Notes de concours / Competitions Winners

Version française...

Le premier Concours International de composition pour quatuor à cordes mis sur pied par le Quatuor Molinari a remporté un immense succès de participation. Des compositeurs de 33 pays avaient envoyé, au 1^er avril, un total de 151 compositions. Les partitions ont ensuite été examinées par le jury du concours, composé des membres du Quatuor Molinari et des compositeurs canadiens Denis Gougeon, R. Murray Schafer et Gilles Tremblay. Le dévoilement des lauréats a eu lieu le 31 mai 2002.

• Spring has become the traditional season for the selection of a new trio of talented American opera singers as the winners of the ARIA (Awards Recognizing Individual Artistry) Awards. The 2002 recipients are tenor Eric Cutler, bass Oren Gradus and soprano Celena Shafer. Past winners have included mezzo-soprano Michelle DeYoung and Stephanie Blythe.
  
• Le Festival International de jazz de Montréal vient encore une fois de recevoir le Grand Prix du tourisme québécois. C'est la troisième fois que le festival mérite cet honneur.
  

• Sofia Gubaidulina was named a recipient of the 2002 Polar Music Prize. The prize is in the amount of 100,000 US$ and is considered one of the most prestigious international awards in music. Past winners have included Witold Lutoslawski.

Musique classique et jeunesse / Youth and Music

• L'Arthémuse (Art, théâtre, musique) est un projet musical dont l'originalité réside dans la réunion des élèves d'une école secondaire et de leurs parents, amis et professeurs. Sous la direction artistique de Danielle Parent-Rhéaume, la troupe de 150 participants a mis sur pied un concert sur la thématique du Bestiaire, un témoin de la présence animale telle que véhiculée par la musique, le chant et les mots. Le spectacle sera présenté du 29 mai au 2 juin au Collège Durocher à Saint-Lambert. Info : (450) 465-7213
  
• Les joies de l'apprentissage de la musique d'ensemble dès l'enfance constitue une base solide pour un développement de la confiance en soi, de la discipline et de la créativité. L'organisme SOSEM (SOS Éducation Musicale) vise à encourageur cette éducation non seulement chez les jeunes, mais également d'étendre cette connaissance à leur famille, leurs écoles, leurs professeurs et la communauté. L'organisme est à la recherche de bénévoles qui pourraient se greffer à l'équipe. Info : (514) 768-3424
  
• Auditions began in January for the inaugural Youth Orchestra of the Americas (YOA), the first orchestra of its kind to include young musicians representing every country in the Western Hemisphere. Artistic advisor, Placido Domingo, has scheduled the orchestra's rehearsals and its first tour for July 7- August 17, 2002. Leonard Slatkin will guest conduct the YOA while on tour and will perform with Yo-Yo Ma at the orchestra's gala performance.

New works

• On June 7 and 8, a recently-discovered bassoon concerto believed to be the work of Gioacchino Rossini (1792-1868) is to be given its North American premiere by Steven Dibner at the Mainly Mozart Festival in Escondido and San Diego. This controversial work challenges musicologists and musicians alike; some cite evidence of Rossini's authorship, others try to disprove it. This is a much-anticipated event by bassoonists worldwide. The 20-minute piece is considered a major addition to the repertory, and is thought to be a substantial and beautiful work by all who have heard it. According to bassoonist Steven Dibner, the existence of a concerto by Rossini had long been documented, but no one knew where it might be kept nor the details of its orchestration. It is thought that the work might have been written (or sketched) between 1842 and 1845 as a "concerto da esperimento"--a final examination piece--by Rossini for Nazzareno Gatti, a 17-year-old bassoon virtuoso who was studying at the Bologna conservatory. The manuscript has been in the Biblioteca Musicale Giuseppe Greggiati in Ostiglia, Italy, for the past 150 years.
  
• Last month, the Banff Centre again teamed up with Ballet British Columbia for the creation of its latest full-length narrative ballet, Orpheus. The ballet was set to music adapted from Orfeo ed Euridice by Gluck and choreographed by John Alleyne.
  
• John Harbison's opera The Great Gatsby had its premiere at the Met in December 1999. Artistic director James Levine was so taken by the new work that he declared it had to be revived at the Met as soon as possible. This happened at the beginning of May and, incredibly, the entire cast (minus one) was available to reprise their original roles.