Author Archive for shiragilbert – Page 4

The Graham Sommer Competition for Young Composers ~ Concert & Prize Gala

Posted by shiragilbert on
 September 24, 2018
  · No Comments

[Français ci-dessous]

The inaugural edition of the Graham Sommer Competition for Young Composers, presented by the Schulich School of Music of McGill University, culminates on Saturday, September 29 with the Concert and Prize Gala at 7:00 pm at Pollack Hall in Montreal. Part of the 22nd edition of Quebec’s Journées de la culture, the event is free to the public and will be webcast via the Schulich School’s YouTube page. This new national competition for Canadian composers under the age of 35 was founded by Dr. Graham Sommer (1946-2016), MDCM’72, a graduate of McGill University’s Faculty of Medicine and an accomplished pianist and devoted music lover.

Five finalists, chosen from applicants from across Canada and  young Canadians living and studying abroad, have each composed a new work for piano quintet (piano and string quartet) to be performed by pianist Sara Laimon and the Molinari Quartet. The jury will deliberate directly following the five performances and award $45,000 in prizes, including a grand prize of $15,000, a second place prize of $10,000, and $5,000 prizes for third, fourth, and fifth place, plus an additional $5,000 People’s Choice Award which will be voted upon by the concert audience as well as those watching online.

The finalists and their new works are:

Ashkan Behzadi: Calluna

Behzadi currently resides in New York City where he is a doctoral student at Columbia University. A graduate of the Schulich School of Music in composition and music theory, his music has been performed by Nouvel Ensemble Moderne (NEM) and the Esprit Orchestra, among other ensembles.

Taylor Brook: Idioms

Often integrating electronics and new technologies, Brook’s music has been described as “gripping” and “engrossing” by the New York Times. The winner of several SOCAN Young Composers awards, he holds a master’s degree in composition from the Schulich School of Music and is currently completing a doctorate in music composition at Columbia University with Fred Lerdahl.

Christopher Goddard: Piano Quintet

The National Youth Orchestra of Canada’s Emerging Composer-in-Residence for 2016, Goddard has written new works for Koerner Hall’s 21C Festival and many other events and ensembles. He holds master’s degrees from the Manhattan School of Music and Rice University, and is currently pursuing a doctorate in composition with Professor John Rea at the Schulich School of Music.

Alison Yun-Fei Jiang: In Absent Waters

A winner of the 2016 Toronto Symphony Orchestra Call for Scores, Jiang is the commissioned composer for the National Youth Orchestra of Canada’s 2018 season. Her music has been performed and workshopped by the TSO, JACK Quartet, Imani Winds, the Wet Ink Ensemble and the American String Quartet. She is currently a Ph.D. candidate in music composition at University of Chicago.

Thierry Tidrow: Quicksilver

A winner of the Canada Council for the Arts’ Jules-Léger Prize, Tidrow currently resides in Cologne, Germany. His studies at the Schulich School of Music were followed by a master’s degree in composition from the Conservatorium van Amsterdam and an Advanced Studies diploma at the Hochschule für Musik Freiburg. Thierry has collaborated with many performers across Europe and North America, and was selected for the ECM+ Generation 2018 tour.

 

On the afternoon of the Concert and Prize Gala, from 3:00–4:30 pm, the Schulich School of Music hosts a round-table discussion with the five finalists (in English only). Chris Paul Harman, a Canadian composer and Chair of the Schulich School of Music’s Department of Music Research, moderates the talk on the theme: “What does it mean to be an emerging composer?” This free event takes place in Tanna Schulich Hall in the Elizabeth Wirth Music Building (527 Sherbrooke Street W.).

About the Competition Jury

The competition jury is chaired by Dr. Brenda Ravenscroft, Dean at the Schulich School of Music and a specialist in the music of 20th and 21st-century American composers. She is joined by composers Ana Sokolović and Alexina Louie; clarinetist and composer Kinan Azmeh;David Pay, Founder and Artistic Director of Vancouver’s Music on Main; and violinist/violist Barry Shiffman, Associate Dean at the Glenn Gould School in Toronto and Executive Director of the Banff International String Quartet Competition.

 

About the Artists

Pianist Sara Laimon has performed and recorded internationally. She is a founding member and co-artistic director of the acclaimed New York-based group Sequitur, and is a faculty member at the Schulich School of Music of McGill University.

The Molinari Quartet has been praised by The Strad (UK) for its “distinctive sound” and “bracing insight.” The string quartet is devoted to the repertoire of the 20th and 21st centuries, has commissioned numerous new works, and is the recipient of 18 Opus Prizes from the Conseil Québecois de la musique. The Quartet is comprised of Olga Ranzenhofer and Antoine Bareil, violins; Frédéric Lambert, viola; and Pierre-Alain Bouvrette, cello.

 

 Dr. Graham Sommer died on October 2, 2016 and left a legacy of excellence in medicine and an abiding love for the transformative power of music. A native of British Columbia, Sommer graduated from McGill’s Faculty of Medicine in 1972 and went on to hold positions at Yale and Stanford Universities, becoming a world-class researcher for 37 years.  Dr. Sommer’s enduring passion for music has resonated at McGill notably through the Dr. Graham Sommer Piano Fund, which supported the restoration of pianos in McGill residences and the purchase of a new piano for Douglas Hall. While Sommer excelled in his chosen field of medicine, he was also inspired by a lifelong love of music fostered by his own accomplishments as a classical pianist and composer.

In the spirit of Graham Sommer’s love for sharing music, the inaugural competition takes place during Quebec’s Journées de la culture, an annual event which promotes greater access to arts and culture for everyone, giving participants a peek into the creative process with free activities all over the province. Additional Journées de la culture events at the Schulich School of Music include a performance by the McGill Wind Orchestra on Friday, September 28 at 7:30 pm in Pollack Hall; and a performance by student soloists from the McGill Conservatory of Music on Sunday, September 30 at 2:00 pm in Redpath Hall.

Reserve tickets here or via www.mcgill.ca/gsc

________________________________________________________

 

L’édition inaugurale du Concours Graham Sommer pour jeunes compositeurs, présentée par L’École de musique Schulich de l’Université McGill, culminera avec le Concert et gala de remise des prix le samedi 29 septembre à 19 h 00 à la salle Pollack à Montréal. Présenté dans le cadre de la 22e édition des Journées de la culture du Québec, cet événement est gratuit et sera aussi webdiffusé sur la page YouTube de l’École de musique Schulich. Cette nouvelle compétition nationale pour les compositeurs canadiens de moins de 35 ans fut fondée par le Dr Graham Sommer, MDCM’ 72, (1946-2016), un diplômé de la faculté de médecine de McGill, également pianiste et mélomane.

Les cinq finalistes ont été sélectionnés parmi des candidats provenant de tout le Canada et des jeunes canadiens qui vivent et étudient à l’étranger. Chaque finaliste a composé une œuvre originale pour quintette pour piano et cordes qui sera créée en concert par la pianiste Sara Laimon et le Quatuor Molinari. La délibération du jury suivra directement les cinq exécutions et 45 000 $ en prix seront octroyés, y compris un grand prix de 15 000 $, un deuxième prix de 10 000 $, et des prix de 5000 $ pour chacune des troisième, quatrième et cinquième places, ainsi qu’un prix additionnel « coup de cœur du public » de 5000 $, dont le lauréat sera choisi par un vote de l’auditoire présent dans la salle et écoutant en ligne.

Les finalistes et leurs nouvelles œuvres sont :

Ashkan Behzadi: Calluna

Ashkan Behzadi habite actuellement à New York, où il étudie à l’Université Columbia. Diplômé de l’École de musique Schulich de l’Université McGill en composition et en théorie de la musique, sa musique fut jouée par le Nouvel Ensemble Moderne (NEM) et l’Esprit Orchestra, entre autres.

