April 2014 Concerts at the Royal Conservatory Toronto

From a media release:

APRIL CONCERTS AT THE ROYAL CONSERVATORY TORONTO

Pianist Khatia Buniatishvili makes her Koerner Hall debut and South Africa’s Johnny Clegg returns
TD Jazz: Celebrating Dinah & Sarah concert series continues with Terri Lyne Carrington’s Mosaic Project


Classical Concerts

Invesco Piano Concerts closes out with The Royal Conservatory debut by the Georgian pianist Khatia Buniatishvili on April 6. Buniatishvili’s warm, sometimes sorrowful playing may reflect a close proximity to Georgian folk music, which, she attests, has greatly influenced her musicality. In this concert, she presents Franz Liszt’s Piano Sonata in B Minor, Maurice Ravel’s  La valse, Fryderyk Chopin’s  Piano Sonata No. 2, and Igor Stravinsky’s Three Movements from Petrushka (Russian Dance, Chez Petrushka, and The Shrove-Tide Fair).

Royal Conservatory students get one last chance this season to present one of their own concerts, as the Royal Conservatory Orchestra is conducted by Uri Mayer on April 25. Mayer conducts a program of Hector Berlioz’s Overture to Benvenuto Cellini and Johannes Brahms’s Symphony No. 1. He is joined by Glenn Gould School concerto competition winner, clarinetist Jaewon Kim, for Claude Debussy’s Première rhapsodie, and by mezzo-soprano Beste Kalender for R. Murray Schafer’s Adieu Robert Schumann.

Mazzoleni Masters concert series ends with Atis Bankas with Robert McDonald on April 13 and Mariko Anraku on April 27. Glenn Gould School (The GGS) faculty violinist Atis Bankas has developed a career as a soloist and chamber musician, as well as a member of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. In this concert, he shares the stage with American pianist and pedagogue Robert McDonald, who has performed internationally and as musical partner to Isaac Stern, Midori, and many others. Their program features Ravel’s Sonata No. 1 in A Minor for Violin and Piano “Posthumous,” Elgar’s Sonata for Violin and Piano in E Minor, and for the second half of the concert they are joined by Toronto Symphony principals Teng Li (viola) and Joseph Johnson (cello) in Piano Quartet in G Minor by Brahms. Associate Principal Harp of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and GGS alumna Mariko Anraku is hailed as a manifestation of grace and elegance, and has garnered attention as one of the world’s most outstanding harpists. For this recital, she is joined by former teachers, harpist Judy Loman and GGS Dean and pianist James Anagnoson, in a program of Händel’s Prelude and Toccata (arr. Marcel Grandjany), Tournier’s Harp Sonatine, Salzedo’s Sonata for Harp and Piano, Lizotte’s Raga for 2 harps, and Debussy’s Ma mère l'oye for 2 harps.

Presented with the generous support of the Rebanks Family Fellowship and International Performance Residency Program, The GGS presents three Rebanks Family Fellowship Concerts on three consecutive Tuesdays in April – April 1, 8, and 15. In these concerts, all seven of the Rebanks Fellows currently enrolled in the special one year program will be featured. This season, the Fellows are Matthew Berliner (horn), Stefan Chaplikov and  Mehdi Ghazi (piano), Luri Lee (violin), Jonathan Lo and Britton Riley (cello), and Alessandro Rauli (oboe). The program on April 1 includes Messiaen’s “Regard de l’esprit de joie,” Brahms’s Horn Trio, Corigliano’s Fancy on a Bach Air, and Bartók’s String Quartet No. 4; on April 8 Mozart’s Quartet for Oboe, Karl Pilss’s Pieces in Sonata Form, and Schumann’s Symphonic Études; and on April 15 Mendelssohn’s Cello Sonata No. 2; Mozart’s Quintet for Piano and Winds, K452; and Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No. 29, “Hammerklavier.”



Audiences are invited to two free events in April: The Glenn Gould School Chamber Competition Finals and The Glenn Gould School New Music Ensemble. On April 2 one can hear the talented ensembles of The Glenn Gould School compete for over $11,000 in prizes and the chance to perform a Prelude Recital in Koerner Hall preceding a Royal  Conservatory Orchestra performance. On April 10, Brian Current, Director and conductor of The Royal Conservatory’s New Music Ensemble, conducts the world premiere of Behind the Sound of Music, Nicole Lizée's multi-media composition for orchestra and video.

Jazz

TD Jazz: Celebrating Dinah & Sarah concert series continues with Terri Lyne Carrington’s Mosaic Project on April 26. 2014 Grammy Award winner in the Best Jazz Instrumental Album category, American percussionist Carrington leads an all-star cast of musicians and two signature voices – Nona Hendryx (from LaBelle) and Carmen Lundy. The musicians include Canadian trumpeter and Royal Conservatory alumna Ingrid Jensen, saxophonist Tia Fuller (who has toured with Byoncé), American jazz pianist Helen Sung, and Israeli bassist Tamir Shmerling. “The Mosaic Project  … is all about what happens when seemingly unrelated elements coalesce into a greater, cohesive whole.” (Jazz Times)

World Music

Presented in association with Batuki Music and Small World Music, singer, songwriter, dancer, anthropologist, and musical activist Johnny Clegg returns on April 16 after his sold-out Conservatory debut on April 13, 2011. The infectious music of this South African icon is a blend of Western pop and African Zulu rhythms that has earned him the affectionate nickname “Le Zoulou Blanc” (The White Zulu) in France. His live shows include stories and tributes to the late former South African president, Nelson Mandela. Clegg performed at all four of Mandela’s 46664 Aids Awareness Concerts in South Africa and in Norway, and Mandela once joined him on stage during the performance of “Asimbonanga,” a song written by Clegg about Mandela (and other struggle heroes) during his period of incarceration. Johnny’s son, guitarist and singer Jesse Clegg, opens the concert.

The Royal Conservatory Concerts in April
Rebanks Family Fellowship Concert Series (Discovery Series): Tuesdays, April 1, 8 & 15 at 7:30 pm | MCH; $15
The Glenn Gould School Chamber Competition Finals (Discovery Series): Wednesday, April 2 at 7:30 pm | MCH; FREE
Khatia Buniatishvili (Invesco Piano Concerts): Sunday, April 6 at 3 pm | KH; $25-$65
The Glenn Gould School New Music Ensemble (Discovery Series): Thursday, April 10 at 7:30 pm | CT; FREE
Atis Bankas with Robert McDonald (Mazzoleni Masters): Sunday, April 13 at 2 pm | MCH; $32
Johnny Clegg with Special Guest Jesse Clegg (World Music; A Celebration of African Music): Wednesday, April 16 at 8 pm | KH; $45-$85
Royal Conservatory Orchestra with Uri Mayer (Orchestra Concerts): Friday, April 25 at 8 pm | KH; $25-$55
Terri Lyne Carrington’s Mosaic Project  (TD Jazz: Celebrating Dinah & Sarah): Saturday, April 26 at 8 pm | KH; $35-$80
Mariko Anraku (Mazzoleni Masters): Sun. 27th at 2 pm | MCH; $32

Venue Legend: KH Koerner Hall; MCH Mazzoleni Concert Hall in historic Ihnatowycz Hall; CT Conservatory Theatre
Tickets are available online at www.performance.rcmusic.ca, by calling 416.408.0208416.408.0208, or in person at the Weston Family Box Office


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