CD and Book Reviews - my/maSCENA

CD Review | Souvenirs d’Auguste Descarries (Leaf music, 2022)

By Arnaud G. Veydarier on 4 June 2022 CD and Book Reviews, Piano

Souvenirs d’Auguste Descarries Isabelle David, piano Leaf Music, 2022 Souvenirs d’Auguste Descarries, just released on the Leaf Music imprint, is the result of pianist Isabelle David’s five-year research project on a French-Canadian composer whose music she performs for the first time on record. Largely forgotten since his death in 1958 at age 62, Descarries wrote a substantial and quite sophisticated body of work for solo piano with clear overtones of Russian neo-romanticism. Right from the start of this 14-track side, it is clear that David is in her element, drawing on her virtuosity to deliver a sensitive performance that constantly…

CD Review | John Williams: Violin Concerto No. 2 & Selected Film Themes

By Justin Bernard on 4 June 2022 CD and Book Reviews, Orchestral, Violin

John Williams: Violin Concerto No. 2 & Selected Film Themes John Williams, composer and conductor; Anne-Sophie Mutter, violin; Boston Symphony Orchestra Deutsche Grammophon, 2022 Having worked together on two occasions (for recordings issued in 2019 and 2020 on Deutsche Grammophon), John Williams and Anne-Sophie Mutter are no strangers to each other. And as all good things come in threes, here they are back again on the same label and sharing top billing for Williams’s violin concerto. The work opens on a rather brooding harp solo. Mutter’s violin appears almost timidly through a sombre mass of strings, a prelude to the…

CD Review | Scarlatti: Essercizi Per Gravicembalo (Leaf music, 2022)

By Zenith Wolfe on 4 June 2022 Baroque and Early, CD and Book Reviews

Scarlatti: Essercizi Per Gravicembalo Hank Knox, harpsichord Leaf Music, 2022 The Scarlatti sonatas are known for their dramatic presentation: the physical crossing of one hand over another, the erratic octave jumps across the keyboard, and the appearance of improvisation that actually requires a lot of concentration and forethought to accomplish. Any musician would be hard-pressed to render audibly what is meant to be represented visually, especially with an instrument whose textural range is as limited as the harpsichord, but Knox manages to do this with ease. The album begins with sonatas that are pleasant and jovial despite their simplicity. These…

CD Review | Carolo: Space Time Continuo (Leaf music, 2022)

By Justin Bernard on 4 June 2022 CD and Book Reviews, Chamber Music

Carolo: Space Time Continuo Amanda Keesmaat, 5-stringed bass violin and musical director; Andrea Stewart, Elinor Frey and Margaret Little, violas da gamba; Antoine Malette-Chénier, triple harp; Christophe Gauthier and Dorothéa Ventura, organ and cello; François Viault, Karim Nasr and Mathieu Lussier, bassoons; Sylvain Bergeron, archlute Leaf Music, 2022 Amanda Keesmat, artistic director of the Space Time Continuo ensemble, admits that it was no piece of cake to get this album done, yet the end result is nothing short of marvelous. Overshadowed by the health regulations ensuing from the pandemic, the recording session at Concordia University’s Oscar Peterson Concert Hall had…

CD Review | The Equation of Time (Leaf music, 2022)

By Zenith Wolfe on 4 June 2022 CD and Book Reviews, Contemporary

The Equation of Time Derek Charke, flute; Eugene Cormier, guitar; Celso Machado, percussion Leaf Music, 2022 The Equation of Time is a thorough exploration of how listeners, performers, and composers experience music differently in relation to time. In the first six works, composed by Celso Machado, the upbeat nature of the Charke-Cormier Duo’s guitar and flute is complemented by the reserved and quiet percussion instruments, performed by Machado himself. The explicit presence of the rhythm emphasizes changes in the time signature, though the percussion’s low volume allows the Duo’s bouncy melodies to dominate the works, evoking the imagery of a…

