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TSO conducted by Anja Bihlmaier at Roy Thomson Hall. Photo: Jae Yang

TSO Delights with Dvořák and Mozart Crowd-Pleasers

By Denise Lai on 13 January 2025 Classical Music, Concert Reviews, Orchestral, Toronto

The Toronto Symphony Orchestra (TSO) heralded the new year with two audience favourites: Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto in A Major, K. 622 and Dvořák’s Symphony No. 9 in E minor, op. 95 (“From the New World”). On Jan. 12, the concert opens with the usual choice of a rarely-performed modern piece. Most Toronto audiences, myself included, are unfamiliar with Grażyna Bacewicz, even though she was one of Poland’s most well-regarded composers of the mid-20th century. Her “Concerto for String Orchestra” is her best-known and most-performed piece, and considered a prime example of Polish neoclassicism, showcasing Bacewicz’s style of blending traditional and…

Lebrecht Weekly | Santtu offers imaginative performances of Shostakovich’s Symphonies Nos. 6 & 9 with the Philharmonia Orchestra

By Norman Lebrecht on 10 January 2025 Lebrecht Weekly, Orchestral

Four months ago, I wrote about one of the least satisfying Shostakovich records I have ever heard, a performance where the conductor, a hyped young Finn, skied across the musical surface without penetration or strategic concept. The gloom that overwhelmed me at the onset of a full cycle of symphonies from this unprepared interpreter has since been mitigated slightly by the emergence of a parallel cycle from a Finnish compatriot, Santtu-Matias Rouvali. Turning 40 this year, Rouvali is music director of the Philharmonia Orchestra in London and a long-shot to be the next chief in San Francisco or Los Angeles.…

École de musique Vincent-d’Indy’s Open House

By Newswire on 7 January 2025 Classical Music, Education, Jazz, Montreal, Newswire

On February 4th, from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., École de musique Vincent-Indy opens its doors! During this lively evening, visitors will be able to learn about the pre-university programs in classical and jazz music (501.A0) and the double DEC offered in collaboration with Collège Jean-de-Brébeuf (Musique et Sciences de la nature (200.11), Musique et Sciences humaines (300.11) et Musique et Arts, lettres et communication (500.11)). Teachers and students will be on hand to present the four profiles offered to : Perfect your playing techniques: Interprétation profile (classical – jazz); Deepen an interest in musical composition: Création profile (classical -…

The OCM presents Distant Echoes of Africa as Part of Black History Month

By Newswire on 7 January 2025 Classical Music, Montreal, Newswire, Orchestral

Tuesday, January 7, 2025 – In honour of Black History Month, the Orchestre Classique de Montréal (OCM) will shine the spotlight on three artists of African descent: Cameroonian-Canadian soprano Suzanne Taffot, Haitian-Canadian composer David Bontemps, and Panamanian-American conductor Kalena Bovell, making her Montréal debut. The OCM’s concert on Thursday, February 6, at Pierre‑Mercure Hall, will feature the world premiere of Bontemps’ Le Deuil des roses qui s’effeuillent, a song cycle based on poems by Jacques Roumain, in a performance marking the 80th anniversary of the Haitian writer’s passing. This special evening will focus entirely on the music of Afro-descendant composers, with works by Black British composer Samuel Coleridge‑Taylor and African-American composers George Walker and William Grant Still. The program will conclude with a set of…

Death of Tenor Alain Nonat

By Wah Keung Chan on 4 January 2025 Arts Industry, Obituaries, Opera

La Scena is sad to learn of the passing of tenor Alain Nonat on Dec. 31, 2024 at the age of 82. Alain was a good friend of singers and La Scena Musicale. We include below his official obituary and the last article we wrote on Jeunes Ambassadeurs Lyriques (JAL) organized by Théâtre Lyrichorégra 20 (TL20). We offer our condolences to his family. Every fall, young singers from across Canada prepare for auditions and competitions. The rewards are usually cash prizes and recognition. The set of auditions of the Jeunes Ambassadeurs Lyriques (JAL) organized by Théâtre Lyrichorégra 20 (TL20), however,…

