Handel and Haydn Society announces Celebration 2009

Handel and Haydn Society OBSERVES ANNIVERSARIES OF NAMESAKe COMPOSERS IN 2008-2009 Season with Celebration 2009

Premier chorus and period-instrument orchestra presents Celebration 2009, commemorating 250^th and 200^th anniversaries of deaths of Handel and Haydn. Musical offerings include all-Handel program conducted by Harry Christophers; the Society’s 155^th annual performance of Handel’s Messiah, led by Paul Daniel; and two Haydn programs conducted by Sir Roger Norrington, including concert performance of the seldom heard Haydn opera L’anima del filosofo.

Celebration 2009 culminates in free, outdoor performance of Haydn’s masterwork, The Creation, on Boston’s Esplanade, on May 31, 2009, conducted by Grant Llewellyn.

Celebratory season demonstrates renewed community commitment with the launch of cultural and educational partnerships throughout the greater Boston area.

July 17, 2008 (Boston, MA) — The Handel and Haydn Society, America’s oldest continuously-performing arts organization, marks an important musical anniversary year with Celebration 2009, in observance of anniversaries of the deaths of George Friderick Handel (1685–April 14, 1759) and Franz Joseph Haydn (1732–May 31, 1809), as well as the births of Henry Purcell (1659–1695) and Felix Mendelssohn (1809–1847). The Handel and Haydn Society’s celebratory season features music of these four composers, as well as of Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, and Brahms. In addition to Artistic Advisor Sir Roger Norrington and Principal Conductor Grant Llewellyn, the Society welcomes back regular guest conductor Harry Christophers, and the Society’s Associate Conductor and Chorusmaster, John Finney. Celebration 2009 will culminate on May 31, 2009, with a free concert of Haydn’s masterwork The Creation on Boston’s Esplanade.

During the 2008-2009 season, the Handel and Haydn Society bolsters its tradition of community outreach, presenting performances, forums, and educational programs through newly developed partnerships with leading area universities and colleges, and unprecedented collaborations with some of Boston’s finest cultural institutions. The Celebration 2009 project is intended to generate civic dialogue around the role of great music, past and present. When the Handel and Haydn Society was founded in 1815, its stated purpose was to perform “the best of the old and the new”—represented by Handel (considered at the time a composer of an earlier age) and Haydn (a relatively “new” composer who had passed away just a few years earlier). The 2009 anniversary year enables the Society to commemorate its namesake composers in a relevant and entertaining way; it also presents an important opportunity to translate the Society’s historical charter to the 21^st century, and to develop a performing arts model for engaging audiences in the role of classical music—past, present, and future—in their lives and their communities.

Celebratory season of both well-known and rarely-heard repertoire features renowned conductors along with established and emerging soloists

The 2008-2009 season features important works of the past and the present, from Haydn’s rarely heard opera L’anima del filosofo (Orfeo ed Euridice) and his authoritative The Creation, to music for the theater by Purcell, to a new work by Boston composer Thomas Vignieri that reflects on the influence of Handel. The Society has engaged conductors of international renown to lead energetic programs throughout the season; in addition to Artistic Advisor Norrington and Principal Conductor Llewellyn, and Harry Christophers (Music Director of The Sixteen) with whom Handel and Haydn has enjoyed an acclaimed partnership over the past three years, the Society welcomes to the podium period specialists Richard Egarr, Paul Daniel, Paul Goodwin, and Jean-Marie Zeitouni in their debuts with Handel and Haydn. Soloists include distinguished singers Sarah Coburn, Nathalie Paulin, Kendra Colton, and Andrew Kennedy, cellist Phoebe Carrai and Russian violinist Ilya Gringolts in his Boston debut, as well as rising young performers such as mezzo-soprano Paula Murrihy, who began her solo career with the Handel and Haydn Society.

Free community concert on Boston Esplanade on May 31, 2009, features Haydn’s Creation

The Society will perform a free, outdoor concert for the City of Boston, featuring Principal Conductor Grant Llewellyn conducting the Handel and Haydn period-instrument ensemble and chorus in Haydn’s masterwork The Creation. Held on Boston’s famed Esplanade, which has a capacity for more than 16,000 people, this community event is planned for national broadcast on radio and podcast, with the potential of reaching several hundred thousand more people throughout the United States. This marks the third time the Society has performed on the Esplanade, the last time in 1990. A pre-concert performance will showcase the Handel and Haydn Youth Choruses, now in their 24^th year.

This event holds significance for two reasons: Handel and Haydn Society performed the American premiere of The Creation in 1819; additionally, while preparation for celebrations of the 2009 musical anniversaries has been underway in Great Britain and Europe for some time, Handel and Haydn is uniquely positioned to take the lead on an American observance. The Society is one of the only music organizations in the United States to take part in an international observance of the 200^th anniversary of Haydn’s death on May 31, 2009, when The Creation will be performed on the same day around the world by other renowned ensembles.

Society expands Educational and Community Outreach Programs

In the 2008-2009 season, Handel and Haydn will invigorate its educational and community outreach programs with expanded programs, venues, and access for children and adults. As part of Celebration 2009, Handel and Haydn will offer the children and schools it currently serves even greater access to music and music education, and will also reach new people in the community, by giving free performances and musical demonstrations in public spaces, such as the Boston Public Library, the Museum of Fine Arts, the Boston Athenaeum, and other collaborating venues. Celebration 2009 will also build on the Society’s use of electronic media in recent seasons by using podcasts; music, conductor’s insights, and lectures on the Society’s website; and video broadcasts as an important educational and audience-development tool. Handel and Haydn Society will make a live recording of L’anima del filosofo under Sir Roger Norrington on the Signum Records label for release in May 2009, commemorating the anniversary of the composer’s death.

