2019 | 20 Season
Subscription Series
Beauty, Fate and Variations
Opening Night Gala and Silent Auction
Saturday, October 19, 2019 at 8:00 p.m.
Flato Markham Theatre for the Performing Arts
Join Maestro Kristian Alexander while he leads the Kindred Spirits Orchestra in celebrating the first concert of the season. A masterpiece of rhythmic, harmonic and melodic variety, the tune of Brahms’ Variations on a Theme by Haydn is now acknowledged not to be written by the great composer it was once attributed. Once mythicized as unplayable, acclaimed violinist Leslie Ashworth joins the orchestra in a stellar performance of 20th century American composer Samuel Barber’s Violin Concerto. The theme of fate rings deep in the Symphony No. 4 by Tchaikovsky, a work written during personal turmoil and misguided marriage.
Kristian Alexander | conductor
Leslie Ashworth | violinist
Jürgen Petrenko | host
7:00 p.m.
Silent auction begins in the foyer of Markham Theatre and closes at 9:30 pm
7:10 p.m.
Prélude (pre-concert recital)
7:20 p.m.
Pre-concert talk
Intermission discussion with Michael Berec and Leslie Ashworth
Post-concert live jazz with complimentary glass of Champagne
Silent auction begins in the foyer of Markham Theatre and closes at 9:30 pm
7:10 p.m.
Prélude (pre-concert recital)
7:20 p.m.
Pre-concert talk
Intermission discussion with Michael Berec and Leslie Ashworth
Post-concert live jazz with complimentary glass of Champagne
Brahms, Variations on a theme by Haydn, Op. 56a
Barber, Concerto for violin and orchestra
Tchaikovsky, Symphony No. 4, Op. 36
Barber, Concerto for violin and orchestra
Tchaikovsky, Symphony No. 4, Op. 36
Redemption
Saturday, December 14, 2019 at 8:00 p.m.
Flato Markham Theatre for the Performing Arts
Inspired by poetry, Ralph Vaughan Williams’ The Lark Ascending is a velvety portrait of English countryside and melodies of bygone days. Piano prodigy Leonid Nediak takes centre stage with the colourful and jazz-flavoured Piano Concerto No. 4 by Rachmaninoff. Written in tandem to Diaghilev’s Biblical ballet The Prodigal Son, Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 4 evokes the scriptural tones of sin and redemption.
Kristian Alexander | conductor
Leonid Nediak | pianist
Ellie Sievers | violinist
Michael Berec | host
7:10 p.m.
Prélude (pre-concert recital)
7:20 p.m.
Pre-concert talk
Intermission discussion with Michael Berec and Leonid Nediak
Post-concert live jazz with complimentary glass of Champagne
Prélude (pre-concert recital)
7:20 p.m.
Pre-concert talk
Intermission discussion with Michael Berec and Leonid Nediak
Post-concert live jazz with complimentary glass of Champagne
R.V. Williams, The Lark ascending
Rachmaninoff, Concerto for piano and orchestre No. 4, Op. 40
Prokofiev, Symphony No. 4, Op. 47/112
Rachmaninoff, Concerto for piano and orchestre No. 4, Op. 40
Prokofiev, Symphony No. 4, Op. 47/112
Rachmaninoff’s Third
Saturday, February 8, 2020 at 8:00 p.m.
Flato Markham Theatre for the Performing Arts
Although not penned for specific persons or those of the past, Bruch’s In Memoriam is a one-movement heartfelt lament for solo violin and orchestra. Ukraino-Canadian pianist Dmitri Levkovich masterfully interprets Bartók’s Piano Concert No. 3: a piece written during the final few months of the composer’s life as a birthday gift for his wife. After a seventeen-year compositional drought, Rachmaninoff’s final Symphony No. 3 harkens lush tones of the past Romantic era.
Kristian Alexander | conductor
Dmitri Levkovich | pianist
Nakwon Choi | violonist
Michael Berec | host
7:10 p.m.
Prélude (pre-concert recital)
7:20 p.m.
Pre-concert talk
Intermission discussion with Michael Berec and Dmitri Levkovich
Post-concert live jazz with complimentary glass of Champagne
Prélude (pre-concert recital)
7:20 p.m.