Taylor Brook: Idioms

Intégrant souvent de l’électronique et de nouvelles technologies, la musique de Taylor Brook fut qualifiée de « captivante » et de « palpitante » par le New York Times. Gagnant de plusieurs prix pour jeunes compositeurs SOCAN, il détient une maîtrise en composition de l’École de musique Schulich de l’Université McGill et complète actuellement un doctorat en composition à l’Université Columbia sous la tutelle de Fred Lerdahl.

Christopher Goddard: Quintette pour piano et cordes

Compositeur en résidence du National Youth Orchestra of Canada pour l’année 2016, Christopher Goddard a écrit des œuvres nouvelles pour le Festival 21C de la salle Koerner, ainsi que pour plusieurs autres événements et ensembles au Canada et en Europe. Il détient un diplôme de maîtrise du Manhattan School of Music et de l’Université Rice, et il poursuit actuellement un doctorat en composition avec Professeur John Rea à l’École de musique Schulich de l’Université McGill.

Alison Yun-Fei Jiang: In Absent Waters

Gagnante de l’appel d’œuvres de l’orchestre symphonique de Toronto, Alison Jiang est la compositrice en résidence du National Youth Orchestra of Canada pour la saison 2018. Sa musique fut jouée et passée en atelier par l’Orchestre symphonique de Toronto, le Quatuor JACK, Imani Winds, le Wet Ink Ensemble et le American String Quartet, entre autres. Elle est actuellement candidate au doctorat en composition à l’Université de Chicago.

Thierry Tidrow: Quicksilver

Gagnant du prix Jules-Léger du Conseil des Arts du Canada, Tidrow habite actuellement à Cologne, en Allemagne. Ses études à l’École de musique Schulich furent suivies d’un diplôme de maîtrise en composition du Conservatorium van Amsterdam et un diplôme d’études supérieures du Hochschule für Musik Freiburg. Thierry a collaboré avec plusieurs musiciens en Europe et en Amérique du Nord, et il a été sélectionné pour la tournée Génération 2018 de l’ECM+.

 

En prélude au concert et gala de remise des prix, le 29 septembre, de 15 h 00 à 16 h 30, l’École de musique Schulich présentera une table ronde avec les cinq finalistes (en anglais). Chris Paul Harman, compositeur canadien et directeur du département de recherche à l’École de musique Schulich, animera une discussion sur le thème « Que signifie être un compositeur émergeant ? » Cet événement gratuit aura lieu à la salle Tanna Schulich du Pavillon de musique Elizabeth Wirth (527, rue Sherbrooke Ouest).

 

À propos du jury du concours

La présidente du jury est Dre Brenda Ravenscroft, doyenne de l’École de musique Schulich et spécialiste de la musique de compositeurs américains du 20e et 21e siècles. Les autres membres du jury sont les compositrices Ana Sokolović et Alexina Louie, le clarinettiste et compositeur Kinan Azmeh , David Pay, fondateur et directeur artistique du Vancouver Music on Main et le violoniste/altiste Barry Shiffman, vice-doyen de la Glenn Gould School  et directeur exécutif du Banff International String Quartet Competition.

 

À propos des artistes

La pianiste Sara Laimon est active à la fois comme soliste et comme chambriste, membre fondateur et co-directrice artistique du groupe Sequitur, acclamé à New York, et membre du corps professoral de l’École de musique Schulich de l’Université McGill.

Le Quatuor Molinari a été salué par The Strad (UK) pour son « son distinctif » et sa perspicacité vivifiante. Le quatuor se consacre au riche répertoire pour quatuor à cordes du 20e et 21e siècle, commande des œuvres nouvelles aux compositeurs et sont lauréats de dix-huit Prix Opus décernés par le Conseil québécois de la musique. Le quatuor est composé de Olga Ranzenhofer et Antoine Bareil, violons; Frédéric Lambert, alto; et Pierre-Alain Bouvrette, violoncelle.

 

Le Dr Graham Sommer est décédé le 2 octobre 2016 en laissant derrière lui un héritage d’excellence en médecine, et on se souviendra de son amour sans borne et de sa foi envers les pouvoirs transformateurs de la musique. Originaire de la Colombie-Britannique et finissant de la promotion 1972 de la faculté de médecine de McGill, Dr Sommer devint par la suite professeur à l’Université Yale et Standford, se bâtissant pendant 37 ans une réputation internationale dans le domaine de la recherche. La passion inébranlable de Dr Sommer pour la musique se fit sentir à McGill, notamment à travers le Dr. Graham Sommer Piano Fund qui veille à la restauration des pianos dans les résidences de McGill et à l’achat du nouveau piano de la salle Douglas. Alors que Dr Sommer excellait dans le domaine de la médecine, il ne faisait pas moins preuve d’un amour incontestable pour la musique, ce sentiment étant toujours stimulé par ses propres réalisations en tant que pianiste classique et compositeur.

En hommage à Dr Graham Sommer, qui aimait tant partager la musique, le concours inaugural est présenté dans le cadre des Journées de la culture du Québec, un événement annuel qui favorise l’accès de tous aux arts et à la culture, fournissant un aperçu au public du processus créatif, avec des activités gratuites offertes à travers la province. Les autres événements présentés dans le cadre des Journées de la culture à l’École de musique Schulich comprennent un concert de l’Orchestre à vent de McGill le vendredi 28 septembre à 19 h 30 à la salle Pollack et une prestation des étudiants solistes du Conservatoire de musique de McGill le dimanche 30 septembre à 14 h 00, à la salle Redpath.

Réservez vos billets ici ou sur www.mcgill.ca/gsc/fr

World Premiere Honouring the Life of Saint Kateri by Odawa Composer Barbara Croall

Posted by shiragilbert on
 September 18, 2018
  · No Comments

(Version française ci-dessous)

The McGill Chamber Orchestra (MCO), in collaboration with the cultural leadership of the Kahnawake community, is proud to present Indigenous Visions & Voices, featuring a new multimedia orchestral theatre work commemorating the life and legacy of Saint-Kateri Tekakwitha (1656-1680), with performances taking place in both Kahnawake and Montreal. Kateri Tekakwitha died in 1680 in the region now called Kahnawake and, in 2012, became the first North American Aboriginal person elevated to sainthood – an event witnessed by hundreds of Mohawks and other native people who made the journey to the Vatican as well as celebrated in Kahnawake at the church of her name. Saia’tatokénhti: Honouring Saint Kateri is a world premiere by Odawa composer Barbara Croall with a libretto by Mohawk writer Darren Bonaparte, and directed by Indigenous Columbian stage director Alejandro Ronceria, with the participation of video artist Isaac Rayment. Taking place over two evenings – at the Kahnawake Catholic Church on Friday, October 19 at 7:30 pm and at Église Saint-Jean Baptiste in Montreal on Saturday, October 20 at 8:00 pm – Indigenous Visions & Voices also includes Malcolm Forsyth’s Trickster Coyote – Lightening Elk Concerto, with Canadian violinist Tara-Louise Montour, who commissioned the work exploring chants and dances from her own Mohawk heritage; and Réjeant Levasseur’s Farewell to the Warriors for violin and orchestra.

MCO Artistic Director Boris Brott contacted composer Barbara Croall in 2016 with the idea of creating a new work to honour the memory of Saint Kateri, a venerated and beloved figure particularly in Montreal, as well as across Canada and the world, and a guiding example of humility, kindness and strength. Croall then connected with Darren Bonaparte, a Mohawk historian and the author of A Lily Among Thorns: The Mohawk Repatriation of Káteri Tekahkwí:tha. For Bonaparte, the new work will help to enshrine what he feels will be lost: “Saint Kateri is a bright light in the dark colonial past; the new work helps to humanize her, restoring her own voice and context, rather than as an ideal of Christianity.” After years of writing about Kateri, Bonaparte reflects, “It was like she sat next to me and dictated [the text] to me.” Barbara Croall consulted with many communities to understand what Saint Kateri meant to people today. In creating her score, she was inspired by the rhythms of the Mohawk language as well as the landscapes across which the Saint travelled throughout in her harrowing life.