In Celebration 2009, the Society also explores new and enhanced partnerships with New England Conservatory, Longy School of Music, Northeastern University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Tufts University to train the players and singers of the future in Baroque and Classical performance styles and techniques through masterclasses, symposia, interaction with professional conductors and musicians, access to rehearsals and performances, and collaborations between musicians and music faculty. These partnerships are the first step toward the Handel and Haydn Academy, a pre-professional period-performance training program that the Society plans to launch in the 2009-2010 season.

This expanded outreach draws on the Society’s longstanding tradition in the community, dating back to the 19^th century when the Society organized large-scale charity events and made great music available to the people of Boston. Over the past 24 years, Handel and Haydn’s award-winning Educational Outreach Program, founded in 1984 to address the lack of music education in public school systems due to funding cuts, has grown significantly and won accolades for bringing vocal training and performance opportunities to thousands of children in some of Greater Boston’s most disadvantaged neighborhoods.

Interdisciplinary collaborations with American and international music organizations

In addition to its cultural and educational partners in Boston, Handel and Haydn will also partner in 2008-2009 with the Haydn Festival in Eisenstadt, Austria, at which Handel and Haydn performed in September 2006, and which is organizing the worldwide performances of The Creation on May 31, 2009; the Haydn Society of North America, dedicated to promoting the legacy of Haydn; and Handel House Museum in London, with whom the Society has a longstanding relationship. Handel and Haydn Society has named the president of the Haydn Society of North America, Dr. Michael Ruhling, its 2008-2009 HIP Fellow (program annotator and scholarly contributor to Handel and Haydn’s musical programs); Handel and Haydn also partners with Longy School of Music to host the Haydn Society of North America’s 2009 conference, which takes place in Cambridge and Boston, MA, the week of May 25, 2009, and will close with the outdoor performance of The Creation.

*~*~*~*~* HANDEL AND HAYDN SOCIETY 2008-2009 SEASON CALENDAR

1. Masterclass with Harry Christophers

Week of September 29

Tufts University

2. Celebrate Handel!

Friday, October 3 at 8.00 pm

Sunday, October 5 at 3.00 pm

Symphony Hall

Harry Christophers, conductor

Gillian Keith, soprano

Handel and Haydn Society Chorus

Handel: Coronation Anthems; Arrival of the Queen of Sheba (from Solomon)
Selections from Jephtha and Semele

3. Haydn’s Legacy: Mozart and Beethoven

Friday, November 7 at 8.00 pm

Sunday, November 9 at 3.00 pm

Symphony Hall

Richard Egarr, conductor & fortepiano

Mozart: Symphony No. 1 in E-flat Major, K. 16; Piano Concerto No. 23 in A Major, K. 488

Beethoven: Creatures of Prometheus Overture; Symphony No. 8 in F Major, Op. 93

4. Messiah

Friday, December 5 at 7.30 pm

Saturday, December 6 at 3.00 pm

Sunday, December 7 at 3.00 pm

Symphony Hall

Paul Daniel, conductor

Kendra Colton, soprano

Paula Murrihy, mezzo-soprano

Brian Stucki, tenor

Brett Polegato, baritone

Handel and Haydn Society Chorus

5. A Bach Christmas

Thursday, December 18 at 8.00 pm

Sunday, December 21 at 3.00 pm

New England Conservatory’s Jordan Hall

John Finney, conductor

Handel and Haydn Society Chorus Sponsored by

Boston Private Bank & Trust Company

Bach: Magnificat, BWV 243

Cantata No. 151, Süßer Trost, mein Jesus kömmt

Cantata No. 191, Gloria in excelsis Deo

6. Haydn’s Orfeo

Friday, January 23 at 8.00 pm

Sunday, January 25 at 3.00 pm

Symphony Hall

Sir Roger Norrington, conductor

Sarah Coburn, Euridice

Andrew Kennedy, Orfeo

Christopher Maltman, Creonte

Handel and Haydn Society Chorus

Haydn: L’anima del filosofo (Orfeo ed Euridice)

7. Haydn Symposium

Saturday, January 24 in the afternoon

Location: TBA

Sir Roger Norrington and Haydn scholars discuss the myth of Orfeo and L’anima del filosofo. Members of the Handel and Haydn Society join in a chamber music performance of Haydn’s works.

