British pianist Isata Kanneh-Mason will be at Roy Thomson Hall in late March.David Venni/Supplied
British pianist Isata Kanneh-Mason made her solo debut at the BBC Proms in 2023, playing Sergei Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 3 with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales. Chances are you missed it. No worries, she performs the same masterwork with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra at Roy Thomson Hall (March 22, 23 and 24) in a program that also features Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 10.
It’s one of 10 recommended classical, jazz and blues concerts across the country in March that include a Grammy winner’s debut headlining tour, a French orchestra’s long-awaited return to North America and a concert from a blues music legend.
Two Orchestras, One Symphony
Jacques Hétu knew how to say goodbye. His final work, Symphony No. 5, was premiered by the Toronto Symphony Orchestra at Roy Thomson Hall three weeks after the Quebec composer died on Feb. 9, 2010. A large-scale symphonic hymn to liberty with a choral finale will again be performed at that venue, this time with the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir and two orchestras (the National Arts Centre Orchestra and the Quebec Symphony Orchestra) conducted by Alexander Shelley. March 2, Toronto; March 7-8, Ottawa’s Southam Hall.
Zombie Blizzard
“Measha Brueggergosman-Lee can sing pretty well anything,” composer/pianist Aaron Davis told The Globe and Mail recently. As if to prove the point, he collaborated with the star opera soprano and concert recitalist on Zombie Blizzard, an elegantly unusual collection of concert arias based on poems from Margaret Atwood’s edgy 2020 poetry collection, Dearly. The jazzy album gets its live premiere Sunday. March 3, Toronto’s Jane Mallett Theatre.
Taj Mahal
The latest album from blues legend Taj Mahal – how many records now, Taj, 50? 60? – was recorded at the Church Studio, in Tulsa, Okla. Because he is something of a musicologist, he almost certainly knew the lore attached to the facility that was home base for the late Leon Russell. The walking encyclopedia of roots music offers history, “natch’l blues” and more. March 9, Toronto’s Koerner Hall; March 10, Ottawa’s Southam Hall.
Jon Batiste
The Oscar-winning and Grammy-accumulating singer-songwriter calls his current run of North American shows the Uneasy Tour. What does the likable superstar have to be uneasy about? At 37, it’s his first headlining tour. The 22-date schedule is in support of his latest album, World Music Radio, a sprawling jazz-soul epic. March 12, Toronto’s Massey Hall; March 13, Montreal’s MTELUS.
Tribute to Oscar Peterson
As a teen, New Jersey native Taurey Butler was given an Oscar Peterson album for inspiration. It did the trick: “I didn’t know a piano could do that,” he later recalled. Butler is based in Peterson’s hometown of Montreal now, and while these days he has a much better idea of what a piano can do, perhaps you do not. Butler gives clues with his celebration of a jazz icon. March 14, Montreal’s Bourgie Hall.
Orchestre de Paris
South Korean phenom Yunchan Lim won over the judges at the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in 2022 with his fearless version of Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3. This month, accompanied by the Orchestre de Paris, he’ll crack his knuckles in advance of the Russian’s popular Piano Concerto No. 2. The program from the illustrious symphony making its much-anticipated return to North America also includes Debussy’s Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun and Stravinsky’s The Firebird. March 19, Montreal’s Place des Arts.
Stephen Hough
The British polymath-pianist Stephen Hough has accomplished many things, including authoring a well-received memoir, Enough: Scenes from Childhood. Although he has composed numerous solo, chamber and choral works, he had never created a piano concerto until recently. Canadian audiences will get their first listen to it with the Calgary Philharmonic. March 23, Calgary’s Jack Singer Concert Hall.
Ema Nikolovska and Charles Richard-Hamelin
The expressive Macedonian-Canadian mezzo-soprano Ema Nikolovska regularly collects awards and hopefully frequent flyer points too. A Canadian tour with pianist Charles Richard-Hamelin takes her around the country for lieder and art songs by Schubert, R. Strauss and Debussy. March 17, Vancouver Playhouse; March 20, Montreal’s Bourgie Hall; March 24, Toronto’s Koerner Hall.
Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra
Here we have the debut of another multimedia extravaganza from Tafelmusik’s favourite storyteller, Alison Mackay. The concert is designed in collaboration with the American bass-baritone and composer Jonathan Woody. Featuring music by Purcell, Handel, Bach and Vivaldi, it is called Staircases. We can assume it will be spiralling. The only question is, how high will it go? March 22, 23 and 24, Toronto’s Trinity-St. Paul’s Centre.