1 ;~f~ ,,, ''" c. .c u Buy the Cheapseats pass for only $1 0, pay only $5 to get into any concert listed" />
11 { > 1 ;~f~ ,,, ''" c. .c u Buy the Cheapseats pass for only 0, pay only to get into any concert listed on the Cheapseats calendar. Plus, enjoy savings on recordings at the Canadian Music Centre, anQ earn free tickets to the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. _ Arraymusic Canadian Electronic Ensemble Canadian Opera Company Composers' Orchestra Continu!Jm Encounters '99 E-sprit Orche'stra Glass Orchestra Hemispheres Music Gallery Music Matrix Music Toronto Music Umbrella New Music Concerts Opera Anonymous Toronto Symphony Orchestra Passes available at the Canadian Music Centre (416) 961-6601 and the Music Gallery ' (416) 204..:1 080 Don't miss the best entertainment deal in the city! THE COMPOSER-COMPANION EXPERIENCE continued from page '11 strong opinion on Philip Glass,, which Jeffrey agreed with wholeheartedly. Good. Our taste was more or less in alignment. The Second piece, L'esprit 'des dunes by Tristan Mural!, sent me rifling through the program notes. Two pages worth on that piece alone! "I think there's an inverse relation," Said Jeffrey when the music ended, "between the length of the program notes and how much you're going to get out of it." He was definitely on to my distractedness, having felt it himself. He thought it was hard to hear how the different elements in the piece related to each other, and noted there was an interesting problem in mixing acoustic and electronic elements (as' this piece did) in that the electronic overpowered the acoustic. Again, I agreed. We ·compared notes onjust what we could (or could not) hear going on.· It was very useful to check my own aural experience against that of a very finely-tuned ear. During intermission we spoke more about music in general. I was surprised to hear that Jeffrey only became iQterested in musicin his late teens, citing a live performance of ·Holst's The Planets as the turning point. "There's nothing like going to a live concert," he ~id, , "where you're surrounded by all this sound. Plus the shared experience of being in the hall. There's so much you simply don't get on a recording." This is _ - something I often forget (under t~e influence of my high-end audio) and I made a 'mental note to attend more concerts. The third piece oil the program, Akira Nishimura's A Mirror of Mist, captivated me from the moment go. "As soon as it started," Jeffrey said afterwards, "I thought I wish I could do that! Anyone here could follow what was going on. And although the parts were very detailed, what you had was a siqtple idea, beautifully executed." We also discussed the piece's wonderful use of register, how the bass seemed to appear and disappear without warning or notice. From the incredible silence in the hall when the piece ended, it was clear the audience had been mesmerised. Truly, this is something you cannot get on a recording - the collective listening experience. , So all in all, I have to report that having your own personal 'composer companion' is a very pleasant indulgence. I · come away wishing I always had someone this we!Hnformed to . trade opinions with, to check what I heard against what they .heard li!ld so on. Music, as it turns out, can be amplified, clarified, or illuminated through conversation. Ro.mnne Snider is a lapsed pianist, music reviewer, sho11 story writer and essayist. Her pieces have appeared in magazines and periodicals in Canada and the U.S. Made in Canada at Massey Hall continued from page 10 soloists move from one to the initiative will run every night other. · throughout the festival. And this will be an Recently, WholeNote sent a occasion to experience the journalist to Esprit's world concert premiere of an "Orient/Occident" programme orchestral suite from the music with a composer companion for Don McKellar's recently ' (see page I I). Her account released film Last Night-- . should inspire readers to book -music by composers Alexina composer guides during the Louie and Alex Pauk working weeks ahead and throughout together. the 1998/99 new music season. TwO'S COMPANY The Canadian Music Centre's See you all at the concerts in "Composer Companions" November! David G.H. Parsons is Ontario regional Director for the Canadian Music Centre Chalmers House, 20 St. Joseph Street, Toronto, Ontario M4Y 1J9 Tel: (4I6) 961-4057, Fcq: (416) 961-7198, E-mail: cmcont@interlog.com Website: < www. culturenet. ca/cmcl> TORONTO'S ONLY COMPREHENSIVE MONTHLY CLASSICAL & CONTEMPORARY CONCERT LISTING SOURCE
