Out, Out, Viol Spots: Bach’s Luster Dulled In Antique Transcriptions
MONTREAL – The modern piano is a common vehicle for Bach performance, and Stokowski's arrangements still hang on. But the antiquarian effect on sundry pieces by a consort of viols was a walrussy sameness, the tempo usually moderato.
Shadowed Masterpiece Revealed In Full Light With A Stirring ‘Jenůfa’
MONTREAL – The Opéra de Montréal production of Janáček's towering drama, directed by Atom Egoyan and conducted by Nicole Paiement with Marie-Adeline Henry in the title role, reflected great credit on the company and its artists.
On All-Sibelius Program, Symphonies Ruled, But Violin Concerto Soared
MONTREAL - Violinist Lisa Batiashvili delivered a concerto performance at once songful and virtuosic with the Orchestre Métropolitain led by Yannick Nézet-Séguin, as prelude to a concert recording of the Sixth and Seventh Symphonies.
A Deep Dive Into Chopin After Splashing Surface Of Grieg And Schumann
MONTREAL – Norwegian pianist Leif Ove Andsnes capped his recital program with a sharply defined excursion through Chopin's 24 Preludes, Op. 28, but that was preceded by rather bookish accounts of the Grieg Sonata and Schumann's Carnaval.
Conductor On The Fly Pauses To Give Mahler Breath, Scope Of Life
MONTREAL – Yannick Nézet-Séguin, marking 25 years as artistic director and principal conductor of the Orchestre Métropolitain, led a monumental yet nuanced account of the Third Symphony that at full power nearly swept listeners out of the hall.
Countertenor, A Funky Band, And Arcane Rep. Impression: Meh-Plus
JOLIETTE, Quebec – Against the bucolic setting of the Lanaudière Festival, countertenor Franco Fagioli sang arias by mostly obscure composers with the period-instrument Orchestre de l’Opera Royal de Versailles led by Stefan Plewniak.
Elegant Quartet Affirms Grosse Fuge As Fixture (See Cellphone For Info)
ORFORD, Quebec – Through an all-Beethoven concert in an intimate hall, the Calidore String Quartet displayed big-picture confidence and attention to detail. But with printed programs fashionably absent, a screen would have to do.
Versatile Baritone Wins Prize For Art Song In Montreal Competition
MONTREAL – Prevailing in a field of 24 singers, Colombian-born Laureano Quant, who resides in Chicago, snagged a $10,000 (Canadian) cash award in capturing the Art Song Prize at the 2025 Concours musical international de Montréal.
Payare, Going Big, Links ‘Erde’ Of Mahler, Earth Of Indigenous Cultures
MONTREAL – Leading the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, music director Rafael Payare made compelling connections between Das Lied von der Erde and two world premieres that reflected the history and trials of Canada's native peoples.
In An Operatic Spectacle Of Courtly Amusements, Two Biblical Bros Bond
TORONTO – Marc-Antoine Charpentier's David and Jonathan (1688), revived by Opera Atelier, spotlighted tenor Colin Ainsworth and mezzo-soprano Mireille Lebel in the title roles with Tafelmusik as the pit band led by David Fallis.
Amid Candy Hawkers, Spirited New-Music Fest Offers Plenty Of Crunch
MONTREAL – The candy at one concert of the biennial Montreal/New Musics Festival was free, each wrapped piece bearing the title of a composition. This ambitious series on the theme "Music and Images" was no ordinary event.
Soft Were The Sounds, Their Meaning Tacit, That The Takács Spun
TORONTO – In a performance of Beethoven's String Quartet Op. 18, No. 1, and Brahms' Piano Quintet with Stephen Hough (pictured), the venerable Takács Quartet pushed its wonted understatement close to too little of a good thing.
With Just Piano, Mozart In Vast Space, Yundi Li Strikes A Personal Note
VANCOUVER – Some presenters might have hesitated over Li's all-Mozart recital in the cavernous old Orpheum Theatre, a refurbished 1920s movie palace seating 2,780, but the pianist managed to create an atmosphere of intimacy.
‘Hamlet’ Opera Revived, But In Sooth, This Play Was Not The Real Thing
MONTREAL – For a successful production of Ambroise Thomas' once hugely popular 1868 opera, singers need to act with their voices as well as with their bodies, but this crucial element was sadly lacking in Opéra de Montréal's enterprise.
In Concerto ‘Fandango,’ Violin Spins Old Forms Into Bright New Dances
VANCOUVER – With the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra led by Andrew Litton, violinist Anne Akiko Meyers energized Mexican composer Arturo Márquez’s traditionally fashioned concerto and its wealth of idioms expressive of Latin America.
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.