8. Baroque Grand Tour

Friday, February 27 at 8.00 pm

Sunday, March 1 at 3.00 pm

New England Conservatory’s Jordan Hall

Paul Goodwin, conductor

Handel and Haydn Society Chorus

Couperin: Concert dans le goût théâtral

Purcell: Funeral Sentences; The Masque from Dioclesian

Bach: Brandenburg Concerto, No. 3

9. Noon Concert at the Boston Athenaeum

Thursday, March 5

10. Romantic Brahms

March 20 at 8.00 pm

March 22 at 8.00 pm

Symphony Hall

Grant Llewellyn, conductor

Ilya Gringolts, violin

Handel and Haydn Society Chorus

Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto in E Minor, Op. 64

Brahms: Symphony No. 1 in C Minor

Vignieri: Fanfare for Voices (Tribute to Handel; World Premiere)

11. Music at Fever Pitch

Friday, April 3 at 8.00 pm at Old South Church

Sunday, April 5 at 3.00 pm at New England Conservatory’s Jordan Hall

Jean-Marie Zeitouni, conductor

Phoebe Carrai, cello

Telemann: Burlesque de Don Quixote

C.P.E. Bach: Cello Concerto in A Major

Handel: Concerto Grosso in G Minor, Op. 6, No. 6

Rebel: Les Élémens

12. Haydn in London

Friday, April 24 at 8.00 pm

Sunday, April 26 at 3.00 pm

Symphony Hall

Sir Roger Norrington, conductor

Nathalie Paulin, soprano

Haydn: Symphony No. 99 in E-flat Major

Cantata: Scena di Berenice for soprano and orchestra

March for the Prince of Wales

Adagio from Divertimento for nine instruments in F Major

English Songs: “Sailor's Song,” “Sympathy,” “She Never Told Her Love,” “Fidelity”

Symphony No. 92 in G Major, “Oxford”

13. Haydn Symposium

Saturday, April 25 in the afternoon

Location: TBA

Sir Roger Norrington and Haydn scholars discuss Haydn’s London period and its influence on his later work. Members of the Handel and Haydn Society join in a chamber music performance of Haydn’s works.

14. Gala Benefit: “The Society Ball”

Saturday, April 25

15. Haydn: The Creation

Sunday, May 31 at 3.00 pm

The Hatch Shell on the Esplanade, Boston

Grant Llewellyn, conductor

Elizabeth Watts, soprano

Stanford Olsen, tenor

Eric Owens, bass

Handel and Haydn Society Chorus

Pre-concert performance by the Handel and Haydn Society Youth Choruses

All programs and artists are subject to change.

Shaw Festival Establishes Governors International Advisory Council

Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, July 17, 2008 … The inaugural meeting of the newly established Shaw Festival Governors International Advisory Council, which takes place tomorrow at the Festival, will celebrate the international breadth of The Shaw’s audiences and the global reputation of the Festival’s work.

In late March the Shaw Festival’s Board of Governors voted unanimously to establish the Governors International Advisory Council. The Council will be a proactive body which represents the Festival in strategic centres across North America, with members acting as ambassadors for The Shaw. The Council will assist the Board in expanding The Shaw’s reach, reputation and base of support. Its establishment recognizes The Shaw’s position as a world-renowned theatre company whose audience is 40% American and drawn from all over Canada and the world. The group will consist of up to 16 Canadian and up to 16 American or International positions. (A position is comprised of an individual or a couple.)

Members of the Governors International Advisory Council are elected for their passion and commitment to the Shaw Festival, their residence in a geographic area with current or potential strength in stakeholder support, and their ability to build bridges between The Shaw and local, regional and national individuals and institutions.

The current membership of the Governors International Advisory Council, which is expected to continue to grow, is comprised of:

The Hon. Lincoln M. Alexander, Hamilton, ON

David and Carol Appel, Toronto, ON

Anthony Herbert Bogert, Chelsea, QC

Elizabeth T. Daly, Bryn Mawr, PA

Leslie L. and Anna Dan, Toronto, ON

James and Margaret Fleck, Toronto, ON

Susan Glass, Winnipeg, MB

Nona Macdonald Heaslip, Toronto, ON

Sir Michael Holroyd, London, England

William B.G. Humphries, Toronto, ON

Malcolm S. Macdonald, Chair, Bloomfield Hills, MI

Gerry C. Miovski, Westfield, NJ

Dr. Ross H. Paul, Windsor, ON

Walter and Cathleen Ross, Palm Beach, FL

Judy Goetz Sanger and Dr. Sirgay Sanger, New York, NY

James M. and Michal Wadsworth, Buffalo, NY

Gregg D. Watkins, Bloomfield Hills, MI

Supplémentaire - De l'Europe à l'Amérique - 6 pianos

FESTIVAL ORFORD 2008

Ajout d’une supplémentaire du concert

De l’Europe à l’Amérique – 6 pianos

Le jeudi 31 juillet à 20h

Orford, jeudi 17 juillet 2008 - En 2006, Olivier Godin et ses amis pianistes collaborateurs de l’académie Orford offraient une prestation exceptionnelle à guichets fermés au Festival Orford. Plusieurs l’auront en mémoire longtemps. À la demande générale, nous les avons invités de nouveau cette année pour présenter un concert crée spécialement pour vous.

La réponse est si positive que les billets pour la première représentation du concert De l’Europe à l’Amérique – 6 pianos se sont envolés en quelques semaines seulement. Le Festival Orford 2008 annonce donc une représentation supplémentaire du concert De l’Europe à l’Amérique – 6 pianos, le jeudi 31 juillet à 20h avec Olivier Godin, Claire Ouellet, Mariane Patenaude, Lorraine Prieur, Sandra Murray et Francis Perron.

Programme de concert :

Leonard Bernstein Candide, ouverture

Camille Saint-Saëns Danse macabre

Sergei Prokofiev Symphonie n^o 1 (Classique)

George Gershwin Rhapsody in Bleu

Consultez notre site internet pour tous les détails.

