Browsing: Canadian Music

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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This page also available in / Cette page également disponible en français The field of jazz has its share of stories about musicians who died young, but there are also those who lead long and productive lives, some fortunate enough to reach a ripe old age and receive due praise for their accomplishments. In this era of smoke-free clubs, more jazz figures than ever are pushing well into their 90s, a handful of them even shattering the centenary mark. In case you wondered, the oldest living jazzman today is Ray Anthony, the last of the swing era big-band leaders, now…

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Durme, Durme: Four Ladino Folk Songs Maureen Batt, soprano; Tara Scott, piano Leaf Music, 2023 With only four short compositions inspired by prayers, poems, and lullabies, composer Elisha Denburg doesn’t have much room to establish the themes of the Judeo-Spanish folk songs. Luckily, he uses time to its fullest, enlisting soprano Maureen Batt and pianist Tara Scott to convey a wide range of raw emotions by reducing vocals and piano to their bare essentials. Batt demonstrates extreme flexibility through her limited performances, switching from solemn to jolly to confident without a second thought. She accommodates this wide range of feelings…

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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…

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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…

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In 2019, Russian-Canadian composer Airat Ichmouratov teamed up with librettist, poet and writer Bertrand Laverdure to bring to life the favourite novel of his youth: The Man Who Laughs, based on the timeless tale of legendary playwright Victor Hugo. For both men, this is their first foray into opera, and for Ichmouratov, this will be his 75th opus. Ichmouratov’s love and obsession for the novel began at the age of 16 after his brother had gifted him a copy. “I was immediately captivated by the story of love and betrayal,” said Ichmouratov. Laverdure added: “Working on an unadaptable 800-page novel…

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The history of opera in Quebec begins a new chapter this year with the arrival of Nouvel Opéra Métropolitain (NOM). In its upcoming 13th edition, Festival Classica paves the way for the future by introducing a most promising and ambitious component in its program devoted to this genre, with no less than three original productions—two of which are world premières: L’Homme qui rit (2023), L’adorable Belboul (1874) and Miguela (1891). New opera, new venue The festival team and its joint artistic and managing director Marc Boucher have worked out an agreement unlike any other with the venue, the Salle Claude-Champagne.…

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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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Symphonie de la tempête de verglas Maxime Goulet, composer; Orchestre classique de Montréal ATMA Classique, 2023 Symphonie de la tempête de verglas, which commemorates the 25th anniversary of Quebec’s worst ice storm on record, is nothing short of sublime. The terrifying beauty of this natural disaster is brilliantly illustrated by the titular symphony’s first movement, with violin strings and thundering timpani galore signalling the approach of clouds, wind, and storm. People across Canada came together in this time of crisis, evidenced by the folksy woodwind tune that shines through the otherwise dramatic melodies. The length, intensity, and rhythmic progression of…

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Montreal, January 26, 2023 – The Société de musique contemporaine du Québec (SMCQ) resents the complete program of the Montreal/New Musics international festival (MNM). This 11th edition will take place from February 23 to March 5, 2023, with the theme “Music and Spirituality”. The public is invited to hear the musical creations of some of the most innovative and passionate composers and performers on the local, national and international scenes. SMCQ Artistic Director Ana Sokolović notes, “Since the dawn of humanity, music has accompanied spirituality, which is addressed in our festival in a broad and open way by evoking the…

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