The title role of Kateri is portrayed by a rising Mohawk actress Kennedy Bomberry along with featured Mohawk dancer Julianne Blackbird, portraying the physical and spiritual sides of Kateri. In mounting this large-scale project, director and choreographer Alejandro Ronceria brings together elements including Mohawk traditional choral singers, video projections and mapping, and lighting design into a powerfully expressive unity. This inter-generational and inter-disciplinary orchestral theatre project engages youth and elders alike to venerate the memory of Saint Kateri, braided together into a human embodiment of light and spirit.

MCO’s Indigenous Visions & Voice is one of the 200 exceptional projects funded through the Canada Council for the Arts’ New Chapter program. With this $35M investment, the Council supports the creation and sharing of the arts in communities across Canada.

Acclaimed Odawa First Nation composer and musician Barbara Croall from Canada (Manidoo Mnissing, Giniw dodem) balances her time between creating and performing music, work in outdoor environmental educational rooted in traditional Anishinaabe teachings, and work with Indigenous at-risk youth. A former Resident Composer with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Croall’s works are performed across Canada and the US. The child of a residential school survivor, Croall has been active in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. As the direct descendant of hereditary chiefs who signed the major treaties in Ontario, Croall is often invited to commemorative events honouring the legacy of historic Indigenous leaders.

Darren Bonaparte is a Mohawk writer, artist, and cultural historian from the Akwesasne First Nation. He is the creator of the Wampum Chronicles website and a frequent lecturer at universities, museums, and historical sites in the United States and Canada. He is the author of two books: Creation & Confederation: The Living History of the Iroquois, and A Lily Among Thorns: The Mohawk Repatriation of Káteri Tekahkwí:tha. Bonaparte was elected to the Mohawk Council of Akwesasne in 1999.

Alejandro Ronceria is an internationally acclaimed and award-winning director/choreographer/producer based in Toronto. He is the founding Artistic Director of the first Aboriginal Dance Program in North America at The Banff Center for the Arts and continues to work as a director and dramaturge for numerous Indigenous productions in the Americas.

Considered North America’s foremost classical Aboriginal violinist, Tara-Louise Montour has commissioned important works for solo violin and orchestra based on Native North American themes. Renowned for her rich musicality, heartfelt interpretations, and winning stage presence, Montour has performed as guest soloist with Orchestre Métropolitain under director Yannick Nézet-Séguin, the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, the McGill Chamber Orchestra, the Hamilton Philharmonic, and the Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra, among many others. Montour is a member of the Virginia Symphony Orchestra (JoAnn Falletta, Music Director).

The McGill Chamber Orchestra is celebrating its 79th season. The Orchestra has toured widely presenting concerts in 17 countries on five continents to great critical acclaim. The MCO also recorded extensively for CBC Records and Analekta, and appeared regularly on radio and television for CBC and Radio-Canada. Since 2005, the MCO is under the Artistic Direction of conductor Boris Brott, one of Canada’s most internationally renowned conductors. The orchestra is a vibrant ensemble consisting of the city’s best professional musicians and presents concerts throughout the year in the finest halls of Montreal.

The MCO acknowledges that Montreal is situated on the traditional territory of the Kanien’kehá:ka people and was named Tiohtià:ke which is the name the Mohawk gave it because it was an important territory for gathering and trade for several First Nations.

For more information please see: www.orchestre.ca

____________________________________________________

L’Orchestre de chambre McGill (MCO), en collaboration avec le leadership culturel de la communauté Kahnawake, est fier de présenter Visions & Voix Autochtones, mettant en vedette une nouvelle œuvre de théâtre orchestral multimédia commémorant la vie et l’héritage de Sainte-Kateri Tekakwitha (1656-1680), avec des représentations à Kahnawake et à Montréal. Kateri Tekakwitha est morte en 1680 dans la région qu’on appelle aujourd’hui Kahnawake et, en 2012, est devenue la première personne autochtone nord-américaine à être proclamée sainte. Des centaines de mohawks et d’autres représentants des peuples autochtones se sont rendus au Vatican et l’ont célébrée à Kahnawake, à l’église qui porte son nom. Saia’tatokénhti: Honorant Sainte Kateri est une première mondiale de la compositrice odawa Barbara Croall avec un livret de l’écrivain mohawk Darren Bonaparte. Le spectacle est réalisé par le metteur en scène autochtone colombien Alejandro Ronceria, avec la participation du vidéaste de mapping Isaac Rayment. Se déroulant sur deux soirs – à l’église catholique de Kahnawake le vendredi 19 octobre à 19h30 et à l’église Saint-Jean Baptiste à Montréal le samedi 20 octobre à 20h00 – Visions & Voix Autochtones comprend également le Trickster Coyote – Lightening Elk Concerto de Malcolm Forsyth, avec la violoniste canadienne Tara-Louise Montour, qui a commandé l’œuvre pour explorer les chants et les danses de son patrimoine mohawk, et Farewell to the Warriors de Réjeant Levasseur,une œuvre pour violon et orchestre.

Le directeur artistique du MCO Boris Brott, a contacté la compositrice Barbara Croall en 2016 avec l’idée de créer une nouvelle œuvre pour honorer la mémoire de Sainte Kateri, une figure vénérée et aimée particulièrement à Montréal, comme au Canada et dans le monde; la sainte est un modèle d’humilité, de bienveillance et de force. Mme Croall a alors communiqué avec Darren Bonaparte, historien mohawk et auteur de A Lily Among Thorns: The Mohawk Repatriation of Káteri Tekahkwítha. Pour Bonaparte, cette nouvelle œuvre aidera à faire rejaillir ce qu’il pensait perdu: « Sainte Kateri est une lumière vive dans le sombre passé colonial; cette composition contribue à l’humaniser, en faisant revivre sa voix et son contexte propres, plutôt qu’un idéal chrétien. » Après des années passées à écrire à propos de Kateri, Bonaparte raconte : « C’était comme si elle était assise à côté de moi et me dictait [le texte]. » Barbara Croall a consulté de nombreuses communautés pour comprendre ce que Sainte Kateri représente pour les gens aujourd’hui. En créant sa partition, elle a été inspirée par les rythmes de la langue mohawk ainsi que par les paysages qu’a parcourus la sainte au cours de sa vie déchirante.

Le rôle-titre de Kateri est représenté par une actrice mohawk émergente, Kennedy Bomberry, ainsi que par la danseuse mohawk Julianne Blackbird, incarnant les aspects physiques et spirituels de Kateri. En organisant ce projet à grande échelle, le réalisateur et chorégraphe Alejandro Ronceria rassemble de nombreux éléments : chanteurs de choeurs traditionnels mohawks, projections vidéo et cartes, ainsi que des conceptions d’éclairage puissamment expressives. Ce projet de théâtre orchestral intergénérationnel et interdisciplinaire incite les jeunes et les aînés à vénérer la mémoire de Sainte Kateri, réunis dans une incarnation humaine de la lumière et de l’esprit.

Visions & Voix Autochthones du MCO est l’un des 200 projets exceptionnels soutenus par le programme Nouveau chapitre du Conseil des arts du Canada. Avec cet investissement 35 M$, le Conseil des arts appuie la création et le partage des arts au cœur de nos vies et dans l’ensemble du Canada.

L’acclamée Barbara Croall, compositrice et musicienne de la Première Nation Odawa du Canada (Manidoo Mnissing, Giniw dodem), concilie son temps entre création et interprétation musicales; elle travaille aussi en éducation environnementale, un concept enraciné dans les enseignements traditionnels Anishinaabe, et intervient auprès des jeunes autochtones à risque. Elle a en outre été compositrice en résidence de l’orchestre symphonique de Toronto et ses œuvres continuent d’être interprétées à travers le Canada et les États-Unis. Enfant d’un survivant de pensionnat, Croall a été active au sein de la Commission de vérité et réconciliation. En tant que descendante directe des chefs qui ont signé les principaux traités en Ontario, Croall est souvent invitée à des événements commémoratifs pour souligner le courage et l’héritage des chefs autochtones.

