Recurrence is a collaboration between members of the ICOT (Iranian-Canadian Composers of Toronto) Chamber Orchestra, the New Orford String Quartet and two eminent Canadian composers.
Who will carry on the standard set by the Emerson String Quartet? Among the names mentioned recently was the Danish String Quartet.
Symphony in 18 parts / for solo electric guitar Tim Brady, electric guitar Starkland, 2023 The electric guitar, a cornerstone of the rock and metal worlds, is often overlooked as a classical instrument. On Symphony in 18 parts, Tim Brady challenges this oversight by evoking specific scenes, characters, and narratives through 18 masterful compositions. The first track, for instance, starts with an isolated, powerful, crunchy guitar strum—the sound of a rock star on stage playing to a live audience. While there’s no crowd to respond to the guitar, Brady so accurately recreates the note and its intonation that the moment…
Violist Emad Zolfaghari won the Irving M.Klein International String Competition, despite being on a two-week-long tour playing principal viola with the Curtis Institute Symphony Orchestra in the days immediately before the competition. This snapshot of professional life excited Zolfaghari, but because the Curtis Institute had packed and shipped the orchestra’s instruments from city to city, his practice time was limited. While this caused some stress, it also forced him “to have fun on the tour and see the cities instead of practising all the time.” For Zolfaghari, connection is a vital part of music-making. His favourite piece from the competition…
Way Out East Harry Manx, guitar, sitar, Mohan Veena Dog My Cat Records, September 2023 With his new album “Way Out East”, released on Sept. 9, Harry Manx continues his musical project of exploring cross-cultural encounters between East and West, notably through fusions between traditional American blues sounds, and melodies (ragas) from the Indian classical music repertoire. In this new album, produced by his own independent label, Dog My Cat Records, Manx presents a selection of his best compositions of the last 20 years, accompanied by Samidha Joglekar (vocals), Ravi Nimpali (tablas) and Clayton Doley (keyboard). The album takes listeners…
Violinist Tiffany Yeung spent the 2023 summer touring with the National Youth Orchestra of Canada, as the soloist for Brahms’s Violin Concerto in D major. This opportunity was a part of her win of the Michael Measures Prize, a recorded competition that recognizes a promising young musician participating in the NYO summer program. Named one of “CBC music’s 30 hot Canadian classical musicians under 30” in 2023, Yeung has established herself as an emerging artist to watch this year. Of the three pieces she recorded for the competition, Yeung was especially familiar with the Sarasate Carmen Fantasy, which she first…
Violinist Guillaume Villeneuve does not see his instrument as a tool with which to produce sound, but rather emotion. Aiming to connect with his audience at any opportunity, Villeneuve seeks to tell the stories behind the music he plays. “Music is about taking risks,” he said. Thus far, these risks have paid off for the up-and-coming artist. Winning Discovery of the Year category at this year’s Opus Prize ceremony was well deserved after his immense success in the 2022-23 season. Villeneuve said the prize has been “very important” for his career development, and is especially poignant considering “many, many musicians”…
Paris 1790: The Music of Monsieur Vidal Pascal Valois and Jean-Guy Côté, baroque guitar; Jacques-André Houle and Olivier Brault, violin; Amanda Keesmaat, cello; Jessy Dubé, alto Analekta, September 2023 Seeing a new release by Pascal Valois is enough to make a classical-guitar fan giddy; his elegant fingerpicking is a beautiful sound to behold. Paris 1790, featuring compositions by Monsieur Vidal —a baroque composer with no known last name—offers great additions to the modern maestro’s solo repertoire, and proves him to be a highly skilled accompanist. The album opens with the first guitar concerto ever composed, an immediate burst of energy.…
Wanderlust Lara Deutsch, flute; Adam Cicchillitti, guitar Leaf Music, August 2023 Flutist Lara Deutsch and guitarist Adam Cicchillitti bring travel to life in Wanderlust. The concept for the album originated during the pandemic, when travel was virtually impossible. The duo tactfully uses music’s ability to transport listeners, embarking on a journey through sound. The album opens with Jason Noble’s “Folk Suite, ” in which each movement features extended techniques, performed by flute and guitar, to emulate a different part of the world. The third movement, “Ceilidh,” which is meant to emulate the joy and business of a Newfoundland kitchen party,…
Dominated by brass, reeds and drum kits, string instruments have never figured prominently in the world of jazz music. With the exception of the double bass, other bowed instruments are not heard that much in more conventional forms of jazz, free improvised music being somewhat more accommodating to them. If cellists and violists are seen or heard rarely, violinists have had the most exposure in jazz settings. Pioneering figures like Eddie South and Joe Venuti held their ground in the era of classic jazz, as did Europeans Stéphane Grappelli and Svend Asmussen and, more recently, consummate fiddlers such as Jean-Luc…
