Toronto, August 24, 2022 … Tafelmusik launches its 2022/23 season of live concerts with Handel’s London, a program inspired by the lively metropolis where musical influences intersect. Guest directed by the “brilliant” (New York Times) Grammy Award winning harpsichordist Avi Stein, Handel’s London takes place on Sept 23, 2022 at 8pm and Sept 24, 2022 at 2pm at Jeanne Lamon Hall, Trinity-St. Paul’s Centre. These performances will be dedicated to the late Allen Whear, Tafelmusik’s Associate Principal Cellist from 2000 to 2022. Tickets and complete program information are available at tafelmusik.org.
Picture a vibrant city humming with creative spirit, attracting artists who exchange diverse ideas and perspectives. Though it sounds like present day New York or Toronto, this is 18th-century London—the inspiration for our opening concert of the season. Handel’s London channels the cosmopolitan energy of baroque London, a city ripe with opportunities for cross-pollination.
A magnet for artists and composers, London drew musical influencers from all over Europe, including Handel (from Germany via Italy), Kusser (from Hungary via Germany and France), Geminiani (from Italy), and Hellendaal (from the Netherlands). The program includes four Grand Concertos, the English take on the Italian concerto grosso, and the perfect vehicle for celebrating this colourful intersection of styles.
London natives were not immune to the city’s cosmopolitan trends. Henry Purcell never left his hometown, but imbued his music with the French and Italian influences he heard around him. Purcell in turn inspired Allen Whear, who based his 2006 composition Short Story on the Chaconne from Fairy Queen, reaching across the centuries from one vibrant city to another.
LISTING INFORMATION:
Handel’s London
Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra
Avi Stein guest director and harpsichord soloist
Fri Sept 23 at 8pm
Sat Sept 24 at 2pm
Jeanne Lamon Hall, Trinity-St. Paul’s Centre
Tickets start at $44 and are available at tafelmusik.org
Tafelmusik gratefully acknowledges the support of our government partners, Canada Council for the Arts, Ontario Arts Council, Toronto Arts Council, and the Ontario Trillium Foundation.
ABOUT AVI STEIN
Avi Stein is the associate organist and chorus-master at Trinity Church Wall Street and the artistic director of the Helicon Foundation. He teaches continuo accompaniment, vocal repertoire and chamber music at the Juilliard School and recently conducted Juilliard’s production of Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas in London and at the Royal Opera House of Versailles. He performed on the 2015 Grammy Award winning recording of Marc-Antoine Charpentier’s La Descente d’Orphée aux Enfers and La Couronne de Fleurs by the Boston Early Music Festival. The New York Times described Avi as “a brilliant organ soloist” in his Carnegie Hall debut, and he was recently featured in Early Music America magazine in an article on the new generation of leaders in the field. He has directed the International Baroque Academy of Musiktheater Bavaria and the young artists’ program at the Carmel Bach Festival, and has conducted a variety of ensembles, including the Opera Français de New York, OperaOmnia, the Amherst Festival opera, and a critically acclaimed annual series called the 4×4 Festival. Avi studied at Indiana University, the Eastman School of Music, the University of Southern California, and was a Fulbright scholar in Toulouse, France.
ABOUT TAFELMUSIK
Tafelmusik is an orchestra, choir, and experience that celebrates beauty through music of the past. Founded over 40 years ago on the pillars of passion, learning, and artistic excellence, Tafelmusik continues to bring new energy to baroque music and beyond. Historically informed performances of 17th- to 19th-century instrumental and choral music share the stage with vibrant, insightful multimedia programs, and bold new music written just for the group. Each piece is played on period instruments, underscored and illuminated by scholarship.
Through dynamic performances, international touring, award-winning recordings, and comprehensive education programs, Tafelmusik invites audiences to engage with beauty and experience the breadth of emotion music can inspire.
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