Browsing: Violin

The legendary chamber orchestra the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields made a surprising choice recently when it chose Joshua Bell to be its next music director. Bell had little or no experience as a conductor so how could he be the right man for the job that Sir Neville Marriner long held with such distinction?But the ASMF is a very special kind of chamber orchestra and Joshua Bell is a very special sort of musician. Like Bell Marriner was a violinist although he did not have an important career as a soloist. And for a time Marriner led…

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The St. Lawrence String Quartet is probably the finest quartet ever produced in Canada. It was founded in 1989, it is currently in residence at Stanford University and tours internationally. But the first violinist of the SLSQ, Geoff Nuttall, is also the director of chamber music at the Spoleto Festival USA. In just a few years he has made a great impact on the festival both for his programming and for his quirky and entertaining introductory comments (see this recent NY Times article: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/26/arts/music/geoff-nuttall-the-jon-stewart-of-chamber-music.html?pagewanted=allGeoff’s colleagues in the SLSQ are also in residence in Spoleto and they are joined by some of…

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Montreal Chamber Music Festival (MCMF/FMCM)The musical festival season opens with the MCMF. The 18th edition takes place from May 9 to June 1 at St. George’s Anglican Church. True to tradition, artistic director Denis Brott spares us no surprises. Performers include the Emerson and Fine Arts Quartets, the Swingle Singers, and pianists Jean-Philippe Collard and Oliver Jones, to name a few. This year’s four-hour marathon is dedicated to Tchaikovsky. www.festivalmontreal.org- Renée Banville Jules Massenet’s Manon at the Opéra de MontréalFor the final production of the 2012-13 season, the Opéra de Montréal presents Jules Massenet’s Manon. After an acclaimed performance of the…

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Virtuosos at the Chapelle Bon-PasteurOn April 8, Jonathan Crow and Andrew Wan, first violins at the OSM and TSO, recount the 20th- and 21st-century history of the violin duo. On April 12, the Ensemble Transmission invite percussionist François Rivalland for an evening of Aperghis, in which three young upcoming musicians will participate. www.ville.montreal.qc.ca/chapellebonpasteur – Renée BanvilleOpera de Montreal’s Atelier Lyric Performs a Menotti Double BillFor its annual production, the Atelier Lyric at the Opera de Montreal presents two one-act operas by Gian Carlo Menotti: The Old Maid and the Thief and Amahl and the Night Visitors. Musical direction is provided…

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Canadian violinist James Ehnes is no longer “an exciting young talent” but an international star. He plays regularly with the world’s leading orchestras and conductors and his recordings invariably receive the highest praise. One of his most recent recordings in which he plays both Bartok Violin Concertos and the Viola Concerto (Chandos 10690) has had rave reviews.In this video Ehnes plays Bach’s Preludio and Gigue from Bach’s Partita No. 3 for Unaccompanied Violin. The performance was recorded in the studios of radio station WQXR in New York.Paul E. Robinson

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By Michèle-Andrée Lanoue Erreur de type 27The ensemble Erreur de type 27, the “presence of contemporary music” in Quebec City incarnate, is collaborating with Oktoécho for a reading where theatre and music collide for the presentation of Chants du prophète. Part improvised and part written, the performance draws on the philosophical/poetic anthology Le Prophète by Khalil Gibran. This premiere from composer Katia Makdissi-Warren and playwright-director Hanna Abd El Nour will be performed at the Palais Montcalm on March 31 at 8 p.m. www.erreurdetype27.comOrchestre symphonique de QuébecTwo orchestras, from the Conservatoire de musique de Québec and the music faculty of Université…

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by Paul E. RobinsonTchaikovsky (orch.Glazunov): Méditation in D minor Op.42 No.1Glazunov: Violin Concerto in A minor Op. 82Messiaen: Turangalîla-SymphonieJoshua Bell: violinAngela Hewitt: pianoJean Laurendeau: ondes martenotOrchestre symphonique de Montréal (OSM): Kent Nagano, conductorLa Maison symphoniquePlace des ArtsMontréal, QuebecSeptember 13, 2011Ever since its premiere in 1949, audiences have been moved and thrilled by Olivier Messiaen’s massive Turangalîla Symphony. More than 60 years later, it remains an extraordinarily original and peculiar piece. Montreal has heard it before – Charles Dutoit championed the piece in 2000 at Place des Arts. Kent Nagano has a special relationship with the composer and his music, and…

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By Rona NadlerThe Canadian Music Competition has announced its 2011 Grand Prize winners. Over two hundred young musicians from all over the country competed in the finals, held in Montreal from June 20-July 4. Grand Prizes for each age category were awarded to Kirsten MacKinnon, soprano (Burnaby, BC), Jason Kangsan Lee, piano (Missisauga, ON), Nicole Li, violin (Toronto, ON), Stephen Nguyen, piano (Calgary, AB), and Tiffany Yeung, violin (Richmond Hill, ON). The winners will give three performances with the Orchestre Métropolitain under the baton of Alain Trudel: a gala concert on July 14 at Centre Pierre-Charbonneau, at Parc La Fontaine…

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by Paul E. RobinsonA lingering recession is the worst of times for the arts generally and for music education specifically. Hardly a day goes by without more news of cuts to funding of orchestras, theatres, art galleries, museums and schools. The bad news, however, is often offset by good news; for example, the Royal Conservatory of Music (Toronto, Canada) just announced a partnership with Carnegie Hall to introduce a national system of study and assessment in the U.S. modeled after the RCM’s comprehensive and highly respected programme, and the Venezuelan movement called El Sistema has taken root in the United…

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by Paul E. Robinson It was just over a year ago that Austin music lovers last heard Anne Akiko Meyers (photo: above) in an imaginative and brilliantly played recital at the Butler School of Music at the University of Texas. Meyers had recently been appointed to the faculty at the school and – with a baby on the way – she and her husband had decided to move to Austin. What a coup for the school, its students and Austinites! We all looked forward to hearing Meyers on a regular basis; unfortunately, even the most carefully planned relationships don’t always…

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