tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-65698858862253902312010-04-16T19:10:53.219-04:00La Scena MusicaleLa Scena Musicale is Canada's most respected classical music, opera, jazz and world music magazine. It is a monthly magazine published in English and French by La Scène musicale/The Music Scene, a non-profit charity dedicated to the promotion of music and the arts.
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The LSM Blog is the place for commentary and news on music and the arts in Canada and around the world.Wah Keung Chanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03275462860819708591noreply@blogger.comBlogger983125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6569885886225390231.post-44906437015441874802010-04-16T19:10:00.001-04:002010-04-16T19:10:53.233-04:00This blog has moved<br /> This blog is now located at http://blog.scena.org/.<br /> You will be automatically redirected in 30 seconds, or you may click <a href='http://blog.scena.org/'>here</a>.<br /><br /> For feed subscribers, please update your feed subscriptions to<br /> http://blog.scena.org/feeds/posts/default.<br /> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6569885886225390231-4490643701544187480?l=www.scena.org%2Fblog' alt='' /></div>Wah Keung Chanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03275462860819708591noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6569885886225390231.post-4840824229684045732010-04-11T23:08:00.000-04:002010-04-11T23:08:49.363-04:00Lortie not Himself in Chopin Recital<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">By L.H. Tiffany Hsieh<br /><br />I was one of the few people who didn’t give Louis Lortie a standing ovation at Koerner Hall this afternoon.<br /><br />I have a deep respect for Lortie, who has long been a favourite pianist of mine, and not because he's Canadian. I have attended many of his concerts and masterclasses and he has never let me down before. Just last March, when he played Ravel’s <i>G major Piano Concerto</i> with Yannick Nézet-Séguin and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, I quietly shed a few tears during the moving adagio.<br /><br />However, Lortie was a very different pianist in an all-Chopin recital today. He struggled with some of the most rudimentary things such as memory lapses, which, as human as he is, just should not happen at his virtuoso level.<br /><br />The program, built around Chopin’s four ballades and key-matching nocturnes (except for the third ballade in A-flat major), flopped from the beginning with the pairing of the <i>G minor Nocturne, Op. 15, No. 3</i> and the <i>G minor Ballade</i>. Playing them as one continuous piece, the ballade’s solemn and weepy opening introduction in octaves felt out of place after Lortie gave the mazurka-like nocturne a groovy, jazzy treatment. Maybe the gentle <i>Op. 37, No. 1 Nocturne</i> in the same key with its choral middle section would have worked better.<br /><br />The coupling of the <i>F major Nocturne, Op. 15, No. 1</i> with the <i>F major Ballade</i> was more successful in character, as was the case between the <i>F minor Nocturne, Op. 55, No. 1</i> and the <i>F minor Ballade</i>. However, instead of the cheerful <i>A-flat major Nocturne, Op. 32, No. 2</i>, Lortie chose the <i>E-flat major Nocturne, Op. 9, No. 2</i> and the <i>C minor Nocturne, Op. 48, No. 1</i> to precede the <i>A-flat major Ballade</i>.<br /><br />The rest of the program was made up with the <i>Berceuse in D-flat major</i>, the <i>F-sharp major Nocturne, Op. 15, No. 2</i> and the <i>Barcarolle</i>, also in F-sharp major.<br /><br />Overall, there was some really nice, warm sound coming from the piano, even though the instrument’s higher register seemed often overpowered by its lower counterpart. However, Lortie’s playing came across choppy most of the time due to erratic use of rubato, his chords were not always dead-on, and his running passages, albeit technically brilliant, were sometimes sloppy in their manner of care. All of this is uncharacteristic of the kind of precision player Lortie is known for.<br /><br />Playing all four Chopin ballades in one concert is a major undertaking for any pianist. Throw in some nocturnes and two of the most popular pieces by the composer and it’s a daunting recital in more ways than one. After an overwhelming standing ovation, and a few shouting bravos, Lortie ended the recital on a good note, playing the<i>D-flat major Nocturne, Op. 27, No. 2</i> to perfection. It was by far the best playing of the afternoon, but it was too little too late.<br /><br />That being said, I still look forward to Lortie’s next recital when the pianist is likely to be more himself.</span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6569885886225390231-484082422968404573?l=www.scena.org%2Fblog' alt='' /></div>Wah Keung Chanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03275462860819708591noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6569885886225390231.post-70688487065522622692010-04-11T21:55:00.012-04:002010-04-13T11:57:01.854-04:00This Week in Toronto (April 12 - 18)<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.scena.org/blog/uploaded_images/file-760922.gif"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://www.scena.org/blog/uploaded_images/file-760919.gif" border="0" alt="" /></a>Jean Sibelius (photo taken around 1889-90) <div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>There was a time when the <b>Toronto Symphony Orchestra</b> featured works by Jean Sibelius with regularity, especially during the tenure of the Finnish conductor Jukka-Pekka Saraste. I recall hearing Sibelius symphonies and other orchestral works like <i>Kullervo, Karelia Suite</i>, and of course the famous <i>Finlandia</i>. If you are a Sibelius fan, the next two week's programs are for you. The TSO under guest conductor <b>Thomas Dausgaard</b> is presenting <i>The Sibelius Festival</i> from April 14 to 22. On the program will be all seven symphonies plus some of his violin works played by Finnish violinist <b>Pekka Kuusisto. </b><i>Symphonies No. 1 and 2</i> will be on April 14 at 8 pm and April 15 at 2 pm at Roy Thomson Hall. Also on the program is <i>Humoresques </i>Nos. 1 & 2 for violin and orchestra. <b> </b>Symphonies No. 3 and 4 will be performed on Saturday April 17 at 7:30 pm, together with C<i>antique and Devotion</i>, as well as <i>Finlandia</i>. The<b> Sibelius Festival Chorus</b> and the <b>Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra </b>will be performing the Finlandia alongside the TSO. This is a "Casual Concert" so there will be a live band after the show in the lobby. I have attended some of these in the past and they are fun, although the change of musical styles took some getting used to. <i>Symphony 5, 6 and 7 </i>will be performed Wednesday and Thursday of next week (April 21 and 22). On April 16 at 7:30 pm, at the George Weston Recital Hall, the <b>Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra</b> under French Canadian conductor <b>Alain Trudel</b> will be offering a mixed program that includes The Haydn <i>"London" Symphony</i>, Sibelius' <i>Finlandia</i>, Tchaikovsky <i>violin concerto</i>, and Britten's <i>The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra Op. 34. <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; ">For more information and tickets, go to <a href="http://www.tso.ca/Concerts-And-Tickets/Sibelius-Festival.aspx">http://www.tso.ca/Concerts-And-Tickets/Sibelius-Festival.aspx</a></span></i></div><div><br /></div><div>The <b>Toronto Philharmonia</b> presents Swiss pianist <b>Teo Gheorghiu</b> in Rachmaninoff <i>Piano Concerto No. 2.</i> Also on the program is Brahms <i>Symphony No. 1</i> conducted by Kerry Stratton. This concert takes place at the acoustically friendly George Weston Hall, on April 15 8 pm. For more information, go to <a href="http://www.torontophil.on.ca/">http://www.torontophil.on.ca/</a> </div><div><br /></div><div>On the vocal front, there are several interesting concerts this week. The presentation by <b>Native Earth and An Indie(n) Rights Reserve</b> of <i>Giiwedin</i> continues on April 13 and April 15 at the Theatre Passe Muraille. I attended opening night last Thursday, and I was impressed by this piece co-composed by <b>Spy Denomme-Welch </b>and <b>Catherine Magown</b>. With rather basic sets and a very limited orchestra, they managed to put together a work remarkable for its emotional power and eloquence. I found myself moved by it at the end of the evening. The music is evocative of many styles and totally accessible, in fact with plenty of melodies. Kudos go to conductor <b>Gregory Oh</b> who worked wonders with an orchestra of four - violin, cello, archlute and harpsichord! But the greatest accolades go to the committed, passionate and enthusiastic cast, led by First Nations mezzo <b>Marion Newman</b>, who successfully brought to life Noodin-Kwe, the fictional and symbolic 150 year old native woman fighting for her land. Yes, I believe those were real tears on her face at the end of the final scene. Also deserving of mention is bass baritone <b>Jesse Clark</b> as the French Canadian Indian Agent Jean. I would be remiss if I don't mention the excellent quartet of women - <b>Catharin Carew, Nicole Joy-Fraser, Jessica Lloyd</b>, and <b>Neema Bickersteth</b> - who took on multiple roles, some of them animals! <b>Lawrence Cotton</b> was a deliciously over-the-top Dr. Carlton. Unfortunately the tenor <b>James McLennan</b> (The Minister) was ill and only mimed the role, with the voice very capably supplied by <b>Martin Houtman.</b> It was interesting to see the composers going against operatic convention by making the tenor the bad guy! Director <b>Maria Lamont</b> is to be commended for her deft staging of the piece, one that is rather heavy on storyline, especially in the second act. I particularly liked the ingenious ways of her using the columns of light to suggest a forest, and then again in its final destruction. This show runs to April 24 and is well worth attending. </div><div><br /></div><div>On April 15 noon, the <b>Canadian Opera Company</b> Vocal Series at the Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre presents Pergolesi's delightful <i>La Serva Padrona</i>. This short opera is a staple of opera schools and rarely finds its way to the mainstage. The singers are members of the COC Ensemble Studio. Remember to show up 45 minutes early to ensure a seat. Last but not least, Canadian soprano <b>Monica Whicher</b>, who is on the faculty of the Royal Conservatory of Music, gives a recital on Sunday April 18 at 1 pm in Mazzoleni Hall of the RCM. Joining her will be mezzo <b>Frances Pappas</b> and pianist <b>Liz Upchurch</b>. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6569885886225390231-7068848706552262269?l=www.scena.org%2Fblog' alt='' /></div>Joseph Sohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07999267055992363762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6569885886225390231.post-53468146089774586962010-04-08T08:15:00.000-04:002010-04-08T08:15:00.510-04:00Claudio Abbado's Grand Tour with his Mozart Orchestra<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">by Giuseppe Pennisi</span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />Music is the best medicine to cure cancer according to Maestro Claudio Abbado. Doctors removed much of his stomach and he can only eat small amounts at a time.“I found a new life, without a stomach,” he states. “I think differently. My senses are different.” His music-making has also changed: “I hear more lines now; I hear sounds I never heard before.”</span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />Unfortunately, the therapy has weakened him: it’s now a special occasion when Maestro Abbado conducts. At 77, Abbado has mostly turned away from the kind of grand institutions he once led — La Scala, the Vienna State Opera, the Berlin Philharmonic. He pours his energies mainly into a few bursts of concerts, preferably with “his own” orchestra, the Bologna-based Mozart Orchestra. Now on a grand tour, which started in Reggio Emilia in March and continued in Rome (three concerts produced by the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia as a part of the subscription series) and, after a pause in April, the orchestra will proceed to Milan, Ravenna (as opening event for the 2010 Festival), Paris and Ferrara.</span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />Abbado has turned away the distractions of modern conducting, like administration, dealing with unions and constant travel. He plays the music he wants with the musicians he chooses. Altogether he conducts about 30 concerts a season, dividing his time between homes in Bologna and Sardinia, where in the garden at his villa he has put in 9,000 plants. As a payment for his early June Milan La Scala concerts, he asked that the city plant 9,000 trees in the brick-and-mortar town. The Milan City Council is obliging … and following through on the contract.</span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />The Mozart Orchestra was conceived by Carlo Maria Badini (a former La Scala Superintendent) as a special project of the Philharmonic Academy of Bologna, thanks to a decisive contribution from the Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio of Bologna (the Bologna Savings Bank Foundation). The Orchestra, like the OSR (see La Scena in November 2009), is a very rare example of a privately funded symphonic formation in Italy. It has 40 permanent instrumentalists (versus 90 in the OSR); this means that for works requiring larger forces (i.e. those by Mahler, Bruckner, Strauss and Nono), the Mozart Orchestra needs to contract extra-musicians or to join another ensemble–in June in Milan it will join with the Filarmonici della Scala. Maestro Abbado became Artistic Director of the Orchestra, and improved its profile by inviting such internationally-renowned instrumentalists as Giuliano Carmignola, Danusha Waskiewicz, Wolfram Christ, Enrico Bronzi, Mario Brunello, Alois Posch, Jacques Zoon, Alessandro Carbonare and Alessio Allegrini.</span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />The Orchestra is a truly international ensemble with young musicians from all over Europe (Italy, Spain, France, Germany, Austria, Holland, Norway, Finland, Hungary and Russia). It made its debut on November 4, 2004 at the Manzoni Theatre in Bologna with Abbado at the helm. Since then other great conductors such as John Eliot Gardiner, Ottavio Dantone, Trevor Pinnock and Frans Brüggen have led the orchestra. On 25 October 2008 at Pala Dozza in Bologna, the Orchestra Mozart played a memorable performance of </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Te Deum</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> by Berlioz, together with the Cherubini Youth Orchestra, the Italian Youth Orchestra, the Choir of the Municipal Theatre of Bologna and the Giuseppe Verdi Symphony Choir of Milan. The impressive choir of treble voices was made up of more than six hundred children. On 13 June 2009, after the Abruzzo devastating earthquake, at the Auditorium of the Guardia di Finanza (Finance Police) School in Coppito (AQ), Abbado and the Mozart Orchestra dedicated a concert to the people of Abruzzo affected by the disaster. At the same time, they also promoted the “Mozart Orchestra for Abruzzo”, Una Casa per la Musica (A house for music) initiative, to raise funds for the creation of a structure in which all the musical organizations of L’Aquila can resume their activities immediately.</span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />On March 28</span><sup><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">th</span></span></sup><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">, in the packed 3000 seats Sala Santa Cecilia in Rome, the orchestra performed the </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“Italiana” Symphony</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> by Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy, the Mozart </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Violin Concert K. 216</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">, the “Jupiter” Mozart </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Symphony K. 551</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> and, at the insisting request for “encore”, a real bonus, Beethoven’s </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“Egmont” Ouverture</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">. The four different pieces have a unity; they are a bridge from the elegant XVIII Century – the two Mozart’s composition are like Brussels antique lace – to the XIX Century Romanticism – delicate and intimate in the Mendelssohn-Bartoldy “Italiana” (where places and situation are filtered through memory) and stormy and passionate in Beethoven’s “Egmont”.</span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />Abbado’s baton kept a tight but flowing beat as his left hand, at the end of a thin wrist, went its own way, deftly sculpturing phrases and so often asking for less, less, less. Mr. Abbado moves with the deliberateness of someone conserving his strength. He conducted without a score. The audience erupted in real accolades.</span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />However, there was a flaw: the violinist Giuliano Carmignola, a specialist more of baroque than of late XVIII Century, did not sound up to the level of the Orchestra.</span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6569885886225390231-5346814608977458696?l=www.scena.org%2Fblog' alt='' /></div>Wah Keung Chanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03275462860819708591noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6569885886225390231.post-72463919704156337052010-04-07T21:37:00.001-04:002010-04-08T00:30:59.357-04:00Lang Lang and Schleswig-Holstein Orchestra Wow Toronto<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">By L.H. Tiffany Hsieh<br /></span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;"><br />If the performance quality of a group of young musicians making their North American debut tour is any indication, classical music is in good hands. On April 6, a near sold-out Roy Thomson Hall erupted for conductor Christoph Eschenbach and the Schleswig-Holstein Festival Orchestra in a program that would appeal to any classical music novice.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;"><br />Founded by Leonard Bernstein, the Germany-based Schleswig-Holstein trains in the 19th-century Salzau Castle north of Hamburg. It consists of musicians under the age of 27 handpicked through a rigorous auditioning process.<br /><br />Opening the program with Prokofiev’s<i> Symphony # 1</i> (the Classical Symphony), Eschenbach, who conducted by memory, got the most out of the players in every quip and quirk. Although the orchestra was not always in synch, the symphony came across fresh and dynamic. The <i>vivace</i> finale was incredibly fast and precise, it was stunning.<br /><br />The main draw of the night was Mozart’s <i>Piano Concerto # 17</i> in G major, featuring 28-year-old pianist Lang Lang. It was Eschenbach who gave Lang his now-legendary debut at the Ravinia Festival in 1999.<br /><br />Lang is a powerhouse. He likes to show off his impeccable skills and does so with drama and flair. In this dreamy and bubbly Mozart concerto, Lang romanced each and every note and rest, soaking up the sound, eyes closed, while his left hand conducted above the keys. It was Mozart with a bit of a Chopin treatment in the styling of phrasings. However, with little use of the pedal, the sound was crystal crisp, the turns articulated clearly, and his soft melodies just about killed it.<br /><br />The standing crowd insisted on an encore and received Chopin’s <i>Aeolian Harp Etude</i>, Op. 25, No. 1 after many bows from Lang. He played through the massive web of arpeggiated chords in one breath and with total control — it was beyond words.<br /><br />After intermission, Eschenbach and the Schleswig-Holstein Festival Orchestra gave a riveting performance of Beethoven’s <i>Symphony # </i>7. The orchestra excelled here, especially in the famous slow movement marked<i>allegretto</i>. Eschenbach took the tempo at <i>adagio</i> and produced a solemn effect that is in perfect contrast to the subsequent presto and allegro con bio.<br /><br />For encore, they played the overture of Beethoven’s <i>Creatures of Prometheus</i> to more standing applause, causing one man to shout, “Sit down!”</span></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6569885886225390231-7246391970415633705?l=www.scena.org%2Fblog' alt='' /></div>Wah Keung Chanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03275462860819708591noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6569885886225390231.post-78182464453785459482010-04-06T17:18:00.000-04:002010-04-06T17:18:08.454-04:00Cette semaine à Montréal (7 à 17 avril) / This Week in Montreal (April 7 - 17)<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Musique / Music</span></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.scena.org/blog/uploaded_images/few-727083.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://www.scena.org/blog/uploaded_images/few-727071.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Canadian trumpet virtuoso Guy Few (pictured to the left) joins the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal on April 7 to perform a concerto for trumpet and orchestra by the renowned and recently deceased Jacques Hétu. Under the baton of assistant conductor Nathan Brock, the orchestra performs works that include Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 1 and Smetana’s The Moldau. 514-842-2112, <a href="http://www.osm.ca/">www.osm.ca</a> — Hannah Rahimi</span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The Trio Fibonacci presents its final concert of the season on April 9 at the Chapelle Saint-Louis. Audiences can experience the wide range of compositions for string trio with a varied programme that begins with Haydn and concludes with Beethoven’s Archduke Trio. Also included are two contemporary works: Jean Lesage’s Chopinade for cello and piano, marking Chopin’s 200th anniversary, and the Albertan composer Allan Gordon Bell’s Phénomènes. 514-270-7382, <a href="http://www.triofibonacci.com/">www.triofibonacci.com</a> — Hannah Rahimi</span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Le dernier concert de l’Ensemble Magellan, dans le cadre de sa résidence à la Chapelle, aura lieu le dimanche 11 avril à 15 h 30. Composé du violoniste Olivier Thouin, de l’altiste Yukari Cousineau, du violoncelliste Yégor Dyachkov et du pianiste Jean Saulnier, le quatuor nous propose des œuvres de Mozart, Brahms et Cléo Palacio-Quintin. 514-872-5338 — Renée Banville</span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The Matsu Také Ensemble, the only ensemble of traditional Japanese chamber music in Montreal, presents <i>Le souffle du bambou</i> at Le Rendez-Vous du Thé on April 15. The ensemble performs Zen Buddhist works on traditional instruments, including founders Michel Dubeau and Bruno Deschênes on the shakuhachi, a bamboo flute. For $36.95, audiences also have the choice of having dinner during the concert. 514-384-5695, <a href="http://www.musis.ca/">www.musis.ca</a> — Hannah Rahimi</span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">L’Ensemble de la Société de musique contemporaine du Québec s’associe au Chœur du Studio de musique ancienne de Montréal pour présenter <i>Les Vêpres de la Vierge</i> de Gilles Tremblay. On entendra en plus une création de Serge Provost en hommage au compositeur. Ces œuvres contemporaines côtoient des œuvres polyphoniques sacrées du XVIe siècle. Avec la soprano Sophie Martin et Jean-Willy Kurtz à l’orgue positif. Sous la direction de Walter Boudreau et Christopher Jackson. Jeudi 15 avril à 18 h. Église de l’Immaculée Conception, 514-843-9305, <a href="http://www.smcq.qc.ca/">www.smcq.qc.ca</a> — Renée Banville</span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Un forum réunira diverses personnalités du milieu musical pour discuter des « musiques du monde ». Le premier volet, le jeudi 15 avril à 19 h 30, est consacré aux définitions de ces musiques variées, des croyances et des préjugés associés, ainsi que des éléments communs que l’on peut en dégager. Y participeront : Yves Bernard, journaliste au Devoir, chroniqueur, auteur, animateur et spécialiste des musiques du monde; Ralf Boncy, chroniqueur et auteur dédié aux musiques du monde et animateur-programmateur à Espace Musique; Patrick Darby, fondateur et directeur artistique de Tracquen’art et de Cross Current Music; Monique Desroches, titulaire d’ethnomusicologie à la faculté de musique de l’Université de Montréal; Liette Gauthier, musicienne, fondatrice/directrice artistique de MMM (1990-2009) et agente culturelle à la maison de la culture Ahuntsic – Cartierville; Sophie Laurent, auteure, ethnomusicologue, productrice et réalisatrice à CBC, Radio 2. Entrée libre.</span><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span></span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.scena.org/blog/uploaded_images/socalled_main-786673.