Beat by Beat | Art of SongTwo Busy SingersHANS DE GROOTThe countertenor voice had been prominent in English musicin the late 17th century, the time of Purcell, but was only keptalive afterwards in the cathedral choirs. That changed in 1944when the composer and conductor Michael Tippett plucked AlfredDeller from the choir stalls in Canterbury Cathedral and helped himto develop a solo career. Initially many people found the experience ofhearing a man sing in the alto register odd. There is a famous story ofDeller being confronted by a woman who asked him whether he wasa eunuch. The story goes on to say that Deller did not miss a beat butreplied immediately: “I think Madam the word you are looking for is‘unique’.” Well, si non è vero, è ben trovato, but the very fact that thestory rings true even if it isn’t, and has been repeated by many tells ussomething about the way audiences felt about this high male voice.Things have changed: now there are many countertenors and only thenaive and inexperienced will be nonplussed by what they hear. Theother day there was a very good countertenor, singing Schubert’s AveMaria during the evening rush hour inside the Bloor-Yonge Station.Nobody seemed to take any notice (I suppose people had trains tocatch) but nobody there seemed to find it at all unusual either.Countertenor Daniel Cabena will be a new voice for many. Iremember hearing him with the Toronto Consort and I was recentlylistening to the splendid recording by Les Violons du Roy and theChapelle de Québec of the Mozart Requiem. Cabena sings on thatrecording too. In 2004 he moved to Montreal, where he studied at theUniversité de Montréal; since then he has been a student at the ScholaCantorum Basiliensis in Basel and has performed in Switzerland withMusica Fiorita and La Cetra and in France with the Concert Spiritueland Le Parlement de Musique. He recently returned to Canada andnow lives in Guelph.December and January are going to be busy months for him. OnDecember 7 at 3pm he will be performing a free concert with thepianist Stephen Runge at Hart House. The countertenor voice isnow largely associated with early music but Cabena has chosen late19th and 20th century works, mainly British, for this recital: songsby Stanford, Vaughan Williams, Ireland, Finzi, Warlock, Quilter,Howells, Butterworth, Gurney, Britten and William Denis Browne. Ofspecial interest are two songs by Barrie Cabena, Daniel’s father. Theelder Cabena was born in Australia, studied in England with HerbertHowells, moved to Canada and taught at Wilfrid Laurier University inWaterloo from 1970 until his retirement.On December 13 and 14 Daniel Cabena will sing in a concert ofsacred music by Bach, with the Nota Bene Baroque Orchestra inHamilton and Waterloo, respectively. On December20 he will be thealto soloist in Messiah with the Guelph Chamber Choir at the RiverRun Centre, Guelph and on January 31 he will sing with the ensembleScaramella in a program of 17th century German music at VictoriaCollege Chapel.Tenor Sean Clark is another busy singer. Fresh from his performanceof Tamino in Ottawa’s Opera Lyra children’s version of The MagicFlute (set in space), he has begun rehearsals for another Mozart role,that of Don Ottavio in Against the Grain Theatre’s #UncleJohn, anadaptation of Don Giovanni at the Great Hall’s Black Box TheatreDecember 11, 13, 15, 17 and 19). He is giving a recital of Canadian andAmerican music that consists of Verlaine settings by Mathieu as wellas folk-song arrangements by John Beckwith and John Jacob Nilesat the Canadian Music Centre on December 13. He is also the tenorsoloist in Pax Christi Chorale’s performance of Bach’s Nun kommtder Heiden Heiland as well as part of the Christmas Oratorio and inStephanie Martin’s secular cantata Winter Nights at St. John VianneyChurch in Barrie on December 5; Grace Church on-the-Hill onDecember 6 and 7. Clark has been a member of the Canadian OperaCompany chorus for some time and is continuing in that role. But heis interested in developing a solo career and these concerts may markan important stage in thatdevelopment.Other Events: OnDecember 3 Erin Bardua,soprano, ChristinaStelmacovich, mezzo, CharlesDavidson, tenor, and GrahamRobinson, baritone, singBach’s cantata Wachet! betet!betet! wachet! at St. JamesCathedral, PWYC.Miriam Khalil, soprano,and Julie Nesrallah, mezzo,are the singers in a concert ofArab music on December 4 atDaniel Cabena Koerner Hall.Two concerts on December 7:Off Centre Music Salon presents Ilana Zarankin, soprano, and EricaIris Huang, mezzo, singing works from Russia (Glenn Gould Studio);Marie-Lynn Hammond will sing with the Echo Women’s Choir atChurch of the Holy Trinity.On December 8; the soloists in the Toronto Masque TheatreChristmas concert are Lizzie Hetherington and Jean Edwards,soprano, Jessica Wright, mezzo, and David Roth, baritone at 21Shaftesbury Avenue.The third and final installment of the International Divas series takesplace on December 21; the singers are Rita Chiarelli, Maryem HassanTollar, Lara Solnicki, Sharlene Wallace, the Ault Singers and Hisaka atTrinity-St. Paul’s Centre.Whitney O’Hearn, mezzo, and Bud Roach, tenor, will performsongs from the Irving Berlin songbook, with the Talisker Players atTrinity-St. Paul’s Centre, January 11 and, 13.Nathalie Paulin, soprano, Laura Pudwell, mezzo, LawrenceWiliford, tenor, and Sumner Thompson, baritone, will be the soloistsin Beethoven’s Mass in C with Tafelmusik. The concert at KoernerHall, January 22 to 25, also includes Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony; theconductor is Kent Nagano (Koerner Hall, January 22 to 25).On January 25 Emily Klassen, soprano, and Jean-SebastienBeauvais, countertenor, will sing Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater at St. David’sAnglican Church.On February 1 Melanie Conly, soprano, will sing Brott, Purcell,Berlioz and Schubert at Heliconian Hall.And beyond the GTA: Marie-Josée Lord, soprano, will perform songsand melodies from Spain and Latin America at (All Saints’ AnglicanChurch in Peterborough, January 17).Catherine Carew, mezzo, performs at the Glenn Crombie Theatre,Fleming College, in Lindsay January 