Billetterie du Centre d’arts Orford : 3165, chemin du Parc, Orford, 819-843-3981 ou 1 800 567-6155 ou billetterie@arts-orford.org.

www.arts-orford.org

Toronto Arts Council Foundation announces Jury for 2008 awards

Today the Toronto Arts Council Foundation (TACF) announced the jury for the 2008 Toronto Arts Council Foundation Awards which recognize artists, cultural professionals and arts supporters who have made significant contributions to Toronto’s artistic and cultural life.

“We are honoured to have such a respected and accomplished group of professionals donate their time and expertise to serve on the jury,” said TACF executive director Claire Hopkinson.

Jury members for the 2008 Toronto Arts Council Foundation Awards hail from the performing arts, literary, visual arts, and corporate sectors and include: visual artist Stephen Andrews; broadcaster and arts advocate Laurie Brown; community arts activist Adonis Huggins; arts facilitator and educator Patty Jarvis; jazz singer Molly Johnson; set and costume designer Michael Levine; director of philanthropy for Sun Life Financial, Linda MacKenzie; founder and artistic director of b current ahdri zhina mandiela; playwright, actor, and director Andrew Moodie, kathak dancer and teacher Rina Singha, arts manager, performer and writer Jason van Eyk, editor-in-chief of Coach House Books Alana Wilcox, and d’bi.young.anitafrika, recipient of the 2007 RBC Emerging Artist Award.

The 2008 Toronto Arts Council Foundation Awards, with cash prizes totaling $40,000, will comprise five categories: Arts for Youth Award; The Globe and Mail Business for the Arts Award; RBC Emerging Artist Award; Roy Thomson Hall Award of Recognition; and the William Kilbourn Award for the Celebration of Toronto's Cultural Life.

The deadline for nominations is fast approaching: Tuesday, July 22, 2008 at 5 pm. Nomination forms, criteria and awards adjudication policies for the 2008 Toronto Arts Council Foundation Awards are still available at www.torontoarts.org/awards.html.

Winners of the 2008 Toronto Arts Council Foundation Awards will be announced on Friday, October 17, 2008 at the Mayor’s Arts Awards Lunch.

Incorporated in 1995 as a sister organization to Toronto Arts Council, Toronto Arts Council Foundation has a two-fold mission: to increase awareness of the value that artists and arts organizations bring to the city of Toronto and to increase resources for the arts. Toronto Arts Council Foundation administers a number of programs to further these goals and provides an opportunity for individuals, foundations and corporations to support a broad spectrum of initiatives and arts disciplines in the City of Toronto through tax-deductible contributions.

Monterey Jazz Festival Records To Release Six Archival Recordings, August 5, 2008

Never-Before-Released Historic Collections Include Performances From Art Blakey & The Giants Of Jazz, Dave Brubeck, Shirley Horn, Tito Puente, Cal Tjader, and Jimmy Witherspoon with Robben Ford

July 16, 2008; Monterey, CA; Monterey Jazz Festival Records, in collaboration with the Concord Music Group, will issue the second wave of six never-before-released, archival live recordings taped on the Arena stage of the world-famous Monterey Jazz Festival. The releases are slated for August 5, 2008, seven weeks prior to MJF's celebration of its 51st annual presentation of world-class jazz, September 19-21, 2008. Four of the historic releases will be year-specific recordings, including Art Blakey and the Giants of Jazz/1972; Shirley Horn/1994; Tito Puente & His Orchestra/1977; and Jimmy Witherspoon featuring Robben Ford/1972. Two “best of” recordings include Dave Brubeck - 50 Years of Dave Brubeck: Live at the Monterey Jazz Festival, 1958-2007 and Cal Tjader: The Best of Cal Tjader, Live at the Monterey Jazz Festival, 1958-1980, and are compilations of the legendary artists’ multiple performances at MJF.

Showcasing legendary artists caught at the peak of their powers, the releases are the second round of recordings to be brought to the public by the MJFR label, which was founded in celebration of the 50th Annual Monterey Jazz Festival in 2007. Initial historic releases included Louis Armstrong and His All-Stars/1958; Miles Davis Quintet/1963, Thelonious Monk Quartet/1964; Dizzy Gillespie/1965; Sarah Vaughan/1971; and a 50th-year compilation disc that included selections from the aforementioned albums as well as live material from Diana Krall, Joe Henderson, Dave Brubeck, and Pat Metheny. The recordings represent the wide variety of classic performers in the mainstream jazz, Latin and blues genres that are featured at Monterey, ranging from piano trios and small combos to big bands. Adding to the legacy of the featured artists, the recordings also feature a cornucopia of legendary leaders-as-sidemen, including saxophonists Paul Desmond, Gerry Mulligan and Sonny Stitt; trumpeters Roy Eldridge, Dizzy Gillespie and Clark Terry; pianists John Lewis and Thelonious Monk; and percussionists Poncho Sanchez and Mongo Santamaria. The six Monterey Jazz Festival Records archival releases have a street date of August 5, 2008. The following are thumbnail sketches of each record: Art Blakey and the Giants of Jazz - Live at the 1972 Monterey Jazz Festival

“The repertoire of the Giants of Jazz in this collection is made up of bop classics and superior standards, an alternation of exciting swing with lovely balladry." Liner notes by Doug Ramsey, author.


