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La Scena Online is the digital magazine of La Scene Musicale.Contents: News, Concert reviews, CD reviews, Interviews, Obituaries, etc; Editor: Wah Keung Chan; Assistant Editor: Andreanne Venne
ISSN: 1206-9973

Soloist Paul Merkelo, conductor Adam Johnson, and the OCM. Photo: Tam Lan Truong

Review | OCM Unable to Swing for Stellar Jazz Soloists

By Heather Weinreb on 28 February 2025 Concert Reviews, Jazz, Montreal, Orchestral, Piano

On Feb. 25, Orchestre Classique de Montréal (OCM) presented Jazz & Jeans in Montreal’s Pierre Mercure Hall. A program of great symphonic jazz repertoire—from Gershwin to Ellington to arrangements by Miles Davis—was played by an orchestra of jeaned musicians. Jeans are worn on casual days at work. For many, especially classically trained musicians, jazz is thought to be a more casual, laid-back style of music. Yet jazz has its own set of rules. Chord changes, swinging eighth notes, improvisation … the aspects that distinguish jazz from classical music demand serious study. Though they may have worn jeans, soloists Paul Merkelo…

Lebrecht Weekly | Franz Schubert: Orchestral Songs, 9th Symphony (Chandos)

By Norman Lebrecht on 28 February 2025 Lebrecht Weekly

Many composers have tried to improve on Schubert. Mahler made a string-orchestra version of the Death and the Maiden string quartet, Joseph Joachim orchestrated a four-hand piano sonata, Liszt made the Wanderer Fantasy into something resembling a piano concerto. Even atonal Anton von Webern had a go. All with the best of intentions and without harm to the crystalline original, but you do wonder what value they added. Schubert, like apple strudel, does not need sweetener. What we have on this album are little-known orchestral settings by famous composers of four perfect songs. Benjamin Britten tacked on two clarinets and…

The Vancouver Symphony Orchestra and conductor Daniel Raiskin.

Review | Alexei Volodin’s Astonishing Rachmaninoff with the VSO

By Madeline Boldt on 25 February 2025 Classical Music, Concert Reviews, Orchestral, Piano, Vancouver

Astonished. That is the word that comes to mind when watching pianist Alexei Volodin work his magic. I could go on and on about the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra—they never fail to leave me breathless—but Volodin added a level of majesty that elevated the performance from breathtaking to exquisite. The Russian pianist joined the VSO for a series of concerts (heard Feb. 22) that included Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2. Volodin is described as “acclaimed for his highly sensitive touch and technical brilliance”. His repertoire is almost as extensive as his resume, having performed with countless orchestras internationally, from the Hiroshima…

Marc-André Hamelin (piano) and Orchestre symphonique de Montréal conducted by Rafael Payare. Photo: Antoine Saito

Review | Marc-André Hamelin & OSM Swing in The Roaring Twenties

By Amanda Wong on 24 February 2025 Canadian Music, Concert Reviews, Jazz, Montreal, Orchestral

The Roaring Twenties was an age of dramatic social and economic change, fabulous fashion, and of course, great music. A century onwards, Orchestre symphonique de Montréal celebrated the 1920s with Montreal native Marc-André Hamelin on keys and Rafael Payare conducting in an evening of jazz, swing, and ragtime tunes popularized by the era. What you missed Hamelin’s dapper white jacket stood out in the spotlight as he played Edward Elzear “Zez” Confrey’s Kitten on the Keys solo on a small upright piano to the right of the stage, the program opener. The piece’s jaunty and ragtime feel imitated a cat…

The Valkyries in Teatro alla Scala's Die Walküre. Photo: Brescia & Amisano

Review | La Scala’s Ring Continues with Triumphant David McVicar Die Walkure

By Ossama el Naggar on 21 February 2025 Concert Reviews, Opera, Vocal

This past fall, La Scala embarked upon a new Ring cycle with high expectations. Its previous one took place a decade ago, under the baton of the great Daniel Barenboim. At Das Rheingold’s premiere in October, there was disappointment in the air, as this cycle was supposed to be helmed by leading Wagner conductor Christian Thielemann, who withdrew for health reasons. It could be he felt he was on uncertain grounds after the venerable opera house forced its director Dominique Meyer’s retirement, following an age regulation passed by the Italian government. There was also curiosity about Scotsman David McVicar’s staging,…

