Orchestral - my/maSCENA

Pentaèdre (Photo by Martin Girard)

Pentaèdre back for its 38th season

By Justin Bernard on 1 September 2023 Montreal, Opera, Orchestral, Strings

No one – on the home front or Beyond – questions the excellence of Montreal’s stellar wind quintet, Pentaèdre, recognized for their extensive repertoire of works specifically written for its instrumentation, and other pieces arranged by its members. Two years shy of its 40th anniversary, the group has unveiled the program of its new concert season of five events, beginning late this month and running through next spring. The musicians include: Ariane Brisson, flute; Martin Carpentier, clarinet; Louis-Philippe Marsolais, French horn; Mathieu Lussier, bassoon and the group’s newest member, oboist Élise Poulin. The season opener, Tous à l’opéra on Sept.…

CD Review | Les Nuits de Paris: Dance Music from Folies Bergère to Opéra (Bru Zane, 2023)

By Paul E. Robinson on 31 July 2023 CD and Book Reviews, Orchestral

Les Nuits de Paris: Dance Music from Folies Bergère to Opéra Les Siècles (conducted by François-Xavier Roth) Bru Zane BZ2005, 2023 Bru Zane is devoted to the rediscovery and international promotion of French repertoire dating from 1780-1920. Les Nuits de Paris is the French equivalent of the Vienna Philharmonic’s New Year’s Concert, devoted to music by Johann Strauss and his Viennese contemporaries. Les Siècles, the orchestra featured on this album (conducted by François-Xavier Roth), interprets this music on period instruments. The label and orchestra have collaborated on a number of successful recordings; this CD is no exception. The release pairs…

CD Review | Clara, Robert, Johannes: Atmosphere and Mastery (Analekta, 2023)

By Kristen Whittle on 31 July 2023 CD and Book Reviews, Classical, Orchestral, Romantic

Clara, Robert, Johannes: Atmosphere and Mastery National Arts Centre Orchestra (directed by Alexander Shelley) Analekta, 2023 Conductor Alexander Shelley and the National Arts Centre Orchestra present the third recording of a four-volume collection featuring three of the most iconic composers in the romantic-era: Clara Schuman, Robert Schuman and Johannes Brahms. Bru Zane is devoted to the rediscovery and international promotion of French repertoire dating from 1780-1920. Les Nuits de Paris is the French equivalent of the Vienna Philharmonic’s New Year’s Concert, devoted to music by Johann Strauss and his Viennese contemporaries. The opening, Robert Schumann’s Symphony No. 3 in E-flat…

CD Review | Bruckner: Symphony No. 4 in E-flat major, original 1874 version, ed. L. Nowak (Myrios Classics, 2023)

By Paul E. Robinson on 31 July 2023 CD and Book Reviews, Orchestral, Romantic

Bruckner: Symphony No. 4 in E-flat major (original 1874 version, ed. L. Nowak) Gürzenich Orchestra, Cologne (conducted by François-Xavier Roth) Myrios Classics, 2023, MYR032D Total Time: 69:34 In 2024, the musical world will honour the birthday of Anton Bruckner, one of Germany’s greatest symphonists. We will undoubtedly see a veritable deluge of new Bruckner recordings in the next few months. François-Xavier Roth and his Gürzenich Orchestra, for example, have announced a complete cycle of his symphonies. This first CD suggests we are in for something special. Roth interprets the original 1874 version of the Fourth Symphony. It is very different…

CD Review | Sergei Rachmaninoff: Symphonies Nos. 2 & 3. Isle of the Dead

By Paul E. Robinson on 31 July 2023 CD and Book Reviews, Orchestral

Sergei Rachmaninoff: Symphonies Nos. 2 & 3. Isle of the Dead The Philadelphia Orchestra (conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin) DG 28948647781 Total Time: 123:20 (2 CDs) This 2-CD set completes Yannick Nézet-Séguin and the Philadelphia Orchestra’s recordings for Deutsche Grammophon’s Rachmaninoff 150 celebration, which included the recent Rachmaninoff Piano Concertos (with Daniil Trifonov), and the 2021 release of Symphony No. 1 and the Symphonic Dances. While other performances have been outstanding, this recording of the Second Symphony disappoints. While there are many moments of great beauty, the work lacks passion, particularly at the climactic and final moments, at which point Nézet-Séguin…