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://www.scena.org/blog/uploaded_images/socalled_main-786670.jpg" width="188" /></a></div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Dans la série d’événements Musiques au bout du monde qui a lieu du 13 au 17 avril, on pourra entendre les groupes suivants : Tradición flamenca, Medjim, Labess et invitées, Cabaret hip-hop Klezmer Socalled (dans le photo à gauche) et invités, Karen Young et Michel Faubert et le Trio Stéphane Tellier. Des laissez-passer sont requis pour ces spectacles. Maison de la culture Ahuntsic-Cartierville, 514-872-8749 — Renée Banville</span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span></span><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b style="color: purple;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Jazz</span></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Ven. 2, sam. 3 » Yves Léveillée (pno) invite Eri Yamamoto (pno) de New York. Jazz club, restaurant Dièse onze. [223-3543] 20 h 30</span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">» Le Lifelines Ensemble de Christine Jensen avec invités de Toronto, Sienna Dahlin (vx.), Dave Restivo (pno), Jim Vivian (cb.) et Alissa Falk. Upstairs Jazz Bar. [931-6808] 20 h 30</span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Dim. 4 » de Berlin, le Gebhard Ullman Clarinet Trio. Casa del Popolo. [284-0122] 21 h</span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Lun. 5 » Le trio du guitariste Steve Ragele avec Adrian Vedady (cb) et Thom Gossage (btr.) Casa del Popolo. 21 h</span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Mar 6 » La série hebdomadaire de musiques improvisées Les mardis Spaghetti, au Cagibi. 21 h 30 [Programmation en ligne : www.myspace.com/mardispaghetti]</span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Mer. 7 » Trio Antoine Berthiaume (gtr.) Michel Donato (cb.) et Pierre Tanguay (btr.). Maison de la culture du Plateau-Mont-Royal. [872-5266] 20 h</span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">» La série hebdomadaire de musiques improvisées Mercredismusics. La Casa Obscura. [Programmation en ligne : www.casaobscura.org} 21 h</span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Jeu. 8 » Le trio du contrebassiste Rémi-Jean Leblanc, Upstairs Jazz Bar. [931-6808] 20 h 30</span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">» Normand Guilbeault (Artiste du mois au Dièse onze. 20 h 30 (En rappel les 15 et 22 avec invités différents à chaque semaine.)</span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Ven. 9 » Le quartette du saxophoniste ténor Al McLean. Dièse onze. 20 h 30</span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Ven. 9, sam. 10 » De New York, le trio du pianiste John Stetch. Upstairs Jazz Bar. 20 h 30</span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Sam. 10 » Trio Yannick Rieu, Adrian Vedady et John Fraboni. Dièse onze. 20 h 30</span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Mar. 13 » Lancement du disque du guitariste Stéfane Carreau (anciennement du duo Bet & Stef). Upstairs Jazz Bar.</span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Mer. 14, jeu. 15 » Le trio de contrebasses de Jean-Rémi Leblanc. Upstairs Jazz Bar. 20 h 30</span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Ven 16 » Quartette du contrebassiste Dave Watts, avec Julie Lamontagne (pno), Dave Mossing (trpt.) et Richard Irwin (btr.) Dièse onze. 20 h 30</span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Ven. 16, sam. 17 » Le quartette du bassiste Fraser Hollins avec Joel Miller (saxo ténor) et invités spéciaux de New York, le batteur Brian Blade et le pianiste John Cowherd. Upstairs Jazz Bar. Spectacles à 19 h 30 et 22 h 30. (Réservations recommandées.)</span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Sam. 17 » Trio des guitaristes Thomas Carbou, Jocelyn Tellier et Joe Grass. Dièse onze. 20 h 30</span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">— Marc Chénard</span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span></span><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b style="color: purple;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Arts visuels / Visual Arts</span></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">DHC/ART jusqu’au 9 mai : La cinéaste, photographe et vidéaste finlandaise Eija-Liisa Ahtila, reconnue pour ses récits complexes à écrans multiples, est en vedette au DHC/ART. INT. STAGE-DAY (INT.SCÈNE-JOUR), dont le titre fait directement référence aux indications spatiotemporelles apparaissant en tête de chaque scène d’un scénario, est la plus grande exposition de l’artiste présentée à l’extérieur de l’Europe.</span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Le Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal expose actuellement trois artistes canadiens : Marcel Dzama, artiste multidisciplinaire originaire de Winnipeg qui vit à New York depuis 2004; l’artiste montréalais Etienne Zack; et Luanne Martineau, née à Saskatoon, professeure adjointe en théorie et dessin à l’Université de Victoria (Colombie-Britannique).</span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Aux mille tours (Of Many Turns) est la plus grande exposition solo de Marcel Dzama jamais présentée dans un musée. Son plus récent travail mise sur des thèmes qui lui sont chers et qui caractérisent son œuvre : la nostalgie, les débuts du modernisme, les rapports entre l’ironie et le cynisme, la politique et la subjectivité.</span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Après avoir brièvement fréquenté l’Université Concordia, l’artiste montréalais Etienne Zack a étudié au Emily Carr Institute of Art & Design de Vancouver. Lauréat national du Concours de peinture canadienne RBC en 2005, il a aussi été lauréat du prix Pierre-Ayot en 2008, année où son travail s’est vu présenté au Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal dans le cadre de la Triennale québécoise. L’exposition Etienne Zack rend hommage à son œuvre réalisée au cours des six dernières années. Outre la présentation d’une vingtaine de tableaux, l’exposition présente deux nouvelles œuvres créées spécialement pour cet événement.</span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Le processus créatif de Luanne Martineau, qui s’inscrit dans la lignée des artistes féminines et féministes des années 1960, s’appuie sur l’utilisation des techniques d’artisanat et l’exploration des matériaux traditionnels, à l’image de ses étonnantes sculptures de feutre et de laine dont la complexité visuelle et matérielle rend impossible une description juste et adéquate.</span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Musée d’art contemporain, jusqu’au 25 avril 2010.</span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">— Julie Beaulieu</span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span></span><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b style="color: purple;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Théâtre</span></b></span></div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Festival Vue sur la relève. Depuis 15 ans, cet événement propose un panorama d’une composante essentielle de notre culture : la nouvelle génération d’artistes. Plusieurs jeunes créateurs issus de diverses disciplines (chanson, théâtre, cirque, danse) s’y produisent dans une cinquantaine de spectacles. Le festival comporte même un volet international, accueillant des artistes canadiens, français, américains ou originaires des îles de la Réunion et de la Guadeloupe. Du 1er au 17 avril, au Lion d’Or, National, Divan Orange, Cabaret La Tulipe et à la Maison de la culture Frontenac</span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">La Fin. La plus récente création du Nouveau Théâtre Expérimental s’intéresse à un sujet fort actuel dans notre monde en mutation : notre obsession pour l’apocalypse et, plus généralement, la fin des choses. Avec Alexis Martin et Daniel Brière aux commandes de ce spectacle à sketches, l’intelligence et l’humour devraient être au rendez-vous. Du 30 mars au 24 avril, à l’Espace libre</span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Trans(e). Deux éléments allument notre intérêt ici : le thème de l’œuvre, la transexualité, rarement exploré sur nos scènes, et son créateur, Christian Lapointe (Limbes), qui pratique un théâtre exigeant très remarqué ces dernières années. L’auteur, metteur en scène et interprète qualifie sa pièce de « tragédie “futuriste” sous forme de poème incantatoire ». Intriguant. Du 6 au 10 avril, à la salle Jean-Claude-Germain du Théâtre d’Aujourd’hui</span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">— Marie Labreque</span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span></span><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b style="color: purple;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Theatre</span></b></span></div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Red Noses, the D.B. Clarke Theatre’s offering, has been called the funniest play about the Black Plague ever written. We follow a priest in 14th century France who is convinced that God wants him to help people through laughter rather than through prayers and sermons. He assembles a bizarre troupe of clowns, including a blind juggler, a mute poet, two one-legged dancers and a stand-up comedian with a serious speech impediment, and travels through plague-affected villages attempting to make people laugh. Red Noses runs from April 15th to the 18th.</span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">— Jessica Hill</span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span></span><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b style="color: purple;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Danse / Dance</span></b></span></div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Le 1er marque le commencement d’un mois très chargé dans les salles du réseau Accès Culture où de nombreux spectacles sont gratuits. Ce jour-là, Mélanie Demers et Laïla Dialo redonnent le percutant Sauver sa peau, Katy Ward et Thea Patterson reviennent avec Man and Mouse, inspiré de Steinbeck, Sonya Stefan et Yves St-Pierre reprennent leur savoureux panorama sur divers styles de danse dans Sonya et Yves (aussi les 26 et 27) et Les Printemps de la danse donnent leur coup d’envoi. On y verra des extraits du drôlissime Duet for one plus digressions d’Andrew Turner, du trio post-féministe humoristique The Shallow End d’Erin Flynn ainsi que Sax Addict où Yaëlle Azoulay ne dévoile que les jambes de ses danseurs de gigue. Ce programme sera représenté aussi les 8, 9, 10 et 21. Élodie Lombardo démystifie la mort les 7, 9 et 10 en réunissant humour et drame dans le remuant Ganas de vivir, Ismaël Mouaraki passe par le hip-hop contemporain le 9 pour évoquer l’évolution de l’humanité dans Futur proche.</span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Hors réseau, le mois est aussi très riche. Avec El 12, Myriam Allard et Hedi «el moro» Graja actualisent le flamenco avec audace à la Cinquième Salle jusqu’au 13. Le 6, Aline Apostolska poursuit ses grands entretiens avec Hélène Blackburn à l’Agora tandis que Virginie Brunelle y va de Foutrement, une étude sur l’adultère, au Théâtre La Chapelle du 6 au 10. Du 7 au 11, les Brésiliens de Grupo Corpo investissent le Théâtre Maisonneuve avec deux œuvres aussi dynamiques que contrastées et l’Usine C nous donne à découvrir la danse-théâtre du Nature Theater of Oklahoma du 15 au 17.</span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">— Fabienne Cabado</span></span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6569885886225390231-7818246445378545948?l=www.scena.org%2Fblog' alt='' /></div>Crystal Chanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00094265258096557162noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6569885886225390231.post-34875244038918891532010-04-04T12:00:00.007-04:002010-04-07T14:54:55.863-04:00This Week in Toronto (April 5 - 11)<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.scena.org/blog/uploaded_images/Giiwedin_small-745704.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="http://www.scena.org/blog/uploaded_images/Giiwedin_small-745445.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>Image from Giiwedin, a First Nations opera by Spy Denomme-Welch and Catherine Magowan<div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>My first choice this week is the premiere of<b> </b><i><b>Giiwedin</b></i>, a First Nations opera by <b>Spy Donomme-Welch</b> and <b>Catherine Magowan</b>. It tells the story of Noodin-Kwe, a 150 year old native woman fighting for her land. I wrote the cover story in the new issue of The Music Scene, which you can access at<a href="http://www.scena.org/tms/tmspdfindex.html">http://www.scena.org/tms/tmspdfindex.html</a> It stars First Nations mezzo-soprano <b>Marion Newman</b> in the role of Noodin-Kwe. The preview is on April 6, 8 pm at the Theatre Passe Muraille. The show opens on April 8, 8 pm. Performances continue to April 24. For details and ticket information, go to<a href="http://nativeearth.ca/en/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=11&Itemid=11">http://nativeearth.ca/en/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=11&Itemid=11</a> The composers are being interviewed by <b>Alexa Petrenko</b> at 3 pm, on <i><b>Alexa's Oasis</b></i>, at the New Classical 96.3 FM. You can listen online!</div><div><br /></div><div>On the piano front, the big news this week is the appearance of <b>Lang Lang</b> with the <b>Schleswig Holstein Festival Orchestra </b>and <b>Christoph Eschenbach</b> at the Roy Thomson Hall on Tuesday, 8 pm. Lang Lang is playing Mozart <i>Piano Concerto No. 17</i>, an interesting change from his usual repertoire lately. Also on the program is Prokofiev <i>Symphony No. 1</i> and Beethoven <i>Symphony No. 7</i>. Tickets are hard to come by, so act fast! On April 11 at the rather odd time of 3 pm at Koerner Hall of the <b>Royal Conservatory of Music</b>, <b>Louis Lortie</b> plays a program of Chopin. Last time I heard him was at Roy Thomson Hall playing the Ravel Piano Concerto. Any appearance by Lortie is an eagerly anticipated event. On April 7 at noon, at the Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre, Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, pianist <b>Linda Ippolito</b> gives a recital, <i><b>Frites with Salsa</b></i>, a program of Latin music. On the program are pieces by Poulenc and Ginastera - a most interesting combination! Remember to show up 45 minutes in advance for a seat at this free event. </div><div><br /></div><div>On April 7, 6 pm <b>Tafelmusik</b> presents <i>Forces of Nature,</i> with works by Vivaldi, Rameau, Haydn, Telemann and others, with <b>Jeanne Lamon</b> at Trinity St. Paul's Centre. Additional performances on April 8, 9, 10, 11. Go to <a href="http://www.tafelmusik.org/concerts/earthday.htm">http://www.tafelmusik.org/concerts/earthday.htm</a> for details. </div><div><br /></div><div>On April 8, 8 pm, <b>Music Toronto</b> presents the <b>Tokyo String Quartet</b> in three Beethoven string quartets (<i>Quartets in F Op. 95; in E flat Op. 74; and in C Major Op. 59 No.3</i>) at the St. Lawrence Centre. For information, go to <a href="http://www.tokyoquartet.com/artist.php?view=concerts&cid=3947">http://www.tokyoquartet.com/artist.php?view=concerts&cid=3947</a> </div><div><br /></div><div>The <b>Toronto Symphony Orchestra</b> presents Bach's <i>B Minor Mass</i> on April 8 and 10 at Roy Thomson Hall. Noted conductor <b>Helmuth Rilling</b> leads a quartet of soloists (soprano <b>Emily Hindrichs</b>, mezzo <b>Ingeborg Danz</b>, tenor <b>Lawrence Wiliford</b>, and baritone <b>Andrew Foster-Williams</b>) together with the <b>University of Toronto Macmillan Singers</b>. This magnificent oratorio is not to be missed.</div><div><br /></div><div>On April 9 2 pm at the Glenn Gould Studio, <b>Sinfonia Toronto</b> presents<i><b> Favourite</b></i> <b><i>Fireworks!</i></b> - an eclectic program of orchestral pieces by Mozart, Saint Saens, Waxman, Schmidt, Piazzolla and Shostakovich featuring violinist <b>Xiaohan Guo</b> and pianist <b>Heather Schmidt.</b> Finally, the <b>Off Centre Music Salon</b> under the co-directorship of <b>Inna and Boris Zarankin</b> presents <i><b>Klezmer On the Roof!</b></i> - a program of "Jewish Music", with soprano <b>Joni Henson</b>, mezzo <b>Annamaria Popescu</b>, accordionist <b>Joseph Macerollo</b> and the <b>David Buchbinder Ensemble. </b>For details and tickets, go to <a href="http://www.offcentremusic.com/">http://www.offcentremusic.com/</a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6569885886225390231-3487524403891889153?l=www.scena.org%2Fblog' alt='' /></div>Joseph Sohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07999267055992363762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6569885886225390231.post-22868543322207451352010-03-30T12:38:00.007-04:002010-03-31T01:04:19.260-04:00Toronto Summer Music Festival Announces its Fifth Anniversary 2010 Programme<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.scena.org/blog/uploaded_images/AGrossman_01-713721.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 249px; height: 320px;" src="http://www.scena.org/blog/uploaded_images/AGrossman_01-713669.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>Photo: Agnes Grossmann, Artistic Director, Toronto Summer Music Academy and Festival<br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I just received an exciting press release from Toronto Summer Musical Festival. Now in its Fifth Season, this festival fills a big void in Toronto's music scene. With the absence of a summer home for the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, and with both the National Ballet of Canada and the Canadian Opera Company in hiatus, there is a dearth of classical music activities in town. Thanks to TSMF, Torontonians don't have to travel for their music fix. I'm sorry to say that, for the second year in a row, there won't be any staged opera from TSMF. But my disappointment is assuaged by the presence of the great German baritone Matthias Goerne, who is making one of his infrequent visits to our city. He is giving a recital with pianist Andreas Haefliger on July 27. The last time I heard Goerne in Toronto was April 2004, during the sad winter and spring of SARS in Toronto. Many artists, fearing an epidemic, cancelled their appearances at the time. But to his great credit, Matthias Goerne fulfilled his obligations and showed up at Roy Thomson Hall. He sang beautifully a program of Mahler with the symphony, if memory serves. Incidentally, Goerne is giving a public masterclass on July 26, 7 - 10 pm in Walter Hall - not to be missed!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Other vocal delights this summer include an evening of German lieder with three of Canada's brightest singers- tenor Colin Ainsworth, soprano Lesley Ann Bradley and baritone Peter McGillivray. Another interesting concert is a TSMF-commissioned piece, <i>Song of the Earth</i>, by Canadian composer Glenn Buhr. Soloists are Romanian alto Roxana Constantinescu and tenor Gordon Gietz. This is paired with Mahler's <i>Das Lied von der Erde</i> (chamber version). This takes place on August 7th. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">For more information, go to <a href="http://www.torontosummermusic.com/">http://www.torontosummermusic.com/</a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">See below for the complete press release:</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>********************************</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>TORONTO SUMMER MUSIC FESTIVAL CELEBRATES</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>5TH ANNIVERSARY JULY 20 TO AUGUST 13, 2010</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div>“…a virtual oasis in the musical desert of the Toronto summer.”</div><div>—The Globe and Mail</div><div><br /></div><div>2010 marks the fifth annual TORONTO SUMMER MUSIC FESTIVAL (TSMF), and Artistic Director Agnes Grossmann is delighted to unveil her plans for this year’s edition devoted to the theme Songs of the Earth. The Festival takes place in downtown Toronto from July 20 to August 13, and features an array of Canadian and international stars including Matthias Goerne, Andreas Haefliger, Anton Kuerti, Menahem Pressler, Connie Shih and Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi; top flight international chamber ensembles the Pacifica String Quartet, the Vienna Piano Trio, the Gryphon Trio and the Penderecki String Quartet; and four imaginative concert programmes that combinemusic with an added dimension: the Bunraku Bay Puppet Troupe from the United States together with Japan’s Imada Puppet Troupe; The Art of Time Ensemble with musical transformations based on Korngold-inspired themes; a tribute to the legendary choreographer, the late Pina Bausch, with a film of her ballet set to Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring projected as duo-pianists Anagnoson and Kinton perform the composer’s chamber version of this volcanic dance score; and the Gryphon Trio with James Campbell performing Messiaen’s Quartet for the End of Time against the backdrop of evocative paintings by Stephen Hutchings. Another highlight of the Festival will be a performance of Mahler’s masterpiece, Song of the Earth in the Schoenberg/Rhien chamber version. Landmark anniversaries of composers Schumann, Chopin and Mahler will be celebrated in concert programmes throughout the four-week Festival, which includes the world-premiere of a new Mahler-inspired work by Glenn Buhr.</div><div>“As the Toronto Summer Music Festival enters its fifth season, I am truly thrilled with the opportunity to share these 13 concerts inspired by the theme Songs of the Earth. With Mahler’s eponymous masterpiece as my cue, I have selected music that celebrates the beauties of the earth and reflects the profound love that many of the featured composers felt for nature. I am sure that audiences will find these concerts fascinating, engaging and thought-provoking,” says Agnes Grossmann. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Toronto Summer Music Festival at a Glance</div><div>Tuesday series: SCHUMANN & CHOPIN RECITAL SERIES</div><div>Honouring two of the most inspiring piano-composers of the Romantic era</div><div>July 20, 8 pm at Koerner Hall</div><div>Anton Kuerti, piano</div><div>Master pianist and 2007 Schumann prize-winner Anton Kuerti launches the 2010 festival with a solo homage to Schumann’s 200th anniversary. Praised as “one of the truly great pianists of this century” (CD Review, London), Kuerti’s past three Festival appearances have sold out. His gala performance in the superb acoustics of Koerner Hall on a brand new Hamburg Steinway includes Schumann’s Novelettes, Op. 21, Sonata No. 1 in F sharp minor, Op. 11, the Fantasy in C major, Op. 17, and the Toccata in C major, Op. 7. July 27, 8 pm at Koerner Hall</div><div>Masters of Song — Matthias Goerne, baritone and Andreas Haefliger, piano</div><div>6:45 pm: pre-concert talk with Dr. Ryan McClelland</div><div>Known as “perhaps the greatest Lieder singer of our day,” (Chicago Sun-Times), baritone Matthias Goerne makes his highly anticipated Festival debut. He is joined by his long-time collaborator, the superb pianist Andreas Haefliger in a programme of Lieder including Schumann’s Three Songs to texts by Heinrich Heine, Liederkreis, Op. 24, and Brahms Lieder, Op. 32. Haefliger also performs the Three Intermezzi, Op. 117 — among the best-loved of Brahms’ music for solo piano. August 3, 8 pm at MacMillan Theatre</div><div>Piano Legends — André Laplante, piano</div><div>6:45 pm: pre-concert talk with Don Anderson</div><div>One of the great Romantic pianists of our time, André Laplante returns to the Festival to pay tribute to the Chopin bicentenary. He performs the rarely-heard chamber version of Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 1 in E minor, Op. 11 with string quartet. Franz Liszt’s Book 2 Pilgrimages (Italy), which was inspired by timeless masterpieces of painting, sculpture and poetry by Raphael, Michelangelo, Petrarch and Dante, completes the programme.</div><div>August 10, 8 pm at Walter Hall</div><div>Romantic Duo — Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi, cello and Connie Shih, piano</div><div>6:45 pm: pre-concert talk with Dr. Robin Elliott</div><div>Japan’s revered cellist Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi returns to share the stage with the Canadian-born,</div><div>Germany-based young pianist, Connie Shih. The programme features virtuoso Romantic cello</div><div>sonatas by Mendelssohn and Chopin and is completed by folk-flavoured selections including</div><div>Schumann’s Five Pieces in Folk Style, Op. 102 and Chopin’s Introduction and Polonaise brillante in C major, Op. 3.</div><div>Wednesday concert:</div><div>August 4, 8:00 pm at MacMillan Theatre</div><div>An Evening of German Art Song — Colin Ainsworth, tenor; Leslie Ann Bradley, soprano;</div><div>Peter McGillivray, baritone This celebration of German art song features three of Toronto’s most remarkable and accomplished young Lied-singers. The programme includes some of the most beautiful songs by Robert Schumann, and shows the evolution of German art song into the 20th century through Hugo Wolf and Richard Strauss.</div><div>Thursday series: MUSIC PLUS SERIES</div><div>Music experienced through multi-disciplinary forms</div><div>July 22, 8:00 pm at MacMillan Theatre</div><div>Music & Theatre — Buraku Bay Puppet Troupe and Imada Puppet Troupe</div><div>6:45 pm: pre-concert talk with Martin Holman</div><div>Bunraku [boon-rah-koo]: a vivid, sophisticated style of puppet theatre that originated in Japan more than 300 years ago. TSMF is thrilled to present the Toronto premiere of the only American troupe that performs traditional Japanese Bunraku puppetry. The Bunraku Bay Puppet Troupe is joined by its Ina Valley, Japanbased mentors, the Imada Puppet Troupe, which was founded in 1704. Using half life-size puppets and accompanied by chanted narration and music played on traditional instruments, the two companies perform a series of delightful, inspiring short plays. Chicago Weekly praised the Bunraku Bay Troupe’s “wonder in craftsmanship and coordination,” remarking, “the entrance was enough to send chills down everyone’s spines ....”