Month: September 2014

Concert Review: Happy Ending for TSO Ninth
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Concert Review: Happy Ending for TSO Ninth

Arthur Kaptainis, National Post: This was an energetic finale, vital in rhythm and full of spirit. The 130-plus singers of the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir were scattered democratically in the choir loft rather than partitioned into sections. They made a joyous, united sound. Nor was there any price in clarity in the double fugue. Maybe this unusual configuration has a future.

Mozart and Haydn Program Notes
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Mozart and Haydn Program Notes

After almost thirty years as Kapellmeister to the court of Esterháza, Joseph Haydn was let go in 1790 becoming a very successful freelance composer. The Esterházys awarded him a pension, allowing for a comfortable retirement, and stipulated that Haydn’s one remaining task be to compose and direct a new mass once a year to honour the name-day of Princess Marie Esterházy. The last six masses by Haydn were all for this purpose, the most famous being the so-called “Lord Nelson” Mass.