8 SUBSCRIBE TODAY!
8 SUBSCRIBE TODAY! FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2003 "HUNGARIAN RHAPSODY" FRIDAY, .JANUARY 23, 2004 '"EN FRANQAIS" FRIDAY, MARCH 5, 2004 "ESSENCE C>F AMICI 11" FRIDAY, MAY 7, 2004 "LATIN FANTASY' GUEST ARTISTS INCLUDE: Violinists.: Ida Kavafian & Scott St. John Soprano: Measha Brueggergosman "AMICl 1 S MUSIC FEEDS THE SOUL" TORONTOSTAR Ida Kavafian Meas ha Brueggergosman Scott St. John To SUBSCRIBE , CALL 416-368 -8743 FOUR-CONCERT S ERIES 2 REGUL:AR; 2 SENIORS; STUDENTS ALL CONCERTS TAKE PLACE AT 8:00 PM GLENN GOULD STUDIO, 250 FRONT STREET WEST www.amiciensemble.com 11 t.l9 II by Colin Eatock Modem vs. Modem June 18, 2003, 7:00 pm: The University of Toronto's faux-medieval Emmanuel College offers a suitably antique environment for the study of early music. And on this evening, about 50 musicians - mostly young adults - have assembled for the first lecture of the Tafelmusik Baroque Summer Institute. Now in its second year, the two-week course has attracted students from across Canada, and - I'm surprised to learn - from as far away as California and Texas. But perhaps I shouldn't be too taken aback: after all, this programme is run by Tafelmusik - the ensemble that has not only defined period performance in Toronto for 25 years, but has made a name for itself around the world through recordings and tours. The Institute is very much a hands-on affair, with workshops, masterclasses and performances; but this evening's lecture by Tafelmusik's choir director I vars Taurins offers a glimpse at the ideas behind the early music movement. According to Taurins, the goal of historical performance is "to take the black specks on the page and make them into something that might have been familiar to the composer." The students are sympathetic: most ofthe people in the room are already involved in period performance, so he's basically preaching to the choir. And when Taurins plays some recordings to illustrate his views about modem style vs. historically infonned practice, his audience laughs at the Sluggish renditions of baroque mU$iC played by big orchestras. In such performances, he suggests, "true meaning" is lost, and he backs up his argument with early music recordings that are lively and . nuanced. It all sounds perfectly reasonable - yet I find myself wondering if there isn't something wrong with this picture. 9:30 pm: The participants in the programme adjourn to a local pub for an evening of socializing. I spot a local cellist and ask her what she hopes to get out of the training provided by the Institute. "Work!" she replies with a smile, going on to explain that she currently owns two cellos: one to play in symphony orchestras and another that she's had "baroqued" for period performance gigs. Similarly, I meet a bass who's in the Elmei: Iseler Singers, but who wants to perform ,with early music groups as well. Perhaps "bi-musicality" is the way of the future, with musicians knowing how and when to switch from one style to another. I also meet Colleen Smith, Tafelmusik's Director of Education, who tells me more about the Baroque Institute: that students' ages range from 18 to 80, that conducting has been added to the curriculum this year, and that she hopes the Institute will eventually become a year-round programme. "Tafelmusik is more than an orchestra and a choir," she explains, "it's also a centre for baroque music." I leave the pub impressed with the Institute. But as I walk home, I also reflect on Taurins' remarks.earlier in the evening. When he spoke of "modem" performance practice, he was of course referring to styles inherited from the late nineteenth century: what we migbt expect from the Vienna Philharmonic, or Bayreuth, or those huge EQglish choirs that sing Messiah. It seems to me that it would be more logical to call the early music movement' "modern": it did, after all, giv.e the twentieth century a new approach to performance, very muc~ in keeping with modern sensibilities. What emerged under the now-discarded banner of "authenticity" was a style that downplayed subjective, personal intuition in favour of objective, historical evidence: "You play Bach your way, and I'll play Bach his way," as the harpsichordist Wanda Landowska famously put it. Tafelmusik is indeed more than an orchestra and a choir .. It also has an ethos - a way of performing and thinking about music. Ironically, it's an ethos that owes more to the twentieth century than to tlie eighteenth. And when viewed as such, it starts to look a little more subjective than some early music adherents may wish to admit. Colin Eatock is a composer and write( in Toronto who contributes to the Globe and Mail and other publications. His T. 0. Musical Diary is a regular monthly feature ofThe WholeNote. ·- www.thewholenote.com July 1 - Se pte mbe r 7 2003
Festival or the Sound Gala Opening Season in the Charles W. Stockey Centre for the Performing Arts For a brochure or tickets, call 1-866-364-0061 or fax 705-746-5639 Write P.O. Box 750, Parry Sound, ON P2A 2Zl E-mail: info@festivalofthesound.on.ca Full concert details at www.festivalofthesound.on.ca • Gala Opening Concert, Elmer Iseler Singers, July 18 (Sold Out!) • Concert Night in Canada with Hannaford Street Silver Band, July 19 • Pinchas Zukerman, July 20 matinee • Festival Founders Anton Kuerti & Kristine Bogyo, July 20 • Jazz Canada Weekend - July 26 & 27 • Tokyo String Quartet, July 28 • St. Lawrence String Quartet, August I • Vivaldi's The Four Seasons, Augu~t I 0 ... and much more! Located in a spectacular setting on the Parry Sound waterfront, the Charles W. St_ockeyCentreforthe Performing Arts is home to an intimate 470-seat performance hall. Don't miss the first Festival season in Canada's newest Arlee-designed hall. The Centre will also host a wide variety of music and theatre throughout the year. Watch for further announcements. Elora festival Si115ers Noel Edison, conductor 2003 '"' 2004 Toronto Series Sundal], October 19, 2003 - 2:30 p.n1. Eternal Li5ht Glorious sacred music £rom the Romantic .Era includin5 motets blJ Brahms, Bruckner and Mendelssohn Sundal], March 21, 2004 - 2:30 p.111. Gladsome Radiance Music £rom the Russian Orthodox tr~dition includin8 Rachmaninoff's Vespers Op. 37 A great Bookstore ... now with Music! Working in partnership with L'Atelier Grigorian, Ontario's most respected retailer of Jazz and Classical music, the U of T Bookstore has a wide selection of music including Jazz, Classical, Opera, Roots Music, Soundtracks, Pop and more. Visit the 2nd floor of the Bookstore where you'll find a pleasant atmosphere, over 20 listening stations and regular label sales featuring discounted music from specific labels. T rinitlJ Colle5e Chapel (6 lioskin Ave.) subscription, si115le tickets call 519-846-0331 or 1-800-265-8977 £or tickets www.elora£estivalsi115ers.or5 ' . i f::~ : : -. 'C.ll ' Sl\CERS University of Toronto Bookstore 214 College St., Toronto (416) 978-7907 for more information www.uoftbookstore.com uly 1.- September 7 2003 www.thewholenote.co·i:n-
