September 2007 - Nr. 9
Czech Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra Plays Toronto
As Part Of Canadian Debut Tour
Monday, October 15
Metropolitan United Church
56 Queen St. E. in Toronto
North American Debut Of Korean Violinist Ji-Yoon Park
The exquisite and intimate sound of the chamber orchestra of one of Europe’s top 10 symphonies comes to Canada for the first time this fall. Maestro Kerry Stratton conducts the Czech Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra, Monday, October 15, 8 p.m. in the acoustic splendour of the Metropolitan United Church, 56 Queen St. E. in Toronto.
Prize-winning Korean-born violinist Ji-Yoon Park makes her North American debut, performing the Violin Concerto in A by Michael Haydn as featured soloist.
Tickets, $35, $25 seniors/students, are available in advance from the St. Lawrence Centre Box Office, 27 Front Street East (Monday-Saturday, noon-6 p.m.), phone 416 366-7723 or 1-800-708-6754; or visit
www.stlc.com. For more information, call 416-362-1422.Besides the Haydn concerto, the program features two works by famed Czech composers – Sinfonia in F by Jiří Antonín Benda, and Sinfonia in G Minor by Johann Baptist Vanhal – along with the Symphony No. 29 in A, K. 201 by Mozart.
This year marks the 30th anniversary of the Czech Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra. It was formed in 1977 from members of the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra – which 10 European media outlets last year voted as one of the continent’s top 10 orchestras. Members of the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra have also joined the CPCO. The orchestra has toured Europe, Asia and the U.S. to great acclaim, and recorded for companies on three continents, winning a coveted Grand Prix du Disque. Its recordings include Pergolesi’s Concerti Armonici, serenades by Dvorak, Martinu and Janacek; and Mozart’s complete Divertimentos, Serenades and flute concertos.
Critics search for superlatives to describe the ensemble’s "intimate, animated and impeccable," sound. They have raved about its "exquisite artistry and unmistakably Czech sound", "an unbeatable lightness of bowing…lightness of spirit, radiance," and transfixing "sensitivity of the ensemble." A U.S. reviewer commented on "a quality of the heart, one might even say the soul, that binds the group. They aim deeper than the adrenaline-high favored by many performers these days."
Violinist Ji-Yoon Park won first prize at the Concours des Jeunes interprčtes (2001) and at the Concours International Tibor-Varga (2004). She has performed in European capitals and her native Korea. This tour marks her North American debut.
The October 15 concert is part of a Czech Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra tour arranged by Kerry Stratton and International Touring Productions. The orchestra will also perform in Millbrook (Oct. 9); Orillia (Oct. 10); Kingston (Oct. 11), Milton (Oct. 12), Barrie (Oct. 13), and Belleville (Oct. 14). Ms. Park will also appear in each concert.
Maestro Stratton has previously presented Canadian tours for such renowned orchestras as the Georg Solti Orchestra of Budapest and in 2006, the Vienna Concert-Verein. In November 2008, he will bring the 40-piece Orchestra Internazionale d’Italia to Canada.
This past June, Maestro Stratton was summoned to Prague to receive the prestigious Gratias Agit Award, presented to exceptional persons who have made a significant contribution to the promotion of the Czech Republic abroad.
A devotee of Eastern-European music and orchestras, with a particular fondness for Czech music, Maestro Stratton finds "something about the peculiar Czech melancholy which I find distinctly Irish," referring to his own background. Even before his 2007 Award, his service to both Czech and Slovak culture earned him the Jan Masaryk Award in 2000 from the Czechoslovak Association of Canada.