Pre-concert talk
Intermission discussion with Michael Berec and Dmitri Levkovich
Post-concert live jazz with complimentary glass of Champagne
Bruch, In Memoriam, Op. 65
Bartók, Concerto for piano and orchestra No. 3
Rachmaninoff, Symphony No. 3, Op. 44
Bartók, Concerto for piano and orchestra No. 3
Rachmaninoff, Symphony No. 3, Op. 44
The Muse And The Poet
CONCERT CANCELLED
Friday, March 20, 2020 at 8:00 p.m.
Richmond Hill Centre for the Performing Arts
Described by the composer himself as “a conversation between two instruments instead of a debate between two virtuosos,” Saint-Saëns’ elegiac late masterpiece La Muse et le Poète is an impassioned and imaginative dialogue for solo violin, cello and orchestra. Internationally renowned Canadian pianist Maxim Bernard sheds light on Ravel’s colourful and brightly jazz-influenced Concerto for piano and orchestra 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.
Kristian Alexander | conductor
Maxim Bernard | pianist
Alexander Gangurean | violinist
Hee Yeon Kim | cellist
Michael Berec | host
7:10 p.m.
Prélude (pre-concert recital)
7:20 p.m.
Pre-concert talk in the foyer of Richmond Hill Centre
Intermission discussion with Michael Berec and Maxim Bernard
Prélude (pre-concert recital)
7:20 p.m.
Pre-concert talk in the foyer of Richmond Hill Centre
Intermission discussion with Michael Berec and Maxim Bernard
Saint-Saëns, La muse et le poète, for violin, cello, and orchestra
Ravel, Concerto for piano and orchestra in G major
Bartók, Concerto for orchestra
Ravel, Concerto for piano and orchestra in G major
Bartók, Concerto for orchestra
Concerto For Orchestra
(Tchaikovsky, Prokofiev, Shostakovich)
CONCERT CANCELLED
Friday, May 8, 2020 at 8:00 p.m.
Richmond Hill Centre for the Performing Arts
Described by the composer himself as “a conversation between two instruments instead of a debate between two virtuosos,” Saint-Saëns’ elegiac late masterpiece La Muse et le Poète is an impassioned and imaginative dialogue for solo violin, cello and orchestra. Pianist Dong Xu returns to the limelight to perform a stunning rare work for the left hand alone: Piano Concerto No. 4 by Sergei Prokofiev. 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.
Kristian Alexander | conductor
Dong Xu | pianist
Nakwon Choi | violinist
Hee Yeon Kim | cellist
Michael Berec | host
7:10 p.m.
Prélude (pre-concert recital)
7:20 p.m.
Pre-concert talk in the foyer of Richmond Hill Centre
Intermission discussion with Michael Berec and Dong Xu
Prélude (pre-concert recital)
7:20 p.m.
Pre-concert talk in the foyer of Richmond Hill Centre
Intermission discussion with Michael Berec and Dong Xu
Saint-Saëns, La muse et le poète, for violin, cello, and orchestra
Prokofiev, Concerto for piano and orchestra No. 4, Op. 53
Bartók, Concerto for orchestra
Prokofiev, Concerto for piano and orchestra No. 4, Op. 53
Bartók, Concerto for orchestra
Pulcinella
CONCERT POSTPONED
Saturday, June 6, 2020 at 8:00 p.m.
Cornell Recital Hall
3201 Bur Oak Ave., Markham ON L6B 0T2
Markham Contemporary Music Festival
Markham’s 2020 Contemporary Music Festival is pleased to present a modern-day homage to the eighteenth century along with a newly commissioned work. 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. The Kindred Spirits Orchestra commissions composer Werner Chan for an exciting original work for violin and chamber orchestra.
Kristian Alexander | conductor
Sarah Davidson-Gurney | violinist
Michael Berec | host
Stravinsky, Pulcinella Suite
Werner Chan, Concerto for violin and orchestra*
* World première, commissioned by the KSO
Werner Chan, Concerto for violin and orchestra*
* World première, commissioned by the KSO
Metamorphoses
CONCERT POSTPONED
Friday, June 26, 2020 at 8:00 p.m.
