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Volume 17 Issue 7 - April 2012

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FOR OPENERS / DAVID

FOR OPENERS / DAVID PERLMANThe Opera of the SpheresPREAMBLEThis longer-than-usual Opener will begin with a coincidence ofdates, and then eventually make its way, in a great wobbly orbit,back to where it began.The coincidence (1): June 8 2004 wasthe last occasion on which, from an earthboundperspective, the planet Venus wasobserved traversing the face of the star wecall our sun. It is a phenomenon known toastronomers as the “transit of Venus,” andit takes place twice in quickish succession(eight years apart) after which it doesn’t happenagain for either another 105.5 years, orelse another 121.5 years. So the previoustwo were in December 1874 and December1882 respectively; and the two following the2004/2012 pair, will be in December 2117and December 2125 respectively.The coincidence (2): June 5 2012 will be the second of the two“transits” in our lifetimes. So for those of us who missed the June 82004 transit, you could accurately say the upcoming June 5 transit hasbecome a “once in a lifetime” opportunity. That being said, June 52012 will also in all likelihood be the start of rehearsals for the PhilipGlass/Robert Wilson opera, Einstein on the Beach, which will kick offToronto’s sixth annual 10-day Luminato Festival at the Sony Centrethree days later (June 8). Einstein on the Beach, while largely composed,Glass says, in New Brunswick, has never been performed in Canada.This too, according to the publicists, will be a “once in a lifetime event.”NOW On WITh the STORYMarch 19, 2012, around 10:30pm, Venus was not tickling Apollo’sfiery chin. She was hanging out with some other shining celestial orb,low in the north-western sky, over Pearson airport. The two pointsof light were so close together that I had to rub my eyes to be sure Iwasn’t drunk. Even once I was sure I wasn’t seeing double, I had tostop and wait, to see if the two points of light would resolve into anoncoming or receding airplane, travelling along my line of sight andtherefore seeming for a moment to hang, still, in the night sky. But no,there they stayed, side by each, almost touching.“Look,” I said to my eldest son. “It’s Venus and Jupiter. So close theyare almost touching.” (I said it with all the authority fathers musterwhen there’s no-one around to contradict.) Aforementioned son, however,whipped out his smart phone. “I have a GPS-based app for that,” hesaid. A few deft wiggles of the app-posable thumbs that I do not possess,and he held the ever-so-clever phone up to the sky. As if by magic, astar map gleamed from its screen, more densely populated with starsthan the light-dimmed city night sky behind it, and with the name ofeach bright star superimposed on the screen. Fascinated, I watched ashe turned slowly to the north west to bring “Jupiter and Venus,” as Icontinued on page 8PHOTO Fred CalverTThe WholeNote The Toronto Concert-Goer’s GuideVolume 17 No 7 | apr 1 – may 7, 2012720 Bathurst St, Suite 503,Toronto ON M5S 2R4Main TelepHOne 416-323-2232Fax 416-603-4791SwiTCHBOard & General Inquiries Ext 21Chairman of the Board | Allan Pulkerdirectors@thewholenote.comPublisher/Editor In Chief | David Perlmanpublisher@thewholenote.comCD Editor | David Oldsdiscoveries@thewholenote.comEvent Advertising/MembershipKaren Ages | members@thewholenote.comAdvertising/Production Support/OperationsJack Buell | adart@thewholenote.comListings DepartmentSharna Searle | Listings Editorlistings@thewholenote.comOri Dagan | Jazz Listings/The ETCeteras Editorjazz@thewholenote.com, etc@thewholenote.comWebsiteBryson Winchester | systems@thewholenote.comCirculation, Display Stands & SubscriptionsChris Malcolm | circulation@thewholenote.comPatrick Slimmon | patrick@thewholenote.comOmdC and The Ontario ArTS COUncilare agencies of the Government of OntarioThanks to this month’s contriBUTOrsCover PhotoPeter OleskevichBeat ColumnsART OF SOng | David PerlmanBandstand | Jack MacQuarriebookshelf | Pamela MarglesclaSSical & beyond | Sharna SearleCHOral scene | Benjamin SteindiSCOveries | David OldsEarly Music | Simone Desiletsin the clUBS | Ori Daganin wiTH the new | David PerlmanJazz nOTes | Jim GallowayMusical life | mJ buellmUSic theatre | Robert WallaceOpera | Christopher HoileWorld Music | Andrew TimarFeaturesPaula Citron, Gabrielle McLaughlinCD ReviewersMax Christie, Janos Gardonyi, Jim Galloway,Wallace Halladay, Richard Haskell,Tiina Kiik, Roger Knox, Jack MacQuarrie,Lesley Mitchell-Clarke, Cathy Riches,Terry Robbins, Michael Schwartz, Bruce Surtees,Andrew Timar, Ken Waxman, Dianne WellsProofreadingSharna Searle, Ori Dagan, Karen AgesListingsOri Dagan, Sharna Searle,Richard Haskell, Adam WeinmannLayout & DesignBrian Cartwright (cover), Uno RamatSUBSCriptions per year + HST (10 issues)Upcoming Dates & DeadlinesFree Event Listings Deadline6pm Sunday April 15Display Ad Reservations Deadline6pm Monday April 16Advertising Materials Due6pm Wednesday April 18Publication DateMonday April 30Next issue, Volume 17 No 8covers May 1 to June 7, 2012WholeNote Media Inc. accepts no responsibility orliability for claims made for any product or servicereported on or advertised in this issue.Printed in CanadaCouto Printing & Publishing ServicesCirculation StatementApril 2012: 30,000 printed & distributed.Canadian Publication Product Sales Agreement1263846ISSN 14888-8785 WHOlenOTEPublications Mail Agreement #40026682Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to:WholeNote Media Inc.503-720 Bathurst StreetToronto ON M5S 2R4CopyrigHT © 2012 WHOlenOTe Media Incwww.thewholenote.com6 thewholenote.com April 1 – May 7, 2012

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