York U Celebrating Haydn Aug 6-9 with Penderecki String Quartet

Celebrating Haydn - His Times and Legacy

York University’s Department of Music is hosting an international conference and two public concerts in August in commemoration of the bicentenary of the death of the composer Joseph Haydn. The events will take place August 6-9 at York’s Keele campus. Highlights include a performance by the Penderecki String Quartet on August 6 and a fortepiano recital by Malcolm Bilson on August 7 in the Tribute Communities Recital Hall. Both concerts take place at 8pm and tickets are available to the general public.

With a prodigious output in all of the main genres of classical music of his era, Haydn was the focus of keen interest throughout his life, and serious scholarship continues to the present day. While there is already a wealth of extant research, the Haydn anniversary offers fresh impetus for consideration of his music and its reception. The conference at York will bring together internationally renowned Haydn scholars as well as emerging scholars to share their research, which ranges from musicology, performance practice and theatre to art history, drama and literature.

Plenary speakers include James Webster, Goldwin Smith Professor of Music, Cornell University; Julian Rushton, Professor Emeritus, University of Leeds; Elaine Sisman, Anne Parsons Bender Professor of Music, Columbia University; and dramaturg, choreographer and stage director Sigrid T’Hooft (International Opera Foundation Eszterháza, Belgium).

The conference also includes two lecture-performances. Bilson will address the question: Are We Reading Notation of the 18th and 19th Centuries Correctly? and British composer Geoffrey Palmer will introduce his new string quartet, a work inspired by Haydn. The Toronto-based Windermere Quartet will perform Palmer’s piece, which he composed especially for this occasion.

The evening concerts by the Penderecki String Quartet and Malcom Bilson offer the public the opportunity to join in the celebration of Haydn’s legacy.

Founded in Poland in 1986, the Penderecki String Quartet has become one of the most celebrated chamber ensembles of its generation. Hailed by Fanfare Magazine as "an ensemble of formidable power and keen musical sensitivity”, the quartet has graced the major concert stages of four continents and has more than 20 recordings in its critically-acclaimed discography. The Penderecki String Quartet’s concert will feature three Haydn String Quartets: Op. 74, No.1 in C Major; Op. 76, No.5 in D Major; and Op.77, No.2 in F Major.

American pianist and musicologist Malcolm Bilson (Cornell University, Eastman School of Music) is one of the world’s foremost authorities on historical performance practice on period pianos and the music of the Haydn’s time. [check] Through his performances and recordings, he has played a key role in restoring the fortepiano to the concert stage and to fresh interpretations of European classical repertoire of the 18th and 19th centuries. He will perform his York recital on a copy of a 1799 Longman and Clementi fortepiano. The program will include works by Dussek, Mozart and three Haydn Sonatas: Sonata in C, Hob. 50; Sonata in D, Hob. 51; and Sonata in Eb, Hob. 52 by Haydn.

More information and a detailed schedule of all the presentations is available on the conference website.

Celebrating Haydn: His Times and Legacy is one of the special events being held this year in celebration of York University's 50th anniversary. Organized jointly by York music Professor Dorothy de Val and Professor Patricia Debly of the Department of Music, Brock University, the conference is co-sponsored by The Wirth Institute for Austrian and Central European Studies, University of Alberta and supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.


Celebrating Haydn - His Times and Legacy
When: Conference dates August 6-9, 2009
Where: Accolade East Building, York University, 4700 Keele Street.
Registration & Information: www.brocku.ca/haydnconferenceyork

Public Concerts:

Penderecki String Quartet
When: Thurs. August 6, 8pm
Where: Tribute Communities Recital Hall, Accolade East Building, York University, 4700 Keele Street. [Map]
Admission: $20, students & seniors $15.
Box Office and Information: 416-736-5888 | www.yorku.ca/perform/boxoffice

Malcolm Bilson, fortepiano
When: Fri. August 7, 8pm
Where: Tribute Communities Recital Hall, Accolade East Building, York University, 4700 Keele Street. [Map]
Admission: $20, students & seniors $15.
Box Office and Information: 416-736-5888 | www.yorku.ca/perform/boxoffice

Anne-Marie McDermott Two Premieres

"FREE FOR ALL AT TOWN HALL" OPENS ITS SEVENTH SEASON

WITH A PERFORMANCE BY PIANIST ANNE-MARIE McDERMOTT

SUNDAY, MAY 31, 2009 AT 5PM

PROGRAM INCLUDES THE WORLD PREMIERE OF CHARLES WUORINEN'S FOURTH PIANO SONATA AND THE NEW YORK PREMIERE

OF CLARICE ASSAD'S "WHEN ART SHOWED UP"

