Max Richter's THE FOUR SEASONS, David Lang's THE WHISPER OPERA and More Set for Soundstreams' 2014-15 Season

A series of four concerts plus a unique opera experience forms the core of Soundstreams' 2014/15 concert series. The events, which include several world premieres, feature collaborations between Canadian composers and performers and their counterparts from the U.K., United States, Russia, Brazil and Argentina. In addition to two concerts held at the beautiful Koerner Hall, Soundstreams will present work at two additional Toronto venues: Trinity-St. Paul's Centre and the new Theatre Centre on Queen Street West.

"We relate to new works because they connect us to the past," says Artistic Director Lawrence Cherney. "This season, Soundstreams breathes new life into old forms, reinventing masterpieces from the Baroque and Renaissance, even flamenco. It's classic Soundstreams: provocative and compelling new works by Canadian and international composers performed by some of the world's greatest interpreters of their music."

The season opens September 30, 2014 with The Seasons at Koerner Hall. The Toronto premiere of British composer Max Richter's avant-garde update of Vivaldi's The Four Seasons, the concert showcases the talents of acclaimed violinist Daniel Hope, who gave the work its premiere performances in London and New York. He is joined by a string orchestra conducted by TSO principal clarinetist Joaquin Valdepeñas. The program will also include a new weather-inspired Canadian commission.

The series continues with Vespers at Trinity-St. Paul's Centre on November 25, 2014. This concert explores and juxtaposes the profound spirituality and period instrumentation of two magnificent choral works: Claudio Monteverdi's Renaissance masterpiece, Vespro della Beata Vergine, and Canadian composer Gilles Tremblay's Les Vêpres de la Vierge. Soprano Shannon Mercer joins Choir 21 and a chamber orchestra conducted by David Fallis.

From February 26 to March 1, 2015, Soundstreams presents the Canadian premiere of The Whisper Opera at the Theatre Centre. The opera, written by Pulitzer Prize-winning American composer David Lang, explores the tension between our private and online selves and features soprano Tony Arnold and New York's International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE). A smash hit in New York and Chicago, this limited run of six performances can be experienced by just 60 people at a time.

Next up is Song for Athene, a celebration of the choral music of Britain's late John Tavener on April 16, 2015 at Trinity-St. Paul's Centre. In addition to his Song for Athene (remembered for its performance at the funeral of Princess Diana) the program features works by Canada's Christos Hatzis and Tavener's late compatriot Jonathan Harvey performed by Choir 21 and the Toronto Children's Chorus.

The season concludes with Encuentros on May 24, 2015 at Koerner Hall, presented in partnership with the Royal Conservatory's 21C Music Festival. Tango, flamenco, bossa nova, fandango and afro-samba are among the Latin styles featured in these musical encounters performed by an all-star line-up including guitar virtuosos Grisha Goryachev and Fabio Zanon, bandoneon player Hector del Curto and Juno-award winning pianist Serouj Kradjian. The concert, which pays tribute to Toronto's hosting of the Pan American games, will also include a world premiere for two guitars by Andrew Staniland.

"It has been an exciting couple of years for Soundstreams. This year we continue to put the best Canadian and international artists on our stages," says Executive Director Chris Lorway. "We are committed to presenting new and innovative programs that illustrate Canada's growing position in the music world."

2014/2015 Subscriptions are available now by calling the Soundstreams office at 416-504-1282 or online at www.soundstreams.ca. Single tickets range from $20-$67.50 and go on sale September 2, 2014. They will be available from the Royal Conservatory Box Office by calling 416-408-0208 or online at www.soundstreams.ca.

2014/2015 CONCERT SERIES

The Seasons

September 30, 2014, at 8:00 pm, Koerner Hall, TELUS Centre

One of the classical repertoire's best-known standards gives birth to a startling new creation: Max Richter's reinvention of Vivaldi's Four Seasons violin concertos. Weaving strands of their musical DNA into his own acoustic and electronic scoring, Richter creates a provocative aural experience that nonetheless remains true to the spirit of its source. Daniel Hope, who gave the work its premiere performances at the Barbican Centre in London and at New York's Le Poisson Rouge, is joined by a virtuoso string orchestra in a program that also includes a new weather-inspired Canadian commission.

