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from l. to r. Lefebvre, Sandoval, De Cruz, Scalia, Vérayie.

The Don Takes a Wife – Review of Donizetti’s Don Pasquale

By Marco Monteferrante on 12 April 2019 Classical Music, Concert Reviews, Opera, Vocal

Gaetano Donizetti’s 1843 opera buffa Don Pasquale was recently staged by Opéra immédiat, in collaboration with the Istituto Italiano di Cultura. This review covers the last of just two performances, held on April 6th at the Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes Chapel. The part of Don Pasquale was sung by bass Steeve Vérayie. His acting was more physical than vocal, as he amusingly broke the fourth wall on several occasions. The aria, Un foco insolito, as well as other comedic lines, felt rushed. Fortunately though, his patter was impressive in the Son tradito, beffeggiato outburst. Singing the role of Norina/Sofronia was luminous soprano Sophie…

The Yiddish Cabaret (Harmonia Mundi)

By Norman Lebrecht on 12 April 2019 CD and Book Reviews, Classical Music, Lebrecht Weekly

Journalists sometimes write reckless headlines, knowing they will be fish-food in a couple of days. Artists cannot afford that luxury with album titles. The cover here does not reflect the contents, and I’m telling you this so you don’t pester some poor record shop demanding your money back. The second string quartet by Erich Wolfgang Korngold and the 5 Quartet Pieces of Erwin Schulhoff are about as Yiddish as a bacon croissant. Korngold’s primary influences were Strauss and Puccini, Schulholff was a Dvorak protégé who wrote musical manifestos for the Communist Party. Both were born into Jewish families but neither…

Le programme du Festival de musique de chambre de Montréal 2019 est annoncé!

By Newswire on 9 April 2019 Chamber Music, Classical Music, Newswire

Communiqué de presse ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ LE FESTIVAL DE MUSIQUE DE CHAMBRE DE MONTRÉAL EST FIER DE PRÉSENTER BEETHOVEN CHEZ NOUS ! Du 7 au 16 JUIN 2019 ÉDITION 24e ANNNIVERSAIRE Faits saillants : Série de trois concerts : Intégrale des sonates pour violon de Beethovenpar James Ehnes, lauréat Grammy 2019 Série de cinq concerts : Intégrale des symphonies de Beethoven transcrites pour piano par Franz Liszt Cinq concerts-midi gratuits : Les Meilleurs Artistes classiques BMO de moins de 30 ans ! Étonnante découverte musicale mettant en vedette Joseph Kaiser, étoile du Metropolitan Opera, le Quatuor Danel, et plus SOIRÉE SPÉCIALE D’OUVERTURE…

Baritone Tyler Duncan in "Leonardo" by Jonathan Berger

Da Vinci Our Contemporary – The Legendary Renaissance Polymath Arrives Center Stage in Composer Jonathan Berger’s New Monodrama

By Charles Geyer on 5 April 2019 Baroque and Early, Chamber Music, Classical, Classical Music, Contemporary, Education, La Scena Online, Musical Theatre, Opera, Theatre, Visual Arts

PREVIEW: of the world premiere of Leonardo, a new operatic monodrama about Leonardo da Vinci by composer Jonathan Berger at NYC’s 92nd Street Y; and INTERVIEW: with composer/librettist Jonathan Berger. “Che cos’è uno starnuto?” Leonardo da Vinci asks himself – and his audience – at the top of composer Jonathan Berger’s new one-man opera, Leonardo. “What is a sneeze?” It may seem a disarmingly piddling question from one of history’s most titanic intellectual figures – but that is precisely composer Jonathan Berger’s point. “Leonardo’s greatest asset was his unabashed asking of simple questions,” Berger says, “and through those questions arriving…

Mieczyslaw Weinberg: Fantasy for Cello and Orchestra &c. (Claves)

By Norman Lebrecht on 5 April 2019 CD and Book Reviews, Classical Music, Lebrecht Weekly, Orchestral

This recording almost slipped by unnoticed. It opens with a neither here nor there performance of the first Shostakovich concerto, neither rippled with black comedy the way Slava Rostropovich played it nor invested with loving compassion like the mellifluous Heinrich Schiff. The Berlin-based soloist, Anastasia Kobekina, gives a good account of the piece and the Berne Symphony play well enough under the direction of Kevin John Edusei. What follows is simply gripping. The 1956 Weinberg Fantasy, of which there appear to be only two extant recordings, has an arresting opening melody and the best atmospherics I can think of outside…

Chopin’s Concertos: a landmark release

By Benjamin Goron on 3 April 2019 CD and Book Reviews, Classical Music, Orchestral, Piano, Romantic

After almost four years, a major project has come to fruition with the release of Chopin’s two Piano Concertos as played by Charles Richard-Hamelin and the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal under Kent Nagano. “It’s one of the five best recordings that Analekta has ever produced,” exclaims the label’s president, François-Mario Labbé. Almost 32 years after the record company’s establishment, this landmark recording reminds the wide world of the excellence of musicians from Quebec. “After Charles Richard-Hamelin’s win at the 2015 Chopin Competition, I thought of recording those concertos and brought it up with Kent Nagano, who was immediately interested,” Labbé…

QJLQ: Backroom Revolution

By Marc Chénard on 3 April 2019 Experimental Jazz, Interviews, Scena Jazz

In its day, the late 1960s, the Quatuor de Jazz libre du Québec (QJLQ) was the first local band dedicated to the cause of free jazz, the era’s most radical music. Remarkably, it grabbed headlines, joining forces for a while with singer Robert Charlebois, then the leading pop icon. As unlikely as it was, that pop-free jazz encounter was part of the order of the day, when musical genres clashed at will. This episode is but one of many dealt with in a new book (in French) on this trailblazing jazz ensemble. Entitled JAZZ LIBRE et la révolution québécoise: Musique-action,…

A Canadian Fauré to New York

By Newswire on 3 April 2019 Arts Industry, Newswire, Vocal

A CANADIAN FAURÉ TO NEW YORK Conductor Lisette Canton Brings Choirs from Toronto, Ottawa, and St. John’s to Carnegie Hall NEW YORK, NY, April 3, 2019 – A northern light will shine through the performance of Gabriel Fauré’s Requiem at Carnegie Hall on Saturday, May 25. Ontario-based conductor Lisette Canton will conduct the New England Symphonic Ensemble; vocal soloists Danielle Talamantes, soprano and Rob McGinness, baritone; and a choir, more than 165 voices strong, containing members of the following Canadian ensembles: Philharmonic Choir of the Newfoundland Symphony Orchestra, St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada (Stephen Candow, Director) York University Singers, Toronto, Ontario,…

Photo: Nuria Soler-Milla

Thierry Bégin-L: Saved by the Guitar

By Arnaud G. Veydarier on 31 March 2019 Canadian Music, Classical Music, Interviews

While a musical calling is often apparent early, the unique sensitivity that marks a great performer often comes later in life, with experience. Even so, some artists seem from an early age to combine technical know-how with a visceral understanding of the artistic intention behind the interpreted work. Judging by the many laudatory reviews and packed concert halls, classical guitarist Thierry Bégin-L seems to be one of those lucky few for whom music just flows. If he is recognized today as one of the most promising talents of his generation, it is because he seems to have developed a nearly…

Job Offer – La Scena Musicale Intern Summer 2019

By La Scena Musicale Team on 30 March 2019 Employment, Newswire

Interns: Editorial and Web Programming (2 available) La Scene Musicale Location: Montreal, Quebec Posted: March 30, 2019 Deadline: until positions are filled Salary: $13/hr Duration: 11 or 12 weeks (beginning April 29 or May 6, 2019) Full time: 35 hrs/week Funding: subject to funding from Young Canada Works Young Canada Works: Must be 30 years old or less, Canadian, was a full-time student in 2018-19 with the intention of returning to full-time studies in Fall 2019. Also, the permanent address of the student must be 125 km from Montreal (preference). Description (Editorial) Assisting the Editor in chief in his duties; Taking part in…