Darren Bonaparte est un écrivain mohawk, artiste, et historien culturel de la première nation d’Akwesasne. Il est le créateur du site web Wampum Chronicles et est fréquemment invité à donner des conférences dans des universités, des musées et des sites historiques aux États-Unis et au Canada. Il est auteur de deux livres: Creation & Confederation: The Living History of the Iroquois, et A Lily Among Thorns: The Mohawk Repatriation of Káteri Tekahkwí:tha. Bonaparte a été élu au Conseil Mohawk d’Akwesasne en 1999.

Alejandro Ronceria est un réalisateur, chorégraphe et producteur de renommée internationale de Toronto. Il est le directeur artistique fondateur du premier programme de danse autochtone en Amérique du Nord au Banff Center for the Arts et il continue à travailler aujourd’hui en tant que réalisateur et dramaturge pour de nombreuses productions autochtones des Amériques.

Considéré comme la plus importante violoniste autochtone classique d’Amérique du Nord, Tara-Louise Montour a commandé des œuvres importantes pour violon et orchestre sur des thèmes nord-américains autochtones. Reconnue pour sa musicalité riche, ses interprétations émouvantes et sa grande présence sur scène, Montour a joué comme soliste invitée avec l’Orchestre Métropolitain sous la direction de Yannick Nézet-Séguin, l’Orchestre symphonique de Winnipeg, l’Orchestre de chambre McGill, l’Orchestre philharmonique de Hamilton et l’Orchestre symphonique de Thunder Bay, parmi beaucoup d’autres. Montour est membre du Virginia Symphony Orchestra (JoAnn Falletta, directrice musicale).

L’Orchestre de chambre McGill célèbre sa 79e saison. L’Orchestre a effectué de nombreuses tournées de concerts dans 17 pays sur cinq continents, qui ont été saluées par la critique. Le MCO a également effectué de nombreux enregistrements avec CBC Records et Analekta et a joué régulièrement à la radio et à la télévision pour CBC et Radio-Canada. Depuis 2005, le MCO est sous la direction artistique du chef d’orchestre Boris Brott, l’un des chefs d’orchestre les plus renommés au Canada. L’Orchestre est un assemblage dynamique composé des meilleurs musiciens professionnels de la ville et présente des concerts tout au long de l’année dans les plus belles salles de Montréal.

Le MCO reconnaît que Montréal est située sur le territoire traditionnel du peuple Kanien’kehá: ka et a qui était nommé Tiohtià: ke, le nom que les Mohawks lui ont donné parce qu’il s’agissait d’un important territoire de rassemblement et de commerce pour plusieurs Premières nations.

Pour en savoir plus, consultez :orchestre.ca

Dompierre en cinémascope ~ La musique de François Dompierre

Posted by shiragilbert on
 August 16, 2018
  · No Comments

Un des compositeurs les plus célèbres et les plus appréciés d’aujourd’hui, les notes évocatrices de François Dompierre sont entendues dans des films tels que « le Déclin de l’Empire Américain » et « Jésus de Montréal ». Elles ont dominé le cinéma québécois dans les années 1980 et continuent de révolutionner le genre aujourd’hui. Le OCM et le directeur artistique Boris Brott sont ravis d’accueillir François Dompierre pour animer une soirée mettant en vedette plusieurs de ses œuvres orchestrales, dont le Concerto de Saint-Irénée avec le pianiste soliste Serhiy Salov et le virtuose Les Diableries avec le violoniste Marc Djokic, tout en couvrant certaines de ses compositions de ses films préférées. Entendu pour la première fois par un public captivé au Festival du Domaine Forget en juillet, Dompierre en cinémascope, la musique de François Dompierre sera présentée le samedi 22 septembre à 19 h 30à la Salle Bourgie de Montréal.

Grâce à des anecdotes animées et des performances envoûtantes au piano, François Dompierre convie le public à une rétrospective de sa musique de films célèbres de cinéastes québécois, dont Francis Mankiewitz, Jean Beaudin, Michel Brault et Denise Filiatrault. Dompierre partage également son irrésistible musique de concert. Le Concerto de Saint-Irénée (1984), pour piano et orchestre à cordes, composé au camp musical du Domaine Forget, est influencé par le jazz et la musique latine. Les Diableries (1979) évoque les qualités endiablées du violon, avec des mouvements allant du joyeux au grincheux, en passant par l’amoureux. Le concert présente également du Haendel, comme on l’entend dans les films emblématiques de Denys Arcand, ainsi que plusieurs pièces interprétées par le compositeur lui-même au piano, y compris son populaire “Saute Mouton”, provenant de l’album du même nom certifié « disque d’or », qui fait partie de son répertoire de plus de 200 chansons instrumentales.

François Dompierre a d’abord collaboré avec plusieurs artistes du Québec dont Félix Leclerc. En 1975 son disque éponyme devient un succès populaire. Il a également signé la musique d’une cinquantaine de films. On lui doit la comédie musicale Demain matin Montréal m’attend sur un livret de Michel Tremblay. Parmi ses œuvres de concert, mentionnons : Les Diableries, le Concerto de Saint-Irénée, Les Glorieux, une commande de l’OSM et 24 Préludes pour piano. En 2015 il écrit pour le Nouveau Quatuor Orford, Par quatre chemins. En 2016, l’orchestre Appassionata et la pianiste Louise Bessette créent son Concertango Grosso. François Dompierre a été fait Chevalier de l’Ordre national du Québec et nommé Membre de l’Ordre du Canada en 2014. En 2016, il a reçu le prix hommage de l’académie du cinéma québécois. Actuellement, le Musée des communications et d’histoire de Sutton présente l’exposition « François Dompierre, 50 ans de musique ».

Serhiy Salov est un pianiste d’exception reconnu pour son jeu à la fois énergique et empreint d’une grande musicalité. Après avoir commencé son apprentissage de la musique en Ukraine, il poursuit ses études à Londres où il obtient une maîtrise à la prestigieuse Guildhall School of Music and Drama, puis un doctorat à l’Université de Montréal. Concertiste remarquable, Serhiy Salov a travaillé avec des chefs de renom et s’est produit avec nombre d’orchestres un peu partout dans le monde en plus de participer régulièrement aux festivals les plus prestigieux.

Louangé par La Presse pour son « sens rythmique et son phrasé naturel », Marc Djokic est le nouveau premier violon du OCM. Lauréat du prestigieux Mécénat Musica Prix Goyer 2017-2018. Originaire de Halifax, Djokic est connu pour ses performances puissantes et virtuoses, ainsi que pour son approche engageant et terre-à-terre qui fait de lui un favori du public à travers le pays et au-delà. Marc apparaît fréquemment comme soliste avec les meilleurs orchestres du Canada et dans des festivals de musique de chambre en Amérique du Nord.

L’Orchestre de chambre McGill célèbre sa 79e saison. L’Orchestre a effectué de nombreuses tournées pour présenter des concerts dans 17 pays sur les cinq continents, ce qui a été salué par la critique. Le MCO a également enregistré de nombreux enregistrements pour CBC Records Analekta, et a joué régulièrement à la radio et à la télévision pour CBC et Radio-Canada. Depuis 2005, le MCO est sous la direction artistique du chef d’orchestre Boris Brott, l’un des chefs d’orchestre les plus reconnus au Canada. L’Orchestre est un ensemble dynamique composé des meilleurs musiciens professionnels de la ville et présente des concerts tout au long de l’année dans les plus belles salles de Montréal.

Le OCM est fier d’accueillir BMO Banque de Montréal à titre de commanditaire de la saison 2018-19.

