JUNOS and Bridgesandrew timarBefore we get to this month’s concerts, I’d like to wade in onthe world music component of Canada’s music industry awards,the JUNOs. Held from March 26 to April 1 in Ottawa, thisyear’s JUNOs have 41 award categories encompassing nominationsof the top-selling singers and musicians you would expect such asArcade Fire, Avril Lavigne, Drake, Justin Bieber, Michael Bubléand Nickelback.The “World Music Album” category nominationsreflect more modest album sales,Kiran Ahluwalia.but no less artistic ambition and achievement.Among the distinguished performersrepresented is previous JUNO award-winnerKiran Ahluwalia. Her latest album AamZameen: Common Ground fuses her ownghazal and Punjabi folk-song approachwith the music of the African masters ofMalian “desert blues.” Montreal based artistSocalled has had a shorter career, yet hislatest music, impossible to pigeon-hole, isno less ambitious in its transnationality. Hismusical mission appears to cross all sorts ofmusical and media boundaries, all the whileembracing a kibitzing attitude toward soundcollage inspired by pop, funk, klezmer andrap. Another nominee is the Brazilian-bornsinger, percussionist and composer AlineMorales, represented by her debut solo albumFlores, Tambores e Amores. Her musicassays Brazilian song styles such as samba,forró and 1960s tropicalia, and forges them into her own voicewith traces of Italian film soundtracks, avant-garde poetry, Africanpercussion and vintage synths.Now to the month’s live offerings: examining world music ina living historical context on March 1, the Royal Conservatory’sString and World Series at Koerner Hall presents the multi-GrammyAward-nominated viola da gambist, Jordi Savall, directing twogroups, Hespérion XXI and the Tembembe Ensamble Continuo. TheCatalan virtuoso of the viola da gamba, “an instrument so refinedthat it takes us to the very brink of silence,” Savall has been amongthe world’s major figures in early music since the 1970s. He ispartly responsible for bringing the viola da gamba back onto theworld stage. While his typical repertory ranges from the mediaevalto the baroque period, Savall’s approach to interpreting this “dead”historical repertoire has always been informed by the performancepractices of living oral music traditions of Europe, the Arab worldand now the “New” world.Appointed European Union ambassador for intercultural dialoguein 2008, Savall is passionate about asserting the common rootsof human expression. The Koerner Hall concert is titled “FoliasAntiguas & Criollas: From the Ancient to the New World.” It featuresSpanish and Mexican baroque music as well as performancesfrom the living Mexican Huasteca and Jarocho music traditions:Savall explores the creole music created from their confluence. Youcan catch the programme March 2 at the Perimeter Institute inWaterloo if you miss it at Toronto’s Koerner Hall.No less challenging to the music landscape status quo is theMarch 5 CD launch concert, “Bridges: Jewish and Arabic Music inDialogue” at the Al Green Theatre, Miles Nadal jcc. Headlining areLenka Lichtenberg, the Jewish singer with an international career,and Middle Eastern-Canadian singer, dancer, actor and qanunplayer Roula Said. For over 20 years the inspiring Said has beenone of Toronto’s leading lights in the belly dance, Arabic and fusionmusic scenes. While Lichtenberg was born and raised in Prague,she completed her university music education in Canada. Her currentmusic reflects her Yiddish roots and her ongoing study of theJewish cantorial tradition; in her extensive touring, she pursues acareer as a singer-songwriter. Together, their aim with “Bridges”is to establish an inspiring dialogue between Jewish and Arabiccultures grounded on musical commonalities. They are supported intheir quest by an outstanding backup band composed of a Torontoworld musician “A-team,” including John Gzowski on oud, guitarsand bouzouki, Kinneret Sagee on clarinet and Ernie Tollar on sax,flutes and clarinet. The rhythm section consists of bassist ChrisGartner, percussionist Alan Hetherington and Ravi Naimpally ontabla and dumbek, all of whom performed with convincing élan onLichtenberg’s sparkling last album Fray, markedly influenced byToronto’s interactive world music scene.On March 2 the Toronto-born chanteuseAlejandra Ribera performs at the GlennGould Studio. Her dramatic singing andgenre-hopping eclectic repertoire draws onboth her Argentinean and British heritage,and particularly mirrors the grit and magicof Ribera’s everyday urban Canadian realitywith its darkly lyrical themes.The Amadeus Choir, directed by LydiaAdams, presents “A Celtic Celebration,”March 3, at Toronto’s Jubilee UnitedChurch. The 115-voice veteran choir isjoined by Stratford’s five-piece, pan-Celticfusion band Rant Maggie Rant, led bymulti-instrumentalist Mark Fletcher. TheHighland dancers also on the bill willundoubtedly further animate the concert.The Royal Conservatory’s World Seriespresents two outstanding singers early inMarch. On March 7, in a multi-mediapresentation, the Latin Grammy awardwinning Lila Downs will perform herdramatic and highly unique reinvention of traditional Mexican musicand original compositions fused with blues, jazz, soul, African rootand even klezmer music.And on March 10, it’s another Grammy Award winner’s turn: thepowerful-voiced Angélique Kidjo performing her brand of Afro-funkfusion with an infectious joie de vivre. Dubbed “Africa’s premierdiva” by TIME magazine, the West African born Kidjo has been anactive member of the international world music scene for over 20years. Her list of illustrious collaborators including Bono, CarlosSantana, Peter Gabriel, Alicia Keys and Branford Marsalis, gives anidea of the force of her personality and the significant impact of hervocal accomplishments.On Thursday March 15, at 7:30pm, Nagata Shachu, Toronto’sprofessional Japanese taiko drumming and music group, presentsthe premiere of Tatsujin Gei (Master Artists) at the JapaneseCanadian Cultural Centre