PLANTING NOT PAVING! In this JUNE / JULY /AUGUST combined issue: Farewell interviews with TSO's Peter Oundjian and Stratford Summer Music's John Miller, along with "going places" chats with Luminato's Josephine Ridge, TD Jazz's Josh Grossman and Charm of Finches' Terry Lim. ) Plus a summer's worth of fruitful festival inquiry, in the city and on the road, in a feast of stories and our annual GREEN PAGES summer Directory.
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GREEN PAGES great entertainment on the Youth Stage on Saturday and Sunday featuring the winners of the Markham Youth Expo. There will be crafts and swimming in Morgan Pool. Great family fun! 647-983-9054 www.markhamfestival.com MONTREAL CHAMBER MUSIC FESTIVAL ➤ June 1 to 17 Montreal, QC The Montreal Chamber Music Festival presents its 23rd season, offering a wonderful array of gems from the chamber music repertoire, exciting premieres, and new collaborations, with performances by many of our most revered artists along with brilliant new discoveries. Beginning with a new spring series at The Ritz-Carlton Montreal in April and May, the Festival moves to Pollack Hall for the TD JAZZ and classical series in June. With our theme “Droit au Cœur!” (Straight to the Heart!), we emphasize our love for chamber music, the most intimate and collaborative of art forms. Highlights include the Canadian premiere of the New York Philharmonic String Quartet and special events to celebrate the “Year of the Cello” in concert and film. 514-489-7444 www.festivalmontreal.org MUSIC AT PORT MILFORD ➤ July 21 to August 11 Prince Edward County, ON 2018 marks Music at Port Milford’s 32nd year of bringing internationallyrenowned artist faculty to Prince Edward County to create an inspiring summer music experience. Saturday Chamber Music Series: Tickets: adult, student, Youth (12 and under); Season Pass: 0 adult, Student, Youth (12 and under). July 21, 7:30 p.m, Phenomenal Woman: Tokai String Quartet, joined by pianist, Angela Park; soprano, Rebecca Kenneally; actor, Joan McBride. July 28, 7:30 p.m, Form, Balance, Motion: Quatuor Saguenay (Alcan) with pianist, Allison Gagnon. August 4, 7:30 p.m, Ludwig meets Dizzy: Harlem String Quartet. August 11, 7:30 p.m, Folk Connection: Port Milford Chamber Players. 613-476-7735 www.musicatportmilford.org MUSIC FROM SCRATCH ➤ August 27 to 31 Toronto, ON In partnership with the Canadian Music Centre, Music From Scratch is a free week-long music creation workshop for people between the ages of 18 and 25. Facilitated by Jerry Pergolesi and guest composer/sound creator Giorgio Magnanensi, and guided by the Contact ensemble, participants engage in creative listening, writing, movement and improvisation exercises, leading to the performance of a series of collaborative sound works. Music From Scratch helps participants develop new skills and the confidence to take risks both as listeners and creators. No experience necessary! Just a willingness to learn and explore your own inner creativity. 416-961-6601 x207 www.musicfromscratch.org MUSIC MONDAYS ➤ May 7 to September 3 Toronto, ON A lunchtime concert series at the Church of the Holy Trinity – welcome to our 27th season! Music Mondays has served as a launching pad for emerging talent since its inception in 1992. Our concerts take place in the warm acoustics of Holy Trinity Church, just steps away from the Eaton Centre. We feature an eclectic mix of everything from classical solo and chamber music to jazz, fusion and world music. Our goal is to provide the highest possible musical experience to a paywhat-you-can downtown Toronto audience. Please join us. Bring your lunch – and a friend – every Monday at 12:15pm from May to Labour Day. 416-598-4521 x223 www.musicmondays.ca OPERAMUSKOKA FESTIVAL ➤ August 21 to 