With Canadian Premiere Of ‘Jobs,’ Opera House Buffs Modernist Profile
CALGARY – Embellishing its exceptional history of Canadian premieres of works by contemporary American composers, Calgary Opera presented the country's first look at Mason Bates and Mark Campbell's The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs.
Multi-talented Hannigan Cedes Baton In Display Of Otherworldly Singing
MONTREAL – The Canadian soprano and conductor Barbara Hannigan left the podium to Orchestre symphonique de Montréal music director Rafael Payare but made a distinctive contribution as vocalist in an intriguing program.
Amid Old Friends Again, Emerson Quartet Offers Farewell To Remember
VANCOUVER – The celebrated ensemble, formed in 1976 and retiring from the concert stage at the end of this season, played an eloquent valedictory program of Haydn, Schubert, and Shostakovich for longtime hosts the Friends of Chamber Music.
Music Was Resonant, Applause Tremendous. Don’t Ask About Drama.
MONTREAL – La beauté du monde, a new work by composer Julien Bilodeau and librettist Michel Marc Bouchard commissioned by the Opéra de Montréal, displayed greater intention than tension in a tale of Nazi plunder of European art.
‘Goldberg’ Perspectives: Bach In Knowing Hands On Piano, Harpsichord
VANCOUVER – Keyboard fans enjoyed a once-in-a-lifetime conjunction of performances when pianist András Schiff and harpsichordist Jean Rondeau, in very different venues, delivered two thoughtful readings of the Goldberg Variations.
Bach’s ‘Art Of Fugue,’ Luminously Analyzed And Masterfully Played
VANCOUVER – To call pianist Filippo Gorini's achievement a performance doesn’t convey the scale of his encompassing project, which included outreach activities, a lecture, and a series of filmed discussions about Bach's relevance today.
In Golden Homecoming, Chopin Winner Scores Again As Keyboard Hero
MONTREAL – Pianist Bruce Liu, a 25-year-old Paris-born Montrealer who last October won gold in the International Chopin Piano Competition, displayed his winning mettle in Rachmaninoff with the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal.
Yiddish Cabaret Echoes In Fresh Form And Spirit Of String Quartet Fare
VANCOUVER – In the intimacy of a synagogue, the Jerusalem Quartet, with Israeli soprano Hila Baggio, offered a nuanced program featuring a work based on cabaret-inspired songs by Ukrainian-born composer Leonid Desyatnikov.
Orchestra Breaks Mold With Adventures Into New Worlds Of Music
EDMONTON – Historically, the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra has programmed only a smattering of contemporary composers, but under chief conductor Alexander Prior, new music concerts have broadened the orchestra’s palette.
Toronto Relays: Baton Passed Around As Five Directors Cross Podium
TORONTO – As the Toronto Symphony played a Dvořák Slavonic Dance, five TSO music directors took turns leading. Pictured, Peter Oundjian, Andrew Davis, Günther Herbig,, Jukka-Pekka Saraste, and Gustavo Gimeno shared the concert.
In Pursuit Of A Cycle, Confronting Gloom Of Sibelius’ 4th Symphony
MONTREAL – Conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin and the Orchestre Métropolitain are well into creating a CD box of Sibelius symphonies. They presented the Fourth in a suitably shadowy account at the Maison symphonique.
‘St. John Passion’ For 1: Busy Tenor Sings It All; He Conducts A Bit,...
MONTREAL – Benedikt Kristjánsson undertook the Herculean labor of singing Bach's recitatives of the Evangelist and the exchanges of the Passion characters, including the central dialogue of Jesus and Pontius Pilate, plus the shouts of the crowd.
Scaled Back, Brahms’ ‘German Requiem’ Still Makes Its Grand Effect
TORONTO – Any performance of Brahms’ Ein deutsches Requiem is an occasion, but a concert given by the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir led by Jean-Sébastien Vallée was special: a "chamber version' that was anything but chamber-like.
In Gala-Salad Program, Orchestra Dishes Up Return To Concert Life
VANCOUVER – Jauntily dubbed “We’re Back! Gala Performance,” the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra season opener was a mixed bag: a “gala” portion of bits followed by the Tchaikovsky Fifth, all led by music director Otto Tausk.
New Montreal Maestro Shows Flair For Basics (But Maybe Not French)
MONTREAL – At the season opener for the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, music director-designate Rafael Payare received a huge ovation even before the downbeat, a display justified by an affirmative Shostakovich Fifth.
Far-Flung String Players Converge (Virtually) For A Festival Homecoming
BANFF, Alberta – After the success of last year's streamed Banff International String Quartet Festival, the 2021 event again went digital, spurred by a “moral obligation to be hand in hand with the artists through this pandemic."
In Virtual Competition, 26 Pianists Vie From Keyboards Flung Afar
MONTREAL – The 19th Montreal International Music Competition, held April 26-May 14 under pandemic conditions no one would have imagined a year ago, figured to be very different, and it was. It was also highly successful.
At Each New Hearing, Young Conductor’s Art, Promise Shine Brighter
MONTREAL – Listening to Dalia Stasevska lead the BBC Symphony Orchestra in a webcast was a pleasant surprise. Catching her in two video programs with the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal was quite impressive.
Nézet-Séguin Flashes Piano Skills In Concert Scaled For Pandemic
MONTREAL – Along with his keyboard debut in a Mozart concerto, conductor Nézet-Séguin led the Orchestre Metropolitain in a downsized but convincing Brahms Third Symphony, just as the composer was often known to do.
Montreal Looking. Conductor Arrives, Ready But Rough
MONTREAL – In the race to succeed Kent Nagano as music director of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, François-Xavier Roth brought the right resume, but the impression from a concert he led was not strictly affirmative.
