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Browsing: Classical Music

Photo: Tam Photography

CMIM 2025 Announces its Five Finalists

By Newswire on 5 June 2025 Classical, Classical Music, Montreal, Music Competition, Vocal

Montreal, June 4, 2025 – Following the Semifinal, the International Jury of the Concours musical international de Montréal (CMIM) has selected the five singers who will continue on to the Grand Final of the Voice 2025 edition. This decision, the result of a rigorous process, comes after a series of remarkable performances, during which the competitors won over the jury and the public with their exceptional artistry, expressiveness, and musical sensitivity. Chaired by soprano Adrianne Pieczonka, the Voice 2025 International Jury is composed of seven members recognized worldwide for their expertise and experience in the music milieu: Harolyn Blackwell, Iain…

La Scena Musicale’s Festival Picks

By La Scena Musicale Team on 4 June 2025 Baroque and Early, Canadian Music, Classical Music, Folk, Popular Music, Vocal

British Columbia and Alberta by Madeline Boldt EARLY MUSIC VANCOUVER This year marks the 55th anniversary of Early Music Vancouver’s Summer Festival. From July 26-Aug. 8, early-music lovers in Vancouver can expect a wide array of performances, from Mozart’s Requiem to Schubert’s Lieder, as well as a Chinese-Baroque Musical Dialogue featuring Vancouver’s Sound of Dragon Ensemble. Titled In Endless Ascent, the 2025 festival focuses on the theme of spiritual transformation and musical elevation, blending the old and the new. www.earlymusic.bc.ca Banff International String Quartet Competition From Aug. 25-31, some of the world’s finest emerging string quartets will take the stage…

(L-R): Cheri Maracle, Gryphon Trio, and Marion Newman in Echo: Memories of the World. Photo: Darcy Beck

Review | Echo: Memories of the World Explores Archives’ Power

By Kaitlyn Chan on 4 June 2025 Concert Reviews, Indigenous, Multimedia, Piano, Strings, Vancouver, Vocal

As the audience arrived at the Chan Centre for Echo: Memories of the World (May 31), they were immediately directed to the choral loft behind, and above the stage. “This is an intimate concert,” the ushers said as they asked us to fill the first two rows of seats. This intimacy fostered a closeness to one’s neighbour and undivided attention on the carefully curated program we were about to see. On the stage, four or five additional rows of seats allowed some audience members to be even closer, only a few feet away from the performers. Above them was a…

CD Review | Oiseaux de passage, Natalie Dessay & Philippe Cassard

By Pascal Blanchet on 4 June 2025 CD and Book Reviews, Piano, Vocal

Oiseaux de passage Natalie Dessay, soprano; Philippe Cassard, piano; André Previn, Stephen Sondheim, Gian Carlo Menotti, Samuel Barber, Ernest Chausson, Reynaldo Hahn, Maurice Ravel, Louis Beydts, Francis Poulenc, composers La Dolce Volta, 2025 Twenty years ago this year, Natalie Dessay gave a major recital with orchestra in Montreal, invited by Opéra de Montréal as part of its annual benefit concert. The singer, who had just resumed her activities after two episodes of vocal problems, was eagerly awaited. We knew her thanks to many iconic recordings, but also from DVDs, notably in a scathing version of Offenbach’s Orphée aux enfers (Orpheus…

CD Review | Rebelle: Hommage à Célestine Galli-Marié, Eva Zaïcik

By Pascal Blanchet on 4 June 2025 CD and Book Reviews, Opera, Vocal

Rebelle: Hommage à Célestine Galli-Marié Eva Zaïcik, mezzo-soprano; Orchestre national de Lille, Pierre Dumoussaud, conductor; Ferdinand Poise, Ambroise Thomas, Georges Bizet, Louis Deffès, Jacques Offenbach, Victor Massé, Ernest Guiraud, Émile Paladilhe, Jules Massenet, Albert Grisar, Jules Cohen, composers Alpha Classics, 2025 In this year of the 150th anniversary of the creation of Bizet’s Carmen, Palazzetto Bru Zane, the originator of so many fine rediscovery projects, has had the excellent idea of focusing on the role’s creator, Célestine Galli-Marié, via a rising mezzo-soprano of today, Eva Zaïcik. An excellent idea, because this legendary performer left her mark not only on opera’s…