24 Bracebridge, ON The 9th Annual OperaMuskoka Festival takes place August 21-24 2018, in Bracebridge, Ontario. The opening night opera will be Mozart’s Cosi Fan Tutte, produced by Sharon Tikiryan, M.Mus. Sharon will also sing the role of the calculating maid. Wednesday August 22 will be our Annual Stars of Tomorrow Concert, featuring young people from Toronto and the surrounding area of Muskoka. Both these events take place at the Rene M. Caisse Memorial Theatre. At the Pinegrove Fellowship Church in Bracebridge on Thursday August23, the Festival will feature a Vocal Masterclass with Jennifer Tung of the Royal Conservatory of Music, followed by her concert in the evening. The Festival concludes on Friday August 24, with a Violin Masterclass with Moshe Hammer, and an evening concert also at Pinegrove Fellowship Church, 295 Taylor Rd. 705-764-1381 www.muskokachautauqua.com OTTAWA CHAMBERFEST ➤ July 26 to August 9 Ottawa, ON K2P 0W7 This year presenting pianists Marc-André Hamelin and Angela Hewitt, Danel, Rolston, and Ariel Quartets, improvisational violinist Roby Lakatos, folk group The Fretless, and many more! Celebrating 25 years, Ottawa Chamberfest brings together the boldest names in ensemble and solo performance for musical celebration in the nation’s capital throughout the year with a Concert Series and Community Engagement and Education programming, culminating in the Chamberfest summer festival. The world’s largest festival of its kind, the Ottawa Chamberfest summer festival is a 2018 Festivals and Events (FEO) Ontario “Top 100” and winner of seven consecutive Lieutenant-Governor’s Awards for the Arts. 613-234-6306 www.chamberfest.com PRINCE EDWARD COUNTY CHAMBER MUSIC FESTIVAL ➤ September 7 to 16 Picton, ON Now in its 15th season, the festival will open with a concert featuring our new artistic directors, the renowned New Orford String Quartet, and a special work by composer John Burge, Death of a Lady’s Man - a world premiere with a nod to Leonard Cohen. The following evening will be devoted to renaissance and baroque G6 | Summer 2018 thewholenote.com
music with Studio de musique ancienne de Montréal. The weekend will end with a piano recital by André Laplante. The second weekend begins with Erin Wall, in an evening of song and operatic arias. The next evening features Mark Fewer and his jazz trio, David Braid piano, Joseph Phillips bass. In our last concert, Mark Fewer is joined by classical musicians Bénédicte Lauzière, Eric Nowlin, Joseph Johnson and Wonny Song to perform chamber music. 613-645-2250 www.pecmusicfestival.com PRINCE EDWARD COUNTY JAZZ FESTIVAL ➤ August 14 to 19 Prince Edward County, ON This year’s festival main stage shows are deep in big-name Juno and Grammy royalty - Robi Botos, Carol Welsman, and the Brian Barlow Big Band - we’ll showcase saxophonists Tara Davidson, the JUNO-winning Allison Au, bassist Marika Galea, violinist Drew Jurecka, and pianist Adrean Farrugia. The festival makes it a point to support emerging artists, and we bring back outstanding young performers who have a history with us. Marika Galea will be playing every day this year. She came to us first as part of her high school band that participated in our jazz education program, and then won the Rising Young Star award, and later performed on our stage with her own groups. Drew Jurecka returns after his highly-acclaimed run as our featured artist in 2017. 