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The 13th International German Piano Award Ceremony.
The 13th International German Piano Award Ceremony. Photo: Stefan Höning & International Piano Forum Frankfurt

Magdalene Ho: The First Female Winner of the International German Piano Award

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By on Classical Music, Music Competition, Newswire, Piano

Magdalene Ho, a 21-year-old pianist from Malaysia, is the first woman to win the prestigious International German Piano Award. Ho captivated the audience and jury with her performance of Schumann’s Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 54 and her solo recital rounds during the 13th International German Piano Award (22-23.11.2024). This achievement earned Ho the top prize, accompanied by a €20,000 award, solidifying her position as one of the most exciting emerging talents in the classical music world. Magdalene Ho came to international attention after winning the Clara Haskil Piano Competition in 2023. Her triumph is complemented by an impressive season of performances…

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Michael Bridge (accordion) with Esprit Orchestra. Photo: Karen Reeves

Review | Accordion Virtuoso Michael Bridge Opens Esprit Orchestra Season

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By on Concert Reviews, Contemporary, Toronto

Esprit Orchestra, conducted by Alex Pauk, presented three works at Toronto’s Koerner Hall on Nov. 24th. The first was Gabriella Smith’s f(x)=sin^2x-i/x. This follows the shape of the function dynamically for x=0 to x=2;  so there’s a smallish crescendo, a quieter passage and then a big finish. The first part, using extended strings, winds and percussion, sounds rather like a train accelerating (to its doom?). The piece then goes much quieter and more melodic before the final build up with an almost Brahmsian quality in the brass leading to a very loud, cacophonic finish. Then silence! Bent Sørensen’s It is…

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Michel Miraillet and Suzie LeBlanc. Photo: Consulat Général de France à Vancouver

Suzie LeBlanc Awarded Knight Of Arts & Letters By France in Vancouver

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By on Arts Industry, Classical Music, Newswire, Vancouver

Vancouver, BC – On November 27, 2024, renowned Canadian soprano Suzie LeBlanc has been awarded France’s prestigious Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters (Chevalière de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres) by the Ambassador of France to Canada, Michel Miraillet, during a private ceremony in Vancouver. Ms LeBlanc is being recognized for her outstanding contributions to the world of music her deep ties with France and dedication to fostering cultural and linguistic connections between the two countries. Born in Acadia, Suzie LeBlanc’s roots are deeply embedded in the French-speaking world, and her connection to France is part of…

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Photo: Tam Photography

Review | Gala Talent: In Search of Vocal Treasures

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By on Concert Reviews, Opera

On Wednesday December 20, Opéra de Montréal presented its Talent Gala, featuring 11 finalists in the company’s annual Atelier lyrique entrance competition. Adrian Rodriguez, Justin Bernard and Wah Keung Chan attended this decisive final for the future careers of these young artists. Here are their impressions. Heidi Duncan, soprano AR: A great all-around talent with a beautiful mastery of her middle voice. – Adrian JB: Solid technique, but lacking the vocal personality that makes her stand out. – Justin Tessa Fackelmann, mezzo-soprano Ready to embark on a full-on operatic career. Her large  lyric mezzo voice effortlessly filled the acoustically challenging…

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Scene from National Theatre Brno’s The Cunning Little Vixen. Photo: Marek Olbrzymek
Kateřina Kněžíková (Vixen) National Theatre Brno’s The Cunning Little Vixen. Photo: Marek Olbrzymek

Review | An Over Full Cunning Little Vixen at Janáček Brno Festival

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By on Concert Reviews, Opera

The 2024 Janáček Brno Festival closed on Nov. 24 with a revival of National Theatre Brno’s 2018 production of Janáček’s 1924 opera, The Cunning Little Vixen. Set in Brno’s historic Dagmar Children’s Home for abandoned children, company artistic director Jiří Heřman’s vision is inventive, but insufficiently focused. Too many competing visual and dramaturgical elements distract from the original story’s life-affirming message.   At the start, we see period photos of the original care home’s functionalist edifice which are echoed in the clean lines and round window of the set. Children are everywhere, running on and off stage pushing wooden animal toys…

