CD and Book Reviews - my/maSCENA

CD Review | Legacy (Naïve Classiques, 2023)

By Zenith Wolfe on 29 March 2023 Baroque and Early, CD and Book Reviews, Classical, Strings, Vocal

Legacy Christian-Pierre La Marca, cello; Adrien La Marca, viola; Julien Chauvin, violin; Philippe Jaroussky, countertenor; Le Concert de La Loge Naïve Classiques, 2023 The musicians’ bold and confident performances on this album exude an unforgettable joie de vivre. Legacy features incredible cellist Christian-Pierre La Marca alongside Le Concert de La Loge. The compositions are centred around the cello and the evolution of string performances from the 18th century onward, and La Marca’s careful ordering of works tells this story well. It starts and ends on Haydn, with Mozart in between, in a recognition of their incredible contributions to the genre.…

CD Review | Fauré: Après un rêve / Lalo: Espérance (Deutsche Grammophon, 2022/3)

By Andrea Rush on 28 March 2023 CD and Book Reviews, Chamber Music, Piano, Violin

Fauré: Après un rêve / Lalo: Espérance María Dueñas, violin; Itamar Golan, piano Deutsche Grammophon (2022-23) No stranger to Canada, María Dueñas made her mark in Montreal at the age of 16, as a contestant in the 2019 CMIM Violin edition. Not long thereafter, she performed a prize-winning interpretation of Edouard Lalo’s Symphonie Espagnole at the Menuhin Competition and landed an exclusive contract with Deutsche Grammophon. She continues to receive invitations to play with leading orchestras, including the TSO. To the sheer delight of audiences in Toronto, Ottawa, New York and Chicago, her fiery performances of the Symphonie Espagnole this…

CD Review | Theme: Variation (Leaf music, 2023)

By Zenith Wolfe on 28 March 2023 Baroque and Early, Canadian Music, CD and Book Reviews, Classical, Piano

Theme: Variation David Rogosin, piano Leaf Music, 2023 Theme: Variation shouldn’t be taken casually—the solo piano album is a thought-provoking, conceptual experiment that deserves many rounds of active listening. David Rogosin begins Orlando Gibbons’s The Italian Ground, followed by Mein Junges Leben Hat Ein End and Est-ce Mars, both composed by Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck. These compositions start slow and quiet before developing into fast, loud performances, demonstrating how variation in tempo and volume impact tone. This is a grace period that eases the listener into Rogosin’s concept of “variation.” He soon introduces Chopin’s Berceuse, Op. 57 to illustrate how a…

CD Review | The Handel Project (Deutsche Grammophon, 2023)

By Pietro Freiburger on 28 March 2023 Baroque and Early, CD and Book Reviews, Piano, Romantic

The Handel Project / Handel: 3 Suites; Brahms: Handel Variations Seong-Jin Cho, piano Deutsche Grammophon, 2023 The new CD by pianist Seong-Jin Cho, winner of the 2015 Warsaw Chopin Competition, revolves around Handel. The disc contains three Suites by the composer; the Variations on a Theme by Handel, Op. 24, by Johannes Brahms; the Sarabande from the Suite in B-flat major, HWV 440; and the arrangement by Wilhelm Kempff of the Minuet from the Suite in B-flat major, HWV 434. The CD opens with the Adagio from the Suite in F major, HWV 427, which Cho interprets with balance in…

CD Review | I and Thou (Leaf music, 2023)

By Zenith Wolfe on 27 March 2023 Canadian Music, CD and Book Reviews, Strings

I and Thou VC2 Cello Duo: Amahl Arulanandam, Bryan Holt, Paul Widner and Andrea Stewart, cello; Ben Reimer, drums; Stephanie Chua, piano Leaf Music, 2023 VC2 Cello Duo’s new album, I and Thou, is not for the faint of ear. The Violet Hour and Heist 2 give listeners a brief introduction to the cellists’ performance style on the album: busy and chaotic. Amahl Arulanandam and Bryan Holt highlight how they clash and co-operate as musicians in a joint performance that is more tense and disturbing than the sum of its parts. This is the strained nature of human relationships, the…

