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La Scena Musicale - Vol. 14, No. 2 October 2008

Upcoming Concerts à venir

Par/by Hélène Boucher, Hannah Rahimi, Julie Roy / October 16, 2008


Montréal

October seems to be the month of violin at the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal. Two world-class violinists will be joining the orchestra for two separate concerts, performing important works of the violin repertoire. Coined by the Boston Herald as “the greatest American violinist active today,” Joshua Bell joins the OSM on October 1. In an exciting choice of repertoire, Bell will be performing contemporary composer John Corligliano’s Red Violin Concerto, an extended version of the music written for the Oscar-winning film The Red Violin. As well, the orchestra will be performing the world premiere of Ramon Humet’s Escenas deviento, winner of the Olivier Messiaen Prize at the OSM International Composition Competition. Lastly, conductor Jacques Lacombe leads the orchestra in a performance of Bartok’s famed Concerto for Orchestra, for which the OSM’s recording won a Juno in 1989. On October 5, young Canadian violinist James Ehnes joins the OSM in a performance of Sibelius’ Violin Concerto. A highly virtuosic yet expressive composition, this concerto is thought by some to be one of the most difficult written for the violin. A 2008 Grammy winner who has quickly risen in the music world, Ehnes is sure to give a fiery and exciting performance. The concert is framed with two works by Shostakovich: his Prelude and fugue, Op. 87, No. 24 (orch. Zuskin), and ending with his Eighth Symphony. At approximately 60-minutes in length, it is a dark and powerful work that explores the aftermaths of war with intense expression. www.osm.ca

HR

For the past year, the faculty of music at the Université de Montréal has joined together with Outremont’s department of culture and leisure to offer the series Concerts Intimes. This series showcases students and recent graduates of the university, allowing them to extend their talents beyond the walls of the school and introducing them to a new audience. The concerts take place in the intimate exhibition hall of the Galerie d’art d’Outremont which is known for its excellent acoustics. On October 9, the Ensemble Vintage will perform a program ranging from the classical to the romantic with Mozart, Schumann and Saint-Saëns. The ensemble is comprised of clarinettist François Duval and pianist Constance Joanis. Duval, a recent graduate of the Université de Montréal, currently teaches at the Cégep d’Alma as well as the Conservatoire de musique de Saguenay. A talented young musician, he is the recipient of numerous awards including first place in the Sinfonia International Concerto Competition in 2005. Often heard on Radio Canada, Constance Joanis is an active pianist in the Canadian music scene, having received many prizes in a diverse range of competitions. Joanis teaches at the École Vincent d’Indy as well as accompanies students at the Université de Montréal. Recently formed, the duo is quickly garnering respect in the classical community, performing a wide range of repertoire.

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Montreal Chamber Orchestra created its Série de concerts laureates with the goal of constantly discovering new performers. In this series, musicians who have become recently known through their achievements in international music competitions are invited to perform with the Orchestra. On October 16 Soprano Kristin Mueller-Heaslip joins the OCM and director Wanda Kaluzny in a performance of Benjamin Britten’s Les Illuminations. Rooted in the prose-poetry of the French symbolist Arthur Rimbaud, this imagistic and evocative composition marks a cosmopolitan shift in Britten’s style, being one of the first foreign texts he set to music. In addition the orchestra will perform works by Haydn, Mozart, Puccini, and Sophie Carmen Eckhardt-Gramatté. Mueller-Heaslip is the winner of the 2008 Eckhardt-Gramatté competition, which took place last may in Manitoba. A graduate of the University of Toronto, she has gone on to explore the world of new and unusual music, seeking out interesting new works and performing numerous world premieres of Canadian compositions. She has become known to Canadian audiences as an intelligent and innovative performer of new music. www.mco-ocm.qc.ca

