraphonissimo. His vibes/percussion 

tight rendition with accordion moves from 

moody to tango nuevo in Tristango. 

Piazzolla’s music lives on in this clear 

recording. 

Tiina Kiik 

Denis Plante – Suite Tango 

Stéphane Tétreault; Denis Plante 

ATMA ACD2 2881 (atmaclassique.com/en) 

! Bandoneonist/ 

composer Denis 

Plante was inspired 

by J.S. Bach’s Cello 

Suites which feature 

such dances as 

courante, gigue 

and sarabande 

to compose Suite 


Tango, six multi-movement dance suites 

for bandoneon and cello. Plante is joined by 

Stéphane Tétreault here. These two multi 

award-winning musicians play the mesmerizing 

unique sounds with compassion. 

Baroque meets modern day Argentinian 

dance music head on! Suite No.1, “Argentina” 

is a perfect introduction to Plante’s compositions 

here. First movement Preludio, with its 

slow emotional rubato opening, creates the 

mood, with a gradual accelerando into instrumental 

conversational tango styles. Lyrical 

slower bandoneon opens Silbando, with 

legato cello contrapuntal countermelodies, 

plucked cello and lower-pitch bandoneon 

solo adding different colours. The third movement 

Tango is so very melodically rooted in 

this dance-form style, highlighted by cello 

melodies accompanied by accented bandoneon 

chords and single notes, then shifting to 

bandoneon melodies with cello accents. The 

opening movement Coral of Suite No.2 “Bach 

to tango” features a Baroque/tango-flavoured 

bandoneon to a closing Bach-like cadence. 

The solo cello is memorable in the short 

49-second Recitativo second movement. The 

Baroque-coloured tonal duet features subtle 

tango feelings in Canto. Back to an exuberant 

lively short tango in the fourth movement 

Milonga-cayengue. Four exciting multimovement 

suites follow. 

Plante composes with Bach and tangoflavoured 

styles combined, alone and 

developed into compelling new sounds. Both 

performers play with colourful rich tones, 

and virtuosic stylistic/instrumental expertise. 

It’s time to listen and/or to dance to 

Suite Tango! 

Tiina Kiik 

JAZZ AND IMPROVISED 

Featuring 

Caity Gyorgy 

La Reserve Recordings (caitygyorgy.com) 

! With the opening 

barn burner, I Feel 

Foolish, singersongwriter 

Caity 

Gyorgy puts us on 

notice of what’s to 

come on Featuring. 

It’s the first of many 

compelling songs 

she’s written for her 

latest release, and what’s to come is 13 tracks 

of vocal virtuosity and genuine jazz, ranging 

in style from swing to cool to bebop. 

Backed up by a hard-swinging trio (Felix 

Fox-Pappas, piano; Thomas Hainbuch, bass; 

Jacob Wutzke, drums) with guest appearances 

by guitarist Jocelyn Gould (who does 

a gorgeous duet with Gyorgy on the ballad, 

I Miss Missing You), fellow young phenom 

singer, Laura Anglade and a long lineup of 

horn and woodwind players, including Pat 

LaBarbera and Virginia MacDonald. Gyorgy 

solos effortlessly and extensively along 

with the master instrumentalists, but never 

sacrifices warmth or musicality for adroitness. 

Storytelling wins out even when vocal 

gymnastics are dazzling us, as they do on A 

Moment, featuring the remarkable Allison 

Au on sax. My Cardiologist is a masterclass 

on how to be both light-hearted yet seriously 

musical, with its witty take on what love does 

to our hearts. 

The accolades continue to pile up for 

Gyorgy since her debut release two short 

years ago, as she made Best of 2022 lists and 

won a Juno Award. I’m looking forward to 

seeing the rest of the world catch on as this 

homegrown talent expands her reach through 

tours in the U.S. and beyond. Track her progress 

at caitygyorgy.com. 

Cathy Riches 

Concert note: Caity Gyorgy performs on 

March 31 at the Old Ancaster Fire Hall 

in Ancaster. 

Recollecting 

Mathieu Soucy 

Inner-Bob Records (mathieusoucy.com) 

! Young jazz 

guitarist Mathieu 

Soucy, a recent 

graduate of McGill 

and a Montreal 

native, showcases 

his prolific compositional 

and technical 

skills on this debut 

album. Soucy adds his own twist to the songs, 

managing to both create a beautiful hark 

back to the eras of swing and bop while also 

bringing them into current times; making 

for a new classic of sorts. The record features 

an excellent set of musicians, with Gentiane 

MG on keys, Mike De Masi on bass, Jacob 

Wutzke on drums and Caity Gyorgy on vocals. 

Most pieces are penned by the guitarist 

himself with a couple of fresh takes on wellknown 

jazz classics mixed into the musical 

pot pourri. 

Lennie’s Changes starts off the album with 

catchy, toe-tapping energy; fast-paced bass 

runs and a constant, driving beat keep this 

captivating little number moving until the 

last note fades. Where or When is a spiffy take 

on the Rodgers and Hart classic, featuring 

the sultry and mellow vocals of Gyorgy with 

Soucy’s talents as a guitarist splendidly 

coming to the forefront within the piece. 

The fascinating thing about this album is 

how Soucy manages to make these pieces 

sound as if they could have been written back 

in the golden era yet also fit incredibly well 

into the current musical landscape. With 

this invigorating album, the up-and-coming 

young guitarist shows that he definitely has 

more in store for the future. 

Kati Kiilaspea 

Let Go 

Sam Taylor; Terell Stafford; Jeb Patton; 

Neal Miner; Willie Jones III 

Cellar Music CM013122 (cellarlive.com) 

! Philadelphia 

native, tenor saxophonist 

Sam Taylor 

has a pure joy for 

both playing and 

writing music 

which shines 

through phenomenally 

on his latest 

release. Recorded at the legendary Van Gelder 

Studios in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, 

Taylor has managed to capture that aforementioned 

joy within each of these pieces 

and send it right to the ears and hearts of 

listeners; it’s impossible to not smile while 

listening through. The talented musician 

has brought together his musical heroes and 

inspirations in his backing band, featuring 

Terell Stafford on trumpet, Jeb Patton on 

piano, Neal Miner on bass and Willie Jones III 

on drums. The pieces are uplifting and fresh 

takes on jazz classics with one song penned 

by Taylor himself. 

The record is a ray of musical sunshine 

that brightens up the dreariest, grey winter 

days from the first note. A perfect balance of 

slower, mellow tunes and fast-paced, headbopping 

ones make for an ear-pleasing, allencompassing 

musical journey to satiate 

that itch for fresh music that you didn’t quite 

know you had. Luminescence stands out as a 

particularly energetic and snazzy piece with 

fantastic solos peppered throughout, showcasing 

each musician’s fine talents. Bye Bye 

Baby, a fitting title to end the record, leaves 

the listener with a sense of hope and positivity 

for the future as well as a curiosity to 

see what this prolific saxophonist comes up 

with next. A great addition to the jazz aficionado’s 

collection! 

Kati Kiilaspea 

Make That Flight 

François Houle & Marco von Orelli 

ezz-thetics 1032 (hathut.com) 

! A barebones, but 

not budget flight, 

this 11-track itinerary 

is fuelled by 

only two instruments 

and the 

improvisational 

imaginations of 

Canadian clarinetist François Houle and Swiss 

cornetist Marco von Orelli. The key to microscopic 

interactive playing like this is to make 

the partnership expansive not reductive, 

creating as many harmonized or contrapuntal 

tropes as necessary. Not only are compositions 

divided between the musicians, but for 

every delicate reed tone and portamento brass 

sequence heard, an almost equal number of 

altissimo squeals and half-valve extensions 


alance the horizontal flow. 

This is most expansively expressed on 

the concluding Morning Song 1 where the 

tune’s forward motion is speckled with 

shaking growls and toneless breaths from von 

Orelli and scoops and stretches from Houle. 

