12 Obiter Dicta
ARTS AND CULTURE
The Toronto Classical Music Scene
Winter 2016
- anthony
choi
Several months ago, I surveyed the Toronto classical music scene for the Fall semester with the hope
of providing some recommendations for both new
enthusiasts and seasoned aficionados of classical
music. These included performances of Beethoven’s
immensely popular Fifth Symphony, RimskyKorsakov’s exotic Scheherazade, and Rachmaninoff’s
Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini. And so, with the
start of a new semester, I thought it would be fitting
to have a corresponding new survey for the months of
February to April.
Toronto Symphony Orchestra
Upon initial review, the winter program for the
Toronto Symphony Orchestra (TSO) is unfortunately
a tad weaker than their fall lineup. Nonetheless, there
are still a few gems scattered about in the schedule. To
begin with, February 20 and 21 will feature a lineup
of ever popular pieces including Mozart’s Overture
to The Magic Flute, Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a
Theme of Paganini (again, but not that I’m complaining), Debussy’s Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune, and
Bizet’s Suite from Carmen. All four of these pieces
have instantly memorable themes ranging across the
spectrum of moods and emotions; from the vigor and
playfulness of Mozart to the dreaminess and sensuousness of Debussy, the fieriness and passion of Bizet,
and the all-in-one package of the Rhapsody. Indeed,
this particular program is perhaps one of the best
of the winter-half of the 2015/16 season in terms of
how well the pieces all complement each other, and
in terms of overall enjoyability and recognizability.
Earl Lee will be conducting instead of Peter Oundjian
(TSO’s music director), however, and is the only possible question mark of the program – I personally
have not heard any performances under his direction, but his resume does attest to someone who is
definitely capable.
The month of February also features a performance of Mendelssohn’s Piano Concert No. 1 on the
25th and 27th as part of a larger program featuring
ê From: thestar.com
Schumann’s Symphony No. 4. While I admittedly
am not a big fan of the latter, Mendelssohn’s work
ranks highly on my list of favorite piano concertos.
The work instantly captures the audience’s attention
as it opens with an orchestral introduction coursing
with energy and power, shortly followed by a virtuosic entry of the pianist. The rest of the first movement
alternates between the impassioned mood set by the
beginning theme, and a tantalizingly delicate atmosphere set by a contrasting lyrical second theme. The
concerto continues the contrast from the largely vigorous first movement with an absolutely gorgeous and
melodious second movement, finally closing off with
playful and equally invigorating third movement.
With its charm, ability to evoke such passion and
emotion, and its glittering passagework, it is therefore not surprising that this piano concerto remains
one of the most popular of its kind in the classical
music repertoire.
Finally, April 9 and 10 feature a lineup including
Wagner’s famous “The Ride of the Valkyries” from
Die Walküre and selections from Mendelssohn’s A
Midsummer Night’s Dream. “Ride of the Valkyries” is
perhaps best known in popular consciousness as the
music that is played during the film Apocalypse Now,
when the helicopters assault a Vietnamese village,
and as the tune Elmer Fudd sings “Kill the Wabbit” to
in Looney Tunes’ What’s Opera, Doc?. A Midsummer
Night’s Dream also comes with its fair share of popular excerpts. For example, the oh-so-famous wedding
march tune that is often played accompanying brides
down the aisle? From A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
Ultimately, another highly recommended program.
Rigged Games
The history, present, and future of gambling and sports
-
michael silver
A recent investigative report alleges widespread
match fixing in high-level professional tennis. These
serious allegations again raise serious concerns relating to sports gambling.
The dangers of sports gambling and its potential to corrupt the competitive process is not new. In
1919, eight members of the Chicago White Sox were
accused of being paid to lose the World Series. They
were charged but never convicted. Instead, they
were banned from baseball. One of these players, Joe
Jackson, was considered one of the best players of his
era, and because of the ban has never been eligible for
the baseball hall of fame.
About sixty years later, another gambling scandal emerged in major league baseball. Pete Rose,
one of the best hitters the league had ever seen, was
revealed to be a gambling addict. While he was playing and managing the Cincinnati Reds, he bet on
baseball games, including games involving the Reds.
He claims that he never bet against the Reds and
there has never been any allegation that he intentionally caused the team to lose any games for gambling
purposes. However, because of the danger of players benefitting financially from manipulating results,
any gambling on the sport is strictly forbidden. Rose
was banned for life from the game and in spite of
recent efforts to allow for his reinstatement, he is still
banned and not eligible for the hall of fame.
It might seem that the danger of players gambling
on sports is reduced in the era of multimillionaire
athletes. Why would an athlete risk their reputation
and future earning potential by allowing themselves
to be compromised by gamblers attempting to manipulate results? Perhaps the reason to continue to fear
this potential is the proliferation of high stakes international gambling. Sports gambling is a multi-billion
dollar industry with a range of participants. Large
corporate entities control large portions of the industry but there remain disreputable and often illegal entities, often with ties to organized crime, with
heavy involvement. If one such disreputable entity
stood to profit on a larger scale than the extent to
which the athletes stand to profit, it is entirely conceivable that that entity could convince an athlete to
manipulate results.
The less an athlete is paid, the more susceptible
they may be; however, even well-compensated athletes may become embroiled in such a scheme if they
fall into debt to disreputable entities.
For several years, investigations have focused on
match fixing in professional soccer. The immense
interest in soccer has resulted in a high availability of
international gambling on events. Low-level matches
from around the world can easily be gambled upon