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Dec 18, 2019

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The Toronto Symphony Orchestra Welcomes New Year With Award-Winning Pianist and Emerging Artist Partnership

The Toronto Symphony Orchestra Welcomes New Year With Award-Winning Pianist and Emerging Artist Partnership

Toronto, ON—December 18, 2019—The Toronto Symphony Orchestra (TSO) welcomes the new year with award-winning, chart-topping South Korean pianist Seong-Jin Cho performing Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 4 (Jan 8–11). The concert launches a year-long celebration of Beethoven’s 250th birthday.

When Seong-Jin Cho won the prestigious XVII International Chopin Piano Competition in 2015, his album rocketed to the top of the South Korean popular-music charts (Gaon), displacing K-pop stars and launching an unprecedented interest in classical music in South Korea that was called “Cho Seong-Jin Syndrome”, according to The Washington Post. This performance marks 25-year-old Seong-Jin Cho’s début with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and will be conducted by Interim Artistic Director Sir Andrew Davis.

Mozart’s final composition, Requiem (Jan 15–18), which he never completed, will feature a quartet of vocalists who have been mentored by Canadian soprano and conductor Barbara Hannigan as part of her Equilibrium Young Artists (EQ) mentoring initiative. Ms. Hannigan and Sir Andrew Davis invited talented young Canadian artists to audition for the opportunity to be featured alongside the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir all under the direction of Sir Andrew Davis. For more information, click here.

The TSO also invites audiences to experience three works that signify key moments in the composer’s life in Mozart 40, led by Quebec conductor Bernard Labadie and featuring French classical pianist Jean-Efflam Bavouzet performing the “Jeunehomme” Piano Concerto. The month concludes with the remarkable Aziz Shokhakimov conducting Dvořák & Mendelssohn, including Dvořák’s Cello Concerto performed by TSO Principal Cello Joseph Johnson.

Visit TSO.CA for a full list of upcoming concerts.
Box Office phone: 416 593-1285

See below for more details on the upcoming January performances. Please direct media ticket and other media requests to press@touchwoodpr.com

BEETHOVEN 7 (January 8, 9 & 11)

In his brilliant Seventh Symphony, Beethoven balances music of sublime anguish with cathartic elevation. This work of true greatness anchors an all-Beethoven program, conducted by Sir Andrew Davis and featuring dynamo pianist Seong-Jin Cho.

MOZART REQUIEM (January 15, 16, 17 & 18)

From pure joy to profound sorrow. Sir Andrew Davis leads Mozart’s ebullient Symphony No. 39, among the last to be composed, and the movingly plaintive Requiem, which Mozart would not live to complete. 

The Orchestra will be joined by Jenavieve Moore, Jillian Bonner, Charles Sy, and Trevor Eliot Bowes from Barbara Hannigan’s Equilibrium Young Artists mentoring initiative, as well as the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir.

MOZART 40 (January 22, 23 & 26*)
*George Weston Recital Hall, Meridian Arts Centre

Experience three key stages in Mozart’s life—from the magnificent Symphony No. 40, one of the last he composed, to the youthful “Jeunehomme” Piano Concerto, which he wrote at age 21.

DVOŘÁK & MENDELSSOHN (January 30 & February 1)

Electrifying conductor Aziz Shokhakimov leads Mendelssohn’s atmospheric “Scottish” Symphony. TSO Principal Cello Joseph Johnson performs Dvořák’s elegy for a long-lost love—the impassioned Cello Concerto.

The TSO Season Presenting Sponsor is BMO Financial Group.
The Toronto Symphony Orchestra is generously supported by the Canada Council for the Arts, the Ontario Arts Council, the Ontario Cultural Attractions Fund, and the City of Toronto.

Twitter: @TorontoSymphony
Facebook: facebook.com/torontosymphonyorchestra
YouTube: youtube.com/torontosymphony
Instagram: instagram.com/torontosymphony

About the TSO: One of Canada’s most respected arts organizations, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra (TSO) plays a vital role in the city’s dynamic cultural life. Committed to serving local and national communities through vibrant performances and expansive educational activities, the TSO offers a wide range of programming that resonates with people of all ages and backgrounds. With a notable recording and broadcast history complementing international touring engagements, the TSO is a unique musical ambassador for Canada around the world. 

The TSO continues its long-established history of connecting younger generations with orchestral music. Two core programs include School Concerts, performed for over 40,000 students annually, and the Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra (TSYO), which, in a tuition-free model, offers high-level orchestral training for talented young musicians aged 22 and under. Additionally, the TSO supports the development of next-generation artists through its annual open call for Canadian orchestral scores, and its essential Resident Conductor and Affiliate Composer positions.

Sir Andrew Davis serves as TSO Interim Artistic Director for the 2019/20 season, prior to the arrival of incoming Music Director Gustavo Gimeno in 2020/21. Sir Andrew Davis is well known to Toronto audiences, having a 44-year relationship with the TSO and returning to the TSO stage regularly. 

The TSO was founded in 1922 by a group of Toronto musicians and gave its first performance at the historic Massey Hall. Since 1982, Toronto’s iconic Roy Thomson Hall has been the TSO’s home, drawing patrons from around the world. Soon to celebrate its centenary, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra’s name remains synonymous with musical versatility and growth, and artistic distinction.

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