2009 Midweek Classics

2009 Midweek Classics

A sanctuary of beloved music from the heart of the baroque and classical repertoire, a refuge in the midst of your busy week, authentic performances in the grand tradition.

All performances at 7:30 pm.

  • October 14, 2009, 7:30 pm
  • Inspirations
  • The ESO strings shimmer in Bach's entrancing concerto. Mozart's symphony was dedicated to a city that always welcomed his music, and was dear to his heart. Toronto's Stewart Goodyear performs a virtuoso concerto by Johann Nepomuk Hummel, a composer much admired by Haydn, Schubert and Beethoven, and one of the most celebrated pianists of the early 19th century.
  • January 27, 2010, 7:30 pm
  • Schubert's Unfinished Symphony
  • Montreal conductor Jean-Marie Zeitouni always breathes new life into baroque and classical music, and has fashioned an exhilarating and inspiring program that includes incidental music from Rameau's opera Les Paladins and Schubert's celebrated "Unfinished" Symphony. Vancouver soprano Simone Osborne is featured in Mozart's celebratory motet "Exsultate, jubilate" ("Rejoice, be glad"), and in Bach's beloved cantata "Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen" ("Praise God in All Lands"), a work which also features our Principal Trumpet, Robin Doyon.
  • March 17, 2010, 7:30 pm
  • Mozart's Oboe Concerto
  • Our Resident Conductor Lucas Waldin conducts Weber's groundbreaking overture to Der Freischütz, and Mozart's Masonic Funeral Music, a mature work written for a friend and fellow Mason. Our Principal Oboe Lidia Khaner performs Mozart's elegant Oboe Concerto. Tchaikovsky adapted Mozart's music for his engaging "Mozartiana" Suite, and Vivaldi's variations on a popular Spanish tune were inspired by the great Italian composer Corelli.
  • May 26, 2010, 7:30 pm
  • Echoes from the Baroque
  • Edmonton's Jeremy Spurgeon performs a dramatic baroque concerto on the Davis Concert Organ. Bach's orchestral suite gave the German master a chance to compose a series of charming and inventive dance movements. Mozart paid homage to Handel by arranging his works for more colourful and substantial orchestral forces. Poulenc based his suite on music by the 16th century composer Claude Gervais. Bizet's masterful Symphony in C, written at the age of 17 and then lost for 78 years, provides a wealth of sublime orchestral sonorities and melodies.