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Browsing: Orchestral

Lebrecht Weekly | Beethoven: 1st piano concerto, &c (DG)

By Norman Lebrecht on 29 September 2023 Lebrecht Weekly, Orchestral, Piano

This weirdly unbalanced album opens with a live performance of Beethoven’s first piano concerto and continues with solo pieces from the bottom drawer, some of which are little higher than kindergarten level in difficulty. No explanation is offered in the glossy booklet. To work out what’s really going on, you’ll have to delve into the background of Alice Sara Ott, the German-Japanese soloist who, four years ago, made it known that she had been stricken with multiple sclerosis, a degenerative condition. In sympathy and solidarity, her record label has been quietly gathering her unreleased material while Alice continues to enhance…

Janna Sailor

Newswire | Allegra Chamber Orchestra’s Janna Sailor wins Orchestras Canada’s 2023 award

By Newswire on 27 September 2023 Arts Industry, Newswire, Orchestral

Vancouver, September 27 – Conductor Janna Sailor is the winner of the Orchestras Canada Betty Webster Award for 2023. Janna Sailor was nominated by the Allegra Chamber Orchestra, one of the few all-female orchestras in the world. The award celebrates Janna’s innovative approaches to developing programs and audiences, her quest for equity and representation at every level of the orchestra, her commitment to championing Indigenous artists and creators, and her efforts to build community through music and social justice. The Betty Webster Award was established in 2002 to honour Mrs. Elizabath Webster, C.M. (1925-2018), Orchestras Canada’s founding Executive Director. Past…

Photo: Austin Gibson

Newswire | Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony Files For Bankruptcy

By Newswire on 21 September 2023 Newswire, Orchestral

KITCHENER, ONTARIO – September 21, 2023 – Today, the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony Orchestra Association (KWS) filed for bankruptcy. “We are absolutely devastated about this outcome,” said Rachel Smith-Spencer, Chair of the Board of Directors. “In the last three days, we have appealed to all of our major stakeholders and have exhausted all available avenues to secure the $2M required immediately to continue operations.” For those wishing to support musicians and the future of classical music performance in Waterloo Region, two independent fundraisers are available. Musicians of the Symphony have organized a GoFundMe page. This fundraiser has been set up by the…

Photo: Gerard RICHARDSON

Review | TSO Concert: Lili Boulanger, Gershwin and Stravinsky

By Paul E. Robinson on 21 September 2023 Concert Reviews, Orchestral, Toronto

This week, the Toronto Symphony opened its 101st season with celebrated pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet as soloist. While Thibaudet played brilliantly, it was the orchestra and its masterful conductor who stole the show. In the second half of the concert, the orchestra’s interpretation of Stravinsky’s Le sacre du printemps practically blew the roof off. The piece’s famously generated confusion and outrage at its 1913 premiere in Paris, when the ballet’s performance, with choreography by Diaghilev, almost caused a riot. The audience reaction was quite different, though, on September 20 2023, when the performance was met with cheers from a crowd who…

Newswire | Sinfonia Toronto Opens Season with a New Twist on Beethoven’s 5th

By Newswire on 18 September 2023 Classical Music, Newswire, Orchestral, Toronto

Toronto, ON, September 18, 2023 – Sinfonia Toronto will open their 25th Anniversary season on October 21, 8 pm in George Weston Recital Hall with a concert titled BEETHOVEN’S FIFTH! Music Director Nurhan Arman will conduct. The evening’s soloist will be virtuoso violinist Elisso Gogibedaschwili, acclaimed by Sinfonia Toronto audiences in several previous seasons. Elisso was just 13 when she made her Canadian debut with Sinfonia Toronto. Now an international star performing throughout Europe, she will play the Canadian premiere of Otar Taktakishvili’s Violin Concerto No. 2, a vivid work reminiscent of Shostakovich, plus one of the most popular violin…

Rafael Payare dirige l'OSM dans les "Carmina Burana" de Carl Orff. Photo: Antoine Saito.

Opening concert: After the Virée classique, the OSM returns to the choral repertoire

By Justin Bernard on 12 September 2023 Choral, Orchestral, This Week in Montreal

On Tuesday, September 12, the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal (OSM) launches its 90th season with two musical masterpieces of the 20th century. Kicking off his 3rd season at the helm of the OSM, Rafael Payare conducts Janáček’s Glagolitic Mass and Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring. The programme highlights the Maison symphonique’s great Pierre-Béique, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year. The first work on the program features an entire movement for solo organ. OSM organist-in-residence Jean-Willy Kunz brings his virtuosity to the fore on the high notes, while soprano Camilla Tilling, alto Rose Naggar-Tremblay, tenor Ladislav Elgr and bass…

Jacques Lacombe (Photo by J. F. Bérubé)

Jacques Lacombe and Orchestre classique de Montréal: Full Circle

By Justin Bernard on 1 September 2023 Classical Music, Montreal, Orchestral

Although Maestro Jacques Lacombe only became the artistic director and principal conductor of the Orchestre classique de Montréal in July 2023, his history with the OCM dates back much farther. Here, he reflects on this relationship, his recent experience at the helm of the institution, succeeding the late Boris Brott, and his longer-term goal and ambitions. “Even before I was appointed artistic director,” he recounts, “the OCM’s general director, Taras Kulish—a good friend of mine whom I’ve known for 30 or 40 years—had asked me, after Boris’s tragic death, to give him a hand in designing the season. Even before…

CD Review | Debussy: C’est l’extase/La Mer (Alpha, 2023)

By Pietro Freiburger on 1 September 2023 CD and Book Reviews, Orchestral

Debussy: C’est l’extase/La Mer Vannina Santoni, soprano; Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Mikko Franck, conductor Alpha, 2023 Soprano Vannina Santoni joins Mikko Franck and the Radio France Philharmonic Orchestra for an album dedicated to the works of Debussy. One of the recording’s most notable characteristics is its exceptionally high quality, which emphasizes the truly remarkable timbre of the orchestra. The album opens with C’est l’extase, a set of songs written on texts by Verlaine, presented here in Robin Holloway’s arrangement for soprano and orchestra. The work, originally written for soprano and piano, was commissioned by the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra…

Marton and Bruno in Rythmo-Rigolo

Fall Highlights: Youth

By Kristen Whittle on 1 September 2023 Canadian Music, Classical, Montreal, Orchestral, Toronto

Jeunesses Musicales Canada Jeunesses Musicales Canada is back with another action-packed season of programming for a wide variety of ages. The holiday season kicks off the concerts this year with Bal de L’Halloween. Children can enjoy a costume party and magnificent ball full of witches, animals, and unique creatures, all while dancing to traditional Halloween music (Oct. 22, 29). Soon after Halloween, young ones and their families can return for the Christmas show, Un Monde pour Noël. This show, a co-production with the Ensemble Alkemia, follows the journey of a mischievous little girl in search of her presents. Along her…

Fall Hightlights: Contemporary Music

By Arnaud G. Veydarier on 1 September 2023 Contemporary, Montreal, Orchestral

SMCQ This fall, the Société de musique contemporaine du Québec, Canada’s oldest concert society dedicated to contemporary music, presents the eighth edition of its Tribute Series. After Katia Makdissi-Warren, José Evangelista, John Rea, Denis Gougeon, Ana Sokolović, Gilles Tremblay and Claude Vivier, it’s German-Indian composer Sandeep Bhagwati’s turn to have his vast repertoire celebrated. From orchestral compositions to chamber music, multimedia creation, musical theatre and opera, Bhagwati stands out for his great versatility and mastery of different instrumental idioms. The first concert is scheduled for Sept. 24 at Salle Pierre-Mercure, with Amitiés et étrangetés presented in partnership with the Vietnamese…

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