Toronto's Premier Chamber Orchestra . infania or onto NURHAN ARMAN MUSIC DIRECTOR Saturday, March 6, 8 pm - Glenn Gould Studio Leslie Newman, Flutist Cali 416-205-5555 Saturday, March 27 - Arcadian Court STRAUSS & SWING SOIREE · \; A Viennese Gala. Waltzes ) ., ~ by ~fr-t Sinfonia Toronto; (~:1 r:~ .standards by Toronto '-Yi' A- . AII-.Star Big Band; CBC personality · . Suhanna Merchard, · .., ' · .. ( emcee; six-course gourmet ,J dinner; demonstrations by / !'Ambiance, and more. · , 0 per person. Get a table of 10 for 5 per person! Call 416-499-0403 Young People's; Concerts; Lawrence Park Community Church, 2180 Bayview Ave. Sunday, Mar 28, 3pm Call 416-499-0403 Saturday, April 3, 8, pm - Glen I') Gould Studio SPRING ROMANCE · Call 416-205-5555 FOLLOW-UP I In relation to the Richard Egarr concert-watching from the audience I was struck by how extensive .his interaction with choir and orchestra was, given that he was directing from the harpsichord. It seemed that he was making a lot of dynamic choices "bn the fly". It looked like an unusually dangerous (and enjoyable) roller-coaster ride for the perf.ormers. I'm wondering how it felt from where you , sat. You are quite right - we absolutely never knew what to expect. You may perhaps also have noticed that Richard knew the music virtually by heart, so he was able to keep eye-contact with all of us. He was also remarkably aware of everything going on around him (both from us and from the audience!). So although we knew only to expect the unexpected, it never seemed dangerous (though you certainly couldn't let your attention lapse, even for a second). In short, it was fun! This issue of the magazine contains our annual "Focus on Summer Education". 'Who would you say stands'to benefit most from getting involved in the Tafelmusik Baroque Summer Institute? The Institute is an ideal place for advanced players (either students or professionals) to immerse themselves in Baroque music for two . weeks. We ends up with a mix of experienced period players and players who are brand new to baroque instruments and performance . practice. We've discovered that the mix is brilliant, as it requires us to look at the music from a whole variety of angles. It seems that one could take your comment about harpsichordists as "rare but not endangered" and apply it to .Early and Baroque Music as a whole in Toronto. 'What do you consider the key factors in getting, and keeping, it off the endangered list? I think the single key factor is education at an advanced level. The early music scene in Toronto is proof that audiences love hearing this music in live concerts. The challenge here is less in finding the audiences than in finding the musicians. Tafelmusik Baroque Summer Institute is a start. Other good training is happening in private studios. What we are lacking at this point are opportunities to pursue intensive study in early and baroque music at postsecondary institutions here in Toronto. We're working on it .... #3: EVE EGOYAN I am a concert pianist who has specialized in the performance of works by living composers, Canadian and international, for the past ten years. Many of these works have been written for' me. I moved to Toronto in 1989 to complete my Masters with Patricia Parr at the . University of Torontq, after having studied standard repertoire as an undergraduate student in Victoria, B.C., and also at a postgraduate level in Europe for four years. It was only after I completed my · Masters that'I started seriously investigating new music through the work of composers I knew personally in Toronto. Through their music I started playing music of my own time, connecting to its freshness, its direct invention at th.e modem piano. I am totally seduced by the clarity of playing music by living composers, dealing • with a living score, as opposed to guessing what music might have sounded like on an authentic instrument and not having the composer \o communicate with directly. I feel closer to the creative source. I I have also been the Executive Producer of my three soto piano discs "thethingsinbetween" (new music for piano), "Hidden Comers" (music of Erik Satie) and my latest disc, "The Art of Touching the Keyboard" (new music for piano). WWW. THEWHOLENOTE.COM M ARCH 1 · A PRIL 7 2004
