Piano - my/maSCENA

Dang Thai Son, Illustration: Hefka

Dang Thai Son: The Finer Things in Life

By Arthur Kaptainis on 1 April 2017 Canadian Music, Interviews, Piano

Dang Thai Son is a man of discriminating taste. After a swirl and a sniff and a sip, he sent back a glass of red from Burgenland at a midtown Montreal bistro. “It’s quite light,” he said in his soft and gently accented English. “Maybe something richer.” This Hanoi-born pianist and long-time Montrealer is in the business of making fine distinctions. Recently recognized with an Opus Prize for a 2016 recital of Chopin and Schumann at Bourgie Hall, Son is perhaps even better known as high-end consultant to young pianists from around the world and a judge on the competition…

Oliver Esmonde-White

Piano Esmonde White: A New Cycle for the Piano

By Kristine Berey on 1 April 2017 Interviews, Piano, Quebec Music

Oliver Esmonde-White’s great passion is the piano. But his love for the instrument is different from that of the pianist, whose heroes may be Bach, Beethoven or other great composers. Esmonde-White, a master piano technician, draws inspiration from the great piano builders of the past. “Pianos were glorious once upon a time,” he said, citing names like Bechstein, Mason & Hamelin and Bösendorfer. Each piano had a distinct sound, but was considered on par with Steinway. Closer to home, “We have forgotten that Heintzman, Willis, Lesage and Lindsay were made not far from here. We have done virtually no research…

Robert Charlebois spokesperson of the CMIM

By Newswire on 16 March 2017 Arts Industry, Classical, Classical Music, Newswire, Piano

I am delighted to announce that Montreal-born Robert Charlebois, a major Quebec star across all francophone cultures, is the CMIM 2017 spokesperson. With a career spanning over 50 years showcasing Montreal on stages worldwide, Robert Charlebois is the perfect ambassador for our competition as this year marks both our 15th anniversary and Montreal’s 375th anniversary. – Christiane LeBlanc, Executive and Artistic Director – “I am thrilled to be joining forces with the CMIM. Hats off to these young virtuoso pianists who have to present two recital rounds before performing the final round with none other than our national treasure the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal. I…

30 Competitors Annonced For Fifteenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition

By Newswire on 8 March 2017 Arts Industry, Newswire, Piano

The Competition takes place May 25–June 10, 2017, at Fort Worth’s Bass Performance Hall FORT WORTH, Texas, March 7, 2017—The Cliburn announces today the 30 competitors selected to participate in the Fifteenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, taking place May 25–June 10, 2017, at Bass Performance Hall in Fort Worth, Texas, USA. Two hundred and ninety pianists submitted applications to participate in the 2017 Cliburn Competition, and 141 auditioned live in front of a five-member screening jury in London, Hannover, Budapest, Moscow, Seoul, New York, and Fort Worth in January and February 2017. “After an exhilarating and quite thorough process,…

24 Reasons to Follow CMIM Piano 2017 in May!

By Newswire on 7 March 2017 Canadian Music, Chamber Music, Classical Music, Newswire, Piano

24 young pianists, 6 women and 18 men from 15 countries with an average age of 26, have been selected to participate in the CMIM (Concours musical international de Montréal) next May 2 to 12. The highest number of candidates are from South Korea (7), followed by France (3) and Italy (3). The remaining countries are represented by one participant each: Canada, China, Germany, Hungary, Japan, the Netherlands, Russia, Poland, Spain, Ukraine, United Kingdom, and Uzbekistan. The 24 competitors were selected out of a record-breaking 304 pianists, representing the highest number of applicants in the history of the Competition and…

Lebrecht Weekly – Nadia Boulanger: Works (Delos/SWR Music)

By Norman Lebrecht on 3 March 2017 CD and Book Reviews, Contemporary, Lebrecht Weekly, Piano