SERIES FILLS TWO GAPS, BEGINNING JUST WHEN OTHERS ARE ENDING, AND BEING FREE TO THE PUBLIC

The 2009 "Free For All at Town Hall" series will open on Sunday, May 31, 2009, at 5 p.m. with pianist Anne-Marie McDermott performing a solo recital that includes the

world premiere of Charles Wuorinen's Fourth Piano Sonata, which was written for Ms. McDermott; the New York premiere of Clarice Assad's "When Art Showed Up;" and three Haydn piano sonatas, in honor of the 200^th anniversary of the death of the composer.

Ms. McDermott, with Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, performed the inaugural concert of "Free For All at Town Hall" in 2003. The series, described in The New Yorker as "the price-is-right concert series," is now in its seventh year of providing New York audiences with high quality, free concerts.

The May 31 program is as follows:

Haydn: Piano Sonata Hob. XVI: 40, in G Major

Haydn: Piano Sonata Hob. XVI: 20, in c minor

Charles Wuorinen: Fourth Piano Sonata (World Premiere)

Intermission

Haydn: Piano Sonata Hob. XVI: 52, in E-Flat Major

Clarice Assad: "When Art Showed Up" (New York Premiere)

Rounding out the 2009 "Free For All at Town Hall" series of concerts on Sunday, June 14, at 2 p.m. will be Hilary Hahn in her only New York recital this season. Ms. Hahn will perform works by Brahms, Bartók, Ives and Ysaÿe.

"Free For All at Town Hall" concludes the series with an all-Schubert program performed by the esteemed Emerson String Quartet on Sunday, June 21, at 5 p.m.

The Town Hall is located near Times Square at 123 West 43^rd Street (between 6^th Avenue and Broadway). Tickets to all "Free for All" concerts are available only on the day of the concert, at the Town Hall Box Office, starting at noon. Tickets are distributed on a first-come, first-served basis, limit two to a customer, no reservations.

About Anne-Marie McDermott

A fearless elegance surrounds pianist Anne-Marie McDermott as she has proven to be a force to reckon with, exuding an approachable confidence that showcases her versatility and sophistication seen in her solo performances as well as chamber music ensembles. She has a versatile career encompassing over 100 concerts each year in a combination of solo recitals, concerti and chamber music performances. Her repertoire choices are eclectic, spanning works from Bach and Haydn to Prokofiev and Scriabin, to Kernis, Hartke, Tower and Wuorinen.

McDermott debuted with the New York Philharmonic in 1997 under Christian Thielemann and has since appeared with the orchestras of Atlanta, Baltimore, Dallas, Houston, Pittsburgh, and Seattle. In the 2008-2009 season, McDermott will perform with The Philadelphia Orchestra, Buffalo Philharmonic, North Carolina Symphony, Alabama Symphony, San Diego Symphony, the Oregon Mozart Players, and tour with the New Century Chamber Orchestra.

McDermott was named an Artist Member of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center in 1995. She continues her long standing collaboration with violinist, Nadja Salerno- Sonnenberg, including a CD titled "LIVE" released on the NSS label. McDermott also continues her collaboration with Opus One, a piano quartet with Ida Kavafian, Peter Wiley and Steven Tenenbom.

McDermott is the Artistic Director of the Avila Chamber Music Celebration in Curacao, Dutch Antilles, as well as the Ocean Reef Chamber Music Festival.

A winner of the Young Concert Artists Auditions, McDermott was also the recipient of the Avery Fisher Career Development Award, the Andrew Wolf Memorial Chamber Music Award, the Joseph Kalichstein Piano Prize, the Paul A. Fish Memorial Prize, the Bruce Hungerford Memorial Prize, and the Mortimer Levitt Career Development Award for Women Artists.

McDermott has recorded the complete Prokofiev Piano Sonatas, which has just been released in a 3-CD set by Bridge Records. She has also recorded Bach's English Suites and Partitas (named Gramophone Magazine's Editor's Choice), and Gershwin's Complete Works for Piano and Orchestra with the Dallas Symphony and Justin Brown (also named Gramophone Magazine's Editor's Choice).

