Jan 31 – Feb 2, 2025, Jeanne Lamon Hall
Directed by Rachel Podger
Featuring Jihyun Back, Traditional Korean drum dancer
“The rapport between Tafelmusik and Podger, herself not just a conductor but
a performer leading from the violin, is palpable, infectious.” — Barcza Blog
Tafelmusik celebrates the Korean New Year and the success of its recent tour to South Korea with Brilliant Baroque, directed from the violin by Principal Guest Director Rachel Podger. In addition to music by quintessentially baroque composers, this program includes a new arrangement of the beloved South Korean folk song Arirang by Junghyun Kim and a performance by Jihyun Back, traditional Korean drum dancer. Concerts take place on Jan 31 & Feb 1 at 8 PM and Feb 2 at 3 PM. Tickets are available at Tafelmusik.org.
“In November of 2024, Tafelmusik performed the Brilliant Baroque program for incredibly attentive and enthusiastic audiences in six packed houses across South Korea,” says Cristina Zacharias, Tafelmusik’s Artistic Co-Director. “It’s especially meaningful to bring the success of the tour home to our Toronto audience. We are also excited to welcome Jihyun Back to our stage to share mesmerizing traditional Korean drum dance.”
Tafelmusik’s Brilliant Baroque journey begins with works by Handel, Purcell, and Charles Avison — baroque treasures from Podger’s native England. New to the Tafelmusik stage is an orchestral suite by the Bohemian composer Antonín Reichenauer, an enchanting dialogue between strings and winds.
No baroque blowout would be complete without the music of J.S. Bach, and who better to bring out the “infectiously spritely bounce and exhilarating dramatic tension” (BBC) of his Violin Concerto in A Minor than Rachel Podger?
The concert hall is a natural home for a meeting of cultures, across borders and centuries. As the concert’s finale, Tafelmusik is delighted to share a gift from its South Korean tour with Toronto audiences. Maeari-Rang, an arrangement of Korea’s unofficial anthem, Arirang, by the young Korean composer Junghyun Kim, was created specifically for Tafelmusik’s tour. This well known folk song is included in UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage List, and Tafelmusik’s Korean audiences were deeply moved to hear it at each concert. “It is a story of people who go through tunnels of emotions—with messiness, sadness, and a little excitement and humour—to reach the light at the end,” says Kim.
LISTING INFORMATION:
Tafelmusik presents
Brilliant Baroque
Jan 31 & Feb 1 at 8 PM and Feb 2 at 3 PM.
Jeanne Lamon Hall, Trinity-St. Paul’s Centre
Directed by Rachel Podger
Featuring Jihyun Back, Traditional Korean drum dancer
Tickets start at $20 and are available at Tafelmusik.org.
With support from the Consulate General of the Republic of Korea in Toronto
Performances by Rachel Podger are generously supported by Margaret Catto
Tafelmusik gratefully acknowledges the support of BMO, Presenting Sponsor of the 2024/25 concert season, as well as support from Brookfield and Power Corporation of Canada. We are also grateful to our government partners Canada Council for the Arts, Ontario Arts Council, Toronto Arts Council, and the Ontario Trillium Foundation.
ABOUT JIHYUN BACK
Jihyun (Jianna) Back is a professional Korean traditional dancer who began her career in 2002 with the renowned Little Angels Children’s Art Troupe. She received extensive training at Korea’s leading arts schools and performed as a member of the prestigious Uijeongbu Municipal Dance Company. Since moving to Toronto in 2020, Jianna has dedicated herself to promoting Korean culture through performances and teaching. As an artist, she actively collaborates with diverse artists and institutions to foster cultural exchange and elevate the global presence of Korean traditional arts.
ABOUT RACHEL PODGER
“Rachel Podger, the unsurpassed British glory of the baroque violin,” (The Times) has established herself as a leading interpreter of baroque and classical music. Fresh from being announced as the winner of two 2023 BBC Music Magazine Awards for Instrumental Recording and Recording of the Year, as 23/24 Artist in Focus for Kings Place, and with two new albums released this month, Principal Guest Director Rachel Podger was the first woman to be awarded the prestigious Royal Academy of Music/Kohn Foundation Bach Prize in October 2015, Gramophone Artist of the Year 2018, and the Ambassador for REMA’s Early Music Day 2020. A creative programmer, she is the founder and Artistic Director of Brecon Baroque Festival and her ensemble Brecon Baroque.
Following an exciting and innovative collaboration, A Guardian Angel, with the vocal ensemble VOCES8, Rachel was thrilled to be one of the Artists in Residence at the renowned Wigmore Hall in 2019/2020. Alongside this, Rachel and Christopher Glynn released the world premiere of three previously unfinished Mozart sonatas as completed by Timothy Jones (2021). Their second disc together of three Beethoven Sonatas was released in March 2022. Recent recordings include a disc of solo repertoire along with a recording of C.P.E. Bach sonatas with fortepianist Kristian Bezuidenhout.
ABOUT TAFELMUSIK
Brandon Chui, Dominic Teresi, Cristina Zacharias, Artistic Co-Directors
Glenn Hodgins, Executive Director
Every now and then a group of musicians comes along and changes the way we think about music. For over four decades, Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra and Chamber Choir has been synonymous worldwide with dynamic, engaging, and soulful performances informed by scholarship, passion and artistic excellence. Performing on instruments and in styles appropriate to the era, Tafelmusik has performed in more than 350 cities in 32 countries. Its extensive discography on the Sony, CBC Records, Analekta and Tafelmusik Media labels have garnered ten JUNOs and numerous international recording prizes. From a vibrant home season in Toronto, to international tours, award-winning recordings, innovative collaborations, and inspiring education programs, Tafelmusik is a musical powerhouse with a reputation for thrilling and delighting audiences. www.tafelmusik.org
Website: tafelmusik.org
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Media contact:
Luisa Trisi, Big Picture Communications
luisa@luisatrisi.com | 427 Bloor Street West, Toronto, ON M5S 1X7