Eventually both intersect and resolve the tune 

with connected but distorted high pitches. 

Transitions aren’t always that abrupt, as dual 

sweeps up and down the scale are sometimes 

concluded with grace not suturing. 

Other times, as on a track like Tandem, the 

title is literally defined. Allegro cornet puffs 

and calliope-like clarinet peeps move through 

parallel shaking emissions only to finally 

connect with tandem-animated narratives. 

Overall, while each sequence allows for 

individual technical expressions, all are 

resolved with lockstep ambulation or rondolike 

affiliations, leading to broken octave 

linear motion. Without the need for electronic 

technology or more partners, Houle 

and von Orelli prove that together they can 

auspiciously fuel a memorable musical flight. 

Ken Waxman 

Outside the Rain Has Stopped 

Ig Henneman 

Stichting Wig Wig 32 

(abbaarsighennemanwig.bandcamp.com/ 

album/outside-the-rain-has-stopped) 

! Canadians who 

only know Dutch 

violist Ig Henneman 

from her collaboration 

with the local 

Queen Mab duo, 

might not realize 

that in recognition 

of her lifetime 

in improvised and composed music The 

Netherlands made her a Knight of the Order 

of Oranje-Nassau in 2021. This CD presents 

many aspects of the 76-year-old’s extensive 

career in many idioms. 

The soundscape Bow Valley, which blends 

improv with Alberta’s Rocky Mountain area 

field recordings is one standout. While Anne 

La Berge’s flute flutters and Ab Baars’ shakuhachi 

trills are intertwined with rural sounds, 

the bucolic texture is repeatedly interrupted 

by passing freight train whistles and 

radios blaring rock music. Meanwhile Galina 

U, inspired by Russian composer Galina 

Ustvolskaya, posits a contrapuntal challenge 

between Ansgar Wallenhorst’s foghorn-like 

organ drones and dynamic crescendos with 

structured colouration from La Berge’s flute, 

Baars’ clarinet and Henneman’s own viola. 

Other compositions for pressurized solo 

organ, spirited solo cello and poem or sound 

poem embellishments and improvisations 

are included. But the most impressive 

demonstration of Henneman’s compositional 

aptitude is the title tune. Here, dynamic interaction 

among violins, viola and cello with 

jagged arco slices, sul tasto pushes and whistling 

glissandi, shatter the form then reach 

an energetic crescendo that approaches Cecil 

Taylor’s dynamic pianism. 

Obviously, Ig Henneman is a name that 

should be more recognized by sophisticated 

listeners on both sides of the musical improvisation-notation 

divide. 

Ken Waxman 

In a Summer Dream 

Hannah Barstow; Mike Murley; Jim Vivian 

Cornerstone Records 

(cornerstonerecordsinc.com) 

! There can be no 

question that the 

creative pairing of 

pianist, vocalist and 

composer Hannah 

Barstow with saxophonist/composer 

Mike Murley is 

beyond inspired… 

and the addition of eminent jazz bassist 

Jim Vivian is not only the perfect complement 

to Barstow and Murley, but also to the 

superb, eclectic selection of rarely performed 

tunes and the two original compositions 

here. Barstow and Murley serve as producers, 

innovatively arranging works from 

such diverse artists as Johnny Mandel, Nat 

Adderley, Johnny Mercer and Michel Legrand. 

The program kicks off with Mandel’s Don’t 

Look Back – which features a haunting, 

delicate melodic line as well as masterful 

playing from Barstow who has put her own 

swinging stamp on this Broadway tune. Her 

pitch-perfect, rhythmic jazz vocal style adds 

another dimension to the meaningful lyric, 

while Murley and Vivian eminently support 

Barstow throughout. Barstow’s intonation, 

tone, lyrical interpretation and respect for the 

melody is worthy of a vocal master class – and 

the sooner the better! 

Who Are You comes from iconic trumpeter/composer 

Kenny Wheeler. The tenor 

solo opening gently segues into Barstow’s 

stunning vocal line. Murley sings through his 

tenor, effortlessly creating an aura of musical 

intimacy, and Vivian’s skilled and moving 

bass solo takes us deeper on the trip. From 

the inspired minds of Legrand and Mercer, 

comes Once Upon a Summertime, replete 

with a sumptuous solo from Murley. Of 

special note is Barstow’s original title track, 

which calls to mind the vocal style and musicality 

of the great Norma Winstone. By any 

musical criteria, this is one of the finest jazz 

recordings of the year. 


A Little Louder Now 

Lauren Falls; David French; Trevor 

Giancola; Todd Pentney; Trevor Falls 

Independent (laurenfallsmusic.com) 

! With her second 

dynamic salvo, 

gifted and accomplished 

bassist and 

composer Lauren 

Falls has fired off 

a fine recording 

comprised almost 

entirely of original 

tunes. Joining her is a superb ensemble, 

including Todd Pentney on piano, Trevor 

Giancola on guitar, David French on tenor 

saxophone and Trevor Falls on drums. First 

up is New View – a languid, sensual trip, 

grounded by Pentney’s perfectly insistent 

chordal movement and Giancola’s incredible 

touch and taste on guitar – which brings 

to mind the great Jim Hall or Mundell Lowe. 

French’s warm, substantial sound perfectly 

parenthesises the almost hypnotic tonal 

modalities of the composition. 

The well-conceived title track absolutely 

grooves with intent and prominently displays 

the artistry of each musician. Falls is rock 

solid, and her superb bass work not only 

permeates the musical landscape, but it deftly 

leads her group through this evocative tone 

poem. Drummer Falls not only embodies 

seamless, perfect dynamics, but additionally 

manifests the ideal diaphanous support of his 

sister’s gorgeous solo. Disagree to Disagree 

is an outstanding effort, rife with emotional 

content, exploring both longing and resolution. 

French weaves his tenor in and out of 

the composition, with clever improvisations 

that underscore the contrapuntal aspects of 

the tune. 

Another standout is Take Me. This track lilts 

along with pure joy, and the duet sequences 

between tenor and guitar are almost breathtakingly 

beautiful, as is Pentney’s piano 

solo. The closer, Vincent Youmans’ venerable 

Tin Pan Alley classic, I Want to Be Happy is 

presented here with a fresh, contemporary 

twist, featuring some interesting non-standard 

chord changes that perfectly illustrate 

the cognitive dissonance of the search for 

personal happiness in a seemingly cold, rigid, 

unforgiving world – just as it was in the Great 

Depression. 


HOME.S. 

Esbjörn Svensson 

ACT 9053-2 (actmusic.com) 

! During the 28 

years when he 

was active, pianist 

Esbjörn Svensson 

(1964-2008) was all 

the rage. The music 

that he created with 

his trio e.s.t. had an 


elegant and wry minimalist feel, which made 

it altogether memorable. When Svensson 

died in a scuba-diving accident his legion of 

fans was aggrieved. And now, with the music 

of Home.S, it’s time to raise his indomitable 

spirit once again. 

This music, says his wife who produced 

this disc, was composed and recorded on his 

home computer in the spring of 2008. Eva 

Svensson reminds us that her husband had 

an all-consuming passion for astronomy and 

reminded us about his 1998 From Gagarin’s 

Point of View with e.s.t.. Svensson was also 

a classicist and, in homage to him, his wife 

decided to name each of the nine tracks after 

the Greek alphabet. And she did right by her 

husband. 

All the music on Home.S is played – and 

hummed, and harmonized – slightly off key. 

Somehow this adds to the music’s haunting 

appeal. It makes you feel as if Svensson is 

omnipresent in the nine fluttering charts 

from Alpha to Iota not only in body, but not 

unsurprisingly, as a memorably blithe spirit. 

