Quoolibet, continued ever, all four of them are constantly listening and talking to other people. Sometimes luck is involved, as a few weeks ago when in Berlin he went to a concert and heard Pinchas Zukerman play Oliver Knussen's violin concerto. "If I hadn't decided to go out then, I might never have discovered just how good a composer Oliver is." (Zukerman performed the same concerto, conducted by the composer, at the TSO's concert immediately before the one in which the SLSQ performed.) Consequently Knussen's name has been added to the "huge list of composers. whom we want to commission." On what, I asked, does the continuing potency of art music depend? "We love to perform and what we particularly embrace is the harnessing of the energy in the hall, when the power of people listenin g becomes an active part. of the creative process. This can be magical and this is what we live for. Audience members have an active role to play in Jive performance and as performers we need active listening." What generosity of spirit: to acknowledge the mutual dependence of the performer and the listener, the performer and the composer and the old and the new. BACH CONSORT On May 13 te Bach Consort will bring together some of Toronto's best professional musicians to perform a program of instrumental and vocal music by Johann Sebastian Bach. You can always count on these fine musicians to provide an evening of fine music-making and, as always, the proceeds go to a worthy cause, this time Habitat for Humanity and the Pia Bouman School for Ballet and Creative Movement. VICTOR TOG I MEMORIAL CONCERT On May 27 at St. Basil's Church organists Gordon Mansell and William O'Meara will present a concert dedicated to the memory of Victor Togni, an organist and musician whose life was tragically ended in 1965 at the age of thirty on Highway 401 in a collision with a tractor trailer. The concert will also include an improvisation by Togni's son, the well-known musician and CBC personality, Peter Togni, on a theme written by his father. What this man accomplished in his short life almost defies comprehension. He studied with the greatest teachers of his time, including Olivier Messiaen, Marcel Dupre, Fernando Germani and Jean Langlais, was awarded several prestigious prizes for organ improvisation, and in July 1963 had the honour of performing in the company of two of his teachers, Dupre and Germani. In Europe he was organist of Rome's St. Gre g ory's Basilica and the Lugano Cathedral, before coming to Canada, where after working briefly in Ottawa, in 1960 he was appointed organist at St. Basil's Church and professor of organ and improvisation at St. Michael's Cathedral Choir School. In I 963 he was appointed organist of Toronto's St. Michael's Cathedral, a position he held until his untimely death. PHILIP L. DAVIS Luthi er fonnerly with /.f. Schr6de1: Fh:mkfurl, West Germany A Fine Selection of Small and . Full Sized Instruments and Bows • Expert Repairs (416) 466-9619 67 Wolverleigh Blvd, Toronto, Ontario, M4J I R6 · EARLY Music Tafelmusik's current season ends in grand style with the "premiere" of Handel's magnificent oratorio, Deborah (May 5-8) which is based on the Old Testament story of the prophetess Deborah. Joining the Tafelmusik Chamber Choir and an expanded Tafelmusik Orchestra is a fine array of soloists, including sopranos Gillian Keith and Ann Monoyios, countertenor Matthew White, tenor Benjamin Butterfield, and baritone Locky Chung. Thoug,h not as well known as The Messiah, this work clearly hi g hli g hts Handel's creative talents. For more details, see the Tafelmusik website: www.tafelmusik.org The Toronto Early Music Centre presents the recorder/flute virtuoso Alison Melville in a special solo program 'In the Company of Songbirds' in which she will perform selections from her new CD of l 8th-century Scottish repertoire, music by van Eyck, Telemann, Bach and the ubiquitous Anonymous, as well as traditional and original tunes for the Norwegjan 'selj\:fl0yte' ('overtone' flute) using an assortment of recorders, traverso, and the aforementioned seljefl0yte (May 15). In Greek myth, Orpheus is the singer/poet par excellence, able to move the very stones to tears. In Toronto's Metamorphosis Festival, a citywide celebration of the arts on the theme of transformation, the Toronto Chamber Choir {under the direction of David Fallis) looks at the musical portraits, both old and new, of this famous hero from Ovid's Metamorphoses, seeking to move you, the listener, with works by Monteverdi, Gluck, Haydn, Offenbach, and contemporary Canadian composer Imant Raminsh (May 15). See their website: www.geocities.com/torontochamberchoir WWW. THEWHOLENOTE.COM As Baroque Music Beside the Grange's contribution to the Festival, "two of Ovid's most dramatic stories of transformation are being offered, set magnificently to music by composers of early 18thcentury France - Clerambault's Orphee and Monteclair's Pan et Syrinx" (May 28). This concert will also feature