Personnel: Art Blakey, drums; Sonny Stitt, alto and tenor saxophones; Roy Eldridge, trumpet; Clark Terry, trumpet and flugelhorn; Kai Winding, trombone; Thelonious Monk, piano; Al McKibbon, bass. Set list: "Blue 'n' Boogie," '''Round Midnight," "Perdido," "Stardust," "Lover Man," "I Can't Get Started With You," "The Man I Love," "A Night in Tunisia"
Dave Brubeck - 50 Years of Dave Brubeck: Live at the Monterey Jazz Festival, 1958-2007
“…an uncommon overview of artist/venue synchronicity. Unlike other volumes in the series, it is not confined to a single performance, but rather spans the entire Monterey Jazz Festival history and captures much of Brubeck's own history in the process.” Liner notes by Bob Blumenthal, JazzTimes.


Personnel: Dave Brubeck, piano; and various others, including Paul Desmond, alto saxophone; Gerry Mulligan, baritone saxophone; Bill Smith, clarinet; Eugene Wright, bass; Joe Morello, drums. Compiled songs: "Two Part Contention," "Someday My Prince Will Come," "Take Five," "Sermon on the Mount," "Jumping Bean," "Tritonis," "Goodbye Old Friend," "I Got Rhythm," "Sleep," "Margie" Shirley Horn - Live at the 1994 Monterey Jazz Festival
"In 1994, in Tim Jackson's second full year of producing the Monterey Jazz Festival, he invited pianist/vocalist Shirley Horn to the autumn classic for the first time. ‘At Monterey, Shirley was at the peak of her powers,’ says Jackson.” Liner notes by Dan Ouellette, DownBeat.


Personnel: Shirley Horn, piano, vocals; Charles Ables, bass; Steve Williams, drums. Set list: "Foolin' Myself," "The Look of Love," "How Am I to Know," "L.A. Breakdown (And Take Me In)," "Nice 'N' Easy," "A Song for You," "I've Got the World on a String," "Here's to Life," "Hard Hearted Hannah," "Blues for Big Scotia" Tito Puente & His Orchestra - Live at the 1977 Monterey Jazz Festival
"Tito's performance [in Monterey] was a long-awaited first that showcased a 15-piece orchestra with a humongous sound. It also signaled Tito's entry into the jazz arena…and would find him traveling the world playing Latin jazz throughout the eighties and nineties. It would also raise his profile into the American mainstream." Liner notes by Jesse "Chuy" Varela, KCSM FM, San Mateo, California.

Personnel: Tito Puente, timbales, bandleader; and his orchestra. Set list: "Para los Rumberos," "Oye Como Va," "Babarabatiri," "Delirio," "Tito's Odyssey," "Don't You Worry 'bout a Thing (Cha Cha Cha)," "Pare Cochero," "El Rey del Timbal," "Picadillo" Cal Tjader - The Best of Cal Tjader: Live at the Monterey Jazz Festival, 1958-1980
"…Tjader was equally versed in jazz, Afro-Cuban and other Latin idioms and bridged them in a way that never sounded forced….blues and boleros, mambo, bop and bossa nova - with grace, taste, and feeling." Liner notes by Jesse Hamlin, San Francisco Chronicle.

Personnel: Cal Tjader, vibraphone, percussion, bandleader; and various others, including Clark Terry, Dizzy Gillespie, trumpets; Buddy DeFranco, clarinet; Vince Guaraldi, John Lewis, pianos; Michael Wolff, electric piano; Al McKibbon, Richard Davis, bass; Willie Bobo, drums, timbales; Mongo Santamaria, Armando Peraza, Poncho Sanchez, congas. Set list: "Summertime," "Now's the Time," "Cubano Chant," "Tumbao," "Manteca," "Afro Blue," "If You Could See Me Now," "Speak Low" Jimmy Witherspoon featuring Robben Ford: Live at the 1972 Monterey Jazz Festival
"Spoon always had the audience in the palm of his hand and this show was no exception. Spoon was an entertainer par excellence." Liner notes by Robben Ford.

Personnel: Jimmy Witherspoon, vocals; Robben Ford, guitar, alto saxophone; Paul Nagel, electric piano; Stan Poplin, bass; Jim Baum, drums (on bonus track, "When I Been Drinkin'," recorded in 1959: Coleman Hawkins, Ben Webster, tenor saxophones; Roy Eldridge, trumpet; Woody Herman, clarinet; Earl "Fatha" Hines, piano; Vernon Ashley, bass; Mel Lewis, drums). Set list: "I'm Gonna Move to the Outskirts of Town," "S.K. Blues," "Kansas City," "Goin' Down Slow," "Walkin' by Myself," "Ain't Nobody's Business What I Do," "I Want a Little Girl," "I Don't Know," "Early One Morning," (incomplete) "Reds and Whiskey," (bonus) "When I Been Drinkin'" About MJF Records

The MJF archives now include more than 1600 tapes with more than 2000 hours of concerts, all recorded from 1958-present on the Arena stage of the Festival. The founding of MJF Records is the first time a festival has launched its own label, and was a natural outgrowth of the digitization of the aging recordings (a process that took several years), saving the historic music from deterioration. MJF General Manager Tim Jackson started thinking in broader strokes in 2004 when the digitization process started. "I wanted to leverage the festival's assets and use the 50th as a launching pad to make this historical music available to people," he says. Upon their release in August 2007, the CDs made their way onto many critics’ top-ten lists and garnered strong radio airplay. On the on the Billboard jazz charts, the Miles Davis Quintet/1963 reached #8, the Monterey Jazz Festival 50th Anniversary All-Stars/2007 reached #12, and the Thelonious Monk Quartet/1964 reached #22.