18.Two Postscripts: I enjoyed Opera Atelier’s production of Handel’sAlcina. Most of it was very well sung and Allyson McHardy was spectacularin the role of Ruggiero. I wish though that the company hadnot advertised it as a Canadian premiere as there was a fully stagedand very successful production of the work by the Opera School in theFaculty of Music at the University of Toronto in November 2002. Thiswas with a modern orchestra but Essential Opera also performed thework with a chamber orchestra with period instruments in May 2012.I have been reading with great pleasure the memoir of Mary WillanMason, The Well-Tempered Listener: Growing Up with MusicalParents (Words Indeed, 2010). Mason is the daughter of Healey Willan,the composer, organist and choirmaster, and of Gladys (“Nell”) Hall,who had been a distinguished pianist and singer before her marriage.Mason is now 94 and retains a lively interest in musical events inthe city. One of the many details in the book that struck me was anaccount of how during the Depression Evelyn Pamphilon “augmentedher piano-teaching income by producing a pamphlet, What’s On,listing local concerts and recitals.” This was clearly a forerunner of TheWholeNote. Do any copies survive, I wonder.Hans de Groot is a concertgoer and active listenerwho also sings and plays the recorder. He can becontacted at artofsong@thehwolenote.com.32 | December 1 2014 - February 7, 2015 thewholenote.com
Beat by Beat | BandstandA Night toRememberJACK MACQUARRIEEver since their inaugural days in Toronto, I havebeen a keen advocate of the New Horizons Bandsin this part of the country. When I was invitedto join the senior Toronto New Horizons band and sitin for one of their performances in early November,I was pleased and accepted. I thought that this wasto be a typical fall band concert. I couldn’t have beenmore mistaken.I had been told that the concert was to be at thenearby Salvation Army Dovercourt location as athank-you for the many times that the band had beenable to rehearse there when their regular rehearsalspace was unavailable. Since the title of the event was“A Night to Remember,” and since it was just a fewdays before November 11, I assumed that it would bea remembrance concert. However, in his planning,director Dan Kapp wanted something more respectfulof the pain and suffering at home and with membersof the forces during their times of separation.Kapp’s research on the internet led him to a booktitled One Family’s War: The Wartime Letters of Clarence Bourassa,1940-1944. This is primarily a collection of letters written by PrivateClarence O. Bourassa, of the South Saskatchewan Regiment, to hiswife Hazel from March 1940 to July 1944, when he was killed, aged30, in the Battle of Normandy. It was edited by Clarence’s son Rollie.While on leave in England, Clarence had established a friendship withone family, and letters from Dorothy Starbuck to Hazel have beenincluded in this collection. Clarence’s letters reveal the complexityof the emotional life of the Canadian soldier far from his belovedwife and two children. Obviously, it would not have been possible toobtain any of Hazel’s letters to Clarence, but Dorothy’s letters providemuch insight.Once he had read the book, Kapp knew that he had the basis ofwhat he wanted. In his words: “It was clear that this was all I reallyneeded to tie the show together.” It would chronicle, with musicalinterludes, the many torments of the war for a young soldier andhis family. (One extra tie-in was that, while in England, wheneverhe had the opportunity, Clarence played euphonium in a SalvationArmy band.)After discussion with Salvation Army Major Doug Hammond,the format for the event was agreed upon. Advertised as “A Night toRemember,” there would be no admission charged. Instead, audiencemembers wwould be invited to donate to a charitable program inZimbabwe sponsored by this Bloor Central Corps.During World War I conductor Eugene Goossens put out a call fora fanfare to be played at the beginning of every concert in Britainduring the war. It had been very successful. So,shortly after the United States entered World War II,Goossens, now in the U.S., put out a similar call. Ofall of the submissions, Aaron Copland’s Fanfare forthe Common Man is the only one to have survived. Itcouldn’t be a more appropriate selection to open thisremembrance program. In any war it is the “commonman,” not the leader, who must carry on the fight.The event that followed the fanfare was a multimedialook at the struggles of one such common manfrom small-town Saskatchewan. Private Clarence O.Bourassa was that common man. As the programprogressed, between musical interludes, Ken Hodge,a member of the band, read letters from Clarence tohis wife as a wide variety of war scenes and otherimages were projected on the screen behind. At othertimes Lisa Kapp, also from the band, read letters fromDorothy to Hazel.Throughout the program no fewer than 120 photosor posters were projected on the screen. From a bandmember’s vantage point, even with no opportunity to see the imageson the screen, it was a very moving evening. On speaking to someaudience members who had the benefit of the combination of music,dialogue and images, they indicated that the impact was considerable.This format is one which could well be employed by school teacherswhen planning remembrance services in future years. Once again DanKapp deserves congratulations for making remembrance ceremoniesmore meaningful.Wychwood Clarinet Choir: Another recent musical event deservingmention was the “Wind Song” concert offered by the WychwoodClarinet Choir this past month. Having awarded Howard Cable withthe title of conductor-in-residence, or something similar, it was onlynatural that he would play a significant role in the choir’s recentconcert. The name of the concert came from the name of one ofCable’s first compositions for clarinet choir when he was the civilianassociate conductor and arranger with the NORAD Command Band inColorado Springs in 1964. Wind Song was the opener for the secondthewholenote.com December 1 2014 - February 7, 2015 | 33
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!).
