Violin - my/maSCENA

Photo: Bo Huang Photography

Carissa Klopoushak: Passionate Collaborator and Performer

By Vasyl Pawlowsky on 30 May 2019 Classical Music, Violin

Six degrees of separation does not apply to either ethnic or musical communities. Last time I met with Carissa Klopoushak was nearly eight years ago when I interviewed her and her band mates from Tyt i Tam, a Ukrainian turbo-folk band established in 2003, which has recorded four albums and toured Canada, Ukraine and Australia. This time we met at one of her former haunts in Mile End while she worked on her doctorate in violin performance at McGill. Over caffeine-infused drinks I asked Klopoushak about her formative years. “I started when I was about four years old. There was…

Photo: The 2019 Shean Strings Competition

Results of the 2019 Shean Strings Competition

By Newswire on 21 May 2019 Classical Music, Music Competition, Violin

VIOLINIST TAKES $8,000 TOP PRIZE Edmonton, AB – On Saturday, May 18, 2019 — after two days of amazing and very high calibre competition — violinist Angela Ryu (19 years old), originally from New Denver, BC, and currently studying at Rice University, The Shepherd School of Music under Paul Kantor, was awarded the $8,000 top prize in The Shean Strings Competition. She has also won the opportunity to play with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra at a future date. Ms. Ryu was one of 6 Finalists chosen from the 25 submitted entries to compete in The 2019 Shean Strings Competition on…

Photo: Gigi Ghezzi

A Canadian competitor at the Concours musical international de Montréal

By Newswire on 15 May 2019 Classical Music, Music Competition, Violin

Melody Ye Yuan and 2 other violinists added to the list of 24 competitors Montréal, May 15, 2019 – Following the withdrawal of competitors William Lee, Stephen Kim, and Stella Chen from the Concours musical international de Montréal (CMIM), Canadian violinist Melody Ye Yuan, along with Korean Jung Min Choi and American-Korean Christine Lim are added to the line-up of competitors taking part in the Violin edition of the CMIM, from May 27 to June 5 in Montreal. 24 competitors have been invited to participate in the First Round, at Salle Bourgie. The musicians, ages 16 to 28, were selected…

Photo: Queen Elisabeth Competition

Canadians Timothy Chooi and Shannon Lee make finals of Queen Elisabeth Competition

By Newswire on 14 May 2019 Classical Music, Music Competition, Violin

After 11 days of competition and 71 violinists candidates, the 19th Queen Elisabeth’s violin Competition announced their 12 finalists on Saturday, May 11. Canadians Timothy Chooi (25) and Shannon Lee (26) have made the cut. Both will perform the Tchaikovsky Concerto in D major op. 35 with the Belgian National Orchestra conducted by Hugh Wolff. It will be possible to watch live the finals from the Queen Elisabeth Competition’s web site (http://cmireb.be/cgi?lg=en&pag=2030&tab=108&rec=4804&frm=0&par=aybabtu). Timothy Chooi will perform on Friday, May 24 and Shannon Lee on Saturday, May 25. Around midnight on Saturday the 11th of May the chairman of the jury has announced…

Violinist Duncan McDougall, centre, with Stingray Sponsorships and Partnerships Manager Ariane Charbonneau, left, and TSO Chief Executive Officer Matthew Loden. (Photo: Jag Gundu)

Duncan McDougall, 2018/19 Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra violinist, receives Stingray Rising Stars Award

By Newswire on 6 May 2019 Arts Industry, Newswire, Orchestral, Violin

For immediate release—May 6, 2019: The Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra (TSYO) is proud to announce that Duncan McDougall is the recipient of the 2018/19 TSYO Stingray Rising Stars Award. The announcement was made on Sunday, May 5, during the TSYO’s season-finale concert at Roy Thomson Hall, marking the end of the orchestra’s 45th season. The Stingray Rising Stars Award was launched in 1998 as Galaxie Rising Stars. This original program sets out to discover, encourage, promote, and champion new up-and-coming Canadian artists. The award, with a value of $1,000, will help Duncan advance his career. “Contributing to the career advancement of…