</div><div>July 29, 8:00 pm at Walter Hall</div><div>Musical Transformations — Erich Korngold: Source and Inspiration</div><div>Andrew Burashko and Art of Time Ensemble</div><div>6:45 pm: pre-concert talk with Andrew Burashko</div><div>Andrew Burashko and the Art of Time Ensemble performances have earned the reputation for being among Toronto’s most engaging concert experiences, with programs that are thought-provoking and compelling. TSMF is proud to present Art of Time’s programme inspired by Erich Korngold, the father of the classic Hollywood film score. Korngold’s Suite, Op. 23 for Two Violins, Cello and Piano anchors the evening. A performance of six contemporary songs inspired by Korngold’s Suite are performed by their composers, the singer-songwriters Martin Tielli, “who paints aural pictures from the heart” (Chart Attack), John Southworth, who is “delightfully eccentric, and seems to have emerged out of a time vacuum,” (New York Press), and Danny Michel, “one of this country’s most undiscovered musical treasures.” (Toronto Star).</div><div>August 5, 8:00 pm at Walter Hall</div><div>Music & Dance — James Anagnoson, piano and Leslie Kinton, piano</div><div>This performance is presented in memory of choreographer Pina Bausch (1940–2009)</div><div>6:45 pm: pre-concert talk with Michael Crabb</div><div>The dynamic combination of dance on film with live music promises an unforgettable experience.</div><div>The Festival honours the celebrated modern choreographer Pina Bausch, who died in 2009, with a film of her thrilling ballet set to Stravinsky’s 1912 landmark composition The Rite of Spring that forever changed the way we listen to music. Festival favourites, the piano duo Anagnoson and Kinton perform the composer’s four-hand piano transcription of the score. The programme includes cornerstones of the two-piano repertoire: Brahms’s Haydn Variations and the spectacular Suite No. 2 by Rachmaninoff.</div><div>August 12, 8:00 pm at MacMillan Theatre</div><div>Music & Painting — Gryphon Trio with James Campbell, clarinet</div><div>6:45 pm: pre-concert talk with Stephen Hutchings</div><div>One of Canada’s pre-eminent chamber ensembles, the Gryphon Trio returns to the Festival following four previous sold-out concerts. In the grand finale to the 2010 Festival, they are joined by clarinetist James Campbell to perform Olivier Messiaen’s prophetic Quartet for the End of Time. Paintings by artist Stephen Hutchings, inspired by Messiaen’s music, will be projected above them. The Trio closes the Festival with a final song of the earth, Schumann’s Piano Trio No. 2 in F major, Op. 80.</div><div>Friday concert</div><div>July 30, 8 pm at Walter Hall</div><div>New Compositions — Penderecki String Quartet</div><div>6:45 pm: pre-concert talk with Dr. Glenn Buhr</div><div>Canada’s renowned Penderecki String Quartet continuously pushes the envelope of their musical</div><div>medium with repertoire that ranges from Brahms and Britten to collaborations with a wide spectrum of contemporary musicians from trip-hop performer DJ Spooky to Chinese pipa player, Ching Wong. For this concert, the Quartet performs works by four emerging composers who are in residence at this year’s Toronto Summer Music Academy. The programme also includes Quartet No. 4 by Academy composition coach, Glenn Buhr.</div><div>Saturday series: CHAMBER MUSIC SERIES</div><div>Concerts created around the music of Gustav Mahler</div><div>July 24, 8:00 pm at Walter Hall</div><div>Mahler & Friends — Vienna Piano Trio with Sharon Wei, viola</div><div>6:45 pm: pre-concert talk with Dr. Robin Elliott</div><div>The Vienna Piano Trio, hailed by BBC Music Magazine for performances that are “quite simply,</div><div>stunning,” presents a programme of early works by composers who enjoyed close ties. Arnold</div><div>Schoenberg’s love poem Transfigured Night is paired with Piano Trio, Op. 3 by Alexander Zemlinsky and Mahler’s one-movement Piano Quartet in A minor.</div><div>July 31, 8:00 pm at MacMillan Theatre</div><div>Mahler’s Heroes and Admirer —Pacifica String Quartet with Menahem Pressler, piano</div><div>6:45 pm: pre-concert talk with Dr. Colin Eatock</div><div>Profound experience joins hands with youthful passion in this concert, as revered pianist Menahem Pressler – who toured the world for more than 50 years as a member of the illustrious Beaux Arts Trio – teams up with the brilliant young artists of the Grammy Award-winning Pacifica String Quartet. They salute the Mahler anniversary with music by two of the composers he most admired – Beethoven’s String Quartet No. 6 in B flat major, Op. 18, No.6, and Schumann’s Piano Quintet in E flat major, Op. 44. The String Quartet No. 3 in F major, Op. 73 by Shostakovich — a composer who was deeply influenced by Mahler — completes this programme.</div><div>August 7, 8:00 pm at MacMillan Theatre</div><div>Song of the Earth — Roxana Constantinescu, mezzo-soprano, Gordon Gietz, tenor</div><div>TSM Festival Ensemble</div><div>6:45 pm: pre-concert talk with Dr. Jürgen Thym</div><div>The stunning Romanian alto Roxana Constantinescu and the outstanding tenor Gordon Gietz are</div><div>the featured artists in Song of the Earth, a TSMF-commissioned vocal work by the prominent</div><div>Canadian composer Glenn Buhr. It is paired with a chamber version of Mahler’s monumental Das Lied von der Erde, the work that provided the thematic anchor for the entire 2010 festival.</div><div>Public Master Classes Rewarding behind-the-scenes experiences, master classes offer insight into the development of exceptional musicians. Observers may attend and listen as top artists pass along their musical expertise to artists in the Toronto Summer Music Academy. $20 per master class.</div><div>Vienna Piano Trio —Friday July 23, 3:00 - 6:00 pm at Edward Johnson Building, Room 330</div><div>Matthias Goerne — Monday July 26, 7:00 - 10:00 pm at Walter Hall</div><div>Menahem Pressler — Sunday August 1, 10:00 am - 1:00 pm at Walter Hall</div><div>Pacifica String Quartet — Sunday, August 1, 2:30 - 5:30 pm at Walter Hall</div><div>Janos Starker — Sunday, August 8, 11:00 am - 1:00 pm at Remenyi House of Music</div><div>Rising Stars In Concert — FREE!</div><div>Wednesday, July 28, 7:30 pm at Walter Hall</div><div>The Festival is proud to present excellent up-and-coming musicians in a FREE concert as they</div><div>interpret some of the most moving and challenging pieces in the repertoire.</div><div>Emerging Artists in Concert at Walter Hall — FREE!</div><div>Wednesdays at 12:30 pm on July 21, July 28, August 4 and August 11</div><div>Fridays at 7:30 pm on July 23, August 6, August 13</div><div>Saturday July 31 at 2:00 pm</div><div>TSMF offers a series of FREE concerts featuring emerging artists at the threshold of their</div><div>professional careers. These exceptional musicians study with Festival performers in master classes at the Toronto Summer Music Academy.</div><div>Toronto Summer Music Festival 2010</div><div>July 20 Anton Kuerti, piano</div><div>July 22 Bunraku Bay Puppet Troupe and Imada Puppet Troupe</div><div>July 24 Vienna Piano Trio</div><div>July 27 Matthias Goerne and Andreas Haefliger</div><div>July 29 Andrew Burashko and The Art of Time Ensemble</div><div>July 30 Penderecki String Quartet</div><div>July 31 Pacifica String Quartet and Menahem Pressler, piano</div><div>August 3 André Laplante, piano</div><div>August 4 Peter McGillivray, baritone, Colin Ainsworth, tenor and Leslie Ann Bradley, soprano August 5 James Anagnoson and Leslie Kinton, piano duo / Pina Bausch film</div><div>August 7 Roxana Constantinescu, alto, Gordon Gietz, tenor and TSM Festival Ensemble</div><div>August 10 Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi, cello and Connie Shih, piano</div><div>August 12 Gryphon Trio and James Campbell, clarinet</div><div>Festival passes ($130 - $345) and single tickets ($30 - $75) are available at</div><div>www.torontosummermusic.com or by calling (416) 408-0208.</div><div><br /></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6569885886225390231-2286854332220745135?l=www.scena.org%2Fblog' alt='' /></div>Joseph Sohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07999267055992363762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6569885886225390231.post-37812703978856800002010-03-29T15:46:00.004-04:002010-03-29T17:19:55.799-04:00This Week in Toronto (March 29 - April 4)<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.scena.org/blog/uploaded_images/Bronfman1creditDarioAcosta_small-756928.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="http://www.scena.org/blog/uploaded_images/Bronfman1creditDarioAcosta_small-756922.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>Yefim Bronfman (Photo: Dario Acosta)<div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>This being Easter Week, the music scene is heavy on sacred works, in venues large and small. A good choice is <b>Toronto Mendelssohn Choir</b>'s <i>Sacred Music for a Sacred Place</i>, on Good Friday, April 2, 7:30 pm at St. Paul's Basilica. <b>Noel Edison</b> conducts a program of more contemporary sacred pieces by Arvo Part, Eric Whitacre, Pavel Lukaszewski and Timothy Corliss. Rick Phillips presents a pre-concert chat at 6:50 pm. For ticket information, go to <a href="http://www.tmchoir.org/purchase/singleTix.cfm?ID=484">http://www.tmchoir.org/purchase/singleTix.cfm?ID=484</a></div><div><br /></div><div>If you aren't into religious music, here's the antithesis of Sacred Music - the <i>Toronto Symphony Orchestra</i> has <i>TSO Goes Vegas: A Jackpot of Vegas Hits! </i> Three shows, on March 31, 8 pm and again on April 1 at 2 pm and 8 pm at Roy Thomson Hall.<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;">Taken directly from the TSO website, "<b>Jack Everly </b>returns with a jackpot of hip Vegas hits, include </span>Luck Be a Lady, Big Spender, Viva Las Vegas, My Way,<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"> and </span>Lady is a Tramp<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;">. He is joined by a cast of showgirls and high rollers, including stars from Broadway and the Vegas Strip, and Mr. Showmanship himself, Martin Preston, as the legendary Liberace. It's Vegas, Baby - Symphony Style!" Gotta hand it to the TSO for innovative programming! <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';color:#555555;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px; font-size: large;"> </span></span></span></i></div><div><br /></div><div><b>Tafelmusik</b> continues with its <i>Enchantress</i> program starring Quebec soprano <b>Karina Gauvin</b> singing selections from Handel's Alcina. It moves to the George Weston Recital Hall for a single performance on March 30, 8 pm. </div><div><br /></div><div>Pianist <b>Yefim Bronfman</b> is making a welcome return to Toronto on April 1 8 pm, this time in a recital at the new Koerner Hall of the Royal Conservatory of Music. On the program are Beethoven's 32 Variations, plus sonatas by Prokofiev, Tchaikovsky and Schumann. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>The Esprit Orchestra</b> presents an all-Canadian concert, <i>A 'aventure!</i> on March 31, 8 pm at the Jane Mallett Theatre. On the program are music by Evangelista,Gougeon, and Schafer, with <b>Robert Aitken</b> on the flute and<b> Erika Raum</b> on the violin. <b>Alex Pauk</b> conducts. </div><div><br /></div><div>Finally, a brief report on an interesting event - <b>Sir Ernest MacMillan Memorial Foundation Orchestral Conducting Award for 2010</b> is presently being chosen March 29, Monday afternoon 3:15 - 6:00 pm at the MacMillan Theatre, Edward Johnson Building, University of Toronto. The three finalists are <b>Ghassan Alaboud</b> (Montreal), <b>Genevieve Leclair </b>(Montreal) and <b>Matthew Otto</b> (Toronto). They will rehearse with the University of Toronto Symphony Orchestra for between 30 and 45 minutes in selections from Berlioz' <i>Symphonie fantastique</i>, Op. 14. Jury panel members are Victor Feldbrill, Tania Miller, Alain Trudel and David Briskin (chair). At 6:15 pm, the Tokai String Quartet, winners of the 2004 MacMillan Award in Chamber Music, will be performing Britten and MacMillan while the jury deliberates. After the winner is announced, there will be a reception open to the public. Admission is free but donations welcome.</div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6569885886225390231-3781270397885680000?l=www.scena.org%2Fblog' alt='' /></div>Joseph Sohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07999267055992363762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6569885886225390231.post-1226666427433477872010-03-28T16:13:00.006-04:002010-03-28T22:58:46.843-04:00Auspicious Concert Launch for Wish Opera<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.scena.org/blog/uploaded_images/curtain3-724487.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 177px;" src="http://www.scena.org/blog/uploaded_images/curtain3-724363.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.scena.org/blog/uploaded_images/Wish-Opera-Program-Cover-752921.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 249px;" src="http://www.scena.org/blog/uploaded_images/Wish-Opera-Program-Cover-752913.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Wish Opera Launch Concert Programme Cover<div>(www.wishopera.ca)</div><div><br /></div><div>Curtain call - (l. to r.) Vania Chan, Tonia Cianciulli, Sabatino Vacca, Deirdre Kelly, Sinead Sugrue, Jennifer Fina, Theodore Baerg </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b>Auspicious Concert Launch for Wish Opera</b></div><div><div><b><br /></b></div><div>Joseph K. So</div><div><br /></div><div>Saturday March 27, 8 pm, Sandra Faire and Ivan Fecan Theatre, York University</div><div>Ermanno Mauro, tenor; Theodore Baerg, baritone; Ambur Braid, soprano; Jennifer Fina, mezzo; Sinead Sugrue, soprano; Vanvia Chan, soprano</div><div>Orchestra conducted by Sabatino Vacca</div><div>Deirdre Kelly, Emcee</div><div><br /></div><div><i>Don Giovanni</i> Overture - Orchestra</div><div>"Non mi dir" <i>Don Giovanni</i>, Ambur Braid</div><div>"Non piu mesta" <i>La Cenerentola</i>, Jennifer Fina</div><div>"Largo al factotum" <i>Il Barbiere di Siviglia</i>, Theodore Baerg</div><div>"Dunge io son" <i>Il Barbiere di Siviglia</i>, Jennifer Fina and Theodore Baerg</div><div>"Qui la voce" <i>I Puritani</i>, Sinead Sugrue</div><div>"Ch'ella mi creda" <i>La fanciulla del West</i>, Ermanno Mauro</div><div>"Soud le dome epais" <i>Lakme</i>, Jennifer Fina, Vania Chan</div><div>"Dein ist mein ganzes Herz" <i>Land of Smiles</i>, Sinead Sugrue, Ermanno Mauro</div><div>*****</div><div><i>West Side Story</i> Medley - Orchestra</div><div>Olympia's Aria <i>Les contes d'Hoffmann</i>, Vania Chan</div><div>"O zittre nicht" <i>Die Zauberfloete,</i> Ambur Braid</div><div>"Ah fors'e lui...Sempre libera" <i>La Traviata</i>, Sinead Sugrue</div><div>"Di provenza" <i>La Traviata, </i>Theodore Baerg</div><div>"Vesti la giubba" <i>I Pagliacci, </i>Ermanno Mauro</div><div>"Soave sia il vento"<i> Cosi fan tutte</i>, Sinead Sugrue, Jennifer Fina, Theodore Baerg</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>The mission of the newly minted Wish Opera is to create "a modern vision of opera by fusing the existing beauty of operatic sound with contemporary fashion and design. As its Executive Director Tonia Cianciulli said to the audience at the beginning of the performance last evening, this new initiative has been a dream of hers for a long time. It came to fruition in two launch concerts at the intimate surroundings of the Sandra Faire and Ivan Fecan Theatre on the York University campus this week. </div><div><br /></div><div>I saw the second show, on Saturday. It starred a mixture of emerging singers and experience veterans, in a varied program from the opera, operetta, and musical theater genres. In addition to the orchestra, the stage was tastefully decorated with contemporary furniture and art work on the two sides, serving as staging areas for the soloists. The six women - four singers plus Cianciulli and Emcee Deirdre Kelly - appeared in a succession of smashing high fashion gowns. All four female singers sang a challenging repertoire, each brought to the stage her unique gift of a beautiful voice and lovely stage presence. There were many highlights, but I particularly enjoyed Sinead Sugrue in "Ah fors'e lui...Sempre libera", Ambur Braid in "O zittre nicht" and the crystalline tones of soubrette Vania Chan in Olympia's Aria. Jennifer Fina also impressed with her rich timbre and wide range in "Non piu mesta". </div><div><br /></div><div>The two men of the evening are veterans of the opera stage. Tenor Ermanno Mauro proved that at the grand age of 71, he can still produce a powerful and vital sound and plenty of dramatic intensity, bringing the house down with his "Vesti la giubba." Deputizing for an indisposed James Westman, Theodore Baerg was his ebullient self in a vocally suave and dramatically vivid "Largo al factotum". The evening ended with the trio from <i>Cosi</i>, "Soave sia il vento", a symbolic send-off of Wish Opera to a smooth voyage into the future. Given the current economic climate and the ever-diminishing government support to the arts, any private endeavor like Wish Opera deserves the support of opera and art lovers in Toronto. This new company is planning to stage Mozart's <i>Don Giovanni</i> in two performances on June 24 and 26. Stay tuned!</div><div><br /></div></div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6569885886225390231-122666642743347787?l=www.scena.org%2Fblog' alt='' /></div>Joseph Sohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07999267055992363762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6569885886225390231.post-76916486480424293292010-03-24T22:28:00.003-04:002010-03-25T00:11:09.379-04:00Review: Spanish Maestro Rafael Fruhbeck de Burgos Returns to Toronto<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.scena.org/blog/uploaded_images/Rafael-Fruhbeck-de-Burgos.small-745688.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="http://www.scena.org/blog/uploaded_images/Rafael-Fruhbeck-de-Burgos.small-745574.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />Conductor Rafael Fruhbeck de Burgos (Photo courtesy of Columbia Artists Management)<div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><h1><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Review: Spanish Maestro Rafael Fruhbeck de Burgos returns to Toronto</span></span></h1> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language:EN-US"> Joseph K. So</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language:EN-US"> We are in an era of the "youth movement" in conducting, witness the ascent of </span><span lang="EN-US"><i>wunderkinder</i></span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language:EN-US"> the likes of Gustavo Dudamel, Yannick Nezet-Seguin and Philippe Jordan, just to name a few. Yet, conductors are like fine wine - they get better with age, or if they are great to begin with, the best ones have staying power. This is certainly true with Spaniard Rafael Fruhbeck de Burgos. Born in Burgos, Spain in 1933 and trained in Spain and Germany, de Burgos at 76 is an elder statesman among conductors, having led many of the great orchestras of the world, including a stint as the chief conductor of the Montreal Symphony in the pre-Charles Dutoit era. Colourful and flamboyant are oft-used adjectives to describe the conducting style of de Burgos - it seems that he is incapable of making ugly sounds. Among conductors, his fluid and graceful movements make him a joy to watch. Despite the aforementioned youth movement, de Burgos is still around and going strong, his energy and charisma in full display this evening, the first of his two performances with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal">The first half of the evening’s program consisted of two Spanish pieces – Joaquin Turina’s <i>La Oracion del torero</i>, Op. 34, and the famous <i>Concierto de Aranjuez</i> by Rodrigo.<span> Originally composed in 1925 for string quartet, it was later adapted for string orchestra and is one of Turina's most popular pieces. de Burgos gave a masterful reading of the score, bringing out the lush, Debussy-like lyricism of the work. This was followed by arguably the most popular piece of the evening - Concierto de Aranjuez. The appearance of Pepe Romero elicited quite a stir from the large audience. Pepe Romero is of course a member of the legendary Romero family that dominated classical guitar for generations.<span> </span>I recall my undergrad days attending many Angel Romero’s concerts on campus, hearing him play many pieces including the <i>Concierto de Aranjuez</i>. The magical second movement remains one of the most evocative in all of classical repertoire. There is no denying that the large Roy Thomson Hall isn’t an ideal venue for the guitar, an instrument that requires a more intimate space. The soloist was discreetly miked, and de Burgos held down the orchestra for him. A beloved figure, the audience was very supportive of Romero, although I feel that at 66, he has lost a bit of the fleetness in his fingers, more noticeable in the first movement, which came across as rather choppy and tentative. The long second movement with it exquisite lyricism went considerably better. With such wondrous music, it's hard to criticize! The audience clearly loved him and gave him a standing ovation. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal">The centerpiece of the evening was Berlioz's <i>Symphonie Fantastique, </i>which took up all of the second half. This piece is considered by many to be the composer's signature work. It certainly is a staple in the standard repertoire. The composer revised it several times between 1830 and 1855. In the 1855 version, Berlioz was supposedly under the influence of opium, through which he saw visions which inspired the central themes of the work. This<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> massive work with its five moments can be challenging for any conductor, but de Burgos held it together beautifully, bringing out fully the lyricism without sacrificing the intensity inherent in the score. He was rewarded with sustained ovations at the end. All in all, a most enjoyable evening of music-making.</span> </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language:EN-US"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language:EN-US"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6569885886225390231-7691648648042429329?l=www.scena.org%2Fblog' alt='' /></div>Joseph Sohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07999267055992363762noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6569885886225390231.post-60521235595848394322010-03-24T00:01:00.026-04:002010-03-24T02:50:06.355-04:00Strauss's Don Quixote Brought to Life by Bay and Austin Symphony<div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic; line-height: 21px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">by </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><a href="http://www.theartoftheconductor.com/bio.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#333399;">Paul E. Robinson</span></a></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana, serif;color:#333399;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 21px;"><i><br /></i></span></span></div> <img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://www.scena.org/blog/uploaded_images/DSCN0125a475-780116.jpg" border="0" alt="" /><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">What a revolutionary idea it was to provide </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surtitles"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#333399;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">surtitles</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> (“</span></span></span><span style="line-height: 115%; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">translated or transcribed lyrics/dialogue</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> projected above a stage or displayed on a screen”) </span></span></span><span style="line-height: 115%; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">in the opera house! All of a sudden, people actually understood what was going on. An art form that had been forbidding and impenetrable for millions was transformed into something welcoming and meaningful. Shame on the </span><a href="http://www.karajan.co.uk/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#333399;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Karajans</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> and </span><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/1995/10/28/opinion/surtitles-come-to-the-met.html?pagewanted=1"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#333399;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Levines </span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">who, for whatever reason, delayed that monumental breakthrough in communication.</span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">I believe the concert hall could use the same communication overhaul afforded the opera house. To my mind, vocal works should </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">always</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> have surtitles; most often, they do not. To take it a step further, as conductor Peter Bay demonstrated in Austin with </span><a href="http://www.richardstrauss.at/html_e/17_willkommen/0fs_index.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#333399;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Strauss</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">’ </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Don Quixote</span></i></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">this week, many purely orchestral works could also benefit enormously from surtitles.