Orchestra’s ‘Wake Up!’ Sets Up Season Opener That’s ‘Pictures’-Perfect
TORONTO – Right out of the gate, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and Gustavo Gimeno renewed dazzling chemistry in Carlos Simon's Wake Up! concerto and finished with a brilliant Pictures at an Exhibition – not the Ravel version.
As Bruckner Turns 200, Fleshing Out The Ninth With Prelude, Epilogue
MONTREAL – The Orchestre Métropolitain and Yannick Nézet-Séguin observed the composer's bicentennial with a version of the unfinished Ninth Symphony prefaced by a new choral work and "completed' by Bruckner's Te Deum.
Born Of A Competition, String Quartet Festival Carves Its Own Niche
BANFF, Alberta – The Isadore String Quartet and the Viano Quartet, recent winners of the triennial Banff International String Quartet Competition, returned to the site of their triumphs as guests of a festival sprung from the celebrated competition.
Festival Performance, Listeners On Point For Mahler 7th Symphony
JOLIETTE, Quebec – An audience of more than 3,300 at the Festival de Lanaudière gave their undivided attention to the challenging five-movement score played by the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal under Rafael Payare.
Flourish Of Beethoven’s Last Piano Sonata Gives Pulse To Summer Music
TORONTO – For 19 years, Toronto Summer Music has been filling the off-season gap with chamber music and recitals reflected in Ukrainian pianist Vadym Kholodenko's program fashioned around Beethoven's Op. 111 and accented by Prokofiev.
A Veiled Treasure: Redesigned Church As Intimate Concert Hall
MONTREAL – Few outsiders may be aware of a beautiful little 465-seat concert venue known as Bourgie Hall, in the heart of downtown. A gem architecturally, visually, and acoustically, it was designed for solo recitals and chamber music.
Making Surprise Debut As Murderous Medea, Naturally She Killed It
TORONTO – There were gasps when Canadian Opera Company's audience heard that favorite Sondra Radvanovsky would be replaced by an unfamiliar Italian, Chiara Isotton, as Cherubini's vengeful icon. The gasps soon became cheers.
Scaling Strauss Twice, And Matching Peaks In The ‘Alpine Symphony’
FRANKFURT – Just a few days apart, both the Frankfurt Opera and Museum Orchestra and the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra played Strauss' monumental work at the Alte Oper. Both delivered one astonishing moment after another.
Beach’s Grand Mass Dusted Off, Cut Down, Its Fresh Vision Intact
VANCOUVER – In what was likely the work's first performance in Canada, the Vancouver Cantata Singers and Allegra Chamber Orchestra presented an effective and convincing adaptation of Amy Beach's splendorous Grand Mass in E-flat major.
All Hands On Deck: Orchestra Shares Stage With ‘Rheingold’ Singers
CALGARY – For its first go at any of Wagner's Ring dramas, Calgary Opera moved the considerably expanded orchestra from a cramped pit and onto the action space, front and center amid an uneasy flow of gods and giants and Rhinemaidens.
Canadian Orchestras Create Spate Of CDs With Uneven Results
DIGITAL REVIEW – Competition is keen for the Mahler and Strauss recorded by the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal under Rafael Payare. And do we need Gustavo Gimeno's Turangalîla-Symphonie with the Toronto Symphony?
Prize In Hand, Recital On Hold, Singer Makes In-Person Debut At Last
VANCOUVER – Mezzo-soprano Ema Nikolovska, a winner of the annual Borletti-Buitoni Trust prize for young artists, initially had to make a virtual appearance with the Vancouver Recital Society. Her onstage performance was worth the wait.
2 Canadian Orchestras Combine In Symphony Honoring WWII French
TORONTO – The occasion brought together orchestras from Quebec City and Ottawa with a choir from Toronto, all led by Alexander Shelley, in Jacques Hétu's Fifth Symphony, a tribute to liberty modeled on Beethoven's choral Ninth.
Sets, Cast, And Chorus Were Great. Music And Libretto, Not So Much
MONTREAL – A dramatic arc to unify its assorted scenes and a score that delved beneath the surface might have pushed Opéra de Montréal's world premiere of La Reine-garçon, by Julien Bilodeau and Michel Marc Bouchard, over the top.
Women At Center Stage In Flurry Of Concerts By Ensembles Large, Small
VANCOUVER – Tianyi Lu conducted the Vancouver Symphony in the Canadian premiere of Jennifer Higdon's Mandolin Concerto (composer at right) in three venues, and the Sitkovetsky Trio offered Julia Adolphe's new Etched in Smoke and Light.
Fluid Time, Cosmic Love Meet In Rare Encounter With Epic ‘Turangalîla’
MONTREAL – For all its renommée, Messiaen’s Turangalîla-Symphonie is a once-in-a-while kind of piece. Rafael Payare led a brash performance by the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal that bespoke the presence of 103 musicians onstage.
With Touring Berliners, Young Stand-In Maestro Stands Out In Brahms
TORONTO – When Daniel Barenboim could not lead Staatskapelle Berlin on its North American tour, subs were summoned, two of them famous. But on the podium here was an obscure 34-year-old Lithuanian, Giedrė Šlekytė. She was brilliant.
‘Modern,’ Really Modern Works Provide Spark In Concert’s Historical Arc
VANCOUVER – In two provocative concerts, the Turning Point Ensemble, a musical collective, lived up to the mission of composer-conductor Owen Underhill to promote works by current composers while sustaining the legacy of the 20th century.
‘Walküre,’ shrunk to fit compact opera house, still an exhilarating ride
VICTORIA, British Columbia – Pacific Opera Victoria's production, using an arrangement for 43 musicians led by a stand-in conductor making his Wagner debut, parlayed solid musical leadership and a fine cast into a full-hearted, splendid event.
Presto! (Or Andante): Between Competitions, A Festival Works Magic
BANFF – In 2017, the triennial Banff International String Quartet Competition introduced a recurring string-quartet-plus festival. This year's typically surprising musical adventures drew assorted artists and full houses for eight concerts.
