You know a city has an overabundance of music when two Venetian ensembles show up within weeks of each other

If you live in Toronto, love Vivaldi's Four Seasons and have a hankering for things Venetian, this fall must be heaven.

At the opera, a fabulous Death in Venice closed last week. Roy Thomson Hall hosted the Venice Baroque Orchestra a couple of weeks ago. And, tonight, the Royal Conservatory of Music welcomes Interpreti Veneziani, a period-performance powerhouse that concertizes almost non-stop -- at its home base at St. Vitus' Church in Venice and a hectic touring schedule.

This dozen-member group is the perfect size for an up-close-and-personal peek into orchestration while producing enough dynamic oomph to fill a medium-sized concert space.

Vivaldi's Four Seasons is part of a very enticing, virtuosic program:

Antonio Vivaldi: The Four Seasons
Niccolò Paganini: Variazioni di bravura for Cello and Strings
Luigi Boccherini: Fandango for Strings
Pablo de Sarasate: Introduction and Tarantella for Violin and Strings

For full concert and ticket details, click here.

Here they are, performing a bit of Autumn from Vivaldi's Four Seasons, from a CD:

CONSERVATORY BRIMS WITH POSSIBILITIES, INCLUDING PIECZONKA MASTER CLASS TODAY

The Conservatory's musical calendar overflows with riches, starting at midday, when soprano Adrianne Pieczonka arrives at 1 p.m. to give a master class. It's part of a series of free masterclasses by top artists that are open to the public. Next up are: violinist Andrés Cárdenes on Nov. 19; soprano Isabel Bayrakdarian, Nov. 26.; violinist Leila Josefowicz, Dec. 10; and pianist Leon Fleisher (a regular teacher at the Glenn Gould School) the week of Dec. 13.

On Sunday, violinist and new associate dean of the Conservatory's Glenn Gould Professional School Barry Shiffman leads a chamber programme with fellow faculty members at the beautifully intimate Mazzoleni Hall. Details here.

Salon des oubliés: Ottorino Respighi is worth far more than a stroll past the Pines of Rome

People know and love the symphonic Roman Trilogy of Ottorino Respighi (1879-1936) -- Fountains of Rome, Pines of Rome and Roman Festivals -- but there is far, far more to this Italian composer who spent the bulk of his life teaching in the Italian capital.

Like many resolutely tonal 20th century composers, he was eclipsed by a Modern aesthetic. Although he was a scholar of early music, and compiled some important editions of Claudio Monteverdi, he wasn't as much backward-looking as interested in bringing together some ancient forms with a more modern sound, using sophisticated musical means. He was an accomplished violinist and pianist, which gave him a practical perspective on the possible and probable, as well.

I thought it might be worth taking a tour of a small sample of his instrumental music, to get a taste of its variety and texture.

I've picked three examples of the composer's early music -- a string quartet he wrote as a teenager, a violin sonata and a piano suite -- and three explorations into more exotic territory in the 1920s. (the You can browse the full catalogue of Respighi's works at his official Website (which is in Italian).

Here is the "Allegro vivace" Finale of his String Quartet No. 1 in D Major, played by the Nuovo Quartetto Italiano:

Here is the slow movement from Respighi's early Violin Sonata, performed by Liviu Prunaru, violin, and Diana Protopopescu:

Here is a fascinating piano outing, a tightly structured Minuet and Canon from a set of 6 parlour pieces. The surface is pleasant, the underlying craft, fascining. They are played by Riccardo Sandiford:

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Here is the opening movement of the Piano Concerto in the Mixolydian Mode. I'm sorry I don't know who is performing:

Here's Concerto a cinque, a late work scored for solo piano, oboe, violin, trumpet, double-bass and strings. This performance features the Capella Istropolitana under Ewald Danel. The pianist is Konstantin Sherbakov:

To close on a Sunday theme, here's something truly symphonic, the two final movements from Church Windows: The Matins of St. Clare, which began life as a piano piece, and the grand St. Gergory the Great, which Respighi constructed on the Gloria from the plainsong Miedieval Missa de angelis. The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra is led by Jesus Lopez-Cobos:

60-year-old New York City violinist launches age-discrimination lawsuit against respected competition

Now here's an interesting little situation: A 60-year-old violinist loses his job with an orchestra and can't find other work, so he enters a competition for young performers that specifies a maximum age of 26, gets rejected for not fitting the age criteria, then files an age-discrimination lawsuit.