Billets : 20$ – 54$  |  Disponible en ligne sur orchestre.ca ou au téléphone au 514-487-5190

Tippet Rise OPUS 2017: Daydreams ~ 2nd Edition of Performance Highlights from Tippet Rise Arts Center in Montana

Posted by shiragilbert on
 June 5, 2018
  · No Comments

Music by Bach, Chopin, John Luther Adams, Eugène Bozza, George Enescu, Jeffrey Kahane & a World Premiere Commission by Aaron Jay Kernis

Tippet Rise OPUS 2017 is the second compilation album to emerge from the summer music season at Montana’s Tippet Rise Arts Center, a 10,260-acre working ranch where monumental sculptures and performance spaces of acoustic perfection nestle against the Beartooth Mountains near Yellowstone National Park. From the PENTATONE Oxingale Series, Tippet Rise OPUS 2017 inhabits the sphere of Daydreams, a whimsical sculpture by Patrick Dougherty where natural willows organically emerge out of an eroding schoolhouse. Featuring an inspiredworld premiere commission by Aaron Jay Kernis for cellist Matt Haimovitz and pianist Andrea Lam, evocative turns from violinist Caroline Goulding, percussionist Doug Perkins, and flutist Jessica Sindell, and breathtaking performances from several brilliant pianists in music from Bach to John Luther Adams, Daydreamsopens a visionary portal to the past and future.

Aaron Jay Kernis’s jazz-infused FIRST CLUB DATE is the first work in a three-year cycle of commissions by Tippet Rise, which premiered last August. Dedicated to Matt Haimovitz and the composer’s cellist-son Jonah, the work illuminates the musical playground of a boy on the cusp of manhood with double-entendre movement titles like “Puppy Love,” “Matt’s Monkish Machinations,” and “Jonah’s Jive Jump.” Following in the tradition of Elliott Carter’s Sonata for Cello and Piano, which set the 20th-century standard, Kernis’s work celebrates the richly textured fabric of American music. Haimovitz and Lam bring electricity and fearless virtuosity to the performance of this vibrant and important new work. Watch a video of the recording session for Movement 4 here.

From Tippet Rise’s spectacular collection of pianos we hear beloved works by Chopin and Bach, performed by pianists Yevgeny Sudbin and Anne-Marie McDermott, who anchor the program with their sheer beauty and virtuosity. Pianist Jeffrey Kahane’s America the Beautifulis a gently poignant offering. Says Kahane: “This improvisation is my own deeply personal and heartfelt way of expressing my love for America’s extraordinary – and profoundly threatened – natural beauty, my grief at the way in which her best and noblest values and achievements are under relentless attack, and my prayer that there is yet hope for America’s redemption.”

The Guardian called Tippet Rise OPUS 2016 Domo,the inaugural release in this series, “a gem,” while Audiophile Audition described it as both “mystical and unnerving” and “a brilliant panoply of bustling colors.” The recording features the music ofScriabin, Chopin, Stravinsky, and Antón García Abril, realized live by pianists Yevgeny Sudbin, Svetlana Smolina, Christopher O’Riley, Anne-Marie McDermott, Stephen Hough, Jenny Chen and Julien Brocal, with cellist Matt Haimovitz, trumpeter Elmer Churampi, and soprano Emily Helenbrook.

Tippet Rise Art Center reopens for its third season on June 29, 2018, one week before the start of its third annual summer music festival which runs from July 6 through September 8. Itfeatures the world premiere of Aaron Jay Kernis’s String Quartet No. 4 (musica universalis), the second work composed for Tippet Rise, among other highlights. For further information please see:www.tippetrise.org

Founded by artists Cathy and Peter Halstead, Tippet Rise Art Center celebrates the concept that art, music, architecture, and nature are inextricably linked in the human experience, each amplifying the other. Tippet Rise’s 10,260 acre working sheep and cattle ranch features large-scale sculptures and other works by some of the world’s foremost artists and architects, including Ensamble Studio, Mark di Suvero, Stephen Talasnik, and Alexander Calder.

www.pentatonemusic.com

 

 

Sondra Radvanovsky in Recital: From Bel Canto to Versimo

Posted by shiragilbert on
 May 23, 2018
  · No Comments

Deemed “an essential artist” by The New York Times, soprano Sondra Radvanovsky continues to astound audiences around the world with her magnificent portrayals of opera’s great dramatic heroines. Toronto audiences have the rare opportunity to experience Radvanovsky’s artistry in the intimacy of a recital setting, on Saturday, November 24 at 8pm at Koerner Hall, with pianist Anthony Manoli, presented by ShowOne Productions. The all-Italian program, From Bel Canto to Verismo, will touch upon Radvanovsky’s history-making roles, which have firmly established her as one of the reigning voices of our era.

“I am thrilled and honored to be presenting Sondra Radvanovsky in recital once again,” comments Svetlana Dvoretsky, founder of ShowOne Productions. “We first presented Sondra in concert with Dmitri Hvorostovsky back in 2010, when many Canadians had the opportunity to discover her for the first time, which was followed in 2015 by the incredible success of her Koerner Hall recital debut.”

Indeed, it is in the intimacy of a recital that Radvanovsky’s vocal and dramatic gifts are even more overwhelming. Following the 2015 concert in Toronto, The Globe and Mail said: “Radvanovsky had us at our ease before she sang a note, and then proceeded to deliver a stunning, stupendous program that reminded us why she is a once-in-a-generation vocal supernova … for all her vocal power, is an artist above all else, that is, a communicator of musical and lyrical emotion.” Of a recent recital in Quebec City, Opera Canada commented, “Not only did she sing impeccably, but this prima donna also broke the typical recital conventions … She spoke to the public in between pieces, creating a rapport, sharing her musical intellect and allowing the audience to feel at home by sharing personal anecdotes … At the end of the concert a divine silence reigned as everybody in the audience was speechless, incapable of finding the words to describe the beauty they had just witnessed.”

Critics have also been rapt following Sondra Radvanovsky’s star turn in Anna Bolena with the Canadian Opera Company this spring. The Globe and Mail called her performance “astonishing … she has a true palette of colours in her voice, the most thrilling of which are the metallic bite she reserves for an earnest phrase and the sheer volume she wields like a fabulous weapon.” “I felt I was pinned to my seat by her sound,” said Ludwig van Toronto, “In the very long final Mad Scene, a huge sing, the soprano was indefatigable, maintaining beauty of tone to the end … Totally remarkable.” And The Toronto Star declared: “Radvanovsky at the peak of her powers is something extraordinary to behold.”

Recent triumphs for Radvanovsky include Bellini’s Norma, which opened the new season at the Metropolitan Opera, prompting critics to herald her as “the Norma of her generation.” Also at the Met, she made history conquering Donizetti’s “three queens” — the leading soprano roles in his Tudor dramas Anna Bolena, Maria Stuarda and Roberto Devereux — in a single season. “The applause and bravos for the soprano Sondra Radvanovsky were frenzied,” said The New York Times, of Radvanovksy’s performance as Queen Elizabeth in Roberto Devereux, “The audience members knew that they had just witnessed an emotionally vulnerable and vocally daring performance, a milestone in the career of an essential artist.” A frequent and beloved artist at Barcelona’s Gran Teatre del Liceu, Radvanovsky recently brought down the house, performing an encore of “La mamma morta” in Andrea Chénier, a feat not seen at that opera house in 20 years.

Formed in 2004 by Svetlana Dvoretsky, Show One Productions is a full scope production company that presents concerts with high-profile classical musicians, opera stars, and orchestras, as well as great dance and theatre companies. For over a decade, Show One Has presented thousands of performances on Canada’s best stages and concert halls and has made many Canadian debuts possible including last season’s historic Trio Magnifico: The Ultimate Opera Gala with Anna Netrebko, Yusif Eyazov, and the late Dmitri Hvorostovsky. Other Show One Productions’ presentations to date include: BRODSKY/BARYSHNIKOV, a one-man theatrical performance performed by Mikhail Baryshnikov; Valery Gergiev and Mariinsky Orchestra; Yannick Nézet-Séguin and the Rotterdam Philharmonic; Vladimir Spivakov and National Philharmonic of Russia and Moscow Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra; Orchestre National de France; soloists Denis Matsuev, Mischa Maisky, Ann-Sophie Mutter, and Mutter Virtuosi, amongst many others.