Richmond Hill Centre for the Performing Arts
Described by the composer himself as “a conversation between two instruments instead of a debate between two virtuosos,” Saint-Saëns’ elegiac late masterpiece La Muse et le Poète is an impassioned and imaginative dialogue for solo violin, cello and orchestra. Dedicated and first performed by his son on his nineteenth birthday, Shostakovich’s Piano Concerto No. 2 is a joyful work filled with youthful vitality and the romance of the prior century. 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.
Kristian Alexander | music director
Sheng Cai | pianist
Nakwon Choi | violinist
Hee Yeon Kim | cellist
Michael Berec | host
7:10 p.m.
Prélude (pre-concert recital)
7:20 p.m.
Pre-concert talk in the foyer of Richmond Hill Centre
Intermission discussion with Michael Berec and Sheng Cai
Prélude (pre-concert recital)
7:20 p.m.
Pre-concert talk in the foyer of Richmond Hill Centre
Intermission discussion with Michael Berec and Sheng Cai
Saint-Saëns, La muse et le poète, for violin, cello, and orchestra
Shostakovich, Concerto for piano and orchestra No. 2
Bartók, Concerto for orchestra
Shostakovich, Concerto for piano and orchestra No. 2
Bartók, Concerto for orchestra
Tchaikovsky’s Fifth
CONCERT CANCELLED
Saturday, June 27, 2020 at 8:00 p.m.
CBC Glenn Gould Studio
250 Front St. West., Toronto ON M5V 3G5
Internationally renwoned Maestro Ming Xiao leads the Kindred Spirits Orchestra in an evening of exhilarating music at the Glenn Gould Studio. Often described as the composer’s masterpiece, the Symphonic Variations by César Franck is a dramatic improvisational-like work of thematic metamorphosis for solo piano and orchestra. Dedicated and first performed by his son on his nineteenth birthday, Shostakovich’s Piano Concerto No. 2 is a joyful work filled with youthful vitality and the romance of the prior century. The idea of fate, “a fatal force that prevents our strivings for happiness from succeeding,” continues to haunt Tchaikovsky in his dark and brooding Symphony No. 5.
Ming Xiao | conductor
Sheng Cai | pianist
Michael Berec | host
7:10 p.m.
Prélude (pre-concert recital)
7:20 p.m.
Pre-concert talk in the foyer
Intermission discussion with Michael Berec and Sheng Cai
Prélude (pre-concert recital)
7:20 p.m.
Pre-concert talk in the foyer
Intermission discussion with Michael Berec and Sheng Cai
Franck, Symphonic Variations
Shostakovich, Concerto for piano and orchestra No. 2
Tchaikovsky, Symphony No. 5, Op. 64
Shostakovich, Concerto for piano and orchestra No. 2
Tchaikovsky, Symphony No. 5, Op. 64
Special Concerts and Events
Chinese New Year Celebration
Saturday, January 25, 2020
Markham Civic Centre (TBC)
Enjoy traditional Chinese music and celebrate the year of the Rat.
Unionville Canada Day Celebration
Wednesday, July 1, 2020 at 8:00 p.m.
Unionville Millennium Theatre
Celebrate Canada Day with entertainment by Kindred Spirits Orchestra. Enjoy music from your favourite movies, Broadway and classical pops and prepare for a dazzling display of light, colour, and sound.
Michael Berec | conductor
Strauss, Radetzki Marsch
Brahms, Hungarian Dance
Shostakovich, Waltz no. 2 (from Jazz Suite No. 2)
A.L. Weber, The Phantom of the Opera (selections)
Cl.-M. Schonberg, Miss Saigon
Cl.-M. Schonberg, Les Miserables (selections)
J. Mercer, Moon River (from “Breakfast at Tiffany’s”)
J. Barry, Somewhere in Time
J. de Meij, The Lord of the Rings (excerpts)
J. Williams, Star Wars (excerpts)
Interact with the KSO
Donations
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Phone: 905-604-8339
Email: info@KSOrchestra.ca