On hand today were Bruce Kiesling, Conductor along with Executive Director, Libby Watsion who spoke about the exciting upcoming season. The lineup:
Kelly-Marie Murphy’s En el Escuro, es Todo Uno, (“In the darkness, we are all one”) encourages us to understand that, beyond society’s artificial trappings, we are more similar than we are different. London Symphonia’s own Juno-winning harpist Angela Schwarzkopf, and London legend, cellist Cameron Crozman, share this thoughtful and transformative work alongside Felix Mendelssohn’s energizing Italian Symphony.
A Question of Balance - - It was to Mozart’s Gran Partita that a fictionalized Salieri referred while uttering his famous line, “It seemed to me that I was hearing the voice of God,” in the film Amadeus. The classical balance, grace and restraint that were Mozart’s gift to the world inspired Igor Stravinsky’s Octet.
By the Fireside with Laila Biali - - Whatever your tradition, as the nights grow longer and the wind grows colder, December brings us together to share the magic of the holiday season. Laila Biali places her original material alongside re-imagined secular and sacred classics to conjure visions of snow-swept landscapes, twinkling lights and roaring fires.
Beneath a Summer Sky -iotr Tchaikovsky’s Serenade evokes images of nights spent in the open air, under the stars. Paul Frehner’s Mojave Dreaming invokes the solitude and mystery of summer nights under those same stars in the desert. Wolfgang Mozart’s String Quartet No. 8, arranged for string orchestra, reminds us of gentle summer evenings in Vienna, far from the long nights of a Canadian winter.
Midori Marsh: Under The Moon - - With one face to the life-giving sun and the other gazing unblinkingly into the void, the mystery of the moon is her stark duality. Co-curated by Symphonia’s Principal Flute Laura Chambers and soprano Midori Marsh, this cabaret reflects on the two sides of our sister the moon with luminous treasures by Dvorak, Golijov, Donizetti, Sondheim, and more.
Love in the Age of Melancholy - - Mezzo-soprano Julie Boulianne’s warm, rich tone and profound understanding of the works of Hector Berlioz create a spell-binding interpretation of Les nuits d’été, a work glowing with emotional humanity. Franz Schubert’s Ninth Symphony ‘The Great’ was to remain unperformed during his tragically shortened life, but it has become a cornerstone of the orchestral repertoire and an epitaph to the young master.
James and the Giants - - Canada’s most celebrated violinist, James Ehnes joins us in Brahms’s monumental Violin Concerto, a legendary work from the heart of the canon. Beethoven’s Second Symphony provides the necessary counterweight to Brahms’s colossal achievement.