 Show One Productions presents Sondra Radvanovsky in Recital with pianist Anthony Maloni – From Bel Canto to Verismo – for one night only, on Saturday, November 24th at 8:00 pm at Koerner Hall, 273 Bloor Street West. Tickets go on sale Thursday, May 24 at www.rcmusic.com or (416) 408-0208.

 

Azrieli Music Prizes Gala Concert Soloists Announced

Posted by shiragilbert on
 April 19, 2018
  · No Comments

The Azrieli Foundation is pleased to announce the soloists for the Azrieli Music Prizes Gala Concert on October 15, 2018 at 8:00 pm at Maison symphonique de Montréal. The concert features two major works for chamber orchestra by the winners of  the 2018 Azrieli Music Prizes (AMP), two biennial $50,000 awards offering opportunities for the creation, performance and celebration of high quality new Jewish Music. The new works will be performed by the McGill Chamber Orchestra (MCO) led by Guest Conductor Yoav Talmi. Tickets are available for pre-sale starting today via the Place des Arts box office at placedesarts.com.

Acclaimed violinist Lara St. John is the soloist for Nigunim for Violin and Orchestra by Avner Dorman, winner of the 2018 Azrieli Prize for Jewish Music. The Canadian-born St. John has been described as “something of a phenomenon” by The Strad and a “high-powered soloist” by the New York Times. Dorman, an Israeli-born composer who now lives in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, explores the music of various Jewish traditions from around the world in his work: “The diversity and wealth of musical traditions I discovered astounded me, ranging from North African cantillation to Central Asian wedding music, and from Balkan rhythms to ancient prayers.” In selecting Nigunim for the prize, jury member Aaron Jay Kernis remarked, “Avner Dorman’s music is marked by soulful expression joined to rich, inventive orchestral colour and virtuosic flair.”

A world premiere by Kelly-Marie Murphy, winner of the 2018 Azrieli Commission for Jewish Music will feature performances by harpist Erica Goodman and cellist Rachel Mercer. The multi-award-winning Goodman is “not only Canada’s preeminent harp player, she is one of the most celebrated in the world” (Ottawa Citizen), while Mercer creates “moments of pure magic” (Toronto Star) as a soloist and chamber musician across five continents and as Principal Cello of the National Arts Centre Orchestra.Murphy, based in Ottawa, is creating an innovative double concerto for harp and cello that explores Sephardic music and how it impacted other cultures as the diaspora settled in Morocco, Tunisia, and parts of Europe. Murphy is exploring sources from the Bulgarian Sephardi community and immersing herself in Ladino songs and melodic ornamentation, working to integrate folk songs and lullabies from the Sephardic tradition into her new work for chamber orchestra.

Tickets for the Azrieli Music Prizes Gala Concert ($20-$99) are now available for pre-sale at a discount of 20% with code AZRIELI with the regular sale beginning Thursday, April 26. Tickets may be purchased in person at the Place des Arts box office, by phone at 514 842-2112 or 1 866 842-2112 (toll-free), or at placedesarts.com.

www.azrielifoundation.org/music

About the Azrieli Music Prizes

Established in 2014 by the Azrieli Foundation, the Azrieli Music Prizes offer opportunities for the discovery, performance and celebration of excellence in new Jewish Music. Open to the international music community, works are nominated by individuals and institutions from all nationalities, faiths, backgrounds and affiliations, and submitted to the jury through the biennial open call for scores. Past Prize winners include Canadian composer Brian Current and US-based Polish composer Wlad Marhulets.

About The Azrieli Foundation

For 25 years, the Azrieli Foundation has funded institutions as well as operated programs on the ground in Canada and in Israel. The Foundation supports music and the arts, scientific and medical research, higher education, Holocaust education, youth empowerment and school perseverance, architecture, and quality of life initiatives for people with developmental disabilities. www.azrielifoundation.org

The Montreal Chamber Music Festival Proudly Announces its 2018 Season

Posted by shiragilbert on
 April 3, 2018
  · No Comments

The Montreal Chamber Music Festival is delighted to announce its 23rd season, offering a wonderful array of gems from the chamber music repertoire, exciting premieres, and new collaborations, with performances by many of our most revered artists along with brilliant new discoveries. Beginning with a new spring series at The Ritz-Carlton Montreal in April and May, the Festival moves to Pollack Hall for the TD JAZZ and classical series in June.

“With Droit au Cœur ! (Straight to the Heart!), we emphasize our love for chamber music, the most intimate and collaborative of art forms,” comments Festival founder and Artistic Director Denis Brott, “As always, we are thrilled to highlight the best of the upcoming generation of Quebec musicians, as well as welcome back our friends from around the world. This season I am particularly proud to host the Canadian premiere of the New York Philharmonic String Quartet. We also celebrate the “Year of the Cello” in concert and film, culminating in our final concert featuring no less that 12 cellos on stage!”

The 2018 Festival offers a new flexible pricing scheme as well as a complete Festival pass for only $200. And, with several free events, the Festival is accessible to all!

* * * * *

The Festival is thrilled to collaborate with The Ritz-Carlton Montreal for Rendez-vous au Ritz! Our theme is “Mentor and Apprentice” for these three mornings of chamber music, bringing together established artists with outstanding rising stars from the Conservatoire de musique de Montréal. Each Sunday morning event includes a delicious continental breakfast at 10am followed by a 1-hour concert at 11am, all taking place in the gorgeous Oval Room at The Ritz-Carlton Montreal.


For the first Ritz outing on Sunday, April 15, clarinetist and comedian Christopher Hall and the Andara Quartet bring out the fun in chamber music in a delightful programme including music by Mozart, Vivaldi, Brahms, and The Girl from Ipanema!  Formed at the Conservatoire de musique de Montréal, the Andara Quartet is already attracting international attention, and were recently invited to perform at the first edition of the String Quartet Biennale in Amsterdam.

On Sunday, April 29, cellist Denis Brott joins three brilliant young musicians from the Conservatoire, his cello protégé Bruno Tobon, and violinists Isabella Perron and Abby Walsh, for a beautiful programme of music by Bach, Ysaÿe, Handel, and Arensky. All three young rising stars are prize-winners of the OSM Manulife Competition, among many other honours.

For our final Sunday morning, May 20, celebrated pianist Richard Raymond, also a professor at the Conservatoire de musique de Montréal, introduces his brilliant 13 year-old student Sarah Oulousian, with music by Bach, Beethoven, Chopin, Liszt, and Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue.

The special price for Rendez-vous au Ritz!, including continental breakfast and concert, is just $25, or $10 for those under 20, plus service charges.

* * * * *

The Festival’s popular TD JAZZ series is back for three unique Friday night concerts, including a tribute to Montreal’s jazz royalty, and a spotlight on two young and rising artists. We’re thrilled to have the wonderful Oliver Jones join us as the series spokesperson and host.

On Friday, June 1 at 8pm, the Festival pays tribute to the one and only Oscar Peterson. Celine Peterson has selected the artists and programme for this very personal tribute to her father, which will include Oscar’s own bass player Dave Young, along with jazz heavyweights, pianist Ben Paterson, and percussionist Jim Doxas for an intimate and inspiring evening, celebrating one of Montreal’s – and the world’s – great jazz artists.

On Friday, June 8 at 8pm, the Festival presents rising young jazz pianist and Grammy-nominee Eldar Djangirov and his trio. Djangirov has been described by The New York Times as “a blend of musical intelligence, organizational savvy, enthusiasm and prowess,” while Downbeat stated that “his command of his instrument is beyond staggering.” Eldar came to the U.S. from the former Soviet Union at age 10 and was signed to Sony Masterworks at 17. Releasing multiple albums since then, Eldar has appeared at numerous major jazz festivals as well as with world renowned symphony orchestras. Come hear the pianist Dave Brubeck calls “a genius beyond most young people I’ve heard.”