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Recently named "International Brass Personality of the Year" (Brass Herald), internationally acclaimed trumpeter Jens Lindemann will be joining the McGill Chamber Orchestra for the aptly named Trumpet Triumphant. The concert will take place at Pollack Hall on October 19, featuring trumpet gems from across the centuries. Lindemann and the MGC will cover diverse styles in a program ranging from Antonio Vivaldi to Joaquin Rodrigo to ‘Fats’ Waller. Travelling through periods from baroque to jazz, Lindemann will demonstrate his ability to move seamlessly between different styles as well as different instruments – trumpet, piccolo and flugel-horn. Trained at the Juilliard School of Music, Lindemann has come to be considered one of North America’s most exciting trumpet soloists today, and is renowned for his virtuosic playing and beautiful golden sound. The McGill Chamber Orchestra is one of Canada’s most established chamber orchestras. Beginning as the McGill String Quartet in 1939, it has evolved over the years to become an ensemble of international standard, led by conductor Boris Brott. Many of the musicians featured in the orchestra are principal players in the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal. www.ocm-mco.org

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For four days in October, Montreal’s Innovations en concert series will be showcasing the flute in Évolutions, la flûte. Taking place from October 21-25 at the Château Ramezay, renowned flutists from across the country will gather for a series of four consecutive new music concerts. Celebrated flutist, composer and conductor, Robert Aitken, opens the series on October 21 with a solo concert. In addition to an active international career, Aitken has been instrumental in the Canadian contemporary music scene, co-founding Toronto’s New Music Concerts in 1971, where he continues to perform and act as Artistic Director. Another performance of the series will include flutist and composer Cleo Palacio-Quintin (Oct. 22), who performs on her fascinating invention, the hyper-flute. The hyper-flute utilises a complex system of wire sensors attached to the instrument to augment the sonic possibilities of the flute, adding a responsive electronic element to the music. Other performers include Jocelyne Roy and Marie-Noëlle Choquette (Oct. 23) and Guy Pelletier and Jean Derome (Oct. 25). These four concerts are sure to provide a fresh and inspirational look into the flourishing world of new music, with performances by some of Canada’s most innovative and talented flutists. www.laliste.qc.ca

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L’oratorio Elijah à la Place des Arts

La saison 2008-2009 marque la 8e année du chef Yannick Nézet-Séguin à la tête l’Orchestre Métropolitain du Grand Montréal. En novembre, un oratorio grandiose de Mendelssohn, Elijah, est au programme. Cette œuvre magistrale du répertoire choral du 19e siècle sera interprétée en anglais par Measha Brueggergosman (soprano), Kristina Szalo (mezzo-soprano), Joseph Kaiser (ténor) et Jonathan Lemalu (basse), soutenus par le Chœur de l’Orchestre Métropolitain du Grand Montréal.

Récit biblique tiré de l’Ancien Testament, la destinée du prophète Élie se déroule à une époque où s’affrontaient fidèles de la loi hébraïque et fanatiques du culte de Baal. Une création de 1846 du compositeur allemand Mendelssohn, une œuvre majeure du répertoire qui vit le jour à Birmingham.

Deux présentations sont prévues, le 3 novembre à 19 h 30, à la salle Wilfrid-Pelletier de la Place des Arts, puis le 4 novembre, toujours à 19 h 30, à la Première église évangélique arménienne (11455, rue Drouart). www.orchestremetropolitain.com

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Québec

Les Violons du Roy

La saison 2008-2009 des Violons du Roy et de La Chapelle de Québec offre au public de Québec une expérience musicale incomparable dans la salle Raoul-Jobin du Palais Montcalm. Les Violons du Roy et La Chapelle de Québec se préparant déjà à célébrer leur 25e anniversaire (à l’automne 2009), la saison 2008-2009 se veut à la fois un avant-goût et une amorce de ces célébrations. L’année 2009 sera en effet mémorable pour les musiciens, puisqu’elle marquera entre autres le 250e anniversaire de la mort de Handel et le 200e anniversaire de celle de Haydn, sans oublier le 350e anniversaire de la naissance de Purcell. L’ensemble, qui jouit d’une excellente réputation sur la scène mondiale, nous propose un arrangement pour orchestre à cordes de Gustav Mahler du célèbre quatuor « La jeune fille et la mort » de Franz Schubert. Le chef associé Jean-Marie Zeitouni, un habitué des Violons du Roy depuis huit ans et grand amateur de musique du 19e, dirigera l’ensemble le vendredi 3 octobre prochain à 10 h 30, dans le cadre de la série des Chefs-d’œuvre du matin. Le même jour, pour la série des Grands Rendez-vous à 20 h, le programme sera complété par le Prélude et fugue pour 18 cordes, op. 29 et les Variations sur un thème de Frank Bridge, op. 10 de Benjamin Britten. À la salle Raoul-Jobin du Palais Montcalm de Québec. 418-641-6040; 877-641-6040.

