Romantic - my/maSCENA

Hanna-Elisabeth Müller. Photo: Chris Gonz; Nicolas Ellis. Photo: François Goupil

Festival de Lanaudière: Behind the Scenes of Power

By Justin Bernard on 1 June 2026 Baroque and Early, Orchestral, Romantic

This summer, the 49th edition of Festival de Lanaudière sees the return of established partners and friends as they strengthen their professional and personal ties with this venue—which has become synonymous with summer cultural life in Quebec—as well as welcoming newcomers to the Lanaudière scene. “The theme of this year’s festival revolves largely around issues of power,” says the festival’s artistic director, Renaud Loranger. From July 3–Aug. 2, a series of concerts and performances will indeed place the audience at the heart of conflicts, rivalries and oppression. The program invites us to become aware of the climate of violence that…

Bruce Liu with Orchestre symphonique de Montréal. Photo: Antoine Saito

Review | OSM’s Rite of Spring & Bruce Liu’s Tchaikovsky

By Amanda Wong on 24 April 2026 Classical Music, Concert Reviews, Montreal, Orchestral, Piano, Romantic

As the weather in Montreal starts to warm again, Rafael Payare and Orchestre symphonique de Montréal hailed the return of spring with some fitting Stravinsky (The Rite of Spring) and welcomed an exciting guest soloist: pianist Bruce Liu. Twenty-eight-year-old Liu, back home in Montreal, returned to play Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1, while the OSM unveiled Denis Gougeon’s newest work within a program of great Canadian talent (seen Apr. 22). Gougeon was in the hall to witness the world premiere of his composition La Traversée, an OSM commission dedicated to Payare himself. This 12-minute piece celebrates a passing, journey, or…

Les Printemps Slaves 2026: Celebrating the Belle Époque

By Perrine Gruson on 4 April 2026 Romantic

While music of the Slavic countries naturally evokes the romantic spirit of the 19th century, this year’s 13th edition of Les Printemps Slaves takes a more focused approach: that of the Belle Époque. Spanning the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, this period marked a transformation in musical language, bridging the romantic legacy with new forms of expression. “It was an extremely fruitful period for the arts,” explains pianist and Artistic Director Irina Krasnyanskaya. “Many composers created seminal works during this time that shaped modern musical language.” Major figures such as Sergei Rachmaninov and Antonín Dvořák exemplify this artistic…

Music and Film: Battle of the Conductors

By Justin Bernard on 23 February 2026 Choral, Classical Music, Film, Romantic

The year 2026 offers a feast for lovers of music and film. In our last column I mentioned the new TV show about Mozart, based on the play Amadeus by Peter Schaffer. The five-episode series began airing Jan. 5 on STACKTV. A few days later, the highly-anticipated film The Choral, starring Ralph Fiennes as choirmaster, was released in some cinemas, including the Cinéplex Forum. We’ll talk a little about these two major releases—without giving too much away! Amadeus revisited You don’t need to have seen the 1984 film by Miloš Forman to enjoy the new version by Joe Barton. However,…

The Dover Quartet at the Celebrity Series of Boston. Photo: Robert Torres

Review | The Dover Quartet at LMMC: Classical & Romantic Combined

By Jan Krejcar on 10 February 2026 Classical, Classical Music, Concert Reviews, Montreal, Romantic, Strings

On Feb. 8, the temperature in Montreal plummeted to -16°C and a biting wind lowered it by some magnitudes more. The city was in need of some warmth and sun, and they got it. The Dover Quartet rolled into town to play for the Ladies’ Morning Musical Club and fortuitously gifted the audience in Oscar Peterson Concert Hall one of Joseph Haydn’s (1732-1809) “Sun” quartets–op. 20, no. 4. in D major. Note: there is nothing particularly sunny about the opus 20 quartets. The nickname comes from one of the early editions having a picture of a sun on its cover.…

Adam Johnson, chef.

Orchestre symphonique de Laval: A Concert in the Spirit of Friendship

By Justin Bernard on 2 February 2026 Interviews, Piano, Romantic

For its upcoming concert, Orchestre symphonique de Laval (OSL) promises a wonderful reunion. Newly-appointed Music Director Adam Johnson, named to the post last August, will welcome none other than pianist Stéphane Lemelin—his former mentor at the University of Alberta—for what is anticipated to be a moment of rare communion at the piano, their shared instrument. It is uncommon to witness two artists engage with such deep understanding that the interviewer quietly steps aside, allowing their exchange to flow unimpeded. Their dialogue reveals a rapport that clearly transcends the musical domain. The connection between Johnson and Lemelin dates back to April…

National Arts Centre Orchestra Woodwinds. Photo: Curtis Perry

Woodwinds : La Scena’s Top 10 Solos

By Justin Bernard on 3 October 2025 Orchestral, Romantic, Winds

It must be recognized that composers love to showcase the flute, oboe, French horn, clarinet and bassoon front and centre in symphonic repertoire with solos, both long and short. These melodies stay with us long after the concert is over. The following is a ranked list of the 10 most memorable woodwind solos, with a few forays into opera and concert music, excluding concertos written especially for this family of instruments, since these deserve their own ranking. So, a disclaimer: no Vivaldi nor Telemann in this list, but a brief note on Johann Sebastian Bach. BEETHOVEN, SYMPHONY NO. 7 This…

Lebrecht Weekly | Chopin: Mazurkas (Linn)

By Norman Lebrecht on 21 September 2025 Lebrecht Weekly, Piano, Romantic

I grew up listening to Rubinstein and Horowitz play Chopin, followed by the Russians Richter and Gilels. The next generation included Martha Argerich, Daniel Barenboim and Vladimir Ashkenazy. I reached a mid-life point where I wondered if there was much more to say in Chopin and practically gave up listening. This was not altogether a false perception. Unless you are Polish and buy into national-hero worship, Chopin does not have much more to say in his music beyond a certain introverted sentimentality and post-coital sadness. Or so it seems to me. So I never attended the Chopin Competition in Warsaw…

Aristo Sham, of Hong Kong, China, 29, during the awards ceremony of the 17th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition at Bass Hall in Fort Worth, Texas USA. Photo: Brandon Wade

Cliburn: The Magnificent Craft of Aristo Sham

By Viktor Lazarov on 4 September 2025 Music Competition, Piano, Romantic

A short man with colourful socks, immaculately tailored suits, charcoal-black hair, and a gracious stage manner, Aristo Sham lifted the winner’s trophy at the 17th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition this past June in Fort Worth, Texas. Amidst hordes of talent from 16 countries, Sham distinguished himself with style and unwavering confidence, demonstrating impeccable pianistic craft and a reliable performance standard across six gruelling competition rounds. Born in Hong Kong in 1996, Sham’s early life seems to have followed a flawlessly successful narrative: a slew of competition wins, performances for royalty and presidents, media attention, and an appearance in a…

2022 Honens Prize Laureate Illia Ovcharenko with Jon Kimura Parker. Photo: Monique de St. Croix

Honens 2025: Jon Kimura Parker at the helm

By Bill Rankin on 4 September 2025 Music Competition, Piano, Romantic

Esther Honens, after whom the triennial Calgary international piano competition is named, wanted to leave a legacy that reflected her civic pride and her love of piano. In the fall of 1992, thanks to her $5 million endowment, the inaugural Honens International Piano Competition was held at Calgary’s Jack Singer Concert Hall, where the competition’s ailing benefactor sat in a specially-built private booth to see her vision fulfilled. Honens died five days after the first Honens finale, at age 89. Her legacy continues this October when 10 young pianists compete in the 11th Honens for substantial cash prizes and a…

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