Nov 26, 2019
For centuries, the sound of the zampogna, special bagpipes played by shepherds, has been a central part of Italian Christmas festivities. You'll hear this fabulous folk instrument in O Come, Shepherds, blending baroque Italian Christmas concertos with the heartfelt Christmas music of Southern Italy, performed by Toronto's own Vesuvius Ensemble with special guest artist, Tommaso Sollazzo on the zampogna.
Feb 7, 2019
By Thomas Georgi, violinist/violist (and sometimes viola d'amorist)
Choosing a new violin/viola/cello/bass is not easy. Even for players with extensive experience, quality of tone, projection, and ease of response are hard to assess with confidence.
Dec 15, 2018
I am particularly interested in the music of the middle to end of the eighteenth century, which is the period that sees the end of what we call the baroque, a flowering of what many refer to as the galant style, and the beginning of the classical era. I have the great good fortune to play a viola that couldn’t be better suited to that repertoire.
Oct 29, 2018
In our upcoming holiday concert, Sound the Trumpet!, David Blackadder makes his Tafelmusik debut, performing music by Fasch, J.S. Bach and more.
B
y David Blackadder
Sep 14, 2018
In our upcoming 2018/19 season opening concert, Mozart 40, Dominic Teresi will be featured as soloist, performing Mozart's Concerto for bassoon in B-flat Major.
Nov 1, 2017
The piano used in our performances of Mozart's Piano by fortepiano virtuoso Kristian Bezuidenhout was made by Thomas and Barbara Wolf in 1997 in The Plains, Virginia, outside Washington, DC. It is modelled on the work of the eighteenth-century Viennese maker Anton Walter, and has a keyboard range of just over five octaves (from FF to g'''). Knee levers are used to raise the dampers, and a hand stop operates the moderator (a piece of cloth that slides into place between the hammers and strings to produce a muted effect). Veneered in curly cherry, the case is primarily of spruce.
Andrew Clark, horn