613-399-2477 www.pecjazz.org SAINT JOSEPH’S ARTSFEST 2018 ➤ May 27 to June 10 Hamilton, ON Saint Joseph’s ArtsFest brings music and theatre performances to the GTHA area. In the superior acoustics of Saint Joseph’s Church in Hamilton, this year’s festival brings together artists not only from Canada, but also from Estonia and the Czech Republic. Both of these European countries are celebrating their 100th anniversaries. Highlights of the Festival will include the Prague Mixed Choir (Conductor: Jiří Petrdlík) and Aare Tammesalu (cellist from Estonia). We are also pleased to present A Man for All Seasons under the stage direction of Lana Borsellino. Featured will be works by Haydn, Smetana, Arvo Pärt, and the sublime Miserere by Allegri with Julie Ludwig. Come to a concert or stage play, then enjoy an evening meal on trendy Locke Street in Hamilton. 905-528-0019 www.stjoesartsfest.ca 17TH ANNUAL SMALL WORLD MUSIC FESTIVAL ➤ August 17 to 19 Toronto, ON For three days in August, the Beat of the Globe comes to the Heart of Toronto, as Small World Music reinvents its annual festival program, moving its 17th edition to the waterfront at the height of the summer season. Inspired by and celebrating the 30th anniversary of WOMAD, which first took place at the same venue in 1988, expect an eclectic mix of international artists and local greats informed by the notion of ‘intersections’ – connecting communities and juxtaposing traditional and cutting-edge forms. Highlights include Daraa Tribes (Morocco), Vieux Farka Touré (Mali), Las Cafeteras (USA), DJ Lag (South Africa) and Surefire Sweat (Toronto). Music-focused films and family-friendly workshops will also be on offer, looking to the past and the future of culturally diverse music. Music at Port Milford Port Milford, ON 416-536-5439 www.smallworldmusic.com SOMETHING ELSE! FESTIVAL ➤ June 13 to 17 Hamilton, ON World-renowned artists from all over North America & Europe will head to Hamilton to play a wide array of vital, adventurous, creative music; newer traditions in jazz, free, improvised music & much more, over 5 days, 7 ticketed events, 30 sets of music & dance. Artist-in-residence, master percussionist Jesse Stewart will perform with iconoclasts Eugene Chadbourne (US), William Parker (US), Joe McPhee (US) & Michael Snow... highly revered musicians David Mott, Nicolas Caloia, Kevin Breit, Matt Brubeck & tap dancer Heather Cornell (US) + Parker/Nicholson’s Hope Cries for Justice (US), The Young Mothers (US/ NO), Artifacts Trio (US), Susan Alcorn (US) & Amy Brandon, Will Guthrie (FR), Monicker (UK/CA), Sick Boss + Löve (SE/CA), Gord Grdina Quartet (US/CA), ++! Tickets: -35; Passes: 0-125 289-993-1993 www.zulapresents.org SOUTH COAST JAZZ & BLUES ➤ Aug 17 to 19 Port Dover, ON Norfolk County’s Official Premier Festival: Friday August 17, Riverfront Park, 52 Harbour St. 5-10 pm Chuck Jackson /Tyler Yarema. Saturday 18, Port Dover Community Center, 801 St. George St. 5-11 pm Kellylee Evans, Heather Bambrick, Brian Dickinson, Host Dini Petty. Sunday 19, Burning Kiln Winery, 1709 Front Rd. (Near Turkey Point Beach) Dave Young & more. World class live music, farm fresh food & fun! VIP tickets starting at . Saturday Main Event includes catered dinner & three Headliners-! VIP weekend passes only ! Book now! Accommodations also available. 519-774-2787 www.southcoastjazz.com thewholenote.com Summer 2018 | G7
July/August issue is now available in flipthrough HERE, bringing to a close 25 seasons of doing what we do (and plan to continue doing), and on stands early in the week of July 5. Not the usual bucolic parade of music in the summer sun, but lots, we hope, to pass the time: links to online and virtual music; a full slate of record reviews; plenty new in the Listening Room; and a full slate of stories – the future of opera, the plight of small venues, the challenge facing orchestras, the barriers to resumption of choral life, the challenges of isolation for real-time music; the steps some festivals are taking to keep the spirit and substance of what they do alive. And intersecting with all of it, responses to the urgent call for anti-racist action and systemic change.