McDermott began playing the piano at age 5. By 12 she had performed the Mendelssohn Concerto in g minor with the National Orchestral Association at Carnegie Hall. She studied at the Manhattan School of Music as a scholarship student with Dalmo Carra, Constance Keene and John Browning..

About Charles Wourinen

Charles Wuorinen (b. 1938, New York) is one of the world's leading composers. His many honors include a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship and the Pulitzer Prize (the youngest composer to receive the award). His compositions encompass every form and medium, including works for orchestra, chamber ensemble, soloists, ballet, and stage. His newest works include "Time Regained," a fantasy for piano and orchestra for Peter Serkin, James Levine and the MET Opera Orchestra; Second Piano Quintet for Peter Serkin and the Brentano Quartet; Eighth Symphony for the Boston Symphony Orchestra; and the Fourth Piano Sonata, a 17-minute work in four movements, commissioned by Anne-Marie McDermott for premiere on "Free for All at Town Hall." His earlier piano sonatas are the Third written for Alan Feinberg in 1986; the Second written for Jeffrey Swann in 1976; and Sonata (1969) written for Robert Miller. His next project is an opera on Annie Proulx's "Brokeback Mountain."

About Clarice Assad

Clarice Assad is a classical and jazz composer, arranger, pianist, and vocalist.

A native of Rio de Janeiro, Clarice Assad was born into one of Brazil's most famous musical families (she is the daughter of Sergio Assad, one of today's preeminent guitarists and composers), and has performed professionally since the age of seven. Formal piano studies began with Sheila Zagury in Brazil; she then studied with Natalie Fortin and had additional instruction in jazz and Brazilian piano under the tutelage of Leandro Braga.

As a composer, her works have been published in France (Editions Lemoine), Germany (Trekel), and in the United States (Virtual Artists Collective Publishing), and have been performed in Europe, South America, the United States and Japan. Miss Assad's works often have a thematic core, and explore the physical and psychological elements of the chosen story, object or concept.

About "Free For All at Town Hall"
"Free For All at Town Hall" is a production of Twin Lions, Inc., a non-profit concert production company founded by Omus Hirshbein and Jacqueline Taylor. Their goal is to present great musicians in concerts that are free to the public in spaces that are good for both the music and the audience.

The inspiration for this venture came from Ms. Taylor's experience directing a project at the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center called "Beethoven 2000." To celebrate the year 2000, the Chamber Music Society presented the Orion String Quartet performing all of Beethoven's string quartets in six concerts. As a gift to the City of New York, the concerts were free. "People thought I was crazy," commented Ms. Taylor. "After all, it is relatively easy to sell the Beethoven String Quartets at Lincoln Center in New York City, so why give them away?" The answer came when the public arrived to pick up their tickets. Four thousand tickets were given away in under two hours, with the line at Alice Tully Hall stretching from Broadway to Amsterdam Avenue.

Twin Lions, Inc. chose to begin in New York's Town Hall - a McKim, Mead and White building completed in 1921 - for several reasons: one, because they believe it to be one of New York City's finest acoustical spaces; and second, the size of the hall (1,500 seats) would allow them to have large audiences. But, perhaps most important, is Town Hall's history. For a long time it was the place for an important young musician to make their New York debut. The list of people who have performed there is staggering, including Marian Anderson, Leonard Bernstein, Isaac Stern, Sergei Rachmaninoff, and Igor Stravinsky, to name only a few.

For listings

"FREE FOR ALL AT TOWN HALL"

ANNE-MARIE McDERMOTT, piano

Sunday, May 31 at 5 p.m.

The Town Hall

123 West 43^rd Street (between 6^th Avenue and Broadway)

New York, NY 10036

Tickets to all "Free for All" concerts are available only on the day of the concert, at the Town Hall Box Office, starting at noon. Tickets are distributed on a first-come, first-served basis, limit two to a customer; no reservations.

"FREE FOR ALL AT TOWN HALL"

HILARY HAHN, violin

Sunday, June 14 at 2 p.m.

The Town Hall

123 West 43rd Street (between 6^th Avenue and Broadway)

New York, NY 10036

Tickets to all "Free for All" concerts are available only on the day of the concert, at the Town Hall Box Office, starting at noon. Tickets are distributed on a first-come, first-served basis, limit two to a customer; no reservations.

"FREE FOR ALL AT TOWN HALL"

EMERSON STRING QUARTET

Sunday, June 21 at 5 p.m.

