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CD Review | Paris 1790: The Music of Monsieur Vidal (Analekta, 2023)

By Zenith Wolfe on 6 October 2023 CD and Book Reviews, Romantic, Strings

Paris 1790: The Music of Monsieur Vidal Pascal Valois and Jean-Guy Côté, baroque guitar; Jacques-André Houle and Olivier Brault, violin; Amanda Keesmaat, cello; Jessy Dubé, alto Analekta, September 2023 Seeing a new release by Pascal Valois is enough to make a classical-guitar fan giddy; his elegant fingerpicking is a beautiful sound to behold. Paris 1790, featuring compositions by Monsieur Vidal —a baroque composer with no known last name—offers great additions to the modern maestro’s solo repertoire, and proves him to be a highly skilled accompanist. The album opens with the first guitar concerto ever composed, an immediate burst of energy.…

CD Review | Schubert: Architect (Analekta, 2023)

By Pietro Freiburger on 31 July 2023 CD and Book Reviews, Piano, Romantic

Schubert: Architect Mathieu Gaudet, piano Analekta, 2023 Architect features Schubert’s Sonata in B major B. 575, the 2 Scherzi and Trio D. 593 and the Sonata in C minor D. 958. Gaudet continues to interpret Schubert masterfully—balancing lyricism and warmth with measure and sobriety. Sonata No. 9 D. 575, published posthumously, is interpreted in all four movements with vivid contrasts in sound and character. The Scherzo and the Allegro are exemplary in brilliance as well as composure, while the Andante is almost moving in intimacy and sweetness. These contrasts are also present in the 2 Scherzi. The first, reminiscent of…

CD Review | Schumann & Brahms (Decca, 2023)

By Pietro Freiburger on 31 July 2023 CD and Book Reviews, Piano, Romantic

Schumann & Brahms Benjamin Grosvenor, piano Decca, 2023 One of the most original and gifted pianists of our time, Benjamin Grosvenor’s playing is marked by its unconventionality, the sudden and extreme changes of colour, a unique management of time. His extremely clear and limpid touch make him a true genius of contemporary piano, and these qualities come to light in an impressive way on this CD. There is always a light in Grosvenor’s interpretations. Even in a complex and sometimes twisted piece like Kreisleriana, which opens this recording, the young pianist manages to locate a clarity and positivity so rare…

CD Review | Brahms in Solitude (Self-published, 2023)

By Meg Freer on 31 July 2023 CD and Book Reviews, Piano, Romantic

Brahms in Solitude Jarred Dunn, piano Self-published, 2023 This album’s 11 pieces create a well-planned trajectory through Brahms’s poetic music, and Jarred Dunn demonstrates a natural ability in performing this music. The album opens with three pieces from Klavierstücke Op. 118, perhaps the most well-known opus of Brahms’s late piano music. Dunn gives us a taste of Brahms’s various meditative styles: first, the dramatic and emotional Intermezzo in A minor; then, the lyrical Intermezzo in A major (the Brahms Intermezzo), beautifully played with interior lines of counterpoint; and ending with the foreboding, intense, chromatically colourful Intermezzo in E-flat minor. Two…

CD Review | Moongate (Self-published, 2023)

By Zenith Wolfe on 31 July 2023 CD and Book Reviews, Ottawa, Romantic, Strings

Moongate Victor Anastacio, guitar; Philippe Charbonneau, bass; Colleen Leslie, flute Self-published, 2023 Moongate, the debut album by composer and acoustic guitarist Victor Anastacio, is a hidden gem. The work sounds deceptively simple at first. The titular Moongate, as well as Amethyst Sky and Northern Lights, are easy to digest: light and peaceful, with an emphasis on the play between Leslie’s disjunct flute melodies and Anastacio’s fingerpicking. Gathering Wind’s more staccato performance breathes energy into the album before the deep, slow notes of Charbonneau’s bass rein in the two treble instruments for a few compositions, creating a more melancholic experience. The…

CD Review | Néo-Romance (Secret City Records, 2023)