instrumental works in- by Frank Nakashima Alison Melville spired by Ovid's tales, including Hotteterre's Ecos, excerpts from Gaultier's La Rhetorique des Dieux for solo lute, and Mascitti's violin sonata Psiche. All of the above will be interpreted by Teri Dunn (soprano), Alison Melville (traverso), Genevieve Gilardeau (violin), Lucas Harris (theorbo & lute), Borys Medicky (harpsichord) and Betsy MacMillan (bass viol). Naxos Records and the Aradia Ensemble proudly announce the release of the 30th recording by Kevin Mallon for the Naxos label - the opus 2 symphonies by the 18th century English composer William Boyce. The Aradia Ensemble will be celebrating their latest CD on the Naxos label with a free concert including the Boyce symphonies and excerpts of instrumental music for the theatre by Henry Purcell (May 28). Aradia and music director Kevin Mallon, have continued to receive international praise for their recordin g s. The April edition of Classic FM magazine from Britain, entitled "The Great British Issue", features a cover CD called "The Best of British". Included on that CD is music by Elgar, Holst, Delius and Purcell, with conductors such as Andrew Davis, John Eliot Gardiner, Roy Goodman and Leonard Bernstein. Track 10 on this CD is the Chacony from the Naxos CD of Purcell's "The Tempest" with the Aradia Ensemble- and Kevin Mallon. For more information, visit the website: www.aradia.ca Frank T. Nakashima (franknak@interlog.com) is the Preside111 of the Toronto Early Music Cemre, a non-profit charitable organization which promotes the appreciation of historically-informed performances of early music MAY 1 - )UNE 7 2005
Sweet (Studio) Sixteen Music festivalstfl- one outstanding exhi An unforgettable getaway in Montreal · June 5 to 9 or June 16 to 20 July 21 to 25 or August 3 to 7 ·studio Sixteen is Toronto's new- ing a concert entitled "Llama de est choral ensemble (sixteen voic- amor viva" (Living flame of love), es), the only one in Toronto spe- taken from one of the most famous cializing in early sacred polypho- poems by Renaissance mystical ny of the 16th and l 7th centuries, philosopher, San Juan de la Cruz. particularly the 8-part repertoire. This program will feature 6, 7, and Founded just recently in October 8-part spiritual madrigals, respon- 2004 by Kevin K,omisaruk, current- sories, and other sacred treasures ly on staff of the Historical Per- from Renais"sance Italy, Spain, and formance department of the Facul- Portugal, chosen specifically to ty of Music at the U of T, Studio evoke the spirit of this poem, a Sixteen has already impressed lis- meditation on the delicate balance teners and connoiss·eurs alike in of darkness and light in our lives. promoting the sublime and pro- On this program will be some of found beauty of this infrequently- the greatest choral masterworks of performed music. the sixteenth century: Carlo Gesu- These sixteen singers strive for. aldo's Tenebrae Responsories, Orpurity and clarity, engaging the lando Lassus' Lagrime di San Piepowerful impact of this music tro, motets by Alonso Lobo and through rhythmic vitality. While Francisco Guerrero, and Tomas these are not especially rare goals Luis da Victoria's 8-voice Missa for a choral ensemble of this kind, Alma Redemptoris Mater. It should in a very short time Studio Sixteen be an enlightening experience to has proven themselves to be for- hear this magnificent music in the midable advocates for the revival kind of reverberant acoustic for of this early repertoire. This month, which it was intended. May 23, at St. Paul's Basilica on Visit www.studiosixteen.ca Power Street, they will be present- Frank Nakashima • The St. Peter and the Vatican: The legacy of the Popes exhibition, a priceless collection ol works of art from the Vatican • Concert by the Montreal Chamber Music Festival Uune) or by the Festival international de Lanaudiere Uuly and August) • Montreal's history and architecture guided lour • Gourmet dining Accommodations at The Queen Elizabeth Hotel or a boutique hotel in Old Montreal. Inclusive tour is also available for the Montreal International jazz Festival. 3225 Yonge St. PH (416) 483-5825 cMai I: snidcrmusic(i:!Jsn idcrmus1c.com www.:-.nidcrmus1c . ..:um .One of Toronto's Oldest Music Stores ... With The Best Selection of Pop, Jazz & Broadway Sheet Music in the city - For Begiu11ers nnd Professiouals - Violins, violas, cellos, and bows Complete line of strings and accessories Expert repairs and rehairs Canada's largest stock of string music Fast mail order service Come in and browse over 25,000 sheet music publications. We _ have a wide array of Woodwind, Brass, Keyboards, Guitars and Accessories. Music Lessons offered on site. Geo.1 1 & Co. Limited D CONSERVATORS & PURVEYORS OF Fine & Rare Violins 20 I Church St.. Toronto, ON. MSB I Y7 Tel: 416-363-0093 •Fax: 416-363-0053 Email: ghcl@idirect.com www.georgeheinl.com Canada's foremost violin experts. Proud of our heritage. Excilcd about the future. WWW. THEWHOLENOTE.COM