Some tracks – Alpha and Gamma – end 

abruptly, as if Svensson’s train of thought was 

interrupted. However, the eloquent music 

does coalesce around Baroque ideas that 

spring from dense contrapuntal gestures, as if 

Bach’s Goldberg Variations was on Svensson’s 

febrile mind. 

Raul da Gama 

Amber 

Lori Freedman; Scott Thomson 

Clean Feed CF606CD 

(cleanfeed-records.com) 

! In a mundane 

word, amber is 

just a fossilised 

tree resin with a 

prescient glow. 

However, in the 

hands, tongues and 

lips of clarinetist 

Lori Freedman and 

trombonist Scott Thomson Amber is a manysplendoured 

metaphor redolent of golden 

colours and tones that define more than 

merely their duelling instruments. With the 

repertoire on this album, the music of Amber 

evokes a kind of Romance language with 

which to connect with the very heart of the 

music continuum. 

From start to finish both clarinetist and 

trombonist create a high-spirited and lyrical 

palimpsest featuring some truly beautiful 

writing and daring improvisation. With 

each variation the two musicians penetrate 

aspects of amber with strength, precision and 

charming, idiosyncratic virtuosity. 

You’ll be made to forget that works like 

Sesquiterpenoids, Glessite, Succinite and 

Labdanoid have anything at all to do with 

nature, aglow with resins and hydrocarbons 

that have formed over centuries since 

the before the Neolithic Age. Instead you 

will be dazzled by each piece; an idiomatic 

meditation suggestive of a proverbial melody 

imbued in amber. 

Listening to Freedman’s and Thomson’s 

performances you would not stop marvelling 

at how two artists use their musicianship – 

albeit uncommonly ingenious – to reflect the 

vitality and many-layered originality of this 

music. And how bellowing B-flat and bass 

clarinets and growling trombone can turn the 

artists’ metaphor into music with a sensuousness 

and voluptuous beauty all its own. Bravo 

to both for this visionary music. 

Raul da Gama 

Alive at the Village Vanguard 

Fred Hersch; esperanza spalding 

Palmetto PM2208CD (orcd.co/ 

aliveatthevillagevanguard) 

! If you knew that 

you were going to a 

concert that paired 

Fred Hersch with 

esperanza spalding, 

you’d be fairly sure 

that sparks were 

going to fly on stage. 

Throughout his career Hersch has been one 

of the most imaginative musicians whose 

pianism bristles with almost insolent virtuosity. 

Spalding, better known as a virtuoso 

contrabassist, has also begun to dazzle 

listeners with her puckish voice which she 

has wielded to seduce and dazzle audiences 

in a manner that combines musicality and 

ingenuity far beyond her young years. 

Together the two musicians become a 

formidable duo that explores music on Alive 

at the Village Vanguard with virtuosity, 

refreshing charm and borderless scope. If you 

find yourself believing that Sheila Jordan and 

Steve Kuhn created a seemingly unreachable 

standard when it comes to the piano-voice 

duet you will surely be in for a wonderful 

surprise. Hersch and spalding have not simply 

reached, but cleared the proverbial bar with 

space to spare. 

Spalding may not tell jazz stories about 

Charlie Parker with the kind of veracity of 

Jordan, but she (spalding) makes up for everything 

with her airborne delivery. She effortlessly 

propels song lyrics into airy parabolic 

trajectories infusing them with luminous 

tone textures along the way. A case in point 

is the epic version of Parker’s Little Suede 

Shoes. Meanwhile with Girl Talk, she seems 

to have the audience eating out of her hands 

as she weaves a marvellous yarn. Hersch is 

agile and brilliant throughout. 

Raul da Gama 

No Hugs 

PJ Perry; Bob Tildesley; Chris Andrew; Paul 

Johnston; Dave Laing 


! While new waves 

and variants of 

COVID-19 give the 

pandemic a feeling 

of endlessness, one 

positive thing to 

come out of this 

prolonged period of 

chaos is an abundance 

of lockdown art. While the world was 

standing still, and even the most careerfocused 

individuals were suddenly baking 

sourdough in their pajamas, many musicians 

opted to spend their extra free time practising 

and composing. This is what stalwart 

saxophonist PJ Perry was doing, and the eight 

pieces he composed with collaborator Neil 

Swainson now form his latest album No Hugs. 

Perry has a unique musical vocabulary that 

can function in a wide range of settings, from 

smooth to intense and cerebral to soulful. This 

is reflected in the entirety of No Hugs, which 

manages to sound current and old school 

at the same time. After repeated listening, I 

noticed that many of the tracks are comparable 

medium tempos, but in yet another 

display of balance there manages to be ample 

contrast and variety between songs. 

Too Soon Gone is a rousing opening track 

that sets a swinging post-bop tone for the rest 

of the album. March of the Covidians gives 

listeners a dramatically different groove and 

energy, before the album’s beautiful ballad 

title track. No Hugs features a short but sensitive 

piano intro from Chris Andrew, and 

beautiful improvised solos. The tempo picks 

up again on The Kestrel, and the remainder of 

the album concludes in such a manner that 

you’ll be ready for another listen. 

Sam Dickinson 

The Ostara Project 

Amanda Tosoff; Jodi Proznick; Allison Au; 

Rachel Therrien; Joanna Majoko; Sanah 

Kadoura; Jocelyn Gould 


! I listened to this 

album in its entirety 

several times before 

reading Lisa Buck’s 

eloquent liner 

notes, and I think I 

may make a habit of 

this order of events 

moving forward. 

Groups that are formed as “collectives” or 

“projects” can often struggle to program a 

cohesive set of music or an album’s worth of 

material, but not The Ostara Project. From 

the track titles to the songs themselves, and 

even the album’s design and artwork, there 

is an uplifting theme to the seven original 

tracks and one arrangement we are presented 


with. This is not an uncommon feeling among 

debut recordings, but it manages to feel more 

poignant when expressed during the turbulent 

times we are in globally. 

Delta Sky starts the album off with a catchy 

groove and excellent interactions between 

soloists and the rhythm section. Bassist Jodi 

Proznick and drummer Sanah Kadoura are 

the core of this rhythm section, with pianist 

Amanda Tosoff and guitarist Jocelyn Gould 

alternating harmonic duties throughout the 

recording. Delta Sky is saxophonist Allison 

Au’s only composition credit on the album, 

but she contributes beautifully phrased 

melodies and sophisticated motivic solos to 

the remaining tracks too. 

Another compositional highlight is the 

contrasting and conversational Lluviona by 

trumpeter Rachel Therrien. There are some 

moments of collective improvisation here, 

contrasting the groovy preceding numbers 

and subsequent ballad Tides are Turning. 

Joanna Majoko does a superb job bringing 

life to the lyrics heard on The Ostara Project 

and she penned a rhythmically intriguing 

arrangement of the standard Bye Bye 

Blackbird. 

There is plenty more to say about the musicianship 

brimming from this album, but I 

encourage you to listen for yourself. 

Sam Dickinson 

Lush Life 

Heather Ferguson; Miguelito Valdes; Barrie 

Sorensen; Tony Genge; Jan Stirling; Joey 

Smith 

Independent (heatherferguson.ca) 

! I had the 

pleasure of meeting 


at Toronto’s El 

Mocambo in 

May 2022; we were 

both at Ori Dagan’s 

Click Right Here 

album launch. I 

remember thinking 

how rich and warm her speaking voice was, 

and wasn’t surprised when she told me that 

she, like Dagan, was a jazz vocalist. 

Lush Life is the Victoria-based artist’s 

smashing debut album. And while it may be 

her first full-length CD, Ferguson has been 

honing her singing chops for years. This is 

not a beginner’s voice. This is the voice of an 

experienced student and lover of jazz who has 

been paying close attention over a lifetime 

to the best interpreters of the 20th century’s 

classics and standards. You can hear it in her 

beautiful phrasing and in her engaging, confident, 

generous, insightful and passionate 

performance. She is a consummate storyteller 

who keeps things interesting and inviting. 

