Browsing: Classical

REVIEW: of the Glimmerglass 2023 Season, including: Roméo et Juliette, the 1867 opera composed by Charles Gounod, with a libretto by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré adapting Shakespeare; viewed August 4, 2023; Candide, with a musical score by Leonard Bernstein and book and lyrics by an assortment of heavy-hitters; viewed August 5, 2023; and Rinaldo, composed by George Frideric Handel, with a libretto by Giacomo Rossi; viewed August 6, 2023. Passing the Baton… The Glimmerglass Festival, with the arcadian charm of its lakeside setting and the surrounding splendor of its central New York “Leatherstocking Region” setting – not to mention…

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Clara, Robert, Johannes: Atmosphere and Mastery National Arts Centre Orchestra (directed by Alexander Shelley) Analekta, 2023 Conductor Alexander Shelley and the National Arts Centre Orchestra present the third recording of a four-volume collection featuring three of the most iconic composers in the romantic-era: Clara Schuman, Robert Schuman and Johannes Brahms. Bru Zane is devoted to the rediscovery and international promotion of French repertoire dating from 1780-1920. Les Nuits de Paris is the French equivalent of the Vienna Philharmonic’s New Year’s Concert, devoted to music by Johann Strauss and his Viennese contemporaries. The opening, Robert Schumann’s Symphony No. 3 in E-flat…

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Art Choral Vol. 4 Classique Ensemble Artchoral (conducted by Matthias Maute) Atma Classique, 2023 This album is the fourth release by Ensemble Artchoral, previously known as Ensemble vocal Arts-Québec, focusing on composers and music from the early 18th-century. In their “Classique” volume, Ensemble Artchoral provides stunning renditions of early classical-era liturgical music. The album marries choral music and the nuances of the 18th- century German enlightenment in a modern way, particularly with the addition of singing Gottlob Benedict Bierey’s “Kyrie for four voices’’ over the first movement of Beethoven’s infamous Piano Sonata No. 14 in C-sharp minor, Op. 27, No.…

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Hommage à François Dompierre Louise Bessette, piano; François Dompierre, composer and piano Atma Classique, 2023 We rarely hear Louise Bessette in this light. To celebrate François Dompierre’s 80th birthday, the pianist offers us arrangements of film music, and other selections, all of which played a role in establishing the reputation of the Quebec composer, himself a pianist. “Most are piano reductions (…); others are adaptations of radio improvisations. Finally, a few were written especially for her, and are dedicated to her,” explains the composer, in the album’s booklet. These include Entre mer et chanterelles, written in honour of his former…

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Earlier this week, Toronto Summer Music announced that Canadian Soprano Sondra Radvanovsky had been forced to cancel her performance as part of this year’s festival due to unforeseen illness. Miraculously, the festival was able to secure a replacement of the highest caliber on just short of a week’s notice: Grammy Award winning American Mezzo Soprano, J’Nai Bridges.  Bridges stepped in with grace and poise, dutifully acknowledging Ms. Radvanovsky’s absence at the concert’s outset. Joined by pianist Rachael Kerr, she opened the first half of her recital with a musical setting of the Lord’s Prayer (uncredited on the program). This was…

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It’s back! And it promises to be as big and bold as ever. It’s Music and Beyond, Ottawa’s summer music and arts festival which—every July since its inception in 2010—has blossomed across the capital in a gloriously scatter-cast profusion of musical sounds, styles and intriguing interdisciplinary programming. “The public is ready to return,” says Julian Armour, the festival’s plucky and indefatigable founder and artistic and executive director. “We’re doing a big festival! We’re going to do about 64 different major concerts.” It’s a bracing and welcome assertion of renewal, after the scaled-back famine years of global pandemic. Rock and a…

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Author : (Eva Stone-Barney)

MONTREAL/QUEBEC Centre Culturel de Pointe-Claire In an effort to make cultural programming accessible to its residents, and breathe life into public park spaces, the Centre Culturel de Pointe-Claire will present a series of free concerts as part of their Summer Evenings in the Parks / Summer Beats in the Parks Festival. Running from June 28 to Aug. 16, the festival will consist of 10 concerts in parks across the city. Starting at Stewart Park on June 28, audiences are invited to a concert of world music titled Paul Kunigis: Yallah. Performances of blues, Latin jazz, world jazz, and Brazilian percussion…

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Author : (Eva Stone-Barney)

This year marks 30 years of the New Brunswick Summer Music Festival. Founded in 1994 by Richard Hornsby, clarinetist and Director of Music at the University of New Brunswick, and pianist Robert Kortgaard, the program has expanded substantially over the years, evolving from a three-day chamber-music event to a two-week music festival, complete with educational and mentorship programming for emerging musicians, community outreach activities, and a wide variety of concerts. Offering what Hornsby describes as a “combination of events in various locations around Fredericton,” the festival ensures that “anyone can experience and enjoy live classical chamber music.” “When we started,”…

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Canadian classical music will make a home for itself in Joliette, Que., from July 7 to Aug. 6. The festival will include 14 concerts at the beautiful Amphithéâtre Fernand-Lindsay, and a variety of other performances at the town’s churches, outdoor cultural venues and agritourism sites. The OSM and Rafael Payare will open the festival with a performance of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony (July 7), and will return the following night to pay homage to the 150th anniversary of Rachmaninoff’s birth (July 8). William Christie and Les Arts Florissants will present Handel’s Partenope (July 15). Canadian superstar conductor Yannick Nézet-Séquin and the…

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Obituaries Grace Bumbry (1937-2023) Trailblazing American mezzo-soprano, considered to be one of the leading voices of her generation, dies at 86. She was the first singer of colour to perform at Bayreuth, in 1961. Gordon Lightfoot (1938-2023) Legendary Canadian folk musician dies at 84. With a repertoire of over 400 songs, the five-time Grammy nominee’s works have been covered by artists such as Elvis Presley, Barbra Streisand, and Johnny Cash. Jocelyn Morlock (1969-2023) Canadian Juno Award-winning composer has died. Her work was championed by the National Arts Centre Orchestra, who commissioned her Juno-winning piece, My Name Is Amanda Todd, and…

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