Canadian Music - my/maSCENA

CD Review | I and Thou (Leaf music, 2023)

By Zenith Wolfe on 27 March 2023 Canadian Music, CD and Book Reviews, Strings

I and Thou VC2 Cello Duo: Amahl Arulanandam, Bryan Holt, Paul Widner and Andrea Stewart, cello; Ben Reimer, drums; Stephanie Chua, piano Leaf Music, 2023 VC2 Cello Duo’s new album, I and Thou, is not for the faint of ear. The Violet Hour and Heist 2 give listeners a brief introduction to the cellists’ performance style on the album: busy and chaotic. Amahl Arulanandam and Bryan Holt highlight how they clash and co-operate as musicians in a joint performance that is more tense and disturbing than the sum of its parts. This is the strained nature of human relationships, the…

Airat Ichmouratov (à droite) et Bertrand Laverdure (à gauche). Photo: Rico Michel

Festival Classica: The Man Who Laughs, opera by Airat Ichmouratov and Bertrand Laverdure

By Charles Angers on 25 March 2023 Canadian Music, Interviews, Opera

In 2019, Russian-Canadian composer Airat Ichmouratov teamed up with librettist, poet and writer Bertrand Laverdure to bring to life the favourite novel of his youth: The Man Who Laughs, based on the timeless tale of legendary playwright Victor Hugo. For both men, this is their first foray into opera, and for Ichmouratov, this will be his 75th opus. Ichmouratov’s love and obsession for the novel began at the age of 16 after his brother had gifted him a copy. “I was immediately captivated by the story of love and betrayal,” said Ichmouratov. Laverdure added: “Working on an unadaptable 800-page novel…

Festival Classica Goes Opera

By Justin Bernard on 25 March 2023 Canadian Music, Interviews, Opera

The history of opera in Quebec begins a new chapter this year with the arrival of Nouvel Opéra Métropolitain (NOM). In its upcoming 13th edition, Festival Classica paves the way for the future by introducing a most promising and ambitious component in its program devoted to this genre, with no less than three original productions—two of which are world premières: L’Homme qui rit (2023), L’adorable Belboul (1874) and Miguela (1891). New opera, new venue The festival team and its joint artistic and managing director Marc Boucher have worked out an agreement unlike any other with the venue, the Salle Claude-Champagne.…

CD Review | Albertine en cinq temps – L’opéra (ATMA Classique, 2022)

By Zenith Wolfe on 18 February 2023 CD and Book Reviews, Opera, Quebec Music

Albertine en cinq temps – L’opéra Chantal Lambert, Monique Pagé, Chantal Dionne, Catherine St-Arnaud, Marianne Lambert, sopranos; Florence Bourget, mezzo-soprano; Marie-Claude Roy, piano; Mélanie Vaugeois, violin; Élise Poulin, English horn; Annie Gadbois, cello; Anaïs Vigeant, double bass ATMA Classique, 2022 Albertine en cinq temps – L’opéra follows the touching story of Albertine, an aging Québécois mother reflecting on five different parts of her life as she moves into a retirement home. There’s a good reason soprano Chantal Lambert stars as the most prominent voice in the opera, Albertine at 70 years of age. She pours her soul into the album,…

CD Review | Symphonie de la tempête de verglas (ATMA Classique, 2023)

By Zenith Wolfe on 18 February 2023 CD and Book Reviews, Orchestral, Quebec Music

Symphonie de la tempête de verglas Maxime Goulet, composer; Orchestre classique de Montréal ATMA Classique, 2023 Symphonie de la tempête de verglas, which commemorates the 25th anniversary of Quebec’s worst ice storm on record, is nothing short of sublime. The terrifying beauty of this natural disaster is brilliantly illustrated by the titular symphony’s first movement, with violin strings and thundering timpani galore signalling the approach of clouds, wind, and storm. People across Canada came together in this time of crisis, evidenced by the folksy woodwind tune that shines through the otherwise dramatic melodies. The length, intensity, and rhythmic progression of…

Newswire | New music from here and abroad with the theme Music and spirituality

By Newswire on 26 January 2023 Canadian Music, Contemporary, Orchestral

Montreal, January 26, 2023 – The Société de musique contemporaine du Québec (SMCQ) resents the complete program of the Montreal/New Musics international festival (MNM). This 11th edition will take place from February 23 to March 5, 2023, with the theme “Music and Spirituality”. The public is invited to hear the musical creations of some of the most innovative and passionate composers and performers on the local, national and international scenes. SMCQ Artistic Director Ana Sokolović notes, “Since the dawn of humanity, music has accompanied spirituality, which is addressed in our festival in a broad and open way by evoking the…

Olga Ranzenhofer et Guido Molinari

Quatuor Molinari – A 25-year Success Story in Retrospect

By Justin Bernard on 4 November 2022 Classical Music, Contemporary, Quebec Music

On Oct. 14, the Molinari String Quartet marked its 25th anniversary at the Conservatoire de musique de Montréal with a retrospective of works by such contemporary Eastern European luminaries as Penderecki, Kurtág and Ligeti. In years past, all string quartets of these composers have been played by this enduring Montreal foursome. Those on hand surely must have appreciated hearing a cross-section of that repertoire, some for the first time, others anew. First violinist Olga Ranzenhofer, the group’s artistic and administrative director since its inception in 1997, is more than happy about the turn of events. In her words: ‟Our concert…

Isolde Lagacé – Learning to make things better

By Justin Bernard on 4 November 2022 Classical Music, Contemporary, Quebec Music

On Nov. 15, Isolde Lagacé bids a fond farewell to the Salle Bourgie after 10 years at its helm as artistic and administrative director. Two months before, on Sept. 18, she officially passed the torch on stage to her successors: Caroline Louis as the new administrative head and her counterpart programmer Olivier Godin. ‟In the early days of my work for Bourgie,” recalls Lagacé, ‟I could handle both of these tasks easily thanks to my own life history of growing up in a musical family first and then pursuing a career in arts management. After five years on the job,…

Esprit Orchestra @40 : Standing Tall

By Eva Stone-Barney on 4 October 2022 Canadian Music, Orchestral

In 1982, composer and conductor Alex Pauk identified a gap in the Canadian music scene. Although he had already founded smaller musical organizations (ARRAY Music, and Days Months and Years to Come) in the hopes of creating environments in which composers—often his friends—could hear their music played by high-calibre musicians, the lack of such opportunities in larger, orchestral contexts, led to the conception of Esprit. His goal with the orchestra was to champion new works by Canadian composers, and to provide orchestral musicians the opportunity to immerse themselves in the process of preparing new music, by always guaranteeing sufficient (and…

Orchestre Métropolitain. Photo: Ludovic Rolland Marcotte

2022 Azrieli Music Prizes

By Justin Bernard on 1 October 2022 Canadian Music, World Music

Composers Aharon Harlap, Iman Habibi, and Rita Ueda hail from different backgrounds, each drawing from their own ancestral culture to present original music. Because each composer carried a message of reconciliation, they were awarded the 2022 Azrieli Music Prizes in the Azrieli Prize for Jewish Music, Azrieli Commission for Jewish Music, and Azrieli Commission for Canadian Music categories. Aharon Harlap: Past predicting the future Harlap grew up in Winnipeg, beginning his music studies at the University of Manitoba in 1962. After studying composition with Bernard Naylor privately, he studied with Peter Racine Fricker at the Royal College of Music in…

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