Mahani Teave
Mahani Teave performs at Toronto's Koerner Hall on Oct. 1.Supplied
It was not until end of the 20th century that the volcanic Chilean territory of Easter Island in Polynesia received its first piano. So, we can consider pianist Mahani Teave a rare eruption of Western classical music in a place known for its stoic stone monuments. An international tour brings her to Toronto for a program that includes Bach, Chopin, Liszt and Rachmaninov, as well as the Canadian premiere of Alejandro Arevalo’s Suite Rapa Nui, based on the island’s ancient chants. Oct. 1, Koerner Hall, Toronto
Zlatomir Fung
The young American cellist Zlatomir Fung first heard Shostakovich’s Cello Concerto No.1 as a preteen, just when he had decided to attempt a career in music. It was a recording of the piece by Mstislav Rostropovich, who premiered it in 1959 and for whom it was written. “Every time I play this piece I remember the joy that comes with discovering this music for the first time and its amazing power,” Fung said this summer before a performance with the Cleveland Orchestra. Hear one of the most demanding pieces of the cello repertoire from the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra and a wide-eyed phenom of the instrument. Oct. 12, Centennial Concert Hall, Winnipeg
Bill Eddins
With orchestras out of work during the COVID-19 pandemic, the American conductor-pianist Bill Eddins found himself with time on his hands instead of a baton. He opened a microbrewery in St. Paul, Minn. – the MetroNOME Brewery, naturally – with a mind to quench thirsts and raise money for music instruments and instruction. Raise a glass to the music director emeritus of the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, who not only conducts a program but tries out the Winspear Centre’s new harpsichord (named Olga) in a program of double Bach and more. Oct. 12 and 13, Francis Winspear Centre for Music, Edmonton
Noel Wan
This summer the Taiwanese-American harpist Noel Wan won an award in Philadelphia for her plucking abilities. Some weeks later, she posted an Instagram video of a housecat resting comfortably on her arm as she practised. You can imagine which of these things received more attention. But what the kitties don’t know, the harp enthusiasts understand – that Wan is not to be slept on. Oct. 14, Woodlawn United Church, Dartmouth
Christina Petrowska Quilico
Last week the pianist Christina Petrowska Quilico added the Oskar Morawetz Award for Excellence in Music Performance to a prize portfolio that includes Order of Canada and Order of Ontario memberships and a Royal Society of Canada fellowship. Before her piano top is cluttered with too many trophies, she performs Witold Lutoslawski’s Concerto for Piano and Orchestra in a program titled War and Peace for the Kindred Spirits Orchestra’s season opener. Oct. 21, Flato Markham Theatre, Markham, Ont.
Rachel Fenlon
“Let’s service the music, let’s service the art, and all the other criteria can come second.” An operatic soprano who is also an accomplished pianist, the Berlin-based Canadian Rachel Fenlon has even been known to perform a cycle by George Crumb that involves manipulating the piano’s strings. While she considers that to be performance art, others just see it as an artist passionately following her muse. Oct. 22, Lunenburg Academy of Music Performance, Lunenburg, N.S.