in Toronto. Three master performers fromJapan — Kodo Drummers’ Yoshikazu and Yoko Fujimoto, and theOkinawan dance master Mitsue Kinjo — will join forces with NagataShachu directed by Kyoshi Nagata. (This rare chance to see someof Japan’s top exponents of taiko, song and dance in Toronto missedour listings deadline so you won’t find further details here in themagazine. Call the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre at 416-441-2345 for details.)This month, two of our universities showcase the wide-rangingworld music activities of their music students and faculty. I’ve foundthese concerts are a particularly good way to sample a musicaltradition new to me: they’re relaxed, the youthful participants arecharged with the enthusiasm of new converts — plus they’re free.On March 15, from noon to 8pm, York University’s Department ofMusic presents day one of its “World Music Festival.” Performancesby the World Music Chorus, Celtic, Ghanaian, Cuban, Klezmerensembles and the Escola de Samba will fill the halls and roomsof the Accolade East Building with global sounds. The festivalcontinues all next day with Caribbean, Chinese, Korean Drum,George Whiteside24 thewholenote.com March 1 – April 7, 2012
Balkan Music, Flamenco and Middle Eastern ensembles. Then onMarch 19, York’s World@Noon series presents the triple platinum,Israeli singer-songwriter Idan Raichel at the Tribute CommunitiesRecital Hall, Accolade East Building. His “Idan Raichel Project” isdistinguished by its fusion of Hebrew lyrics, Middle Eastern andEthiopian music and electronica.The University of Toronto Faculty of Music presents its own WorldMusic ensembles in concert March 16 and 21 at the MacMillanTheatre, Edward Johnson Building. On March 28, at Walter Hall,the exemplary Vocal Jazz Ensemble is directed in concert by theinspired extended vocalist, conductor and teacher Christine Duncan.They will perform with their guest, Darbazi, our region’s first andmost accomplished Georgian polyphonic choir.There was atime in the early1990s whenthe guitar duoStrunz & Farahvirtually definedthe emergingworld musicmarket. Theirvery successfulalbums wonBillboard’sWorld MusicAlbum of the Year and a Grammy nomination. With an eclecticsound that has been described as world fusion, their music is amediated reflection of their cultural roots, including Afro-Caribbean,Latin American folk, flamenco and Middle Eastern music, wrappingit all up in jazz-based improvisation. They’re back on the roadappearing in venues across Southern Ontario this month. Starting atHugh’s Room in Toronto, March 14, they then appear at the CapitolTheatre in Port Hope, the Molsen Canadian Studio at HamiltonPlace, London’s Aeolian Hall and at Market Hall in Peterborough,on March 15, 16, 17 and 18, respectively.Finally, rounding out the month, on March 31 the RoyalConservatory presents “Intercultural Journeys,” echoing the interculturaland peace-bridging function of music proposed by some ofthe other concerts noted this month. Israeli cellist Udi Bar-Davidleads a group consisting of Lebanese violinist Hanna Khoury andPalestinian percussionist Hafez Ali, digging into repertoire mergingEuropean and Arabic classical musics. Their guests, Syriansinger Youssef Kassab, cantor Beny Maissner and Toronto qanunmaster George Sawa, will add yet more inclusive notes to this crossculturalconcert.Andrew Timar is a Toronto musician and music writer.He can be contacted at worldmusic@thewholenote.com.Strunz and Farah.March Ado ...jim gALLOWAySome years ago Petula Clark had a hit called Downtown. Partof the lyric is “The lights are so much brighter there. You canforget all your troubles, forget all your cares and go Downtown.”But for jazz fans, is downtown losing some of its appeal?When I arrived in Toronto, anywhere north of Bloor St. you wereheading for the suburbs. All the major jazz clubs in Toronto were inthe downtown core and, as I’ve said before in this column, going outto hear jazz meant going to The Colonial and the Town Tavern (whowere bringing in “name” American players), George’s SpaghettiHouse, Castle George above the spaghetti house, Friars Tavern, TheGolden Nugget, The Rex and later Bourbon Street, Basin Street,Cafe des Copains. And that is only a partial list of the south ofBloor venues.But with the demise of the club scene The Rex is the only clubfrom the above list still presenting jazz all week long.The Reservoir Lounge does have a six-nights-a-week scheduleof mostly jazz and blues and there are a number of clubs programmingjazz part-time, to which this magazine’s club listings, startingon page 52, well attest. With its Friday evening sessions, Quotesimmediately comes to mind. And for fans of New Orleans jazz,Grossman’s Tavern still has Saturday afternoon sessions which beganover 40 years ago!But, why so few full-time jazz clubs left?Economics played a large part. Travel costs soared, accommodationwas more expensive and fees went up. Some of the artists whoused to play clubs moved to the concert stage. Dizzy Gillespie, GaryBurton, George Shearing, Thelonious Monk, to name only a fewwho played in Toronto clubs, all became concert artists. The audiencefor straight-ahead jazz was aging and very often there was onlya handful of people for the last set: no more hanging and drinkinglate — there was work next morning.Another factor, I believe, is that people who don’t live in thedowntown core go home after work and the thought of driving backto the city is a deterrent. Perhaps starting the music earlier wouldhave helped. In Tokyo I went to a jazz club where the music startedat 5pm and people went there straight from work. In New York manyclubs have jazz from 7:30pm and it seems to work. For example, ifyou get to Dizzy’s Club at 11pm you will have missed the headliner.(To be a little less serious it reminds me of the joke: “Hey buddy,how late does the band play?” “Oh, about a half a beat behindthe drummer.”)March 1 – April 7, 2012thewholenote.com 25
"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!).
