Interviews - my/maSCENA

Nadia Labrie: A Passion Dedicated to Music

By Justin Bernard on 5 June 2018 Classical Music, Interviews, Winds

Nadia Labrie has launched her first solo album – a great occasion for a flutist known initially for the duo she created with guitarist Annie Labrie, her twin sister. Duo Similia was a great success, performing 500 concerts in more than 13 countries, recording four albums for the Analekta label, and winning many awards, including a 2004 Félix for best instrumental album. Following many years dedicated to her family and children, Nadia has made a comeback. We met in a café nestled in Montreal’s Villeray neighbourhood. This was an opportunity to learn about her career as a flutist, her professional…

Julie Boulianne A Homecoming for Cinderella

By Charles Geyer on 8 November 2017 Art Song, Interviews, Opera

Born at Lac-Saint-Jean in northern Quebec, mezzo-soprano Julie Boulianne has forged an acclaimed international opera career. This month she returns to her operatic “home”, Opéra de Montréal, for her first Quebec performances of a favourite role — the lead in Rossini’s Cinderella opera, La Cenerentola. Interviewed on the eve of the production’s first rehearsal, Boulianne is palpably buoyed by anticipation. “It’s very exciting,” she says. “It’s a role I’ve loved, and finally I get to do it at home. I think of it as a big gift.” The excitement also carries certain responsibilities. In February, Boulianne received an Opus Prize,…

Pierre Dury self-portrait

Pierre Dury: Photographer of Quebec’s “Free Years”

By Natasha Beaudin Pearson on 1 November 2017 Interviews, Multimedia

Looking back on his career spanning over five decades, Pierre Dury’s face lights up at the memory of the countless moments he has experienced and immortalized.

Zhan Hong Xiao

By Olivier Gentil on 12 October 2017 Classical, Interviews, Piano

Zhan Hong Xiao On Radio-Canada’s Virtuose By Olivier Gentil “For me, music is the highest form of communication, the highest form of language.” This 17-year-old piano prodigy came to Quebec’s attention when he appeared on Radio-Canada’s Virtuose, broadcast last spring and hosted by Gregory Charles. At the end of the show he played the fourth movement of the Piano Concerto in E flat by Liszt. “I only entered by chance, because my prof told me about it,” he recalls. “I was surprised to be selected!” And he doesn’t regret it in the least. “There was nothing to worry about, it…

Opéra de Montréal’s Tosca Emphasizes Realism and the Score

By Adrian Rodriguez on 13 September 2017 Interviews, Opera

The Opéra of Montréal will open its 2017-18 season with an all-time classic: Tosca by Giacomo Puccini, a drama in three acts revolving around a love triangle. A painter (Mario Cavaradossi) and a singing diva (Tosca) are in love, but Scarpia, the chief of Roma’s Police is looking for a political dissident who is hiding at Cavaradossi’s work place. Scarpia is so enraptured by Tosca’s beauty that he will do anything in his power to have sex with her… At a sneak peek of the production at the rehearsal studios of Opéra de Montréal we sat down with conductor Giuseppe…

Set designs by Mimi Lien

To Sleep, Perchance to Dream: Composer Moto Osada’s New Opera at the Japan Society

By Charles Geyer on 12 September 2017 Classical Music, Contemporary, Interviews, Newswire, Opera

It is such stuff as dreams are made on. This week, the Japan Society in New York City plays host to the North American premiere of eminent Japanese composer Moto Osada’s opera Four Nights of Dream. Ironically, given the title, the run is for only three nights – Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, September 13, 15 and 16, all at 7:30 p.m., but it bids fair to be a memorable Western prelude the opera’s premiere in Tokyo later this year. The inspiration for the opera is a literary work entitled Yume Jū-ya by classic Japanese novelist and fabulist Natsume Soseki, active…

History Reborn: André Mathieu’s Piano Concerto No. 3 at 75

By Kiersten van Vliet on 1 September 2017 150/375, Canadian Music, Interviews, Piano, Quebec Music

By now you’ve probably heard the story of André Mathieu (1929–68). A child prodigy hailed as Canada’s Mozart, Mathieu lived a tragic life and died in obscurity. It was not until the twenty-first century that many were able to experience his music, due in no small part to the tireless work of Québécois pianist-composer Alain Lefèvre. Now, in time for the 75th anniversary of the work, Lefèvre is releasing a new recording of the Piano Concerto No. 3, known commonly as the “Concerto de Québec.” The Concerto de Québec — which Lefèvre recorded himself in 2003 with Yoav Talmi and…

Airat Ichmouratov, Photographer: Sergei Bergen MUA & Art Style: Elena Chatokhina

Airat Ichmouratov: 21st Century Romanticist

By Kiersten van Vliet on 1 September 2017 150/375, Contemporary, Interviews, Quebec Music

Airat Ichmouratov is a triple talent of an uncommon sort. A composer, conductor, and klezmer clarinettist, he has earned critical acclaim in each domain. Resident conductor of Les Violons du Roy, Orchestre symphonique de Québec, and Orchestre Métropolitain, Ichmouratov made his debut with the Tatar Academic State Opera and Ballet Theatre in 2011. He is a founding member of the klezmer group Kleztory, which has won numerous awards, both domestic and international. In 2008, Ichmouratov received the “Best Concert of the Year” Prix Opus for conducting Les Violons du Roy in a concert entitled “Russian Impressions” – a concert that…

Gilles Tremblay: The Conveyor

By Lucie Renaud on 29 July 2017 Interviews, Quebec Music

Montreal, 29 July 2017—It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of composer, pianist, and pedagogue Gilles Tremblay this past Thursday at the age of 85. Read the SMCQ’s tribute to Mr. Tremblay here (french). This cover article is from La Scena Musicale – Vol. 15, No. 2 October 2009 The 2009-2010 music season will by highlighted by an exciting tribute to composer Gilles Tremblay. More than 60 concerts featuring the composer’s works will be performed in Montreal, Quebec City, and Drummondville, as well as outside Quebec. In November, Chant Libres presents the world premiere of his fairytale opera, L’eau…

Vincent Bélanger and Pure Cello

By Olivier Gentil on 1 June 2017 Interviews, Strings

“Classical music is a music of details. The more we advance in our musical learning, the more we become a looking glass, and this, to eventually learn how to forget.” Vincent Bélanger’s album Pure Cello is above all else a vision. It questions the essence of music, surpassing the borders of a musical culture too often standardized, even imprisoned by a restricted mindset. “I wanted each work to be unique,” the musician states. “If it’s done honestly, if it’s done well and the details are there, people will like it. Do it with honesty. And present your work to the…

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