The electrifying Grace Kelly brings her trio to the Festival on Friday, June 15 at 8pm. Possessed by what band leader Jon Batiste calls “an electric charisma on-stage that instantly ignites the room,” the saxophonist, singer, and composer plays with the heart and passion of an old soul with the genre-bending zest and energy of the 25-year old she is. A regular on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert’s band, Grace has performed over 800 concerts in over 30 countries in notable venues as the Hollywood Bowl and Carnegie Hall. She recently released a portion of her 11th album live on Facebook.

* * * * *

Our Classical Series begins on the theme of “Le Maître et La Relève” – one of our greatest master artists together with one of the brightest ensembles of the new generation. On Tuesday, June 12 at 8pm, pianist André Laplante joins the Rolston String Quartet for a splendid evening of music by Haydn, Tchaikovsky, and Schumann. The Festival is pleased to welcome back the outstanding Rolston Quartet, whom Strings Magazine calls “electrifying.” The Rolstons, currently Quartet in Residence at Yale University, are First Prize laureates of the 12th Banff International String Quartet Competition, and have been winning rave reviews on their recent tours throughout Canada, United States, Europe, and Israel.

The Tempest Trio makes its Canadian premiere on Thursday, June 14 at 8pm. The virtuoso trio of violinist Ilya Kaler, cellist Amit Peled, and pianist Alon Goldstein has been recently compared by critics to the legendary “Million Dollar Trio” of Arthur Rubinstein, Jascha Heifetz, and Gregor Piatigorsky. They perform trios by Beethoven and Bernstein then are joined by rising Montreal violist Marina Thibeault for the Schumann Quartet for piano and strings, op. 47.

Alon Goldstein joins three of Canada’s top classical pianists – David Jalbert, Steven Massicotte, and Wonny Song – for a pianistic whirlwind on Friday, June 15 at 5pm (note special time!). The powerhouse concert features showpieces like the Danse Macabre by Saint-Saëns and the Rhapsody by Liszt, as well as Mozart’s Sonata for four hands, K. 381 — and a sure-to-be rousing version of Sousa’s Stars & Stripes!

The Festival is thrilled to present the Canadian premiere of the New York Philharmonic String Quartet on Saturday, June 16 at 8pm. Formed in January 2017, the New York Philharmonic String Quartet comprises four principal musicians from the orchestra: Concertmaster Frank Huang, Principal Associate Concertmaster Sheryl Staples, Principal Viola Cynthia Phelps, and Principal Cello Carter Brey. Be among the first to hear this prestigious new ensemble in works by Haydn, Shostakovich, and Borodin.

Cellist Denis Brott brings together an outstanding group of cellists to close the Festival on Sunday, June 17 at 3:30 pm in celebration of the “Year of the Cello” and this most passionate and beautiful of instruments! Concert highlights include works by Menotti, Popper, and the Quebec premiere of Kelly-Marie Murphy’s Coffee Will Be Served In The Living Room for 8 cellos. The full composite of 12 cellos will be heard in Klengel’s Hymnus pour 12 violoncelles, op 57, and Heitor Villa-Lobos’ Bachianas Brasileiras 1 and 5, featuring soprano Aline Kutan.

* * * * *

The Festival is pleased to offer three FREE events, welcoming one and all!

  • On Tuesday, June 12 at 5pm, the Rolston String Quartet performs Steve Reich’s Different Trains with a moving video re-creation by Beatriz Caravaggio. The Grammy Award-winning 1988 work for string quartet and tape is Reich’s reflection of his train journeys between New York and Los Angeles to visit his parents, who had separated. He later pondered the fact that, as a Jew, had he been in Europe instead of the United States at that time, he might have been travelling in Holocaust trains. Also performed will be Shostakovich’s Quartet No. 7.
  • On Friday, June 15 at 12pm, cellist Amit Peled performs on the legendary cello of Pablo Casals, bringing together works by Bloch with the Bach cello suites.
  • On Sunday, June 17 at 1pm, preceding the Festival’s final all-cello concert, join us for the Canadian premiere of the documentary film, The Cellist: Legacy Of Gregor Piatigorsky.

 

Rendez-vous au Ritz! series takes place at The Ritz-Carlton Montreal, 1228 Sherbrooke St. West

All other events (excluding the Gala) take place at Pollack Hall, 555 Sherbrooke Street West

 

All concerts at Pollack Hall are General Admission.

For the TD JAZZ and classical series at Pollack Hall, please note the Festival’s new pricing system:

1 TICKET = $50.00

2 TICKETS = $87.50

4 TICKETS = $112.50 (4 TICKETS FOR THE PRICE OF 3!)

STUDENTS 26 YEARS OLD AND UNDER $20.00

CHILDREN 12 AND UNDER FREE

 

FESTIVAL PASS TO ALL EVENTS: $200

Excludes Gala

 

ALL TICKETS AVAILABLE AT FESTIVALMONTREAL.ORG

OR BY CALLING 514.489.7444

CORO Connections Releases New Beethoven Album by the Eybler Quartet

Posted by shiragilbert on
 February 7, 2018
  · No Comments

“This is music-making that reflects deeply human and attractive qualities … good humor, wit, and invention.” – Early Music America (on Haydn’s String Quartets, Op. 33)

CORO Connections presents a new recording by the acclaimed Eybler Quartet, featuring Beethoven’s first three works for string quartet, Op. 18, nos. 1-3. The Toronto-based ensemble was founded in 2004 to explore the works of the first century-and-a-half of the string quartet repertoire and plays on instruments appropriate to the period of the music it performs. The Eybler Quartet has been widely praised for their committed, lively, and energizing performances, and razor-sharp ensemble skills. Adding to their superb discography, which includes music by Mozart and Haydn as well as lesser-known composers like Vanhal and their namesake Joseph Leopold Eybler, the group’s new Beethoven album will be released on March 2.

Beethoven’s Opus 18 represents the composer’s supremely confident first step towards what would become his total mastery of the Classical String Quartet. As violist Patrick Jordan points out in his colourfully descriptive liner notes, much of the Eybler’s repertoire draws from the two or three generations of composers preceding Beethoven, which is unusual for a string quartet. The Eybler Quartet’s experience of approaching Beethoven’s Opus 18 as “new music” profoundly influenced their readings of the works. Working from two different editions of the score, the Quartet confronted contradictory information, and delved deeply into exhaustive critical notes on the works. “Regardless of the edition one uses,” comments Jordan, “Beethoven’s work immediately stands apart from that of those working around him: articulations and dynamics are more frequent, detailed, and specific, and we find more special instructions. Beethoven represents a sudden step up in complexity, rather than a smooth point along the curve.”

The Eybler Quartet have chosen to take Beethoven “at his word,” putting aside their received ideas and intuitions to “unlearn” the works and subsequently reconstruct them with Beethoven’s instructions front of mind. One dramatic change is the Eybler’s commitment to respect the tempi that Beethoven himself indicated, some much quicker than we’re accustomed to, some considerably slower. Says Jordan: “There would appear to be no end of debate on this fiery topic, and I am sure that whatever I have to offer will merely fan the flames rather than extinguish anything!”

The Eybler Quartet’s most recent album, featuring the string quartets of Czech composer and Mozart contemporary Johann Baptist Vanhal, was widely acclaimed, “The ensemble is in its element here,” said The San Francisco Chronicle, “ and gives the music the vividness and polish required.” Boston’s WCRB praised the quartet’s for its “intimacy perfectly balanced with an electrifying passion” in choosing it as CD of the Week, while Early Music America was charmed by the ensemble’s “infectious vivacity, dynamism, and edge.”

CORO Connections is an imprint of the award-winning CORO record label. All of the artists on CORO Connections have links to Harry Christophers, The Sixteen, or the Handel and Haydn Society. Eybler Quartet violinist Aisslinn Nosky is concertmaster of Boston’s Handel and Haydn Society.

