KERRY STRATTON
Conductor and Recording Artist

Matinee Performance was a Real Treat

STRATTON CONDUCTING A BUSY LIFE
“Kerry Stratton…Toronto-based conductor has been spending an increasing amount of time in Central Europe, but his heart-and family-is very much in Toronto.

“He has returned home with a tantalizing musical treat in the form of the Vienna Concert-Verein, a 20-year-old ensemble of the Vienna Symphony Orchestra. Stratton says of his new association with these players: ‘It’s been 43 years in the making, and it was the thrill of my life…’

“Tonight’s Toronto engagement at the George Weston Recital Hall includes hot, 30-something Italian guest pianist Roberto Plano, in a Mozart piano concerto, Schubert’s Symphony No.5 and the Sinfonietta, Op. 48, by Malcolm Arnold.

“This is part of a wider tour of Ontario towns this month under the umbrella of Stratton’s International Touring Productions. The conductor set up this booking company so that music lovers in smaller centres would have access to first-class performances…

“When in these parts, Stratton also conducts the Toronto Philharmonia, which is the resident orchestra at George Weston Hall. And he’s also hard at work building a salon orchestra.

“‘It’s black tie, it’s vermouth. It’s manners and grace,’ says Stratton of the 21-piece band that will play music from the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries. The group, which so far has been playing at private functions only, has seven public concerts lined up for 2007. Stratton says he has had a ball finding old musical scores…

“He calls his detective work ‘panning for nuggets.’ His aim is to have several programs ready, including light European fare, North American music (“Porter, Gershwin, Jerome Kern”), songs by Noel Coward and a tango program as well as Christmas selections…”

John Terauds, The Toronto Star, Thursday, April 6, 2006

"The music expertly played by the Moscow Symphony Orchestra, Kerry Stratton conducting, is a delight throughout." - The Washington Post

"Philharmonia delivers Turkish delight. Abduction from the Seraglio a considerable success." - The Toronto Star

"Full blooded, dynamic, technically well-grasped, convincing and effective." - Korzo Kultura, Slovak Republic

"This charismatic Canadian became an instant hit with his almost swashbuckling approach to conducting." - Abilene Reporter News

"Stratton projected bountiful energy...the performance was solid, triumphant and truly impressive." - Muzikos Barai, Vilnius

"The right combination of baton technique, musical understanding and platform energy." - The Toronto Star

"The festival orchestra responded with precision, concentration, and sensitivity to Maestro Stratton. The whole evening was a great success judging by the thunderous and relentless demand for an encore." - Denik Mosteka, Czech Republic

"Aside from his considerable skill as a conductor, Stratton is a master of concert patter, his comments informative and witty, enriching the total effect of the concert." - Calgary Herald

"A spirited and effective ensemble conducted with exuberance by the widely experienced Kerry Stratton."- The Toronto Star

"Stratton secures an ideal balance of lyricism and clarity from his forces. This new release holds its own with the best of them." - Opus Magazine

"Stratton recently became the first Canadian to conduct at the Hermitage Theatre in the legendary Winter Palace in St. Petersburg. " - The Toronto Sun

"Magistral direccion del extraordinario Kerry Stratton."- El Sol, Mexico

"The performances are all very solid as one might expect not only of the Prague Radio Orchestra but of Stratton." - The Toronto Star

"The combination of a conductor with genuine affection for his undertaking and musicians who respond to him has produced a recording of beauteous and bounteous sound." - Toronto Free Press

"A bold sensual reading, Stratton pulled every ounce of feeling out of every phrase and managed to discover a few extras." - Kitchener Waterloo Record

"Unequivocally...for the 2nd important year in a row: Kerry Stratton and the Toronto Philharmonia's presentation of the Stravinsky "Petrouchka", a challenging work that requires sensitivity and extreme technical expertise; this performance was the equal of any recording available".
- Halton Arts Review, by Danny Gaisin

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