MUSIC INTHEAFTERNOONWOMEN'S MUSICAL CLUB OF TORONTO.,iJ ~ ~ TINALLEY STRING QUARTET &~ -... P' HINRICH ALPERS, piano.. :.;.._). OCTOBER 23, 2008 • 1.30 PMKAORI YAMAGAMI, celloNOVEMBER 20, 2008 • 1.30 PMWith a WMCT-commissioned premiere of a workby Larysa KuzmenkoSponsored by the WMCT Centennial Foundat ionRED PRIEST, baroque ensembleFEBRUARY 12, 2009 • 1.30 PMTHE ADASKIN STRING TRIOWITH THOMAS GALLANT. oboe•MARCH 12, 2009 • 1.30 PMPHILIPPE CASTAGNER, tenorAPRIL 30, 2009 • 1.30 PMFive concerts for 5.00Early-bird five concerts available May 1- 31, 2008 - 5.00Limited subscriptions available - don't be disappointed -subscribe nowFor information and to subscribe call 416-923-7052Walter Hall, Edward Johnson Building, Museum SubwayAll artists and programmes are subject to change withou t no tice.Sup port of the On tario Arts Council and the Ci ty of Toron to through the To ron to ArtsCouncil is gratefully acknowledgedPRESENTED BYwmctrawmct.on.ca I www.wmct.on.ca I 416-923-7052Quoolibetby Allan Pu IkerSvetlana DvoretskaiaIf I told you this first item isabout a company that in the pastthree months brought Torontothe Terem Quartet and DmitriHvorostovsky (November), theSt. Petersburg State Ballet on Ice(December), and Les BalletsTrockadero de Monte Carlo(January) you'd be forgiven forthinking "big time." And you'dbe wrong. Think instead ShowOne Productions, the verypersonal contribution of artsentrepreneur Svetlana Dvoretskaiato the town (and country)she now calls home . And herseason isn't over! April 26Show One will present thefourth annual Young Stars ofthe Young Century concert atthe Weston Recital Hall and onSvetlana Dvoretskaia, founder ofToronto's Show One ProductionsMay 26 the Moscow Virtuosi with Van Cliburn Competition laureate,Olga Kern.I had coffee with Dvoretskaia a few days before going to press,to talk about her burgeoning career as an impresario - a word she ishelping rescue from disrepute. "After I came to Canada," she toldme, "I found work in a dress shop and after a year doing that got acorporate job. People told me how successful I was, but I didn't feelsuccessful, because I wasn't doing what I wanted to do ." In 2003 achance meeting led to an invitation to produce a concert, in Toronto,by Vladimir Spivakov and the Moscow Virtuosi. That concert was abig success not only artistically but also at the box office and reallylaunched her company .Now, five years later, she's working steadily with some of thebiggest stars in the business, but characteristically the project shewants to talk about is Young Stars of the Young Century, a concertin which she brings together young performers from Canada andfrom the former Soviet Republics. This year it takes place on April26, once again at the George Weston Recital Hall. "I get the mostjoy out of this," she told me. "It's a very special thing, not onlybecause it is unique and gives exposure abroad to young artists, butalso at the personal level, because of the friendships that are made. Ithas consistently been a beautiful and positive experience for everyoneinvolved. ""So little attention is paid here to the arts" she observes, but thetone is diagnostic rather thanjudgmental. If, during their formativeyears, everyone could receive knowledge of music "the world wouldbe a better, more interesting, more creative place. We need people inpower and people in the media to be stronger about the importanceof the arts in life. There is a preoccupation in society with negativity,destruction and violence." She tells about being approached by amajor TV company to do a 'reality TV' program based on theYoung Artists concert. "You will have to change the concept, " Iwas told . "Ifwe take the great inspirational concert you 're creatingto any network, we will not be able to sell it, because people willnot watch it. What we can sell is humiliation, competition, kids crying."The event is modelled , albeit on a much smaller scale , on theVladimir Spivakov International Charity Foundation's MoscowMeets Friends International Festival which brings as many as 3000young people from all over the world to Moscow each year. To findout more about the Foundation go to http ://spivakov .ru/lang en.The concert on April 26 will offer some extraordinarily promisingyoung musical talent. Strengthening art in life happens one action ata time. We can vote with our feet.14WWW. THEWHOLENOTE.COM APRIL 1 - MAY 7 2008