The Town Hall

123 West 43rd Street (between 6^th Avenue and Broadway)

New York, NY 10036

Tickets to all Free for All concerts are available only on the day of the concert, at the Town Hall Box Office, starting at noon. Tickets are distributed on a first-come, first-served basis, limit two to a customer; no reservations.

Concerts Avant-goûts: Le mois de mai au Domaine Forget

Les deux premiers événements avant-goûts du Festival International du Domaine Forget auront lieu les 23 et 29 mai à la salle Françoys-Bernier. Le premier concert soulignera le 200^e anniversaire de la mort de Joseph Haydn avec la présentation de la version pour quatuor à cordes et récitant d'une œuvre d'une grande profondeur, Les sept dernières paroles du Christ sur la croix. Le 29 mai aura lieu le Marathon de musique de chambre présenté par Galaxie, le réseau de musique continue de Radio-Canada. Ces concerts « avant-goûts » mettent en vedette des musiciens et pédagogues chevronnés enseignant à l'Académie de musique et de danse du Domaine Forget.

Samedi 23 mai Première soirée de musique de chambre

Un hommage à Haydn empreint d'émotion

Composé en 1786, le cycle Les sept dernières paroles du Christ sur la croix de Joseph Haydn est le fruit d'une importante commande venue d'Espagne destinée à un service religieux pendant la semaine sainte. L'œuvre consiste en sept mouvements lents illustrant chacune des sept dernières paroles du Christ. À ces mouvements s'ajoutent une introduction, un interlude et un seul mouvement rapide, le dramatique Terremoto (Tremblement de terre) final. L'année suivant la création de l'œuvre, Haydn réalisa la version pour quatuor à cordes qu'interpréteront les violonistes Mark Fewer et Barry Shiffman, les altistes James Boyd et Steven Dann, les violoncellistes Anssi Karttunen et Kenneth Slowik et les étudiants du stage de musique de chambre de l'Académie de musique et de danse du Domaine Forget.

Le rôle du récitant a été confié au comédien Henri Chassé, que l'on a pu voir dans Le monde de Charlotte, dans de nombreuses productions du Théâtre du Nouveau Monde, et qui prendra la relève de Robert Lepage pour la tournée européenne du Dragon bleu. Afin d'ajouter à l'atmosphère de réflexion et de recueillement, le comédien a choisi des textes poétiques d'auteurs québécois qui seront insérés entre les différents mouvements de l'œuvre.

vendredi 29 mai Marathon annuel de musique de chambre

Un événement festif et sympathique !

Le vendredi 29 mai, les professeurs et leurs stagiaires de l'Académie de musique et de danse convient le public au Marathon de musique de chambre. L'événement, qui débutera à 14 heures pour se terminer en soirée, rassemblera les violonistes Mark Fewer et Barry Shiffman, les altistes James Boyd et Steven Dann, les violoncellistes Anssi Karttunen et Kenneth Slowik et les 22 stagiaires en musique de chambre de l'Académie. Des œuvres de Haydn, Mozart, Brahms, Sibelius, Bartok et Schoenberg sont au programme.

Les cours de maître de l'Académie de musique et de danse

Le trompettiste Michael Sachs ouvrira la série des cours de maîtres du Domaine Forget le mardi 2 juin à 9 h 30. Au total, 13 cours de maîtres seront présentés gratuitement tout au long de la saison estivale.

Information et Réservation

418 452-3535 ou 1 888-DFORGET (336-7438)

Télécopieur : 418 452-3503

www.domaineforget.com

Les Avants-goûts du Festival

Samedi 23 mai, 20 h

Un hommage à Haydn empreint d'émotion

Henri Chassé, récitant

Mark Fewer et Barry Shiffman, violons

James Boyd et Steven Dann, altos

Anssi Karttunen et Kenneth Slowik, violoncelles

HAYDN Les Sept dernières paroles du Christ sur la croix

Coût : adultes : 20 $ ; aînés (60 ans et plus) : 17 $ ; jeunes adultes (21 à 30 ans) : 17 $;

étudiants (13 à 20 ans) : 17 $ ; enfants (12 ans et moins) gratuit. Les prix incluent toutes les taxes.

