THE SHOVEL | Toronto Symphony Orchestra to fully reopen in November
The Toronto Symphony Orchestra announced its return to the stage on November 10, 2021.
The 2021-22 season will also mark Music Director Gustavo Gimeno’s first full season on the podium, completing 11 subscription programs.
The season kicks off at Roy Thomson Hall with a performance of Invictus, a brass piece inspired by the Black Lives Matter events by American composer Anthony Barfield. The season ends in June 2022 with a Ludwig Van-approved concert of Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy”.
It’s been a long time: On October 17, 2020, was the last time patrons could hear TSO perform live at their CityView Drive-In in Toronto before the province closed the option of outdoor drive-ins.
TSO Season Highlights
Directory:
- Mendelssohn’s “Reform” Symphony (January)
- Beethoven Symphonies No.2 (January) and 4 (February)
- Sibelius Symphonies No.7 and 5 (March)
- Rachmaninoff Symphony No.2 (April)
- Dvořák Symphony No. 9 “From the New World” (April)
- that of Stravinsky Fire Bird (May)
- Brahms Symphony No.4 (June)
- Mahler Symphony No.1 (June)
- Beethoven Symphony No.9 (June)
Guest soloists:
- Timothy Chooi: Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto (November)
- Kerson Leong: Concerto for violin and orchestra by Samy Moussa “Adrano” (jan.)
- Angela Hewitt: Bach Keyboard Concerto No. 2 (February)
- James Ehnes: Beethoven Violin Concerto (April)
- Jan Lisiecki: Piano Concerto No.2 by Prokofiev (April)
- Patricia Kopatchinskaja: that of Ravel Gypsy for violin and orchestra and Violin Concerto by Francisco Coll (April)
- Karen Gomyo: Mozart Violin Concerto No.3 (April)
- Daniil Trifonov: Piano Concerto No. 5 “The Emperor” by Beethoven (May)
- Tony Siqi Yun: Piano Concerto by Clara Schumann (June)
- Javier Perianes: Grieg Piano Concerto (June)
Guest chefs:
- Peter Oundjian (Chef Emeritus)
- Sir Andrew Davis (TSO Laureate Conductor)
- Ryan bancroft
- Maxim Emelyanychev
- Eun Sun Kim
- Samy Moussa
- Jukka-Pekka Saraste
- Xian zhang
Firsts:
- Emilie LeBel (TSO, RBC affiliate composer): Kiwis can’t play the fiddle and sediment.
- Zosha Di Castri: New work for soprano and orchestra (with Canadian soprano Barbara Hannigan)
- Samy Moussa: Symphony n ° 2 (Featured Artist 2021/22)
- Francisco Coll: Elysian
- Composers NextGen and the “Celebration Preludes”. (Cris Derksen, Luis Ramirez, Julia Mermelstein, Afarin Mansouri and Iman Habibi)
What they say :
Gustavo Gimeno | Artistic director: “Our art form takes off when we present more racialized, indigenous, female artists and new works on our stages, alongside Bach, Beethoven, Tchaikovsky and Dvořák. Together, these works illuminate a repertoire that embraces a celebration of perspectives, histories and musical influences, and styles.
Matthieu Loden | CEO: “Gustavo has programmed a season with his uncompromising style, full of rich, stimulating and moving music, featuring exceptional artists. Gustavo and the musicians of the TSO forged a musical path from this historical period.
Jonathan Corbeau | First violin: “I speak for all of TSO’s musicians when I say that returning to live performance is at the heart of our goal. We all missed the electrical energy between the musicians and Gustavo Gimeno, our musical director, and above all, the lasting relationship with our patrons. It will be a season like no other and one to be cherished. “
The fine print
- TSO will remain cautious with one-hour concerts without an intermission for the first four months.
- To maintain physical distance, concerts will feature smaller ensembles on stage. Symphonic works with full orchestra will have to wait until the end of winter / beginning of spring.
- Subscriptions for the 2021/22 season are available now for new subscribers.
- TSO will offer subscription packages to new or old customers at a later date, depending on capacity.
- Single tickets will be released at a later date depending on availability.
Go further
of Ontario “Roadmap for the reopening“Lockdown restrictions are now being phased out in three stages.
The former allows outdoor events for up to ten people, but no concerts. The second allows open-air concerts for up to 25 people.
The third allows for both outdoor and indoor concert events. Ontario will move to Stage Three once the people of Ontario achieve a single dose vaccination rate of 70-80%. Ontario is currently at 61%.
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Michael Vincent is editor-in-chief Ludwig Van and CEO of Museland Media. He publishes regularly and writes occasionally. A digital media specialist for over 15 years, he has worked as a senior writer and is a former freelance classical music critic for the Toronto Star. Michael holds a doctorate in music from the University of Toronto.
Michael Vincent is editor-in-chief Ludwig Van and CEO of Museland Media. He publishes regularly and writes occasionally. A digital media specialist for over 15 years, he has worked as a senior writer and is a former freelance classical music critic for the Toronto Star. Michael holds a doctorate in music from the University of Toronto.
