Orchestral - my/maSCENA

NAC Orchestra (Photo Credit: Curtis Perry, courtesy of the National Arts Centre)

Review | NAC Orchestra’s stellar performance of The Planets

By Zenith Wolfe on 23 May 2023 Concert Reviews, Orchestral, Ottawa

It was a phenomenal night of endings and new beginnings for the National Arts Centre (NAC): the orchestra capped off both 2023’s Mentorship program and the tenure of outgoing CEO Jayne Watson with a stellar concert featuring Gustav Holst’s famous composition The Planets, as well as the Canadian premiere of Catamorphosis by Icelandic symphonist Anna Thorvaldsdóttir. The May 18 concert began with a rendition of Lili Boulanger’s D’un matin du printemps. It’s one of the last works written by the French composer before her death at the young age of 24, with the orchestral version posthumously finalized by her sister,…

Photo: Brent Calis

Newswire | OCM Presents Its 84th Season: A “New Beginning” With Jacques Lacombe

By Newswire on 10 May 2023 City, Classical Music, Montreal, Newswire, Orchestral

Montréal, Tuesday, May 9, 2023 – The Orchestre classique de Montréal (OCM) is pleased and proud to present its 84th season, under the theme of A New Beginning, as it welcomes its new Artistic Director and Principal Conductor, Jacques Lacombe, CM, CQ. “Taking up the baton as a new Artistic Director always generates a considerable amount of excitement and anticipation,” says Maestro Lacombe. “For me, these feelings are now accompanied by a profound appreciation for the major cultural and artistic legacy I have been charged with, and it is therefore with gratitude and humility that I begin this new mandate. I…

Photo: JAG Photography

Review | TSO, Fabien Gabel, Jean-Guihen Queyras & Camille Pepin Celebrate French Music

By Andrea Rush on 28 April 2023 Classical Music, Concert Reviews, Orchestral, Toronto

The TSO’s prominence on the global concert stage continues to surge. The April 26 concert featured French conductor Fabien Gabel, French/Canadian-born cellist Jean-Guihen Queyras, and the North American premiere of contemporary French composer Camille Pepin’s latest work, Laniakea. Judging from the lack of empty seats at Roy Thompson Hall, the message has gained momentum: classical music is alive and well when the programming and performers are stellar. Fresh from his debut in Chicago barely a few days ago, Fabien Gabel’s TSO debut opened with the fanfare of Camille Pepin’s Laniakea. Tonal orchestration is accessible. It paints images, through harmony and…

Photo: Per Morten Abrahamsen

Lebrecht Weekly | Nielsen: The Symphonies (DG)

By Norman Lebrecht on 28 April 2023 Classical, Classical Music, Lebrecht Weekly, Orchestral

In 1925, at the age of 60, Denmark’s national composer gave in to depression. ‘If I could live my life again,’ said Carl Nielsen, ‘I would … take a commercial apprenticeship or do some other form of useful work that would lead to a visible final result. The creative artist’s lot is not a happy one.’ Nielsen was working at the time on his sixth symphony, titled ‘the simple symphony’ though it was nothing of the sort. His marriage had broken down and he was feeling unappreciated. His fifth symphony, in two movements, was packed with impotent rage. The sixth…

Photo: Curtis Perry

Newswire | National Arts Centre Orchestra Extends Principal Guest Conductor John Storgårds Until 2028

By Newswire on 28 March 2023 Newswire, Orchestral

March 28, 2023 – OTTAWA (Canada) – The National Arts Centre (NAC) is pleased to announce that John Storgårds, Principal Guest Conductor of the NAC Orchestra, has extended his contract with the NAC Orchestra for five years, through the 2027-2028 season. The acclaimed Finnish musician first conducted the NAC Orchestra in February 2013 and was subsequently named Principal Guest Conductor in 2015-2016. Mr. Storgårds has maintained a position of great renown on the world stage, having just been named Chief Conductor of the BBC Philharmonic and performing as a highly sought-after violin virtuoso and chamber musician. “I am delighted that…

Newswire | Temps Fort presents Canevas : Futur symphonique, an immersive orchestral experience

By Newswire on 28 March 2023 Newswire, Orchestral

Montréal, Thursday, March 23, 2023 — Temps Fort presents Canevas: Futur Symphonique, an immersive orchestra experience that openly defies the traditional form of the symphony concert. The event will be held on April 6, 2023, at 7:30 p.m. at Arsenal Contemporary Art Montreal. During the concert, the orchestra and the public will share the same space. Breaking the fourth wall and abandoning the conventions of orchestra performances, the audience will be invited to wander amid 34 classical musicians as they play their instruments. Surrounding them, four large screens will broadcast images generated by the music in real time. In this…

Bernard Labadie: Music Fit for Kings

By Justin Bernard on 26 March 2023 Baroque and Early, Orchestral

When Bernard Labadie builds his repertoire, Handel’s music is a contender. In December 2021, he directed the Messiah as guest conductor of the NAC symphony orchestra in a program of works from composers influenced by that baroque master. In early April, he will be at the rostrum for an MSO performance of The Creation by Haydn, an oratorio Labadie considers to be closer to Handel than Bach. A month later, on May 10 and 12, the conductor returns to his beloved ensemble, Les Violons du Roy, for an all-Handel program comprised of the Four Coronation Anthems and other works of…

Sharon Azrieli: Tribute to Michel Legrand

By Charles Geyer on 26 March 2023 Orchestral, Popular Music, Vocal

Versatile musical prodigy Sharon Azrieli has enjoyed a distinguished and far-flung career as an operatic soprano, Broadway and pop song stylist, and even synagogue cantor (Montreal’s first woman in such a role). Now, Azrieli has made what she calls “a deep dive” into the copious oeuvre of the late, legendary film and jazz composer Michel Legrand with her album Secret Places – a Tribute to Michel Legrand. The collection features 14 lavishly orchestrated and lovingly delivered performances of songs by the prolific French composer—some well-known, some cannily culled from obscurity by Azrieli’s determined research efforts—comprising a panoptic view of the…

Lebrecht Weekly | Beethoven/Ravel: Concertos (Avanticlassic)

By Norman Lebrecht on 24 March 2023 Contemporary, Lebrecht Weekly, Orchestral, Piano, Romantic

Did anyone know that Pablo Casals had a kid brother who wrote him a concerto? Enrique Casals, 16 years younger, was a violinist and conductor. His cello concerto came to light three years ago and the enterprising Jan Vogler has made a captivating world premiere recording of it on Sony. It was sitting on my deck destined to be named album of the week when, as so often happens, an unforeseen astonishment dropped through the letterbox and took pride of place. Let’s not get all wokey and egalitarian about this: the best is, always and forever, the enemy of even the…

Review | Rarities Galore Grace TSO’s Buffet of Cultural Delights

By Andrea Rush on 24 March 2023 Concert Reviews, Orchestral, Romantic, Strings, Toronto

Brian Harman : Madrigal – Celebration Prelude – premiere, commissioned by the TSO As the TSO celebrates its 100th anniversary, the premiere commissioned from Canadian Brian Harman provided a fitting regal tone to open the evening. The joyful fanfare of this tonal, contemporary work is light and uplifting. Harman counts among his influences Prof. Brian Cherney, of McGill, with whom he studied during his PhD degree in composition. The hall bubbled with enthusiasm as Harman took a bow on stage following the TSO performance. Jean-Guihen Queyras: cellist As an additional, rare treat, solo cellist Jean-Guihen Queyras performed two concerti. The…

Browsing: Orchestral