Ridiculous? Absolutely. But it is actually happening right now in New York City. The violinist in question is Martin Stoner, ex of the New York City Ballet. His victim is Young Concert Artists Inc., one of the most-respected organizations in North America for helping young musicians find their way in the hypercompetitive classical performance marketplace.

You can read all about it in the New York Post.

Once my knee-jerk outrage at this man's effrontery -- and wanton waste of scarce resources -- cooled down, I thought that he should be channelling his energies into founding an organization called, let's say, Voice of Experience, which would provide an organized forum, resource centre and promotional platform for the accumulated wisdom, experience and insight of veteran artists seeing gainful employment.

Some of the finest recitals I've attended have been by exactly those kinds of people.

In case you have the time and inclination, here are three old-timers -- pianist Wilhelm Kempff, violinist Henryk Szeryng and Ludwig Hölscher -- having a heck of a fine time working through Beeethoven's Op. 1 No. 3 Piano Trio at the Beethoven-Haus in Bonn at least three decades ago.

Note that no young careers were harmed during the making of these videos.

Listen to the fabulous young ensemble of the Paris Opera singing at the Louvre Auditorium

Photo: Opéra national de Paris

So far this fall, chaos has ruled the concert calendar in Paris, as a variety of strikes and demonstrations have closed down venues -- or made them inaccessible -- with little warning. One concert that did make it was Wednesday night's presentation of the Atelier lyrique of the Opéra national de Paris at the Louvre Auditorium.

The dozen-member ensemble of operatic apprentices (plus four répétiteurs) has a season-long lineup of concerts separate from the work of the opera company. For some reason, this concert included a mix of current and past members, including 2007-2009 alumna, Calgary-born mezzo Andrea Hill.

The concert is available for free streaming on medici.tv right now.

Of the current Atelier members, I was particularly taken with Australian-born, Yale School of Music grad, bass-baritone Damien Pass, who sings four of Aaron Copland's arrangements of Old American Songs to perfection. Spanish mezzo Carole Garcia is a real powerhouse (singing songs by Frédéric Mompou).

The two-year Atelier lyrique programme was inaugurated by the previous Paris Opera general director, Gérard Mortier, in 2005. The programme's director is Christian Schirm.

Tonight's concert pick: Vivaldi meets Glass in a four-season string spectacular at Roy Thomson Hall

American violinist Robert McDuffie returns to Roy Thomson Hall tonight to perform Philip Glass's Violin Concerto No. 2, "The American Four Seasons," which he commissioned. Rather than playing with a modern symphony orchestra, McDuffie is performing with the Venice Baroque Orchestra in a programme that also includes Antonio Vivaldi's inextinguishable "Four Seasons" concertos.

It should make for a fantastic evening of music. For all the concert and ticket details, click here.

I heard McDuffie's Canadian premiere of the Glass concerto last December, with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. This was my verdict in the next day's Star:

It's not every day that one gets to hear the live premiere of a major new work by one of the world's most influential composers, 72-year-old American composer Philip Glass.

The first performance of the work - Violin Concerto No. 2, "The American Four Seasons" - was so spectacularly played by the new piece's muse, American violinist Robert McDuffie, at Roy Thomson Hall Wednesday night, that the event turned into one of the most exciting musical evenings of the year.

The Toronto Symphony Orchestra, led by its music director Peter Oundjian, was also in top form, helping McDuffie carve and shape Glass's collection of repeated and layered short musical motifs into an expressive work of art.

McDuffie deserves a medal for his stamina. Glass gives the soloist little respite as he alternates between joining with and separating away from the rest of the all-string orchestra (augmented by a synthesizer keyboard). The four movements vacillate between a dark-undertoned mechanistic frenzy and slow, mesmerizing meditation. Each section is joined together by a violin solo that really gave McDuffie a chance to shine.

Both composer and players showed off their very best work, although one would be hard-pressed to find many allusions to Vivaldi's familiar Four Seasons in the piece.