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Richard Strauss’s great tone poem </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Don Quixote</span></i></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">, </span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">like most of his orchestral music, has a story or programme attached. The work is based on episodes from </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Don Quixote</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">, the classic novel by Miguel de Cervantes. Curiously, in his notes for this </span><a href="http://www.austinsymphony.org/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#333399;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Austin Symphony </span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">concert at the </span><a href="http://www.thelongcenter.org/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#333399;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Long Center</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">, David Mead never once mentioned Cervantes.</span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">A Verbal Match for Musical Humour</span></b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Much of the enjoyment of </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Don Quixote</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> springs from an understanding of the episode that is being depicted at any given moment. Strauss complicates </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miguel_de_Cervantes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#333399;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Cervantes</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">’ scenarios by casting his tone poem in the form of a theme or themes and variations, with each variation flowing into the next without pause. The listener is hard put to know which episode from the Cervantes’ novel is being portrayed at any given time.</span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Peter Bay solved this problem by using surtitles, a practice frequently used in performances of this piece, but never, in my experience, this effectively. The surtitles, on this occasion, gave the audience far more than a simple headline for each variation/episode. In a few carefully chosen words and at just the right moments (setups followed by punchlines), they also revealed much of the humour present in the music. Audience members clearly loved the process since they readily laughed in all the right places - a phenomenon I had never before witnessed in performances of </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Don Quixote</span></i></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Again, the programme book erred in failing to mention the person responsible </span><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">for this brilliant contribution to our understanding. In fact, the text for the surtitles was written by Maestro Peter Bay. Technical operation (assuring that text and music meshed perfectly) was by Susan Threadgill of the </span><a href="http://www.austinlyricopera.org/web/contact.asp"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#333399;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Austin Lyric Opera</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">. The work of this pair was so good that it could be used as a model for other orchestras and other works in the repertoire.</span></span></span></span></p><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 151px; height: 151px;" src="http://www.scena.org/blog/uploaded_images/phpThumb_generated_thumbnail-767812.jpeg" border="0" alt="" /> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">T</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">he Austin Symphony was substantially enlarged for this performance of </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">D</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">on Quixote</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">, with many more strings, including no fewer than eight double basses - additions which made a huge difference in the depth and timbre of the string sound. The entire orchestra played superbly and the solo parts, taken by section leaders, were equally good. Violist Bruce Williams made a colorful Sancho Panza and the extraordinarily gifted young cellist, </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><a href="http://www.austinsymphony.org/tickets/events/douglas-harvey-"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#333399;">Douglas Harvey</span></a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">, (photo: </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">right</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">) played Don Quixote with his usual impeccable technical command and beautiful tone. In short, this performance of Stauss’s brilliant tone poem was entirely worthy of the imaginative effort that went into the surtitles.</span></span></i></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Harvey’s Dying Don Quixote not Altogether Credible</span></b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">I do have one small quibble, however; it seemed to me that the expression of the final section of the piece was a little on the formal side for what should be one of the most poignant moments in the classical repertoire. </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Strauss was a master of writing deeply moving orchestral and operatic epilogues and in </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Don Quixote</span></i></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">he has given us one of the best of them. These epilogues are often nostalgic reflections on lives lived and loves lost and in this case, of a life lived in fantasy and delusion. </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">We can all relate to Strauss’s themes to some degree and so we see and hear in Don Quixote’s music the sobering recognition of what could have been and will never be. Strauss indicates in the score that this music is to be played expressively, quietly, for the most part, and with the tempo getting slower and slower as the moment of death approaches. </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">I suspect that when </span><a href="http://www.austin360.com/arts/cellist-talks-about-his-role-in-strauss-don-339092.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#333399;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Douglas Harvey</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#333399;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">returns to this piece later in his life, this section will mean more to him and he will give the music a more personal character. What is needed is a slower tempo, to be sure, but also a more inward quality perhaps achieved through a greater use of tonal colors and more flexibility in the phrasing. </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">As always, of course, there is a fine line between genuine depth of feeling and tasteless sentimentality. For example, Strauss himself cautioned cellists performing this piece against drawing out the final </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">glissando</span></i></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">inordinately. Like any great masterpiece, however, </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Don Quixote</span></i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">cannot possibly yield up all its riches in any single performance; for both performer and audience, there is always more to discover.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Maestro Peter Bay deserves credit, not only for rehearsing the ASO to such a high standard in this detailed and complex repertoire, but also for his imaginative programming.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Stories and Music from Dukas and Tchaikovsky</span></b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">On the first half of the program were two other well-known works inspired by literature: </span><a href="http://www.classical-composers.org/comp/dukas"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#333399;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Dukas</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">’</span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> The Sorcerer’s Apprentice</span></i></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">and Tchaikovsky’s</span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> Romeo and Juliet</span></i></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">.</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> Together with Strauss’ </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Don Quixote</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">, these three are very successful examples of their genre and give the audience a good deal to ponder with regard to how words and ideas can be translated into music. </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">The Dukas piece, as Maestro Bay pointed out in his pre-performance remarks, is already a vivid memory for many as portrayed on the screen by Walt Disney, with Mickey Mouse as the hapless apprentice. For many, Shakespeare’s play </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Romeo and Juliet</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> is also familiar from classroom study, theatrical productions or screen adaptations. By contrast, Cervantes’ </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Don Quixote</span></i></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">is unlikely to have been studied by many at school, at least in North America. Those listeners who are familiar with the work, probably know the highly successful Broadway musical version (</span><i><a href="http://www.broadwaymusicalhome.com/shows/mancha.htm"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#333399;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Man of La Mancha</span></span></a></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">), or the movie version starring Peter O’Toole as a truly memorable Don Quixote. </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Overall, one might say that this evening’s programme was a ‘popular’ one. But at the same time, each of these three works is a classical masterpiece and deserves to be taken seriously. And so they were. </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">I have written at length about </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Don Quixote</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">. The other pieces also deserve discussion. Dukas’ </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">The Sorcerer’s Apprentice</span></i></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">is a tightly-constructed orchestral </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">scherzo</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> that builds inexorably in excitement and has a programme (or story) that is easy to follow in the music. The piece is also notable for the brilliance of its orchestration. Bay and the ASO gave us a very good performance, albeit a tad too careful to be as exciting as it can be.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">The same could be said of </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Romeo and Juliet</span></i></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">. </span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">The performance was disciplined and well-balanced where it could have been intense and passionate. The final timpani roll was uneven and the punctuating chords half-hearted and anti-climactic. </span><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">In my experience, the sustained power desired here is best accomplished by using two sets of timpani.</span></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px; font-style: italic; "><span><a href="http://www.theartoftheconductor.com/books.html" style="color: rgb(102, 102, 153); "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 153); "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Paul E. Robinson</span></span></span></a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> is the author of </span></span><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 153); "><em><a title="Karajan, Maestro as Superstar, Paul E. Robinson, author" href="http://www.amazon.com/Herbert-von-Karajan-Maestro-Superstar/dp/0595461476" style="color: rgb(102, 153, 204); "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 153); "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Herbert von Kar</span></span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); "><a title="Karajan, Maestro as Superstar, Paul E. Robinson, author" href="http://www.amazon.com/Herbert-von-Karajan-Maestro-Superstar/dp/0595461476" style="color: rgb(102, 153, 204); "><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 153); "><em><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">ajan: the Maestro as Superstar</span></span></em></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">, and </span></span><a title="classical music, books, Sir Georg Solit, Paul E. Robinson, author" href="http://www.amazon.com/Sir-Georg-Solti-Life-Music/dp/0595399533/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1240156865&sr=1-3http://" style="color: rgb(102, 153, 204); "><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 153); "><em><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Sir Georg Solti: His Life and Music</span></span></em></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">, both available at Amazon.com.</span></span></span></em></span></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Photo: Maestro Peter Bay and Austin Symphony rehearsal by</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#333399;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span><a href="http://www.theartoftheconductor.com/family.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#333399;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Marita</span></span></a></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"> </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"> </span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%; "><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"> </span></span></o:p></span></p> <!--EndFragment--><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6569885886225390231-6052123559584839432?l=www.scena.org%2Fblog' alt='' /></div>Paul E. Robinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17137419408881646787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6569885886225390231.post-21349855085257861992010-03-23T23:02:00.004-04:002010-03-24T00:33:12.485-04:00Review: Massenet's Cendrillon at Koerner Hall<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.scena.org/blog/uploaded_images/Meghan_Lindsay_and_Michael_Ciufo2_small-714886.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 208px; height: 320px;" src="http://www.scena.org/blog/uploaded_images/Meghan_Lindsay_and_Michael_Ciufo2_small-714876.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><div>(top) Meghan Lindsay (Cendrillon) and Michael Ciufo (Prince Charming)</div><div>(bottom) Joelle Tan (Fairy Godmother)</div><div><div>Photos by Nicola Betts</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.scena.org/blog/uploaded_images/Joelle_Tan_small-796072.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 220px;" src="http://www.scena.org/blog/uploaded_images/Joelle_Tan_small-795973.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>One of the pleasures of springtime in Toronto is the opera production from the Glenn Gould School of the Royal Conservatory of Music. This year, it is particularly momentous because for the first time, it is taking place in the spanking new Koerner Hall. Opened since last September, this venue boasts excellent sight lines and superb acoustics. Having heard a number of concerts there already, most recently the Canadian Chopin Competition Winners' Concert, I was eager to hear (and see) an opera production. This year, the GGS Opera is Jules Massenet's <i>Cendrillon</i>. To most opera buffs, when they think of Cinderella, it is usually Rossini's <i>La Cenerentola</i>, with <i>Cendrillon</i> a distant second, a real shame as there's some beautiful music in the Massenet score. Depending on the production, it can be either rollickingly funny or whimsical and touching. It's not performed very often, but quite remarkably, it is being done by both GGS-RCM as well as Opera de Montreal within a couple of months this spring! The last time I saw this piece was a screamingly funny Paris Opera production by Laurent Pelly. It was one of the more memorable nights in the theatre in recent years.</div><div><br /></div><div>GGS operas are sung by advanced students earmarked for professional careers, and each year there are new voices to discover. Last year's <i>Cosi</i>, for example, featured two excellent sisters - Inga Fillipova-Williams as Fiordiligi and Wallis Giunta as Dorabella. I attended today's show expecting some fine singing and I was not disappointed. The principal roles are all double-cast. Today's performance was the "first cast" with a bunch of fresh, appealing voices. Top vocal honours today went to soprano Meghan Lindsay as Cendrillon, a role usually sung by a mezzo. She has lovely stage presence and sang with silvery tone, with an exquisite<i> mezza voce</i>. Partnering her was tenor Michael Ciufo. Darkly handsome and singing with bright sound, excellent French and ingratiating tone save for a few tight top notes, Ciufo was a fine Prince Charming, a role sometimes also taken by a mezzo. The big Act 3 duet between Lindsay and Ciufo was the highlight of the opera. As Madame de la Haltiere, Ramona Carmelly had the right comic flair and rich tone. Baritone Maciej Bujnowicz looked a bit too young to be the father, but he was an unusually sympathetic Pandolfe. Also noteworthy was the crystalline, soubrette tones of Joelle Tan as the Fairy Godmother - this fairy had no magic wand but held a crystal globe in her palm! The supporting roles were all cast from strength. </div><div><br /></div><div>The production benefited from the more spacious staging area of Koerner Hall, compared to the old Mazzoleni Hall. The simple but stylish sets by Brent Krysa worked very well in this space - it's amazing what an archway, a few screens, a settee, and a fireplace mantel can do! The presence of balconies allowed the Fairy to deliver her ethereal lines in Act 3 from high above - an effective moment. The costumes are sumptuous, particularly when you consider this is a student production. However, a few wigs would have been nice to match the period costumes, particularly for Madame Haltiere. I must say I was expecting some belly laughs along the lines of the Laurent Pelly production I saw. But it didn't happen - director Graham Cozzubbo underplayed the comic moments and emphasized the more wistful and sad elements of the story. The lighting by Robert Thomson was particularly well executed, helping the story telling greatly. The orchestra under the expert direction of conductor Uri Mayer sounded really wonderful, even if a little too loud during climactic moments. There were even surtitles, although placed a bit too high and the text too small for the audience. All in all, a most enjoyable show. The last performance takes place on March 25 </div></div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6569885886225390231-2134985508525786199?l=www.scena.org%2Fblog' alt='' /></div>Joseph Sohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07999267055992363762noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6569885886225390231.post-57521927682564470382010-03-21T09:05:00.003-04:002010-03-21T10:23:14.637-04:00This Week in Toronto (March 22 - 28)<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.scena.org/blog/uploaded_images/gauvin_small-701656.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="http://www.scena.org/blog/uploaded_images/gauvin_small-701641.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>Soprano Karina Gauvin (Photo: Michael Slobodian)<div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>There are a number of very interesting concerts on offer this week. For one thing, English Canada's favourite Quebec singer, soprano <b>Karina Gauvin</b> is in town. She is appearing with the <b>Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra</b> in selections from Handel's Alcina. Gauvin has had a big success in this piece, so it is a great chance to hear her live singing these arias. It is part of a program called <i>Enchantress - </i>the character of Alcina is a sorceress afterall. In addition to <i>Alcina</i>, we also get to hear the Vivaldi Motet <i>In furore justissimae irae. </i>The dates are March 25, 27, and 28 at the Trinity St. Paul's Centre, and March 30 at the George Weston Hall. It is good to have Tafelmusik still playing at this woefully underused North York venue. I remember so fondly the wonderful music I heard there throughout the 1990's. For concert times and tickets, go to <a href="http://www.tafelmusik.org/index.php">http://www.tafelmusik.org/index.php</a></div><div><br /></div><div>The <b>Royal Conservatory of Music</b>'s production of Massenet's <i>Cendrillon</i> continues this week, with performances on Tuesday March 23 at the very odd time of 11:00 am at Koerner Hall. The last of four performances is on Thursday, March 25 at 7:30 pm. It features students from the Glenn Gould School program.</div><div><br /></div><div>Another high profile visitor to TO this week is welcome return of conductor <b>Rafael Fruhbeck de Burgos</b>, the music director of the Dresden Philharmonic. He conducts Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique with the <b>Toronto Symphony Orchestra,</b> together with Spanish music - a piece by Turina and the perennial audience favourite <i>Concierto di Aranjuez</i> by Rodriqo, with <b>Pepe Romero</b> as the guitar soloist. Pepe Romero is of course part of the legendary Romero Family of great guitar players. Throughout my undergraduate days, I went to all the concerts of Angel Romero whenever I could. If you like the guitar, this is not to be missed - two performances on March 24 and 25 at 8 pm at Roy Thomson Hall. On Saturday March 27, at 1:30 and 3:30 pm, the TSO presents <i>Spanish Fire!</i> a program for young audiences of Spanish music at popular prices, featuring Pepe Romeo and the <b>Esmeralda Enrique Spanish Dance Company</b>.</div><div><br /></div><div>On March 23 8 pm at the St. Lawrence Centre, <b>Music Toronto</b> presents pianist <b>Stephane Lamelin</b> in a program of Schubert Sonatas. The innovative <b>Tapestry New Opera Works</b> under music director <b>Wayne Strongman</b> - who incidentally was recently award the Order of Canada - is presenting <i>Opera To Go</i>, a revival of five short operas it had previously presented. It takes place at the fermenting Cellar, 55 Mills Street in the Distillery District of downtown Toronto. Performances on March 24, 25, and 26 at 8 pm. On Sunday March 28 at 2:30 pm, <b>Opera in Concert</b> presents Bellini's <i>I Puritani</i> at the Jane Mallet Theatre of the St. Lawrence Centre. This is a concert performance and with piano, but it seems unlikely this opera will be staged by our opera companies in town, so this is a good opportunity to hear it live. </div><div><br /></div><div>Finally, a company previously unfamiliar to me, <b>Wish Opera</b>, is presenting an opera concert on March 25 and 27 8 pm at the Sandra Faire and Ivan Fecan Theatre of York University. Soloists are tenor <b>Ermanno Mauro</b>, soprano <b>Sinead Sugrue</b>, baritone <b>James Westman</b>, with orchestra conducted by <b>Sabatino Vacca</b>. Globe and Mail's <b>Deirdre Kelly</b> is the emcee. Wish Opera's very intriguing mission is to "create a modern vision of opera by fusing the existing beauty of operatic sound with contemporary fashion and design" - a most intriguing idea! For more information, go to <a href="http://www.wishopera.ca/">http://www.wishopera.ca/</a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6569885886225390231-5752192768256447038?l=www.scena.org%2Fblog' alt='' /></div>Joseph Sohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07999267055992363762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6569885886225390231.post-79400017952664119952010-03-19T10:20:00.000-04:002010-03-19T10:20:29.033-04:00Bear-like Pianist Denis Matsuev a Knockout<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">By L.H. Tiffany Hsieh<br /><br />There was a bear on stage at Roy Thomson Hall Wednesday night, and he consumed the black Steinway concert grand like a toy piano.<br /><br />OK, the Siberian-born pianist Denis Matsuev isn’t a bear, but the 34-year-old with all his Russian roar was bear-like in his performance of Rachmaninoff’s <i>Piano Concerto No. 3</i> — lovable and cuddly on the outside, powerful on the inside, and prone to be violent in extreme situations.<br /><br />Backed by conductor Valery Gergiev and the touring Mariinsky Orchestra (formerly the Kirov Orchestra), the <i>Rach 3</i> was the centrepiece of an all-Russian program that marked the end of the Mariinsky’s two back-to-back concerts in Toronto.<br /><br />Matsuev, a pianist with inhuman techniques, was more than generous in his delivery of the world’s toughest piece of piano music. The sound was big, to say the least, and depending on where you sat in the hall, it often drowned out the entire orchestra with seemingly little effort. At least that was the case sixth row from the stage and off centre to the right.<br /><br />That being said, Matsuev was a pure knockout. His lyricism was subdued (lovable and cuddly), his sense of harmonics multi-dimensional (powerful), and his blistering climaxes extreme (prone to be violent). Even as he pounded across the keyboard in full force and oversaturated intensity, the lid shaking and all, there was something ecstatic about his playing that made you want to stay with the music instead of tuning out.