Browsing: Piano

Montreal, November 26, 2024 – Starting November 29, the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA) will present the Canadian premiere of the immersive video installation Ravel Ravel Interval by world-renowned French-Albanian artist Anri Sala. In this work, Sala trains his lens on the left hands of two pianists performing Maurice Ravel’s (1875-1937) Piano Concerto for the Left Hand in D Major: Louis Lortie and Jean-Efflam Bavouzet. The exhibition will run through April 2025, the year of the 150th anniversary of Ravel’s birth. To foster an immersive auditory experience, a chamber will be installed with several speakers that transmit two quasi-simultaneous interpretations of Ravel’s…

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Canadian soprano and 20/21st-century specialist extraordinaire, Barbara Hannigan, appeared at Toronto’s Koerner Hall on Nov. 28 with French pianist Bertrand Chamayou in a program they are currently touring across North America. This uncompromising, tightly-constructed 70 minute recital demonstrated why Hannigan is the current queen of ‘non-traditional’ vocal repertoire.   The evening opened with French composer Olivier Messiaen’s song cycle, Chants de terre et de ciel (1938). The text is the composer’s own and is his customary mix of fervent Catholicism combined with love for family. The opening song, “Bail avec Mi (pour ma femme),” celebrates the contract between husband and wife.…

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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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Dorothéa Ventura knows how to do almost everything: dance, act, sing, conduct. The versatility of this artist is such that today she is employed as a harpsichordist, soprano, dancer and actress—and sometimes does double or triple duty! Her preferred repertoire, however, remains Baroque music. Meet the woman who has taken over the reins of Les Idées heureuses, succeeding the ensemble’s founder, Geneviève Soly, as artistic director. Snowy wedding, happy marriage Dorothéa Ventura remembers the first concert of Year 1—38 years ago, in the middle of a snowstorm. “At the time, I was Geneviève Soly’s harpsichord student. She introduced me to…

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Surrounded by her books, her harpsichord, and furniture dating back to New France, the founder of Les Idées heureuses and specialist of the works of Christoph Graupner, Geneviève Soly, reviews her musical career. People of the soil, music in their hearts “I come from a farming family,” she says. “My ancestors were profoundly musical people and like many country families in Quebec, everyone sang.” Growing up with her twin sister Isolde and brother Éric, her family wasn’t typical of the 1950s and ’60s. Their father, Bernard Lagacé, taught the organ at the Conservatoire de musique de Montréal (CMM) and their…

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Canadian pianist Élisabeth Pion has won second place in the first edition of the Blanca Uribe Colombia International Piano Competition, after performing a full recital, a Mozart concerto, and  Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 3. Pion placed closely behind the winner, Artem Kuznetsov, a pianist from Russia, who has won first prizes in more than fifteen international competitions. His technique and precision make him a fierce competitor and were conducive to his win at the Blanca Uribe Competition. This international competition is one of the most significant in Latin America and celebrates the legacy of the Colombian pianist, Blanca Uribe. Pion’s…

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The Seventeenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition will take place May 21–June 7, 2025, at Van Cliburn Concert Hall at TCU and Bass Performance Hall in Fort Worth, Texas, USA. FORT WORTH, Texas, October 28, 2024—Applications are in for the seventeenth edition of the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition—taking place May 21–June 7, 2025, in Fort Worth, Texas, USA—340 pianists, representing 45 countries and regions, submitted applications to the Competition, with the greatest numbers coming from China, the United States, South Korea, and Italy. From this pool, up to 84 pianists will be invited to participate in live Screening Auditions,…

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Pianist Jonathan Mak is making waves as a promising new talent with a growing list of triumphs at international competitions. Recently, he captured first prize at the inaugural International Sorel-Tracy Piano Competition as well as the special prize for Best Interpretation of the Imposed Piece by Ana Sokolović. Reflecting on his musical journey, the Toronto native shared that he initially studied both piano and violin. However, in high school, his teacher encouraged him to take up the viola. Faced with the choice of sitting in the back of the second violins or at the front as a violist, he opted…

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Nestled in the heart of Quebec, the picturesque town of Sorel-Tracy transformed into a hub of musical excellence from October 14 to 20, as the inaugural International Sorel-Tracy Piano Competition took centre stage. This new event, spearheaded by Managing Director and Founder Rachel Doyon, not only marked a significant milestone in Canada’s rich cultural landscape but also set a promising precedent for future editions. Richard Raymond (Canada) presided over a diverse international jury comprised of Stephen Prutsmann (USA), Mari Kodama (Japan), Simon Bertrand (Canada), and François-Frédéric Guy (France) who carefully evaluated the talents of 19 pianists hailing from six countries:…

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As she takes the stage in a sparkling, multicoloured, sequin slip dress, a wave of excitement passes through the crowd. Pianist Elizabeth Joy Roe walks over confidently to the elegant Steinway grand piano accompanied by her duo partner, Greg Anderson, at Montreal’s Centre Pierre-Péladeau. Anderson wears a smartly tailored black Zara suit: understated, elegant, perfect. Within seconds, they embark on one of the most transcendent second halves of any piano recital I’ve heard. Roe’s dress—mercurial, with its golden tones contrasting their dark background—reflects the rich harmonic palette of the two opening pieces: an original transcription of Gustav Holst’s Neptune from…

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