LSM Newswire

Friday, October 16, 2009

Ottawa Chamber Music Society ~ Arion Baroque Orchestra

Beautiful and impressive playing like this sets the standards to which others must aspire.
- Early Music Review (United Kingdom)

Ottawa (October 13, 2009) The Ottawa Chamber Music Society (OCMS), under the Artistic Direction of Roman Borys, the Gryphon Trio, in partnership with Front+Centre/Shenkman Arts Centre presents the first concert of the OCMS annual fall/winter Concert Series. The Arion Baroque Orchestra will perform on Saturday, October 17 at 8 PM at the Shenkman Arts Centre, 245 Centrum Boulevard, Orleans.

Arion is a Montreal-based baroque orchestra which performs on period instruments. Arions concerts have been unanimously acclaimed for their clarity and gusto, as well as their refined and expressive performances which have been chosen from a wide array of early music works. Their program will include works by Vivaldi, Telemann, Locatelli and Johann Sebastian Bach. This concert is a co-production with Front+Centre/Shenkman Arts Centre, the first of two during the 2009/2010 OCMS Concert Series.

...this is generally music-making of such high quality and imagination that, regardless of what you may have heard before, there are plenty of new insights to be had.
- Laurence Vittes, Gramophone

The Arion ensemble was founded in 1981 by flautist Claire Guimond, violinist Chantal Rmillard, gambist Betsy MacMillan and harpsichordist Hank Knox. Claire Guimond has been Arions artistic director ever since its first concerts. Meticulous attention to detail has placed Arions artistic achievements amongst those of the greatest current early music ensembles.

By playing on period instruments, the Arion players want to recreate the sound and colours that the composer originally intended for the music. It takes away a couple of hundred years in between the composer and you, flautist Claire Guimond says. It sounds like the music was composed today for those instruments with its original colours. It speaks the music better. (Vue Weekly)

A recipient of numerous awards and grants, Arion has toured extensively throughout Canada, Europe, Mexico and the United States. Arions discography features 25 CDs, distributed internationally both as a quartet and in a larger setting with the collaboration of such fine artists as soprano Suzie LeBlanc, mezzo Kimberly Barber, countertenors Matthew White and Daniel Taylor, as well as some of the countrys top baroque soloists.

OCMS Concert Series
The OCMS annual fall/winter Concert Series promises exceptional artistry and great variety. We are thrilled to present the world-class talents of the Arion Baroque Orchestra, the Cantata Singers and Capital BrassWorks, the Wrttemburg Chamber Orchestra of Heilbronn, Rob Kapilow, Cecilia String Quartet, the Tallis Scholars, and of course the Gryphon Trio. What a phenomenal series we have to look forward to! said Glenn Hodgins, Executive Director of the OCMS.

In the spirit of community interaction and collaboration, the OCMS has welcomed opportunities to partner with the new Shenkman Arts Centre, the Cantata Singers/Capital BrassWorks and the Ottawa New Music Creators. Helping other organizations in the community achieve their goals while adding quality and programming diversity to our own concert offerings is a winning formula. The Shenkman Arts Centre is an outstanding new venue that allows the OCMS to get closer to a community that for many years championed chamber music with its own chamber music series. Collaborating with the Cantata Singers and Capital BrassWorks gives us the opportunity commemorate Remembrance Day on a grand scale, and our partnering with the Ottawa New Music Creators helps give this new organization the momentum and presence it requires in order to continue its very important work for years to come, says Roman Borys.

Ticket Information

Full 2009-2010 Concert Series details are available on the OCMS website at www.chamberfest.com.

Subscription benefits include: access to the best seats in the house, a 40% savings off single tickets, and the ability to exchange tickets for other concerts during the season. Single tickets are also available. For more information, please contact the OCMS office at 613-234-6306.

Mark your calendars! Chamberfest 2010 will take place from July 24 to August 7.

The Ottawa Chamber Music Society gratefully acknowledges the support of its sponsors, partners and donors.

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Thursday, September 17, 2009

The NAC Orchestra launches its 09-10 season with Romantic Revolution Festival led by Music Director Pinchas Zukerman, including guest artists Gil Shah

Ottawa, Canada Pinchas Zukerman opens the National Arts Centre Orchestras 40th anniversary season with the Romantic Revolution Festival from Wednesday, September 23 to Thursday, October 1 with guest stars including violinist Gil Shaham, pianists Angela Cheng, Katherine Chi and Anton Kuerti, and cellist Lynn Harrell. Over the course of five magnificent concerts on September 23, 24, 25, 30 and October 1 four led by Pinchas Zukerman and one by Jean-Marie Zeitouni the Festival explores the pivotal period in artistic and musical history that marked the emergence of Romanticism. Audiences will hear the first tentative strains of Romanticism in the music of Haydn (including his Cello Concerto performed by Lynn Harrell) and in Mozarts later piano concertos (performed by Angela Cheng and Katherine Chi). They will hear it flourish in the glorious passages of Beethovens Eroica Symphony and Concerto for Violin (the latter performed and conducted by Pinchas Zukerman) and Mendelssohns Violin Concerto (performed by Gil Shaham) and in the anguished harmonies of Schuberts Unfinished Symphony; and reach full power in the Symphony No. 4 by Schumann (Romantic composer par excellence) and the heart-wrenching Prelude to Act III of Verdis La Traviata. (A chronological listing of concerts follows.)

