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No one – on the home front or Beyond – questions the excellence of Montreal’s stellar wind quintet, Pentaèdre, recognized for their extensive repertoire of works specifically written for its instrumentation, and other pieces arranged by its members.
Two years shy of its 40th anniversary, the group has unveiled the program of its new concert season of five events, beginning late this month and running through next spring.
The musicians include: Ariane Brisson, flute; Martin Carpentier, clarinet; Louis-Philippe Marsolais, French horn; Mathieu Lussier, bassoon and the group’s newest member, oboist Élise Poulin. The season opener, Tous à l’opéra on Sept. 29, will consist of reworkings of operatic excerpts from The Enchanted Flute, La Cenerentola and Le chevalier à la rose, with one new work entitled Briccialdi, which the flutist describes as a “kind of mini-opera for wind quintet.”
Next is a mainstay of Pentaèdre’s yearly programs, its Carte blanche series where members take turns at putting together the repertoire, this year’s selections entrusted to the oboist. Not only will she be front and centre with her bandmates, but members of the Agora Orchestra will join the fray. On Jan. 28, 2024, the group promises a musical travelogue to the Cold War era in Aux frontières du Rideau de Fer. Coinciding with the centenary of György Ligeti’s birth this year, the quintet will interpret his wind quintet, followed by a piece penned by the Serbian-born but longtime Montreal resident Ana Sokolović, the program closing on an opus by Zoltán Kodály, arranged for the occasion by the clarinetist.
After this first round of concerts at the Conservatoire de musique de Montréal, Pentaèdre moves over to Salle Bourgie on March 2 for a joint performance of Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 4 with the Penderecki Quartet. “This is a first for us, to present Mahler’s music this way,” says Brisson. “Added to that will be a brand-new piece by Julien Bilodeau, a highly acclaimed and wonderful composer on the Quebec scene.” The season winds down April 28 with España, a concert with a self-explanatory title, that will take place in the atrium of Les Grands Ballets, right in the heart of the bustling Quartier des Spectacles downtown. Wine and tapas will be served for this Sunday matinee of somewhat lighter fare.
“It’s quite an accomplishment for a wind ensemble like ours to have stood the test of time,” says Brisson. “Consider the countless tours to places near and far—the 15 or so recordings and three generations of musicians who have kept the ship afloat. It’s not just a love for wind quintet music that has carried the group, but a passion for simply wanting to make music between friends.”
Translation by Marc Chénard
This page is also available in / Cette page est également disponible en:
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