Musical Toronto’s weekly Critic’s Picks are a fully curated list of some of the best concerts happening now through the end of the week. Of course this is not to say we are the provocateurs of taste, but simply seek to provide a good weekly summary. For a look at the full breadth of what’s available in and around Toronto, check out the comprehensive concert listings from our friends at Wholenote Magazine.
Wednesday 22
Junction Trio | Anthems for the Earth at St. Anne’s Anglican Church. 7:30 p.m. PWYC
The Junction Trio take the stage to celebrate Earth Day with Guelph-based cellist and composer Lucas Tensen. They will be performing Tensen’s ‘Anthems for the Earth’ – an illustrated songbook for children’s choir, piano and percussion. Includes Jesse Stewart on the crystal singing bowls. | DETAILS
Toronto Symphony Orchestra | Ararat: Music of Armenia at Roy Thomson Hall. 8:00 p.m. $33-145
Tonight the TSO don’t hold back with a night of Armenian music and guests including Isabel Bayrakdarian, soprano; Sergey Khachatryan, violin; Serouj Kradjian, piano. They’ll be performing Gomidas’ Three Songs (arr. and orch. Kradjian), Khachaturian’s Violin Concerto and Suite from Masquerade and Spartacus, and (the star of the night), academy award-winning composer Mychael Danna presenting the world premiere of Ararat. Not-to-be-missed. | DETAILS
Thursday 23
Canadian Opera Company | Piano Virtuoso Series: The Baroque Dance Transfigured at the Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre, Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts. Noon. Free!
Looking for something music to do this afternoon? Why not head over to the beautiful Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre to hear American pianist Erik Lawrence tackle Brahms’ baroque inspired Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Handel, and Bach’s Dance Suite (Partita No. 6 in E Minor, BWV 830). He will be playing a contemporary keyboard. | DETAILS
Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra | Spring Concert at Koerner Hall. 7:30 p.m. $23.50-35.50
This will be your last time to hear the TSYO as they wrap-up their 40th anniversary season with Mahler’s Symphony No. 1 in D major, “Titan” conducted by Shalom Bard. Come out and support them. | DETAILS
Tafelmusik | Baroque Misbehaving at Trinity-St. Paul’s Centre. 8:00 p.m. $15-89 (Repeats April 25, 26; start times and venue vary)
Tafelmusik’s Aisslinn Nosky curates Baroque Misbehaving, a concert of ill-behaved works by Purcell, Charpentier and Telemann. Includes a special world premiere of Michael Oesterle’s Snow White. For more, check out a new profile we did of Nosky last week in which she dishes the dirt on her biggest influences and fancies. (Australian Tim Tam biscuits anyone?). | DETAILS
Friday 24
Pocket Concerts | In the Junction at the Private residence, located at McMurray St (near Dundas W.) Exact address announced with ticket purchase. 7:30 p.m. $27-42
Pocket Concerts with a Harpsichord? Yes! You’ll find nothing more intimate than hearing classical music sitting comfortably amongst good company in a cozy living room with complimentary drinks and food. They’ll be playing a selection of instrumental pieces from the 16th and 17th centuries with violinist Kathleen Kajioka and harpsichordist Christopher Bagan. Not-to-be-missed. | DETAILS
Toronto Symphony Orchestra | Live in Concert: Disney Fantasia at Roy Thomson Hall. 7:30 p.m. $20-99 (Repeats April 25; start times vary)
A big heads-up for those with kids (adult kids too) – The TSO will present a selection of music cues from Walt Disney’s classic Fantasia (1940 and 2000 versions). You’ll see the animated Pegasus babies learning to fly set to Beethoven’s 6th “Pastoral” Symphony, and Mickey Mouse in Dukas’ The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, plus more. Steven Reineke conducts. | DETAILS
Metro Youth Opera | Béatrice & Bénédict at Aki Studio, Daniels Spectrum. 7:30 p.m. $20-30. (Repeats April 25, 26)
Now in their fifth year, the Metro Youth Opera are all about giving Toronto’s next generation of opera singers a chance to perform complete roles and actually be compensated for it. This week, they bring Berlioz’s Béatrice & Bénédict, an opera based on Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing. The cast looks great, with Simone McIntosh as Béatrice; Asitha Tennekoon as Bénédict; Lindsay McIntyre as Héro; Alessia Naccarato as Ursule; and Janaka Welihinda as Claudio. | DETAILS
Orchestre Métropolitain | Yannick Nézet-Séguin, conductor at Koerner Hall. 8:00 p.m. $50-125
One of the world’s most talked about conductors, Yannick Nézet-Séguin will make a rare stop in Toronto to head the Orchestre Métropolitain in a program of all-English composers: Elgar’s Enigma Variations Op.36; Cello Concerto in e Op.85; Vaughan Williams’ Symphony No.4. Performing the concerto is Montreal-based cello prodigy Stéphane Tétreault. Everyone should drop what their doing and but a ticket before it sells out. | DETAILS
Sunday 26
Off Centre Music Salon | Old, Young, Eternal Vienna: From Mozart to Schoenberg at Glenn Gould Studio. 2:00 p.m. $15-60
Off Centre Music Salon bring us the old and young – Mozart and Schoenberg (not exactly young, but you get the idea) – set in Vienna’s musical heyday. The show includes some heavy hitter performers such as violist Steven Dann, cellist Julie Hereish, flutist Susan Hoeppner, clarinetist Yao Guang Zhai, and pianists Boris Zarankin and Inna Perkis. Tom Allen will host. Chamber music at its finest – don’t miss it. | DETAILS
Monday 27
Edwin Huizinga/Keith Hamm | Stereo Live: Tubbs Duo and Ultimate Bluegrass Jam at the Campbell House Museum. 8:00 p.m. $20-25
Stereo Live duo Edwin Huizinga/Keith Hamm close their first season with a duo performance followed by a Bluegrass jam with Toronto’s finest pickers: Joe Philips, Ben Plotnick, Adam Shier, and Will Meadow. These guys know how to put on a show and promise an unforgettable night of genre-bending music. Thus far every show has sold out – so get your tickets before they’re gone. | DETAILS
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