CD Review | Beethoven: Complete Music for Cello and Piano

By Justin Bernard on 4 June 2022 CD and Book Reviews, Chamber Music

Beethoven: Complete Music for Cello and Piano Robert DeMaine, cello, Peter Takács, piano Leaf Music, 2022 In a comprehensive list of works written for cello and piano, which would amount to numerous opus numbers, Beethoven’s contributions are slim indeed, at least in numbers. Yet each piece he wrote for that format is worth its weight in gold. The wealth of ideas is so substantial in this facet of his oeuvre that it warrants rediscovery at every listen. So rich in invention are these works that their impact is greater than hundreds written by lesser talents. In this recently issued twin-CD…

List of 2022 JUNO Award Winners in Classical Music and Jazz

By Newswire on 15 May 2022 CD and Book Reviews, Classical Music

TORONTO, May 14, 2022 /CNW/ – For the first time in three years, The Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS) honoured artists and industry leaders at the helm of Canada’s music scene tonight at the 2022 JUNO Opening Night Awards Presented by Ontario Creates. Co-hosted by Angeline Tetteh-Wayoe (CBC Music’s The Block ) and Ann Pornel (The Great Canadian Baking Show), the festivities took place in person at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, where 41 JUNO Awards were presented. Winners in Classical Music categories: CLASSICAL ALBUM OF THE YEAR (SOLO ARTIST): enargeia Emily D’Angelo Deutsche Grammophon*Universal CLASSICAL ALBUM…

CD Review | Early Italian Cello Concertos (Analekta, 2022)

By Justin Bernard on 23 April 2022 Baroque and Early, CD and Book Reviews

Elinor Frey: Concertos italiens baroques Elinor Frey, violoncelle, Rosa Barocca; Claude Lapalme, chef AN 2 9163 Analekta, 2022 Just out on Montreal’s Analekta label are the results of a joint venture pairing cellist Elinor Frey with Calgary’s Ensemble Rosa Barocca under the direction of Claude Lapalme. The program consists of four concertos by Italian baroque composers Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741), Leonardo Leo (1694-1744) and Giovanni Battista Sammartini (1700-1775), and two by Giuseppe Tartini (1692-1770)—the first for cello, strings and continuo; the second, in two movements and written for violin, but performed here on a small-sized violoncello. Whatever instrument she uses, Frey…

CD Review: Mistress Moon: Canadian Edition (Leaf music, 2022)

By Justin Bernard on 3 April 2022 Canadian Music, CD and Book Reviews

Mistress Moon: Canadian Edition Jennifer King, piano Leaf music, 2022 Jennifer King loves to introduce us to Canadian gems. For her latest project, she has chosen solo piano works by eight Canadian composers including Kevin Lau, Sandy Moore, Richard Gibson, Amy Brandon and Jean Coulthard. These names may not mean much to you yet, but here the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. As its name suggests, Mistress Moon takes as its theme the moon, the starry night and the space beyond. It invites us to rethink our relationship with nature, to rediscover a form of ancestral…

Leon Fleisher, piano

CD Review: Leon Fleisher, vols. 1 & 2 (DOREMI)

By Paul E. Robinson on 3 April 2022 CD and Book Reviews, Classical, Romantic

Leon Fleisher Live Vol. 1. Brahms: Piano Concerto No. 1 (Boston Symphony/Pierre Monteux, July 20, 1958). Brahms: Piano Concerto No. 2 (Boston Symphony/Pierre Monteux, Aug 11, 1962). Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 23 (Musica Aeterna Orchestra/Frederic Waldman, Nov 23, 1964). Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 25 (Berlin Philharmonic/George Szell, Aug 3, 1957). DOREMI DHR-8158/9 (2 CDs) Leon Fleisher Live Vol. 2 Brahms: Piano Concerto No. 1 (Concertgebouw Orchestra/Pierre Monteux, May 14, 1962). Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 23 (Los Angeles Philharmonic/Bruno Walter, June 12, 1949.) DOREMI DHR-8160. These new releases constitute an absolute treasure trove of live performances by the late American pianist…

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