Vendredi 29 mai, dès 14 h

Soirée Galaxie

Marathon de musique de chambre

Mark Fewer et Barry Shiffman, violons

James Boyd et Steven Dann, altos

Anssi Karttunen et Kenneth Slowik, violoncelles

et les stagiaires de l'Académie de musique et de danse du Domaine Forget

Œuvres de Haydn, Mozart, Brahms, Sibelius, Bartok et Schoenberg

Concert de 14 heures :

Concert de 20 h

Coût : adultes : 10 $ ; aînés (60 ans et plus) : 10 $ ; jeunes adultes (21 à 30 ans) : 10 $,

étudiants (13 à 20 ans) : gratuit; enfants (12 ans et moins) gratuit. Les prix incluent toutes les taxes.

Symphony Nova Scotia presents the 2009 Library Series

Symphony Nova Scotia presents the 2009 Library Series

Halifax, NS – Symphony Nova Scotia is once again back at the Halifax Public Library for a series of fun and informative chamber music performances. Please bring your lunch and join us for wonderful music and entertaining stories about the composers from host Max Kasper. All concerts are free of charge, and begin at 12:00 noon.

Still Movements

Wednesday, April 29 – Spring Garden Memorial Branch, Halifax

Friday, May 1 – Alderney Gate Branch, Dartmouth

In this concert, the Library Players explore the evolution of the "movements" of a piece of music. Most symphonies and quartets that we know all follow a familiar four-movement pattern. Using the music of Haydn, Mozart, Bach and Purcell, we will illustrate the differences and evolution of the string quartet movements.

The Library Players are:

Yi Lee – violin

Anita Gao-Lee – violin

Jane Levitt – viola

Max Kasper – bass

Christmas in May

Thursday, May 14 – Spring Garden Memorial Branch, Halifax

We're pleased to welcome back Halifax's own Réjouissance as they once again play at the Library. Join us for some festive Baroque music on period instruments. Though most of the music was written for the Christmas holidays, it's wonderful to hear anytime of the year (...and it's never too early to start preparing for Christmas!).

Réjouissance is:

Karen Langille – baroque violin
Ivor Rothwell – baroque bassoon, recorder
Shawn Whynot – harpsichord
Hilary Brown – baroque cello

The Best Music You've Never Heard of...

Thursday, May 28 – Spring Garden Memorial Branch, Halifax

Friday, May 29 – Alderney Gate Branch, Dartmouth

Most of us have only heard about 5% of the composers out there. Even the ones that were very famous in their time and wrote wonderful music have somehow become overshadowed by the "Greats." It's time to hear some of these composers again. The music is well worth it! Join the Gatto Dolce Duo as they perform music by Pleyel, Matthews, Aslan, Neher, Boismortier, Corrette and Romberg, to name a few!

The Gatto Dolce Duo is:

Colin Matthews – cello

Max Kasper – Bass

About Symphony Nova Scotia
Expect the Unexpected with Symphony Nova Scotia – from Baroque to Berlioz to bluegrass! Each year the 37-member ensemble performs for more than 40,000 audience members (including 14,000 young music lovers) in communities across Nova Scotia. Under the inspirational leadership of Bernhard Gueller, Symphony Nova Scotia is recognized as one of the finest orchestras in the country. Join the orchestra in celebrating its 25th anniversary this season!

NACO, Jan. 28-29: Pinchas Zukerman leads a Haydn Celebration

Pinchas Zukerman plays Haydn’s Violin Concerto and leads the Lord Nelson Mass to honour Haydn’s 200^th anniversary on January 28 and 29

Ottawa, Canada – Pinchas Zukerman leads the National Arts Centre Orchestra in a celebration of Haydn in commemoration of the 200^th anniversary of his death showcasing the composer’s amazing contributions to the concerto and vocal repertoire. These Ovation Series concerts on Wednesday, January 28 and Thursday, January 29 at 8 p.m. in NAC’s Southam Hall open with Pinchas Zukerman demonstrating his mastery of the classical form with Haydn’s festive Violin Concerto No. 1 in C major, full of fast runs, double stops, and big changes in volume and pitch. Then audiences will experience the mighty Lord Nelson Mass, a work filled with both triumph and anguish composed by Haydn to honour Admiral Horatio Nelson’s destruction of Napoleon’s fleet at The Battle of the Nile in 1798.

The mass will be performed by a spectacular array of soloists and the combined vocal forces of four Ottawa choirs. The soloists are Ottawa soprano Donna Brown (who also returns the following weekend for a Music for a Sunday Afternoon chamber music concert); Grammy Award-winning American mezzo-soprano Kelley O’Connor making her NAC Orchestra debut; American tenor Lawrence Wiliford, an alumnus of the COC’s Ensemble Studio, and Canadian bass Robert Pomakov, in his fifth appearance with the NAC Orchestra. Chorus master Duain Wolfe has prepared the combined choral forces of the Cantata Singers of Ottawa (Michael Zaugg, director), Seventeen Voyces (Kevin Reeves, director); Ewashko Singers (Laurence Ewashko, director) and the Ottawa Festival Chorus (Laurence Ewashko and Duain Wolfe, directors).

