There are many great pianists in this world, but there’s only one Igor Levit. Typical hyperbole in music journalism, you say? Levit’s recent Koerner Hall would suggest otherwise.
Given Solomea Krushelnytska’s exceptional career, it’s unfortunate that she is largely forgotten today. That is changing, thanks to a new biography written by Andriy Semotiuk, her grandnephew.
Having attended Salute to Vienna concerts most years since the mid 2000’s, I must say I can’t think of a better way to musically usher in the new year.
Sitting in the audience at the TSO Messiah this past Sunday, I kept thinking how lucky I was to witness another performance of Messiah in the familiar Roy Thomson Hall.
From the beginning of the Allegro in Brahms’ Third Symphony, with its powerful opening chords, I was completely drawn into Staatskapelle Berlin orchestra’s playing.
Toronto Symphony Orchestra’s audience was treated to not one, but two sensational TSO debuts of Ukrainian artists, conductor Oksana Lyniv and pianist Illia Ovcharenko.
Soloists: Jacob Abrahamse, Neil Aronoff, Julia Barber, Lesley Emma Bouza, Rebecca Claborn, Simon Honeyman, Kieran Kane, Rebecca McKay, Nicholas Nicolaidis, and Sinéad White; Toronto Mendelssohn…