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 merely seek to provide a useful 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 27
Tafelmusik | Vivaldi’s Gloria and Handel’s Coronation Anthems at the Trinity St. Paul’s Centre, Jeanne Lamon Hall. 7:00 p.m. $15-79 (Repeats May 28-31)
Tafelmusik closes their 2014-15 season this week on a joyous note with Vivaldi’s exultant Gloria and Handel’s astounding Coronation Anthems. They will include Zadok the Priest, which has been performed at every coronation since Handel’s time. We’re told it is 90% sold out so get your tickets now! | DETAILS
TSO | Masterworks Series. Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition at Roy Thomson Hall. 8:00 p.m. $33-169 (Repeats May 28)
Visit the TSO this Wednesday for a glittering show featuring acclaimed Conductor Laureate Sir Andrew Davis. They will be reproducing the same programme performed during TSO’s groundbreaking 1978 visit to China – with Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition (arr. Ravel); Davis: La Serenissima; Liszt: Piano Concerto No.1; Berlioz: Le Corsaire. Includes a pre-concert performance with TSO Chamber Soloists at 6:45. | DETAILS
Tapestry Opera/Scottish Opera | M’dea Undone at the Holcim Gallery, Evergreen Brickworks 8:30 p.m. $50-75 (Repeats May 28-29).
Indie opera fans are in for something very special this week. Tapestry Opera have teamed up with Scottish Opera to present M’dea Undone: a gripping tale by Dora Award-winning writer Marjorie Chan. You’ll hear lush orchestral and electronic soundscapes by Scottish composer John Harris, and paired with a stellar cast: (Lauren Segal as M’dea, Peter Barrett as Jason, James McLean as the President, and Jacqueline Woodley as Dahlia.) It all comes together at Toronto’s spooky reclaimed brick factory. See you there. | DETAILS
Thursday 28
COC | Chamber Music Series: Toronto Summer Music Festival sneak preview at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts. Noon. Free!
We’ve been hearing amazing things about the various music festivals happening in around Toronto this summer. A highlight is Toronto Summer Music Festival, who will be doing a sneak peak preview concert at the Four Seasons as part of their free noon hour shows. Grab some lunch and get a taste of what’s store. | DETAILS
Friday 29
TSO | Yo-Yo Ma at Roy Thomson Hall. 8:00 p.m. $49-185
Yo-Yo Ma returns to Toronto this week to perform along side the TSO and the Toronto Children’s Chorus under the baton of Sir Andrew Davis. It’s an interesting program that includes a world première/TSO Commission of E. Frazier Davis: The Stolen Child for Children’s Chorus and Orchestra. You’ll also hear Elgar’s timeless Cello Concerto and Holst’s classic The Planets. Tickets are going very fast so get sorted! | DETAILS
Saturday 30
Westwood Concerts | Nineteenth and Twentieth Century Masters at Heliconian Hall. 7:30 p.m. $20
Westwood Concerts [Ilana Waniuk (violin), Erika Nielsen (cello), Michael Westwood, (clarinet), Gregory Millar (piano)] present a concerts of classics from the 19th and 20th-centuries including Beethoven Trio Op 11 for clarinet, cello and piano and Messiaen’s Quartet for the End of Time. | DETAILS
Sunday 31
Toronto Masque Theatre | The Lesson of Da Ji in Concert at the Music Gallery. 8:00 p.m. $30
The Lesson of Da Ji has been lauded by critics as a “cracking good story and fascinating music that blends Chinese, Baroque, and other Western forms – Paula Citron, Opera Canada. Written by Marjorie Chan with music by Alice Ping Yee Ho, it won the 2013 Dora Mavor Moore for outstanding new opera. It will be performed at the Music Gallery for one night only. For 30 bucks, it’s a steal! Don’t miss it. | DETAILS
Monday 1
Associates of the TSO | From Trio to Tango at Trinity-St. Paul’s Centre. 7:30 p.m. $17-20
Monday’s are always fairly light on concerts, but tonight the Associates of the TSO aim to change that with their season finale titled: From Trio to Tango. They’ll take the stage at Trinity-St. Paul’s Centre for a well-rounded program including Beethoven’s Serenade, Piazzolla’s Histoire du Tango, Shinohara’s Kassouga, Caliendo’s Sincerita, Fauré’s Après un rêve, and others. | DETAILS
Tuesday 2
COC | Chamber Music Series: In Praise of Women – Music for Violin and Piano at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts. Noon. Free!
May is a great time of year to head outside for an iced latte and free noon-hour show at the beautiful Four Seasons Centre. This afternoon is all about chamber music with Véronique Mathieu, violin and Stephanie Chua, piano. They’ll be performing works by Schmidt, Farrenc, Schumann, Jacquet de la Guerre and others. Seats fill up fast so come early to nab one. | DETAILS
Against The Grain Theatre | Death & Desire at Neubacher Shor Contemporary. 8:00 p.m. $35-70 (Repeats June 3-5)
Against The Grain Theatre is one of the hottest indie opera company’s in the country – and for good reason. Tonight marks the opening of their latest project Death & Desire – an intimate and intriguing new double-bill brings together two of Canada’s most engaging talents — bass-baritone Stephen Hegedus and mezzo-soprano Krisztina Szabó. They will perform two of the most compelling song cycles ever written: Franz Schubert’s Die schöne Müllerin and Olivier Messiaen’s Harawi. It runs all week. | DETAILS
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