To give you an idea of the sort of sounds that are waiting for the audience tonight, here is an Arte promotional clip of the Venice Baroque Orchestra playing Vivaldi's "La Tempesta di Mare" violin concerto in E-flat major at the 2010 Schwetzingen festival, followed by a promotional clip made last spring by the London Philharmonic Orchestra and conductor Marin Alsop for a performance of Glass's concerto:

Career-boosting Young Concert Artists organization is celebrating its 50th anniversary

Canadian violinist Scott St. John and the St. Lawrence String Quartet have more than each other in common: they are also alumni -- from different years -- of the annual Young Concert Artists Inc. competition.

The New York City-based organization, which is dedicated to giving promising young talents a practical career boost, is celebrating its 50th anniversary as it prepares for its next round of competitors,arriving in just over a week.

Guelph-based freelancer writer Marcia Adair wrote an excellent feature on Young Concert Artists for today's Los Angeles Times. It's an inspirational read.

Here is a promotional trailer the organization prepared for its anniversary:

On TV tonight: Why Canada Council Instrument Bank competition is like no other

Cellist Denis Brott puts everything in perspective about halfway through the film, when he says: "A great instrument is when the limitations are always yours." That is what makes Old Master violins and cellos so valuable musically, and why so many string players dream of getting one in their hands.

Last year, Montrealer Ari Cohen followed a pan-Canadian competition for young, talented string players that awards the use, for three years, of one of 14 stringed instruments from the Canada Council's Instrument Bank.

We meet many of the competitors and several past winners, and discover what a close relationship these people have with their instruments. We find out how the enterprising Brott hooked up with William Taylor, a prominent business CEO, to raise some money for this project three decades ago. We also see how this competition is not just about musicality, but having a serious career plan.

The Instrument Bank competition is about the total artist and, satisfyingly, Cohen also manages to connect the viewer with the total person. It's a fine way to spend some time in front of the TV this evening -- on Bravo! at 8 p.m. (Eastern), with a repeat broadcast on Oct. 30 at 7 p.m.

Here's the official trailer:

 

A rare chance tonight to hear veteran violinist and teacher Miriam Fried in a live Toronto recital

As part of her teaching residency this term at University of Toronto's Faculty of Music, Romanian-born violinist Miriam Fried (member of the Mendelssohn String Quartet) is giving a recital this evening at Walter Hall. She is one of those rare musicians who is just as inspirational as a no-bull teacher as she is on stage as a performer. Fried has a magnetic personality, both as a person and as a musician, which should make for a great musical outing. 

The 7:30 p.m. programme is juicy, including Beethoven's "Kreutzer" Sonata and Bartok's Sonata No. 1. Her accompanist is Dina Vainshtein (tickets are $25 & $35 at 416-978-3744).

In case you need an introduction, here are three clips. The first two are of Fried with her husband, Paul Bliss (on viola) and violinist Hye-Ji Kim, performing Dvorak's Terzetto (once you get past the slightly wonky sound, it's a wonderful performance) at the Festival de Música de Santa Caterina in Brazil last January, followed by some thoughts on teaching:

National Ballet Orchestra names Toronto's Benjamin Bowman as new concertmaster

Photo: Sian Richards, National Ballet of Canada

Benjamin Bowman, one of the busiest, most accomplished and versatile violinists in town, just got busier. The National Ballet Orchestra announced today that he is its new concertmaster.

Besides a heavy freelance calendar, Bowman is the associate concertmaster with the Canadian Opera Company Orchestra. Because the two companies share the same orchestra pit, the only overlap would be during periods when one company's orchestra is rehearsing, while the other is performing at the Four Seasons Centre.

One of the brightest stars of 20th century bel canto opera, Joan Sutherland dies aged 83

Although she retired more than two decades ago, soprano Joan Sutherland has remained the gold standard for interpreting the great roles of bel canto opera. News has come that she has died in her Swiss home, aged 83.

Toronto opera fans of a certain age also had a chance to hear the great Austalian-born singer perform in several Canadian Opera Company productions while Lotfi Mansouri was its general manager. Mansouri would direct her productions, while Sutherland's husband, Richard Bonynge, conducted. Her Toronto stage appearances included Donizetti's Anna Bolena in 1984, Thomas' Hamlet in 1985 and Cilea's Adreana Lecouvreur in 1987.

For more on Sutherland, check out The Australian.

I can't think of anything better to mark her passing than hearing her sing "Casta Diva," from Bellini's Norma, accompanied by Bonynge at the piano in 1982: