by Allan Pulker

Overview

Here are some October highlights: a week at a time.

Early Birds:

October 1-7

With October, the music season is well under way.  I count 21 concerts in the first four days of October, alone, including eight midday events at seven different venues.

The St. Lawrence String Quartet on October 4 at the Jane Mallett Theatre (last month's cover story) and Les Amis at the Heliconian Hall on October 6 have two interesting overlaps--  violinist Barry Shiffman and composer, Jonathan Berger. Shiffman, the second violinist in the St. Lawrence, plays the viola in the Oct 6 concert; Jonathan Berger has a work on the Oct 4 program, and then features as a "recreator" Oct 6. Based on a wax cylinder of Johannes Brahms himself playing the first seventeen bars of his First Hungarian Dance, Berger has created  a "Disk-Klavier" reproduction of "what Brahms would have sounded like playing the whole thing." The next best thing to time travel!

(And speaking of time travel, Oct 5 Sir Andrew Davis will conduct the Toronto Symphony Orchestra.)

The first few days of the month are particularly bountiful at the U of T: Oct 1, the Amici Chamber Music Ensemble, with guests, violinist, Aislinn Nosky and Scott St. John and violist, Max Mandel, perform a program of music by Violet Archer, Vincent d'Indy and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. On October 2 I Solisti Veneti, under the direction of Claudio Scimone, will perform music by 18th century Italian composers. The same evening the renowned Dutch organist, Egbert Schoenmaker will give a recital at the Knox College Chapel.

A really terrific event, with wonderful performers and stimulating discussions and talks, is the annual Great Romantics Festival in Hamilton. Lovingly curated and organized by McMaster University music professor, Alan Walker, the festival is well worth attending. Detailed listings are in "Further Afield" on page 36.

And also early in the month is the Oct 6 concert at the Isabel Bader Theatre by soprano Taina Piira and tenor, Jyrki Anttila, both members of the National Opera of Finland, with pianist, Janne Hovi from the Sibelius Academy. The program of music, including compositions by the Finnish composers, Sibelius, Merikanto and Rautavaata, on the perennially popular theme of love, should be an appealing one.

Late Listings

We are phasing out our "Too Late to List" section, which used to appear at the end of our regular listings and provided a "last resort" spot for material that reached us too late for routine inclusion. To have an event listed in WholeNote, information about it must reach us in writing no later than the 15th of the month before the month in which the event takes place. (If your event occurs in the first seven days of a month, we will also list it in the issue for the month before your event, if it makes the previous month's deadline.

So, for old times sake, here are six events which, if this were next month, would have been received "Too Late to List."
 

Oct. 13: Downsview Symphony: 416-410-4164.
Oct. 20: A Tribute to Trichy  Sankaran: 416-971-4025.
Oct. 20: Darbazi: 416-461-8425
Oct. 24: Kronos Quartet: Brock University. 905-688-5550 x 3257
Oct. 27: La Belle Danse: 416-870-8000
Nov. 1: La Pieta, Brock University: 905-688-5550 x3257

October 8-14

Pianist Marc Andr‚ Hamelin,  performs at the Jane Mallett Theatre Oct 9, and October 11 the Aldeburgh Connection's Young Artists Series features soprano Eve-Rachel McLeod and baritone, Giles Tomkins with pianist, Bruce Ubukata. The same evening, young Canadian prize-winning pianist Lisa Yui gives a recital and lecture at the Glenn Gould Studio. Also the same evening Tafelmusik begins a series of concerts of music by Bach. And October 12 brings several opportunities: the Royal Conservatory Orchestra under Simon Streatfeild at the Mazzoleni Concert Hall; flamenco guitarist, Juan Tom s, at Glendon College, pianist, William Aide, and cellist, Shauna Rolston with flautist, Patrick Gallois at Walter Hall.

The National Ballet School is to be applauded. Oct 13 they present a concert by their twelve rehearsal pianists, in every combination imaginable using that many pianists and two pianos. This moment of limelight takes   place at the Betty Oliphant Theatre. The same evening guitarist Danielle Cumming will launch her new CD, "Postcards" at Victoria-Royce Church; the U of T Symphony will be conducted by internationally renowned Canadian, Agnes Grossmann; and chanteuse Molly Johnson  sings at Mississauga's Living Arts Centre. With "only" nine events, the next day, Oct 14 is an unusually quiet Sunday. Something else unusual about it is a concert at Allan Gardens by Toronto Mendelssohn Youth Choir alumnae, Allison Lynn and Monika Burany.

October 15-21

Talk about diverse divas! Toronto vocalist, Jane Siberry pays tribute to folk music legend, Joni Mitchell at Harbourfront Centre Oct 16, while Kathleen Battle performs at Roy Thomson Hall.

And what an evening Oct 17 promises to be: Gypsy Caravan, twenty of the world's finest gypsy musicians and dancers from Spain, Roumania, Macedonia and India, are at  at Massey Hall; pianist Richard Goode is at the Toronto Centre for the Arts, and there are several other concerts as well.

On Oct 18, the Women's Musical Club introduces the Piano Duo Kutrowatz to Toronto audiences, and Oct 19 the Aldeburgh Connection presents a concert by two pre-eminent Canadian singers, soprano Donna Brown and mezzo-soprano Catherine Robbin.

Kristine Bogyo's Mooredale Concerts merits a special word. Mooredale produces a reliably high-quality concert season every year, combining seasoned artists, such as cellist Ms. Bogyo herself, with talented young artists. You really should investigate this remarkable and yet amazingly unpretentious family friendly series, Oct 20 or 21.

Oct 21 is a very busy day, with 18 concerts in just about every musical genre imaginable except orchestra. There really is something there for everyone, so take a close look at the listings if you are able get out to a concert that day.

October 22-28

Toronto's own Gryphon Trio, after a summer of festival performances, first at Europe's largest chamber music festival in Kuhmo, Finland, then the Ottawa International Chamber Music Festival and then the Festival of the Sound, is back in town, and continuing as ensemble-in-residence with Music Toronto. They will be performing Oct 23 at the Jane Mallett Theatre. Violinist Scott St. John will join the Trio in a sparkling program that includes Dvor k's Piano Quartet in E flat Major, Op. 87, Mozart's Piano Trio in B flat Major, K. 502 and Mendelssohn's Piano Trio in C minor, Op. 66.

There will be an interesting cluster of four concerts right at the end of the month -- with distinctly national, eastern European, origins. The first of these, Oct 23 is by the famous Czech violinist, Ivan Zenaty, who, with pianist Katarina Bodova, will perform works by Suk, Dvor k, Macha and Sarasate. The same two musicians then perform an entirely different program for the Mozart Society on October 24.

On Sunday, Oct 28 Latvian violin virtuoso, Baiba Skride,  performs at the Glenn Gould Studio at 2pm. At 3pm the same day the Azuoliukas Boys' Choir from Lithuania will perform music ranging from Lithuanian folk songs to standard choral repertoire at Hammerson Hall in Mississauga. Rivka Golani on Oct 26 in Thornhill and Oct 28 in Leaside ... the list goes on but my allotted space does not! Well, that's what the listings are for!...
 

For more Concert Notes see Bandstand, Choral Scene, Early Music, Hear and Now (New Music), Jazz Notes, and Music Theatre