There are three Musically Speaking events connected with the NAC Orchestra’s Haydn Celebration, presented in collaboration with a Haydn Symposium “Transcendence, Reality and Universality in the Music of Joseph Haydn” taking place in Ottawa (Jan. 28-30).

There are Musically Speaking Pre-Concert Chats in French both nights at 7 p.m. titled
“Haydn : Les messes d’un franc-maçon” with music critic Jean Jacques Van Vlasselaer.

There are Musically Speaking Post-Concert Talkbacks both nights led by music critic Jean-Jacques Van Vlasselaer in discussion with Austrian Haydn scholars Peter Revers, Peter-Maria Krakauer and Hartmut Krones.

And on January 28 only there is a Pre-Concert Talk in English from 6:30 to 7:15 p.m. in the Panorama Room titled “Haydn’s Nelson Mass and the Aesthetics of Salvation” with Haydn scholar James Webster from Cornell University. This talk is the Keynote Opening Lecture of the Haydn Symposium presented by Carleton University and the Kunstuniversität Graz in association with the “Mozarteum” in Salzburg, with the NAC, and with the Kunstforum, Embassy of Austria. The Opening Remarks for the Symposium are from 6 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. also in the Panorama Room. The public is invited to come at either 6 p.m. for the Remarks or at 6:30 p.m. just for the Lecture.

Tickets for these Ovation Series concerts on January 28 and 29 are on sale now at $19.00, $39.00, $49.00, $59.00, $69.00 and $86.00 (GST and Facility Fee included) at the NAC Box Office (Monday to Saturday from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.), and through Ticketmaster (with surcharges) at 613-755-1111. Ticketmaster may also be accessed through the NAC’s web-site at www.nac-cna.ca.

Half-price tickets for students in all sections of the hall are on sale in person at the NAC Box Office upon presentation of a valid student ID card. Live Rush tickets (subject to availability) for full-time students (aged 13 to 29) are $11 at the NAC Box Office from 2 p.m. the day before the concert to 6 p.m. the day of, upon presentation of a valid Live Rush card.

Groups of 10 and more save 15% to 20% off the regular price of tickets to NAC Music, Theatre and Dance performances. To reserve your seats call 613-947-7000 ext. 384 or email grp@nac-cna.ca.

Hayden Bicentenary Celebrations: Classical Music Consort

HANOVER SQUARE ROOMS, LONDON (1791-1795):

HAYDN BICENTENARY CELEBRATIONS

A Series of Nine Concerts Beginning Sunday, January 25

As 2009 marks the 200^th anniversary of Joseph Haydn’s death, Toronto’s Classical Music Consort presents a truly unique and special series of concerts dedicated to the work of one of the greatest composers to have ever lived. To launch this impressive series of nine events, the Classical Music Consort performs Haydn’s London Symphonies Nos. 93, 95 and 96 on Sunday, January 25 at Trinity College Chapel. “F. J. Haydn is one of the greatest composers to have ever lived. With this endeavour, the CMC wishes to highlight the diversity of Haydn’s output during one of the most joyous and productive periods of his life”, explains Ashiq Aziz, founder/artistic director of the CMC.

Haydn’s two visits to London between 1791 and 1795 witnessed the composition of some of his finest works for orchestra, chamber ensemble, and solo piano, serving as the culmination of the eighteenth century aesthetic, as well as the foundation upon which the music of later periods rested. This concert series features some of Canada’s finest young and established artists (on period as well as on modern instruments), and brings to light the whole range of Haydn’s output during the exciting and fruitful time of his London period.

Highlights include performances of Haydn’s London Symphonies (all twelve symphonies to be presented in four different concerts); art songs performed by baritone Giles Tomkins; chamber music for strings including the famous Salomon string quartets, delivered by Toronto’s Windermere String Quartet and Cecilia String Quartet; Adam Sherkin playing the London piano sonatas; and the Gypsy Trio played by the Duke Trio. See details & ticket information below.

