Last evening I wrote about the Shaw Festival Film Series kicking off this afternoon in Niagara-on-the-Lake. But if you are looking for some live music instead, or perhaps want to do it all, well you can this weekend.
Both the Hamilton Philharmonic and the Niagara Symphony perform this weekend with widely varied programmes with a twist, and both very worth your time and consideration.
First of all, this evening the Hamilton Philharmonic along with Music Director Jamie Sommerville present Tom Allen's Classical Goodtime Variety Show. Needless to say, the special guest artist is Tom Allen, the ever popular CBC Radio 2 host who happens to weave music and words together better than anyone else on the public broadcasting airwaves in this country at the moment.
I miss Tom in the mornings now, but always enjoy his take on music history after lunch most days, even though the back half of the show after about 2:30 usually means I tend to tune out most days. But he is good, and will certainly be a welcome addition to the concert this evening at Hamilton Place.
Along with well-known pieces such as Handel's Water Music and the Overture to Mozart's Don Giovanni, Tom will also host his popular orchestral cage match, where the audience decides whether they want to hear Berlioz' March to the Scaffold from Symphonie Fantastique or the Bacchanale from Saint-Saens' Samson and Delilah.
The concert will also mark the final time Jamie Sommerville will play the French horn with the HPO before his time with the orchestra comes to an end; he will play the much-loved Rondo from Mozart's Horn Concerto No. 1 in D major, by the way.
If you want to go, the concert is tonight at 7:30 at the Great Hall at Hamilton Place, and tickets should still be available through the box office by calling 905-526-7756, or online at www.hpo.org. You can also take a chance in person tonight, but with this concert I am not sure I would be willing to take that chance.
Meantime, our own Niagara Symphony Orchestra kicks off December with their Masterworks 2 concert tomorrow afternoon at 2:30, with a concert entitled simply Reminiscing... Music Director Bradley Thachuk conducts the NSO and welcomes guest soloist Lauren Segal for the concert.
Lauren Segal is one of the new crop of up-and-coming Canadian opera singers to watch for in the future, and you can catch her this weekend performing one of my favourite song-cycles of all time, Mahler's Songs of a Wayfarer. Many singers have recorded this music over the years, from Fischer-Dieskau to another Canadian singer of note, Catherine Robbin, who made a lovely recording of the song-cycle for CBC Records many years ago. That recording is still a treasured part of my personal CD collection.
Also on the programme tomorrow afternoon is John Estacio's Variations on a Memory and Schubert's wonderful Symphony No. 9 in C major, known as the "Great".
This is also the weekend for the annual Niagara Symphony fundraising Silent Auction in the lobby, before the concert and during the extended intermission. You never know what you might find at the Silent Auction, but it is guaranteed to be worth a look. Last year for example, I successfully bid on Power of Attorney and Will preparation for two courtesy of Patrick Little, a Niagara Symphony board member. That to me was a deal of the century, so that's an example of what you can find on the tables in the lobby.
What you won't find in the lobby this weekend is me; because space is tight I am not setting up this weekend, but I plan to be there, so by all means keep an eye out for me if you have any questions on music or looking for something as a holiday gift this season.
For tickets, call the Brock box office at 905-688-5550, ext, 3257, or pick them up at the door before the concert, and prepare to do some Christmas shopping!
See you at the Symphony!
November 30th, 2013.
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