<br /><br />Gergiev and the fabled Mariinsky Orchestra did their best to keep up with the soloist, but there was only room for one bear on stage.<br /><br />The crowd gave Matsuev a persistent standing ovation before receiving a solo encore prior to the intermission. With the orchestra still seated on stage, Matsuev played Figaro’s aria from Rossini’s <i>Barber of Seville</i> in a flashy Liszt-like transcription.<br /><br />This is a pianist with a big heart and he holds nothing back. If you like things hot, you’ll love Matsuev. If you have a low tolerance for heat, Matsuev is better appreciated in small doses.<br /><br />The rest of the program consisted of Liadov’s <i>The Enchanted Lake</i> and Shostakovich’s <i>Symphony No. 15</i>.<br /><br />Anatol Liadov (1855-1914) was a pupil of Rimsky-Korsakov and teacher to Prokofiev. In <i>The Enchanted Lake</i>, which opened the concert, Gergiev created a romantic soundscape with serene colours and rich textures. Conducting baton-less and without a podium, Gergiev’s hands didn’t beat times (they musicians know how to count perfectly well by themselves). Rather, his incredibly soft-looking and what seemed like battery-run tripe-jointed fingers fluttered about in the air, sending out vibrations of feelings.<br /><br />As a listener, Gergiev’s hands were intriguing to watch throughout the concert. However, by the end of the concert, in Shostakovich’s <i>Symphony No. 15</i>, one wondered whether it was a necessity, a conducting style, or a nervous tic that those fingers fluttered as much and fast as butterflies do.<br /><br />The Mariinsky Orchestra was a powerhouse in Shostakovich’s last symphony, which isn’t an easy piece to take in for an average listener. Throughout its barren four movements — the fastest being allegretto — the musicians responded to Gergiev’s ever-animated hand gestures and displayed a well-absorbed understanding of the piece’s dark inner meaning. The solo cello was especially haunting and beautiful while the percussions offered a striking blend with absolute precision.<br /><br />Gergiev gave an encore following another standing ovation. After several more bowings, he signaled section principals to exist the stage and waved goodbye at the audience.</span> </div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6569885886225390231-7940001795266411995?l=www.scena.org%2Fblog' alt='' /></div>Crystal Chanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00094265258096557162noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6569885886225390231.post-38836696899351194132010-03-18T14:45:00.001-04:002010-03-18T18:08:20.509-04:00Pressler at Pollack<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">By Hannah Rahimi and Kali Halapua</span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The 86 year-old Menahem Pressler appeared last night at Pollack Hall before a packed house of appreciative musicians and music lovers. A generous performer, Pressler smiled throughout the evening, possessed with a twinkling energy that fueled his playing and spread throughout the audience. Well-programmed, the concert consisted of Dvorak’s <i>Quintet in A Major, Op. 81</i>, performed with the Cecilia String Quartet, McGill’s graduate quartet in residence, followed by Schubert’s beloved “Trout” quintet, performed with McGill faculty members, Jonathan Crow (violin), Douglas McNabney (viola), Matt Haimovitz (cello) and Ali Yazdanfar (double bass).</span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The young Cecilia Quartet presented an elegant interpretation of Dvorak’s lyrical, folk-inspired work, to a standing ovation. They showed their best in the livelier moments of the piece, displaying an impressive unity of expression and articulation. At times, their phrasing and melodic contrasts could have been more strongly emphasized to give the piece a greater intensity. Pressler’s exquisite phrasing stood out; he transformed the piece with melodic expression that seemed as natural as breathing.</span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">After intermission, the performance of the Trout quintet exemplified the best of chamber music with highly responsive, nuanced playing. Crow displayed his remarkable sense of phrasing and tone, enjoying a brilliant rapport with Pressler. The blend of sound between Crow, McNabney, Haimovitz and Yazdanfar was beautifully rich and varied.</span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Watching Pressler interact with the other performers was a reminder of the pure joy that can arise from playing chamber music. Music appears to be an energizing force that has carried Pressler through 86 years with no sign of slowing down. </span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; margin: 1ex;"><div></div></div><div class="ShiftSpaceElement " id="SSConsoleFrameWrapper" style="bottom: 0px; display: none; height: 150px; left: 0px; opacity: 0.9; overflow: hidden; position: fixed; right: 0px; visibility: visible; z-index: 1000001;"><iframe addcover="false" class="ShiftSpaceElement " id="ShiftSpaceConsole" style="height: 100%; overflow: hidden; width: 100%;"></iframe></div><div class="ShiftSpaceElement " id="SS_ShiftMenu" style="display: none;"><div class="ShiftSpaceElement container"><div class="ShiftSpaceElement button" title="Notes"><img class="ShiftSpaceElement " src="http://www.shiftspace.org/api/spaces/Notes/Notes.png" /></div><div class="ShiftSpaceElement button" title="ImageSwap"><img class="ShiftSpaceElement " src="http://www.shiftspace.org/api/spaces/ImageSwap/ImageSwap.png" /></div><div class="ShiftSpaceElement button" title="Highlights"><img class="ShiftSpaceElement " src="http://www.shiftspace.org/api/spaces/Highlights/Highlights.png" /></div><div class="ShiftSpaceElement button" title="SourceShift"><img class="ShiftSpaceElement " src="http://www.shiftspace.org/api/spaces/SourceShift/SourceShift.png" /></div><div class="ShiftSpaceElement button" title="http://www.shiftspace.org/api/spaces/SourceShift/SourceShift.png"><img class="ShiftSpaceElement " src="http://www.shiftspace.org/api/spaces/http://www.shiftspace.org/api/spaces/SourceShift/SourceShift.png/http://www.shiftspace.org/api/spaces/SourceShift/SourceShift.png.png" /></div></div></div><div class="ShiftSpaceElement SSConsoleNotifier" style="display: none;"><img alt="ShiftSpace" class="ShiftSpaceElement " src="http://www.shiftspace.org/api/images/Console/notifier-icon.png" style="cursor: pointer;" /></div><div class="ShiftSpaceElement SSMenu SSUserSelectNone SSDisplayNone" id="SSConsolePluginMenu" style="display: none;"><div class="ShiftSpaceElement SSMenuTopItem item"><div class="SSLeft">Top Item</div></div><div class="ShiftSpaceElement SSMenuItem item"><div class="SSLeft">Middle Item</div></div><div class="ShiftSpaceElement SSMenuBottomItem item"><div class="SSLeft">Bottom Item</div></div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6569885886225390231-3883669689935119413?l=www.scena.org%2Fblog' alt='' /></div>Crystal Chanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00094265258096557162noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6569885886225390231.post-12949687502082633542010-03-17T18:54:00.006-04:002010-03-19T14:01:21.238-04:00Interview: Sondra Radvanovsky at The New Classical 96.3 FM<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.scena.org/blog/uploaded_images/Radvanovsky_Petrenko-772283.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://www.scena.org/blog/uploaded_images/Radvanovsky_Petrenko-772275.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.scena.org/blog/uploaded_images/Radvanovsky_963_1-772242.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://www.scena.org/blog/uploaded_images/Radvanovsky_963_1-772106.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>(b) Soprano Sondra Radvanovsky in Concert at the New Classical 96.3 FM</div><div>(t) Radvanovsky interviewed by broadcaster Alexa Petrenko (Photos by Soula Zisidis)</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Soprano <b>Sondra Radvanovsky</b> is Canada's - and Toronto's - best kept secret. I say that because the internationally renowned soprano sings in all the important opera houses of the world, yet hardly ever in her adopted country of Canada. The American-born Radvanovsky is married to a Canadian, Duncan Lear, who is also her business manager. They have been living near Toronto for quite some years now. Yet the only time she has sung in Toronto was a brief appearance in <i>LUNA</i>, an opera concert during the Luminato Festival three years ago. But things are going to change. This Saturday March 20 8 pm, Radvanovsky and the Russian baritone sensation Dmitri Hvorostovsky will give an opera concert at Roy Thomson Hall. This is part of a tour sponsored by Show One Productions that will take them to Montreal and New York. They have sung together in many opera productions, but particularly in Verdi's <i>Il Trovatore</i>. They will reprise the opera at the Arena di Verona this coming summer. This fall, Radvanovsky will be making a belated COC debut, as <i>Aida</i>, which will also be her role debut. An authentic "Verdi soprano", Radvanovsky has a dark-hued and sumptuous soprano of beauty and power, with a remarkable range, from mezzo lows to a high E-natural. She is also capable of a full range of dynamics, from honeyed <i>mezza voce</i> to knock 'em dead fortissimos. I have heard Regine Crespin and Gwyneth Jones live, two legendary sopranos known for the huge sounds they made. Judging by yesterday's concert that Radvanovsky gave at the New Classical 96.3 FM, our Sondra has them beat in the volume department, and beautiful too!</div><div><br /></div><div>For an hour, Radvanovsky sang a very generous recital of six arias, including four very substantial pieces. She began with 'Tacea la notte placida' from Il Trovatore. Hearing that vibrant, dark-timbred soprano up close was thrilling. She followed by "Tu che le vanita", Elisabetta's last act aria from <i>Don Carlo</i>, which she just sang in Paris last week. This long, 7 minute aria requires a true<i> grandi voce</i> and Radvanovsky has it in spades. The third aria was 'Ernani, involami', complete with the vocal fireworks, followed by Amelia's 'Morro, ma prima di grazia' from<i> Ballo</i>, a role she is going to tackle next season. She then surprised us with the chestnut, 'O mio babbino caro' - not something in her repertoire, but of course one of the most recognizable arias. It was amazing to hear her huge voice singing this essentially soubrette piece! Her last piece was an even bigger surprise, a song made famous by Canada-born Deanna Durbin, "Beneath the Lights of Home", a sentimental piece sung with great feeling by Radvanovsky. In between, she chatted with the host Alexa Petrenko. After the concert, I had a chance of interviewing the soprano. She is a completely delightful person, very down to earth with no trace of the diva. Here is a transcript of our interview: </div><div><br /></div><div>****************************</div><div><br /></div><div><i>JS: Is it true that you started your career at the age of eleven? What were you singing at that age?</i></div><div>SR: I was singing a lot of Italian art songs. I did my first opera as a smoke girl in <i>Carmen</i>, at 13! It was in a little town in Richmond, Indiana.</div><div><i>JS: Have you always had this dark timbre in your sound?</i></div><div>SR: Yes, I have. Actually my voice developed very early. I started as a mezzo...that's where the colour came from. Maybe it's also the Czech part of my heritage. My father is Czech and my mom Danish.</div><div><i>JS: Can you still speak Czech?</i></div><div>SR: Yes, a little.</div><div><i>JS: Where did you do your vocal studies?</i></div><div>SR: I went to USC and UCLA, as a theatre major. I also studied privately with Martial Singher when I was at UCLA.</div><div><i>JS: You also studied with Ruth Falcon?</i></div><div>SR: Yes, for fourteen years - I left her two years ago.</div><div><i>JS: What about Diana Soviero? Do you still work with her?</i></div><div>SR: Yes, I work with her on and off - it's just hard to find the time. I work mostly with my coach in New York: I've been with him now for sixteen years. I basically know how to sing...I just need a set of ears to tell me if something is right or not. </div><div><i>JS: You said your voice changed drastically the last year and a half....can you explain?</i></div><div>SR: When a singer is forty, the voice starts to deepen and grow...it is a maturity thing that singers go through. I'm learning about my voice...</div><div><i>JS: Does that mean Norma is beckoning?</i></div><div>SR: Yes it does! I have three contracts for it, maybe even four...It'll be in 2012. I did <i>Lucrezia Borgia</i> a year ago and it's a really good step into Norma. I also have the three Queens (Donizetti's <i>Maria Stuarda, Roberto Devereux</i>, and <i>Anna Bolena</i>) slated. I'll be doing them together in one place...can't say where yet, but it's in a very large opera house (laughs). I'll then be doing them separately around the world....</div><div><i>JS: I'm so looking forward to your Aida....</i></div><div>SR: It's a role that has scared me for the longest time, I must say. There is so much tradition associated with this opera...</div><div><i>JS: With your high pianissimos it'll be perfect...</i></div><div>SR: What scares me more is the first aria, 'Ritorna vincitor' - it's so dramatic and so easy to get caught up in the drama as opposed to staying calm. Yes, I'm excited but a little nervous!</div><div><i>JS: Would you say the Trovatore Leonora is your signature role?</i></div><div>SR: Absolutely! I've done it hundreds of times.</div><div><i>JS: What about Elena in Vespri?</i></div><div>SR: Oh I do love sing Vespri! You get to show off so much of your voice - I throw in the high E-natural at the end of the <i>Bolero</i>. She has three really great arias...</div><div><i>JS: It's not done very often, is it?</i></div><div>SR: I think it's because it is such a big production, and it really requires some sincere, honest, true Verdi singers to carry it off. I'll be doing it in Torino in March 2011.</div><div><i>JS: Who had the biggest influence on you when you were growing up and studying to be an opera singer?</i></div><div>SR: The biggest influence was Placido Domingo. I saw him on TV singing in <i>Tosca</i> at the Arena di Verona when I was eleven. I said to my mom - 'I want to do that'! The first recording I bought was <i>La forza del destino</i> with Leontyne Price, Domingo and Sherrill Milnes. I listened to Price and I thought - oh, where did this voice come from?! It's so beautiful, like molten lava, the chocolaty warm sound. Then I found Maria Callas! Domingo, Price and Callas had the biggest influence on me. I was very lucky to find and be attracted to voices that are similar to mine too!</div><div><i>JS: What do you love most about your work, as an opera singer? </i></div><div>SR: I <i>love</i> to sing, I really do. It sounds cheesy and simple, but the thrill of standing on stage emoting, telling the story to the audience, capturing them for three hours, transporting them to a different world, having people forget their worries for three hours...for me, the visceral feeling of singing - there's nothing like it in the world! And I get paid to do it...</div><div><i>JS: Do you still study? Do you vocalize every day?</i></div><div>SR: Yes, studying - it's a constant, ongoing thing. During the opera season I vocalize every day, but in the summer time, I like to take time off. We sing such heavy music, I need a rest in the summer. I try to take three months off, but things sneak in. I'll go to Vienna for a Verdi Requiem, and then I go to Verona to sing <i>Trovatore</i> with Dmitri. I sang there six years ago. I was doing 'D'amour sull'ali rose', and a shooting star went across the sky - you think, where else in the world can you have this...</div><div>J<i>S: Now, what do you NOT like about your profession?</i></div><div>SR: (Big laughs) The travelling! For me, travelling, and being away from home is difficult. Luckily, my husband travels with me, so I bring part of my home with me. It's become such a hassle after 9/11. Just simple things like taking a bottle of water on the plane, being body checked...you feel so violated. Just the hassle of it.</div><div><i>JS: Have you ever missed an engagement because of this?</i></div><div>SR: No, thank goodness! But I've missed a plane because of it. That part of it is tough...missing birthdays, weddings, anniversaries. You really get to know who are your real, dear friends. Unfortunately, they often have to come travel to you. But you make it work. The good thing is you know when you are going to be home. I have my schedule for the next 6 or 7 years - I'm booked to 2016-17, so I know when I'll have a free week to go to the Bahamas! </div><div><i>JS: How many performances do you sing a year?</i></div><div>SR: It depends, maybe 40 operas. Including concert, it's maybe up to 50, 55.</div><div><i>JS: If you do have spare time, what do you enjoy doing?</i></div><div>SR: Sitting at home (laughs) I'm a real homebody...sitting at home and having friends over. It's such a simple joy. We have a new house we bought in September and I haven't seen the flowers grow yet. We have ten acres, trees, pond...I love going into the garden.</div><div><i>JS: Do you enjoy your life here in Canada?</i></div><div>SR: I do, I really love it! We live right by the forks of the Credit now...walking down there right by the river. Canada is breathtaking...this area is spectacular, and the people are so nice.</div><div><i>JS: When you are not learning music, not studying, what do you listen to?</i></div><div>SR: A lot of pop music...I just bought Barbra Streisand's CD - she's a good friend of ours. I also like Josh Groban... he's also a friend of ours. Love Billy Joel, 80's music... of my generation. It's fun, easy listening.</div><div><br /></div><div>*****************</div><div>A short 2 minute video clip of the Radvanovsky concert at The New Classical 96.3 FM can be found on Youtube: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V8TXGwy8xl8">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V8TXGwy8xl8</a></div><div><br /></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6569885886225390231-1294968750208263354?l=www.scena.org%2Fblog' alt='' /></div>Joseph Sohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07999267055992363762noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6569885886225390231.post-66257006324323661542010-03-16T14:04:00.000-04:002010-03-16T14:04:15.000-04:00Cette Semaine à Montréal / This Week in Montreal (16 – 23 mars / March)<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b style="color: #274e13;">Musique / Music</b></span></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: center;"></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.scena.org/blog/uploaded_images/tetzlaff1_print-786104.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="216" src="http://www.scena.org/blog/uploaded_images/tetzlaff1_print-785989.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div align="LEFT" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #231f20;">The prodigious German violinist <b>Christian Tetzlaff</b> makes his debut with the OSM on <b>March 15 and 16</b> in a performance of Tchaikovsky’s </span><span style="color: #231f20;"><i>Violin Concerto</i></span><span style="color: #231f20;">. This concert will feature the renowned conducting skills of <b>Sir Andrew Davis</b>, who will also lead the orchestra in performances of Debussy’s </span><span style="color: #231f20;"><i>Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune </i></span><span style="color: #231f20;">and Elgar’s first symphony. (<a href="http://www.osm.ca/">www.osm.ca</a>, 514-842-2112) – Hannah Rahimi</span></span></div><div align="LEFT" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div align="LEFT" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #231f20;">The <b>Molinari Quartet</b> celebrates the Russian composer <b>Alfred Schnittke</b> with a series of lectures and performances at the Conservatoire de musique de Montréal. On <b>March 17, 18, and 19</b>, audiences can attend free lectures at 5 p.m. Each evening at 8 p.m. various Schnittke quartets will be performed (tickets are $5). The series culminates in a marathon concert on March 20 with performances of all four string quartets, </span><span style="color: #231f20;"><i>In memoriam Igor Stravinsky for quartet</i></span><span style="color: #231f20;">, and the piano quintet with guest Louise Bessette. (<a href="http://www.quatuormolinari.qc.ca/">www.quatuormolinari.qc.ca</a>, 514-527-5515) – Hannah Rahimi </span></span> </div><div align="LEFT" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div align="LEFT" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Pour clore la saison de leur 40e anniversaire, l’ensemble de musique de chambre <b>Musica Camerata</b> de Montréal présente Les Russes et le klezmer, comprenant deux œuvres pour clarinette, violoncelle et piano : le </span></span><span style="color: #231f20;"><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">Trio Pathétique </span></i></span><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">de Glinka et </span></span><span style="color: #231f20;"><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">Les Noces du Klezmer </span></i></span><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">de Srul I. Glick. Une première canadienne terminera le programme: un </span></span><span style="color: #231f20;"><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">Quintette pour piano et quatuor à cordes </span></i></span><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">de Sergey Taneyev. Le concert aura lieu le 20 mars à 20 h – et</span></span><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></span><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">non en avril, comme indiqué au dépliant – à la salle Redpath de l’Université McGill. (514-489-8713, <a href="http://www.camerata.ca/">www.camerata.ca</a>) – Renée Banville </span></span></span> </div><div align="LEFT" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div align="LEFT" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-size: small;">Polyphonie européenne et musique traditionnelle latine, c’est ce métissage unique que présente le samedi <b>20 mars</b> à 20 h l’<b>Ensemble Caprice</b> dans la <i>Salsa baroque </i>sous l’habile direction du flûtiste Matthias Maute. Reconnu sur la scène internationale, l’ensemble instrumental est récipiendaire avec le SMAM du prix Opus</span></span></div><div align="LEFT" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-size: small;">« Concert de l’année – Musiques médiévale, de la renaissance, baroque » et d’un prix Juno « Meilleur album de musique classique – Catégorie musique vocale ou chorale ». (Chapelle Notre-Dame-de-</span></span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #231f20;">Bon-Secours. 514-423-3611, <a href="http://www.ensemblecaprice.com/">www.ensemblecaprice.com</a>) – Renée Banville </span></span> </div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-size: small;">Le dimanche <b>21 mars</b> à 19 h 30, le <b>Studio de musique ancienne de Montréal</b> (SMAM), aussi lauréat aux prix</span></span></div><div align="LEFT" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Opus, présente un concert avec les <b>Voix Humaines</b>. Intitulé </span></span></span><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">La Traversée de la Manche</span></i></span></span><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">, le programme comprend des oœuvres pour voix et violes signées Gibbons, Jenkins, du Caurroy, Lejeune et Bouzignac. Les oeuvres choisies démontreront ce qui se faisait de mieux autour de 1600 des deux côtés de la Manche, dans le domaine tant sacré que profane. (Église Saint-Léon-de-Westmount. 514-861-2626, <a href="http://www.smam-montreal.com/">www.smam-montreal.com)</a> – Renée Banville </span></span></span> </div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div align="LEFT" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #231f20;">Le dimanche <b>21 mars</b> à 15h30, la Chapelle est heureuse d’accueillir pour la première fois le pianiste belge de réputation internationale <b>Olivier de Spiegeler</b>. Encensé pour son jeu d’une grande clarté au timbre subtil et au toucher délicat, le pianiste interprète des œuvres de Schumann, Frank et Chopin. (Chapelle Historique du Bon-Pasteur, 514-872-5338) – Renée Banville</span></span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="color: #0c343d; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Jazz</b></span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Amateurs de musiques improvisées, prenez </span>note ! Le <b>mardi 16</b>, la série hebdomadaire <i>Les Mardis Spaghetti </i>met sa main aux pâtes (sic) avec son <b><i>Marathon Macaroni</i></b>, soit <b>14 heures ininterrompues de musiques créatives</b> tous azimuts, et ce, dès 10 h le matin. Plus d’une cinquantaine de prestations défileront sur la petite scène du Cagibi (5490, boulevard Saint-Laurent, angle Saint-Viateur) avec des participants d’ici et d’ailleurs (Canada, É-U. et Europe).</span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Mar. 16 </b></span> </div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>* </b><i>Le marathon Macaroni</i>. La série hebdomadaire de musiques improvisées <i>Les mardis Spaghetti </i>f</span>ê<span style="font-size: small;">te ses deux ans au Cagibi de 10 h à minuit. [Programmation en ligne : <a href="http://www.myspace.com/mardispaghetti">www.myspace.com/mardispaghetti</a>.]