Canada to organize fundraising ef- forts and benefit concerts. Of the Tallis, Durutle and young Cana many happening these days, I call your attention to an event at St. Clement ' s Church on Feb. 4, thew Larkin. The evening is entiho ted by Judy Maqdren (of CBC News fame) and featuring the choirs of St. Clement's, a male can call 416-483-6664. The proquintet called Les Cinq, organist Thomas Fitches and a gorgeous program of liturgical music in the Anglican tradition including Byrd, dians Carmine Luppano and Mat tied "I will not leave you comfort less" and for more information you ceeds go to the Primate's World Relief and Development Fund. The circus is coming to town. On March 2, an international touring production of Carl Orff's Carmina Burana touches down at the 1\ir Canada Centre, promising a ''mediaeval garden of lust which abducts the audience to a foreign, sensual world of phantasy". A huge stage set, designed by Mihail Tchernaev, a fascinating light show and lire effects will create "a unique background for a spectacular show with 30 dancers in 300 different costumes, a choir, a large orchestra and oloists. Worldly and churchly power, the citizens, the juggler, the beggar and the jester - in this imaginary world of thl,! mediaeval all people have the same desire for lust. " Well, lust is good, but when I hear about spectaculars like these (Aida at Sky Dome was another) I wonder whether audiences come away feeling satisfied or duped. Aida has some spectacular crowd scenes, but they don't last very long. The majority of the time we're concerned with the complicated ins and outs of a handful of mixed-up characters. Even Wagner's Ring Cycle is in essence an intellectual marathon full of psychological depth and philosophical discourse. True, Carmina Burana has long been sold as a Dionysian romp and excerpts of its score used as background for sports highlight reels and the like. "O fortuna" seems to have morphed into an inspirational mantra for individuals to take control of the challenges in front of them, as opposed to the piece's true message of the fickleness of human fate. For those going to a performance and expecting to be "blown away" by the awesome force of the piece there will be some fulfillment, but Carmina i al o a work of great intimacy and quiet beauty. What happens to the true essence of the work of art being presented when used as jumping-off point for a spectacle primarily deigned to dazzle? I don't know; but caveat emptor. Editor's Note: you can also get your Burana straight up Feb 25 and 26 courtesy the Kitchener-Woterloo Symphony and some fine soloists. See Concert Listings Beyond the GTA. 21J 12004 2005 fj fj fj fj .MID-SEASON AUDITIONS for all voice parts 40 I IH- .. \ ·. ··-' ... " I rrl •• .... , EXPAND your musical horizons under the dynamic leadership of Artistic Director Robert Cooper BE A PART of a group with a 40-year tradition of bringing diverse, unusual performances to Toronto PERFORM with soloists such as Michael Colvin, Monica Whicher, Karen Wierzba PARTICIPATE in the world premiere ofa new work by Derek Holman CALL 416 530-4428 TO ARRANGE AN AUDITION WORLD View As I WRITE THIS, the event still dominating world news is the terrible tsunami disaster in Asia. While the human toll is staggering and the devastation unimaginable, notable too is the generosity of individuals in Canada and elsewhere who have collectively donated enormous sums to the various relief agencies. The arts community has also contributed by organizing fund raising events. One concert I attended at the Indonesian Consulate last month, featuring the community gamelan ensembles, dancers and puppeteers, raised ,000 alone! ·Still more tsunami relief concerts are planned this month, and a few, the details of which appear in our listings, are as follows: Feb 2 at Hugh's Room, sitar player Neeraj Prem and his north Indian classical/ folk ensemble Ragaffaire will be joined by jazz band lndus West Project, Ravi Naimpally's Asian fusion band Tasa, and Suba Sankaran 's south Indian/western fusion band autorickshaw. Feb 8, York University's Centre for Asian Research is