Ferguson treats us to ten tracks, with help 

from some of Victoria’s finest, including 

Miguelito Valdes on trumpet, Barrie Sorensen 

on saxophones, drummer Damian Graham, 

keyboardist Tony Genge and guitarist Joey 

Smith, whose stellar arrangements add 

another layer of excellence to the project. 

From the expressive and lovely title track, 

the truly soulful Body & Soul and the sultry 

(and cheeky at the end) At Last, to a deeply 

evocative Cry Me A River and darn right 

gorgeous Round Midnight, Ferguson’s Lush 

Life is a celebration of a musically infused life 

well lived! 

Sharna Searle 

Cory Smythe – Smoke Gets In Your Eyes 

Sofia Jernberg; Large Ensemble; Cory 

Smythe 

Pyroclastic Records PR 23 (store. 

pyroclasticrecords.com) 

! Composer and 

pianist Cory Smythe 

has worked with 

several of contemporary 

music’s 

most creative 

figures, among 

them Anthony 

Braxton, Tyshawn 

Sorey and Nate Wooley, but it would be difficult 

to name a more inventive conceptualist, 

engaging historical musical and social 

forms to generate challenging contemporary 

dialogues, reinventing the jazz practice 

of creative variations on standard repertoire. 

His Circulate Susanna investigated Stephen 

Foster’s famous genocidal ditty (see the original 

lyric of 1848); Accelerate Every Voice, was 

a choral piece about rising water levels. Now 

Smoke Gets in Your Eyes approaches Jerome 

Kern and Otto Harbach‘s ancient pop tune 

to address a world on fire. Smythe’s probing, 

highly creative liner booklet is illustrated with 

images of the song’s celebrated performers, 

including Louis Armstrong, Judy Garland, 

Fred Astaire and Bryan Ferry. 

The work comes in two distinct parts. 

The first four pieces, originally developed 

with the Trondheim Jazz Orchestra, are 

performed by a stellar 11-member ensemble 

(saxophonist Ingrid Laubrock and cellist 

Tomeka Reid are prominent), playing 

four pieces. Liquiform 1 comes as close as 

might be possible to creating liquid sound, 

while Combustion 1 has trumpeter Peter 

Evans invoking fire with blistering, incendiary 

flurries. Combustion 2 has singer Sofia 

Jernberg reducing the original song to snippets. 

The second and longer part consists of 

Smythe’s seven solo explorations of the song, 

playing a piano with computer augmentation 

altering pitch and timbre. The original 

song is often wholly fragmented, appearing in 

glimpses through Smythe’s abstract, shifting 

improvisations as if etched in smoked glass. 

Stuart Broomer 

Funk Poems for “Bird” 

Timuçin Şahin’s Flow State 

Panoramic Recordings pan27 

(newfocusrecordings.com/catalogue/ 

timucin-sahins-flow-state-funk-poems-forbird) 

! Timuçin Şahin 

is a Turkish 

guitarist currently 

teaching at New 

York University; 

his Funk Poems for 

Bird is a series of 

pieces dedicated to 

the musical spirit 

of Charlie Parker. 

This in itself is not unusual, but in 2022, 

forays into jazz history can grow increasingly 

exploratory. This is one of them. Şahin’s Flow 

State, meanwhile, is an ideal complement. 

Bassist Reggie Washington and drummer 

Sean Rickman are a masterful rhythm section 

adept at numerous jazz sub-genres. Here they 

provide coolly abstracted versions of funk 

grooves, while pianist Cory Smythe adds his 

own edgy vision. 

Şahin pushes Parker’s thematic 

material further than most, both backwards 

into its modernist classical associations 

(Schoenberg and Varèse) and forward into 

the work of Parker’s most brilliant successor, 

John Coltrane. Şahin’s vision is built into 

his instrument and his approach. Here he 

plays a double-neck guitar, one a conventional 

fretted six-string, the other a fretless 

seven-string, the latter facilitating sudden 

shifts into quarter tones. Further, Şahin 

rarely plays anything resembling a conventional 

line, instead favouring swarms of notes, 

polyvocal lines that coil and slither amongst 

themselves, whether swimming amidst 

Washington and Rickman’s cool backbeats or 

matching Smythe’s explosive playing, here in 

a voice somewhere between Bud Powell and 

Cecil Taylor. 

The time-travelling Bird Watchers has it 

all, from its roots in Parker’s Ornithology to 

Şahin’s back-and-forth movement between 

fretted and fretless necks to Smythe’s technologically 

altered piano pitch, knit together 

with a slightly wobbly funk beat. 


The Off-Off Broadway Guide to Synergism 

Tyshawn Sorey Trio +1 with Greg Osby 

Pi Recordings P196 (pirecordings.com) 

! On his preceding 

recording, 

Mesmerism, 

drummer/ 

composer Tyshawn 

Sorey turned from 

his more esoteric 

composing practice 

to stress jazz 

performance traditions, a conventional 

instrumental grouping exploring a standard, 


ut expandable, repertoire. Here that notion 

has grown from a single studio session and 

a piano trio to nearly four hours with brilliant 

saxophonist Greg Osby joining Sorey, 

pianist Andrew Diehl (the star of Mesmerism) 

and bassist Russell Hall, recorded over three 

nights at New York’s Jazz Gallery. 

It’s a mode that’s rarely heard on record 

(where composer royalties are an issue), 

though it’s the lifeblood of the jazz club, a 

concentrated dialogue around a common 

repertoire, though here broader than 

usual. Its thematic bases include American 

Songbook titles (Cole Porter’s Night and Day, 

Van Heusen and Burke’s It Could Happen 

to You) to earlier jazz forms (Fats Waller’s 

Jitterbug Waltz, Billy Strayhorn’s Chelsea 

Bridge) to bop and free jazz (Thelonious 

Monk’s Ask Me Now to Andrew Hill’s Ashes 

and Ornette Coleman’s Mob Job), several 

heard in different forms from different nights. 

The performances brim with life. Osby 

is central here, whether broadly lyrical or 

pressing toward expressionist intensity, 

generating continuous lines that accommodate 

themselves to the varied material but 

have a life of their own. This celebrates the 

core jazz experience, a small group exploring 

the melodic and harmonic possibilities, the 

expressive resonances and collective meanings 

of a song at length (20 minutes in the 

case of Three Little Words). It’s a contemporary 

embodiment of a great tradition. 


Hyaku, One Hundred Dreams 

Satoko Fujii 

Libra Records 209-071 (librarecords.com) 

! Hyaku, One 

Hundred Dreams is 

pianist/composer 

Satoko Fujii’s 100th 

CD as leader and a 

fitting celebration 

of her remarkable 

career, launched 

in 1996 with duets 

with Paul Bley. Among images of her first 99 

works, South Wind, the fourth, leaps out, its 

title track figuring significantly for me during 

20 years of teaching jazz history. Based on 

an Okinawan mode, it combines dramatic 

energy and pacific beauty, embodying what 

jazz has increasingly become, an inclusivist 

art alive to local dialects and the possibility of 

global values. 

The contrasts, too, are dramatic, reflecting 

how much has changed. South Wind’s big 

band was conventional, with sections of 

trumpets, trombones, reeds and rhythm 

instruments, with Fujii the sole woman 

among 15 musicians; Hyaku is a nonet with 

individual emphases on both instruments and 

musicians, its ensemble almost evenly split 

between women and men. Further, Hyaku’s 

five-part suite blurs composed and improvised 

components. 

