September 2009 - The Wholenote Magazine

eat by beat: in with the newNew Season/New Hall/New MusicBy Jason van EykOver the past several years Toronto’s new music season had beenstarting later and later, sometimes pushing into November. Thankfully,several ensembles have since seen the benefit of getting ajump start. As a result, we have a handful of companies launchingexciting series this September. In fact, 2009/2010 looks so excitingfor new music that it’s next to impossible to pick out the highlights.Caught between Tapestry’s 30th anniversary season, Soundstreams’international powerhouse programming and Esprit Orchestra’s stellarselection of soloists and repertoire, I already feel like a kid in a candyshop! So, I’ll keep my selections within the next several weeks. Evenhere, it’s a challenging calendar for those intrigued by new sounds.09|10 seasonFREE CONCERT SERIES IN THERICHARD BRADSHAW AMPHITHEATRE“…an example tothe world of the verybest kind of sharingbetween the artsand its surroundingcommunity.” Toronto StarNew PärtThe Toronto Philharmonia gives theseason’s first big event on September24 at the Toronto Centre for the Arts.Conductor Kerry Stratton has programmeda new-music-heavy openerwith the Canadian premiere of ArvoPärt’s Symphony No. 4.As a young composer in the 1960s,Pärt wrote three symphonies thatchronicled his struggle with the musicallanguage of his day, a struggle Kerry Stratton leads the Torontothat would eventually help create his Philharmonia in the Canadianworld-renowned style of spiritual premiere of Pärt’s Symphony No. 4minimalism. The orchestral and instrumentalpieces that followed tend to be brief. But now, 38 yearsafter the Third Symphony, Pärt offers his fourth, subtitled “Los Angeles”(perhaps in recognition of the orchestra that premiered the workthis year.) Pärt explained in the programme notes that he is reachingout in this work to “all those imprisoned without rights in Russia.”For the composer, the symphony is meant as a “carrier pigeon” thathe hopes might reach faraway Siberia one day. Its sparse texturesfor strings, harp and percussion, slow pace and lengthy duration (37minutes) make for a long, open and what has been described as an“extremely beautiful” journey.Also on the programme is the world premiere of Artemis, a symphonicoverture by Kevin Lau. This Toronto-based composer seemsto be quickly making his mark. Since the completion of Lau’s firstprofessional composition in 1999 he has received commissions fromthe Hamilton Philharmonic, the Mississauga Symphony, the EspritOrchestra, the Cecilia String Quartet and the Toronto SymphonyYouth Orchestra, among others. Lau is currently completing doctoralstudies at the University of Toronto while he continues to attractother projects, including a 2010 commission from Via Salzburg. Indiscussing his most recent work, Lau describes it as a musical portraitof the Greek goddess of wilderness, inspired by Gustav Holst’s symphonicsuite The Planets.For more information about the Toronto Philharmonia’s 2009/2010season, visit www.torontophil.on.ca.New HallOn September 25 – what would have been Glenn Gould’s 77thbirthday – the Royal Conservatory of Music will open the doors toKoerner Hall and its long-awaited inaugural concert season. A specialfeature of the evening will be the world premiere of R. MurraySchafer’s Spirits of the House. The work has been commissioned byphilanthropist Michael Koerner to showcase the hall’s acoustics. Theprogramme will feature the Royal Conservatory's very own ARC Ensemble,as well as the Royal Conservatory Orchestra with celebratedpianist Anton Kuerti, all conducted by Jean-Philippe Tremblay. Thisevening is just the start to Koerner Hall’s Grand Opening Weekend.Full details may be found at www.rcmusic.ca.Elizabeth Upchurch (l) and Krisztina Szabó (r), COC Free Concert Series 2007. Photo: Andrew Eusebio Creative: Endeavour MarketingMost Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays at noon or 5:30 p.m.coc.ca 416-363-8231Official Media Partners:145 Queen St. W. (at University) September 1 - October 7, 2009 WWW.THEWHOLENOTE.COM 13