Vespers

November 25, 2014, at 8:00 pm, Trinity-St. Paul's Centre

Nearly four centuries separate Claudio Monteverdi's monumental Renaissance masterpiece Vespro della Beata Vergine from Gilles Tremblay's Les Vêpres de la Vierge, commissioned to celebrate the 850th anniversary of France's Notre-Dame de Sylvanès Abbey in 1986. Yet despite the striking juxtaposition of period and instrumentation, these two magnificent choral works-both taking their titles from Vespers, the Catholic Church's sunset prayer service, and both evoking the medieval world-express the same profound spirituality. Soprano Shannon Mercer joins Choir 21 and a chamber orchestra conducted by the Toronto Consort's David Fallis in this transcendent evening of choral music.

The Whisper Opera

February 26 to March 1, 2015, The Theatre Centre

Feb 26 at 8pm, Feb 27 at 7pm & 10pm, Feb 28 at 2pm & 7pm and Mar 1 at 2pm

Using a libretto compiled from search-engine responses to such prompts as "When I think of you, I think of...," Pulitzer Prize-winning composer David Lang explores the tension between our private and online selves in a work that demands the most intimate live performance possible. Reprising their successes at Lincoln Center and Chicago's Museum of Contemporary Art, soprano Tony Arnold and Chicago's International Contemporary Ensemble-hailed by The New York Times as "one of the most adventurous and accomplished groups in new music"-make their Canadian debuts in an opera so quiet, so delicate, that it can be experienced by just 60 people at a time.

Song for Athene

April 16, 2015, at 8:00 pm, Trinity-St. Paul's Centre

Performed at the funeral of Princess Diana, Song for Athene is perhaps the best-known work by one of contemporary music's most popular composers. Britain's John Tavener, who died in November 2013, twice visited Toronto as the guest of Soundstreams, which commissioned and premiered his 2005 Invocations and Last Word. Now, to commemorate his passing, Choir 21 and the Toronto Children's Chorus collaborate in a program of highlights that also includes selections by his late compatriot Jonathan Harvey and Canada's Christos Hatzis-composers with whom Tavener shared his passion for the universal power of spiritual expression through music.

Encuentros

May 24, 2015, at 3:00 pm, Koerner Hall, TELUS Centre

Presented in partnership with the Royal Conservatory's 21C Music Festival

Sultry and sensual, the music of Latin cultures urges countless couples toward dance floors around the world-and continues to exert a potent influence on other genres. Tango, flamenco, bossa nova, fandango, klezmer, afro-samba, and jazz are among the styles featured in an evening of musical "encounters" featuring internationally acclaimed guitar virtuosos Grisha Goryachev and Fabio Zanon. The all-star lineup also includes Argentinian bandoneon player Hector del Curto and Juno Award-winning pianist and composer Serouj Kradjian. Co-produced with the Royal Conservatory as part of its 21C Music Festival, and including the world premiere of a new piece for two guitars by Canadian composer Andrew Staniland, this colourful event also pays tribute to Toronto's hosting of the 2015 Pan American Games.

ABOUT SOUNDSTREAMS: Led by Artistic Director Lawrence Cherney and Executive Director Chris Lorway, Soundstreams is a Toronto-based music presenter that commissions, develops, and showcases the work of contemporary Canadian composers and their international counterparts. These innovative collaborations are performed by the finest artists from Canada and around the world, and are presented in an annual concert series, our monthly Salon 21 series at The Gardiner Museum, in national and international tours, and through a variety of education and outreach activities. To mark our 30th anniversary season in 2012/13, Soundstreams launched SoundMakers, an innovative website and iPad app that invites music lovers to explore Soundstreams' commissioned works, create new works of their own, and share them with the online community.

Over the past three decades, Soundstreams commissions have added more than 150 works to the musical repertoire worldwide, reflecting a diverse variety of genres and cultural traditions. Projects have included festivals and conferences, as well as award-winning operas including Thomson Highway and Melissa Hui's Cree opera Pimooteewin: The Journey, R. Murray Schafer's site-specific opera The Children's Crusade and Brian Current's Airline Icarus.

For more information on Soundstreams, visit www.soundstreams.ca, or visit www.facebook.com/Soundstreams and follow @soundstreams or on Twitter for behind-the-scenes news, special offers, and advance notice of events.

To post a comment, you must register and login.