+ Marc Chénard’s account of the 2016 Cartel New Music Conference presented June 1–5 at le Vivier. “In the wake of its most recent meetings, Cartel is still a work in progress. There are still several hurdles to clear, the most significant of which way will be the contrasting mindsets of North-American and European presenters. On that issue, Pierrette Gingras sees one main difference in that the former are much more action oriented than the latter, who are more inclined to engage in ideological or conceptual discussions.” + Rappers Queen Latifah, Missy Elliott, and Lil Kim were honoured on Monday…
Browsing: Contemporary
At age 22, Conrad Tao has won honours ranging from the Davidson Fellow Laureate to the being the Dallas Symphony Orchestra Artist-in-residence for 2015–2016. In today’s video of the day, Tao takes on his match in the popular music world by covering Beyoncé’s ‘Blue’ off the singer’s 2014 album, Beyoncé. Conrad Tao – “Blue (Beyoncé cover)”
Instigated two years ago under the name Cartel Montreal, this initiative enabled new music presenters both in North America and Europe to meet for a four-day conference, which took place during the alternative Suoni per il Popolo Festival held annually in June. Spearheaded by le Vivier, a Montreal-based association of over 30 music production companies and related partners with vested interests in all forms of contemporary music and their outreach in the community, this inaugural meeting attracted close to 50 participants, half of which were Vivier members. As this association’s director Pierrette Gingras recalls in a recent conversation, the idea…
+ This Day in Music: George Gershwin died this day in 1937. + The 37th edition of the Festival International de Jazz de Montréal was a resounding success for all involved, read the festival summary here. + A benefit concert for Black Lives Matter on Wednesday in New York City is tragically timely in light of recent events. + Angèle Dubeau & La Pietà’s albums have now been streamed more than 30 million times across more than 100 countries. + Read Kiersten van Vliet’s review of Gershwin arrangements for solo piano by British composer Michael Finnissy, played by Dirk Herten. “Finnissy, who celebrated…
Youngest winner of the Pulitzer Prize, Caroline Shaw is primarily a violinist, but composes primarily for contemporary, cutting edge chorale, drawing on eclectic forms of folk vocal music. In this multimedia duet with modern dancer, Vancouver’s Vanessa Goodman, Shaw sings various vocal strains that she records and layers with a loop machine. The resulting show is a polyphonic modern vocal fugue that’s matched, in black and white with Goodman’s lithe dance harmony. Caroline Shaw & Vanessa Goodman, Improvisation
George Gershwin’s songs are so ubiquitous that it is hard to imagine an experience of his work untouched by adaptations, whether in film or in the concert hall. This set of 13 tunes was transcribed by English composer Michael Finnissy over the same number of years, between 1975 and 1988. Finnissy is perhaps best known for his transcriptions, from his English Country Tunes (1982–85) to his completion of Mozart’s Requiem (2013). Finnissy, who celebrated his 70th birthday earlier this year, hailed Dirk Herten’s performance as “thoughtful, sensitive, [and] delicately-shaded,” while praising his refined touch. He continued, “I feel like a…
More than 30 million streams for her discography and 12 million streams for the album Ludovico Einaudi: Portrait Montreal, July 11 2016 – Violinist Angèle Dubeau’s latest album, Ludovico Einaudi: Portrait, has now reached an impressive 12 million streams on the various music streaming services such as Spotify, Apple Music and Deezer. Yesterday, during the concert offered by Angèle Dubeau & La Pietà at the Festival International de Lanaudière, François Mario Labbé, president of Analekta, gave to Angèle Dubeau a commemorative plaque to recognize this remarkable achievement. The works from the violinist’s discography have now been streamed more than 30 million times across more than 100 countries, a rare feat for…
Gershwin, one of the main catalysts for jazz to become America’s music, was a composer and pianist who bridged popular and classical modes. His prolific compositions are now considered jazz and pop standards, most notably the “rhythm changes” in his tune “I got Rhythm” that would become a seminal chord sequence for bebop development. Notable works include An American in Paris, Porgy and Bess, and Rhapsody in Blue. Ella Fitzgerald – “Summertime”
+ Cleveland Classical talks with guitarist Denis Azabagić about winning prizes, his wife and duo partner flautist Eugenia Moliner, and practice philosophy. “I remember when I came to the U.S. more than a decade ago. I opened the yellow pages and found an ad that said, ‘Learn to play the piano without practice.’ I thought, who in the world could put out such an ad? I mean how can you lie like that — because that’s impossible. We would all like to get our things in life the easy way, but music is something that certainly doesn’t happen like that.…
Splitting time between recording Beethoven concertos, directing music festivals, and conducting the Camerata Ireland, which he founded, Irish pianist and composer Barry Douglas is a well-travelled, decorated artist. To “Tiny Desk Concert,” Douglas brings his heritage in the form of Celtic folk songs. Rippling left-hand waves, impish alternating chords, and gossamer trills come together to capture an image of pastoral Ireland from its rugged cliffs, crisp breeze, and sylvan freshness. Barry Douglas – NPR “Tiny Desk Concert”