Highlights | Critics Respond to Maestro, Holiday Concerts Underway

Advertisement / Publicité

This page is also available in / Cette page est également disponible en: Francais (French)

Welcome to La Scena Musicale’s weekly Highlights, a roundup of classical music news from Canada and beyond. Bradley Cooper has released Maestro and critics are conflicted on how well it portrays the life of conductor, composer, and educator Leonard Bernstein. Holiday concerts are still in full swing, and the Opéra national de Paris has cancelled another concert due to strikes.

Bradley Cooper Releases Maestro

La Scena Musicale’s Paul E. Robinson views Maestro as a reductive depiction of Bernstein. “What we see on the screen is arguably the worst of him,” Robinson writes. “While there is truth in the story told by the film, it lacks significant information about the man, his life, his love of music, and what he contributed to the American cultural landscape. He deserves better.”

New York Times writer Manohla Dargis appreciated the intimacy of the biopic, calling it “visually expressive” through its use of black and white colour and a different aspect ratio. “The visuals also convey interiority, swells of mood and feeling, as does Lenny’s explosive, at times ecstatic physicality, the full-bodied intensity of his conducting style and the orgasmic rivers of sweat that pour off him,” Dargis writes.

Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian found the movie successful in its depiction of the classical legend “because it is candid about the sacrifices which art demands of its practitioners, and the sacrifices these practitioners demand of their families and partners.” When discussing the depiction of Bernstein’s fraught relationship with Felicia Montealegre, Bradshaw writes that he “was never going to compromise who he was, no matter how much he loved his wife. There is a sad, wintry acceptance of that.”

Further to that, Christian Holub of Entertainment Weekly called Carey Mulligan (Felicia Montealegre) the heart of Maestro. “It is through her powerfully restrained performance that we can connect the various fragments of Bernstein’s life that we glimpse in the film.”

Mashable’s Siddhant Adlakha says the film “lacks the necessary emotional punch” despite its visual beauty. Cooper hardly addresses the fact Bernstein was potentially gay or bisexual, instead leaving it as subtext, which Adlakha analyzes from both a narrative and social perspective: “The specter of homosexuality threatening a traditional Hollywood star-couple is undoubtedly regressive on its surface, but in the context of the narrative — a cinematic memory as recalled by Bernstein — it’s a retrospective on which aspects of his life are considered acceptable to show off to the world in operatic terms, and which parts of him are too subversive for such a thing.”

Beyond the film, Bernstein’s legacy lives on in performances of his works around the world. Among them are numerous performances of West Side Story and Candide in North America, and in Europe.

Recent and Upcoming Shows

The holiday festivities continue this week with musical performances across the country. In Ottawa, the National Arts Centre will present Christmas with the Tenors and Céleste Lévis: Christmas is All Around on December 16th. On December 20th, Laila Biali will bring her concert, Wintersongs & Holiday Classics, to the NAC, after a nearly sold-out performance in Toronto. Also in Ottawa, conductor Jeannette Sorrell will lead the Cantata Singers of Ottawa, the Capital Chamber Choir, and the NAC Orchestra in a festive run of Messiah performances, on December 20th and 21st.

NAC Orchestra (Photo by Zack Nash)

Toronto audiences wanting to hear Handel’s fan-favorite need look no further than Roy Thomson Hall, where the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir will present the work on December 17th, 19th, 20th and 22nd. The Nutcracker, presented by the National Ballet of Canada, meanwhile, runs from now until December 31st at the Four Seasons Centre.

Les Grands Ballets is also presenting The Nutcracker this season, with performances having started on December 14th, and running until December 30th. Montreal’s symphony lovers will be treated to Berlioz’ L’enfance du Christ, conducted by Hervé Niquet and performed by the OSM, on December 19th.

In BC, meanwhile, the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra will present an orchestral rendition of the movie Elf (Stir) on Dec. 21 and 22. Vancouver Chamber Choir will put on its second annual “Christmas by Candlelight” concert (Stir) on Dec. 22 and 23.

Debuts

Monsieur Xavier Roy, Directeur Général du Festival de Lanaudière

The Buzz Brass ensemble has announced its debut ATMA Classique album: Héritage, featuring works by composers Victor Ewald, Axel Jørgensen, and Oskar Böhme.

The new Chinese ensemble Wuxi Symphony Orchestra will be performing its debut concert (China Daily) on Jan. 1, 2024.

Festival de Lanaudière is unveiling the Maison de la musique René-Charette, for which $2.6 million have been committed to renovations.

Awards, Appointments, and Competitions

Gala des Prix Opus has awarded the Prix Hommage to Isolde Lagacé, who resigned as Bourgie Hall’s director in 2022.

Isolde Lagacé

American pianist Caleb Borick has won the 2023 International Telekom Beethoven Competition Bonn (The Violin Channel). The prize inclues €50,000 (around $73,000 CAD) and “a 10-concert tour with the Bonn Philharmonie Orchestra.”

The Credit Suisse Young Artist Award has been given to Austrian cellist Julia Hagen (The Strad). She will take home 75,000 CHF (around $117,000 CAD) and will perform alongside the Vienna Philharmonic.

Local News

Opéra national de Paris performs Don Giovanni (Photo by Charles Duprat)

Opéra national de Paris cancelled its Dec. 8 and 10 performances of The Nutcracker, with refunds available to prospective attendees. This is one in a series of many cancellations caused by striking staff who want better protections for temporary workers. Other shows cancelled since November include Cendrillon (Opera Wire) and Turnadot (Opera Wire).

The deadline to apply for the NAC Mentorship Program is fast approaching. It’s open to national and international students over 18 who are studying music or who have recently joined a professional orchestra.

A violin signed by John Lennon and Yoko Ono originally built in 1700 is up for auction in the Netherlands (The Violin Channel).

Obituary

Marlena Malas

The classical music community continues to mourn and pay tribute to Marlena Malas, who passed away last week.

South African afropop singer Zahara died at 36 on Dec. 11. According to La Presse, she recorded five albums and received 17 South African Music Awards over the course of her career.

Guitarist Denny Laine, who co-founded Moody Blues and Wings with Paul McCartney, died at 79 (La Presse).

Hungarian violinist János Rolla has also died at 79 (The Violin Channel). He was formerly the concertmaster and musical director for the Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra.