Tafelmusik at the McMichael
June 30, 2023
Patricia Ahern, violin
Patrick G. Jordan, viola
Michael Unterman, violoncello
Program
Giovanni Battista Noferi
String Trio In E-Flat Major, Op. 15, No. 3
Allegro – Largo – Allegro non troppo
Joseph Bologne
Andante (transcribed by P. Jordan)
Luigi Boccherini
String Trio in E Major, op. 14, no. 3
Largo – Allegro smorfioso
Felice Giardini
Rondo, from String Trio in A Major, op. 17, no. 3
INTERMISSION
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Divertimento in E-flat Major, K.563
Allegro – Adagio – Menuetto allegretto
Hyacinthe Jadin
Adagio, from String Trio op. 2, no. 3
Franz Schubert
Allegro, from String Trio in B-flat Major, D.471
Program Notes
The history of the arts is liberally laced with the tales of practitioners whose lives and careers were cut unnaturally short. For today’s concert, we take inspiration from the words of Ian A.C. Dejardin, Executive Director of the McMichael, who describes Tom Thomson, Canada’s pre-eminent modern painter thus: “…because the career is so brief—really less than four years—it is less of an arc and more of an explosion.”
Our program includes works by three composers who shared with Thomson the fate of short but explosive working careers: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1792), Hyacinthe Jadin (1776–1800), and Franz Schubert (1797–1828). The balance of the program is drawn from four stars of the late 18th century whose lights burned more steadily, but brightly just the same: Luigi Boccherini, Felice Giardini, Giovanni Battista Noferi, and Joseph Bologne, Le Chevalier de Saint-Georges.
About Tafelmusik
Tafelmusik is one of the world’s leading period-instrument ensembles, performing on instruments and in styles appropriate for the era of the music. Renowned for dynamic, engaging, and soulful performances, Tafelmusik performs for audiences across Toronto and digital audiences around the world, and is Canada’s most toured orchestra, having performed in more than 350 cities in 32 countries. The critically acclaimed Tafelmusik Chamber Choir, and its director Ivars Taurins, often share the stage with the orchestra. Tafelmusik’s recordings on the Sony, CBC Records, Analekta, and Tafelmusik Media labels have garnered ten JUNOs and numerous international recording prizes.
About the McMichael Canadian Art Collection
The McMichael is the only museum in Canada devoted exclusively to Canadian art. Our expansive collection of works by the Group of Seven and their contemporaries forms the core of our holdings, enhanced by our extensive collection of works by First Nations, Métis, Inuit, and contemporary artists. The gallery is surrounded by a network of outdoor trails, a sculpture garden and forty hectares of conservation land with breathtaking views of the Humber Valley. Our mission is to develop insightful and accessible exhibitions that explore Canada’s artistic past while also breaking new trail on the art of our time.
Julia Wedman
Violin
Violinist Julia Wedman (juliawedman.com) grew up in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. After studies at UWO, Indiana University, and the University of Toronto, she joined the Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra in 2005 and quickly developed a reputation for her solo performances with the group. In addition to being featured regularly on the group’s home series in Toronto, Julia has performed solos on tours in Canada, the US, Germany, France, Mexico, Puerto Rico, China, Korea, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand. She was a long-time member of I FURIOSI and is currently in the Eybler String Quartet, who are on faculty at the groundbreaking EQ: Evolution Quartet program at the Banff Centre for the Arts. Julia recently joined 2022 Juno award-winning L’Harmonie des Saisons (Montréal), and will be featured on their upcoming CD of Bach concerti. Her highly acclaimed CD of Heinrich Biber’s Mystery Sonatas is available online.
Patrick G. Jordan
Viola
Patrick G. Jordan was lucky enough to grow up in Lubbock, Texas when Susan Schoenfeld taught viola there. She ignited his passion for the instrument and gave him a life-long addiction to playing chamber music. Saying “What you need to learn next, you won’t learn in Texas!” Susan packed him off to Boston. After earning degrees at the New England Conservatory and the Longy School (during which time he also developed a somewhat suspect interest in little-known composers), he played pretty much anything that came along until his journeyman’s training came to an abrupt and extremely fortuitous end in 1993 when he began playing, touring, and recording regularly with Tafelmusik.
Both his chamber music addiction and fixation with obscure music are currently fed by the Eybler Quartet, which has released seven CDs, including world premieres of Joseph Leopold Edler von Eybler, Johann Baptist Vanhal, Johann Georg Heinrich Backofen, and Franz Asplmayr as well as better known works such as Joseph Haydn’s op. 33, Mozart’s basset clarinet quintet, and Beethoven’s op. 18 quartets. Richard Bratby of Gramophone wrote of the Beethoven, “The Trio of Op 18 No 1’s Scherzo is just straight-up hilarious. This set might infuriate you or it might delight you: either way, I suspect, Beethoven would have been more than happy.” The Eyblers are one of three quartets on the faculty of the Banff Centre’s summer program Evolution:Quartet.
When not busy with the viola, digging through music that nobody has thought about for 200 years, or teaching at either the Glenn Gould School or the University of Toronto, Patrick is an enthusiastic gardener, cook, and student of the culture of food. The Toronto Blue Jays also demand a fair amount of his attention.
Michael Unterman
Violoncello
Michael Unterman enjoys a busy career as a chamber musician, orchestral cellist, and concert producer. He is a core member of the self-directed string orchestra A Far Cry, serves as principal cellist of Boston Baroque, and is the Artistic Director of Five Boroughs Music Festival, a chamber music series in New York City. As a frequent curator of concert programs, his projects have been praised as “just the kind of imaginative artistic agenda that more groups should be prodded to try” (Boston Globe) and “gorgeous and remarkably unified” (Washington Post). Michael has also performed recently with Ensemble Caprice, the Knights, Portland Baroque Orchestra, Ruckus, and the Thirteen. A Vancouverite who has spent the better part of 20 years based in the Northeast US, he is particularly excited to be spending more time north of the border with Tafelmusik!
Thank You to our Generous Donors
Tafelmusik is deeply grateful to our generous donors who have continued to support us through this challenging time. Your support has inspired us to remain strong and to deliver joy to our community through our music, and will enable us to persevere until we can once again perform live for you, our cherished patrons. Thank you for believing in Tafelmusik and in the power and beauty of music.
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Thank you to our government sponsors
