The Toronto Symphony season is in full swing and I am pretty excited about this year’s line-up. Renowned pianist Lang Lang will have a two-week residency with the TSO in November. Later this year we welcome famous conductor Itzhak Perlman. Last but not least, cello virtuoso Yo-Yo Ma will be coming in May to sprinkle some of his magical stardust on Toronto. All of this is helping the TSO celebrate it’s 90th anniversary.
Despite being 90 years old, the symphony continues it’s efforts to outreach to the youth of today. It’s got one of the most vibrant youth programs for Classical music in tsoundcheck. Under 35’ers can get tickets for as little as $14. Best of all, you’re not relegated to horrible seats. For this latest performance, I happened to score third row seats that would have made my grey-haired neighbours green with envy.
Last Saturday, TSO Conductor Laureate Sir Andrew Davis took us through a night of Bach music entitled the Best of Baroque. For all my years of attending the symphony, it was the first time I heard Roy Thompson’s impressively majestic pipe organ. From there we moved onto some beautiful Bach concertos, and some interpretations of Bach’s work from a variety of artists, including Sir Andrew Davis himself.
For those who haven’t yet explored the Toronto Symphony, it’s a thoroughly soul-cleansing experience. You get to listen to un-amplified musicians at the top of their game playing in perfect, well, symphony. Plus at $14 a pop, you can’t go wrong.
Under 32? Buy $14 tickets to the symphony here. Rachmaninoff Symphony No. 2 plays on Oct 19-20, which will totally kick ass.