Browsing: Classical Music

There used to be a truth, universally acknowledged across the record industry, that you could put out unfamiliar music with a famous artist or popular music with an unheralded performer but never attempt what Donald Rumsfeld might have called the unknown unknowns. That fundamental truth was well and truly overturned by the rise of Naxos, which built its fortune on a catholic blend of neglected artists and untapped catalogue, often with salutary results. The present release is a case in point. None of these four concertos is much performed, even in Poland where there might be a streak of national…

Share:

Everyone wants to impress their friends on an instrument. Thanks to New Orleans jazz pianist Jon Batiste, you can learn the basics of piano in 9 Easy Steps. After following these instructions, you too can play like the award-winning Stay Human bandlander. Topics discussed include: how to care for your your piano, theory basics, and jazz harmony. Jon Batiste Teaches You How to Play Piano

Share:

Henry Purcell was the most important British composer of the mid-Baroque era as a cross-genre composer of church, stage, court, and private entertainment music. Son of an esteemed court musician, Purcell also held various royal musical positions through the reigns of Kings James II, William III, and Queen Mary. His most famous works attest to his repute as the apex of British classical music with subject matter all relating to English lore with Dido and Aeneas, King Arthur, and The Fairy Queen. Henry Purcell – Trumpet Tune and Air

Share:

Established from an initiative by Mayor Jean Drapeau 52 years ago, Les Concerts Populaires de Montreal strives to present high-quality classical music to Montreal citizens. Now a bulwark of arrondissement Hochelaga-Maisonneuve’s summer season, Les Concerts Populaires, in collaboration with the Comité Musique Maisonneuve, offers five star-studded selections in the shadow of the Olympic tower at the Centre Pierre-Charbonneau. This year, their normal Thursday night schedule is interrupted by the 2016 Jeux du Québec, so it is more important than ever to plan your musical evenings. The eclectic series embodies a true democratization of music. On both evenings the atmosphere was…

Share:

Known for his twelve-tone method, Arnold Schoenberg was an iconoclast in the classical music world of the early 20th century. His atonal works clashed against the traditional diatonic systems of harmony by taking chromaticism to an extreme extent, provoking both widespread love and dissent. His influence spread with his dedicated disciples Anton Webern and Alban Berg, who continued the atonal tradition. It has been criticized of Schoenberg that his music is more often defended than listened to. Aside from music, Schoenberg is also notable for his gifted painting ability, his fear of the number 13 (ironically born on September 13th…

Share:

+ 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…

Share:

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)”

Share:

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…

Share:

+ 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…

Share:

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

Share:
1 293 294 295 296 297 333