Views
8 years ago

Volume 5 Issue 7 - April 2000

  • Text
  • April
  • Toronto
  • Theatre
  • Choir
  • Symphony
  • Bloor
  • Arts
  • Orchestra
  • Singers
  • Musical

Ht CONCERT NOTES Hear &

Ht CONCERT NOTES Hear & Now continuedfrom page 16 The night of April 15, by the way, narrowly avoids being one of $ose impossibly difficult choices. Aficionados of Canadian opera and new music theatre are in for a rare treat that evening when Opera in Concert gives a complete performance of John Beckwith's rural wedding drama "The Shivaree." Set in Ontario sometime late in the last century, and essential! y a re-telling of the classic tale of the "Rape of Proserpine," this fastpaced opera juxtaposes lighter comedy with sombre undertones, and involves a cast of 12 engaging characters. Develop~d by Beckwith and James Reaney over a period of 13 years, The Shivaree was workshopped by Camus Music Theatre and the Banff Centre, and premiered in 1982. Its modern score capnires echoes of folksy tunes, barber shop quartet, · and kitchen sink percussion. Shivaree's reappearance is long overdue. John Hess directs a dynamite cast including Barbara Hannigan, Cindy Townsend, Lori Klassen, · Gregory Dahl and John Tessier. (Fortunately The Shivaree is being presented on the 15th and the 16th, so the rest of us can can have our cake and eat it too.) This "theatrical" trend continues April 18-20. ~irst, Tapestry New Opera, in cooperation with the du Maurier World , Stage Festival, introduces "O, Pilot" a work-in-progress by Nie Gotham, composer of the highly successful "Nigredo Hotel." Gotham and librettist Banuta Rubess have developed a brand new story, hinting at a romantic entanglement between a lovesick airline pilot and jaded tourist. Audiences will also be treated to a sneak preview from "Constantinople" by Christos Hatzis. This evening of multi-media music theatre features the talents of Jean Stilwell, Benoit Boutet, Doug McNaughton and the Gryphon Trio, among others. And, the following night (April 19) Autumn Leaf Performance starts its eight-night run of Arnold Schonberg's landmark "Pierrot Lunaire" and "Transfigured Night" (string sextet version) . Mezzo Fides Krucker and dancer Susanna Hood perform with a coffin! Local composers· are touted when Continuum Contemporary Music presents "(416)" - a showcase of new pieces by some of Toronto's dynamic creators on John Beckwith PHOTO: ASHLEY & CRJPPEN April 21. "This concert is limited in geographic area but encompasses a broad aesthetic range," .says artistic director Jennifer Waring. "The idea wa:s to focus on Toronto, but at the same time bring together diverse elements in the contemporary music scene." To this end, Paul Steenhuisen's maniacal "Mycenean Wound" and James Rolfe's insistent "Squeeze" are juxtaposed with the spare intimacy of Rose Bolton's "Killbear Music" and Linda C. Smith's "Zart", then contrasted again by the unrelenting nature of Micheline Roi's "Evolving landscapes on the will of dread" (world premiere) and Alastair Boyd's polished "Spinning." The Continuum Ensemble (violin, cello,. flute, clarinet, percussion and piano), augmented by viola, will be led by conductor Rose Thomson. You can hear more music from the GT A on April 28, when Con Fuoco, a newcomer on the scene, presents mezzo · Cynthia Won. Programmed is the world premiere of "Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird" by C.T. Martin for voice, flute, clarinet, piano and string quintet; plus "String Quartet No. 2" by Eric Ross, and "Quatre Sonnets a Cassandre" by Frank Martin (a Swiss composer, no relation to C.T.) A couple of 20th century "classics", Ravel 's exquisite "Chansons Madecasses" and Respighi's "II Tramonto" for voice and strings promise further sensuous pleasures. Then, on April 30, expect the unexpected with "Autobiomusics" - avant garde sound explorations by Udo Kasemets. "Sixteen Stills of bp Nichol," "OPazERA," "Homage and Desecrations," as well as John Cage's "ASLSP" will be performed by · Susan Layard, singer/speaker with Kasemets himself at the piano. Audio boundary stretching at its most provocative! A piil I 1 •lttf:FMjf1Q f1M¥Wh1!i!jNijt New Music Concerts introduces the Utaoni Choir of Japan on May 1. The outstanding choral group will ·present R. Murray Schafer's "Magic Songs" an interpretation that secured them a Japanese national gold medal. "Uta" means singing and "oni" translates as -ogre or superhumanly talented, so Uta-oni literally means the "singing fiends"! In 1997, Utaoni gave an all­ Schafer programme, including the premiere of his "Seventeen Haiku" which they commissioned. Schafer is enthusiastic about the ensemble, describing their interpretations as "real tone magic." Utaoni will also perform "Wind Horse" by Toru Takemitsu, plus some traditional Inner Mongolian music. "This group is amateur in name only," says artistic director Robert Aitken, "the Schafer Haiku will be a Canadian premiere, and Takemitsu was a long time friend of Toronto and New Music Concerts." The concert also serves as a precur­ . sor to a mini-Japanese "festival." On May 9, Encounters will pair composers Kelly­ Marie Murphy and Karen Tanaka, while NMC continues. its Japanese theme on May 14 with a programme devoted to Toshia Hosokawa. Lectures and discussions will coincide, so watch Hear & Now for more Jeap Coulthard Last month, we noted the passing of two distinguished Canadian composers - Violet Archer and Barbara Pentland. Hear & Now is saddened to report that another of our pioneering women composers died during the past month. Jean Coulthard, O.C., O.B.C., passed away on March 8. She was 92. A gracious personality, fine teacher, plus remarkably prolific composer (the Canadian Music Centre's library lists 225 separate works), Coulthard composed in just about every genre and her music has been performed widely across this country and Continued

On Thursday, June 1st Whole.note Magazine has a date with THE GLOBE AND MAIL To celebrate our fifth anniversary as Toronto's most comprehensive concert calendar, we are proud to announce that WholeNote's June issue will be sent to all Globe and Mail home subscribers in the GT A. This means a one-time circulation boost of 86, 700 copies of your ads sent directly to many of the readers you want to reach! This is the perfect opportunity to promote • June and July concerts • summer festivals • your next season Your ad will reach more than four time~ WholeNote's regular monthly readership of 26,000, for close to our regular ad rates. This is a one-time only opportunity. To book event-related advertising, contact Allan Pulker at 416-323-2232 or Bernard Martin at 416-603-3 786. For Corporate and Retail inquiries contact Cindy Babyn at 416-654-0899. Colour ads must be booked by Friday May 12, black and white by Friday May 19.

Volumes 21-25 (2015-2020)

Volumes 16-20 (2010-2015)

Volumes 11-15 (2004-2010)

Volumes 6 - 10 (2000 - 2006)

Volumes 1-5 (1994-2000)