</span></div><div align="LEFT" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div align="LEFT" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: small;">* <b>Jean-Nicholas Trottier Big Band</b>. Maison de la culture Mercier. [872-8755] 20 h</span></div><div align="LEFT" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div align="LEFT" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Mer. 17</b></span></div><div align="LEFT" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>* Quartette du tromboniste Jean-Nicholas Trottier</b>. (Lancement du disque sur Étiquette Effendi.) Upstairs Jazz Bar. 20 h 30 (En reprise, <b>le 24</b> au même endroit.)</span></div><div align="LEFT" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div align="LEFT" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Jeu 18 </b></span> </div><div align="LEFT" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>* Quartette du batteur Simon Delage</b>. Jazz Club Restaurant Dièse onze. 20 h 30</span></div><div align="LEFT" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div align="LEFT" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Mar. 23 </b></span> </div><div align="LEFT" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>* </b>Le guitariste <b>Larry Coryell</b> et son ensemble. L’Astral. 20 h</span></div><div align="LEFT" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div align="LEFT" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #231f20;"> – <span style="font-size: small;">Marc Chénard</span></span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="color: #0c343d; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Arts visuels / Visual Arts</b></span></div><div style="color: #0c343d; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><b>LE VERRE SELON TIFFANY. LA COULEUR EN FUSION</b></i></span></span></div><div align="LEFT" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #231f20;">Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal, jusqu'au 2 mai 2010</span></span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="color: #0c343d; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Theatre</b></span></div><div style="color: #0c343d; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="http://www.scena.org/blog/uploaded_images/Comedy_356-701865.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://www.scena.org/blog/uploaded_images/Comedy_356-701836.jpg" width="256" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The <a href="http://www.centaurtheatre.com/">Centaur</a> follows up with <b><i>The Comedy of Errors</i></b>, a co-production with the National Arts Centre. Inspired by Montreal’s crazed festival season, the play provides a modern look at one of Shakespeare’s earliest and most comedic plays. It tells the story of a family divided by business. Two sets of twins, separated for 33 years, suddenly find themselves in the bustling city of Ephesus. Needless to say, mass confusion and hilarious accidents ensue, including mistaken identities, infidelities and wrongful beatings. Yet, the family is reunited through love in the end, and establishes a richer and deeper bond than ever before. The Comedy of Errors runs from <b>March 2nd to the 28th</b>. – Jessica Hill</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b style="color: #351c75;">Theatre: </b>In March at the <a href="http://www.segalcentre.org/">Segal</a>, a co-production with Théâtre du Rideau-Vert brings us <b><i>Old Wicked Songs</i></b>, the story of a young American piano prodigy and his teacher. The young virtuoso, hoping to re-ignite his artistic spark, ventures to Vienna. However, he ends up colliding with his Viennese music teacher instead. Separated by their experiences, their ideas and their generations, it is their mutual love for music that becomes the one bond strong enough to bridge the gap. Robert Schumann’s songs are woven throughout the play as past and present confront each other through these two men.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b style="color: #351c75;">Theatre: </b><a href="http://www.infinitheatre.com/">Infinitheatre</a> presents <b><i>Fatherland</i></b> during the month of March. It tells the story of a quiet Westmount family that finds its sheltered world shattered one Sunday morning. A young boy is busy writing an essay about Saddam Hussein’s two sons and the aftermath of the American invasion, when his uncle lets slip to his father that he owes money to a mobster and that the mobster is on his way over to collect. Outrage, desperation and tumult arise, leading the boy to draw parallels between Saddam’s sons and his own father and uncle: brothers trapped in an opulent house while a mortal enemy draws near. Fatherland explores the power of blood ties and the mutual debt owed between sons and fathers </div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> <b><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></b></div><div align="LEFT" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #231f20;">– <span style="font-size: small;">Jessica Hill<b><br /></b></span></span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"></div><div style="color: #0c343d; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></b></div><div style="color: #0c343d; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"></div><div style="color: #0c343d; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Théâtre </b></span></div></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #231f20;"><b>EXCUSE-MOI. </b></span><span style="color: #231f20;">L’auteur de la télésérie </span><span style="color: #231f20;"><i>Aveux </i></span><span style="color: #231f20;">n’a plus besoin de prouver sa maïtrise du suspense, son don pour faire vivre avec sensibilité les personnages de gens ordinaires qui cachent de douloureux secrets. Dans cette nouvelle pièce attendue, Serge Boucher ramène le protagoniste de </span><span style="color: #231f20;"><i>24 Poses </i></span><span style="color: #231f20;">et </span><span style="color: #231f20;"><i>Là</i></span><span style="color: #231f20;">, François, confronté ici à deux épisodes charnières de la vie de ses parents. </span><span style="color: #231f20;"><b>Jusqu'au 27 mars</b>,<b> </b>au Théâtre Jean-Duceppe</span></span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #231f20;"><b>HUIS CLOS. </b></span><span style="color: #231f20;">On n’a plus guère l’occasion, à Montréal, de voir sur scène le théâtre de Jean-Paul Sartre. Quelle résonance aura aujourd’hui l’impitoyable – et la plus célèbre – pièce du philosophe existentialiste, créée en 1944 ? L’infernal trio condamné à passer l’éternité à se faire souffrir prend ici les visages de Pascale Bussières, Patrice Robitaille et Julie Le Breton. <b>Jusqu'</b></span><span style="color: #231f20;"><b>au 3 avril</b>, au Théâtre du Nouveau Monde</span></span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div align="LEFT" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #231f20;">– <span style="font-size: small;">Marie Labreque</span></span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="color: #274e13; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Danse / Dance</b></span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.scena.org/blog/uploaded_images/france-geoffroy-743341.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://www.scena.org/blog/uploaded_images/france-geoffroy-742979.jpg" width="212" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #231f20;"><b>Jusqu’au 21</b></span><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">, Tangente y va d’une </span></span><span style="color: #231f20;">programmation tous azimuts avec, notamment </span><span style="color: #231f20;"><b>Caroline Dubois</b></span><span style="color: #231f20;">, </span><span style="color: #231f20;"><b>Andrew Turner </b></span><span style="color: #231f20;">et </span><span style="color: #231f20;"><b>Isabel Mohn</b></span><span style="color: #231f20;">. Du </span><span style="color: #231f20;"><b>5 au 20</b></span><span style="color: #231f20;">, </span><span style="color: #231f20;"><b>Paula de Vasconcelos </b></span><span style="color: #231f20;">revient séduire avec sa dansethéâtre en racontant l’histoire de la découverte de la route des Indes dans </span><span style="color: #231f20;"><i>Boa Goa</i></span><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-style: normal;">. </span></span><span style="color: #231f20;"><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">La danseuse </span></i></span><span style="color: #231f20;">tétraplégique </span><span style="color: #231f20;"><b>France Geoffroy (voir le photo) </b></span><span style="color: #231f20;">se produit quant à elle au Monument national du </span><span style="color: #231f20;"><b>17 au 27</b></span><span style="color: #231f20;">, dans une chorégraphie d’</span><span style="color: #231f20;"><b>Estelle Clareton </b></span><span style="color: #231f20;">précédée d’une pièce de hip hop. Du </span><span style="color: #231f20;"><b>18 au 27</b></span><span style="color: #231f20;">, les </span><span style="color: #231f20;"><b>GBCM </b></span><span style="color: #231f20;">nous offrent un programme triple de pièces de </span><span style="color: #231f20;"><b>Jiri Kylian </b></span><span style="color: #231f20;">alors qu’</span><span style="color: #231f20;"><b>Harold Rhéaume </b></span><span style="color: #231f20;">se déplace de Québec pour mettre son âme à </span><span style="color: #231f20;"><i>Nu </i></span><span style="color: #231f20;">sur la scène de l’Agora. </span><span style="color: #231f20;"><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">Organisé par </span></i></span><span style="color: #231f20;">le Studio 303, le Festival Edgy Women s’invite à Tangente du </span><span style="color: #231f20;"><b>20 au 28 </b></span><span style="color: #231f20;">pour son volet danse et c’est avec du flamenco contemporain que mars rejoint avril.</span></span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div align="LEFT" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #231f20;">– <span style="font-size: small;">Fabienne Cabado</span></span></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6569885886225390231-6625700632432366154?l=www.scena.org%2Fblog' alt='' /></div>Crystal Chanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00094265258096557162noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6569885886225390231.post-74009253032913606942010-03-15T07:17:00.010-04:002010-03-15T16:15:24.274-04:00This Week in Toronto (March 15 - 21)<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="http://www.scena.org/blog/uploaded_images/DmitriHvorostovsky1-730607.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.scena.org/blog/uploaded_images/DmitriHvorostovsky1-730604.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 184px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 320px;" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Dmitri Hvorostovsky and Sondra Radvanovsky<br /><div>(Photo: Pavel Antonov)<br /><div><br /></div><div>The big news for voice fans this week is the blockbuster concert starring <b>Dmitri Hvorostovsky</b> and <b>Sondra Radvanovsky</b> on Saturday 8 pm March 20 at Roy Thomson Hall. It is part of a concert tour the two are taking to a number of cities in North America, including Montreal and New York. This event is <i>not</i> to be missed! For a little preview, Radvanovsky will be giving a mini-recital live from the concert lobby at <b>The New Classical 96.3 FM</b> tomorrow (Tuesday 16) at 1 pm. You can tune in to your radio, or listen to it in a webcast. I am not positive but the concert may even be available for view on the website. Go to <a href="http://www.classical963fm.com/contests/concert-lobby-sondra-radvanovsky">http://www.classical963fm.com/contests/concert-lobby-sondra-radvanovsky</a> (Note: I just had confirmation from Linda Litwack, the publicist of this concert for Show One Productions that the concert will indeed be videocast live on the internet!)<br /><br />Hvorostovsky is of course a frequent visitor to Toronto - I must have heard him here close to ten times since his first appearance here, around 1992. And I try to catch him wherever I can in my operatic travels. It is rare, however, to find Sondra Radvanovsky singing on local stages. This is particularly strange as she has been living in the GTA for quite a number of years, having married a Canadian. I heard her at the Met and Santa Fe as Violetta in <i>La Traviata</i>, but in Toronto, it was limited to only the <i>LUNA</i> concert of the first year of the Luminato Festival. If memory serves, she sang Casta Diva from <i>Norma</i> and wowed everyone. With her voice, it just takes two seconds and you just know that this is not your usual soprano voice. It is dark, rich, powerful, expressive, with stunning breath control and exemplary agility. It is, in fact, an authentic Verdi soprano, an extremely rare species. She arrives home fresh from a triu<img alt="Add Image" border="0" class="gl_photo" src="http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif" />mph as Elisabetta in <i>Don Carlo</i> at the Opera Bastille in Paris. I spoke with a friend who was lucky enough to catch her at the performance last Friday. She was in fabulous form, receiving endless ovations from the enthusiastic audience. Here is the photo of a smiling Radvanovsky backstage at the Opera Bastille after Don Carlo last Friday.</div><div><div><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.scena.org/blog/uploaded_images/Sondra-Radvanovsky-724702.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.scena.org/blog/uploaded_images/Sondra-Radvanovsky-724699.jpg" style="height: 320px; width: 240px;" /></a> </div><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;">(Photo: Pierre Couture) </div><br />Another exciting event this week is the appearance of <b>Valery Gergiev</b> and the <b>Mariinsky Orchestra </b>(formerly the Kirov Orchestra), all the way from St. Petersburg. Anytime this orchestra tours, it is always an unforgettable event, so this time it'll be no different. There will be different programs on the two nights. The first, on March 16, has Berlioz's <i>Royal Hunt and Strom from Les Troyens</i> and selections from <i>Romeo et Juliette</i>, and Tchaikovsky <i>Symphony No. 5</i>; the second performance has <i>Denis Matsuev</i> playing Rach 3, and Shostakovich S<i>ymphony No. 15!</i> Either program is terrific and if you can, go! </div><div><br /></div><div>The <b>Aradia Ensemble</b> under conductor <b>Kevin Mallon</b> presents the music of <b>Purcell's Theatre Music </b>(Don Quixote presented with excerpts from Thomas D'Urfey's play Boduca), on Sunday, 8 pm March 21, at the Glenn Gould Studio. The soloists are sopranos <b>Eve Rachel McCleod</b> and <b>Laura Albino</b>, tenor <b>Nils Brown</b> and bass <b>Jason Nedecky</b>. For more information, go to <a href="http://www.aradia.ca/">http://www.aradia.ca/</a></div><div><br /></div><div>The <b>Glenn Gould School of the Royal Conservatory of Music</b> presents a staged version of Massenet's <i><b>Cendrillon</b></i> conducted by <b>Uri Mayer</b> with stage direction by <b>Graham Cozzubbo</b>, with students from the GGS Vocal Program and Opera in Concert Chorus. I once saw this show at Santa Fe Opera, in the Laurent Pelly production, and it was incredibly funny. I am sure with the youthful enthusiasm of the GGS students and the expert baton of Mayer, this will be a very good show. It opens on March 20, 7:30 pm at Koerner Hall, with additional performances on March 21, 23, and 35, at different times. For details and tickets, go to <a href="http://performance.rcmusic.ca/viewallconcerts">http://performance.rcmusic.ca/viewallconcerts</a></div></div></div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6569885886225390231-7400925303291360694?l=www.scena.org%2Fblog' alt='' /></div>Joseph Sohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07999267055992363762noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6569885886225390231.post-87031842035892829272010-03-13T17:10:00.002-05:002010-03-13T17:10:51.139-05:00German quartet wowed in Toronto<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">By L.H. Tiffany Hsieh</span><br /><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The Hugo Wolf Quartett made its Toronto debut with Music Toronto at the Jane Mallett Theatre on March 11.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">And this string quartet from Germany can play.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Made up of violinists Sebastian Gürtler, Régis Bringolf, violist Gertrud Weinmeister, and cellist Florian Berner, the quartet, founded at the Vienna Conservatory in 1993, opened the concert with Mozart’s String Quartet No. 21 in D major, K. 575, Prussian No. 1. Their articulation was clear and their sound pure and simple, with little or no vibrato. Gürtler’s phrasing was expressive without excess, and he was matched with an impeccable blend from the rest of the ensemble. It was Mozart as it should be, which always sounds easier than it actually is.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Immediately following Mozart, the quartet leaped 120 years forward with Webern’s Five Movements for Sting Quartet, Op. 5. Here, the players fed off each other’s sporadic squeaks and shrills with precision and taste. The auditorium was driven with an eerie suspense that lasted through each and every nuance, climax, and dead silence.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The showpiece of the program was Schubert’s Quartet in D minor, D. 810, better known as Death and the Maiden. From the fiendishly driven opening Allegro, the quartet displayed a superb sense of tension that was both urgent and paced. The cello, prominently featured throughout this piece, was played beautifully by Berner, who delivered some haunting solos and sweet melodies. Weinmeister on the viola was poised, her tone warm and sombre. Bringolf countered with perfect intensity and Gürtler kept the quartet in check in a gripping performance that was full of energy and excitement.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The piece ended with a unison “Wow” from the audience.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Returning to stage for an encore, the Hugo Wolf Quartett played the third movement of Janacek’s String Quartet No. 2, Intimate Letters with outpouring emotion, leaving a trail of poignancy lingering in the brisk evening air.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">This quartet was at times rigid but never dull. Their stellar sound and wonderful presence make them well worth hearing live. A return engagement in the near future is most welcome.</div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6569885886225390231-8703184203589282927?l=www.scena.org%2Fblog' alt='' /></div>Crystal Chanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00094265258096557162noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6569885886225390231.post-76268113703296800312010-03-11T10:53:00.031-05:002010-03-11T19:05:34.526-05:00Rach 3 Rocks with Nissman and the Austin Symphony!<div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-style: italic; font-family:verdana, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">by </span><a href="http://www.theartoftheconductor.com/bio.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#333399;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Paul E. Robinson</span></span></a></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 255px;" src="http://www.scena.org/blog/uploaded_images/4nocolcorcropSCN0443-764481.jpg" border="0" alt="" /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Last week, at the </span><a href="http://www.thelongcenter.org/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#333399;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Long Center</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> for the Performing Arts, </span><a href="http://www.austinsymphony.org/about/conductor/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#333399;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Peter Bay</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> and the </span><a href="http://www.austinsymphony.org/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#333399;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Austin Symphony</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> presented an all-Russian program: </span><a href="http://www.rachmaninoff.org/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#333399;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Rachmaninov</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">’s </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Vocalise</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">, followe<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">d by the </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Rachmaninov</span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piano_Concerto_No._2_(Rachmaninoff)"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Piano Concerto No. 3, and closing with the Shostakovich Symphony No. 5, the Russian composer’s most popular symphony.</span></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">As always, Maestro Bay had prepared well and interpreted the music with assurance and without exaggeration of any kind. </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br />In the opening piece, <i>Vocalise</i>, Bay went for a nuanced, understated beauty that suited this slight work very well. Personally, I would like to hear more expansive phrasing in some sections, but then I may be biased by my own current research on that most rhapsodic of conductors, Leopold </span><a href="http://www.stokowskisociety.net/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#333399;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Stokowski</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Standing Ovation for Nissman’s Illuminating Rachmaninov!'</span></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana, serif;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><b><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 162px; height: 200px;" src="http://www.scena.org/blog/uploaded_images/nissman180wide-758062.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">The Rachmaninov Third Piano Conce<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">rto (Rach 3), performed on this occasion by soloist </span><a href="http://www.barbaranissman.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#333399;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Barbara Nissman</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> (photo: </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">right</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">), has become a calling card for piano virtuosi or would-be virtuosi from the days of one of the greatest, Vladimir Horowitz. It is a concerto guaranteed to bring down the house with its generous number of good tunes, its fearsome technical demands and its big finish.</span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br />But over the years we have learned that, while crucial, impeccable technique is not nearly sufficient for success with this piece. Finally, with Nissman, we got a performance that went deeper and illuminated more of the composer’s vision than any I have heard in a long time.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br />In Rach 3, many soloists settle for merely playing the notes accurately, in itself a formidable challenge. The great ones go further, as did Nissman, to make the music fresh and original, leaving listeners with a sense of having heard it for the first time.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br />In Nissman’s performance, this <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">was especially true of the playful sections. Yes, the famously “sourpuss” Sergei Rachmaninov did indeed have a playful side. True, he wrote dark pieces such as </span><i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isle_of_the_Dead_(Rachmaninoff)"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#333399;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">The Isle of the Dead</span></span></a></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">, but he wasn’t always morbidly depressed.</span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br />The third movement of Rach 3 has a </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">scherzando</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> section; it is here that we discern whether pianists are interpretive artists or merely technicians. Nissman played this section as it was surely meant to be played, in an improvisatory fashion, capturing all the sparkle and fun. It is not ‘Marx Brothers funny’ but it is witty and light-hearted. To capture the true spirit of this section is to add another dimension altogether to this great work, and Nissman did just that.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br />In the big peroration at the end of the concerto – clearly modeled after the ending of Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 – Nissman played with both power and exuberance. There is a lot going on here with tempi and dynamics changing in almost every bar. Conductor and soloist had not quite managed to reach complete consensus; nonetheless, this was joyous music-making.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Ginastera-Nissman Collaboration Has Deep Roots</span></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana, serif;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">The Austin audience, clearly moved by Nissman’s performance, demanded an encore. She obliged us with music by a composer with whom she is closely identified.