The Classical Music Consort is an enterprising young company, founded and lead by artistic director Ashiq Aziz (who recently returned to Toronto after studying music in England). Establishing the foundations of an accomplished repertoire while aiming to attract a new generation to the resonance and relevance of classical music, the CMC rose to public attention as it presented Handel’s opera, Acis and Galatea as part of the 2008 Toronto Fringe Festival, also garnering praises from the media: 'Ashiq Aziz gets gorgeous sounds from his original-instrument playing orchestra and fine crop of singers' (NOW Toronto); 'The lively work is beautifully played and sung.' (Eye Weekly); '…the whole is so sincerely presented that it is pretty much guaranteed to win your heart.' (Toronto Star). Visit www.classicalmusicconsort.org for details.

The Classical Music Consort presents Haydn’s London Symphonies Nos. 93, 95 and 96

Trinity College Chapel

6 Hoskin Ave.: subway to Museum; between Queen's Park Crescent & St. George St.

Sunday, January 25, 2009 at 7:30PM

For tickets (adult/$30; student/$15; senior/$15) please visit: http://www.uofttix.ca/view.php?id=441

HAYDN LONDON SYMPHONIES (4 concerts)

Classical Music Consort; Ashiq Aziz, Conductor

Sunday, January 25, 2009 at 7:30pm - Nos. 93, 95, 96

Trinity College Chapel: 6 Hoskin Avenue

Saturday, February 28, 2009 at 7:30pm - Nos. 94, 98, 97

Knox College Chapel: 59 St. George Street, on East side, just North of College Street

Sunday, September 19, 2009 at 7:30pm - Nos. 99, 100, 101

Trinity College Chapel: 6 Hoskin Avenue

Friday, October 9, 2009 at 7:30pm - Nos. 102, 103, 104

Trinity College Chapel: 6 Hoskin Avenue

Here, the CMC presents a complete cycle of Haydn’s London Symphonies, the twelve symphonies that Haydn wrote specifically for performance in London between 1791 and 1795. These landmark works contain some of the most ravishing of Haydn’s music for orchestra, and were immediately embraced by audiences in London, and continue to enchant listeners today. A clear progression of style and technique is observable through the cycle, and so the CMC will be presenting these works in the order as they were first performed. However, each symphony in the set is a masterpiece in itself, representing the height of Haydn’s compositional skill and classical refinement.

HAYDN LONDON SONATAS

Adam Sherkin, piano

Thursday 22 April 2009 at 7:30pm

Heliconian Hall: 35 Hazelton Ave. (at Yorkville)

A testament to Haydn's cultivation of music for the keyboard, the near sixty sonatas he composed over his lifetime illustrate the evolution of some of the most significant compositional techniques of eighteenth century Western music. Among the finest of these are the last three piano sonatas, Hob. XVI/Nos. 50, 51 and 52, truly the apex of Haydn's solo keyboard output. Adam Sherkin presents a programme highlighting these riveting masterpieces, each a dazzling soundworld unto themselves. Complementing the sonatas are shorter works by four other composers: Claude Debussy, Maurice Ravel, George Benjamin and Adam Sherkin himself. These 20^th and 21^st century 'homages' explore the nature of Haydn's musical legacy, in a sense suggesting an interpretive context for his art in a contemporary listening climate

Programme:

Benjamin: Meditation on Haydn’s Name (1982)

Haydn: Sonata in C, Hob. Xvi/50

Debussy: Hommage à Haydn (1909)

Ravel : Menuet sur le nom de Haydn (1909)

Haydn: Sonata in D, Hob. Xvi/51

Sherkin: World Premiere Tba (2008)

Haydn: Sonata in E-Flat, Hob. Xvi/52

HAYDN GYPSY TRIO

Duke Trio (Mark Fewer, violin; Thomas Wiebe, cello; Peter Longworth, piano)

Thursday 14 May 2009 at 7:30pm

Heliconian Hall: 35 Hazelton Ave. (at Yorkville)

Of the forty piano trios that Haydn composed in his lifetime, perhaps the most famous of these is his Trio in G major, ‘Gypsy’, presented here by the Duke Trio. Known for the frequent use of Eastern European folk melodies in his music (as a result of his role as court composer to Prince

Esterhazy in present-day Hungary), the final movement of Haydn’s Gypsy Trio recalls the recruiting dances of gypsy bands employed by Austrian officials to compel peasants in the fields to join the army. Haydn’s trios as a whole spawned a rich literature of such music, inspiring all of the great composers after him to write some of their most intimate and expressive work for this genre. Included in this performance are also three lesser known works for piano trio, by composers Carl Frühling, Paul Schoenfield, and Arno Babadjanian.