The label MJFR also plans to new Festival recordings, inaugurated with Live at the Monterey Jazz Festival 2007 by the Monterey Jazz Festival 50th Anniversary All-Stars -- led by three generations of masters including James Moody, Terence Blanchard, Benny Green and Nnenna Freelon -- which toured the United States for ten weeks in early 2008, performing to over 43,000 fans. Label General Manager Jason Olaine commented "We're not going to be stuck in a jazz time warp. We're excited to deliver important historical music, as well as assemble special projects and all-star ensembles to debut at the festival each year." At MJF/51 in 2008, the Cuban flautist and singer Orlando “Maraca” Valle is slated to record a CD with special guests David Sánchez, Miguel Zenón, Ed Simon, Murray Low, John Benitez, Giovanni Hidalgo, Horacio “El Negro” Hernandez and the Monterey Jazz Festival Chamber Orchestra for future release on MJFR. The label can be found on the web at www.montereyjazzfestivalrecords.com.

For information on Monterey Jazz Festival Records, as well as the latest round of the Monterey Jazz Festival's newest archival recordings, please contact Matt Merewitz at DL Media at (610) 667-0501 or matt@jazzpublicity.com.

EMI Classics Issue Six Operas from the Metropolitan Opera's Acclaimed Live in HD Series

EMI CLASSICS TO ISSUE SIX OPERAS FROM THE METROPOLITAN OPERA'S ACCLAIMED

LIVE IN HD SERIES JUST IN TIME FOR THE NEW 'THEATRE BROADCAST' SEASON

Canadian release date: September 16, 2008

Engelbert Humperdinck: Hansel and Gretel

Giuseppe Verdi: Macbeth

Tan Dun: The First Emperor (World Premiere)

Giacomo Puccini: La Bohème

Benjamin Britten: Peter Grimes

Giacomo Puccini: Manon Lescaut

EMI Classics will issue six operas on DVD produced by the Metropolitan Opera for its highly acclaimed series The Met: Live in HD. This September, five productions from the Met's 2007-08 season will be released, as well as the 2006 world premiere production of Tan Dun's The First Emperor. The releases further extend the reach of The Met: Live in HD, the groundbreaking series of live operas transmitted to movie theatres, arts centres and universities all over the world; next season, the series will expand to reach 800 venues and 28 countries. The 2008/2009 Met Live HD series broadcasts in Canada commence on September 22nd (for more information on this go to: http://www.metoperafamily.org/metopera/news/press/detail.aspx?id=3810).

The operas include new productions of Hansel and Gretel, Macbeth, and Peter Grimes; the world premiere production of The First Emperor; La Bohème and Manon Lescaut.

The Met's critically acclaimed high-definition productions are directed by top creative talent from the film and television fields, who capture the intensity of live opera using cutting-edge technology, including vertical and dolly-tracked robotic cameras. During the intermissions, the cameras go backstage for interviews with performers and others involved in the production. The shows are hosted by such stars as Renée Fleming, Natalie Dessay, and the late Beverly Sills.

The audio is mixed with Dolby surround-sound encoding supervised by DTS. Each accompanying DVD booklet has notes and a synopsis in English. Each title also includes an electronic booklet in PDF form, which can be accessed from any computer equipped with a DVD-ROM drive and Adobe Acrobat 6.0. This booklet contains notes and cast biographies in English, French, and German.

Engelbert Humperdinck: Hansel and Gretel
New Production
Sung in English with optional subtitles in French, German, Italian, and Spanish

The combination of the timeless Brothers Grimm fairy tale, Humperdinck's enchanting score, Richard Jones's intriguing new production, and a new English-language translation by David Pountney make this Hansel and Gretel appealing to audiences of all ages.

Hansel and Gretel are charmingly performed by Alice Coote and Christine Schäfer. The children's parents are played by Rosalind Plowright and Alan Held. The Witch, written for mezzo-soprano, is sometimes sung by a tenor, in this production Philip Langridge in what was described by The New York Times as "a casting coup".

"In the pit, the brilliant young Russian conductor Vladimir Jurowski …. conveys the lyricism of this 1893 opera while never letting us forget that Humperdinck was a Wagner protégé who filled this score with rich chromatic harmony and thick, dark orchestral colorings. … [Mr. Jurowski] conducts a resonant and radiant performance." (The New York Times)

Describing the high-definition production shown in cinemas, The New York Times said, "All three acts are set in strange kitchens: the drab 1950s kitchen of Hansel and Gretel's impoverished family; an Expressionistic kitchen-dining room with leafy wallpaper to symbolize the forest where the siblings become lost; and an industrial-size, stainless-steel kitchen where the Witch bakes her child victims into gingerbread. … The sophisticated camera work … was especially impressive … Subtleties of acting that barely register in the house came through movingly on screen."

In 1923, Hansel and Gretel became the first complete opera to be broadcast on radio from Covent Garden; eight years later it was the first to be broadcast from the Met.

Backstage at the Met Bonus Material: Renée Fleming interviews the Met's Technical Director Joe Clark; Christine Schäfer and Alice Coote are interviewed live during intermission; and the feature The World of John Macfarlane, shows how set and costume designer John Macfarlane brought Hansel and Gretel to life.