"COVID's Metamorphoses"? "There's Always Time (Until Suddenly There Isn't)"? "The Writing on the Wall"? It's hard to know WHAT to call this latest chapter in the extraordinary story we are all of a sudden characters in. By whatever name we call it, the MAY/JUNE combined issue of The WholeNote is now available, HERE in flip through format, in print commencing Wednesday May 6, and, in fully interactive form, online at thewholenote.com. Our 18th Annual Choral Canary Pages, scheduled for publication in print and flip through in September is already well underway with the first 50 choirs home to roost and more being added every week online. Community Voices, our cover story, brings to you the thoughts of 30 musical community members, all going through what we are going through (and with many more to come as the feature gets amplified online over the course of the coming months). And our regular writers bring their personal thoughts to the mix. Finally, a full-fledged DISCoveries review section offers cues and clues to recorded music for your solitary solace!
After some doubt that we would be allowed to go to press, in respect to wide-ranging Ontario business closures relating to COVID-19, The WholeNote magazine for April 2020 is now on press, and print distribution – modified to respect community-wide closures and the need for appropriate distancing – starts Monday March 30. Meanwhile the full magazine is right here, digitally, so if you value us PLEASE SHARE THIS LINK AS WIDELY AS YOU CAN. It's the safest way for us to reach the widest possible audience at this time!
FEATURED: Music & Health writer Vivien Fellegi explores music, blindness & the plasticity of perception; David Jaeger digs into Gustavo Gimeno's plans for new music in his upcoming first season as music director at TSO; pianist James Rhodes, here for an early March recital, speaks his mind in a Q&A with Paul Ennis; and Lydia Perovic talks music and more with rising Turkish-Canadian mezzo Beste Kalender. Also, among our columns, Peggy Baker Dance Projects headlines Wende Bartley's In with the New; Steve Wallace's Jazz Notes rushes in definitionally where many fear to tread; ... and more.
Visions of 2020! Sampling from back to front for a change: in Rearview Mirror, Robert Harris on the Beethoven he loves (and loves to hate!); Errol Gay, a most musical life remembered; Luna Pearl Woolf in focus in recordings editor David Olds' "Editor's Corner" and in Jenny Parr's preview of "Jacqueline"; Speranza Scappucci explains how not to reinvent Rossini; The Indigo Project, where "each piece of cloth tells a story"; and, leading it all off, Jully Black makes a giant leap in "Caroline, or Change." And as always, much more. Now online in flip-through format here and on stands starting Thurs Jan 30.
Welcome to our December/January issue as we turn the annual calendar page, halfway through our season for the 25th time, juggling as always, secular stuff, the spirit of the season, new year resolve and winter journeys! Why is Mozart's Handel's Messiah's trumpet a trombone? Why when Laurie Anderson offers to fly you to the moon you should take her up on the invitation. Why messing with Winterreisse can (sometimes) be a very good thing! And a bumper crop of record reviews for your reading (and sometimes listening) pleasure. Available in flipthrough here right now, and on stands commencing Thursday Nov 28. See you on the other side!
On the slim chance you might not have already heard the news, Estonian Canadian composing giant Udo Kasemets was born the same year that Leo Thermin invented the theremin --1919. Which means this is the centenary year for both of them, and both are being celebrated in style, as Andrew Timar and MJ Buell respectively explain. And that's just a taste of a bustling November, with enough coverage of music of both the delectably substantial and delightfully silly on hand to satisfy one and all.
Long promised, Vivian Fellegi takes a look at Relaxed Performance practice and how it is bringing concert-going barriers down across the spectrum; Andrew Timar looks at curatorial changes afoot at the Music Gallery; David Jaeger investigates the trumpets of October; the 30th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution (and the 20th Anniversary of our October Blue Pages Presenter profiles) in our Editor's Opener; the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir at 125; Tapestry at 40 and Against the Grain at 10; ringing in the changing season across our features and columns; all this and more, now available in Flip Through format here, and on the stands commencing this coming Friday September 27, 2019. Enjoy.
