Volume 29 Issue 3 | December 2023 & January 2024

Abigail Richardson-Schulte
melodic beauty and the interpretive artistry it reveals in the cellists
who perform it.
After the Schumann, Sinfonia Toronto will perform Corelli’s
Concerto Grosso, Op.6, No.8, a masterpiece written for the night of
Christmas and one of the composer’s most famous works.
Jocelyn Morlock’s Nostalgia opens the program and selections from
Dvořák’s Valses and Slavonic Dances close it. Written in traditional
Romantic style, the work is characterized by beautiful melodies, rich
harmonies and expressive counterpoint.
The highlight of Sinfonia Toronto’s January 26 concert is Mozart’s
Piano Concerto No.23, Op.488. The grandeur of its second movement
– which filmmaker Terrence Malick wisely chose to support his 2005
film, The New World, with its unique take on the story of John Smith
and Pocahantas – is unsurpassed. The third movement is a wily rondo,
witty and sublime which will put Ukrainian-Canadian pianist and
composer Dmitri Levkovich in the spotlight. Levkovich studied for 11
years with legendary Armenian pedagogue Sergei Babayan who also
mentored Daniil Trifonov.
Eighth and final Art of Time Holiday concert
The Art of Time’s December 7 to 9 concerts will be their eighth and
final presentation of what has become an Art of Time holiday tradition,
characterized, in their typically breezy fashion, as “our celebration
of the holiday season with the joy and irreverence you have
come to expect, featuring the best of the best taken from the last seven
years.” Performers include Thom Allison, Jessica Mitchell, Jackie
Richardson, Julian Richings, David Wall and Tom Wilson.
Penderecki String Quartet
and variations – is an early example of a theme employing all 12 tones
of the chromatic scale. The grand finale, Bruckner’s Symphony No. 3,
showcases a masterwork of virtuosic orchestral sound for conductor
Kristian Alexander to unveil. The intermission features a conversation
between Daniel Vnukowski and violinist Crow.
Kitchener-Waterloo
In late September, as reported by the CBC, the Grand Philharmonic
Choir (GPC) in Waterloo region announced that it would honour,
directly with the musicians from the former Kitchener-Waterloo
Symphony (who found themselves out of a permanent gig after the
KWS declared bankruptcy), the contracts the choir had inked for the
season with the KWS.
The relationship between the Grand Philharmonic Choir and the
KWS goes back 75 years, GPC artistic director Mark Vuorinen pointed
out – in fact the symphony was actually founded to accompany the
choir in the great oratorios, and they have had a very symbiotic relationship
over the decades. In the second concert of the GPC’s season,
on December 9, the choir and KWS members will perform a rarely
heard gem: Bach’s Christmas Oratorio, where the composer’s celebration
of Christmas sparkles with joy and optimism.
A week later, on December 16, the Mississauga Symphonic
Orchestra’s cheerful “Holiday. A Merry Little Christmas” kicks off at
7pm. Also on December 16, the Kitchener-Waterloo Chamber Music
Society presents the Penderecki String Quartet celebrating another
famous birth. It’s Beethoven’s birthday and the Quartet will be playing
two of the master’s finest: Op.18, No.6 and Op.131. The former can be
Orchestral Holiday Fare
Now that Home Alone has replaced It’s a Wonderful Life as the
go-to-Christmas movie-of-choice, the holiday season has never been
the same. The TSO invites all its fans to celebrate with them the return
of Home Alone in Concert. Macaulay Culkin stars as a resourceful
eight-year-old, accidentally left alone over Christmas, who repeatedly
outsmarts a couple of bone-headed burglars. This beloved holiday
film features renowned composer John Williams’ delightful score
performed live-to-picture by the TSO in five screenings conducted by
Constantine Kitsopoulos, December 7 to 9.
Down the QEW, the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra’s “Holidays
& The Hockey Sweater” at 3pm on December 9 stands out. From
Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring to Leroy Anderson’s Sleigh Ride, Abigail
Richardson-Schulte’s musical treatment of Roch Carrier’s The Hockey
Sweater and more, the repertoire makes for a promising afternoon.
Also on December 9, up in Markham, in a Kindred Spirits Orchestra
concert titled The Greatest Show, Stravinsky’s Circus Polka, “For
a Young Elephant”, composed as a short ballet production for the
Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey’s Greatest Show on Earth,
kicks things off. Do not however expect the ballet to be performed,
as the original was, by several young elephants in pink tutus. TSO
concertmaster Jonathan Crow then takes centre stage to perform
Bartók’s Violin Concerto No. 2, whose second movement – a theme
16 | December 2023 & January 2024 thewholenote.com