Our 125 thJubileeCelebrationsare starting earlywith store-wide savingsTORONTO’S TRUSTED SOURCE FORGRAND AND UPRIGHT PIANOSDIGITAL KEYBOARDSSTRING INSTRUMENTSACCESSORIESGUITARSSHEET MUSIC & BOOKSMUSICAL GIFTS, NOVELTIES AND ART….and so much more for you to discoverMusical Instrument Experts and Makers Since 1890210 BLOOR ST. WEST 416-961-3111 www.remenyi.comSpecial “Meetand Greet”with guest artistLiona Boydwho will be signingher new albumA Winter Fantasyat Remenyi House Of MusicGuitar auction, drinks and snacks.Saturday, Dec 13, 2014from noon - 2pmvigorous concert schedule to the equation and one can see why it isthat Hewitt’s performing and recording plans are mapped out furtherinto the future than most.“Do you take your piano with you?” I ask, half joking. She smiles.“Sometimes,” she says. “I have two concert grands, one here inCanada which is sometimes in Toronto, sometimes in Ottawa. Rightnow it’s in Toronto. It’s a Fazioli concert grand. (I’ll be performing onit at Koerner Hall January 9 with Anne Sofie von Otter); and then Ihave one in Italy, at my home there that I use for my festival and forconcerts in Italy. But I also took it to Finland, can you imagine, bytruck and by boat in January, across the Bay of Finland from Germany,and arrived safely.”The occasion, she explains, was for her recording of Messiaen’sTurangalila with the Finnish Radio Philharmonic Orchestra. “WhenI make a recording that’s special I need to have the best piano otherwisewhy bother making the recording, it doesn’t make sense. So Ineed to have my own pianos for that. My Fazioli pianos are wonderful,such colour and response and I am really happy playing them. Sosometimes I take it but it’s usually a question of money. If it didn’t costanything I would take it everywhere.”Perhaps not as precious as her beloved nine-foot Fazioli with thefour pedals, but precious enough, tucked into her score of Turangalilais a letter from Messiaen’s widow, Yvonne Loriod, who sent Hewitt theletter and score in London some 14 years after their first meeting atthe 1985 Toronto International Bach Competition that set Hewitt onthe road as a concert pianist. Messiaen and Loriod were both on thejury, and in the semi-final round the young Hewitt pulled out a pieceof Messiaen’s, written for Loriod, to play. “I thought, well he’s sittingthere, why not. I mean he should like to hear his own piece played.There was a risk of course, but if I could pull it off ... my wonderfulFrench teacher Jean-Paul Sevilla had taught it to me and so I playedit and, well, they gave methe prize.”Hewitt met them bothafter the competition atRoy Thomson Hall (andlaughs lustily recallingLoriod trying to getHewitt to give her someof the fingerings Hewitthad used for the piece).Some 14 years later Loriodwas in London, afterMessiaen had died, andthey met up again. Sheremembered every pieceOlivier Messiaen and Yvonne Loriod (1977)I had played at that competition, Hewitt recalls. Later Loriod sent herthe score for Turangalila “with a wonderful letter I keep tucked in it. Iregret never learning it in time to play it for her.”Trasimeno, where Hewit mounts her annual seven day festival, alsoplays a key role in the magical web of interconnectedness that Hewittseems able to spin for herself. Her upcoming recital at Koerner HallJanuary 9 with Anne Sofie von Otter is a case in point. “Was your ownfestival the first time you played with von Otter?” I ask. “It was. In factit was the first time we had met. I was looking for a singer that year todo Respighi’s Il Tramonto for mezzo-soprano and string quartet andI had seen she had recorded it and I knew that she was with my sameagency in London, so I thought well she can only say no so why don’tI risk it and ask her and we can do a recital together.” The rest, as theysay, is a little bit of history.Hewitt chooses all the artists for the festival, always some she hasworked with and some she would like the chance to. She plays inevery concert herself. “That’s one of the great pleasures of this festivalfor me” says Hewitt. “I don’t think I would do this festival unless Iplayed. I would let somebody else do it, it’s too much work! So theplaying is my reward.”A huge repertoire of chamber music (which Hewitt has) makes thewhole thing slightly easier. “I still learn fairly quickly. And alsoContinues on page 7210 | December 1 2014 - February 7, 2015 thewholenote.com
KOERNER HALL IS:“A beautiful space for music ”THE GLOBE AND MAILStewart Goodyearwith Canada’s National BalletSchool, Ballet Creole, and theToronto Children’s ChorusSAT., DEC. 6, 2014 2PMKOERNER HALL FAMILY CONCERTExperience a solo piano versionof Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcrackerwith dancers and young singers!John O’Conor &Desmond HoebigSUN., DEC. 7, 2014 2PMMAZZOLENI CONCERT HALLThe Glenn Gould School proudly presentstwo newly appointed, internationallyknown faculty members in recital.The program includes solo pianoNocturnes by John Field and FryderykChopin, Beethoven Cello Sonata No. 3,and Schumann’s Piano Quintet.Generously supported by Doug Bodley.Marcello Giordaniwith Bruce Stasyna& Ashley ThouretSAT., DEC. 13, 2014 8PMKOERNER HALLGiordani is “arguably the leadingtenor of his generation.” (OperaNews) Pianist Stasyna and sopranoThouret join in this performanceof works by Verdi, Puccini,Tosti, and others.Adi Braun presentsSpeak LowSAT., DEC. 6, 2014 7:30PMCONSERVATORY THEATREJoin vocalist Adi Braun, pianistDave Restivo, bassist Pat Collins,and drummer Daniel Barnesas they trace the musical andpersonal journey of Kurt Weilland Lotte Lenya from Berlin toBroadway in words and song.Generously supported byDoug Bodley.Academy Chamber OrchestraSAT., DEC. 13, 2014 7:30PM MAZZOLENI CONCERT HALLFREE (TICKET REQUIRED)String students from The Phil and Eli Taylor PerformanceAcademy for Young Artists come together as the AcademyChamber Orchestra to perform this special concert.The King’s SingersSUN., DEC. 14, 2014 3PM KOERNER HALLA holiday season celebration, a capella! This festiveconcert will include Renaissance motets, hymns, carols,cantatas, and songs for Christmas.GREAT GIFT IDEA: Koerner Hall Concert Tickets & Gift CardsTICKETS START AT ONLY ! 416.408.0208 www.performance.rcmusic.ca273 BLOOR STREET WEST(BLOOR ST. & AVENUE RD.)TORONTOthewholenote.com December 1 2014 - February 7, 2015 | 11