Vol 1 of our 25th season is now here! And speaking of 25, that's how many films in the upcoming Toronto International Film Festival editor Paul Ennis, in our Eighth Annual TIFF TIPS, has chosen to highlight for their particular musical interest.
Also inside: Rob Harris looks through the Rear View Mirror at past and present prognostications about the imminent death of classical music; Mysterious Barricades and Systemic Barriers are Lydia Perović's preoccupations in Art of Song; Andrew Timar reflects on the evolving priorities of the Polaris Prize; and elsewhere, it's chocks away as yet another season creaks or roars (depending on the beat) into motion. Welcome back.
What a range of stuff! A profile of Liz Upchurch, the COC ensemble studio's vocal mentor extraordinaire; a backgrounder on win-win faith/arts centre partnerships and ways of exploring the possibilities; an interview with St. Petersburg-based Eifman Ballet's Boris Eifman; Ana Sokolovic's violin concert Evta finally coming to town; a Love Letter to YouTube, and much more. Plus our 17th annual Canary Pages Choral directory if all you want to do is sing! sing! sing!
Arraymusic, the Music Gallery and Native Women in the Arts join for a mini-festival celebrating the work of composer, performer and installation artist Raven Chacon; Music and Health looks at the role of Healing Arts Ontario in supporting concerts in care facilities; Kingston-based composer Marjan Mozetich's life and work are celebrated in film; "Forest Bathing" recontextualizes Schumann, Shostakovich and Hindemith; in Judy Loman's hands, the harp can sing; Mahler's Resurrection bursts the bounds of symphonic form; Ed Bickert, guitar master remembered. All this and more in our April issue, now online in flip-through here, and on stands commencing Friday March 29.
Something Old, Something New! The Ide(a)s of March are Upon Us! Rob Harris's Rear View Mirror looks forward to a tonal revival; Tafelmusik expands their chronological envelope in two directions, Esprit makes wave after wave; Pax Christi's new oratorio by Barbara Croall catches the attention of our choral and new music columnists; and summer music education is our special focus, right when warm days are once again possible to imagine. All this and more in our March 2019 edition, available in flipthrough here, and on the stands starting Thursday Feb 28.
In this issue: A prize that brings lustre to its laureates (and a laureate who brings lustre to the prize); Edwin Huizinga on the journey of Opera Atelier's "The Angel Speaks" from Versailles to the ROM; Danny Driver on playing piano in the moment; Remembering Neil Crory (a different kind of genius)' Year of the Boar, Indigeneity and Opera; all this and more in Volume 24 #5. Online in flip through, HERE and on the stands commencing Thursday Jan 31.
When is a trumpet like a motorcycle in a dressage event? How many Brunhilde's does it take to change an Elektra? Just two of the many questions you've been dying to ask, to which you will find answers in a 24th annual combined December/January issue – in which our 11 beat columnists sift through what's on offer in the upcoming holiday month, and what they're already circling in their calendars for 2019. Oh, and features too: a klezmer violinist breathing new life into a very old film; two New Music festivals in January, 200 metres apart; a Music & Health story on the restorative powers of a grassroots exercise in collective music-making; even a good reason to go to Winnipeg in the dead of winter. All this and more in Vol 24 No 4, now available in flipthrough format here.
Reluctant arranger! National Ballet Orchestra percussionist Kris Maddigan on creating the JUNO and BAFTA award-winning smash hit Cuphead video game soundtrack; Evergreen by name and by nature, quintessentially Canadian gamelan (Andrew Timar explains); violinist Angèle Dubeau on 20 years and 60 million streams; two children’s choirs where this month remembrance and living history must intersect. And much more, online in our kiosk now, and on the street commencing Thursday November 1.