Giuseppe Verdi: Macbeth
New Production
Sung in Italian with optional subtitles in English, French, German, and Spanish

Željko Lučić, Maria Guleghina, John Relyea, and Dimitri Pittas star in a new production of Verdi's haunting early operatic masterpiece. Longtime Met Music Director James Levine conducts.

This is the Met's first production in 20 years of the first of Verdi's three operas based on Shakespeare's plays. It is "a stylistically eclectic, grimly effective and, at times, intriguingly playful production" (The New York Times) by the English director Adrian Noble, in his Met debut. Noble, former Artistic Director of the Royal Shakespeare Company, and set and costume designer Mark Thompson "mixed modern and melodramatic elements into this nearly black-and-white, modern-dress staging." (The New York Times)

At the time of its composition, Verdi's Macbeth was unique. Not only was it considered both musically and dramatically bold, but it was the first opera that could truly be described as Shakespearean. It was the first that altered operatic conventions to serve the play rather than converting the play into traditional operatic formulas. The Met performs Verdi's revised 1865 Paris version, minus the ballet he was obligated to write for that production.

After 33 highly successful years in charge of the company's musical forces, a relationship unique in the musical world today, the Met's Music Director James Levine conducts Verdi's haunting score with the intensity that this chilling work demands: "[Levine] conducts "Macbeth" as a … supreme musical drama. … Without diminishing the architectonic shape of the work, he is keenly sensitive to the vocal needs of the cast, ready in an instant to adjust the pacing, to coax the singer and orchestra musicians into beautifully coordinated execution of a lyrical phrase. The orchestra sounded terrific. In ruminative passages the string tone was … velvety and nuanced … [but] when red-blooded Verdian orchestral sound was called for, Mr. Levine summoned plenty of it. " (The New York Times)

Backstage at the Met Bonus Material: Met General Manager Peter Gelb interviews Music Director James Levine; Zeljko Lučić, Maria Guleghina (Macbeth and Lady Macbeth) and director Adrian Noble are also interviewed; and a video blog shot during the rehearsal process is also included.

Tan Dun: The First Emperor
Met Commission/New Production
Sung in English with optional subtitles in French, German, Italian, and Spanish

"A majestic imperial Chinese saga...[Domingo] sang with stamina and burnished power." New York Times

Legendary tenor Plácido Domingo stars in this visually stunning opera by Academy Award-winning composer Tan Dun (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) to a libretto by the composer and Ha Jin, based on Historical Records by Sima Qian (c.145–85 BCE) and on Wei Lu's screenplay, The Emperor's Shadow. The opera was commissioned by the Met in the mid-1990s and the spectacular production, which premiered in December 2006, was one of the most highly anticipated cultural events of the season.

The opera tells of Emperor Qin's quest for a national anthem for his new country and his ill-fated decision to force his childhood friend, a talented composer, to write it. Tragedy results following the composer's love affair with the emperor's crippled daughter. As Emperor Qin, Plácido Domingo leads an all-star ensemble in this epic story, which is ideally suited to the opera stage.

The First Emperor combines the expressive power of traditional ancient Chinese singing with the long musical lines of Italian opera. This juxtaposition of musical cultures illustrates Tan Dun's musical style, which merges East and West and ancient and modern sensibilities.

One of just six composers to conduct their own works at the Met, Tan Dun led all the performances of the first run of the opera.

The production was directed by the revered Chinese filmmaker Zhang Yimou (Hero, Raise the Red Lantern, and director of the opening and closing ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics), who worked closely with Tan Dun while he composed the music.

The costumes were designed by Emi Wada, who won an Oscar for her work in the 1986 movie Ran. Over the course of a year and a half, Wada designed more than 600 striking and colourful costumes.

Backstage at the Met Bonus Material: Beverly Sills interviews Plácido Domingo, and a documentary film, Tan Dun's The First Emperor: In Rehearsal at the Met gives a behind-the-scenes look at the creative process.

Giacomo Puccini: Manon Lescaut
Sung in Italian with optional subtitles in English, French, German and Spanish

The performance captured on this DVD marks the first on the Met stage in 18 years of the Met's classic production of Puccini's Manon Lescaut. Finnish soprano Karita Mattila performs the title role, conducted by James Levine. Chevalier des Grieux is played by Marcello Giordani, Manon's brother by Dwayne Croft and Geronte by Dale Travis.

Manon Lescaut, the French tale of a beautiful young woman destroyed by her conflicting desires for love and luxury, was Puccini's first successful opera and the work that thrust him into the international spotlight as Italy's foremost opera composer.

Mattila's performance is a career highlight, with The New York Times calling her interpretation "riveting". The soprano waited for her voice to gain maturity and richness before singing her first Manon Lescaut in 1999, when she was nearly 40. She now returns to the work, attracting James Levine to conduct it for the first time since 1981.

