Toronto's Pre1nier Chamber Orchestra m~infania ioronto NURHAN ARMAN MUSIC DIRECTOR Saturday, November 22, 8 pm - Glenn Gould Studio THE KHACHATURIAN CENTENARY Movses Pogossian, Violinist Music by the master and friends - tributes to his passion, his soaring arcs of melody, and his genius as an instrumental colourist. TchaikQwsky Competition laureate Movses Pogossian makes his Canadian debut. Call 416 205 5555 December?, 3 pm - Lawrence Park Communi,ty Church A BAROQUE CHRISTMAS Jonathan Tortolano, Cellist Christmas ornaments in sound! A collection of favourites, musical decorations that glow with melody and twinkle with the energetic rhythm of the Baroque - and a great Carol Sing-along. Call 416 499 0403 Voung People'~ Concert~ for ages 5 to 100 ... Lawrence Park Community Church, 2 7 80 Bayview Ave. , _ 416-499-0403 Nov30, Feb 1, Mar28 Sunday, November 9, 12-3 pm MUSIC AND ART BRUNCH TurQuoize Fine Art Gallery / tax receipt 416-499-0403 Rese~ve by Nov 4 Saturday, March 27 -Arcadian Court STRAUSS & SWING SOIREE A Viennese Gala. Waltzes by Sinfonia Toronto; standards by the Toronto All-Star Big Band; CBC personality Suhanna Merchard, emcee; six-course gourmet dinner; demonstrations by Toronto Dance, and more. 0/0 tax receipt, 5 before Dec 25 416-499-0403 www.sinfoniatoronto.com by Colin Eatock Surtitles an_d Beyond October 10, 2003: Tonight I attended the. Canadian Opera Company's Peter Grimes: a thoroughly fascinating production. But what's up with those on-again, off-again surtitles? The Company that invented titling technology 20 years ago seemed unable to decide whether or not it wanted to use surtitles in this show. I can certainly understand the arguments for and against: on the one hand, Peter Grimes is an English-language opera; on the.other hand, the acoustic of the Hummingbird Centre le.aves much to be desired, where diction is concerned. But why didn't the COC simply make up its mind to either use them or not - instead of treating its audience to a distracting game of peek-a-boo? October 16: The Toronto (formerly Ford, formerly North York) Centre for the Arts was the venue for launch of a new opera company. But Royal Opera Canada isn't exactly new:- it's the Mississauga Opera in disguise, hoping to make a splash in the big city. Their opening show was Carmen: a thoroughly ordinary production, if ever there wa,s one. And, once again, what's up with those surtitles - riddled with spelling and grammar mistakes? But the surtitles were a small embarrassment compared to the three-quarters empty hall. If the ROC wants to justify bringing its traditional warhorse repertoire into Toronto's crowded performing arts market, it will have to figure out how to put bums in seats. A "populist" opera company with no audience is a sad and sorry sight. October 18, 2003: There's nothing like a weekend in Vancouver this time of year: rain, rain and more rain. But what's up with those big projection screens at the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra? The VSO has gone one step beyond surtitles, and is projecting images of its con~erts on big screens in the Orpheum Theatre, as the performance unfolds. I find that I like them - especially during Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto No. 2, when the camera gets a good shot of pianist David Jalbert's hands. And the audience seems to like them too: most of the people I speak to have a positive response to the screens - and the few who don't, find them a little underwhelming rather than too obtrusive. But I'm.not sure we really needed that close-up of Maestro Tovey's foot, during a violin solo. Will we be looking at big screens at TSO concerts in Roy Thomson Hall any time soon? · October 24: Back in Toronto, at Opera Atelier's lphigenie en Tauride (a thoroughly delightful production), I chat at intermission with a small group of discriminating connoisseurs. When I briefly recount my experience in Vancouver, they are surprised to learn of the new development. One man - who has enjoyed a distinguished career in radio broadcasting ·- is skeptical of the VSO's big screens. "It just sounds like something for lazy listeners," he says, going on to explain that he still hasn't entirely accepted surtitles. He's entitled to his opinion, of course (and I wonder if his years of work in radio, which treats music as an exclusively aural phenomenon, have influenced his judgement on this point). But I don't personally feel inclined to declare myself "for" or "against" new technologies in opera houses or concert halls per se. To me, it all depends on what's done with it. Technology can detract from the artistic experience, or enhance it, depending on how it is used. One last thing: What's up with the bilingual English and French surtitles at Opera Atelier? Was there a substantial francophone audience in attendance? Was this a way of demonstrating the accuracy of the translations? Were they just doing their bit for national unity? Beats me. ** Colin Eatock is a composer and writer in Toronto who contributes to the Globe and Mail and other publications. His T. 0. Musical Diary is a regular monthly feature of The WholeNote. WWW. THEWHOLENOTE.COM N OVEMB ER 1 - D EC EMBER 7 2003
presents Euphoria · Sunday, November 9, 2003, 3 p.m. Jane Mallett Theatre Bob Childs, the celebrated euphonium virtuoso and now Music Director of the World Champion Buy As You View Cory Band will lead the HSSB in a dazzling programme of cherished brass band compositions. The featured soloist will be none other than Bob's son, euphonium star David Childs, who was recently named a BBC Young Musician of the Year in the brass category and is currently Solo Euphonium in the Cory Band. David will amaze with his performance of Wilby's Euphonium Concerto and of that most popular of all concert showpieces, The Carnival of Venice. Call the St. Lawrence Centre Box Office 416-366-7723 or 1-800-708-6754 or book on-line at www.stlc.com www.hannafordband.com torontcartscouncil -YA'MA~~A· Yamaha Canada Musitltd. - Im l ong & McQuade Musicallrutuments