Presenters, start your engines! With TIFF and "back-to-work" out of the way, the regular concert season rumbles to life, and, if our Editor's Opener can be trusted, "Seeking Synergies" seems to be the name of the game. Denise Williams' constantly evolving "Walk Together Children" touching down at the Toronto Centre for the Arts; the second annual Festival of Arabic Music and Arts expanding its range; a lesson in Jazz Survival with Steve Wallace; the 150 presenter and performer profiles in our 19th annual Blue Pages directory... this is an issue that is definitely more than the sum of its parts.
In this issue: The WholeNote's 7th Annual TIFF TIPS guide to festival films with musical clout; soprano Erin Wall in conversation with Art of Song columnist Lydia Perovic, about more than the art of song; a summer's worth of recordings reviewed; Toronto Chamber Choir at 50 (is a few close friends all it takes?); and much more, as the 2018/19 season gets under way.
PLANTING NOT PAVING! In this JUNE / JULY /AUGUST combined issue: Farewell interviews with TSO's Peter Oundjian and Stratford Summer Music's John Miller, along with "going places" chats with Luminato's Josephine Ridge, TD Jazz's Josh Grossman and Charm of Finches' Terry Lim. ) Plus a summer's worth of fruitful festival inquiry, in the city and on the road, in a feast of stories and our annual GREEN PAGES summer Directory.
In this issue: our sixteenth annual Choral Canary Pages; coverage of 21C, Estonian Music Week and the 3rd Toronto Bach Festival (three festivals that aren’t waiting for summer!); and features galore: “Final Finales” for Larry Beckwith’s Toronto Masque Theatre and for David Fallis as artistic director of Toronto Consort; four conductors on the challenges of choral conducting; operatic Hockey Noir; violinist Stephen Sitarski’s perspective on addressing depression; remembering bandleader, composer and saxophonist Paul Cram. These and other stories, in our May 2018 edition of the magazine.
In this issue: we talk with jazz pianist Thompson Egbo-Egbo about growing up in Toronto, building a musical career, and being adaptive to change; pianist Eve Egoyan prepares for her upcoming Luminato project and for the next stage in her long-term collaborative relationship with Spanish-German composer Maria de Alvear; jazz violinist Aline Homzy, halfway through preparing for a concert featuring standout women bandleaders, talks about social equity in the world of improvised music; and the local choral community celebrates the life and work of choral conductor Elmer Iseler, 20 years after his passing.
In this issue: Canadian Stage, Tapestry Opera and Vancouver Opera collaborate to take Gogol’s short story The Overcoat to the operatic stage; Montreal-based Sam Shalabi brings his ensemble Land of Kush, and his newest composition, to Toronto; Five Canadian composers, each with a different CBC connection, are nominated for JUNOs; and The WholeNote team presents its annual Summer Music Education Directory, a directory of summer music camps, programs and courses across the province and beyond.
In this issue: composer Nicole Lizée talks about her love for analogue equipment, and the music that “glitching” evokes; Richard Rose, artistic director at the Tarragon Theatre, gives us insights into their a rock-and-roll Hamlet, now entering production; Toronto prepares for a mini-revival of Schoenberg’s music, with three upcoming shows at New Music Concerts; and the local music theatre community remembers and celebrates the life and work of Mi’kmaq playwright and performer Cathy Elliott . These and other stories, in our double-issue December/January edition of the magazine.
In this issue: conversations (of one kind or another) galore! Daniela Nardi on taking the reins at "best-kept secret" venue, 918 Bathurst; composer Jeff Ryan on his "Afghanistan" Requiem for a Generation" partnership with war poet, Susan Steele; lutenist Ben Stein on seventeenth century jazz; collaborative pianist Philip Chiu on going solo; Barbara Hannigan on her upcoming Viennese "Second School" recital at Koerner; Tina Pearson on Pauline Oliveros; and as always a whole lot more!
In this issue: several local artists reflect on the memory of composer Claude Vivier, as they prepare to perform his music; Vancouver gets ready to host international festival ISCM World New Music Days, which is coming to Canada for the second time since its inception in 1923; one of the founders of Artword Artbar, one of Hamilton’s staple music venues, on the eve of the 5th annual Steel City Jazz Festival, muses on keeping urban music venues alive; and a conversation with pianist Benjamin Grosvenor, as he prepares for an ambitious recital in Toronto. These and other stories, in our October 2017 issue of the magazine.