II USICIANS IN OUR MIDST: . ALAN GASSER, trom page 4 One of the ways Alan is working towards the aim of bringing music into everyday life, is the Echo Women's Choir which he co-directs with his wife, Becca Whitlaw. While most choirs · require prospective members to pass an audition, any woman who wishes can join once she has had an "audience" with the directors. Gasser and Whitlaw's choice of repertoire for the choir includes plenty of "entry level" material, rounds and folk music as well as choral masterpieces. I found the "proof of the pudding in the eating" when I went to an Echo Choir fundraising potluck dinner at the Older.Women's Network Housing Co-op. A few minutes before Alan and Becca arrived the whole room more or le~s spontaneously erupted into song, and later, "grace" in the form of a three-part round was sung before the meal began. I asked Alan why it is important for people to sing and for singing to be an integral part of life. "First", he said, "people like to sing, and many people,. such as the members of Echo, want to be part of a community that makes music together. In a choir everyone gets to express' themselves individually at the same time, without argument. And then there's the question of the neurological-physiological feedback, what happens when you listen carefully and sing at the same time while breathing well and giving it all away, that stimulates the functioning of the entire human organism. But above all," he stresses, "it is the sense of com!Jlunity, of being part of something that you can't do all by yourself, that is so important about singing together with others." It is this communal aspect of Georgian music, not its antiquity (it originated in the 7th century) or its exoticism, that interests him. Alan is probably best known here, for his work with Georgian music, initially with the trio Kavkasia and, more recently, with his choir, ~arbazi, which performs this challenging polyphonic repertoire with energy and total conviction. His connection with Georgian music goes back to his graduate school days in the mid- 1980s in Minneapolis where he heard it performed by the Yale Russian Chorus. He subsequently joined a chorus formed by some Yale alumni in Minneapolis to explore the Georgian musical repertoire. After moving to Canada in the 1980s to study music journalism at McMaster University in Hamilton (and two years later to join the Elmer Iseler Singers in Toronto) he sustained the Georgian connection, performing with the trio, Kavkasia, an offshoot of the Minneapolis group. He has also spent several summers, initially with Kavkasia and in 1997 with eleven members of Darbazi, in the Republic of Georgia, performing and studying the art form at the sourc.e. In 1997 the Georgian Ministry of Culture awarded Alan a Silver Medal in recognition of his contribution to world-wide understanding of Georgian culture. In November Alan and Darbazi will be working intensively in Toronto with three members of the Anchiskhati Church Choir, one of the premier exponents of Georgian liturgical music .in Georgia today. Darbazi, which has sponsored the trio's month long residency in Toronto, is also co-sponsor with Deep Down Productions of Anchiskhati's first CD, which will be released 1 here in November. Darbazi and Anchiskhati, will perform together at the Church of the Holy Trinity on November 21st.. Musi~ians in Our Midst is photographed by Michael Shaw, Ashley & Crippen Photographers 200 Davenport Road, Toronto · (416) 925-2222 ROYAL BAN.K __ 1 999 SEASON CANADA'S · NEWY~S CONCERT afuti. riO fi!~qg~ A Magnificent Re~cr~ation of Vienna's World .famous New Year's Celebration .Friday, Janu~ry 1, 1999 .2:30 PM SYMPHONY CANADA KoNSTANTIN ScHENK Con4uctor (Vienna) l . > > TAMARA TROJAN I?· Soprano (Vienna) GIZELLA WITKOWSKY AND FRIENDS (fonner principal dancer with The National Ballet of Canada) Post-Concert Viennese Reception available with V.I.P. seats Call (~16) 872-4255 or visit the Roy Thomson Hall Box Office AI~ CANADA @ ~erEtz ~ SWAROVSKI Presented by Attila Glatz Concert Productions and Roy Thomson Hall Programme and artists are subjeci to change without notice.
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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!
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!).