Cast of Koerner Hall's Into the Woods. Photo: RCM/Lisa Sakulensky

Review | Stellar cast enlivens flawed Into the Woods at Koerner Hall

By Gianmarco Segato on 31 December 2024 Concert Reviews, La Scena Online, Opera, Popular Music, Toronto, Vocal

The nearly 40-year-old musical Into the Woods, with music and lyrics by the legendary Stephen Sondheim and book by American playwright James Lapine, has become a staple on North American stages. Its appeal is clearly linked to an ingenious amalgamation of familiar characters from classic fairy tales like Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood and Jack and the Beanstalk. Their stories are utilised to deliver a universal message that boils down to “be careful what you wish for”. Koerner Hall has assembled a cast which includes the crème de la crème of Canadian musical theatre in a smartly-staged production by Richard…

Holly Chaplin in the title role of Toronto Operetta Theatre's Countess Maritza. Photo: Gary Beechey

Review | Toronto Operetta Theatre’s Marvellous Countess Maritza

By Gianmarco Segato on 30 December 2024 Concert Reviews, Opera, Toronto, Vocal

As is their tradition, Toronto Operetta Theatre livens up the in-between-Christmas-to-New Year lull with an annual production of a classic, golden age operetta. This year, it’s Hungarian composer Imre Kálmán’s Countess Maritza with its non-stop succession of great tunes and authentic czardas-infused rhythms. TOT can always be relied on to present some of the best young Canadian talent and this was certainly no exception at Dec. 29th’s opening performance. A Maritza that moves TOT’s General Director, Guillermo Silva-Marin is also the show’s stage director and he does a lot with comparatively modest means. Maritza’s country mansion is appropriately decorated with…

Rose Naggar-Tremblay, contralto soloist in ArtChoral's Messiah. Photo: TamPhotography

Review | ArtChoral’s Messiah Preserves its Original Freshness

By Heather Weinreb on 24 December 2024 Baroque and Early, Choral, Concert Reviews, Montreal

Every holiday season, Handel’s Messiah comes to town. Not once, not twice, but many times. With all the options, how can an audience member decide which one to choose? On Dec. 22, ArtChoral and Ensemble Caprice delivered an inspiring performance of Handel’s Messiah. It seems that Juno award-winning conductor Matthias Maute takes avid delight in showcasing how old works can always sound new, so long as they are performed with technical precision, intentionality, and a lot of joyful energy. When Messiah season comes around next year, audiences would do well to consider ArtChoral’s version. What you missed? A Baroque oratorio,…

Magali Simard-Galdès & Olivier Bergeron with OSL. Photo: Gabriel Fournier

Review | Orchestre symphonique de Laval’s Holiday Program is in Tune with the Season

By Heather Weinreb on 23 December 2024 Concert Reviews, Montreal, Orchestral, Vocal

Putting on a Christmas concert is a challenge. The concert must feature enough time-worn classics to foster the holiday spirit; at the same time, every holiday concert strives to be fresh, even innovative. We don’t want to be fed the same “Jingle Bells” year after year, but we do want to hear music we recognize. On Dec. 18, Orchestre symphonique de Laval’s holiday concert offered many Christmas classics, from Leroy Andersen’s Christmas Festival to the beloved English carol, The Twelve Days of Christmas. But the concert also featured music by Georges Bizet and Gabriel Fauré that, while very melodious, is…

Anri Sala. Photo: MMFA, Sébastien Roy

To Ravel and Unravel Maurice Ravel at MMFA

By Viktor Lazarov on 23 December 2024 La Scena Online, La Scena Spotlight, Montreal, Piano, Visual Arts

What links French Impressionist composer Maurice Ravel with the Venice Biennale and American minimalist composer Steve Reich? Their association might seem tenuous, but they are intriguingly brought together in French-Albanian artist Anri Sala’s work Ravel Ravel Interval, currently exhibited at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA). La Scena Musicale interviewed Assistant Curator of International Modern and Contemporary Art, Alexandrine Théorêt, to help us untangle the knots in this singular work. Acquired by patron Pierre Bourgie and pledged to the MMFA, Ravel Ravel Interval commemorates the 150th anniversary of the birth of Maurice Ravel (1875–1937). The 2024–2025 season also marks the…

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