Yannick Nézet-Séguin leads Philadelphia Orchestra’s three-city visit to Canada

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As Yannick Nézet-Séguin racks up one accomplishment after another, one wonders what the superstar Canadian maestro will do for an encore. Or, in the case of a series of coming Canadian concerts, if he will even give an encore at all.

This month, Nézet-Séguin leads his Philadelphia Orchestra on a tour that includes stops in Ottawa, Toronto and his hometown of Montreal. The symphony first visited Canada in 1918 for three performances with the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir at Toronto’s Massey Hall. The second concert in particular was well received: “Brilliancy was not the question,” according to The Globe and Mail.

However, even with the repeated urgings of the attendees, conductor Leopold Stokowski did not bring back his orchestra for an encore that night: “Mr. Stokowski was recalled again and again, but could not accede to the evident desire of the audience for an extra number,” The Globe reported.

There was no mention of BIC lighters – candles? lanterns? – held aloft by fans.

In 1924, the Philadelphia Orchestra returned to Canada for its Montreal debut on a cross-border visit that was to include a stop in Ottawa. That performance was cancelled owing to a blizzard. The orchestra did not return to the country’s capital city until 1945.

For this trip, the orchestra’s first to Canada with Nézet-Séguin, performances are set for Toronto’s Koerner Hall (April 17), Ottawa’s Southam Hall at the National Arts Centre (April 18) and the Montreal Symphony House (April 19). In Montreal, the orchestra will be presented by the Metropolitan Orchestra, which Nézet-Séguin also leads as artistic director and principal conductor.

On the program are Florence Price’s Symphony No. 4 and Rachmaninoff’s Symphony No. 2. Anything additional is up to Nézet-Séguin, who may or may not respond to calls for more.

Spring Concerts

Danish String Quartet: There are good Danes, and there are great Danes. The Copenhagen-based ensemble, which for the Vancouver Recital Society performs the fourth and final instalment of its Doppelgänger project involving Schubert’s string compositions and new works, is distinctly one of the latter. April 14, Vancouver Playhouse, Vancouver

Musicians of the KWSymphony: Last September, Ontario’s Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony filed for bankruptcy after nearly 80 years of symphonic service to the community. The orchestra’s long-term future is in doubt. In the short term, a trio of its former members performs Bach and Beethoven. April 14, St. John’s United Church, Creemore, Ont.

Edmonton Symphony Orchestra: In case the ESO’s performance of Schubert’s “unfinished” Symphony No. 8 leaves an audience wanting more, the program also includes Weber, Barber and Beethoven’s Leonore Overture No. 3. May 2 to 4, Winspear Centre, Edmonton

Joyce El-Khoury and Serouj Kradjian: For the Women’s Musical Club of Toronto, the Lebanese-Canadian soprano sings Bizet, Fauré and Delibes, while throwing in a splash of South American dance music as well. Conventional wisdom says it takes two to tango, which makes the presence of Canadian pianist Serouj Kradjian essential. May 2, Walter Hall, Toronto

Isabella d’Éloize Perron and the FILMharmonic Orchestra: An 11-city North American tour, which includes a stop at Carnegie Hall, presents Vivaldi’s Four Seasons and Piazzolla’s Four Seasons of Buenos Aires, featuring the American-Canadian violinist Isabella d’Éloize Perron. Canadian concerts take place in Trois-Rivières, Toronto, Hamilton, Saint-Jerome, Que., Calgary and Vancouver. April 10 to 28