In this issue: a look at why musicians experience stage fright, and how to combat it; an inside look at the second Kensington Market Jazz Festival, which zeros in on one of Toronto’s true ‘music villages’; an in-depth interview with Elisa Citterio, new music director of Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra; and The WholeNote’s guide to TIFF, with suggestions for the 20 most musical films at this year’s festival. These and other stories, in our September 2017 issue of the magazine!
CBC Radio's Lost Horizon; Pinocchio as Po-Mo Operatic Poster Boy; Meet the Curators (Crow, Bernstein, Ridge); a Global Music Orchestra is born; and festivals, festivals, festivals in our 13th annual summer music Green Pages. All this and more in our three-month June-through August summer special issue, now available in flipthrough HERE and on the stands commencing Thursday June 1.
From science fact in "Integral Man: Music and the Movies," to science fiction in the editor's opener; from World Fiddle Day at the Aga Khan Museum to three Canadians at the Cliburn; from wanting to sashay across the 401 to Chamberfest in Montreal to exploring the Continuum of Jumblies Theatre's 20-year commitment to the Community Play (there's a pun in there somewhere!).
In this issue: Our podcast ramps up with interviews in March with fight director Jenny Parr, countertenor Daniel Taylor, and baritone Russell Braun; two views of composer John Beckwith at 90; how music’s connection to memory can assist with the care of patients with Alzheimer’s; musical celebrations in film and jazz, at National Canadian Film Day and Jazz Day; and a preview of Louis Riel, which opens this month at the COC. These and other stories, in our April 2017 issue of the magazine!
On our cover: Owen Pallett's musical palette on display at New Creations. Spring brings thoughts of summer music education! (It's never too late.). For Marc-Andre Hamelin the score is king. Ella at 100 has the tributes happening. All; this and more.
In this issue: an interview with composer/vocalist Jeremy Dutcher, on his upcoming debut album and unique compositional voice; a conversation with Boston Symphony hornist James Sommerville, as as the BSO gets ready to come to his hometown; Stuart Hamilton, fondly remembered; and an inside look at Hugh’s Room, as it enters a complicated chapter in the story of its life in the complex fabric of our musical city. These and other stories, as we celebrate the past and look forward to the rest of 2016/17, the first glimpses of 2017/18, and beyond!
In this issue: a conversation with pianist Stewart Goodyear, in advance of his upcoming show at Koerner Hall; a preview of the annual New Year’s phenomenon that is Bravissimo!/Salute to Vienna; an inside look at music performance in Toronto’s health-care centres; and a reflection on the incredible life and lasting influence of the late Pauline Oliveros. These and more, in a special December/January combined issue!
In this issue: David Jaeger and Alex Pauk’s most memorable R. Murray Schafer collabs, in this month’s installment of Jaeger’s CBC Radio Two: The Living Legacy; an interview with flutist Claire Chase, who brings new music and mindset to Toronto this month; an investigation into the strange coincidence of three simultaneous Mendelssohn Elijahs this Nov 5; and of course, our annual Blue Pages, a who’s who of southern Ontario’s live music scene- a community as prolific and multifaceted as ever. These and more, as we move full-force into the 2016/17 concert season- all aboard!
Music lover's TIFF (our fifth annual guide to the Toronto International Film Festival); Aix Marks the Spot (how Brexit could impact on operatic co-production); The Unstoppable Howard Cable (an affectionate memoir of a late chapter in the life of of a great Canadian arranger; Kensington Jazz Story (the newest kid on the festival block flexes its muscles). These stories and much more as we say a lingering goodbye to summer and turn to the task, for the 22nd season, of covering the live and recorded music that make Southern Ontario tick.
It's combined June/July/August summer issue time with, we hope, enough between the covers to keep you dipping into it all through the coming lazy, hazy days. From Jazz Vans racing round "The Island" delivering pop-up brass breakouts at the roadside, to Bach flute ambushes strolling "The Grove, " to dozens of reasons to stay in the city. May yours be a summer where you find undiscovered musical treasures, and, better still, when, unexpectedly, the music finds you.
INSIDE: The Canaries Are Here! 116 choirs to choose from, so take the plunge! The Nylons hit the road after one last SING! Fling. Jazz writer Steve Wallace wonders "Watts Goode" rather than "what's new?" Paul Ennis has the musical picks of the HotDocs crop. David Jaeger's CBC Radio continues golden for a little while yet. Douglas McNabney is Music's Child. Leipzig meets Damascus in Alison Mackay's fertile imagination. And "C" is for KRONOS in Wende Bartley's koverage of the third annual 21C Festival. All this and as usual much much more. Enjoy.
From 30 camp profiles to spark thoughts of being your summer musical best, to testing LUDWIG as you while away the rest of so-called winter; from Scottish Opera and the Danish Midtvest, to a first Toronto recital appearance by violin superstar Maxim Vengerov; from musings on New Creations and new creation, to the boy who made a habit of crying Beowulf; it's a month of merry meetings and rousing recordings reviewed, all here to discover in The WholeNote.
2016 is off to a flying start! We chronicle the Artful Times of Andrew Burashko, the violistic versatility of Teng Li, the ageless ebullience of jazz pianist Gene DiNovi and the ninetieth birthday of trumpeter Johnny Cowell. Jaeger remembers Boulez; Waxman recalls Bley's influence, and Olds finds Bowie haunting Editor's Corner. Oh, and did we mention there's all that music? Hello (and goodbye) to the February blues, and here's to swinging through the musical vines of the Year of the Monkey.
What's a vinyl renaissance? What happens when Handel's Messiah runs afoul of the rumba rhythm setting on a (gasp!) Hammond organ? What work does Marc-Andre Hamelin say he would be content to have on every recital program he plays? What are Steve Wallace's favourite fifty Christmas recordings? Why is violinist Daniel Hope celebrating Yehudi Menuhin's 100th birthday at Koerner Hall January 28? Answers to all these questions (and a whole lot more) in the Dec/Jan issue of The WholeNote.
"Come" seems to be the verb that knits this month's issue together. Sondra Radvanovsky comes to Koerner, William Norris comes to Tafel as their new GM, opera comes to Canadian Stage; and (a long time coming!) Jane Bunnett's musicianship and mentorship are honoured with the Premier's award for excellence; plus David Jaeger's ongoing series on the golden years of CBC Radio Two, Andrew Timar on hybridity, a bumper crop of record reviews and much much more. Come on in!
Vol 21 No 2 is now available for your viewing pleasure, and it's a bumper crop, right at the harvest moon. First ever Canadian opera on the Four Seasons Centre main stage gets double coverage with Wende Bartley interviewing Pyramus and Thisbe composer Barbara Monk Feldman and Chris Hoile connecting with director Christopher Alden; Paul Ennis digs into the musical mind of pianist Benjamin Grosvenor, and pianist Eve Egoyan is "On the Record" in conversation with publisher David Perlman ahead of the Oct release concert for her tenth recording. And at the heart of it all the 16th edition of our annual BLUE PAGES directory of presenters profile the season now well and truly under way.
Paul Ennis's annual TIFF TIPS (27 festival films of potential particular musical interest); Wu Man, Yo-Yo Ma and Jeffrey Beecher on the Silk Road; David Jaeger on CBC Radio Music in the days it was committed to commissioning; the LISTENING ROOM continues to grow on line; DISCoveries is back, bigger than ever; and Mary Lou Fallis says Trinity-St. Paul's is Just the Spot (especially this coming Sept 25!).