Each concert opens with a capella musical selections sung by the
Cantata Singers of Ottawa led by director Michael Zaugg.

The Festival includes Musically Speaking talks at 7 p.m. given by media and musical celebrities prior to the concerts on September 23, 24, and 25, and October 1. The first two are in French: LArt de composer un programme with musicologist Carol Bergeron on Sept. 23; Les Beauts de linachvement : la Huitime Symphonie de Schubert with Franois Dompierre, composer and host, Radio-Canada, Espace musique on Sept. 24. The second two are in English: Schumanns Revision Quest: a journey from brainstorm to score with CBC Radio Executive Producer Jill LaForty interviewing CBC Music Producer David Houston on Sept. 25; and Beethoven Lite with writer and broadcaster Eric Friesen on Oct. 1. The Oct. 1 concert also includes a Post-Concert Talkback with Eric Friesen interviewing Pinchas Zukerman following the latters performance of the Beethoven Violin Concerto.

The Sept. 30 concert is a detailed exploration of Mozarts Final Piano Concerto beginning with a Beyond the Scoreƒ multi-media exploration of Mozarts life and times featuring narrator Bill Richardson (of CBC Radio), Ottawa actor Pierre Brault, soprano Donna Brown and pianist Katherine Chi, with the NAC Orchestra performing musical excerpts. In the second half Katherine Chi and the NAC Orchestra led by Jean-Marie Zeitouni perform the concerto in its entirety. Beyond the Scoreƒ is a presentation of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

Tickets for the Romantic Revolution Festival in the NACs Southam Hall at 8 p.m. are on sale now at $19, $29, $39.50, $50, $60, $70 and $87.50 at the newly renovated NAC Box Office (Monday to Saturday from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.) and through Ticketmaster (with surcharges) at 613-755-1111. Ticketmaster may also be accessed through the NACs website at www.nac-cna.ca.

Half-price tickets for students in all sections of the hall are on sale in person at the NAC Box Office upon presentation of a valid student ID card. Live Rush tickets (subject to availability) for full-time students (aged 13 to 29) are $11 at the NAC Box Office from 2 p.m. the day before the concert to 6 p.m. the day of, upon presentation of a valid Live Rush card.

Groups of 10 and more save 15% to 20% off the regular price of tickets to NAC Music, Theatre and Dance performances. To reserve your seats call 613-947-7000 ext. 384 or email grp@nac-cna.ca.

COMPLETE ROMANTIC REVOLUTION FESTIVAL PROGRAMMING

Beethovens Eroica Wednesday, September 23 at 8 p.m.
Mark Motors Audi Signature Series
Pinchas Zukerman, conductor; Gil Shaham, violin; Cantata Singers of Ottawa; Michael Zaugg, chorus master

Cantata Singers a capella prelude:
BRAHMS Fnf ernste Gesnge, Op. 104

NAC Orchestra:
MALCOLM FORSYTH Jubilee Overture
MENDELSSOHN Violin Concerto in E minor
BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 3 Eroica

Beethovens Eroica marks the turning point from Classicism to Romanticism with its extraordinary scope, bold harmonies, and drama. And its title? Originally dedicated to Napoleon, Beethoven angrily changed his dedication to Sinfonia Eroica, Composed to Celebrate the Memory of a Great Man, after Napoleon declared himself Emperor. Gil Shaham, recent winner of the coveted Avery Fisher Prize and multiple Grammys, dazzles with lustrous tone and brilliant technique in Mendelssohns jewel of a violin concerto.

Musically Speaking: Pre-Concert Chat at 7 p.m. (in French)
LArt de composer un programme with musicologist Carol Bergeron

Wednesday Mark Motors Audi Signature Series subscribers will attend this concert, and Thursday Signature Series subscribers will attend the Thursday, October 1 concert.