Cast of Pacific Opera Victoria's The Little Prince (2025). Photo: Timothy Matheson Photography

Review | Pacific Opera Victoria Renews Childlike Wonder with The Little Prince

By Kaitlyn Chan on 21 February 2025 Concert Reviews, Opera, Vocal

The reach of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s novella The Little Prince is undeniable. First published in 1943, The Little Prince has seen numerous adaptations from films to tabletop games. Its story features profound life lessons about loneliness, friendship, and sacrifice through a child’s eyes which has made it popular among young and old audiences alike. On Feb. 19, Pacific Opera Victoria (POV) unveiled a new production by company Artistic Director Brenna Corner of Rachel Portman and Nicholas Wright’s The Little Prince at the historic Royal Theatre in downtown Victoria. Though The Little Prince has been a popular choice for opera companies…

Les Violons du Roy conducted by Nicolas Ellis. Photo: Florence Geneau

Review | Kerson Leong Dazzles in Lopsided Les Violons du Roy Program

By Heather Weinreb on 18 February 2025 Classical Music, Concert Reviews, Montreal, Orchestral, Strings, Violin

For Valentine’s Day, Les Violons du Roy presented a program full of pathos at Montreal’s Bourgie Hall. On the program were iconic excerpts from J.S Bach’s religious choral works, as well as the rip-roaring premiere of Found in Lostness, a piece for solo violin and string orchestra by Canadian composer Kelly-Marie Murphy. Bach and Murphy couldn’t be more different; the disparateness of their music was tied together with two Mendelssohn pieces. Mendelssohn’s earliest piece, the Symphonia for Strings composed when he was 14 years old, started off the concert. His last complete work, String Quartet no. 6 in F minor,…

Benjamin Appl and Eric Lu. Photo 1: David Ruano

Review | Benjamin Appl & Eric Lu’s Schwanengesang at Bourgie Hall

By Amanda Wong on 17 February 2025 Art Song, Concert Reviews, Montreal, Piano, Vocal

A German-born baritone like Benjamin Appl is certainly no stranger to Schubert’s work. I can only assume that the Austrian composer’s impressive list of over 600 songs offer much to Appl’s repertoire, who himself is largely a Lieder singer. Accompanied by American pianist Eric Lu, Appl presented Schubert’s Schwanengesang—his ‘swan songs’—as well as Beethoven’s song collection, An die ferne Geliebte (To the Distant Beloved), at Montreal’s Bourgie Hall on Feb. 13. What you missed Though one’s swan song is typically a final piece or performance before retirement or death, Schubert’s Schwanengesang is a collection of Lieder compiled and shared by…

Opéra national de Paris’ Castor et Pollux. Photo: Vincent Pontet

Review | Peter Sellars’ Unhip Castor et Pollux in Paris

By Ossama el Naggar on 14 February 2025 Concert Reviews, Opera, Vocal

Nothing is less hip than a strenuous attempt to be hip. This is how polite society would describe Paul Sellars’ take on Rameau’s Castor et Pollux (seen Feb. 7). I’ll leave it to your imagination how less charitable souls would describe it, or you might prefer to check your social media. The story of Castor and Pollux is somewhat reminiscent of Orpheus and Eurydice but with fraternal love instead of marital love as the motivation. Castor and Pollux are twin half-brothers born to Leda. Castor was her son from Tyndareus, King of Sparta. Pollux, an immortal demi-god, was her son…

Lebrecht Weekly | The Most Convincing Performance of Stravinsky’s Le Rossignol on Record

By Norman Lebrecht on 14 February 2025 Lebrecht Weekly

The English conductor Sir Eugene Goossens was stopped in March 1956 on arrival at Sydney Airport. He was found to be in possession of pornographic materials and rubber goods that he intended to share with a female lover. The police had been tipped off by a tabloid reporter, in cahoots with the conductor’s professional rivals. Goossens was fined a hundred pounds and left Australia in disgrace. Back in London he resumed working with BBC orchestras and others, going on to make one of my most-played recordings, the Bach double concerto with the Oistrakhs. Sir Eugene, who kept his knighthood, died…

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