News

Monday, August 13, at 7:30 p.m., we’re excited to present Korean pianist Minsoo Sohn, for our 2018 season finale. We’re welcoming him back to our stage after too long an absence since his 2013 Victoria debut. Much as he loved us and Victoria, he simply had too many engagements too far afield to return before now!

In preparation for 2020, when he will mark the 250th anniversary of Beethoven’s birth by performing and recording the complete cycle of Beethoven’s piano sonatas, Minsoo has devoted Monday’s program to works by that revolutionary composer.

Andante Favori, WoO 57

Piano Sonata No. 21 in C Major, op. 53, “Waldstein”

Piano Sonata No. 12 in A flat Major, op. 26, “Funeral March”

Piano Sonata No. 23 in F minor, op. 57, “Appassionata”

We found a lovely Soundcloud file of Minsoo playing Bach’s Goldberg Variations on his website. It includes the aria and first 2 variations, as well as Liszt’s etude #5 (La Chasse) of the Paganini Etudesand Liszt’s transcription of Beethoven’s famous Adelaide lied. You can click here to hear him begin with that lovely opening aria of the Goldbergs.

You can also see a Youtube video of Minsoo playing Liszt’s Paganini Etudes on his website, but we thought you might like to sample one right here!

Victoria Summer Music Festival proudly  introduces the award-winning Tesla Quartet to Victoria this coming Wednesday, August 8 as they open the second half of our 2018 concert season.The Tesla Quartet came to the festival’s notice through its outstanding showing at the 2016 Banff International String Quartet Competition, and has since won many accolades and comes to our stage fresh from winning the prestigious John Lad prize, and will soon be releasing its first CD on Orchid Classics.

Want to know more about these talented young musicians?

The Victoria Summer Music Festival is delighted to announce the addition of two free public outreach events to our 2018 summer activities, and we hope you’ll be able to join us for them!

We return to the Robert Bateman Centre  the evening of Monday July 16 from 7:00 – 8:00 pm to present a promising young string quartet in a beautiful setting, along with the opportunity of taking in the centre’s  Eyes of Society: Art, Traditional Knowledge, and the Watchmen of Haida Gwaii, exhibit, a collection of over thirty works of art by ten Haida and non-indigenous artists.

We are again partnering with the Lafayette String Quartet’s Summer program, Quartet Fest West.  and they have selected one of their most promising string quartets to perform for us in that beautiful space.

For our second outreach event, we take you outdoors when the Festive Brass will make a rare mid-summer appearance at the Royal British Columbia Museum’s Newcombe Plaza, also known of as the Food Truck Festival.

Well known individually and as symphonic and jazz ensemble musicians, The Festive Brass:  comprises Stevan Paranosic, Trumpet, Bruce Hurn, Trumpet,, Nick La Riviere, Trombone and Robert Fraser, Bass Trombone.

For almost twenty years, the quartet has been delighting crowds at The Butchart Gardens in Victoria BC Canada during the Christmas season.

Many of our most loyal supporters have expressed a strong desire that we keep sharing our joy of music with a broader audience base and its towards that end that in the past few years were grateful to the Bateman Centre and the Royal BC Museum for partnering with us on this venture.

We’ve heard from several people who are keen to secure their seats, and our box office is now ready for you—with an extra “Early Bird” discount available to reward you for making your summer plans in good time.

There are still some final touches to add to the rest of our website, but we didn’t want to keep you waiting.

Our artistic director, Arthur Rowe, has confirmed the performer roster, and all the repertoire for the 2018 season has been finalized.

We are thrilled to open our series with the James Ehnes Quartet. Due to the tremendous demand for seats when we presented James in recital, we are again booking the Dave Dunnet Community Theatre, in Oak Bay High School, for this concert.

Our usual venue, the Phillip T. Young Recital Hall at the University of Victoria, will be the site for the remainder of our concerts. There, we welcome back festival favourites Joan Blackman, Yariv Aloni, Eugene Osadchy, Arthur Rowe, and Minsoo Sohn.  We’re also thrilled to introduce rising stars violinist Andréa Tyniec and the Tesla Quartet, second-prize winners in the most recent Banff International String Quartet Competition.

All of our concerts take place at 7:30 p.m. and are preceded at 6:40 p.m. by an informal talk by our performers.