CD Review | Valentin Silvestrov: Silent Songs (Deutsche Grammophon, 2023)

By Pietro Freiburger on 27 March 2023 Art Song, CD and Book Reviews, Contemporary, Piano

Valentin Silvestrov: Silent Songs Hélène Grimaud, piano; Konstantin Krimmel, baritone Deutsche Grammophon, 2023 This new CD from Deutsche Grammophon features the Five Songs and some of the Eleven Songs by Valentin Silvestrov, one of Ukraine’s leading composers. Initially an exponent of the so-called Kiev Avant-Garde, which developed around the 1960s, Silvestrov has known greater success in the style he himself refers to as “meta-music”—metaphorical music. In Silvestrov’s writing, a touching lyricism of Mahlerian inspiration and contemporary colours coexist: the language of this style is universal and precisely meant as an instrument from which the listener can give his own meaning…

CD Review | Haydn, Op. 77, & Mozart, K. 614 (Leaf music, 2023)

By Zenith Wolfe on 27 March 2023 CD and Book Reviews, Classical, Strings

Haydn Op. 77 & Mozart K. 614 Rosebud String Quartet: Aaron Schwebel and Sheila Jaffé, violin; Keith Hamm and Steven Dann, viola; Leana Rutt, cello Leaf Music, 2023 Four instruments, roughly equal in prominence. In the 18th century, this was the basis upon which Haydn composed 68 works that made him the father of the string quartet. In 2023, Rosebud String Quartet’s new album presents an impeccable rendition of two such masterpieces that are as uplifting as they are inspiring. The quartet’s talent is found in their ability to modulate volume and synchronize with each other in Haydn’s “Lobkowitz” quartets.…

OSJM celebrates its second anniversary with Mahler’s Second Symphony

By Alexandre Amat on 24 March 2023 CD and Book Reviews, Classical Music, Orchestral

Founded in 1976 and directed since 1986 by Louis Lavigueur, the OSJM is known as one of Canada’s best young people’s orchestras. It comprises 72 musicians—ranging in age from 13 to 25—who have trained in music schools, conservatories and universities in Montreal and Quebec. It gives these young players a quality experience and musical training with the focus on symphonic repertoire. Entrance auditions are held each year, so new talent is constantly coming in, and young musicians are getting the chance to spend a year with the orchestra and play to its exacting standards. The OSJM is especially known for…

CD Review | Multiple Voices for One (Leaf Music, 2023)

By Andrea Rush on 18 February 2023 Baroque and Early, CD and Book Reviews, Strings

Multiple Voices for One David Greenberg, baroque & octave violins Leaf Music, 2023 Fascination with the Baroque era is as current as ever. David Greenberg, arranger, composer and violinist, continues to showcase his eclectic talents in his latest project, Multiple Voices for One, which is like Greenberg Variations in the style of Bach. The tapestry is threaded with folk-cultural motifs reminiscent of Cape Breton fiddling, Scottish jigs and Klezmer music. Dance-like contours demonstrate the depth of having studied early music at Indiana University and performance with the celebrated Tafelmusik ensemble. Recorded at Bauman Auditorium in Newberg, Ore., each “mashup” mysteriously exudes one…

CD Review | Albertine en cinq temps – L’opéra (ATMA Classique, 2022)

By Zenith Wolfe on 18 February 2023 CD and Book Reviews, Opera, Quebec Music

Albertine en cinq temps – L’opéra Chantal Lambert, Monique Pagé, Chantal Dionne, Catherine St-Arnaud, Marianne Lambert, sopranos; Florence Bourget, mezzo-soprano; Marie-Claude Roy, piano; Mélanie Vaugeois, violin; Élise Poulin, English horn; Annie Gadbois, cello; Anaïs Vigeant, double bass ATMA Classique, 2022 Albertine en cinq temps – L’opéra follows the touching story of Albertine, an aging Québécois mother reflecting on five different parts of her life as she moves into a retirement home. There’s a good reason soprano Chantal Lambert stars as the most prominent voice in the opera, Albertine at 70 years of age. She pours her soul into the album,…

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