By Zenith Wolfe on 31 July 2023 CD and Book Reviews, Piano, Romantic

Néo-Romance Secret City Records, 2023 Alexandra Stréliski, piano and organ; Natalia Kotarba, violin; Fayçal Cheboub, viola; Julia Kotarba, cello; Pierre-Olivier Rioux, double-bass Although Néo-Romance plays with the romantic genre in inventive ways, the musical fidelity is overshadowed by a glaring audio quality issue. The works on this album are initially reminiscent of slow, meditative, romantic solo piano repertoire until The first kiss surprises the listener with the addition of cello and violin. These bring a great deal of emotional weight and dynamism to the album. In Air de famille, however, listeners may begin hearing the felt striking the piano’s strings…

CD Review | Clara, Robert, Johannes: Atmosphere and Mastery (Analekta, 2023)

By Kristen Whittle on 31 July 2023 CD and Book Reviews, Classical, Orchestral, Romantic

Clara, Robert, Johannes: Atmosphere and Mastery National Arts Centre Orchestra (directed by Alexander Shelley) Analekta, 2023 Conductor Alexander Shelley and the National Arts Centre Orchestra present the third recording of a four-volume collection featuring three of the most iconic composers in the romantic-era: Clara Schuman, Robert Schuman and Johannes Brahms. Bru Zane is devoted to the rediscovery and international promotion of French repertoire dating from 1780-1920. Les Nuits de Paris is the French equivalent of the Vienna Philharmonic’s New Year’s Concert, devoted to music by Johann Strauss and his Viennese contemporaries. The opening, Robert Schumann’s Symphony No. 3 in E-flat…

CD Review | Bruckner: Symphony No. 4 in E-flat major, original 1874 version, ed. L. Nowak (Myrios Classics, 2023)

By Paul E. Robinson on 31 July 2023 CD and Book Reviews, Orchestral, Romantic

Bruckner: Symphony No. 4 in E-flat major (original 1874 version, ed. L. Nowak) Gürzenich Orchestra, Cologne (conducted by François-Xavier Roth) Myrios Classics, 2023, MYR032D Total Time: 69:34 In 2024, the musical world will honour the birthday of Anton Bruckner, one of Germany’s greatest symphonists. We will undoubtedly see a veritable deluge of new Bruckner recordings in the next few months. François-Xavier Roth and his Gürzenich Orchestra, for example, have announced a complete cycle of his symphonies. This first CD suggests we are in for something special. Roth interprets the original 1874 version of the Fourth Symphony. It is very different…

CD Review | Around Baermann (Leaf music, 2023)

By Justin Bernard on 29 May 2023 CD and Book Reviews, Classical Music, Romantic, Winds

Around Baermann Maryse Legault, clarinet; Gili Loftus, fortepiano Leaf music, 2023 Upcoming clarinetist Maryse Legault is specialized in period instruments. She released her first album, Around Baermann, on the Leaf Music label. The album is “a love letter to the tumultuous music of the early nineteenth century,” she wrote on her website. According to Legault, the album is the culmination of years of research and a testimony of her unshakeable desire to perform recitals that feature period instruments. Pianist Gili Loftus, Legault’s friend and collaborator for over 10 years, has joined her on this recording, playing the fortepiano. The album…

Newswire | Toronto Mendelssohn Choir Announces 2023/2024 Season

By Newswire on 29 March 2023 Choral, Newswire, Romantic

Toronto, March 29th, 2023 – The Toronto Mendelssohn Choir is delighted to announce their 2023/2024 season under the artistic direction of Jean-Sébastien Vallée. Highlights of the upcoming season include two major choral masterworks: Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana, which features the TMChoir with a full orchestra at Roy Thomson Hall, and Verdi’s haunting Requiem at both Koerner Hall and George Weston Recital Hall. In addition to these major performances, the TMChoir also returns with their annual holiday celebration, the Festival of Carols, at Yorkminster Park Baptist Church. This season will also feature two performances with the Toronto Mendelssohn Singers, the TMChoir’s …

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