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20th Anniversary of the FACE Symphony Orchestra: More Strings to its Bow

By Hassan Laghcha on 4 December 2017 Canadian Music, Classical Music, Education, Orchestral, Quebec Music

In 1998, Theodora Stathopoulos founded the Symphony Orchestra of Montreal’s FACE School (Fine Arts Core Education). The purpose was to train young musicians via newly-minted teachers, high-level amateurs and talented students. Stathopoulos is proud to see that twenty years of sustained effort have resulted in a string section (over 70 violins, violas, cellos and double basses) composed entirely of FACE students, some as young as ten. What’s more, this season’s concertmaster is only 13! That’s the youngest in the history of the orchestra, which when it started out only had a few FACE students among its players. The creation of…

Salle Claude-Champagne Restoration: Nurturing Cultural Heritage

By Arnaud G. Veydarier on 4 December 2017 Canadian Music, Classical Music, Quebec Music

Inaugurated in the 1960s by the congregation of the Sisters of the Holy Name of Jesus and of Mary, the Claude-Champagne Hall is one of Montreal’s most iconic concert venues. Some of the largest music ensembles of the city have performed in this hall, marking several generations of music. Radio-Canada also occupied the premises until the mid-1970s and in those years they recorded its Grand Concerts. Today affiliated with the University of Montreal, the Claude-Champagne Hall continues to host many classical orchestras attracted by the authenticity and acoustic quality of the venue. The hall has also become the main venue…

Tristan Longval-Gagné

By Marie-Claire Fafard-Blais on 3 December 2017 Canadian Music, Classical Music, Piano

Originally from Sherbrooke, pianist Tristan Longval-Gagné, fell into the “musical pot” early. In fact, his parents were both musicians and ran a music school in their home. He is now proudly a co-owner and teaches at the school. His first memories are therefore inevitably related to music and to his piano-teaching father, Tristan’s first teacher. After attending McGill University where Tristan studied with Sara Laimon whom he describes as his real mentor, he continued his studies at the prestigious Juilliard School in New York. In 2009, he won first prize at the OSM Standard Life Competition and in 2010 the…

Gerald Finley 20 years later

By Adrian Rodriguez on 3 December 2017 Canadian Music, Classical Music, Opera, Vocal

It has already been 20 years since we first interviewed Canadian baritone Gerald Finley (see Philip Anson’s article). Then, Finley was a rising star specializing in Mozart operas and German lieder. Looking back, he says, “I was 37 and singing Papageno in The Magic Flute. It was seen as a good role to introduce young baritones to the house and to the acoustics at the Met, where of course big voices are the standard.” Finley is back at the Met this autumn, singing an acclaimed Athanael in Thaïs. “I’m working with the same director, John Cox. Back then he felt…

OM Concert at the Elbphilharmonie was Hamburg Heaven

By Arthur Kaptainis on 2 December 2017 Art Song, Canadian Music, Concert Reviews, Contemporary, Orchestral, Romantic, Strings

HAMBURG – “Suche Karte.” Seeking ticket. This is always a good sign, quite literally, in German-speaking lands, where it is common to advertise your unhappy condition with two words writ large on a piece of cardboard. Sure enough, a visit to the box office of the Elbphilharmonie confirmed that the fifth installment of the Orchestre Métropolitain’s tour of Europe was quite sold out. Eight thousand requests, 2,100 seats. Suche Karte. The huge demand cannot be reconciled with the usual explanations. Soloists Marie-Nicole Lemieux and Jean-Guihen Queyras are reputable enough, but hardly the stuff of a sellout. Yannick Nézet-Séguin is recognized everywhere.…

QW4RTZ: Pop Vocal Quartet, Rigour of Classical Musicians

By Adrian Rodriguez on 9 November 2017 Canadian Music, Uncategorized, Vocal

Montreal-based QW4RTZ is a new a cappella quartet that is making its name by sharing their passion for singing. Founded in 2010, the quartet now consists of Louis Alexandre Beauchemin, Philippe Courchesne Leboeuf, François ‘Fa.2’ Dubé and François Pothier Bouchard. They have a distinctive style, one that combines their classical background with a love of pop music, creating clever and original unaccompanied voice arrangements of the great standards of jazz, classical, and pop music. Their first album A cappella 101 came out in 2016 and was warmly received by critics. Although they come across as having a relaxed and youthful vibe,…

Brentano String Quartet: A collaboration of intense cohesion

By Richard Todd on 9 November 2017 Canadian Music, Chamber Music, Classical, Classical Music, Strings, Uncategorized

The 2012 film A Late Quartet is largely built around the preparation and performance of Beethoven’s Quartet in C-sharp minor, op. 131. The film has been praised on every level — the acting in particular. The actors, however, are not musicians! The actual sound of the movie’s fictional Fugue String Quartet was provided, most effectively, by the Brentano String Quartet. In the movie’s final scene the ensemble’s cellist (actor Christopher Walken) stops the performance and explains to the audience that he is no longer able to meet the music’s challenges. (He has Parkinson’s disease.) Anticipating that he might not be…

Éva Gauthier (1885-1958) Pioneer of 20th Century Music (part I)

By Nadia Turbide on 8 November 2017 Art Song, Canadian Music, Classical Music, Contemporary, Opera, Uncategorized, Vocal

If I look back on what they now call “the roaring Twenties”, it is like looking at a rich tapestry of almost blinding color. So much happened in those years which were marked by abundant prosperity in America and a cultural liveliness which was breathtaking. Music of our time all of a sudden became a matter of interest, and everybody felt like jumping on the bandwagon. So wrote Canadian mezzo-soprano Eva Gauthier, an artist ideally suited to a period that invariably attracted the sophisticated, the exotic, the adventurous and the new. She had already sung Satie’s music-hall tunes, was familiar…

Esprit Orchestra Marks Ontario’s 150th Anniversary

By Newswire on 31 October 2017 Canadian Music, Classical Music, Opera, Vocal

Esprit Orchestra Marks Ontario’s 150th Anniversary with Expanded Music Education Program Esprit has expanded its annual education and outreach programming in major ways for the 2017/18 season. The cornerstone project this season will be Ontario Resonance, a free student mentorship program to mark the 150th Anniversary of Ontario. Running from September to November, the program focuses on the creation of new music by students with the theme of Ontario places, sounds, and cultural ties. Professional composers mentor students in six schools in the GTA region, providing them with hands-on performance and composition opportunities. The program incorporates multiple artistic disciplines, and…

SCMQ 2017-2018 Season – Long live today’s music!

By Newswire on 21 September 2017 Canadian Music, Classical Music, Contemporary, Newswire, Opera, Quebec Music, Vocal

Montréal, Septembre 20, 2017 – Société de musique contemporaine du Québec (SMCQ) begins its Homage Series with six concerts plus three “special” events focussing on José Evangelista, a composer on a remarkable path. Evangelista has marked the recent evolution of music through a singular and coherent creative approach, with a greater openness to the world. Since 2007, alternating with the the Montreal New Music festival, the Homage Series allows for the discovery the body of work of a notable Canadian composer, with the cooperation of the cultural and educational milieu who are invited to include their works in their respective…

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