In half a century of listening to records, I cannot recall ever hearing music by the noted French pedagogue Nadia Boulanger. Revered by a stream of American (Copland, Harris, Carter, Glass) and British (Berkeley, Musgrave, Maw) pupils, the formidable Mademoiselle deferred to the music of her short-lived sister Lily and barely spoke of herself as a composer. Two releases, newly landed, may help to adjust that misperception. On Delos, an outpouring of early songs betray an uncritical adoration of Debussy, with touches of Saint-Saëns, Franck and a hint of the Russians. Nicole Cabell, Alek Shrader and Edwin Crossley-Mercer make the…

Christina Petrowska Quilico: Worlds Apart (Centrediscs)

By Kiersten van Vliet on 3 March 2017 Canadian Music, CD and Book Reviews, Contemporary, Piano, Quebec Music

Worlds Apart Christina Petrowska Quilico Centrediscs, 2017. CMCCD 23717, 2 CD. 88 min 13 s. Christina Petrowska Quilico dropped a new album today – a cross-section of Canadian piano repertoire – that features a wide variety of post-modern compositional techniques. In this two-CD set, the first disc is entitled Classics with a Twist – a way to dip your big toe in the pool before jumping in headfirst in the second. With overt references to the titans of Romantic piano repertoire – Schumann, Brahms, and Chopin – Rea, Koprowski, and Gellman dish up the familiar in surprising ways. The second…

Tuesday Headlines: Positive reviews for Opera Lafayette’s ‘Léonare, ou l’Amour Conjugal’ in New York

By Olivier Gentil on 28 February 2017 Arts Industry, Canadian Music, Classical, Daily News Roundup, Opera, Piano, Quebec Music, Strings, Video of the day, Violin, Vocal

Opera Lafayette is getting many positive reviews for their production of Léonare, ou l’Amour Conjugal, which has an all Canadian cast. The New York Times confirms that Opera Lafayette is absolutely right on the mark: “the strengths of Bouilly’s libretto and its resonance in times of political oppression are immediately apparent.”[New York Times] If you haven’t already, check out our interview with founder and conductor Ryan Brown. [My Scena] CANADA Sunrise Records, an Ontario-based music retail chain, is moving into 30% (70 branches) of HMV locations. [La Presse] [OttawaCitizen] [Le Devoir] The travelling exhibition of the MAC La question de l’abstraction is offered until…

Friday Headlines: Tribute Video to Leonard Cohen Made by His Own Son.

By Olivier Gentil on 25 February 2017 Arts Industry, Canadian Music, Classical, Daily News Roundup, Opera, Orchestral, Piano, Quebec Music, Strings, Violin

Here are your daily headlines in classical music and the arts ! Watch a tribute video to Léhonard Cohen with the song “Traveling light” from his last album You Want It Darker (2016), made by his own son. [Le Figaro] [Le voir] [Vancouver Sun] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-KH29ERPpLw CANADA For the next five years, dance choreographers not be able to use Leonard Cohen’s works, due to an exclusive contract gave to the Ballets Jazz de Montréal. [Le Devoir] Theater is coming back to Rougemont this summer. [La Presse] This is the first weekend of the Montreal en lumières festival. See it in art. [Radio-Canada] [Montréal en lumières] A review…

2017 Cliburn Competition Finals Will Play Live in U.S. Cinemas on June 10

By Newswire on 23 February 2017 Newswire, Piano

Fathom Events partners with the Cliburn to bring this prestigious musical contest to movie 300 theaters, including an exclusive live interview with Maestro Leonard Slatkin ORT WORTH, Texas, February 23, 2017—The Cliburn is proud to announce that the Final Round of the Fifteenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition will be broadcast in cinemas around the United States. The one-day event “2017 Cliburn Competition LIVE in Cinemas” will highlight the six final pianists in concerto performances with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra conducted by Maestro Leonard Slatkin. (Friday evening performances will be presented in delayed broadcast, leading into Saturday’s performances presented live.)…

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