January 2022 Programming Announced at the TSO: Music to Ring In the New Year

The Toronto Symphony Orchestra rings in the new year with a range of musical experiences from the classical precision of Bach and the romance of Wagner and Mendelssohn, to the jazz stylings of the great "Satchmo"-Louis Armstrong. Contemporary works by the world's best composers, including TSO Spotlight Artist Samy Moussa, and Music Director Gustavo Gimeno makes his return to the podium with Beethoven's Second.

In addition to live, in-person concerts, the TSO also includes two live stream performances in January: Tribute to Louis Armstrong on January 4, and Gimeno Conducts Beethoven on January 28.

All concerts are held in Roy Thomson Hall, 60 Simcoe Street unless otherwise noted.

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Tue, January 4, 8:00pm & TSO Live Stream

Wed, January 5, 2:00pm

Wed, January 5, 8:00pm

Tribute to Louis Armstrong

Byron Stripling, leader, trumpet & vocalist

His voice was unmistakable and his artistry astonishing. In this loving and electrifying hommage to Louis Armstrong, celebrated trumpeter Byron Stripling performs and leads the TSO in many of Satchmo's greatest hits including "What a Wonderful World", "Saint Louis Blues", and "Ain't Misbehavin'".

Tickets & Info:

Tickets start at $41, and are available through TSO.CA, or by contacting TSO Patron Services at 416.598.3375

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Fri, January 7, 7:30pm

Sat, January 8, 8:00pm

Sun, January 9, 3:00pm

Bach's Brandenburg & More

Jonathan Crow, leader & violin

Chelsea Gu, violin (Winner of the Play Along with Jonathan Crow All-Star Award)

Kelly Zimba Lukić, flute

Leonie Wall, flute

Sarah Jeffrey, oboe

Michael Sweeney, bassoon

Andrew McCandless, trumpet

Joseph Johnson, cello

J. S. Bach: Prelude to Suite No. 1 for Unaccompanied Cello, BWV 1007

J. S. Bach: Brandenburg Concerto No. 4, BWV 1049

J. S. Bach: Concerto for Bassoon, Strings and Oboe d'Amore, after BWVs 169, 49, 1053

J. S. Bach: Suite No. 3 for Orchestra, BWV 1068 - Mvt. II ("Air on the G String")

J. S. Bach: Concerto for Two Violins and String Orchestra, BWV 1043 - Mvt. I

J. S. Bach: Brandenburg Concerto No. 2, BWV 1047

The glorious music of J. S. Bach, led by Concertmaster Jonathan Crow and spotlighting the artistry of the TSO's musicians, includes the stunningly inventive Brandenburg Concertos and the ever-calming "Air on the G String". Joining the TSO musicians is nine year-old violinist Chelsea Gu, winner of the Play Along with Jonathan Crow All-Star Award-these concerts also feature the entrancing prelude to Cello Suite No. 1, and a rarely performed concerto for bassoon.

Tickets & Info:

Tickets start at $29, and are available through TSO.CA, or by contacting TSO Patron Services at 416.598.3375

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Wed, January 12, 8:00pm

Thu, January 13, 8:00pm

Sat, January 15, 8:00pm

Moussa, Wagner & Dvořák

Samy Moussa, conductor & 2021/22 Spotlight Artist

Kerson Leong, violin

Wagner: Siegfried Idyll

Samy Moussa: Concerto for Violin and Orchestra "Adrano"

Dvořák: Symphony No. 7

Winner of the 2021 JUNO Award for Classical Composition of the Year, the fiery violin concerto by Canadian 2021/22 Spotlight Artist Samy Moussa was inspired by Sicily's Mount Etna and evokes the ancient fire god said to have lived beneath. This concert marks the composer's TSO conducting début and features wunderkind violinist Kerson Leong. The concert includes Wagner's Siegfried Idyll, a ravishingly beautiful birthday gift to his wife, and Dvořák's rhapsodic Seventh Symphony, the work often regarded as his crowning achievement.

Tickets & Info:

Tickets start at $29, and are available through TSO.CA, or by contacting TSO Patron Services at 416.598.3375

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Wed, January 19, 8:00pm

Thu, January 20, 8:00pm

Sat, January 22, 8:00pm

Mendelssohn's "Reformation"

Maxim Emelyanychev, conductor

Eric Abramovitz, clarinet

Miles Jaques, basset horn

Mendelssohn: Concert Piece No. 2

Anna Clyne: Within Her Arms

Mendelssohn: Symphony No. 5 "Reformation"

Charismatic young Russian conductor Maxim Emelyanychev makes his TSO début in this program which features Mendelssohn's magnificent "Reformation" Symphony. The program also spotlights TSO Principal Clarinet Eric Abramovitz and TSO Clarinet and Bass Clarinet Miles Jaques in the sunny Concert Piece No. 2. Originally written as a memorial, Anna Clyne's Within Her Arms captures a powerful meditation on loss-an elegy for strings that is at once mournful and full of hope.

Tickets & Info:

Tickets start at $29, and are available through TSO.CA, or by contacting TSO Patron Services at 416.598.3375

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Fri, January 28, 7:30pm & TSO Live Stream

Sat, January 29, 8:00pm

Gimeno Conducts Beethoven

Gustavo Gimeno, conductor

Jeffrey Beecher, double bass

Farrenc: Overture No. 1

Missy Mazzoli: Dark with Excessive Bright

Barbara Assiginaak: Innenohr / Biinjii'ii Tawgaang (Inner Ear / Inside Ear) (TSO Co-commission)

Beethoven: Symphony No. 2

Sun, January 30, 3:00pm *at George Weston Recital Hall

Gustavo Gimeno, conductor

Jeffrey Beecher, double bass

Barbara Assiginaak: Innenohr / Biinjii'ii Tawgaang (Inner Ear / Inside Ear) (TSO Co-commission)

Missy Mazzoli: Dark with Excessive Bright

Beethoven: Symphony No. 2

From one of the darkest times of Beethoven's life sprung some of his most life-affirming music-the jovial and fun-loving Symphony No. 2. This symphony proved to be an inspiration for Odawa First Nation composer Barbara Assiginaak, whose Innenohr / Biinjii'ii Tawgaang meditates on the German master's storied love of nature. Missy Mazzoli's evocative Dark with Excessive Bright also draws inspiration from the past, bringing baroque-era techniques into the 21st century through the skillful bow of Principal Double Bass Jeffrey Beecher.

Tickets start at $29, and are available through TSO.CA, or by contacting TSO Patron Services at 416.598.3375

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