Junho Hwang, ténor; Patrick Sommers, chef invité, avec l'Orchestre symphonique de Montréal. Photo: TamPhotography

Report | CMIM Aria Semi-Final I: Junho Hwang Emerges Victorious

By Justin Bernard on 4 June 2025 Concert Reviews, Music Competition, Opera, Vocal

For the two semi-finals of the Aria section, the CMIM moved to the Maison symphonique. The first took place on June 3, with a lineup of five candidates. The hall’s different acoustics and the presence of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra behind them shed new light on their vocal qualities. South Korean bass-baritone Chanhee Cho didn’t appear as forceful and dominant this time. While his voice carried well in Bourgie Hall, Cho now had to compete not with a piano, but with an entire orchestra. In “Why Do the Nations,” from Handel’s Messiah, his ornamentations were carefully executed, but they also…

CD Review | XIX – The Golden Duets Fedorova & Takser Piano Duo

By Justin Bernard on 4 June 2025 CD and Book Reviews, Classical Music

Pianists Daria Fedorova and Ilya Takser, both graduates of the Conservatoire de musique de Montréal, form a dynamic duo who concertize across Canada. Partners in life and on stage, here they present an original repertoire of works for piano four-hands, ranging from Bach’s Sicilienne—their own four-hand transcription—to Canadian composer David McIntyre, born in 1950, via Schumann, Brahms, Debussy and many other great names in piano music. The album immediately envelops us in Edward MacDowell’s charming and generous romanticism with his Three Poems, setting the tone for all the duo’s original pieces and transcriptions. You’ve probably never heard such a romantic…

The finalists of the 2025 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. Photo: Ralph Lauer

Report | Cliburn Finalists: A Sausage Fest

By Viktor Lazarov on 4 June 2025 Classical Music, Concert Reviews, Music Competition, Piano

The six finalists of the Van Cliburn International Competition have been named. Given the low number of female contestants from the start, it’s not surprising the list did not include a single woman. Out of the six pianists, three are American – Angel Stanislav Wang, Evren Ozel, and Carter Johnson (also a Canadian); two are Russian – Philipp Lynov and Vitaly Starikov (also an Israeli); and one is from Hong Kong, China – Aristo Sham. Three of these finalists were on my list too, not a bad statistic. After submitting my original list for publication, I felt compelled to do…

Photo: Tam Photography

Lucie St-Martin: Winner of the XXVIInd Concours Internazionale per Cantanti Lirici Città di Alcamo

By Newswire on 3 June 2025 Classical Music, Music Competition, Newswire, Vocal

Montreal, May 29, 2025 — It is with great pride that Théâtre Lyrichorégra 20 announces that young Quebec soprano Lucie St-Martin, 2024 and 2025 laureate of the Jeunes Ambassadeurs Lyriques program, has won top honors at the XXVIIh edition of the Concorso Internazionale per Cantanti Lirici Città di Alcamo, held in Alcamo, in the province of Trapani, Italy, from May 8 to 11. Selected as a Jeunes Ambassadeurs Lyriques following the national audition held last April, the young artist was invited to participate directly in the semifinals of this prestigious international competition. Thanks to financial support from the Jeunes Ambassadeurs…

Spotlight | Cliburn 2025

By Newswire on 3 June 2025 Classical Music, Music Competition, Piano

La Scena Musicale is covering Cliburn 2025 (May 21 to June 7). Here are links to the articles, reports and videos. Live Articles Jacques Marquis Innovating The Cliburn Competition Reports/News Report | Cliburn Finals Part One: Flops and Brilliance Report | Cliburn Finalists: A Sausage Fest Finalists Announced for 2025 Cliburn Competition Report | Cliburn Semi-Final Round: The Last Six Recitals Report | Cliburn Semi-Final Round: The Mozart Concertos Report | Cliburn Semi-Final Round: The First Six Recitals Report | Cliburn Semi-Finals: Chance, Fate, or Merit Semifinalists and Schedule Announced For 2025 Cliburn Competition Canadians Alice Burla and Carter Johnson Advance…

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