Young People's Involvement in MusicApril being the end of the academic year, there are many studentrecitals in our town' s various music schools, undergraduate andgraduate. We don't list them individually, mainly because inevitablyscheduling is a bit iffy. But you can find them online. The techniquethat worked best for me was to do a Google search for "studentrecitals" followed by the name of the school. In fact for one institutiona search of this type yielded a comprehensive list, in alphabeticalorder by the performers' names. Some of these performers are only avery short step from astonishing careers. These are the recitals aboutwhich later you will be able to brag ... that you heard them whenthey were just starting out.The King of InstrumentsA Toronto cultural treasure is its good pipe organs, and not only theorgans themselves but also the people who know how to play them .While most of the instruments are located in churches, there are alsofine instruments in Walter Hall, Casa Loma and Roy Thomson Hall.This month there will be two opportunities to hear the Roy ThomsonHall Organ, the first on April 16 with the TSO when Olivier Latry,organist of Notre Dame in Paris, will perform Jacques Hetu's Concertofor Organ. The other major work on the program, incidentally,is Olivier Messiaen's Turangalfla Symphony, which includes in itsorchestration the rarely heard pioneering electronic instrument, theondes Marte not. On April 17 La try wi II give a free noon-hour recitalat Roy Thomson Hall, providing a rare opportunity to hear him, aninfrequent visitor to Toronto, and the too rarely played Roy ThomsonHall instrument.Another too rarely heard instrument is the one in the Knox CollegeChapel at the University of Toronto. Organist and early musicspecialist Kevin Komisaruk will give a recital there on April 18. Inaddition, of course, quite a number of churches are offering freenoon-hour recitals, including St. Paul's on Bloor Street East, whichwas closed for renovations for several years. In May we can lookforward to William O'Meara and Gordon Mansell's third "Organix"festival of the organ, which will begin on May 2 with PatriciaWright performing organ concerti by Handel and Haydn, along withworks by Bach, Lemmens, Langlais and Canada's own RobertFleming, with an ensemble of four string players and two oboists.Other Organix events in the first week of May include Pops Favouriteswith theatre organist Jelani Eddington on May 5 at Casa Lomaand on May 7 saxophonist Daniel Rubinoff and organist ChrisDawes. More about this next month.Vocal RecitalsThere will be some outstanding vocal recitals this month, includingNathalie Paulin and Anita Kraus, presented by the Aldeburgh Connection,on April 9; Allison Arends, our (student) cover story, presentedby the Toronto Wagner Society on April 10; superstar bassbaritoneBryn Terfel at Roy Thomson Hall on April 15; five noonhourrecitals at the Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre on April 8, 17,22, 23 and 24; and also on April 24 a noon-hour recital by sopranoMaria Thorburn in a program of tango music. Mezzo Jean Stilwelland pianist Patti Loach will perform music from their recent CDCarmen Unzipped as part of a fundraiser at St. Simon's Church onMay 2; and on May 3 soprano Janet Catherine Dea will give a solorecital at the Heliconian Hall.String Quartets and Other Chamber MusicMusic Toronto will present three string quartets: the Cecilia on April3, the Belcea on April 10 and the St. Lawrence on May 1. TheTakai String Quartet will give a recital at the Royal Ontario Museumon April13. On April 6 Amici will give us the opportunity to hearsome rarely performed repertoire by Hungarian composers Bart6k,Kodaly and Dohnanyi. Another somewhat out of the ordinary opportunitycomes our way on April 19 when the Brass Conspiracy, a 13-piece brass ensemble, performs works by Brahms, Mahler, Mozart,Puccini and Berlioz. The same evening the Academy Concert Serieswill present a program of music by "Les Six, " early 20th CenturyFrench composers.All I've done, of course, is scratch the surface, so give the listingsa good read, find one new event, and make it a "must."EXPERTS, MAKERS & DEALERSSINCE 1890STUDENT LEVEL TO RARE MASTERWORKS,BOWS, ACCESSORI E S, RENTALS & SERVICEWhether you are a student, professional artist orenthusiast, we can help you with all your musicalrequirements. Each of our instruments are carefullyselected to ensure the finest quality, sound andperformance at every level.R E MENYI.COMSTRINGS PIANOS BOOKST ORE GUITARS210 BLOOR ST. WEST, TORONTO· 416.961.31111455 16TH AVE. #6, RICHMOND HILL • 905.881.3400APRIL 1 - M AY 7 2008 WWW. TH EWHOLENOTE.COM 15
