KITCHENER, ONTARIO – September 21, 2023 – Today, the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony Orchestra Association (KWS) filed for bankruptcy. “We are absolutely devastated about this outcome,” said Rachel Smith-Spencer, Chair of the Board of Directors. “In the last three days, we have appealed to all of our major stakeholders and have exhausted all available avenues to secure the $2M required immediately to continue operations.” For those wishing to support musicians and the future of classical music performance in Waterloo Region, two independent fundraisers are available. Musicians of the Symphony have organized a GoFundMe page. This fundraiser has been set up by the…
Browsing: Orchestral
This week, the Toronto Symphony opened its 101st season with celebrated pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet as soloist. While Thibaudet played brilliantly, it was the orchestra and its masterful conductor who stole the show. In the second half of the concert, the orchestra’s interpretation of Stravinsky’s Le sacre du printemps practically blew the roof off. The piece’s famously generated confusion and outrage at its 1913 premiere in Paris, when the ballet’s performance, with choreography by Diaghilev, almost caused a riot. The audience reaction was quite different, though, on September 20 2023, when the performance was met with cheers from a crowd who…
Toronto, ON, September 18, 2023 – Sinfonia Toronto will open their 25th Anniversary season on October 21, 8 pm in George Weston Recital Hall with a concert titled BEETHOVEN’S FIFTH! Music Director Nurhan Arman will conduct. The evening’s soloist will be virtuoso violinist Elisso Gogibedaschwili, acclaimed by Sinfonia Toronto audiences in several previous seasons. Elisso was just 13 when she made her Canadian debut with Sinfonia Toronto. Now an international star performing throughout Europe, she will play the Canadian premiere of Otar Taktakishvili’s Violin Concerto No. 2, a vivid work reminiscent of Shostakovich, plus one of the most popular violin…
On Tuesday, September 12, the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal (OSM) launches its 90th season with two musical masterpieces of the 20th century. Kicking off his 3rd season at the helm of the OSM, Rafael Payare conducts Janáček’s Glagolitic Mass and Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring. The programme highlights the Maison symphonique’s great Pierre-Béique, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year. The first work on the program features an entire movement for solo organ. OSM organist-in-residence Jean-Willy Kunz brings his virtuosity to the fore on the high notes, while soprano Camilla Tilling, alto Rose Naggar-Tremblay, tenor Ladislav Elgr and bass…

Although Maestro Jacques Lacombe only became the artistic director and principal conductor of the Orchestre classique de Montréal in July 2023, his history with the OCM dates back much farther. Here, he reflects on this relationship, his recent experience at the helm of the institution, succeeding the late Boris Brott, and his longer-term goal and ambitions. “Even before I was appointed artistic director,” he recounts, “the OCM’s general director, Taras Kulish—a good friend of mine whom I’ve known for 30 or 40 years—had asked me, after Boris’s tragic death, to give him a hand in designing the season. Even before…

Debussy: C’est l’extase/La Mer Vannina Santoni, soprano; Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Mikko Franck, conductor Alpha, 2023 Soprano Vannina Santoni joins Mikko Franck and the Radio France Philharmonic Orchestra for an album dedicated to the works of Debussy. One of the recording’s most notable characteristics is its exceptionally high quality, which emphasizes the truly remarkable timbre of the orchestra. The album opens with C’est l’extase, a set of songs written on texts by Verlaine, presented here in Robin Holloway’s arrangement for soprano and orchestra. The work, originally written for soprano and piano, was commissioned by the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra…

Jeunesses Musicales Canada Jeunesses Musicales Canada is back with another action-packed season of programming for a wide variety of ages. The holiday season kicks off the concerts this year with Bal de L’Halloween. Children can enjoy a costume party and magnificent ball full of witches, animals, and unique creatures, all while dancing to traditional Halloween music (Oct. 22, 29). Soon after Halloween, young ones and their families can return for the Christmas show, Un Monde pour Noël. This show, a co-production with the Ensemble Alkemia, follows the journey of a mischievous little girl in search of her presents. Along her…

SMCQ This fall, the Société de musique contemporaine du Québec, Canada’s oldest concert society dedicated to contemporary music, presents the eighth edition of its Tribute Series. After Katia Makdissi-Warren, José Evangelista, John Rea, Denis Gougeon, Ana Sokolović, Gilles Tremblay and Claude Vivier, it’s German-Indian composer Sandeep Bhagwati’s turn to have his vast repertoire celebrated. From orchestral compositions to chamber music, multimedia creation, musical theatre and opera, Bhagwati stands out for his great versatility and mastery of different instrumental idioms. The first concert is scheduled for Sept. 24 at Salle Pierre-Mercure, with Amitiés et étrangetés presented in partnership with the Vietnamese…

No one – on the home front or Beyond – questions the excellence of Montreal’s stellar wind quintet, Pentaèdre, recognized for their extensive repertoire of works specifically written for its instrumentation, and other pieces arranged by its members. Two years shy of its 40th anniversary, the group has unveiled the program of its new concert season of five events, beginning late this month and running through next spring. The musicians include: Ariane Brisson, flute; Martin Carpentier, clarinet; Louis-Philippe Marsolais, French horn; Mathieu Lussier, bassoon and the group’s newest member, oboist Élise Poulin. The season opener, Tous à l’opéra on Sept.…

Les Nuits de Paris: Dance Music from Folies Bergère to Opéra Les Siècles (conducted by François-Xavier Roth) Bru Zane BZ2005, 2023 Bru Zane is devoted to the rediscovery and international promotion of French repertoire dating from 1780-1920. Les Nuits de Paris is the French equivalent of the Vienna Philharmonic’s New Year’s Concert, devoted to music by Johann Strauss and his Viennese contemporaries. Les Siècles, the orchestra featured on this album (conducted by François-Xavier Roth), interprets this music on period instruments. The label and orchestra have collaborated on a number of successful recordings; this CD is no exception. The release pairs…