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Photo: J.B. Milhot

Lukas Geniušas at LMMC: Celebrating Rachmaninoff

By Catherine Kustanczy on 3 February 2023 Piano

Pianist Lukas Geniušas says the difference between the original and second versions of Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Piano Sonata No. 1 in D minor is not merely a matter of length. “There’s a lot of material which does not appear in the second edition,” he explains. “I love this work so much that I wanted to bring the original version to life.” Rachmaninoff performed the first version of his First Sonata, completed in 1908, for musical colleagues in Moscow. Including composer Nikolai Medtner and pianist Konstantin Igumnov, who subsequently premièred the work. The composer made the suggested cuts to the piece without…

Newswire | Canadian Kevin Chen Wins 76th Geneva Competition in Piano

By Newswire on 9 November 2022 Music Competition, Newswire, Piano

PRIZEWINNERS OF THE 76th CONCOURS DE GENÈVE The 76th Concours de Genève ended last Thursday with a spectacular Piano Final at Victoria Hall in Geneva, Switzerland, with the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, conducted by Maržena Diakun. We are pleased to present the winners of this year’s edition, dedicated to piano and composition: PIANO PRIZEWINNERS FIRST PTRIZE Kevin Chen (17 years old, Canada) SECOND PRIZE Sergey Belyavsky (28 years old, Russia) THIRD PRIZE EX AEQUO Kaoruko Igarashi (28 years old, Japan) Zijian Wei (24 years old, China) COMPOSITION PRIZEWINNERS FIRST PRIZE Shin Kim, 27 years old, South Korea For his…

Photo: Bo Huang

Newswire | Pianist Christina Petrowska Quilico Named to the Order of Ontario

By Newswire on 7 November 2022 Newswire, Piano

Pianist Christina Petrowska Quilico, C.M., FRSC has just been accorded a new honour: the Order of Ontario. The province’s highest honour will be bestowed at a November 21 ceremony by Her Honour Elizabeth Dowdeswell, Ontario Lieutenant Governor and Chancellor of The Order of Ontario. As the official announcement states, “The Order of Ontario recognizes exceptional leaders from all walks of life and diverse fields of endeavour whose impact and lasting legacy have played an important role in building a stronger province, country and world.” The sole classical musician amongst the 23 other illustrious 2021 appointees, Petrowska Quilico is cited for…

Jean-Philippe Sylvestre : Tam Photography

Review | Jean-Philippe Sylvestre: Virtuosic and Hyper-Romantic

By Pietro Freiburger on 23 October 2022 Concert Reviews, Piano

A large audience was present on Saturday, October 22 at the Maison Symphonique for pianist Jean-Philippe Sylvestre’s recital that will also be repeated at Palais Montcalm in Quebec City on Nov. 11. In the program, some of the best-known masterpieces for the piano, Liszt’s Hungarian Rhapsody no. 2, Ravel’s Miroirs and Pavane, Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata and Balakirev’s Islamey and a special performance of Mathieu’s Concerto de Québec, plus a Prelude and Fugue by Bach. What you missed The concert opens with the virtuosic Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 by Franz Liszt played convincing and full of contrasts. Sylvestre is a pianist…

Review | CellOpéra! (October 2022)

By Justin Bernard on 6 October 2022 CD and Book Reviews, Opera, Piano

CellOpéra! Duo Cavatine : Noémie Raymond-Friset, cello; Michel-Alexandre Broekaert, piano. Label: unknown (October 2022) Duo Cavatine’s name could never have been better suited than for this recording. Cellist Noémie Raymond-Friset and pianist Michel-Alexandre Broekaert have issued a sparkling collection of operatic arias all rearranged for this album. Given the cello’s range and timbral overlap with the human voice, it only seems natural to entrust it with the vocal parts. Such effects as vibrato and glissando translate well to stringed instruments like the cello. Whereas everything is dependent on interpretation, lyricism and repertoire choices, some pieces in this collection are bound…

Yunchan Lim, Piano, 2022 Cliburn Piano Competition

By Paul E. Robinson on 2 October 2022 Classical Music, Music Competition, Piano

This past June in Fort Worth, Tex., 18-year-old Yunchan Lim became the youngest person to ever win gold at the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. His performance of Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3 during the final round was remarkable by any standard and convinced the members of the jury that he deserved the highest award. But it is likely that he had already separated himself from the other contestants with stunning performances of Liszt’s monumental Transcendental Études and Scriabin’s Piano Sonata No. 2. Yunchan Lim was born in Siheung, South Korea, and began piano lessons at the age of 7.…

David Potvin, Piano, 2022 Eckhardt-Gramatté Competition

By Zenith Wolfe on 2 October 2022 Classical Music, Music Competition, Piano

In the contemporary Eckhardt-Gramatté competition, a competitor’s repertoire must consist of works made no sooner than the 1950s, at least half of them composed by Canadians. So when young pianist David Potvin played exclusively Canadian music, his exceptional effort tying the repertoire together did not go unnoticed by the judges, who awarded him the first-place prize from among six finalists. “I tried to pick a program of contrasting works but present them in an order where they complemented each other well,” Potvin said. “There’s so much wonderful Canadian piano music so I thought, why not? I think I got just as…

Jaeden Izik-Dzurko, Piano, 2022 Santander, Hilton Head and Maria Canals Competitions

By Zenith Wolfe on 2 October 2022 Classical Music, Music Competition, Piano

Young pianist Jaeden Izik-Dzurko is on a hot streak in 2022! Only months after receiving First Prize at the Hilton Head (March) and Maria Canals (April) competitions, he took home the gold two more times at the Shean (May) and Santander (August) competitions. To the award-winning pianist, competitions are exhausting, especially when hosted back-to-back. The lengthy practice and rehearsal processes are hard enough, but each time he gets on stage he has to make a conscious effort to calm himself down, since he finds competitions more nerve-racking than normal performances. “I always treat each competition round like a performance,” he…

Photo: Annie Héthier

Luc Beauséjour and the World of Bach

By Justin Bernard on 1 October 2022 Baroque and Early, Piano

After his concert series of Marc-Antoine Charpentier’s music with Hervé Niquet, his harpsichordist colleague and orchestra conductor, on Sept. 29 and 30, Luc Beauséjour gets back to the great Bach’s music for two more concerts during the Clavecin en concert season. First, for Montreal’s Bach Festival on Nov. 18, he will map out the composer’s musical journey from his youth to maturity; then, on Nov. 17 at the Salle Bourgie for the last year dedicated entirely to his cantatas. In addition, there is a recording of Bach’s Trio Sonatas, arranged for harpsichord, marimba and cello with the duo Stick&Bow, released…

Nicolas Namoradze

Nicolas Namoradze : Honens 2018 Winner

By Carol Xiong on 29 September 2022 Classical Music, Piano

Born in Georgia but raised in Hungary, the pianist-composer Nicolas Namoradze launched his international career when he became the winner of the 2018 Honens International Piano Competition. This Calgary-based contest offers one of the biggest prize packages in the world, and has been rewarding top talent every three years since 1992. Namoradze, at 30, is the latest laureate, and he has already established himself as an artist who is here to stay. Namoradze’s schedule is packed, including the release of a debut disc for Hyperion, appearances at the Toronto Summer Music Festival and the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, as…

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