Kindred Spirits Orchestra
Kristian Alexander | Music Director
IN SINISTRIS MANIBUS
Saturday, October 30, 2021 at 8 p.m.
Join the KSO in celebrating the opening concert of the season. Dukas calls the audience to attention with his Fanfare to the "poème dansé” La Péri. Dong Xu performs a rare work for the left hand alone: Piano Concerto No. 4 by Prokofiev. Symphony in Three Movements by Stravinsky paints the composer’s cinematic impression of conflict and battle.
REFLECTIONS
Saturday, December 18, 2021 at 8 p.m.
Tchaikovsky’s poignant Cappriccio Italien is a musical travelogue painting the landscape of the composer’s journey to Rome. Conrad Chow commands the stage with Korngold’s romantic film-score inspired Violin Concerto. Shostakovich’s ultimate Symphony No. 15 embodies a range of musical emotion analogous to the composer and his life.
PASSION AND COLOUR
Saturday, January 29, 2022 at 8 p.m.
Bizet’s Carmen Suite showcases the unforgettable arias from this alluring opera. Pianist Maxim Bernard sheds light on Ravel’s colourful and brightly jazz-influenced Piano Concerto in G major. Hungarian composer Béla Bartók creatively gives all instruments of the orchestra an occasion to shine in his twentieth century tour de force, Concerto for orchestra.
ENIGMA VARIATIONS
Saturday, March 12, 2022 at 8 p.m.
The Suite from Lieutenant Kijé by Prokofiev follows the satirical tale of the nonexistent officer from his birth through his wedding, and his lugubrious death. Chopin’s youthful Piano Concerto No. 2 reflects the dreamy melancholy of his mature style. The Enigma Variations is Elgar’s cleverly crafted composition of a theme and fourteen variations.
PULCINELLA
Saturday, April 2, 2022 at 8 p.m.
In collaboration with ballet impresario Diaghilev, Stravinsky rediscovers the past in his neo-classical Pulcinella Suite based on the centuries-old commedia dell’arte character. In Kammermusik No.2, Op. 36, No.1, Hindemith revives the keyboard style of J.S. Bach in a colourful state-of-the-art work for piano and twelve instruments.
HANDEL'S MESSIAH
Saturday, April 30, 2022 at 8 p.m.
The immortal oratorio Messiah by Handel, an extraordinary story of passion and glory, performed with a stellar cast under the direction of Maestro Kristian Alexander.
LOVE AND TURMOIL
Saturday, May 21, 2022 at 8 p.m.
Inspired by Raphael, Hindemith paints his own musical picture of the myth of Amor and Psyché. Internationally renowned award-winning pianist Ludmil Angelov takes centre stage with Rachmaninoff's colourful and jazz-flavoured Piano Concerto No. 4. Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 6 is a tragically ominous reflection of society and the composer’s own inner turmoil.
METAMORPHOSES
Friday, June 24, 2022 at 8 p.m.
Often described as the composer’s masterpiece, the Symphonic Variations by Franck is an improvisational-like work of thematic metamorphosis. Shostakovich’s Piano Concerto no. 2 was dedicated and first performed by his son on his nineteenth birthday. The idea of fate continues to haunt Tchaikovsky in his dark and brooding Symphony no. 5.
FATE AND TRANSFORMATION
Saturday, June 25, 2022 at 8 p.m.
Maestro Ming leads the KSO in an evening of exhilarating music at the CBC Glenn Gould Studio. The Symphonic Variations by Franck is a dramatic work for solo piano and orchestra. Shostakovich’s Piano Concerto no. 2 is a joyful work filled with youthful vitality while the idea of fate continues to haunt Tchaikovsky in his dark and brooding Symphony no. 5.
CANADA DAY CELEBRATION
Friday, July 1, 2022 at 8 p.m.
Celebrate the birth of our glorious nation with an unforgettable concert under the stars. The Kindred Spirits Orchestra presents musical favourites from the classics to Broadway and beyond under the direction of Michael Berec.
