Time to look forward to Spring! This March, the TSO presents fresh new sounds and international stars as its 11th annual New Creations Festival. The Festival is one of the most successful celebration of musical creativity in Canada. Curator George Benjamin joins Festival conductor and host Peter Oundjian to present state-of-the-art repertoire.
New Creations begins on Saturday, February 28, with A Mind Of Winter, George Benjamin’s evocative setting for soprano of the poem The Snowman by Wallace Stevens; a new Violin Concerto by Vivian Fung that the TSO commissioned for Concertmaster Jonathan Crow; and a dynamic work by Japanese composer Dai Fujikura that was inspired by the celebrated music education programme, El Sistema.
The second concert is Let Me Tell You, which features the fascinating equal partnership of piano and orchestra in George Benjamin’s Duet, and Danish composer Hans Abrahamsen’s song cycle that treats the words of Ophelia in Shakespeare’s Hamlet in new ways. This concert takes place on Wednesday, March 4.
New Creations culminates on Saturday, March 7, with the Canadian première of George Benjamin’s critically acclaimed Written on Skin, starring Canadian soprano Barbara Hannigan. Superstar conductor and TSO favourite Gianandrea Noseda returns to Roy Thomson Hall to lead the Orchestra in Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7, sharing the stage with beloved Canadian soprano Adrianne Pieczonka.
The month of March also marks TSO débuts for Argentine cellist Sol Gabetta and Polish conductor Krzysztof Urbański, who team up in a programme featuring Dvořák’s Cello Concerto and Stravinsky’s exhilarating piece, The Rite of Spring.
Beethoven Symphony 7
March 11, 12, and 14 at 8:00pm – Masterworks Series
Gianandrea Noseda, conductor
Adrianne Pieczonka, soprano
Casella: Italia
R. Strauss: Vier letzte Lieder (Four Last Songs)
Wagner: Liebestod (“Mild und leise”) from Tristan und Isolde
Beethoven: Symphony No. 7
Tickets: $33 – $145
Noseda focuses his trademark intensity on Beethoven’s gloriously energizing Symphony No. 7, and Canadian soprano Adrianne Pieczonka lends her remarkable voice to works by Wagner and R. Strauss. You’ll also enjoy an attractive rarity in Casella’s lavish rhapsody on popular Italian themes.
Stravinsky The Rite of Spring
March 27 at 7:30pm – Masterworks Series
March 28 at 7:30pm – Casual Concert Series
Kilar: Orawa (Mar 27 only)
Dvořák: Cello Concerto
Stravinsky: The Rite of Spring (1947)
Krzysztof Urbański, conductor
Sol Gabetta, cello
TIickets: March 27 $33 – $145
March 28 $33 – $105
Everything about this superlative programme is grand: the emotional depth and broad outline of the all-time great cello concerto, and the earth-shaking power of Stravinsky’s stunning evocation of a prehistoric society.
Attending one of the TSO’s concerts is always a treat. For those of you under between the ages of 15 to 35, I highly recommend joining TSOUNDCHECK. This great program allows you to buy tickets to TSO concerts at just $16 per ticket. Regular ticket pricing still includes some affordable tickets, as well. For details about the New Creations Festival, please visit: NewCreationsFestival.com. For full details on the TSO’s concert calendar, ticketing and box office information, go to tso.ca.
