FOR OPENERS •••Forget SARS. There's a new disease sweeping town-everybit as contagious as the winter blues (and just as seasonal).It's called Summer Musical Attention Deficit NeuroEmotional Satiation Syndrome and it's corning your way(affecting musicians and audiences alike). It manifests itselfmost as intense depression-like the feeling one would get asa child having successfully survived the school year, only tofind oneself plunged into a summer of having to hit the booksagain. "Here I thought the season was over, and it's back.In spades! Only this time instead of school they're calling it aFestival of Learning!"There is no cure to Summer M.A.D.N-E.S.S. There is,however, an antidote: a heady potion called "listening out".That's "out" in a number of different senses, all equallyuseful, but definitely not to be taken all at once.One is the simple "fresh air" sense-the heady mix of pollenand music that characterizes classical pursuits at this time ofyear. Music in the great outdoors can be grand (despite itsmoments of discord, such as when the engine of the planetaking off from the island airport is tuned to A440, and thecello in the Music Garden is not). Set aside your usualconcert etiquette. Resolve not to shudder at amplified sound.Resign yourself to hearty applause between movements ofworks. Nay, go beyond resignation. Join in! After all you'restill hearing complete works; unlike most of what you'll get ifyou stay shut in, disconsolately adjusting the volume on whatused to be your favourite radio station. On the subject ofradio, be warned. There is a form of S-M.A.D. in whichone repeatedly and irrationally turns the radio back on with asudden rush of dizziness like hope. (Akin to picking up thephone to check for voicemail, even though you know ithasn't rung since the last time you checked.)There's another sense of "out" that bears thinking on too atthis time-as in "out of the ordinary". It's a fine time tospread one's wings, get out of the usual groove, listen tosomething that ungaps the synapses. After all, all the musicseries that you subscribe to are winding down, and thelandscape is dotted with festivals of every imaginable size andshape. You could probably even find a summer cultural dinerthat serves fare almost indistinguishable from your yearroundnorm. You could. But maybe now's the time to branchout. Re-tune your ears. Go soak in something you'd normallydismiss as "noise". Or as "facile".Reading the responses of the five musicians interviewed forour summer "Green Pages", there's another "out" (as in "outof the box") you should consider. Festivals at their best (townand country) throw a bunch of musicians together in oneplace, unlike the regular season's more usual lonely linearityarrivingin the town from which that person you'd love toplay with sometime has just departed. Unusual combos, testyrepertoire. The sparks can fly.So, one and all, listen out! Fight the season's madness bygoing there of your own free will.David Perlman, editorGREAT CHAMBER MUSIC DOWNTOWN2008-09 SEASONSUBSCRIPTION SERIESQUARTETS 9,3Th. Oct. 16Th. Oct. 30Th. Nov. 6Th. Dec. 4Th. Jan. 22Th. Mar. 5Th. Apr. 2Th. Apr. 30Brentano QuartetKeller QuartetGryphon TrioMiami QuartetTokyo QuartetPrazak Quartetwith Roger Tapping, violaSt. Lawrence Quartetwith Barry Shiffman, violaand Marina Hoover, celloTokyo QuartetPIANO 0,5Tu. Oct. 21Tu. Nov. 11Tu. Dec. 9Tu. Jan. 27Tu. Apr. 7Alexandre TharaudMarc-Andre HamelinEve EgoyanBarry DouglasMarkus GrohDISCOVERY young artists Th. Jan. 15Th. Feb. 5Th. Mar. 12Darrett Zusko, pianistCecilia QuartetDavid Pomeroy, tenorCONTEMPORARY CLASSICS , Th. Oct. 30Tu. Dec. 9Th. Jan. 15Keller QuartetEve Egoyan, pianistDarrett Zusko, pianistBUY THE SEASON -16 CONCERTS 7, 6QUARTETS+ PIANO -12 CONCERTS 8, 7QUARTETS+ D/SCOVERY-11 CONCERTS 8, 2PIANO + DISCOVERY - 8 CONCERTS 5, 0The lower price is the last 4 rows of the theatre.to ro ntdartsbo u n cilAn orm"1 1• ngth body o1 thfCityo!To ronto~Yom:JN~www.music-toronto.comPlease call 416-366-7723B1fB Canada Council Conseil des Arts for the Arts du CanadaPA ONTARIO ARTS COUN CIL}'-\ COHSBL DES ARTS [E t:oNTARIOatJane Mallett TheatreSt. LAWRENCE CENTRE ~~~ ARTS416-366-7723 • 1-800-708-6754order online at www .stlc.comJ UNE 1 - J ULY 7 2008 WWW. TH EWHO LENOTE,COM 7