2. I am working towards my CD release concert on March 26 at the Glenn Gould Studio where I will be playing works from "The Art of Touching the Keyboard", six diverse works for piano solo by living composers from Japan, the United Kingdom, Denmark and Canada, as well as the world premiere of In Retrospect by Canadian composer Ann Southam. The recital serves as the official launch for both my new CD and my newly created record label, Earwitness Records (distributed in Canada by SRI). For both the CD and concert repertoire I selected works that sample the enormous range of possible approaches to touch at the piano. Each piece represents the extraordinary and singular voice of its composer exploring ah extraordinary instrument, the piano. The programme is designed to bring diverse works into a stimulating dialogue, working with contrast as a way to bring distinctive sound worlds into relief. 3. Longer term projects include composing a piece for myself to premiere along with a new work by Gayle Young at the Sound Symposium this summer in St. John's, Newfoundland, and completing sound for a video installation by Gunilla Josephson which opens at the Centre Culture! Canadien, Paris, this September. In the spring of 2005 I have an extensive tour of the southwestern States. I also hope to be touring Japan with a programme I recently performed of works written for me by Canadian and Japanese composers. Spanish/German composer Maria de Alvear, whose remarkable works I have performed since 1996, is presently writing me a concerto called Sky Music which I hope to perform sometime in 2005/2006. It will be difficult project to realize in Toronto (if that is where it will be premiered) since the music is experimental in nature yet requires large forces. I am hoping! I will also be releasing, over the next year, two CD-length works by Rudolf Kornorous and Maria de Alvear, recorded last year. I will continue to document on disc new works which have been written for me, attracting wider audiences to this music, and hoping to inspire other pianists to perform these extraordinary pieces ... FOLLOW-UP A lot of composers are seeking you out. Whm do you think you offer them? I choose works I can invest myself in because I perform well only if I truly 'believe in what-Jam playing. New music is a fragile medium. It has to be shared with, opennes~ to engage an audience on first hearing. Given thnt your upcoming concert is a "Cd-Release "event, what are your thoughts about live vs. recorded performance? I enjoy both processes, performing live and recording. For me, performing is about being present at every moment. As a pianist, this often means exploring an unfamiliar piano and acoustic environment, being aware of an audience who is listening along with me - these inform the music making. It is an extremely intimate and co-creative experience. In recording sessions I miss the presence of my listeners but imagine microphones as intensely focused ears, companions in an otherwise empty hall, in order to keep the feeling of communication present while I am recording. Your new cd's title (from a work by Judith Weir you performed live nt the Music Gallery back in 1997, has the word "Touch " nt its heart. Whnt does it say about your relntionship to your instrument? The piano is still a place of exploration for me. I never seem to come to the end of its sound possibilities because my relationship to the piano is intertwined with the connection I have to my own creativity. The piano itself is mythic for me, its sensuous range of colours and registers a universe to explore, ah expansive 9cean to swim in. Sometimes I think of it as some sort of divination board. My body in relation to it, ears and hands, is an extension of my imagination and soul linking my interior to the realm of sound.' I feel I can play the world through the piano, that its resources for imaginative transformation are limitless. Women's Musical Club of Toronto AFTERNOON CONCERT March 25, 1.30 p.m. D~vid Jalbert, piano Works by Rachmaninov, Gougeon, Rzewski, Faure, and Chopin Walter Hall . Edward Johnson Building · U. ofT., 80 Queen's Park Tickets 416-923-7052 Quebec:.::: Euta.i;JOJQu~, • ~Tbr«i1D /SJ!h Supporter: Shell Canada Limited ~ NEXT CONCERT April 22, 1.30 p.m. Barry Shiffman, violin & viola Micah Yui, piano Marianne Bindig, mezzo-soprano An afternoon of works by Brahms. Sponsor: WMCT Centennial Foundation Subscribe to mUjic in fhe__A/ternobn 2004-2005 Sea6on Five great concerts for the early-bird price of 5 (after M~y 30'" 0) Thursday afternoons at 1.30 p.m. Viva Voce, chamber choir October 14, 2004 Measha Brueggergosman, soprano November 25, 2004 Sonia Chan, piano February 3, 2004 Lark Quartet, string quartet March 10, 2005 Eve Egoyan, piano, with dancers from Dancemakers April 14, 2005 Walter Hall, Edward Johnson Building For more information or to subscrib'e, call 416-923-7052 www.wmct.on.ca • MARCH 1 - APRIL 7 2004 WWW. THEWHOLENOTE .CO M 11
