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Welcome back to La Scena Musicale‘s Highlights, a curated, weekly list of arts-related news stories from across the world!
Music Industry
CTV | ‘I needed to keep the music in Amherstburg’: 21-year-old musician turns into entrepreneur
Upon hearing that the the music school she worked at, Musicland, was shutting down, Bethany D’Alimonte decided to take over the business to keep it open.
Ludwig Van | TD Music Connected Play The Parks Concert Series Expands To 13 Cities
Play The Parks is a diverse series of free shows and concerts hosted in cities across Canada, from Victoria, BC to St. John’s, NL. Their concerts will feature singer-songwriters Cynthia Hamar and Chad Price, as well as Ellen Farrugia and the Surrey City Orchestra String Trio.
Toronto Star | Toronto’s festival fiascos continue as Kaboom Festival cancelled just days before
After several concert cancellations in Toronto, Kaboom Festival is the next to fall following organizers’ conversations with city officials.
BarrieToday | Bruce Owen Memorial Concert to ‘kick-start’ return of live events
The Barrie Concert Association is relaunching their concert series with the Bruce Owen Memorial Concert, dedicated to their late Artistic Director.
The London Free Press | Cornies: Having faith in classical music and in church
The Metropolitan United Church is receiving a renovation overhaul courtesy of the London Symphonia to improve its acoustics and “stage flexibility”.
Global News | Classical music festival takes over Prince Edward County
Prince Edward County’s Biglake Festival is featuring established musicians like Rihab Chiaeb and young artists alike in its second season.
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette | Pittsburgh Symphony musicians’ union agrees to 1-year contract extension with modest raises
After receiving pay cuts in 2016, the Pittsburgh Symphony musicians have won an 8% pay increase and a one-year contract extension.
Slipped Disc | Violinist: Why I had to quit the Concertgebouw
Sylvie Huang said despite how luxurious the Concertgebouw orchestra was, she decided to quit because of their lack of flexibility in terms of sabbaticals and weeks off.
The Sydney Morning Herald | Exit stage right at Opera Australia … again
After an alleged involvement in relieving several musicians from their positions in the orchestra at the start of the pandemic, as well as his disagreement with a prospective downgrade to his contract, Jun Yi Ma will no longer be Opera Australia’s concertmaster.
UAE | Dubai Opera welcomed 1 million visitors, hosted 1,200 shows since opening in 2016
The Dubai Opera have hosted shows about everything since their 2016 debut, from Marry Poppins to the Phantom of the Opera to Mamma Mia, attracting over a million visitors.
Music Culture
Nunatsiaq News | Inuit music exhibit coming to Montreal Museum of Fine Arts this fall
Tusarnitut! Music Born of the Cold will combine visual and audible art from musicology professor Jean-Jacques Nattiez’s private collection to explore the diversity of Inuit music.
CBC | What happened to Afghanistan’s first all-women orchestra?
Amidst the Taliban’s renewed control over Afghanistan, a music school built in 2010 as a refuge for young girls has now become a militia base. The members of the orchestra are scattered across different countries, unable to connect with their friends or share their music.
CBC | Woodstock ’99 returns to the spotlight in a new documentary. This Windsor musician was at the fest
Netflix’s Trainwreck: Woodstock ’99 documentary explores the disasters and riots of Woodstock ’99, with Big Sugar band member Kelly Hoppe as one of the interviewees.
NorthumberlandNews | Concert violinist, teacher talks release of new album, upcoming performances in Northumberland
Although he’s primarily a violinist, David Shewchuk also plays the cello, guitar and saxophone on his third album, Wave Rider.
Stir | An interdisciplinary premiere and much more as Elektra Women’s Choir announces 2022-23 program
Elektra Women’s Choir first concert will be a premiere of their musical interpretation of Robert Macfarlane’s book The Lost Words accompanied by 10 new compositions by Canadian composers.
SF Classical Music | Music of the Heart: Noontime Concerts to Highlight the Evolution of Spirituals
The Noontime Concerts “Majesty of the Spiritual” on August 28 will explore the history of spirituals, a form of music that was the predecessor to rock and blues.
La Presse | Jean-Pierre Ferland returns home after a brief hospital visit
(This article is writen in French.)