From its beginning, Hyaku introduces 

essential qualities in Fujii’s music, the subtly 

organic shape of her initial piano figures, the 

landscape-like incidental percussion, the 

dream-like flow state and an undercurrent of 

welling energy. Each movement will extend a 

continuum with what has gone before, theme 

statements, improvised solos and ensemble 

passages achieving rare homogeneity. Each 

member of a brilliant ensemble will appear 

in the foreground, from trumpeters Wadada 

Leo Smith and Natsuki Tamura through 

bassoonist Sara Schoenbeck, tenor saxophonist 

Ingrid Laubrock, electronic musician 

Ikue Mori and bassist Brandon Lopez to 

drummers Tom Rainey and Chris Corsano. 


Unstuck in Time: The Kurt Vonnegut Suite 

Jason Yeager Septet w/Miguel Zenón 

Sunnyside Records SSC 1672 

(sunnysiderecords.bandcamp.com/album/ 

unstuck-in-time-the-kurt-vonnegut-suite) 

! Kurt Vonnegut 

was a satirist, 

science fiction 

writer and 

outsized personality 

who is still 

quoted and revered 

long after his 

death. The pianist 

and composer Jason Yeager has been a 

huge fan for years and had composed 

several jazz pieces inspired by Vonnegut’s 

writing. Unstuck in Time (named after Billy 

Pilgrim’s condition in Slaughterhouse-Five) 

is a compilation of these pieces released to 

honour the author’s 100th birthday. 

All the works are lively, build off Vonnegut’s 

idiosyncratic narratives and characters and 

utilize Yeager’s septet which, in addition to 

the rhythm section, contains combinations 

of saxophone, clarinet, trumpet, trombone 

and vibraphone. Blues for Billy Pilgrim has 

a wistful feeling, with a Thelonious 

Monk-like melody with a rowdy trumpet 

solo. Bokonon opens with a delightful 

hip-hop vibe and features a vivacious 

staccato alto sax performance by Miguel 

Zenón. Kilgore’s Creed begins with the band 

chanting (from the novel Timequake) “You 

were sick, but now you are well again and 

there’s work to do” before working into a 

jazz polka rhythm, overlaid with excellent 

ensemble playing and solos. 

Unstuck in Time is everything Vonnegut 

would have loved: eclectic and sensitive 

compositions and performances that show 

how jazz can have a lot of fun while paying 

homage to an artistic hero. 

Ted Parkinson 

Heyday 

RJ LeBlanc 

MCM; Bent River Records; Diese Onze 

Records (rjleblanc.bandcamp.com) 

! The embodiment 

of smoothness, 

Heyday has the 

fluidity of a living 

organism, with nary 

a transition feeling 

contrived and a 

staggering level of 

sonic detail. Into 

The Sun is a composition that takes calculated 

risks while never coming across as arrogant. 

Each metre and tempo change is seamless, 

without clear delineations necessary in terms 

of solo sections versus premeditated grooves. 

In the track’s third and fourth minutes, 

the synth ostinato slows to a halt, but the 

momentum of the music isn’t compromised, 

as it either punctuates a backdrop of 

thunderous percussion or brings the song 

to a close. 

Montreal bassist RJ LeBlanc as a session 

leader is dazzlingly adept at precisely that: 

taking one simple musical element and 

finding a thousand different uses for it. In 

a less overt way, the way LeBlanc incorporates 

harmonics on his bass in the mesmerizing 

emotional core track Chanson pour 

Marguerite is quite fascinating. Extended 

passages employing harmonics are used in 

the beginning as a means of introducing the 

primary melodic figure, used as an interlude 

connecting sections, and then underneath the 

guitar (Nicolas Ferron) to create a climatically 

uplifting ambient soundscape. Meanwhile, 

this album perhaps shines brightest when 

LeBlanc brings along the entire ensemble, 

with Saturnales in particular being a dizzyingly 

dense achievement of married sound. 

The track, like the album itself, is an exploration 

of ingenuity and how invigorating it can 

be to have friends to realize your ideas. 

Yoshi Maclear Wall 

Songwriter 

Alex Bird; Ewen Farncombe 

Independent (alexbird007.bandcamp.com) 

! Alex Bird doesn’t 

need an accompanist. 

With a single 

phrase, the directness 

of his voice 

conveys so much 

emotional information, 

that even 

the most silent 

seconds have an 

unshakeable sense of fulfillment to them. 

Pianist Ewen Farncombe, knowing this, gives 

Bird plenty of voids to work with. There’s 

an endearing ebb and flow to their tandem, 

like the cordial exchange of shared dance, 

a conversation, a flurry of interjections or 

two shopping carts gracefully rolling across 


a lot. There are moments where each musician 

almost sounds like they’re crafting an 

independent piece. 

Such is the case in the closing minute 

of Symphony of Love, with Bird’s loose 

reframing of the melody evasively circling 

around Farncombe’s increasingly zestful 

comping. There are magical moments where 

each musician sounds like they’re completing 

the other’s ideas before they’re conceived. 

Such is the case in the closing minute of the 

aptly titled I’ll Go Where You Lead, with 

Farncombe’s thoroughly intentional calls 

concerning how the beginnings of each 

phrase coincide with Bird’s. Fact is, there are 

magical moments everywhere to be had on 

this album, because Bird is in control of his 

songwriting craft and Farncombe is as adaptable 

and willing an accompanist as they 

come. Bird’s vocals may not need an accompanist 

to make profoundly interesting and 

layered music, but Farncombe expands what 

is possible in that regard. The sum here far 

exceeds its parts. 

Yoshi Maclear Wall 

POT POURRI 

Hooked 

Dizzy & Fay 

Independent (dizzyandfay.com) 

! Dizzy & Fay are 

at it again. With 

Hooked, their 

second release 

in just two years 

(thanks lockdowns!), 

the duo 

(keyboardist, songwriter, 

arranger 

and producer Mark 

Lalama and Juno-nominated singer and songwriter 

Amanda Walther) continues to build its 

persona, reminiscent of smoky jazz clubs, late 

nights and one too many martinis. 

Hooked ventures beyond the duo and 

their considerable playing and singing skills 

though, with arrangements rich with woodwinds 

(Johnny Johnson) horns (William Carn 

and Jason Logue) drums (Davide DiRenzo) 

and bass (Rich Moore). The City of Prague 

Philharmonic even makes a couple of appearances 

and Drew Jurecka’s orchestrations on 

those tracks really shine. 

As great as all of those accoutrements are, 

what draws us in most is the songwriting. 

Inspired by the Great American Songbook, 

Lalama and Walther have given us a set of 

songs that are both lyrically and musically 

strong and stylized, yet heartfelt. Themes of 

love and longing dominate but no modern 

album is complete, it seems, without at least 

one song about the pandemic and I’m Alright 

elegantly shrugs it all off while Good News 

cleverly evokes the strange mix of ennui, 

despair and coziness many of us felt. Hooked 

is playful and cool but will break your heart 

if you let it. 

(The duo’s virtual world, the Dizzy & Fay 

Speakeasy, complete with tour dates and 

merch, can be explored at dizzyandfay.com.) 

Cathy Riches 

Concert note: Dizzy & Fay perform in 

Toronto at Reid’s Distillery on February 8 

and again on March 8, and then can be heard 

in Kingston March 9 (Next Church), Ottawa 

March 10 (Options Jazz Lounge) and London 

March 12 (Aeolian Hall). 

Song 

Sheku Kanneh-Mason 

Decca B0036196-02 (deccaclassics.com/ 

en/artists/sheku-kanneh-mason) 

! Since winning 

BBC Young 

Musician in 2017 

cellist Sheku 

Kanneh-Mason 

has been much in 

demand from every 

musical quarter, 

traversing a road 

to glory, the envy of many musicians, some 

twice – even three times – his age. It is now 

safe to say that the music world is Kanneh- 

Mason’s oyster, albeit with room to spare for 

all his über-gifted siblings. 

But the cellist has – to all intents and 

purposes – pride of place in music’s rarefied 

realm. His Shostakovich First Cello Concerto 

unearthed real depth. From evidence of his 

various Decca recordings he seems to have 

soaked up every experience in the glitz and 

gush of what you might call his formative 

years. At the time of reviewing Song, with its 

repertoire culled from the classical and the 

popular, and from secular and sacred pieces, 

Kanneh-Mason is set to perform his interpretation 

of Elgar’s monumental Cello Concerto 

in E Minor Op.85 – a work long held out of 

bounds because of Jacqueline du Pré’s iconic 

1962 recording – with the Toronto Symphony 

Orchestra. (Unfortunately, that will have 

taken place by time of publication.) 

However, Song amplifies the truth that 

Kanneh-Mason may have inherited Du Pré’s 

crown. The freshly radiant interpretation of 

Beethoven’s Variations on Ein Mädchen oder 

Weibchen, Mendelssohn’s Songs without 

Words (both also feature his brilliant pianistsister, 

Isata), Stravinsky’s Chanson russe and 

Bach’s sacred music are spectacular. But Same 

Boat, a song composed by Kanneh-Mason 

(with vocalist Zak Abel) is the album’s apogee. 

In this simple song lies notice of Kanneh- 

Mason’s glowing compositional genius. 

Raul da Gama 

My America 2: Destinations 

Jim Self; Various Artists 

Basset Hound Music 

(bassethoundmusic.com) 

! Unless you’ve 

been living in a 

cave with no access 

to media for the 

past 40 years, 

you have heard 

the tuba playing 

of Jim Self. A 

legendary fixture 

in Hollywood recording studios, he has 

performed on countless sessions for film and 

television and is probably best known for his 

performance as the “Voice of the Mothership” 

from Spielberg’s Close Encounters of the 

Third Kind. And all the while, Self has maintained 

an impressive “live” career in many 

groups, including the Los Angeles Opera, the 

Hollywood Bowl Symphony, as a jazz musician 

and a celebrated tuba soloist. 

His latest solo release, My 

America 2: Destinations (a sequel to My 

America released 20 years ago) is a jazzy 

romp through places in the USA that have 

been important to him throughout his long 

career. (As the cover states: “We hold these 

tunes to be SELF-evident.” Cute.) It goes 

without saying that Self’s solo tuba playing is 

amazing and his backup band made up of top 

LA studio musicians is as tight as one would 

expect, but what makes this album memorable 

are the arrangements by his longtime 

friend, Kim Scharnberg. His eclectic, inventive 

writing, his creative scoring (and, of 

course, Self’s stellar tuba playing) will have 

me returning to this disc time and time again. 

Scott Irvine 

i’d Love to Turn… 

John Oswald 

fony (pfony.bandcamp.com/album/ 

id-love-to-turn) 

! Prolific Canadian 

composer/ 

performer John 

Oswald is back 

with an illustrious, 

boundary-crashing 

release, dedicated 

to Phil Strong. Four 

main tracks are 

online streaming, with additional five bonus 

tracks. videos and main track PDF scores for 

downloading. 

The main four tracks are Oswald’s selfdescribed 

plunderphonic Rascali Klepitoire/ 

hybrids combining elements from liveperformance 

recordings with studio-based 

additions and plunderphonic transformations, 

primarily focused on music he discovered 

in the mid-1960s. Fee Fie Foe Fum is 

complex, surprisingly easy listening based 

on the 1966 pop hit, and Oswald’s research 

between Frank Zappa’s first album release 


and Edgard Varèse’s death. Familiar tidbits are 

superimposed into fragmented short upbeat 

modern sounds. 

The BBC orchestral commission I’d Love 

to Turn… quotes The Beatles, Ligeti and Terry 

Riley. This studio recreation combines orchestral 

sounds with electronics, creating new 

music embedded in popular music. 

Oswald quotes from around 40 piano scores 

in brief fragments, up to four simultaneously, 

in the Marc-André Hamelin solo piano 

commission Tip (2022). A calm, classicalflavoured 

opening leads to chords, flourishes, 

runs and rhythms. Love the evocative highpitched 

ringing sections. 

Varèse, Zappa and 1960s music are featured 

in reFuse. Oswald’s ear-catching talent to 

keep a work moving with fragmented interchanging, 

superimposed live instruments and 

electronic quotes and effects drive this “name 

that tune” work. Bonus tracks highlights 

are live Hamelin rehearsal Tip, and Turning 

Point Ensemble reFuse performances. Oswald 

reinvents Ligeti, Zappa and Varèse each separately 

on three additional tracks. 

The more one listens to Oswald’s memorable 

music here, the more one hears 

and loves. 

Tiina Kiik 

Something in the Air 

Adding a Real Gallic Flavor when Creating French Jazz 

KEN WAXMAN 

Perhaps it’s related to the storied freedom of 1920s Paris where a 

Black entertainer like Josephine Baker could become a superstar, 

or the French pre-and-post Second World War intellectuals who 

wrote learnedly about jazz when it was still scorned in North America, 

but improvised music in France took longer to assert its own national 

identity than in other countries. With successive waves of foreign 

musicians making their homes there, local musicians became the 

most proficient Europeans playing styles ranging from Dixieland to 

Hard Bop. That has changed for the better since the 1970s. Since free 

jazz/improvised music accepted musical influences from all over, 

unique Gallic sounds began coming to the forefront. Folkloric 

influences from the countryside, advanced notated and electric/ 

acoustic experiments and melodies from France’s former colonies 

became accepted. As these discs demonstrate, while it’s impossible to 

exactly define jazz from France, in its best iteration it’s certainly not an 

imitation of North American models. 

Along with others such as Jacques Thollot 

and François Tusques, keyboardist Jef 

Gilson (1926-2012) was one of the first Gallic 

musicians to incorporate free improvisations 

into straight-ahead jazz. However, by 1974 

when Workshop (Souffle Continu FFL 075 

CD soufflecontinurecords.com) was 

recorded, his music was individual since it 

was also influenced by the ethnic sounds 

Gilson had heard and played during an extended Madagascar sojourn. 

The two lengthy tracks here reflect that. On one hand co-leader alto 

saxophonist Philippe Maté (1939-2002), projects the multiphonic 

sweeps of spiritual free jazz while percussionists, bassists and 

keyboardists create a highly rhythmic underpinning that propels and 

accents the narratives. Bruno Di Gioia’s baying English horn adds 

another element to the extended Vision, while his and Maurice 

Bouhana’s dual flute interludes contribute Third World hues to both 

tracks, amplified by drum pounding, cow bell whacks, cymbal 

shaking and keyboard glissandi. The varied keyboards played by 

Gilson and Pierre Moret also serve as linkage between percussion 

rhythm and Maté’s unfettered free jazz. Moving among spiky bites, 

energetic overblowing and smeared multiphonics, the saxophonist’s 

output frequently ascends to prestissimo and staccato timbres. 

Juddering rumbles from one electric keyboard keeps the saxophonist 

from straying too far from the exposition in those cases, and Gilson’s 

jazz-inflected electric piano accents complement lyrical asides in the 

saxophonist’s more relaxed moments. 

Jump forward almost five decades and this 

electro/acoustic mixture is also expressed 

by 40-year-old pianist Eve Risser. Except 

in this case the polyrhythmic weaving 

expressed by her eight-part suite on 

Eurythmia (Clean Feed CF 609 CD cleanfeed-records.com) 

is interpreted by the 

12-piece Red Desert Orchestra instead of 

Gilson’s septet. Its classic sound is achieved 

by adding specific modulations played by 

African and Levantine qarqabas, balafons, djembes and baras to the 

orchestra’s Western electric and acoustic instruments. Although some 

of the tracks are more so-called European and some more so-called 

ethnic, creative melding is the most prominent take away. In fact, 

it’s the concluding Soyayya which puts this in the boldest relief. 

Picking up the relentless percussion beats of the previous track, with 

dancing cross rhythms and balafon strokes most prominent, harmonized 

riffs from the five-piece horn section are heard as speckled electronic 

oscillations also come to the fore. As the percussion pops and 

shakes continue, Antonin-Tri Hoang’s alto saxophone takes apart 

and reconnects the theme with fluttering squeals. Finally, these and 

other textures fade into Tatiana Paris’ lyrical guitar coda. Later her 

voice along with Risser’s harmonize with the reeds on Desert Rouge 

providing balance to the bent notes and multiple cross rhythms 

from the percussionists, while trumpeter Nils Ostendorf and trombonist 

Mathias Müller blow mariachi-like triplets that settle on top of 

the undulating groove. Ever present, the surging percussion raps are 

prominent throughout the disc. Yet between pianist Risser’s carefully 

positioned repeated patterns and chording control, the performances 

are prevented from becoming techno-trance music. Furthermore, in 

spite of standout solos, especially from Müller on Gämse, which blasts 

up the scale and down again with an emphasized collection of halfvalve 

slurs, slides, shakes and plunger grumbles, Eurythmia never 

becomes a singular jazz-improv session, but inhabits its own idiosyncratic 

niche. 


More attuned to expected improvisation is 

the quintet of pianist Cécile Cappozzo on 

Hymne d’automne (Ayler aylCD 179 ayler. 

com), six tracks which blend into one 

another to make a suite. With the rare ability 

to compose tunes that are both dulcet and 

daring – often on the same track – 

Cappozzo’s themes are interpreted by tenor 

saxophonist Guillaume Bellanger, bassist 

Patrice Grente, drummer Etienne Ziemniak and her father, trumpeter 

Jean-Luc Cappozzo. Not that there’s any nepotism or favouritism here. 

The elder Cappozzo, who in the past has collaborated with other pioneering 

French improvisers like Daunik Lazro, is versatile enough to efficiently 

put his daughter’s ideas into action. Often, as on the title track, 

the two Cappozzos outline a skeleton theme consisting of single-note 

keyboard clips and portamento brass grace notes only to have the rest of 

the band interject flamboyant dissonance in the form of reed slides into 

flattement and blunt pops and smacks from the bassist and drummer. 

As the exposition turns energetic, Jean-Luc Cappozzo joins the fray with 

emphasized triplets and flutters in counterpoint to Bellanger’s strained 

mid-range split tones until guitar-like strums from Grente return the 

performance to a reflective narrative. This strategy continues 

throughout, culminating with the concluding Hymne d’automne 

(reprise). In that case, rapid drum paradiddles and breaks introduce the 

meeting of the trumpeter’s triplet peeps with the saxophonist’s slap 

tonguing and reed bites. Finally, a calming piano portion doubled by 

bass string pumps moves the players to a moderated sequence that also 

reprises the title track’s reflective beginning. Don’t assume that Cécile 

Cappozzo is deferring to the elders, however. On the extended Dance 

what elsewhere is emphasized as processional comping almost immediately 

turns into a kaleidoscope of arching piano chords and dense key 

clips. Eventually she propels the narrative to a stop-time swing feel, 

toughened by drum breaks. In the horn responses, including downward 

flowing reed multiphonics and half-valve growls, her lyrical glissandi 

mean the tune retains a relaxed Sunday-in-the-park feeling despite the 

dissonance sprayed around its resolution. 

Just as French chefs added new ingredients to 

create nouvelle cuisine and other forwardlooking 

fare, so a group like Die 

Hochstapler does so with its music on 

Within (Umlaut TSCD3 umlautrecords.com). 

The reason for the German name, translated 

as The Impostors, is that Italian bassist 

Antonio Borghini and German drummer/ 

vibist Hannes Lingens live in Berlin where 

these two instant compositions were recorded. Meanwhile, the front 

line of alto saxophonist Pierre Borel and Louis Laurain, who contributes 

trumpet, bird calls and vocal sounds, are as French as Camembert. 

Although the lineup is consistent with contemporary jazz groups, the 

POMO mélange the quartet creates bounces along echoing Free Jazz, 

classic jazz, jazz-rock, bebop and touches of swing at various tempos 

without losing the linear thread. Often moving in and out of focus, each 

member is spotlighted. For instance, Borghini, responsible for bouncy, 

andante tracking throughout, has a string thumb pop and walking bass 

line feature on Part 2 backed by aviary cackles from the horns. On the 

same piece Lingens uses backbeats, ruffs and rim shots to harmonize 

with the others, who begin the piece with rhythmic hand clapping and 

later intensify the bop quotes from soloists. Leaving his aviary excursions 

to a minimum, Laurain usually expresses himself with half-valve 

intensity or ornate triplets, with quotes as likely to reference Dixieland 

warhorse When The Saints… as Ornette Coleman’s Focus on Sanity. 

Usually though his elevated peeps and plunger tones move in a linear 

fashion and dovetail into Borel’s reed expression. This is particularly 

notable during Part 1, when following a continuous drone of sax honks 

and brass triplets, the two slow the pace and for 60 seconds, minutely 

examine every tone variable possible. As for Borel, whether it’s speedy 

bebop riffs or hearty Jazz-Rock-like quotes, his flutter tonguing, honks 

and altissimo smears always lock into the overall groove, even if he has 

to project and thicken tongue slaps to prod bird-call squeaks into 

cohesion. It may have German and Italian spicing but overall Within 

becomes a perfect French dish. 

So too does Dernier Tango (Jazzdor Series 13 

jazzdor.com). Yet while the repast is the 

product of only two cooks, alto/baritone 

saxophonist Christophe Monniot and 

guitarist Marc Ducret, there are enough 

local and international ingredients during 

its 12 tracks for musical nourishment. 

Eschewing the controversial eroticism of 

Bernardo Bertolucci’s 1972 film, the two still project a bouncy dance 

beat, not only on the title track, but on other numbers where syncopation 

lightens the performance. Ducret’s this-side-of-metal harsh 

flanges and jagged runs are emphasized on tunes such as Chant/Son 

and Back Train with various motifs in the exposition. Meantime, 

Monniot, who at one point was a member of l’Orchestre National de 

Jazz, knows exactly how to accentuate the compositions, either with 

broken chord vibrations from the alto or scooping continuum from 

the baritone sax. He does both in sequence on many tracks, preserving 

the storytelling in counterpoint to the guitarist’s up and down clangs 

and flanges. Most of the time however, as demonstrated on the introductory 

Yes Igor and the brief concluding La Lettre du Caire, his intersectional 

reed vamps and flattement travel in lockstep with guitar 

fuzztones and hardened strums. In these cases and elsewhere the 

result is a moderated ending. Quiet connection is often ascendent as 

well. The best illustration of this is on A Sign of Mood, where Ducret’s 

folksy frailing on 12-string guitar is decelerated in tempo by reed 

scoops, leading to a melding of sonic strands. 

With the varieties of jazz and improvised music now as numerous 

as there are types of wine, it’s impossible to delineate one particular 

French style. One thing is certain however: a dependence on North 

American idioms is part of the past. 


Old Wine, 

New Bottles 

Fine Old Recordings Re-Released 

BRUCE SURTEES 

At the beginning of 2022, Supraphon 

released a 15CD box set of Karel Ančerl Live 

Recordings with the Czech Philharmonic 

Orchestra (supraphon.com). Unearthed 

from the Czech radio archives, this collection 

includes some previously unpublished 

recordings making this set a must-have for 

collectors of one the 20th century’s greatest 

conductors. All will recognize the orchestra’s 

signature sound and be thrilled with this collection of music 

from well-known names and many little-known Czech composers. 

Ančerl was born into a prosperous family in Czechoslovakia in 1908. 

Very well educated, after graduating from the Prague Conservatory 

he pursued conducting under the tutelage of Hermann Scherchen 

and Václav Talich. His career was halted for World War II. He and his 

family were sent to a concentration camp in 1942, and ultimately to 

Auschwitz. Tragically his wife and young son did not survive. 

After the war he became artistic director of the Czech Philharmonic 

where he stayed for 18 illustrious years. While there, he established 

the orchestra as one of the world’s premier ensembles and won them 

international fame with frequent extensive concert tours abroad and 

numerous recordings on the Czech Supraphon label. He is still credited 

with establishing the distinctive Czech sound. He was well known 

as a great champion of the music of his homeland as well as for his 

broad repertoire of modern music. 

The Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968 resulted in his 

emigration to Toronto. He had been a guest conductor of the Toronto 

Symphony Orchestra the year before, in 1967. He was immediately 

appointed permanent music director of the TSO and remained there 

until his death at age 65 in 1973. His death was attributed to illnesses 

resulting from his time in prison camps in WWII. 

Now to the music! Many of you will already be familiar with some 

of his many studio recordings but this collection of concert recordings, 

wonderfully remastered, offers us music, from a wide range of 

composers including the conductor’s contemporaries, that was never 

recorded in the studio. There is one exception, Ma Vlast which Ančerl 

did record in studio. These concerts were recorded between 1949 and 

1968 including the Prague Spring Festival concert in May 1968 just 

prior to his departure to Toronto. 

I’ve been happily making my way through these discs and have 

found that there were many outstanding performances. 

I particularly enjoyed Vítězslav Novák’s (1870-1949) Pan 

(Symphonic Poem), Op.43. It’s a very exciting and dramatic piece 

of music written in 1910. His Autumn Symphony for chorus and 

orchestra is also included. Both pieces I have not had the pleasure to 

enjoy until now. 

This new collection manages to fill gaps left in Ančerl’s studio 

recordings. Dvořák Symphonies Nos. 7 & 8 as well as world-renowned 

repertoire of the 20th century, notably Debussy, Ravel, Strauss and 

Prokofiev. One is left wondering if there was anything that Ančerl 

couldn’t do, conducting such diverse composers all with a profound 

understanding of the music. The Czech Philharmonic Orchestra is 

joined by the orchestra’s choir as well as numerous admired soloists. 

This box set comes with very richly detailed annotations, much 

thanks to Petr Kadlec. Although the sound quality varies, this is to be 

expected of detailed mono concert and radio recordings. 

I cannot remember my first encounter 

with the music of Ralph Vaughan Williams 

but through the years his music has never 

failed to speak to me. SOMM Recordings 

has issued Volume 1 of a proposed series 

of Vaughan Williams Live, commemorating 

the 150th anniversary of his birth 

(somm-recordings.com/label/Ariadne) with 

performances conducted by Sir Malcolm 

Sargent. This first volume contains Symphony No.6 in E Minor, played 

by the BBC Symphony Orchestra (1964) and a brilliant Symphony 

No.9 in E Minor played by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra recorded 

What we're listening to this month: New to the Listening Room 

47 Multiple Voices for One 

David Greenberg 

47 Conjuring: Viola Music of 

David Jaeger 

Elizabeth Reid, Alison Bruce 

Cerutti, David Jaeger 

48 Vagues et ombres 

collectif9 

51 Portrait: Alex Baranowski 

Angèle Dubeau & La Pietà 

51 Nagamo 

Andrew Balfour & 

musica intima 

52 Tu me voyais 

Christina Haldane 

53 Jules Massenet 

Intégrale des mélodies pour 

voix et piano 

Various Artists 

54 Pachelbel 

Magnificat Fugues 


56 Time 


57 Children's Corner - Music 

for Solo Piano 

Melody Chan 

58 Kaleidoscope ~ Music for 

Mallet Instruments 

Bill Brennan 

59 ILTA 

Stefanie Abderhalden & 

Kyle Flens 

59 After 

Kate Read 

61 Poul Ruders: 

Clarinete Quintet 


61 Album for Astor 

Bjarke Mogensen 

61 Suite Tango 

Denis Plante & 

Stéphane Tétreault 

62 Featuring 

Caity Gyorgy 

65 Lush Life 


65 Funk Poems for 'Bird' 

Timuçin Şahin's Flow State 

66 Songwriter 

Alex Bird & 

Ewan Farncombe 

67 Hooked 

Dizzy & Fay 

69 Within 

Die Hochstapler 

Read the reviews here, then visit 



in Royal Festival Hall in 1958. As expected of Sargent, this is a scintillating 

and definitive performance. This is the premiere of the Ninth 

Symphony written not long before Williams’ death in 1958. The cover 

photograph is of Sargent and the composer discussing the performance 

during rehearsal. It gives me chills knowing that Vaughan 

Williams was so intimately involved in this recording. 

The opening work on this disc is a wonderful performance of a very 

exciting The Wasps Overture, recorded live in Royal Albert Hall by the 

BBC Symphony Orchestra in 1957. Once again kudos to Lani Spahr the 

American musician and award-winning audio engineer whose astonishing 

true-to-life restorations really capture the sounds of the 

dynamic original audio. 

Many years ago, when Decca completed 

The Golden Ring, Wagner’s mammoth 

Ring of the Nibelungen with the Wiener 

Philharmoniker under the direction of 

Sir Georg Solti, there was some concern 

about just how many copies they would 

sell. The story goes that the Americans’ first 

order saved the day. Decca need not have 

worried as The Golden Ring was ultimately 

“the big hit” and has been selling well for 

them ever since. The original analogue master tapes were remastered 

in 2022 with engineers using all the technological advancements to 

extract more information from the original tapes and using the latest 

noise reduction software they have been able to achieve the truest 

possible sound. For this we are eternally grateful. If this single disc is 

any indication of the anticipated complete Ring Cycle we are in for 

some incredible listening. Decca has produced a beautifully packaged 

single disc of Great Scenes from Der Ring des Nibelungen (deccaclassics.com/en/catalogue/products/the-golden-ring-solti-12797) 

with 

choice pieces from each of Das Rheingold, Die Walküre, Siegfried and 

Götterdämmerung. The complete Wagner Ring Cycle is being released 

as individual operas on SACD and vinyl as well as in complete sets on 

both platforms. 

The cast really is golden, with too many names to list. I would single 

out Birgit Nilsson as Brünnhilde, James King as Siegmund, Christa 

Ludwig as Fricka and Wolfgang Windgassen as Siegfried. Don’t come 

after me if I have failed to mention your favourite. The entire cast of all 

four operas is really first class. 

Listening to these well-chosen excerpts has whetted my appetite for 

the complete set! [Editor’s note: At time of publication both Das 

Rheingold and Die Walküre are available from deccaclassics.com with 

Siegfried and Götterdämmerung to be released in the 

coming months.] 

A new set of live performances recorded 

between 1953 and 1972 of Christian Ferras 

has been issued on four CDs by SWR 

Recordings (SWR 19114 prestomusic.com/ 

classical/products/9329040--the-swrrecordings-christian-ferras-plays-violinconcertos-and-chamber-music). 

Ferras 

was renowned as the finest violinist of his 

day. He was an artist who seemed deeply in 

touch with the composer and profoundly 

felt the music beyond just the score. 

I remember seeing a video of a live performance and as he played 

the tears rolled down his face. 

These discs are all recordings of Ferras with the SWR Orchestra of 

Baden-Baden and Freiburg. Whether with orchestra or in chamber 

music his playing reflects his wonderful musical sensibilities. Ferras 

plays with beauty and harmony. I admit to being very moved listening 

to Beethoven’s Violin Concerto in D Major, Op.61, however, all pieces 

are played with incomparable musicality and thoughtfulness. The set 

includes Beethoven, Debussy, Ravel, Enescu, Schumann, Tchaikovsky, 

Brahms and Berg. The chamber music for violin and piano is with 

Pierre Barbizet. Again, the remastering has been done from the 

original tapes and sounds as if it were recorded yesterday.

Volume 28 Issue 4 | February - March 2023

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