Programme:

Haydn: Trio No. 39 in G, ‘Gypsy’

Frühling: Trio, Op. 32

Babadjanian: Trio (1952)

Schoenfield: Cafe Music (1986)

HAYDN SALOMON QUARTETS (2 concerts)

Windermere Quartet (Rona Goldensher, violin; Elizabeth Andrews, violin; Anthony Rapaport, viola; Laura Jones, cello)

Thursday, September 10, 2009 at 7:30pm

Trinity College Chapel: 6 Hoskin Avenue

Programme:

Haydn: String Quartets, Op. 71 Nos. 1-3

Rowsom: new work tba (2009)

Cecilia String Quartet (Min-Jeong Koh, violin; Sarah Nematallah, violin; Caitlin Boyle, viola; Rebecca Wenham, cello)

Friday, October 7, 2009 at 7:30pm

Trinity College Chapel: 6 Hoskin Avenue

Programme:

Haydn: String Quartets, Op. 74 Nos. 1-3

Written in Austria in 1793, Haydn’s op. 71 and 74 ‘Salomon’ quartets occupy a seminal place in the history of the repertoire, as the first works of this genre to be composed specifically for the concert hall. They first appeared in performance at a series of concerts at the Hanover Square Rooms in London between 1794 and 1795, for the benefit of the great violinist and impresario J. P. Salomon, responsible for bringing Haydn to London in 1791.

These works reflect the virtuosity and high level of technique for which Salomon’s playing was known, significant in providing inspiration for Haydn in his compositional process. Presented in their entirety by the Windermere and Cecilia String Quartets, along with these important pieces is a new work for string quartet written by Canadian composer Bill Rowsom, in commemoration of the two hundredth anniversary of Haydn’s death.

HAYDN SONGS

Giles Tomkins, bass-baritone

Kate Tremills, piano

Friday, September 25, 2009 at 7:30pm

Heliconian Hall: 35 Hazelton Ave. (at Yorkville)

Programme:

Haydn: Scottish Songs (selections)

Beethoven: An Die Ferne Geliebte, Op. 94

Schubert: Schwanengesang, Op. posth. d 957

The rich classicism imbued in the works of Haydn's London period is not only found in his symphonies, piano works, and chamber music. It is also a feature of his more than four hundred Scottish songs, the texts of which were chosen by the Edinburgh publisher, George Thomson, who also commissioned the pieces. The end of the eighteenth century in Europe was a period of great interest in the preservation of the folksong tradition, and to this effect, Thomson was interested in examining the Scottish contribution, and raising the level of its artistry by commissioning composers such as Haydn, Hummel, and Beethoven, to write arrangements of the songs that formed a part of this tradition. Giles Tomkins and Kate Tremills will be performing a selection of Haydn’s arrangements of these songs, as well as two masterpieces of the Lied repertoire, illustrating the directional change in the art song with the advent of the nineteenth century.

TICKET INFORMATION

Single tickets: $35/$25 (adult/senior-student)

At the door, or by telephone: 416-978-8849

Online: www.uofttix.ca

In person: at UofTtix box office, Hart House, 7 Hart House Circle,

University of Toronto, Toronto ON

Children go free! Children under 14 are eligible for a free ticket when accompanied by an adult (One free under 14 ticket per adult, subject to availability.)

Group bookings: The CMC offers a generous 20% discount for groups of 10 or more. For further information or to make a group booking, please call UofTtix at 416-978-8849. Group bookings are subject to availability.

Multi-save offers/Contact the box office for further package information:

Book all nine series concerts: save 20%

Book all four symphony concerts: save 10%

Book all five chamber concerts: save 10%

Winter-Spring concert package: save 10%

Autumn concert package: save 10%

Access: Patrons should note there is no step-free access to Knox College Chapel, Heliconian Hall, or Trinity College Chapel

VENUE INFORMATION AND DIRECTIONS:

· Heliconian Hall: 35 Hazelton Ave., Toronto (subway to Bay station; north of Bloor St., east of University Ave.)

· Knox College Chapel: 59 St. George St., Toronto (subway to Queen's Park; just north of College St., east side of St. George St.)

· Trinity College Chapel: 6 Hoskin Ave., Toronto (subway to Museum; between Queen's Park Crescent and St. George St.)