Browsing: Piano

CD Découverte – Stéphan Sylvestre Le CD découverte du pianiste canadien Stéphan Sylvestre propose des œuvres de Johannes Brahms dont huit pièces pour piano, deux rhapsodies, trois intermezzos et un Albumblatt en la mineur, opus posthume.Plusieurs critiques ont encensé Sylvestre, dont CBC Music qui affirme que son approche de Brahms est « beaucoup plus romantique [que celle de Perahia], mais aussi intéressante. Sa manière de jouer est introspective et réfléchie, et est accompagnée d’une sensibilité profonde ». Il a également été comparé à Artur Rubinstein pour son talent naturel (La Presse, Montréal). Sa carrière se déroule à l’internationale et il a donné des…

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par Justin BernardPour cette 37e édition, le pianiste Alain Lefèvre, ambassadeur artistique du festival, fera le concert d’ouverture. Au programme, une œuvre de Bach transcrite par Liszt, une sonate de Haydn et une autre de Rachmaninov, les 24 préludes de Chopin et La Valse de Ravel. 8 juillet.Pour souligner le 150e anniversaire de naissance de Richard Strauss, trois des œuvres du compositeur seront interprétées : le poème symphonique Don Quichotte avec solistes, accompagnés par l’Orchestre du Festival, que l’on pourra entendre dans un autre poème symphonique, Don Juan, et dans la suite orchestrale extraite du Chevalier à la rose. À la…

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SUDDEN FLASHES OF LIGHT from Santiago Ruiztorres on Vimeo.Serhiy Salov is a Ukrainian-born pianist now living in Montreal. He won the 2004 Montreal International Competition and has established himself as an exceptional artist. In this video he plays his own arrangement of Debussy’s Fetes (Festivals). The playing is remarkable enough but what makes this video even more memorable is the direction by Santiago Ruiztorres. The camera work and the editing is imaginative, to say the least. Videos of this sort can sometimes seem gimmicky and contrived, telling us more about the film-maker’s self-absorption than about the performer or the music. Not…

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See video here.The power of music is undeniable. So many millions have been inspired by it, consumed by it, consoled by it, etc. Many more have marched off to war to the sound of it, been called into battle by the fanfares of a bugle, or played to eternal rest by the mournful sound of that same bugle.If one has been introduced to music at an early age it often remains a joy and a wonder one’s whole life, no matter what else has transpired. Alan Rusbridger is a typical case. He is a man who studied piano and clarinet when he…

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Flash version here. Mozart: Piano Concertos No. 12 in A major K. 414 & No. 13 in C major K. 415 Karin Kei Nagano, piano; Cecilia String Quartet Analekta AN2 8765  (51 m) Is it in the genes? No, but genes play a major role in the creation of musical talent, especially so in the case of 15-year-old Karin Kei Nagano. Her father, Kent Nagano, has been the music director of the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal since 2006 and recently renewed his contract until 2020. Karin’s mother, Mari Kodama, is herself a fine pianist with an international reputation. Against this background,…

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by Paul E. Robinson Mozart: Sonata for Piano and Violin in G major K. 301Kreisler: La Gitane/Londonderry Air/Tambourin ChinoisJoji Hattori, violin/Gordon Back, pianoPiazzola: Historie du Tango and Café Joji Hattori, violin/Adam Holzman, guitarGang Chen: Sunshine in TasikuerganSaint-Saëns: Sonata for Violin and Piano Op. 75Lu Siqing, violin/Anton Nel, pianoBates Recital Hall/Butler School of MusicUniversity of TexasAustin, TexasMonday, February 24, 2014One of the many benefits of having a major music competition in town is the opportunity to hear performances by some of the jury members. In the case of the Menuhin Competition Austin 2014, these included Joji Hattori and Lu Siqing, surely two…

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by Paul E. RobinsonVaughan Williams: The Lark AscendingSchumann: Piano Concerto in a minor Op. 54Brahms: Symphony No. 2 in D major Op. 73Jessica Mathaes, violinJonathan Biss, pianoAustin Symphony Orchestra/Peter BayLong Center for the Performing ArtsAustin, TXFebruary 8, 2014I have been spending a lot of time lately with Jonathan Biss – not the man himself, but his website. Mr. Biss is a 33-year-old American pianist of great distinction who also writes well about music. Biss has been particularly eloquent on the subjects of Beethoven and Schumann. He is recording all the Beethoven sonatas and has written a book (Beethoven’s Shadow) about…

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Schubert/Hoiby: Introduction, Theme and Variations Op. 82 No. 2/Rieti: Capers/Menotti: SebastianVienna State Opera Orchestra/Jonathan Sternberg Pierian 0050 (78 m 35 s)Jonathan Sternberg was music director of the Harkness Ballet in 1966-68. He led performances with the company on tour across the U.S. and in Europe and South America. These recordings were probably made during a tour of Europe in 1967, but they were never released.Leo Hoiby (1926-2011) was an American pianist-composer who often worked with the Harkness Ballet. He orchestrated an obscure piano four-hands piece by Schubert into a sort of concerto movement for piano and orchestra. It is a…

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Mela Dailey, soprano; Scott Kluksdahl, cello; Rick Rowley, pianoPierian 0047 (64 m 44 s)****Recital albums featuring young sopranos are not uncommon. But what makes this new release exceptional is the unusual choice of repertoire and the high quality of the performances.Who would have thought of putting together an album of contemporary music for soprano and cello? And who would have thought that the music for this combination could be of such high quality?Andre Previn’s Four Songs for Soprano, Cello and Piano of 1994 are settings of poems by Toni Morrison. These are beautiful songs, recalling Britten in their transparency, and…

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By Paul E. RobinsonTao: The world is very different now (world premiere)Sibelius: Violin Concerto in D minor Op. 47Milhaud: Murder of a Great Chief of State Op. 405Beethoven: Symphony No. 3 in E flat major Op. 55, “Eroica”Joshua Bell, violinDallas Symphony Orchestra/Jaap van ZwedenMeyerson Symphony CenterDallas, TexasNovember 23, 2013Across America and around the world, individuals and organizations paused on November 22 to reflect on the 50thanniversary of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy (JFK). In Dallas, Texas, the occasion had special significance because it was in that city that the murder took place. In remembrance of President Kennedy, The Dallas…

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