Browsing: Video of the day

On Saturday, the reputable Boston Symphony Orchestra played at the Maison Symphonique. The last time the orchestra visited Montreal was in 1984, more than 30 years ago. Boston Symphony Orchestra: Interview with the conductor, the young 38-year-old Andris Nelsons. [La Presse]  Boston Symphony Orchestra: Concert review by [La Presse] Some tough criticism of the Boston Symphony Orchestra at the Maison Symphonique. [Le Devoir] CANADA : The OSM has unveiled a new video on Twitter: https://twitter.com/OSMconcerts/status/838396186407145472 Review of the all-Schubert concert by pianist András Schiff on Friday at the Maison Symphonique. [Le Devoir] The exposition Carnets naturalistes by Denise Blackburn runs until April…

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Opera Lafayette is getting many positive reviews for their production of Léonare, ou l’Amour Conjugal, which has an all Canadian cast. The New York Times confirms that Opera Lafayette is absolutely right on the mark: “the strengths of Bouilly’s libretto and its resonance in times of political oppression are immediately apparent.”[New York Times] If you haven’t already, check out our interview with founder and conductor Ryan Brown. [My Scena] CANADA Sunrise Records, an Ontario-based music retail chain, is moving into 30% (70 branches) of HMV locations. [La Presse] [OttawaCitizen] [Le Devoir] The travelling exhibition of the MAC La question de l’abstraction is offered until…

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In today’s Video of the Day, maestro Yannick Nézet-Séguin gives us a crash course in orchestral conducting, describing his process. He starts with the basic hand position for the baton, which prioritizes clarity of movement above all else. Eschewing the baton, Nézet-Séguin discusses the merits of baton-less conducting, which allows for more flexibility in both hands; with a baton a conductor only has her left hand to shape the music. With rehearsal excerpts from Verdi’s ubiquitous Requiem, Nézet-Séguin demonstrates this practice in action. At 1:12, Nézet-Séguin describes the rather simple “code” of orchestral conducting, or the basic signals that are universal for…

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Who would have thought that acclaimed flautists are fans of smoked meat just like the rest of us? In today’s Video of the Day, McGill alumni and Montreal resident, Mika Putterman traipses around the Bernard Street Mile End deli, Lester’s Deli, while her rendition of Johann Nepomuk Hummel’s Allegro con Brio Sonata plays in the background. Between takes of meat slicers and Putterman playing her wooden flute, the slightly yellowed video filter conveys a deep sense of longing for the comfort of a picturesque day on Bernard Street. Shopkeepers smile. Customers laugh. And sunshine twinkles in the eye. The flute trills and…

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One of the most promising young piano trios on the international concert circuit, Trio Alba begins their first international tour today at the Ottawa Chamberfest where they will perform the first Canadian rendition of Helmut Jaspar’s “Fugitive Pieces” along with Smetana’s Piano Trio in G minor, Op. 15, and Schubert’s Piano Trio in B flat major, D. 898. The three musicians—the Chinese pianist Chengcheng Zhao, Austrian cellist Philipp Comploi, and German violinist Livia Sellin—display great flair and style while exuding emotional mastery with symbiotic cohesion. They perform today at the Ottawa Chamberfest sponsored by the Embassy of Austria and the…

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At La Scena, we rather enjoy NPR’s Tiny Desk Concerts because they’re always well curated and quite often line up with what goes on in the festival circuit. Today’s video of the day features Canadian violinist Lara St. John who will be performing later tonight at the Ottawa Chamberfest. Born in London to two educators, St. John began violin at age two and made her orchestral debut two years later. Something of a precocious talent, it could be said. Now forty-years into her career, St. John is now a powerful virtuoso performer and “owner of Ancalagon record label and the…

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For her widespread influences, Xenia Rubinos’s music defies neatly bound classifications. Now living in Brooklyn, Rubinos draws heavily on her Cuban and Pueto Rican heritage to create a personal brand of experimental soul that explores ideas of race and economic strata. The Afro-Latino jazz grooves are evident as well as indelible inspiration from neo-soul potentate Erykah Badu. Her most recent offering, Black Terry Cat, riffs off hiphop influences and the current political surround to create an exploration of how coloured women fit. The sonic texture finds its roots in the forceful pop hits of Beyonce to the cross-over success of…

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Performing tonight at the Ottawa Chamberfest, the Amarok Ensemble is comprised of three of Canada’s finest young musicians: Brenna Hardy-Kavanagh on violin, Bryan Holt on cello, and Lisa Tahara on piano. The group, formed in 2014, has performed at events as the 2015 St. Lawrence String Quartet Seminar International Showcase in Stanford, CA, the Arts & Letters Club of Toronto and the Health Arts Society of Ontario concert series. Playing as part of the Chamberfest’s “Generation Next” concert heading, the ensemble is also part of the festival’s new Career Development Residency. Amarok will first present the making of a great…

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Two men make music with a French Horn and a chair, proving that the expensive multi-thousand-dollar piece of bent metal is potentially no more melodious or emotive as the average adjustable chair. In the video, the French horn plays a rich and bombastic bass line while the adjustable chair, aided by the exemplary wrist technique of its player, delights with graceful responses in a higher register. Of course, the tone quality could be improved, yet as it is an amateur recording, this does not seem to be a valid comment. Of the rhythm, the two instrumentalists attempt to adhere to…

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A contentious figure of the jazz world, Eric Dolphy, no matter what your affiliation, blows some rather hot solos on a variety of standards on a variety of instruments. Dolphy’s explorative and innovative use of perhaps gimmicky techniques and extreme dissonance may provoke dissent, but undeniably extend the powers of the horns he plays whether a bass clarinet or a saxophone or a flute. In this video, Dolphy plays a legendary solo on the Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn tune, ‘Take the A Train.’ Explorations of the full range of the bass clarinet, reproductions of unexpected sounds and blistering hard…

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