La Scena Online is the digital magazine of La Scene Musicale.Contents: News, Concert reviews, CD reviews, Interviews, Obituaries, etcEditor: Wah Keung ChanAssistant Editor: Andreanne VenneISSN: 1206-9973
Classical music lovers everywhere mourn the death of Japanese conductor Seiji Ozawa, who died on Feb. 6, at the age of 88.
In half a century of making records, Songs of Fate is Kremer’s most personal release – an austere and uplifting record imbued with humanity and idealism.
There was no soloist at Toronto Symphony Orchestra’s Respighi concert, but the greatly augmented TSO gave a near-capacity audience a stunning display of orchestral fireworks
In the COC’s latest performance of Don Giovanni, bass-baritone Gordon Bintner nails the titular role, and the orchestra breathes life into Mozart’s thrilling and elegant score.
Those wondering whether enjoyment of classical music is on the rise or wane might look to the Toronto Symphony Orchestra’s live and recorded output.
I can’t listen to Francis Poulenc for long without imagining a Gitane between my lips and smoke curling out of the corners.
When tackling the Goldberg Variations, it’s hard to take a path that hasn’t been trodden 100 times before. Víkingur Ólafsson’s vision of the work last Wednesday evening at Salle Bourgie, however, had a singular freshness that made the audience momentarily forget all the times they’d heard it before. The Icelandic pianist’s interpretation is a blend of elements and practices that at first seem contradictory. He demonstrates an immense respect for this immortal opus and, at the same time, a malicious interest in challenging the status quo. An old-fashioned approach to the keyboard and, at the same time, a consummate…
With Valentine’s Day fast approaching, the OCM, NAC, and other musicians are readying their hearts for a series of romantic shows.
The US jazz pianist Keith Jarrett does not play by the normal rules of engagement but this, even by his standards, is off the scale.
There are times when concert programming becomes predictable and boring. So it was with great interest that I approached a Koerner Hall concert Sunday, Jan. 21 that showed a refreshing departure from that tradition.