sponsoring a concert in Founders College; performers include the university Garnelan ensemble, Chinese classical orchestra, jazz bands, Greek music, Thai boxing and more. Feb 11/12, Standing Room Only Concerts, featuring song and dance excerpts from various musicals, will donate a portion of its ticket sales to tsunami relief. And Feb 26, the Cantabile Chorale of York Region will perform Faure's Requiem. It's Lunar New Year February 9, and there is no shortage of music WWW. THEWHOLENOTE.COM from China this month: The Canadian Music Centre presents a concert of traditional and new works featuring renowned erhu player George Gao and the Dunhuang Traditional Chinese Music Ensemble, Feb 6 at the ROM. George Gao can be heard again as soloist in the Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon Suite for Erhu and Orchestra in the Canadian Sinfonietta 's Chinese New Year Celebration concert on Feb 19, and again as part of the CanAsian Dance Festival program for Feb 23 and 25. Feb 15, the Lillian H. Smith Public Library (College St. ) presents Celebrating the Year of the Rooster, featuring performers on traditional Chinese instruments; Feb 20, Harbourfront Centre and Jeunesses Musicales of by Karen Ages Ontario present Memories of China; and, the Orchid Ensemble. known for its blending of traditions from China and beyond, performs at the RCM's new Croatia St. location Feb 26 and on Mar 1 in Hamilton. It may be freezing in Toronto. but it's Carnival in Brazil. You can catch a bit of that warmth and excitemem when the Escola de Samba de Toronto hits Nathan Phillips Square Feb 4-6 as part of the Wintercity Festival. This community ensemble led by Alan Hetherington is comprised of Samba enthusiasts from all walks of life. There is even an excellent documentary film about the band, We Are Samba. They will also perform later on Feb 415 as part of Carnaval Brasil at The Red Violin (Danforth at Broadview). The Escola gives workshops and holds open rehearsals this month and next through the RCM Community School. For more info, call 416-408-2824 x32 t or visit www.sambatoronto.ca. Toronto's much celebrated Flying Bulgar Klezmer Band, led by trumpeter David Buchbinder, celebrates its I 7th anniversary at the Isabel Bader Theatre Feb 5. The concert will feature arrangements of new material discovered by band member and pianist Marilyn Lerner at the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research in New York, which in addition to its vast holdings in other areas, houses field recordings and transcriptions of music collected from Russia and the Ukraine. The Bulgars also dust off some of their older repertoire, and will work with pre-recorded sound and 20th century sound collages. · Another Toronto klezmer band, Beyond the Pale, will join forces with the Creaking Tree String Quartet, at the Glenn Gould Studio, Feb 12. Creaking Tree is not a traditional string quartet, consisting of violin, guitar, mandolin and bass. While both bands are rooted in their respective traditions of klezmer and bluegrass, both draw inspiration from jazz, rock and other folk styles. They will each perform individually, then combine at the end of the program to perform expanded versions of their original material as well . as new collaborative works. For info on each group, visit www. beyondthepale.net and www.creakingtree.com. More Jewish music "quick picks": TafelmusiI
A T I T G I 0 R G I T H I M A R T Y R saturday february 26 toca voca THE COMPOSER NOW: V.l.P. SERIES 8PM, // Toca Loca, one of Canada's most innovative and merciless new music ensembles. presents "Toca Voca," a program of singing. panting. scraping and chanting. Guest vocalists Heidi Klann and Vilma Vitols join pianist Gregory Oh in performing works by notable Canadians hke Chris Harman. Andrew Staniland, Omar Daniel, Jocelyn Morlock. Erik Ross. Alice Ho and featuring new commissions by lnouk Demers. James Rolfe/Dennis Lee. James Rolfe/Anna Chatterton and Alain Beauchesne. This concert will be recorded for future broadcast on Two New Hours on CBC Radio Two. and is presented with the assistance of the Laidlaw Foundation, The SOCAN