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Scene from Antonín Dvořák's Rusalka at the Janáček Theatre. Two women stand in the center and one is holding a glass.
Eliška Gattringerová (Foreign Princess) & Jana Šrejma Kačírková (Rusalka) in Rusalka at Janáček Brno Festival

Review | Rusalka on the verge at Janáček Brno Festival

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By on Concert Reviews, Opera

Years that end in a four have a special significance in the Czech Republic as a cause to celebrate their national musical heritage with a ‘year of Czech music’. The Janáček Brno Festival therefore extended its umbrella this year to include works by other Czech greats like Antonín Dvořák. His opera Rusalka was seen on Nov. 23 in a production by David Radok that premiered earlier this year at the festival’s hometown National Theatre of Brno. This deeply psychological interpretation exchanged the opera’s traditional, fairy tale associations for an adult story centred around problematic relationships.  Czech director Radok, who also…

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Liona Boyd. Photo: Don Dixon

Liona Boyd to Be Inducted into Canada’s Walk of Fame

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By on Arts Industry, Canadian Music, Classical Music, Newswire

Canada’s Walk of Fame proudly announced today that Liona Boyd, internationally celebrated classical guitarist, composer, and five-time Juno Award winner, is among the first round of Inductees to be honoured in 2025 under the Arts & Entertainment category. This milestone coincides with the 50th anniversary of Boyd’s debut album, released in 1974. Joining an illustrious group of past inductees such as Gordon Lightfoot, Anne Murray, Celine Dion, and Leonard Cohen, Boyd’s induction recognizes her unparalleled contributions to music and her influence on Canadian culture. “I am deeply grateful and proud to be included among such distinguished members of Canada’s Walk of…

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Sarah Dufresne (Ophélie). Photo: Vivien Gaumand

Review | Opéra de Montréal: Hamlet or Ophélie’s Triumph

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By on Concert Reviews, Opera, Romantic

On Nov. 16, Opéra de Montréal (OdeM) took up the challenge of presenting a little-known work from the French repertoire for the first time in its recent history. Of the entire production, conductor Jacques Lacombe was the only one to have performed it before. It sure speaks for the rarity of this Hamlet by Ambroise Thomas. But what a discovery, what an abundance of musical themes, what genius of orchestration! Without analysing the score in detail, we can legitimately be enthusiastic about the saxophone solo at the start of Act II, Scene 2, a gesture as astonishing as it is…

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Barbora Perná in the title role of Jenůfa at Janáček Brno Festival. Photo: Marek Olbrzymek

Review | A Divisive Jenůfa at Janáček Brno Festival

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By on Concert Reviews, Opera

Janáček Brno Festival presented a new staging of Janáček’s Jenůfa on Nov. 20 in a co-production with the Moravian Theatre Olomouc where it had its premiere on Nov. 15. Director Veronika Kos Loulová offers a radical take that includes spoken text as well as some surprising tinkering with the score. The result was both stimulating and provocative, raising the ire of audience members who vocalised their disapproval. Ultimately, Loulová and her all-woman team have created a Jenůfa for today that questions tropes around motherhood and familial relationships. The creative team worked in conjunction with the organisation Úsměv mámy (A Mother’s…

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Dorothea Röschmann as Emilia Marty in Staatsoper Berlin's The Makropulos Case at Janáček Brno Festival. Photo: Marek Olbrzymek

Review | Berlin Staatsoper’s fragmented The Makropulos Case at Janáček Brno Festival

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By on Concert Reviews, Opera

Leoš Janáček’s penultimate opera, The Makropulos Case returned to Brno, where it premiered in 1926, in Claus Guth’s 2022 production from Berlin’s Staatsoper Unter den Linden. This was the company’s first appearance at the bi-annual Janáček Brno Festival where it presented two performances (seen Nov. 18) of the opera based on Karel Čapek’s 1922 “comedy” dealing with the complex emotional baggage associated with immortality.  Guth, along with set designer Étienne Plus and costume designer Ursula Kudrna, have chosen a “period” 1920s Art Deco setting that includes a troupe of dancers/movement artists who cater to opera singer Emilia Marty. From the…

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