***

The Radiance of Mozart Thursday, September 24, 2009
Ovation Series
Pinchas Zukerman, conductor; Angela Cheng, piano; Arianna Zukerman, soprano; Cantata Singers of Ottawa; Michael Zaugg, director

Cantata Singers a capella prelude:
FANNY HENSEL-MENDELSSOHN Gartenlieder, Op. 3: Im Wald; Hrst Du nicht die Bume rauschen
FELIX MENDELSSOHN Sechs Lieder im Freien zu singen: I. Herbstlied
FANNY HENSEL-MENDELSSOHN Gartenlieder, Op. 3: Abendlich schon rauscht der Wald

NAC Orchestra:
VERDI Prelude to Act III of La Traviata
SCHUBERT Symphony No. 8 Unfinished
MOZART Aria: Chio mi scordi di te
MOZART Piano Concerto No. 21 Elvira Madigan

Critically acclaimed Angela Cheng, known for her spot-on Mozart interpretations, is the soloist for his 21st Piano Concerto, which took its nickname from the radiant second movement heard in the film Elvira Madigan. Arianna Zukermans shimmering voice reveals the beauty of Mozarts farewell gift to an admired soprano. Plus Schuberts most famous and mysteriously abandoned symphony, the Unfinished.

Musically Speaking: Pre-Concert Chat at 7 p.m. (in French)
Les Beauts de linachvement : la Huitime Symphonie de Schubert with Franois Dompierre, composer and host, Radio-Canada, Espace musique

Thursday Ovation Series subscribers will attend this concert, and Wednesday Ovation Series subscribers will attend the Friday, September 25 concert.

***

Lynn Harrell & a Haydn Classic Friday, September 25, 2009
Ovation Series
Pinchas Zukerman, conductor; Lynn Harrell, cello; Cantata Singers of Ottawa; Michael Zaugg, director

Cantata Singers a capella prelude:
SCHUMANN Vier doppelchorige Gesange: Ungewisses Licht
SCHUBERT Die Nacht, Op. 17
BRAHMS Nun stehn die Rosen in Blte
SCHUMANN Vier doppelchrigie Gesnge: Talismane

NAC Orchestra:
BACH Suite for solo cello
HAYDN Cello Concerto in C major
SCHUMANN Symphony No. 4

Schumann gave his wife the Fourth Symphony as a special gift: it celebrated her 22nd birthday, their first wedding anniversary, and the christening of their first child, and even included a musical portrait of her. Lynn Harrells appealing way of reaching out to an audience has captured rapt listeners not only at the worlds famed concert halls, but also at the Grammys, where showbiz glitterati marveled at his artistry.

Musically Speaking: Pre-Concert Chat at 7 p.m. (in English) Schumanns Revision Quest: a journey from brainstorm to score
CBC Radio Executive Producer Jill LaForty interviews CBC Music Producer David Houston

Wednesday Ovation Series subscribers will attend this concert, and Thursday Ovation Series subscribers will attend the Thursday, September 24 concert.

***

Mozarts Final Piano Concerto *Beyond the Score Wednesday, September 30, 2009
National Arts Centre Orchestra; Jean-Marie Zeitouni, conductor; Katherine Chi, piano; Donna Brown, soprano; Bill Richardson, narrator; Pierre Brault, actor

MOZART Piano Concerto No. 27

Join the NAC Orchestra and conductor Jean-Marie Zeitouni, with stellar soloists, actor Pierre Brault and narrator Bill Richardson to explore the history of Mozarts music. The first half of this program includes projected images, musical examples performed by the NAC Orchestra and soloists, and theatrical narration; the second half features a performance of Mozarts Piano Concerto No. 27 in its entirety.

English narration with French surtitles

This concert is part of the Romantic Revolution Festival.

* Beyond the Score is produced by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra

***

Pinchas Plays Beethoven Thursday, October 1, 2009
Mark Motors Audi Signature Series
Pinchas Zukerman, conductor and violin; Anton Kuerti, piano; Combined Ottawa Choruses; Duain Wolfe, chorus master

Cantata Singers a capella prelude:
FRIEDRICH SILCHER nnchen von Tharau
MENDELSSOHN Abshied vom Walde
PETER CORNELIUS Der Traum
BRAHMS Abschiedslied

Mozarts Piano Concerto No. 27
BEETHOVEN Egmont Overture
BEETHOVEN Choral Fantasy
BEETHOVEN Violin Concerto

Beethovens notoriously difficult masterpiece, sometimes dubbed the Mount Everest of violin concertos, has near sacred status, testing the mettle of performers. What makes this evening even more extraordinary is that Pinchas Zukerman is not only the soloist but also conducts. Rounding out this all-Beethoven concert is a dramatic overture and the stately Choral Fantasy that, in tone and melody, foreshadows the Ode to Joy of the Ninth Symphony.

Musically Speaking: Pre-Concert Chat at 7 p.m. (in English)
Beethoven Lite with writer and broadcaster Eric Friesen

Musically Speaking: Post-Concert Talkback
Writer and broadcaster Eric Friesen interviews Pinchas Zukerman, Music Director of the NAC Orchestra

Thursday Mark Motors Audi Signature Series subscribers will attend this concert, and Wednesday Signature Series subscribers will attend the Wednesday, September 23 concert.

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