JR

On Screen

This season we witness the continuation of the emerging trend of the on-screen opera. Where once opera lovers could only dream of the chance to see their favourite operas performed weekly by world-class singers, now there is a wealth of opportunities to witness such productions – perhaps even closer than one would get in an actual opera house! New York’s renowned Metropolitan Opera has joined forces with Cineplex Entertainment theatres across the country to present an array of extraordinary productions. For $21.95, you can choose from works including Strauss’ Salome, Berlioz’s La Damnation de Faust, Gluck’s Orfeo Ud Eridice, and Puccini’s Madame Butterfly. In an exciting local effort, the Université de Montréal is hosting the year-long Opéramania. Occurring biweekly, an incredible range of filmed operas from a variety of prestigious international opera houses will be showcased. October highlights include Werner Herzog’s 1989 production of Wagner’s Lohengrin, Pier Luigi Pizzi’s 2004 production of Bizet’s Les Pêcheurs de Perles, and a documentary on two remarkable mezzo-sopranos, Cecelia Bartoli and Tatiana Troyanos. In addition, lectures and commentaries take place throughout the festival. Lastly, Québec television station TFO presents a series of operas and ballets, airing every Sunday at 8:00pm until the end of December. Opera lovers, or those curious to learn, can experience such operatic gems as Mozart’s The Magic Flute or Massanet’s Manon.

www.cineplex.com/Events/MetOpera/Home.aspx ;

www.musique.umontreal.ca; www.tfo.org

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Schubert et son Voyage d’hiver

La série des professeurs et invités de l’École de musique Schulich de l’Université McGill réserve une soirée sous le thème de la saison hivernale. Le 6 octobre, le Voyage d’hiver de Schubert réunira le baryton Sylvan Sanford et le pianiste David Breitman.

Composé en 1827, peu de temps avant la mort du compositeur autrichien, le cycle Winterreise raconte la fatalité de la vie, les douleurs de l’amour. À cette époque, Schubert sent venir la fin de sa vie et sa santé se fragiliser. Il s’inspire de l’œuvre poétique de son contemporain Wilhelm Müller qui relate la vie tourmentée d’un jeune homme perdu à la suite d’une déception amoureuse, errant dans une campagne glaciale. Un rendez-vous pour une seule soirée, le 6 octobre à 20 h, à la salle Pollack du Pavillon Strathcona (555, Sherbrooke Ouest). 398-4547

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Trio baroque Les Portes de Paris

Les Jeunesses Musicales du Canada présentent depuis plus de cinquante ans des concerts permettant au grand public de connaître de jeunes talents du pays. La série des Concerts Desjardins s’inscrit dans cette lignée. À compter du 30 octobre, la musique baroque est à l’honneur, avec le trio québécois Les Portes de Paris. Un programme axé sur le répertoire français des 17e et 18e siècles, sur les traces de compositeurs divers : Leclair, Couperin, Marais et Blavet.

Une évasion tout en raffinement avec Anne Thivierge à la flûte traversière baroque, Olivier Fortin au clavecin et Mélissa Corriveau à la viole de gambe. Les instruments des jeunes artistes sont d’époque, autre trait d’authenticité pour la formation qui invite au voyage dans le temps. La tournée du trio baroque les mènera dans plusieurs salles du pays, tant au Québec qu’en Ontario. Le Théâtre Palace de Granby accueillera la formation le 30 octobre 2008 à 20 h.

La tournée bat son plein jusqu’au 4 novembre prochain. www.jeunessesmusicales.com

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