CD and Book Reviews - my/maSCENA

CD Review | Consolations (ATMA Classique, 2022)

By Zenith Wolfe on 18 February 2023 CD and Book Reviews, Strings

Consolations Antoine Malette-Chénier, harp ATMA Classique, 2022 There’s a lot of beauty to be found in Consolations, a solo harp album starring Antoine Malette-Chénier, but there’s also a good deal of missed potential. The harpist begins with a rendition of Henriette Renié’s Contemplation, the straightforward nature of which sets the stage for a floaty, calm album. Albert Zabel’s Fantasia on Themes from Gounod’s “Faust” then presents the musician with an opportunity to play with musical conventions commonly associated with the harp—from heavenly, arpeggiated flourishes to powerful but slow staccato melodies. This pairing introduces listeners to the harp and allows for…

CD Review | Things Lived and Dreamt (Analekta, 2023)

By Pietro Freiburger on 18 February 2023 CD and Book Reviews, Piano

Things Lived and Dreamt Francine Kay, piano Analekta, 2023 The new CD by Francine Kay, professor of piano at Princeton University, features music by composers from the Czech Republic. Other than well-known names such as Dvořák, Smetana and Janáček, there are decidedly less-known ones, such as Josef Suk and Vitězslava Kaprálová. As the title indicates, life and dreams intertwine in this recording. Kay shows lyricism and drama, but also intimate narrative and self-reflection, which is absolutely appropriate to the chosen repertoire. The CD moves between melancholy and yearning, but the main characteristic of this recording is its narrative quality. It…

CD Review | Schumann: The Three Violin Sonatas (Analekta, 2022)

By Pietro Freiburger on 18 February 2023 CD and Book Reviews, Chamber Music, Piano, Strings

Schumann: The Three Violin Sonatas Andrew Wan, violin, Charles Richard-Hamelin, piano Analekta, 2022 After the award-winning album containing the Beethoven Sonatas, the principal violin of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra and the winner of the second prize at the Warsaw Chopin Competition devote themselves to the Schumann Sonatas. The balance between the two musicians is great. The difficulty of Schumann’s music is to do justice to an often tormented spirit, without therefore exceeding in an inappropriate sound. Wan and Richard-Hamelin succeed really well in this work of balance, which basically represents the problem of the whole Schumann esthetic, suspended between action…

CD Review | Hemsi: Chamber Works (Chandos Records, October 2022)

By Andrea Rush on 18 February 2023 CD and Book Reviews

Hemsi: Chamber Works Alberto Hemsi, composer; ARC Ensemble Chandos Records (October 2022) Expertly performed by ARC, the chamber musicians in residence at the Royal Conservatory of Music, and curated by ethno-musicologist Simon Wynberg, Hemsi: Chamber Works forms a series that features oppressed and marginalized musicians. Composer Alberto Hemsi’s early training as a concert pianist in Italy was cut short by the ravages of wartime in 20th-century Europe. Flight led to shelter in postwar Paris as a liturgical music director. (Contemporaries of Hemsi such as Herman David, a graduate of École Normale de Musique of Paris, trod a similar path, finding…

CD Review | Humanita (North Star Records, 2021)

By Andrea Rush on 18 February 2023 CD and Book Reviews, Strings

Humanita Daniel Domb, cello; Carey Domb, guitar North Star Records, 2021 Whatever their source of inspiration—pandemic or relocation to the Maritimes—Daniel and Carey Domb produced four world-class CDs in 2021, recorded at The Anchorage in Nova Scotia. All are characterized by Daniel’s inimitable cello sound, and Carey’s impeccable collaboration on guitar. Daniel’s performances blanketed the live classical music scene in Toronto during his tenure as principal cellist of the TSO and senior faculty professor at the University of Toronto, posts he accepted following studies with Tortelier, Leonard Rose and Piatigorsky. Carey, too, is an accomplished cellist and educator. Her collaboration…

CD Review | Gabs Sings Babs (Self-produced, October 2022)

By Andrea Rush on 18 February 2023 CD and Book Reviews, Scena Jazz, Vocal Jazz

Gabs Sings Babs Gabi Epstein, singer Self-produced (October 2022) Jazz cabaret star Gabi Epstein is enjoying well-deserved praise for the beauty and intelligence she radiates on stage and in the studio. Growing up in a supportive musical family that breathes in unison, Gabi rocketed through the McGill University Bachelor of Music program in record time, to the delight of her fans across Canada. Her latest release, Gabs Sings Babs, is a musical treasure. Gabi captures the universal markers: ambition, longing, hope, coping with loss. She covers with enhancements the songs of Barbra Streisand. Kudos to her group of fantastic musicians:…

New releases (Feb./March 2023)

By La Scena Musicale Team on 16 February 2023 CD and Book Reviews

This section is an advertising supplement. To announce here, contact : [email protected]. I and Thou VC2 Leaf Music LM255 Release: Feb. 10, 2023 VC2’s second full-length album, I and Thou, is a reflection on the role relationships play, whether fleeting or lasting, in how human beings construct meaning in the world. The title of the record, and the philosophy to which it refers, comes from philosopher Martin Buber. This idea became particularly salient during the COVID-19 pandemic, when the relationships we enjoyed with our family, friends, and community weathered a strain never seen in modern times. In the spirit…

Book Review | Overture of Hope by Isabel Vincent (Regnery History)

By Joseph So on 25 November 2022 CD and Book Reviews

Overture of Hope, Isabel VincentISBN: 978-1-68451-349-9 (Hardcover 288 pp., $27.99, 2022) Regnery History For opera fans interested in 20th Century history, here’s an absorbing and ultimately uplifting read, perfect for the Holiday Season. Overture of Hope tells the true story of Ida and Louise Cook, two British sisters, who were big opera fans in the 1920’s and 30’s. They somehow managed to befriend Austrian conductor Clemens Krauss, who was a favourite of Hitler. Krauss secretly asked the Cook sisters to help save Jewish musicians from certain death during the Third Reich. Through their collaboration with such opera stars as Amelita…

CD Review | Breathe (Decca Records, 2022)

By Zenith Wolfe on 23 November 2022 CD and Book Reviews

breatheChad Lawson, piano; Esther Yoo, Thomas Gould and David O’Leary, violins; Rachel Roberts, viola; Richard Hardwood and Peter Gregson, cellos; Royal Philharmonic OrchestraDecca Records, 2022 Remembering to breathe is instinctual, but with so much happening in the world, it can be easy to ignore such a necessary thing. Chad Lawson’s album breathe, which features solo piano works and orchestral arrangements, invites listeners to let go of everything they have held inside—to finally exhale. The works on the album are slow and relaxed, and there is not a single tense moment. Though works like irreplaceable and letting go tackle themes of…

CD Review | After (Leaf Music, 2022)

By Andrea Rush on 23 November 2022 CD and Book Reviews

AfterAndrew Staniland, Benton Roark, composers; Kate Read, violaLeaf Music, 2022 Prominent Canadian violist Kate Read, based in Newfoundland, is a prolific performer. As a chamber musician, principal violist of the Newfoundland Symphony, veteran of leading orchestras in Europe (including the London Symphony Orchestra and the Academy of St Martin in the Fields), she is an eminent spokesperson for the viola. This is obvious from the stellar performances throughout the eclectic selection of conventional and new music. On the conventional side, EvenNight opens with fanfare and presence, performed with relentless energy. It is a characterized by a dance-like rhythm that is…

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