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="http://www.scena.org/blog/uploaded_images/image001-702487.jpg" border="0" alt="" /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Nissman first met Argentinian composer </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alberto_Ginastera"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#333399;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Alberto Ginastera</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> (photo: </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">right</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">) when she was a student at the University of Michigan. She went on to become one of his foremost interpreters and his Piano Sonata No. 3 Op. 55 is dedicated to her.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br />On this occasion Nissman played two of Ginastera’s <i>Danzas Argentinas </i>Op. 2. The first of these is a lovely song with simulated guitar accompaniment and the second, a celebration of the Argentinian gaucho or cowboy in a virtuoso piece bursting with Latin dance rhythms - both great encore pieces - which Nissman played with the utmost panache and authority.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Shostakovich Fifth Symphony Music or Politics?</span></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br />Scholars still argue over the meaning of the Shostakovich Fifth Symphony - the last work on the program - particularly the final section with its triumphant, major key fanfares. Many, at the time of its writing (1937), took this music at face value, concluding that </span><a href="http://www.smsymphony.org/sms9899/shostakovich.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#333399;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Shostakovich</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> was forced to compose this kind of ‘programmed propaganda” music under threat from the Soviet authorities.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br />Shostakovich, since the premiere of his opera </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> in 1934, had been branded as a composer with ‘formalist’ tendencies, meaning that instead of writing music to celebrate the worker’s revolution, he was composing difficult and depressing music.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br />Before the premiere of the Fifth Symphony, Shostakovich himself had suppressed his Fourth Symphony, one of his most forward-looking and uncompromising works, realizing that if it saw the light of day, he would probably be signing his own death warrant.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br />Taking into consideration the history of the Fourth Symphony, and the political climate in Stalin’s Soviet Union at the time, the Fifth Symphony is thought to have been an attempt by Shostakovich to win favor by writing music which could be more easily understood by the masses and which left its listeners with a positive message. But there is more to it than that.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br />This assessment was expounded in Testimony: the Memoirs of Shostakovich (1979), a manuscript compiled by </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solomon_Volkov"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#333399;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Solomon Volkov</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">, and smuggled out of the Soviet Union. In Volkov’s words:</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><blockquote></blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><blockquote>“I think that it is clear to everyone what happens in the Fifth. The rejoicing is forced, created under a threat, as in Boris Godunov. It’s as if someone were beating you with a stick and saying, ‘ your business is rejoicing, your business is rejoicing, and you rise, shakily and go marching off muttering ‘Our business is rejoicing, our business is rejoicing.’ ”</blockquote><blockquote><br /></blockquote>The veracity of Volkov’s argument is still in dispute in some quarters, but there can be no doubt that in spite of its largely accessible style, the Fifth Symphony is a piece that contains many pages of struggle and despair. The question remains whether all this angst is alleviated in the end in accordance with socialist principles, or something else.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Timeless Power & Beauty: Bay and ASO Get it Right!</span></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Shostakovich composed the Fifth Symphony well over 60 years ago; </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Stalin"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#333399;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Stalin</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> is long dead; and since 1989, the </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_Union"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#333399;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Soviet Union</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> has collapsed and been consigned to the dustbin of history.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br />Most of us today enjoy Shostakovich’s ’s Fifth Symphony purely as music, and are unconcerned about its meaning. One may argue that it is music composed in a context, to be sure, but it endures because of its beauty, its range of feeling and its power to excite us.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br />My sense was that Peter Bay approached the music in this spirit; that is, pay attention to getting the notes right and the ‘music’ will emerge as the composer intended.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br />The Austin Symphony performed very well indeed. From the opening bars, the string phrases were precise and played without exaggeration. The dynamic marking here is only <i>forte</i>, after all, and the effect has a distinctly baroque character. The real drama in the piece is yet to come.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br />Bay followed the composer’s tempo instructions at the beginning of the last movement admirably. Shostakovich was very precise about wanting the movement to start rather slowly, then gradually accelerate over nearly thirty pages of score. It is very difficult for a conductor to make these tempo increases seamless, and the ideal result can only be achieved through sufficient rehearsal and performance.<br /><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Bay got it right. Compare, for example, Leonard Bernstein, a famous interpreter of the Shostakovich Fifth, who, in his </span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Shostakovich-Symphony-Nos-5-9/dp/B0014KAAVE"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#333399;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">classic first recording</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> with the New York Philharmonic, starts with a very fast tempo and then has nowhere to go, having completely ignored the composer’s explicit intentions at the beginning of the movement.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br />Whether Peter Bay and the Austin Symphony played the final bars of the symphony as heroic or tragic is for the listener to judge, but there is no doubt that they played them loud. The Dell Hall in the Long Center has admirable clarity, but the players have to dig a little deeper to get enough sound out in the big climaxes. For once, timpanist Tony Edwards got the big sound I have been hoping to hear in this hall.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">For Those Wanting More…</span></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Barbara Nissman has recorded all of Ginastera’s piano music (</span><a href="http://www.discogs.com/Alberto-Ginastera-Barbara-Nissman-The-Complete-Music-For-Piano-Piano-Chamber-Ensembles/release/2053143"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#333399;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Pierian 0005/6 </span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">2CD set) including the encores she played in Austin. She is working on a book about Prokofiev’s piano music and has recorded all nine Prokofiev sonatas (</span><a href="http://www.classical.net/music/comp.lst/prokofieff.php"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#333399;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Newport Classic NCD60092/3/4</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> reissued by </span><a href="http://www.pierianrecordingsociety.org/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#333399;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Pierian as PIR0007/8/9</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> 3CD set). Bartok enthusiasts might want to check out Nissman’s </span><i><a href="http://www.scarecrowpress.com/Catalog/SingleBook.shtml?command=Search&db=%5EDB/CATALOG.db&eqSKUdata=0810843013"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#333399;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Bartók and the Piano: a Performer’s View</span></span></a></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> (Scarecrow Press).</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br />While in Austin Nissman gave a Master Class at UT and a recital of works by Bach, Prokofiev, Rachmaninov and Ginastera, in a private home. The highlight of the recital for me was Nissman’s superb rendition of Prokofiev’s rarely-played Piano Sonata No. 6.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br />For a complete Nissman discography visit her </span><a href="http://www.barbaranissman.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#333399;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">website</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">.<br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Georgia, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana, serif;"><i><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px; "><span><a href="http://www.theartoftheconductor.com/books.html" style="color: rgb(102, 102, 153); "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 153); "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Paul E. Robinson</span></span></span></a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> is the author of </span></span><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 153); "><em><a title="Karajan, Maestro as Superstar, Paul E. Robinson, author" href="http://www.amazon.com/Herbert-von-Karajan-Maestro-Superstar/dp/0595461476" style="color: rgb(102, 153, 204); "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 153); "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Herbert von Kar</span></span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); "><a title="Karajan, Maestro as Superstar, Paul E. Robinson, author" href="http://www.amazon.com/Herbert-von-Karajan-Maestro-Superstar/dp/0595461476" style="color: rgb(102, 153, 204); "><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 153); "><em><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">ajan: the Maestro as Superstar</span></span></em></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">, and </span></span><a title="classical music, books, Sir Georg Solit, Paul E. Robinson, author" href="http://www.amazon.com/Sir-Georg-Solti-Life-Music/dp/0595399533/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1240156865&sr=1-3http://" style="color: rgb(102, 153, 204); "><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 153); "><em><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Sir Georg Solti: His Life and Music</span></span></em></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">, both available at Amazon.com.</span></span></span></em></span></span></span></span></p><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; line-height: 19px;"><br /></span></div></i></span><p></p></span><br /></span></span><br /></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6569885886225390231-7626811370329680031?l=www.scena.org%2Fblog' alt='' /></div>Paul E. Robinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17137419408881646787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6569885886225390231.post-45557130097013981442010-03-08T16:29:00.001-05:002010-03-08T16:29:41.576-05:00Cette semaine à Montréal (8 à 13 mars) / This Week in Montreal (March 8 - 13)<meta content="" name="Title"></meta> <meta content="" name="Keywords"></meta> <meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" http-equiv="Content-Type"></meta> <meta content="Word.Document" name="ProgId"></meta> <meta content="Microsoft Word 11" name="Generator"></meta> <meta content="Microsoft Word 11" name="Originator"></meta> <link href="file://localhost/Users/emac2b/Library/Caches/TemporaryItems/msoclip1/01/clip_filelist.xml" rel="File-List"></link> <style>
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</style> <br /><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Garamond;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #351c75; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: Garamond;">Musique, théâtre, arts visuels et danse à Montréal cette semaine<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div style="color: #351c75;"></div><div style="color: blue;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: Garamond;"><span style="color: #351c75;">Music, theatre, visual arts and dance in Montreal this week</span><o:p></o:p></span></b></div><br /><div style="color: blue; text-align: center;"></div><br /><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Garamond;"><b style="color: #351c75;">Arts visuels : </b>Le verre selon Tiffany. La couleur en fusion » Montréal, <a href="http://www.mbam.qc.ca/">Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal</a>, du 12 février au 2 mai 2010<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.scena.org/blog/uploaded_images/grimde-705796.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.scena.org/blog/uploaded_images/grimde-705629.jpg" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Garamond;"><b style="color: #351c75;">Danse : </b>Dès le 4 et jusqu’au 21, <a href="http://www.tangente.qc.ca/">Tangente</a> y va d’une programmation tous azimuts avec, notamment Caroline Dubois, Andrew Turner et Isabel Mohn. Du 5 au 20, Paula de Vasconcelos revient séduire avec sa danse-théâtre en racontant l’histoire de la découverte de la route des Indes dans Boa Goa tandis qu’Isabelle Van Grimde présente <i>Bodies to Bodies</i>, une œuvre ouverte pour danseurs et musiciens, à l’Agora du 9 au 13. – Fabienne Cabado<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #351c75;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Garamond;"><b><span style="color: #351c75;">Théâtre : </span></b><i>Excuse-moi </i>- L’auteur de la télésérie Aveux n’a plus besoin de prouver sa maîtrise du suspense, son don pour faire vivre avec sensibilité les personnages de gens ordinaires qui cachent de douloureux secrets. Dans cette nouvelle pièce attendue, Serge Boucher ramène le protagoniste de 24 Poses et Là, François, confronté ici à deux épisodes charnières de la vie de ses parents. » Du 17 février au 27 mars, au Théâtre Jean-Duceppe – Marie Labreque<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Garamond;"><b style="color: #351c75;">Théâtre : </b><i>Lipsynch</i> - L’événement incontournable de la saison, que cette visite du magicien du théâtre Robert Lepage. Par la quête des origines d’un orphelin, cette création collective fouille la voix humaine sous ses diverses incarnations. Peaufiné depuis cinq ans, ce spectacle-fleuve à la (dé)mesure du créateur de La Trilogie des dragons propose tout un défi aux spectateurs : neuf histoires entremêlées, racontées en autant d’heures ! » Du 27 février au 14 mars, au <a href="http://www.denise-pelletier.qc.ca/">Théâtre Denise-Pelletier</a> – Marie Labreque [Voir la critique <a href="http://www.scena.org/blog/2010/03/lipsynch-in-montreal-revival-of.html">ici</a>]<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.scena.org/blog/uploaded_images/Songs-759998.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://www.scena.org/blog/uploaded_images/Songs-759958.jpg" width="202" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Garamond;"><b><span style="color: #351c75;">Theatre: </span></b>The <a href="http://www.centaurtheatre.com/">Centaur</a> follows up with <i>The Comedy of Errors</i>, a co-production with the National Arts Centre. Inspired by Montreal’s crazed festival season, the play provides a modern look at one of Shakespeare’s earliest and most comedic plays. It tells the story of a family divided by business. Two sets of twins, separated for 33 years, suddenly find themselves in the bustling city of Ephesus. Needless to say, mass confusion and hilarious accidents ensue, including mistaken identities, infidelities and wrongful beatings. Yet, the family is reunited through love in the end, and establishes a richer and deeper bond than ever before. The Comedy of Errors runs from March 2nd to the 28th. – Jessica Hill<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Garamond;"><b style="color: #351c75;">Theatre: </b>In March at the <a href="http://www.segalcentre.org/">Segal</a>, a co-production with Théâtre du Rideau-Vert brings us <i>Old Wicked Songs</i>, the story of a young American piano prodigy and his teacher. The young virtuoso, hoping to re-ignite his artistic spark, ventures to Vienna. However, he ends up colliding with his Viennese music teacher instead. Separated by their experiences, their ideas and their generations, it is their mutual love for music that becomes the one bond strong enough to bridge the gap. Robert Schumann’s songs are woven throughout the play as past and present confront each other through these two men. – Jessica Hill<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Garamond;"><b style="color: #351c75;">Theatre: </b><a href="http://www.infinitheatre.com/">Infinitheatre</a> presents <i>Fatherland</i> during the month of March. It tells the story of a quiet Westmount family that finds its sheltered world shattered one Sunday morning. A young boy is busy writing an essay about Saddam Hussein’s two sons and the aftermath of the American invasion, when his uncle lets slip to his father that he owes money to a mobster and that the mobster is on his way over to collect. Outrage, desperation and tumult arise, leading the boy to draw parallels between Saddam’s sons and his own father and uncle: brothers trapped in an opulent house while a mortal enemy draws near. Fatherland explores the power of blood ties and the mutual debt owed between sons and fathers. – Jessica Hill<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Garamond;"><b style="color: #351c75;">Théâtre : </b><i>Les États-Unis vus par...</i> - En quatre ans et huit pièces, le <a href="http://www.theatreopsis.org/">Théâtre de l’Opsis</a> a exploré, généralement avec bonheur, le vaste territoire de la dramaturgie états-unienne. La compagnie conclut son « cycle américain » en donnant la parole à des auteurs d’ici. Michel Marc Bouchard, François Archambault et Richard Séguin sont au nombre des dramaturges et auteurs-compositeurs qui livreront leur vision, à travers textes ou chansons, de notre fascinant voisin du Sud. » Du 23 février au 13 mars, au Théâtre Prospero – Marie Labreque<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Garamond;"><b style="color: #351c75;">Jazz : </b>Mer. 10 » Nous perçons les oreilles (duo Jean Derome et Joane Hétu) suivi de 33 * 45 * 78 (duo Martin Tétreault, tourne-disques, et Bernard Schick, projections). Spectacle présenté dans le cadre de la série Musiques topographiques, organisée par les Productions SuperMusique. Institut Gœthe, 418, rue Sherbrooke Ouest. 20 h<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Garamond;"><b style="color: #351c75;">Jazz : </b>Jeu. 11 » Quartette du guitariste Simon Legault. Maison de la culture Marie-Uguay [872-2044] En reprise le ven. 19 à l’église Notre-Dame-des-Sept-Douleurs [765-7150]. Ces deux spectacles sont à 20 h.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Garamond;"><b style="color: #351c75;">Musique de chambre : </b>Le jeudi 11 mars à 20 h, le Trio Reiner, un des nouveaux ensembles les plus dynamiques au pays, présente un programme d’œuvres de Joseph Suk, Robert Schumann et Antonin Dvo</span>ř<span style="font-family: Garamond;">ák. Composé du pianiste Paul Stewart, du violoniste Jonathan Crow et de la violoncelliste Élisabeth Dolin, le trio est reconnu pour ses brillantes interprétations et son jeu d’ensemble impressionnant.</span> Chapelle historique du bon-pasteur. <span style="font-family: Garamond;">514-872-5338 – Renée Banville <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Garamond;"><b style="color: #351c75;">Jazz : </b>Jeu. 11 » Ensemble Fortin-Léveillée-Donato-Nasturica. L’Astral. 20 h<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Garamond;"><b style="color: #351c75;">Jazz : </b>Ven. 12 et sam. 13 » Le quartette du saxo ténor Joel Miller avec invité spécial de New York, le batteur Matt Wilson. Upstairs Jazz Bar. 20 h 30<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.scena.org/blog/uploaded_images/les-voix-humaines-748880.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.scena.org/blog/uploaded_images/les-voix-humaines-748610.jpg" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Garamond;"><b style="color: #351c75;">Musique ancienne :</b> La Nef et les Voix Humaines en concert; musique élisabéthaine pour Broken Consort. La compagnie de création et de production La Nef est connue dans le milieu de la musique ancienne pour ses concerts de qualité, permettant de faire découvrir toute la richesse et la subtilité des musiques anciennes, baroques ou Renaissance. Le samedi 13 mars à 20 h, à la chapelle Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours, le luthiste Sylvain Bergeron accueillera les deux gambistes Margaret Little et Susie Napper du duo Les Voix humaines pour un concert unique visitant une époque charnière de la musique anglaise. Dans une formation originale et trop rarement entendue, le Broken Consort mêle instruments à cordes pincées, frottées et flûte traversière et sera accompagné de la soprano Catherine Webster. Au programme : des pièces de Dowland, Morley et Byrd ainsi que des ballades élisabéthaines. – Isabelle Soraru<o:p></o:p></span> </div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6569885886225390231-4555713009701398144?l=www.scena.org%2Fblog' alt='' /></div>Crystal Chanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00094265258096557162noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6569885886225390231.post-14537007402671874112010-03-08T15:08:00.000-05:002010-03-08T15:08:04.907-05:00Maestra Keri-Lynn Wilson<span style="font-size: small;"></span><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;">By Wah Keung Chan</span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">[Pour la version française, cliquez <a href="http://www.scena.org/blog/2010/03/maestra-keri-lynn-wilson.html">ici</a>]</span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />Conducting a great orchestra is like driving a Mercedes,” said the 42-year-old Keri-Lynn Wilson, the most prominent Canadian female conductor today. “When you get behind the wheel, it just feels right.” Wilson’s path from orchestra member to conductor came by chance. “I was just watching the Juilliard conducting class, and somebody asked me: ‘Oh, are you going to audition to conduct at Juilliard?’ I said, ‘No, no, no, I’m just watching’,’’ she related. That night, Wilson thought “What a great idea!” She prepared for the next 6 months and passed the audition.</span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />Preparing for the audition meant lots of studying. There are written exams in music history and theory, every instrument, and every composer and their repertoire. There are also practical exams like reducing a score on the piano, sight-reading and ear training. A select few then get to conduct the Juilliard orchestra for a final test to narrow hundreds of applicants to two. That first time in front of her colleagues, Wilson conducted The Rite of Spring and Beethoven’s Symphony No 8. “I was nervous, but not nervous enough. Any conductor has a lot of courage. There’s something in you that is strong, that comes from preparation and knowledge. If you know a score, you’re that much more prepared. But what is unfamiliar to the young conductor are the gestures, the physical interpretation. Mentally you might have it, but it has to come out physically,” she remarked.</span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />It wasn’t really a Cinderella story. Wilson explained, “I had had 12 years of sitting under the nose of a conductor in the orchestra; that’s a lot of knowledge already, watching and absorbing different styles.” Her passion for music started when she was three. Growing up in a musical family (her father was a violin teacher and the conductor of the Winnipeg Youth Orchestra), Wilson studied piano with her grandmother and “a bit of singing”, unsuccessfully, with her grandfather, before starting the violin with her father and eventually taking up the flute. Music was constantly heard in the house, and for Wilson, who was obsessed with music, it was a blessing. “Music was a part of my entire being and I couldn’t live without it,” she said.<br />Wilson kept up all three instruments throughout high school, and she was influenced by her uncle, cellist Eric Wilson, a star student of Leonard Rose’s at Juilliard. “I wanted to be just like him; going to Juilliard was the coolest thing,” said Wilson. At age 13, she studied for two weeks at Juilliard with flutist Julius Baker, who gave her encouragement. When she went back to audition for Juilliard for university studies, Baker remembered her and she was accepted.</span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />Wilson’s first five years at Juilliard were packed. “I played under great conductors and I just loved the orchestral life of the musician. I loved the sound of the orchestra. Above all, the orchestral repertoire for a flutist is much more interesting than anything you can do as a soloist. I loved the Mahler, Brahms and Beethoven symphonies,” she explained. In her last year, Wilson slowly veered away from the flute: there were courses in Wagner and Verdi operas, and she accompanied singers on the piano.</span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />The way Wilson dealt with her first feelings of nerves in front of the Juilliard orchestra has served the maestra well every time she meets a new orchestra. “What’s familiar is the unfamiliar. It makes the first encounter with a new group always exciting; there’s a bit of the unknown. I feel a little anxious; if you’re afraid, you’re in the wrong profession. In the first two minutes of music making, they are judging you on your musicianship. It’s an art that we’re doing and so there should be no reason why women can’t do it as well as men. It’s just something that’s coming from knowledge and emotional communication,” she said.</span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />Wilson thrives on bringing that knowledge to her work. Her four years studying conducting taught her to analyse and study an orchestral score thoroughly. “When I started conducting I spoke two languages, and now I speak five. Now I know so much more about the composers, their lives—I’ve studied historically what’s going on. And doing a lot of operas, I can say I’ve read all the Pushkin, I’ve read all the Dostoevsky, everything that the operas stemmed from. It’s so important to just have all that knowledge,” she stated.</span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />At Juilliard, Wilson studied with Otto Werner Mueller. She also spent a summer in Europe watching the maestros, including Claudio Abbado, work. Wilson observed that the German style is very clear and everything that you do connects exactly with the music. There is no sort of frivolous or extraneous movements that wouldn’t be exactly what the music indicated. “The Abbado [Italian] approach is much more fluid and spontaneous in his gestures. I think if you put together the German and Italian Schools, it makes for an interesting combination,” she said. “I like to be very clear and expressive. Everything I do physically is directly connected to your heart and mind.” There is also something quite Canadian in her conducting approach, which is based on diplomacy. “I like to make music together,” said Wilson. “I don’t like to dictate. I like to praise, and criticize during encouragement.” Being a woman, Wilson claims, has nothing to do with it. Wilson is adamant, “It’s 100% based on personality, even women can be tyrants.”</span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />When Wilson talks about her favourite repertoire, the list of Shostakovich, Mahler, Brahms, Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, Mozart, Puccini, Verdi, Wagner, Strauss, shows that she a big romantic at heart. “I’m more extroverted and expressive.” Naturally, Wilson is equally at home in opera as the symphonic rep. When we spoke, she was studying Tchaikovsky’s Pique Dame for the first time as a replacement for Tel Aviv Opera in June.</span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />“Before I even open the score of course I read Pushkin’s story, both in English and in Russian. Then I’ll see what Tchaikovsky was trying in his life; then you open the music and I’ll go through the entire libretto and know every word and its meaning. I do speak Russian, but at the same time there are words that I might not know so I sit with my best friend who is Russian. And then I markup my score, I do my analysis, and then put the words and the notes together and see what Tchaikovsky was looking for. Then I study it constantly so it becomes a part of your blood. Hopefully when it comes time to the first rehearsal I’ll know it cold.” Wilson also finds it important to listen to old and new recordings, especially operas to be aware of the traditions “because the breathing, cadenzas or flourishes are not necessarily in the score.”<br /> </span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Simon Boccanegra and Verdi</span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">As part of the Montreal Opera’s 30th season, Wilson will conduct Verdi’s Simon Boccanegra, a story set in 14th Century Genoa, Italy, about the rise and fall of the city’s chief magistrate. “I love Verdi, especially late Verdi,” Wilson said. “It’s an opera that’s not done very much because of its convoluted, ridiculous storyline, and it doesn’t have the show-stopping tunes you’ll find in La Traviata or Rigoletto.” Verdi started writing Boccanegra in his middle period but revised it in his later period. “We think of Verdi’s operas and he pretty much follows the formula handed down from the Bellini-style operas with stop and go points where we all get up on our feet and applaud. But then we have Boccanegra and Otello, where he avoided this stopping. It’s more through-composed; he would write orchestral interludes [between scenes] instead. It was just much more continual music, which dramatically is stronger. There is rarely applause stopping the action, because he uses the carpet of the orchestra underneath these dramatic, transition moments. It’s much more Wagnerian in that sense.</span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />When Wilson talks about the high points of the opera, you feel her enthusiasm. “For the audience it’s probably the finale of Act 1 where you have the entire chorus at its fullest, the orchestra is playing up a storm and then it comes to a halt with Boccanegra’s big concertate aria. From the slow movement, you go into a fast, virtuosic ending and it’s fun to conduct. I love the last act when Boccanegra is dying, Fiesco tries to comfort him and they reach peace together in a gorgeous duet, which is extraordinary for the darkness and its very rich harmonic colours. The way it ends is also very beautiful, and unoperatically quiet.” Wilson is also drawn to Boccanegra’s character, “He is a dream for a singer because he has so many different things going on emotionally in his life—his affections for his daughter, his devotion to his country, his hatred and all the things that come up in his life that make him a very complex and extraordinary figure.”</span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />Wilson’s schedule shows lots of guest conducting appearances in operas and symphonies around the globe. Right now she’s happy with not having an orchestra of her own as she hasn’t had the right offer from the right orchestra that fits her personal life, as her marriage to Metropolitan Opera General Manager Peter Gelb keeps her hub in New York. You wouldn’t find a website for the maestra because she likes to keep her personal life private. “I’m in a profession where you can’t have any inhibitions when it comes to being very expressive in communicating the emotion in music. At the same time, I would rather read a book with candlelight.”<br /><br />UPCOMING:<br />› ‑VERDI: SIMON BOCCANEGRA, Montreal Opera March 13, 17, 20, 22, 25, 2010 <a href="http://operademontreal.com/"> operademontreal.com</a><br />› ‑SHOSTAKOVICH: SYMPHONY NO. 5, Orchestre Métropolitain Jan. 27, 29, 30, 31, 2011 <a href="http://orchestremetropolitain.com/">orchestremetropolitain.com</a></span></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6569885886225390231-1453700740267187411?l=www.scena.org%2Fblog' alt='' /></div>Crystal Chanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00094265258096557162noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6569885886225390231.post-139203636622680322010-03-08T14:37:00.002-05:002010-03-08T15:08:56.484-05:00Maestra Keri-Lynn Wilson<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Par Wah Keung Chan</span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">[For the English version, click <a href="http://www.scena.org/blog/2010/03/maestra-keri-lynn-wilson_08.html">here</a>] </span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Diriger un grand orchestre, c’est comme prendre le volant d’une Mercedes : on roule dans le confort le plus absolu », déclare Keri-Lynn Wilson, la plus connue des chefs d’orchestre de sexe féminin au Canada. Et comment est-elle arrivée sur le podium ? Par hasard. « J’observais le cours de direction d’orchestre à Juilliard quand quelqu’un m’a demandé si j’allais me présenter à une audition », raconte-t-elle. Elle a répondu non, elle ne faisait que regarder, mais un peu plus tard, elle s’est dit que ce serait vraiment une bonne idée. Elle a consacré les six mois suivants à se préparer à cette fameuse audition.</span></span><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Cette préparation lui a demandé énormément de travail. Il fallait passer des examens écrits en histoire et théorie de la musique, connaître chaque instrument, chaque compositeur, tout le répertoire. Il fallait aussi se préparer à des examens pratiques sur la transcription, la lecture à vue, le solfège. Quelques candidats sont ensuite choisis pour diriger l’orchestre de Juilliard, dernier test qui permettra de sélectionner deux heureux élus sur les centaines qui se présentent. Pour cette première expérience, Mme Wilson a dirigé le Sacre du printemps et la Symphonie no 8 de Beethoven. « Bien sûr, j’étais nerveuse, se remémore la musicienne de 42 ans, mais pas tant que ça. Les chefs d’orchestre sont des gens très téméraires. Ils ont une force qui leur vient de leur énergie, de leur travail de préparation et de leur savoir. Quand on connaît sa partition, on se sent bien. Ce que les jeunes chefs connaissent moins bien, c’est la gestuelle, l’interprétation physique; même s’ils ont tout compris dans leur tête, il faut que ça sorte physiquement.</span></span><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Personne ne dira que Keri-Lynn Wilson est partie de rien. « J’avais déjà passé 12 ans sous la férule d’un chef d’orchestre. Cela représente tout un bagage de connaissances, d’observation et d’initiation à différents styles. Mais je me suis tout de même sentie bizarre. » Ce qui n’est pas bizarre, en revanche, c’est sa passion pour la musique, qui a commencé quand elle n’avait que trois ans. Issue d’une famille mélomane (son père était professeur de violon et chef de l’Orchestre des jeunes de Winnipeg), Mme Wilson a étudié le piano avec sa grand-mère et un peu le chant, sans succès, auprès de son grand-père, avant de se mettre au violon avec son père, puis de se tourner vers la flûte. La maison résonnait toujours de sonorités, et pour une fille aussi passionnée de musique, c’était merveilleux. « J’étais musicienne dans chaque fibre de mon être, dit-elle, je ne pouvais m’en passer. »</span></span><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Keri-Lynn Wilson a continué de jouer de ces trois instruments tout le long de ses études secondaires et elle a subi l’influence de son oncle, le violoncelliste Eric Wilson, qui était le plus brillant des étudiants de Leonard Rose à Juilliard. « Je l’idolâtrais : étudier à Juilliard, rien de plus cool ! » À 13 ans, elle a étudié la flûte pendant deux semaines à Juilliard avec le flûtiste Julius Baker, qui l’a encouragée. Quand est venu le temps d’auditionner à Juilliard, Baker l’a reconnue et on l’a acceptée.</span></span><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Elle a travaillé d’arrache-pied pendant ses cinq premières années à Juilliard. « J’ai joué avec de grands chefs et j’adorais la vie du musicien d’orchestre. Le son de l’orchestre me plaît énormément. En plus, le répertoire pour les flûtistes d’orchestre est bien plus intéressant que celui des solistes. J’aimais beaucoup les symphonies de Mahler, de Brahms, de Beethoven. » Pendant sa dernière année, elle a quelque peu délaissé la flûte, puisqu’elle est devenue accompagnatrice au piano pour des chanteurs qui participaient aux cours sur les opéras de Wagner et de Verdi.</span></span><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Le moyen qu’elle a pris pour calmer ses nerfs la première fois qu’elle a dirigé l’orchestre de Juilliard lui sert encore chaque fois qu’elle rencontre un nouvel orchestre. « Ce qu’on connaît, c’est ce qu’on ne connaît pas, explique la maestra. Et la première rencontre avec un nouveau groupe est toujours excitante, à cause de ce qu’on ne connaît pas. Je ressens un peu de nervosité, mais si j’avais peur, ça voudrait dire que je me suis trompée de vocation. Cela ne prend que deux minutes aux musiciens pour juger des aptitudes musicales du nouveau chef. Nous faisons de l’art, et les femmes peuvent réussir autant que les hommes. Tout dépend du savoir qu’on détient et de sa façon de transmettre les émotions. »</span></span><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Keri-Lynn Wilson aime puiser dans ce savoir pour son travail. Les quatre années qu’elle a consacrées à l’étude de la direction d’orchestre lui ont appris à analyser les partitions et à les analyser à fond. « Au début de ma carrière, je parlais deux langues; maintenant j’en parle cinq. À présent, j’en sais beaucoup plus sur les compositeurs, sur leur vie, sur l’histoire de leur époque. Et maintenant que je dirige beaucoup d’opéras, je peux dire que j’ai lu tout Pouchkine, tout Dostoïevski, tout ce qui a inspiré les opéras. Ce sont des connaissances capitales à avoir. »</span></span><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">À Juilliard, Mme Wilson a étudié auprès d’Otto Werner Mueller. Elle a également passé un été en Europe à observer les maestros, dont Claudio Abbado, au travail. Elle a constaté que le style allemand est très clair et que chaque geste est exactement accordé à la musique. Il n’y a aucun mouvement frivole ou superflu qui n’aurait rien à voir avec la musique. « La façon de faire d’Abbado est beaucoup plus fluide et spontanée. Mais si on pouvait rassembler les écoles allemande et italienne, cela pourrait donner un mélange intéressant, ajoute-t-elle. Je veux être à la fois claire et expressive. Tout ce que je fais sur le plan physique est directement raccordé au cœur et à l’esprit. » Sa façon d’aborder la direction d’orchestre pourrait être caractérisée de typiquement canadienne, puisqu’elle est fondée sur la diplomatie. « J’aime qu’on fasse de la musique ensemble, dit-elle. Je n’aime pas donner des ordres, mais je préfère distribuer les éloges et combiner mes critiques à des encouragements. » Ce n’est pas parce qu’elle est une femme mais, elle en est sûre, c’est une question de personnalité. « Il existe des tyrans chez les femmes aussi ! »</span></span><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Quand Mme Wilson parle de son répertoire de prédilection, les noms de Chostakovitch, Mahler, Brahms, Beethoven, Tchaïkovski, Mozart, Puccini, Verdi, Wagner et Strauss évoquent une âme plutôt romantique : « Je suis passablement extrovertie et expressive ». Bien entendu, elle se sent aussi à l’aise dans le répertoire lyrique que symphonique. Au moment de notre entretien, elle étudiait la Dame de Pique de Tchaïkovski pour la première fois, en vue d’un remplacement à l’opéra de Tel-Aviv au mois de juin.</span></span><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">« Avant même de jeter un œil sur la partition, j’ai lu l’œuvre de Pouchkine en anglais et en russe. J’étudierai la vie de Tchaïkovski à cette époque-là. Puis je lirai le livret dans tous les sens pour m’en imprégner. Je parle russe, mais il y a des mots que je ne connais pas, alors je ferai appel à ma meilleure amie, qui est russe. Ensuite, je passe à travers la partition avec mon crayon, je l’analyse, puis je réunis les mots et les notes pour essayer de discerner les intentions de Tchaïkovski. J’étudie sans relâche. Dès la première répétition, je devrais connaître l’œuvre de bout en bout. » Mme Wilson tient également à écouter les enregistrements anciens ou nouveaux pour s’exposer à différentes traditions « puisque, surtout dans le cas de l’opéra, les respirations, les cadences ou les ornements ne sont pas nécessairement indiqués dans la partition ».</span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span></span><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Simon Boccanegra et Verdi</span></span></div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Pendant la 30e saison de l’Opéra de Montréal, maestra Wilson dirigera Simon Boccanegra, qui raconte le destin glorieux et tragique du doge de Gênes au 14e siècle. « J’adore Verdi, surtout ses œuvres tardives, souligne-t-elle. C’est un opéra qu’on ne monte pas très souvent à cause de son histoire rocambolesque et parce qu’on n’y retrouve pas les grands airs à la Traviata ou à la Rigoletto. » Verdi avait commencé à travailler sur Boccanegra pendant ses années de maturité, mais il a retouché la partition sur le tard. « Les opéras de Verdi suivent plus ou moins la recette héritée de Bellini, avec ses moments forts qui déchaînent des tonnerres d’applaudissements. Et pourtant, dans Boccanegra et dans Otello, il évite ces temps d’arrêt. La composition est plus fouillée, avec des interludes orchestraux. La musique se poursuit sur un élan continu qui lui donne un effet dramatique plus fort. On a rarement le temps d’applaudir au milieu du déroulement de l’action, parce que les transitions dramatiques sont soutenues par l’orchestre. C’est une façon de faire plus wagnérienne. »</span></span><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Quand Mme Wilson parle des points culminants de l’opéra, son enthousiasme est palpable. « Pour l’auditoire, c’est probablement la finale du 1er acte avec le chœur au grand complet, l’orchestre qui joue frénétiquement, et tout cela s’arrête brusquement sur le grand air de Boccanegra. On passe d’un mouvement lent à une finale d’une vitesse folle, et c’est emballant à diriger. J’aime le dernier acte, l’agonie de Boccanegra, quand Fiesco essaie de le réconforter et qu’ils font la paix dans un magnifique duo, plein de tonalités sombres et de couleurs harmoniques très riches. La fin est magnifique et très douce, ce qui est rare à l’opéra. » Mme Wilson est également attirée par la personnalité de Boccanegra. « C’est un rôle de rêve, parce qu’il se passe toutes sortes de choses sur le plan émotif : l’amour paternel, l’amour de la patrie, la haine, et toutes ces choses qui font de lui un personnage extraordinairement complexe. »</span></span><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Le calendrier de Mme Wilson est rempli d’engagements à titre de chef invitée dans des maisons d’opéra et de concert du monde entier. Pour le moment, elle n’est pas mécontente de ne pas avoir d’orchestre attitré, car elle n’a pas encore reçu d’offre qui convienne à sa vie, qui se déroule à New York depuis son mariage avec Peter Gelb, directeur général du Metropolitan Opera. Elle n’a pas non plus de site Web parce qu’elle préfère rester discrète sur sa vie privée. « Dans ma profession, il ne faut pas se gêner pour étaler ses sentiments dans la musique. Mais en fait, j’aimerais mieux lire un livre à la lueur d’une chandelle ! »</span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">PROCHAINEMENT :</span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">› ‑VERDI : SIMON BOCCANEGRA, Opéra de Montréal 13, 17, 20, 22, 25 mars 2010 <a href="http://operademontreal.com/"> operademontreal.com</a></span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">› ‑CHOSTAKOVITCH : SYMPHONIE NO 5, Orchestre Métropolitain 27, 29, 30, 31 janvier 2011 <a href="http://orchestremetropolitain.com/">orchestremetropolitain.com</a></span><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span></span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6569885886225390231-13920363662268032?l=www.scena.org%2Fblog' alt='' /></div>Crystal Chanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00094265258096557162noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6569885886225390231.post-85120863257467152612010-03-07T23:18:00.003-05:002010-03-08T01:16:55.610-05:00This Week in Toronto (March 8 - 14)<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.scena.org/blog/uploaded_images/nathangunn_small-781858.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 317px; height: 320px;" src="http://www.scena.org/blog/uploaded_images/nathangunn_small-781766.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>Baritone Nathan Gunn (Photo: Dario Acosta)<br /><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>The big news for voice fans this week is the first Toronto appearance of American baritone <b>Nathan Gunn</b>, in town on Wednesday, March 10 8 pm at Roy Thomson Hall as part of its Vocal Series. Mr. Gunn is the archetypal "bari-hunk", a term invented some years ago by person unknown to describe baritones who are as pleasing to the eye as to the ear. There is a long tradition of singers of this ilk, from Lawrence Tibbett in the 1930's to Sherrill Milnes in the 1970's - hunky baritones with great voices. But there seems to be many more of them today, undoubtedly a reflection of the public favoring singers who look good on stage. In addition to Nathan Gunn, baritone poster boys today include the New Zealander Teddy Tahu Rhodes, Italian Luca Pisaroni, Uruguayan Erwin Schrott, American Jason Hardy, and Canada's own Dan Okulitch. There are many more, but these ones come to mind readily. They all have beautiful voices and are convincing actors onstage. With Mr. Gunn in town for a recital at Roy Thomson Hall, we'll get to judge for ourselves. I first heard him thirteen years ago, as Orestes in the famous Francesca Zambello production of <i>Iphigenie en Tauride</i> in Glimmerglass, arguably the show that propelled him to fame. He is singing better than ever. On the program are songs by Schubert, Charles Ives and American spirituals, accompanied by his wife Julie Gunn. </div><div><br /></div><div>On the subject of voice, a worthwhile concert to attend is one given by Canadian soprano <b>Yannick Muriel Noah</b>. Several years ago, she was plucked out of the COC Ensemble to fill in for an indisposed soprano as Tosca. Critics and audience were impressed with her huge, gleaming lirico-spinto. She has since sung <i>La Wally</i> at Klagenfurt in Austria, and was Cio-Cio-San in COC's <i>Madama Butterfly</i> last fall. This spring, she returns to Klagenfurt as Aida. Noah will be giving a recital of songs and arias by Weill, Strauss, Verdi, and Puccini, with <b>Liz Upchurch</b> at the piano. It takes place on Saturday March 13, 8 pm at the Runnymede United Church, 432 Runnymede Road. Tickets are $25 ($20 for students and arts workers) and can be purchased as her website www.yannickmurielnoah.com/recital. </div><div><br /></div><div>On Sunday March 14 2:30 pm at Walter Hall, Edward Johnson Building at the U of Toronto Faculty of Music, the <b>Aldeburgh Connection</b> presents <i>Hugo Wolf: Mighty Miniaturist</i>. Soloists are soprano <b>Monica Whicher</b>, tenor <b>Michael Colvin</b>, and baritone <b>Brett Polegato</b>, with <b>Stephen Ralls</b> and <b>Bruce Ubukata</b> at the piano. As usual, there will be tea at intermission! I have attended a few of their concerts in the past and they are never less than delightful. </div><div><br /></div><div>Elsewhere, the <b>Canadian Opera Company</b> free noon hour concert series presents <b>The Composer and His Music</b>, on Thursday March 11, at the Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre, with student soloists from the University of Toronto Opera Division under the music directorship of Sandra Horst. It is an eclectic - and highly interesting - program with arias and ensembles from <i>Nixon in China, Hamlet, Leoncavallo's Boheme, Rigoletto, Gloriana, Ghosts of Versailles, Don Pasquale, Madama Butterfly</i>, and <i>Candide</i>. Remember to show up a good 45 minutes early to ensure a seat. On Tuesday, March 9 is another noon hour concert - 18 year old pianist <b>Suren Barry</b> plays music by Bach, Beethoven, and Debussy. </div><div><br /></div><div>The <b>Toronto Symphony Orchestra </b>presents <i>Enigma Variations</i> on March 11 at 3 pm and March 13 at 8 pm, with soloist <b>Lars Vogt</b> playing the Grieg <i>Piano Concerto in A minor</i>. Also on the program are Elgar's <i>Enigma Variations</i>, Sibelius Suite from <i>King Kristian II</i> and Magnus Lindberg's <i>Chorale</i>. <b>Robin Ticciati</b> conducts. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>Tafelmusik</b>, Canada's premiere baroque orchestra, presents Bach in Leipzig, with <b>Jeanne Lamon</b> directing the Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra and Chorus in a program of Bach and Telemann. Performances on March 10, 7:30 pm, March 11, 12, and 13 at 8 pm, at the Trinity-St. Paul's Centre. </div><div><br /></div><div>Finally, a bit of very sad news. The great British tenor <b>Philip Langridge</b> passed away from cancer this week at the age of 70. He carried on the tradition of English tenors in the mode of Peter Pears, championing the music of Benjamin Britten - he was a supremely moving Peter Grimes - as well as a wide ranging repertoire from Mozart to Janacek to Stravinsky. When I first heard the news two days ago, it just didn't seem possible - after all, he was singing as recently as December and January as the Witch in the Met's revival of <i>Hansel und Gretel</i>! He is survived by his widow, mezzo-soprano Ann Murray and four children. As a remembrance, here is a link to his most moving rendition of <i>Comfort Ye</i> from Handel's <i>Messiah</i> on Youtube -</div><div><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B7wGlv50RRU">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B7wGlv50RRU</a> </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /><div><i><br /></i></div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6569885886225390231-8512086325746715261?l=www.scena.org%2Fblog' alt='' /></div>Joseph Sohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07999267055992363762noreply@blogger.com0