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Orchestre Nouvelle Génération photo: Matthieu Lucquin

Sixth edition of the Montreal Russian Seasons: Slavic sounds with a Yiddish accent

By Hassan Laghcha on 7 April 2018 Classical, Classical Music, Orchestral, Uncategorized

The Montreal Russian Seasons, a celebration of Slavic art and culture, takes place this year from May 10 to June 2. The organizers have put the accent on the Jewish and Yiddish influence in Slavic countries. The opening cocktail and gala concert on May 10 at 7:30 p.m. at the Centre culturel Notre-Dame-de-Grâce features Ewa Sas, violin; Jean-Michel Dubé, piano; Johanne Patry, mezzo-soprano; and the Montreal Piano Duo, who will play piano four-hands repertoire. For its sixth edition, this festival hopes to introduce the richness of the Slavic culture to the Quebec and Canadian public by drawing attention to the…

Serenite sonore photo: Denis Germain

Complete serenity

By Viviane Reid on 7 April 2018 Classical Music, Strings

Imagine a musical experience in an environment as comfortable as your living room, where relaxation and intimacy are a part of the party. This is what is offered at Sérénité sonore, a service created by the harpist Annabelle Renzo. A McGill graduate licensed by the Fédération des Médecines Alternatives, Renzo believes strongly in linking meditation and music. “In our contemporary atheistic society,” she asks, “stripped of any religion, doesn’t music become an essential tool to access our spirituality, our core?” The setting reflects her ideas. The inviting décor includes some legacy family furniture. Adding to the personal approach are slippers…

Julien Bilodeau, composer of the year, for Another Brick In The Wall. Photo: Yves Renaud

Opus Prize 2017: Overview of this year’s winners

By Dino Spaziani on 7 April 2018 Arts Industry, Canadian Music, Classical Music, Quebec Music

Known as the Association des organismes musicaux du Québec (AOMQ) at its foundation in 1987, this organization became the Conseil québécois de la musique (CQM) in 1993. The year 2017 marked the 21st anniversary of the Opus awards and the 30th of the foundation of CQM. This edition of the Opus awards recognized music created, produced and performed between September 2016 and 2017. We can only praise the hard work and the outreach. Awards were interspersed with generous performances, much collaboration and mixing of the genres and specialities. I allow myself a question regarding performances after prizes: it is impossible…

Kirill Gerstein Bends Gershwin’s Rhythms

By Norman Lebrecht on 6 April 2018 Contemporary, Lebrecht Weekly

Gershwin: Rahpsody in Blue, concerto in F (Myrios) On first hearing, this seemed nothing special – a Russian-Jewish pianist, Kirill Gerstein, tackling the two Gershwin concertos with the all-American St. Louis Orchestra. Worthy cultural diplomacy but nothing that immediately gripped the ear. It took a second spin to grasp the truly challenging aspects of this undertaking. Gerstein takes the jazz band version of Rhapsody in Blue and bends the rhythms in such a way that they sound almost Jewish. Remember that Gershwin’s parents were, like Gerstein, Russian Jews, and that the music the composer knew as a boy did not…

Photo : Suzane O’neill

Lorraine Vaillancourt: Winner of the Opus Hommage

By Dominic Trudel on 6 April 2018 Arts Industry, Canadian Music, Classical, Classical Music, Orchestral, Quebec Music

At the 21st Opus prize gala on Feb. 4, the Conseil québécois de la musique (CQM) awarded the Opus Hommage to Lorraine Vaillancourt for her significant contribution to contemporary music. Moved by this tribute in her honour, Vaillancourt admits that she rarely takes pause to reflect on her past. She lives from day to day, but with an eye to the future. It must be this anchorage in the present that has allowed her to dedicate her professional life to the music of her time. Unwavering Originally from Arvida, Saguenay, Vaillancourt chose the path of music at the age of…

Marc Hervieux

Marc Hervieux in Gala Mode: Closing of the 78th MCO Season

By Marie-Claire Fafard-Blais on 6 April 2018 Canadian Music, Classical Music, Orchestral, Quebec Music

To conclude its 78th season, the McGill Chamber Orchestra presents a gala in the company of tenor Marc Hervieux, its spokesperson for 2017-2018. This huge party on June 6 will have the Rialto resonating with the sound of the singer’s voice, which will be accompanied by his band as well as a string quintet comprising MCO players. The colourful setting of the famous Montreal theater will add a glamorous touch to this musical night. MCO artistic director Boris Brott has only praise for his collaborator: “To have Marc Hervieux as a spokesperson has been almost miraculous for us. We worked…

La Muse: Viva Verdi with Romanian accents

By Marie-Claire Fafard-Blais on 6 April 2018 Canadian Music, Choral, Classical Music, Quebec Music, Vocal

La Muse choir under the direction of Ioana German, will present its Viva Verdi concert in both Montreal and Ottawa. Supported by sopranos Chantal Dionne, Marina Negruta and Anca Maria Grigoriu; mezzo-soprano Antonela Barnat; tenor Jaime Sandoval; bass Dan Popescu and an orchestra, the choir will perform some of Verdi’s greatest choruses, including excerpts from the Requiem, Il Trovatore, La Traviata and Nabucco. This large-scale concert promises a burst of Verdian joy. Barnat has been a regular singer at the Bucharest State Opera since her debut as Rosina in Rossini’s The Barber of Seville in 2006. She made her debut…

Geoffrey Sirett as Akakiy in The Overcoat A Musical Tailoring Photo: Dahlia Katz

The Overcoat: Tailored For Opera

By Gregory Finney on 5 April 2018 Classical Music, Opera, Vocal

Tapestry Opera continues its tradition of bringing new work to the stage this spring with a full production of The Overcoat: A Musical Tailoring. Based on The Overcoat, a successful play of 1998 which in turn was based on the classic tale by Nikolai Gogol, this opera features a score by James Rolfe and a libretto by Morris Panych. The opera is a product of Tapestry’s LibLab, a program that pairs leading up-and-coming composers with the most exciting librettists working in Canada today. Panych and Rolfe were paired up in 2014; the playwright came up with the idea of reworking…

Looking at the Stars: Inspiring Canadian Inmates Through Classical Music

By Gregory Finney on 5 April 2018 Arts Industry, Classical Music, Piano, Uncategorized

I’m no different than anybody else, except that I am,” Dmitri Kanovich chuckles over coffee on King Street East in Toronto. In one way he is quite individual: In 2015 he founded Looking at the Stars, a charity that brings world-class classical music performances into correctional facilities across Ontario. A former refugee who moved to Canada in 1983, Lithuanian-born Kanovich arrived with two kids and $300 in his pocket. He also came with his work ethic. After a short stint of odd jobs, he was hired by the “compassionate” owner of a small IT company he met at his synagogue.…

Sing It! A Moving Eighth Edition of the Singing Valentines

By Viviane Reid on 4 April 2018 Art Song, Opera, Vocal

The singer’s voice was gorgeous. I’ve played the piano for a long time and can recognize talent when I hear it. “We were not home for the Singing Valentine and I’m glad because now I can listen to it whenever I want and share it with my kids and friends.” That’s only one of many reactions to the Singing Valentines fundraising campaign. Considering the sheer number of valentines who were happy and surprised to get these special messages, it is safe to say that the event was a great success. “I found it very cute and touching,” another recipient says.…

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