Soloist Augustin Hadelich

Nielsen Fifth Symphony Première in Dallas

By Paul E. Robinson on 25 April 2019 Classical, Classical Music, Orchestral, Strings, Violin

Haydn: Symphony No. 94 in G major “Surprise” Sibelius: Violin Concerto in D minor Op. 47 Nielsen: Symphony No. 5 Op. 50 Augustin Hadelich, violin Dallas Symphony/John Storgårds Meyerson Symphony Center Dallas, Texas April 7, 2019 It is one of the ongoing mysteries of classical music that the tiny country of Finland – population 5.5 million – manages to turn out more conductors with international careers than any other country in the world. While Esa-Pekka Salonen may be the best-known, the list of outstanding maestros past and present includes Paavo Berlund, Jukka-Pekka Saraste, Sakari Oramo, Hannu Lintu, Susanna Mälkki, Santtu-Matias…

Anne-Sophie Mutter, violin; Lambert Orkis, piano

Concerts Reviews

By La Scena Musicale Team on 7 April 2019 Arts Industry, Classical Music, Dance, Opera, Violin

by Benjamin Goron, Robert Kilborn and Adrian Rodriguez Swan Lake, Polish National Ballet / Place des Arts, Montreal**** Conviction and savoir faire This Swan Lake changes everything while remaining the same. It unfolds at the imperial court of Russian Tsar Alexander III. Alexander’s son, the Tsarevich Nicholas, must choose between his first love, Princess Alix of Hesse, and his infatuation with the young Polish ballerina, Mathilde Kschessinska. Nicholas would of course become Nicholas II, the last Tsar of Russia, shot and bayoneted to death in the Russian Revolution, along with his wife and five children. Vladimir Yaroshenko as the Tsarevich…

Dmitry Sitkovetsky

By Gregory Finney on 5 April 2019 Music Competition, Violin

Judging an international music competition is no easy task. One of the lucky ones charged with this responsibility at this year’s CMIM is violinist Dmitry Sitkovetsky. Known for transcriptions that have been performed and recorded the world over, this experienced performer and conductor has served as music director of the Greensboro Symphony Orchestra since 2003. His discography includes most of the standard violin concertos, including works by Prokofiev, Bartók and Shostakovich. He has conducted many orchestras around the world. “I had an invitation from Christiane LeBlanc to come to the last violin competition in 2016,” says Sitkovetsky when asked how…

Photo: Warner Classics

Ayana Tsuji: Violin CMIM 2016

By Gregory Finney on 5 April 2019 Music Competition, Violin

Violinist Ayana Tsuji won the Concours musical international de Montréal (CMIM) in 2016 and hasn’t looked back. A musician from a very young age, she was introduced to music by her father. “I started the violin when I was 3 years old because my father plays violin too. He (also) started the violin at age 3, so I used his very small violin.” She says her father was a strict teacher, but she is grateful for his influence on her love of music and her playing. Tsuji learned of the competition through the Internet and was immediately interested. She applied by…

Photo: Benjamin Ealovega

Violonist James Ehnes – From the Grammys Back to Beethoven

By Arthur Kaptainis on 3 April 2019 Classical Music, Violin

Funny thing about the double Grammy victory of the Aaron Jay Kernis Violin Concerto as recorded by James Ehnes. It was an accident. Or almost. “I had no confidence at all that we could get a recording out of it,” Ehnes said recently, referring to the three Seattle Symphony concerts led in March 2017 by Ludovic Morlot. Canada’s most decorated violinist was aware that the Seattle orchestra recorded its live performances, and rather well, for archival and broadcast purposes. And he did inquire as to whether a patch session would be possible if a recording — then entirely hypothetical —…

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