Foundation and Yamaha Canada. music gallery: core programming feb. 2005 I r thu 02/10 trio phoenix with ingrid schmithusen (mtl + germany) THE COMPOSER NOW: ON TOUR SERIES @ 8PM , /$10/ Since 1992, Montreal's Trio Phoenix has been commissioning and adapling pieces for· flute (Lieve Schuermans). cello (Simon.Turnerj and piano (Brigitte Poulin). On Feb. 10, these Music Gallery velerans will be performing wilh guest soprano from Germany. Ingrid Schmithi.isen -- a devoted pmformer of chamber music, Lied, oralorio and c:onternporary music:. This programme includes world prernieres by Annelies van Parys and'Ana Sokolovic, p!us works by Debussy, Ravel. Leos Janacek and Jotin Rea. qwholenote at the music gallery! 02/07 old music, new ideas NINE MONDAYS SALON SERIES, HOSTED BY WHOLENOTE MAGAZINE. A SOIREE Wl'rH SOME OF TORONTO'S EMINENT EARLY MUSIC PERFORMERS. HOSTED BY TORONTO EARLY MUSIC CENTRE PRESI DENT, FRANK NAKASHIMA. 8PM, /. music gallery: also in feb. 02/12 wavelength 250 PART OF FIFTH ANNIVERSARY FESTI VAL FOR INDEPEND ENT MUSIC SERIES + ZINE. FEATURING JON-RAE & THE RIVER, FINAL FANTA SY, SHAWN HEWITT, HOLY F *"* AND THANKSGIVING. - $10 SLIDING SCALE. fri 02/18 barbara pritchard (piano halifax) THE COMPOSER NOW: ON TOUR SERIES @ BPM, /$10/ Arraymusic/Continuum alumnus Barbara P ritchard has a long-standing commitment to new music, and. since her move to Nova Scotia. has been a strong advocate for Maritime composers. On Feb 18, Prilch;:ird will be presenting Dennis Farrell's "Six Sonatas Af1er the Slyle of Dornonico Scarlatti" (1974), and Richard Gibson's "25 Prellll:lcs pour Piano" (1996). SOCAN Foundation The J.P. Morgan Chase Foundation t St. Q•orge the Martyr !"'!LI..- torontoartscounci I ""' """'•' "" ,_"«'"'II''"'('"·.,..,.. ............ , ........... .......... ... free lunch music series WEDNESDAYS 12:30-1 :30PM, FREE! 02/02 BARRY PROPHET + WILLIAM BEAUVAIS 02/09 DORON ZOR ' S POETIC JUSTIC 02/16 PARISH CONCERT . 02/23 SIDEWAYS HAND 03/02 DARREN COPELAND music gallery: co-ordinates location: st. george the martyr church, 197 john st. box-office: 416-204-1080 web: www.musicgallery.org www.mginstitute.ca I .a. I Canadian ..,,.. Heritage Patrimoine canadlen Bfe. tanada Council Conseil des Arts for the Arts du Canada FrnRUARY 1 - MARCH 7 2005 WWW. THEWHOLENOTE.COM
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Choral Scene: Uncharted territory: three choirs finding paths forward; Music Theatre: Loose Tea on the boil with Alaina Viau’s Dead Reckoning; In with the New: what happens to soundart when climate change meets COVID-19; Call to action: diversity, accountability, and reform in post-secondary jazz studies; 9th Annual TIFF Tips: a filmfest like no other; Remembering: Leon Fleisher; DISCoveries: a NY state of mind; 25th anniversary stroll-through; and more. Online in flip through here, and on stands commencing Tues SEP 1.
Following the Goldberg trail from Gould to Lang Lang; Measha Brueggergosman and Edwin Huizinga on face to face collaboration in strange times; diggings into dance as FFDN keeps live alive; "Classical unicorn?" - Luke Welch reflects on life as a Black classical pianist; Debashis Sinha's adventures in sound art; choral lessons from Skagit Valley; and the 21st annual WholeNote Blue Pages (part 1 of 3) in print and online. Here now. And, yes, still in print, with distribution starting Thursday October 1.
Alanis Obomsawin's art of life; fifteen Exquisite Departures; UnCovered re(dis)covered; jazz in the kitchen; three takes on managing record releases in times of plague; baroque for babies; presenter directory (blue pages) part two; and, here at the WholeNote, work in progress on four brick walls (or is it five?). All this and more available in flipthrough HERE, and in print Tuesday Nov 3.
In this issue: Beautiful Exceptions, Sing-Alone Messiahs, Livingston’s Vocal Pleasures, Chamber Beethoven, Online Opera (Plexiglass & All), Playlist for the Winter of our Discontent, The Oud & the Fuzz, Who is Alex Trebek? All this and more available in flipthrough HERE, and in print Friday December 4.
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!).