The 88-year-old singer and composer collapsed in his home due to an accumulation of blood in his lungs. He was rushed to the hospital and stabilized. After three weeks in the hospital he is now returning home.
CTV News | Sask. students taking part in Indigenous comic book workshop
A three-day First Nations University of Canada art workshop is teaching students how to express themselves through the medium of comic books. Marvel comics artist Shaun Beyale will teach students at some of the workshops.
Journal de Montréal | “Stradivarius in Vienna”: From Longueuil to Medellín
(This article is written in French.)
The Orchestre symphonique de Longueuil and Alexandre Da Costa played the second Stradivarius in Vienna concert at the Teatro Metropolitano in Bogota. You can read other Journal de Montréal coverage on Da Costa here and here.
SF Classical Music | L.A.’s Other Top Orchestra Is at the Colburn School
The Colburn School Orchestra will be in the hands of conductors Ruth Reinhardt, Courtney Lewis and Lionel Bringuier over their 2022-2023 season six-concert series.
SF Classical Music | For Its Fifth Anniversary, SF International Piano Festival Comes Full Circle
Twenty-five-year-old piano prodigy Rachel Breen will be making her debut at this year’s San Francisco International Piano Festival.
Reviews
Ludwig Van | Production Values Lift Gould’s Wall Above The Ordinary
Arthur Kaptainis has mixed opinions on Gould’s Wall – while the production value and visuals were intriguing, the writing was not as brilliant as expected.
La Scena Musicale | Virée classique : Bruce Liu, l’artiste au piano
(This article is written in French.)
Bruce Liu reached new heights in his most recent Virée classique performance, says Justin Bernard.
La Scena Musicale | Notre Dame de Paris: A Successful Return
Although the dancers and acrobats were the strongest part of the show, they were also occasionally a nuisance. And while the vocal performances of Bruno Pelletier, Daniel Lavoie and Elhaida Dani were magnificent, the recorded backing track was a disappointment.
The Hamilton Spectator | Brott Music Festival rings out with ‘The Sound of Music’
Columnist Leonard Turnevicius sits down with Lou Zamprogna to discuss his production of The Sound of Music at the Brott Music Festival.
La Scena Musicale | Stradivarius, je me souviens − Alexandre Da Costa and the Orchestre symphonique de Longueuil: Music that sounds good, for feeling good
Pierre Chénier sees a special kind of beauty in this recently published Musicor album, pulled from the Orchestre symphonique de Longueuil’s humanitarian “Les Balcons symphoniques” tour.
OperaCanada | Santa Fe Opera The Barber of Seville – A Crowd-pleasing Mix of Slapstick Comedy and Superb Vocalism
The Barber of Seville was full of great performances and good laughs, says Joseph So.
Classical Voice NA | Pair Of Mozart Operas, As Summer Concerts, Amuse With Gravitas
The pairing of Mozart’s Don Giovanni and La clemenza di Tito is improbable given their great stylistic differences, according to Lawrence Johnson, but it works quite well thanks to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s superb performances.
La Scena Musicale | Virée classique 2022 : un concert d’ouverture loin du classique
(This article is written in French.)
According to Justin Bernard, Virée classique’s inaugural concert, as performed by the OSM, is like nothing they have ever done before.
Classical Voice NA | Maestro Marches To His Own Festival Drum – Or In This Premiere, Flute
The Grant Park Musical Festival is known for its adventurous and experimental program, and this year is no exception according to Kyle MacMillan: Christopher Theofanidis’ Concerto for Flute and Orchestra is a brilliant composition that offers “abundant aural pleasures.”
Obituary
Slipped Disc | Bolshoi mourns principal oboe Viktor Alexandrovich Elston, 89
Viktor Alexandrovich Elston (1933-2022) joined Bolshoi in 1957 and became their principal oboe nine years later.
Slipped Disc | Top piano competition dies with its founder, Tori Stødle
Tori Stødle (1942-2022) was the founder of the Top of the World Piano Competition, which ended due to a lack of funds in 2019.
Slipped Disc | France mourns an early music pioneer, Kader Hassissi
Kader Hassissi (1950-2022), co-founder of the Festival d’Opéra Baroque, passed away after contracting COVID.
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