Newswire | Sinfonia Toronto Has Announced Its 2023-2024 Silver Anniversary Season

By Newswire on 12 June 2023 Chamber Music, Orchestral, Toronto

Toronto, ON – Sinfonia Toronto has announced its 2023-2024 Silver Anniversary season. The orchestra will celebrate its 25th season with premieres by Canadian and international composers and with the return of many audience favourites – both beloved works and popular guest artists. Commenting on the new season, the orchestra’s music director Nurhan Arman said, “All of us at Sinfonia Toronto are grateful for all the years of support by our loyal audiences in the GTA and throughout Ontario. From our early days onward we have performed for Ontario audiences all over, from Sarnia to Sault Ste-Marie, Barrie to Brockville and many…

Photo: Allan Cabral

Review | TSO with Gimeno and Olafsson: Superb Mozart and Spectacular Berlioz

By Paul E. Robinson on 11 June 2023 Concert Reviews, La Scena Online, Orchestral, Piano, Toronto

It is not often that the Toronto Symphony Orchestra (TSO) features a soloist from Iceland, nor does it frequently play music by Icelandic composers. Yet this week we had both – on the same program. Not only that, the TSO gave us a new piece by a Metis composer. But wait, there’s more. Super Mozart and spectacular Berlioz. In short, a great concert. The TSO is currently celebrating its 100th anniversary, and someone came up with the brilliant idea of commissioning 10 Toronto composers to write short pieces to draw attention to it. The first of the Celebration Preludes was…

Review | Augustin Hadelich & Elim Chan Make Welcome Return to the Toronto Symphony Orchestra

By Denise Lai on 2 June 2023 Concert Reviews, Orchestral, Toronto

This was an unusual week at the TSO. After violin superstar Nicola Benedetti cancelled her appearance on short notice, the orchestra had to scramble for a last minute program change. Audiences were no doubt disappointed about Benedetti’s cancellation, as she was scheduled to perform the Canadian premiere of the Wynton Marsalis Violin Concerto, a piece specially written for her. This may explain the many empty seats at Roy Thomson Hall last night. Fortunately, the TSO found a more than worthy replacement in Italian-German-American virtuoso Augustin Hadelich, who already wowed Toronto audiences earlier this season with his Sibelius Violin Concerto. Also…

CD Review | Sibelius 3 & 4 (ATMA Classique, 2023)

By Paul E. Robinson on 29 May 2023 CD and Book Reviews, Classical Music, Orchestral

Sibelius 3 & 4 Symphony No. 3 in C major, Op. 52; Symphony No. 4 in A minor, Op. 63 Orchestre Métropolitain de Montréal; Yannick Nézet-Séguin, conductor ATMA Classique 00720564453325 Total Time: 68:41 This is the latest release from Yannick Nézet-Séguin and his “hometown”orchestra, the Orchestre Métropolitain (OM). Yannick remains very active as music director with the Philadelphia Orchestra and the Metropolitan Opera, but he continues to show an admirable loyalty to the organization that really started him on his way. This new CD is a continuation of a recorded Sibelius cycle which started in 2019 with Symphony No. 1…

Photo: Jag Gundu

Review | Toronto Symphony Orchestra: Tchaikovsky and Mussorgsky Masterworks Elevated by Star Power

By Denise Lai on 26 May 2023 Classical Music, Orchestral, Toronto, Violin

How do you top a musical program of a world premiere paired with two classical warhorses? You add a star soloist from violin royalty. This week’s program is true to music director Gustavo Gimeno’s vision for the TSO’s centennial to introduce new commissions along with the familiar. The TSO commission and world premiere entitled “Hwa (Flowering)” is a new work from its own Affiliate Composer, the young Alison Yun-Fei Jiang. Jiang wrote this piece as a tribute to her grandmother and all the women who shaped her life. She describes the piece as a musical painting, an orchestral canvas on…

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