The Eybler Quartet brings a unique combination of talents and skills: years of collective experience as chamber musicians, technical prowess, years of experience in period instrument performance, and an unquenchable passion for the repertoire. Violinist Julia Wedman and violist Patrick G. Jordan are members of Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra; Violinist Aisslinn Nosky is concertmaster of the Handel and Haydn Society and Principal Guest Conductor of the Niagara Symphony Orchestra; Julia and Aisslinn are also members of I FURIOSI Baroque Ensemble. Cellist Margaret Gay is much in demand as both a modern and period instrument player.

www.eyblerquartet.com

Canada’s Largest Composition Prize Announced

Posted by shiragilbert on
 February 6, 2018
  · No Comments

The Azrieli Foundation is proud to announce that composer Avner Dorman is the winner of the 2018 Azrieli Prize for Jewish Music for his composition, Nigunim for Violin and Orchestra. The $50,000 cash prize is granted biennially to a composer who has written the best new major work of Jewish Music, and is accompanied by a world premiere gala performance and a professional recording of the prize-winning work.

Avner Dorman, an Israeli-born composer who now lives in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, has garnered numerous awards and prizes. At the age of 25, he became the youngest composer to win Israel’s prestigious Prime Minister’s Award for his Ellef Symphony. He has gone on to earn several international awards from ASCAP, ACUM and the Asian Composers League. He holds a doctorate in composition from the Juilliard School and currently serves as Associate Professor of Music Theory and Composition at the Sunderman Conservatory of Music at Gettysburg College and as Music Director of the CityMusic Cleveland Chamber Orchestra.

Dorman explains the genesis of his composition. “When writing Nigunim, I was most interested in exploring the music of various Jewish traditions from around the world. The diversity and wealth of musical traditions I discovered astounded me, ranging from North African cantillation to Central Asian wedding music, and from Balkan rhythms to ancient prayers. I tried to embody both the unique features and deep commonalities of these traditions in my composition.” Dorman credits the Azrieli Music Prizes as an impetus for the completion of a fresh new orchestration for Nigunim, where past attempts had been musically unsatisfying.  “I am honoured that the jury of the Azrieli Prize have embraced the diversity of this piece.”

Azrieli Foundation Board Director, Dr. Sharon Azrieli, who initially conceived the Prize and has been leading its growth, says she is thrilled with the jury’s decision. “I am equally pleased to invite Avner into our growing community of Prize laureates. His Nigunim for Violin and Orchestra has within it all the elements we were seeking when we created these prizes. With its gravitas and expressivity, it conveys the meaning and continuity of the Jewish soul. It also remarkably unites the many styles of music of Jewish communities from around the world. I am confident that this is another work that will enter the repertoire to become a well-known and beloved concerto among violinists and audiences alike.” Jury member Aaron Jay Kernis adds, “Avner Dorman’s music is marked by soulful expression joined to rich, inventive orchestral colour and virtuosic flair. The jury is delighted that his violin concerto is the second worthy winner of this important prize.”

In September, the Azrieli Foundation announced that Kelly-Marie Murphy won the 2018 Azrieli Commission for Jewish music. Both compositions will be performed at the Azrieli Music Prizes Gala Concert on October 15, 2018 at the Maison symphonique de Montreal featuring the McGill Chamber Orchestra (MCO) and Guest Conductor Yoav Talmi.

Avner Dorman’s music is exclusively published by G. Schirmer.

About the Azrieli Music Prizes
Established in 2014 by the Azrieli Foundation, the Azrieli Music Prizes offer opportunities for the discovery, performance and celebration of excellence in new Jewish Music. Open to the international music community, works are nominated by individuals and institutions from all nationalities, faiths, backgrounds and affiliations, and submitted to the jury through the biennial open call for scores. Past Prize winners include Canadian composer Brian Current and US-based Polish composer Wlad Marhulets.

About The Azrieli Foundation
For 25 years, the Azrieli Foundation has funded institutions as well as operated programs on the ground in Canada and in Israel. The Foundation supports music and the arts, scientific and medical research, higher education, Holocaust education, youth empowerment and school perseverance, architecture, and quality of life initiatives for people with developmental disabilities. www.azrielifoundation.org

Maestro Kent Nagano Conducts the McGill Symphony Orchestra

Posted by shiragilbert on
 February 2, 2018
  · No Comments

The Schulich School of Music’s McGill Symphony Orchestra performs under the baton of Orchestre symphonique de Montréal Music Director Maestro Kent Nagano for the first time and for one night only on Tuesday, February 13 at 7:30 pm at Maison symphonique, in collaboration with the OSM. The superb, young orchestra performs a sumptuous programme including Schumann’s Symphony No. 1, Wagner’s Siegfried-Idyll, and Leonard Bernstein’s Serenade (after Plato’s Symposium) featuring violinist Andrew Wan – an Assistant Professor at the Schulich School as well as OSM concertmaster – as soloist.

Kent Nagano comments: “It is not only a pleasure to have the opportunity to work with young talented musicians, it is an important part of our responsibility as artists. One senses in them a thirst for knowledge and improvement, so essential to the development of their craft. A part of obtaining knowledge is to pass it on by investing in the next generation, as they will carry our tradition forward into the next century for our children and their children.  I am thrilled to perform with the McGill Symphony Orchestra, and proud to host them on stage of the Maison symphonique for this collaborative event between the OSM and the Schulich School of Music.”

“We are absolutely thrilled to have our students perform at Maison symphonique under the baton of Maestro Kent Nagano,” comments Brenda Ravenscroft, Dean of the Schulich School of Music, “It is a tremendous opportunity to showcase their outstanding musicianship while gaining invaluable insight from a master, on one of the great stages of the world. I am sure it will be an unforgettable experience for our orchestra – and for the audience as well.” 

In advance of its final rehearsals with Maestro Nagano, the MGSO will prepare for the concert with conductor Nicolas Ellis. Ellis, who earned his Master of Music in Conducting from the Schulich School of Music in 2015, is the recent winner of the $50,000 Fernand-Lindsay career prize. He is currently assistant conductor in residence with Orchestre Symphonique de Québec, as well as the Artistic Director and Founder of the Orchestre Symphonique de l’Agora.

The orchestra performs Robert Schumann’s youthful Symphony No. 1 in B-flat major, Op. 38, known as Schumann’s “Spring Symphony.” The composer, until then primarily known for his works for piano and voice, composed this first work for orchestra in early 1841. It was premiered that March in Leipzig under the baton of Felix Mendelssohn. Richard Wagner composed his gorgeous Siegfried Idyll as a gift to his second wife after the birth of their son Siegfried in 1869. Wagner later incorporated music from the Idyll into the final scene of his opera Siegfried. The orchestra will also perform, with violin soloist Andrew Wan, Leonard Bernstein’s Serenade (after Plato’s Symposium). Bernstein himself conducted the 1954 premiere of this 5-movement work, written for his friend Isaac Stern. While the composer stressed that the Serenade has “no literal program,” the work resulted from his rereading of Plato’s charming dialogue, The Symposium, about the nature and purpose of love. Currently, the centenary of Leonard Bernstein’s birth is being celebrated with numerous performances of music around the world.

Each year, the McGill Symphony Orchestra presents a varied cross-section of orchestral music from early 18th century classics to celebrated contemporary composers. Its home venue is Pollack Hall, but it also performs regularly in venues such as the Église St. Jean-Baptiste and Montreal’s Maison symphonique. High professional standards are required from every member of the orchestra, since one of its objectives is to prepare young musicians for successful auditions with major orchestras around the globe. Along with two performances each of six concert programs, the MGSO’s annual activities include collaborations with Opera McGill, winners of the School’s concerto competitions, distinguished members of the Schulich School of Music faculty, and with internationally acclaimed guest artists and conductors. The MGSO is often heard on CBC and presents regular audio/video webcasts for an ever-growing international audience. The MGSO has performed in New York’s Carnegie Hall and made its debut in Toronto’s Koerner Hall in November 2015.

Kent Nagano Conducts the McGill Symphony Orchestra

Tuesday, February 13 at 7:30 pm

Maison symphonique, 1600 Rue Saint-Urbain

Tickets: $39/ $24 | OSM.ca or 514 842-9951

« Previous Page
Next Page »

Follow Shira on Facebook

Shira on FB