After 33 highly successful years in charge of the company's musical forces, a relationship unique in the musical world today, the Met's Music Director James Levine leads a fresh and intelligent performance. "Conceptually Mr. Levine seemed on the same page with his star soprano. He drew Italianate ardor and pliant lyricism from the Met orchestra yet conveyed the rhythmic intricacy, harmonic boldness and symphonic sweep of the music as well." (The New York Times)

"Ever willowy and ever inventive, Karita Mattila enacted the heroine's progress from gawky innocent to greedy charmer to tragic victim brilliantly. … Marcello Giordani partnered her as golden-age Des Grieux, handsome and urgent in demeanour, suave in passages of introspection, glorious in outbursts of passion. … The strong secondary cast included Dwayne Croft, a gratifyingly crafty Lescaut, Dale Travis, a stern Geronte who resisted buffo temptation, and Sean Panikkar, a sweet and sprightly Edmondo. … [Levine] let the melodies soar." (Financial Times)

Backstage at the Met Bonus Material: Renée Fleming interviews Karita Mattila, Marcello Giordani, animal trainers and handlers Nancy and Paul Novograd, and the Met's Technical Director Joe Clark.

Benjamin Britten: Peter Grimes
New Production
ICPN: 5099921741494 (1 DVD)
Sung in English with optional subtitles in English, French, German, Italian, and Spanish

"The more vicious the society, the more vicious the individual." - Benjamin Britten, commenting on Peter Grimes after its premiere in 1945

Anthony Dean Griffey and Patricia Racette are gripping in this new Met production of Benjamin Britten's most celebrated opera, Peter Grimes. The multi-award-winning director is John Doyle, whose production of Sweeney Todd won the 2006 Tony Award® for Best Direction of a Musical. The Financial Times described Doyle's direction of Peter Grimes as "an impeccable fusion of music and drama."

Peter Grimes, Britten's haunting seaside tale and his second opera, is widely regarded as one of the masterpieces of postwar opera, and its premiere 63 years ago marked a turning point in the history of British opera. This "true operatic masterpiece of the 20th century" (The New York Times) is the first opera by an English composer to enter and remain in the international repertory. Peter Grimes is based on a poem entitled The Borough, by turn-of-the-19th-century writer George Crabbe set in an isolated English fishing village in the 1830s.

Much of the emotional drive of the opera comes from the four Sea Interludes – calm, storm, at dawn and by moonlight. Among the most brilliantly evocative music that Britten ever wrote, they help to establish the constant, overpowering presence of the sea as the opera's dominant force.

Anthony Dean Griffey is "the leading Peter Grimes today" (Washington Post), and [his] "fascinating performance should not be missed" (Associated Press). Patricia Racette, as Ellen Orford, the schoolmistress who tries and fails to rescue Grimes from his anger and self-pity, is "sublime" (The Guardian). "The voice was vibrant, liquid, and exciting" (New York Sun). "A powerful cast, led by tenor Anthony Dean Griffey," writes the San Francisco Chronicle, "found the pathos and terror in Britten's score."

Donald Runnicles, Music Director of the San Francisco Opera, "drew an inspired performance from the Met Orchestra, full of passion and commitment yet free of bombast. Without slackening the dramatic tension, he found ways of drawing out both the music's austere lyricism and its violent extremes." (Boston Globe)

Backstage at the Met Bonus Material: Natalie Dessay interviews Anthony Dean Griffey and Patricia Racette (Peter Grimes and Ellen Orford), conductor Donald Runnicles, chorus master Donald Palumbo, and members of the creative team, including director John Doyle, costume designer Ann Hould-Ward, and set designer Scott Pask. There is also a live BBC segment from Benjamin Britten's hometown of Aldeburgh.

Giacomo Puccini: La Bohème
Sung in Italian with optional subtitles in English, French, German, and Spanish

Angela Gheorghiu and Ramón Vargas lead a magnificent cast in Franco Zeffirelli's sumptuous and iconic production of Puccini's timeless masterpiece La Bohème. "[It] just might be the best investment the Met ever made… Its magic shows no sign of diminishing." (Opera News Online)

Set in Paris around 1830, La Bohème depicts a love that blossoms between two young artists in a time that appears both bleak and turbulent that makes this story so very special.

Mimì and Rodolfo, sung by Gheorghiu and Vargas, respectively, are charming as the young couple who fall in love. Ludovic Tézier and Ainhoa Arteta sing Marcello and Musetta.

Gheorghiu, one of the leading Puccini sopranos of our time, sings the role of Mimì at the Met for the first time in twelve years. "[Gheorghiu] was superb as Mimì… distinctive and alluring. She sang with extraordinary precision, subtlety, control, nuance, and, above all, musicality" (New York Sun). "Ramón Vargas, as Rodolfo, produced a warm, buttery sound" (The New York Times). Conductor Nicola Luisotti is, "a man who knows what he is doing in this repertoire: the way he can control the orchestra to move with the singers' expressive tempo fluctuations is breathtaking, a quality which helps to show Puccini at his best" (musicalcriticism.com).

Franco Zeffirelli's stunning production is as beloved and magnificent today as the day it was first staged at the Metropolitan Opera more than 27 years ago. The April 5, 2008, broadcast of this production marked the 347th performance of Zeffirelli's La Bohème at the Met, making it the most performed production in the company's history.

Backstage at the Met Bonus Material: Renée Fleming interviews Angela Gheorghiu, Ramón Vargas and Met Technical Director Joe Clark, and a bonus feature, Zeffirelli at the Met, includes archival interviews and performance clips.

Les Escales Improbables

Les Escales Improbables de Montréal 2008 - 5e anniversaire

Soirée de lancement le 11 septembre à 19h, 15$

Activités gratuites du 12 au 14 septembre, 14h à 19h

sur les quais du Vieux-Port de Montréal

(quai King Edward, face au Centre des Sciences)