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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

Chor Leoni. Photo: Emily Cooper

Review | Christmas with Chor Leoni Brings Holiday Magic to the Heart of Vancouver

By Kaitlyn Chan on 20 December 2024 Choral, Classical Music, Concert Reviews, Piano, Strings, Vancouver, Violin, Vocal

Amidst the bustle of the holiday season, Chor Leoni ushered audience members into the serene atmosphere of St. Andrew’s-Wesley United Church for their annual Christmas concert on Dec 19. The space was lit with reds, blues, and purples while golden lanterns hung from the ceiling. The beauty of the church was highlighted under this unique lighting, creating an almost fantasy effect within the large arches. Lighting designer Keagan Elrick had set the stage for the magical evening welcoming Chor Leoni’s largest-ever opening night audience. The first song of the evening was “The Long Night” arranged by founding member, Artistic Director,…

Lebrecht Weekly | Unknown Pieces for Multiple Pianos and Orchestra by Mendelssohn, Moscheles, Schubert and Liszt (Hyperion)

By Norman Lebrecht on 20 December 2024 Lebrecht Weekly

German composers don’t know how to have fun. Think no further than Mozart’s Musical Joke, or Beethoven’s fat-shaming of the violinist Schuppanzigh. Not funny at all. Not to mention Schumann and Brahms, or the feeble anti-critic jokes made by Wagner, Mahler and Richard Strauss. So it was in a wary frame of mind that I approached a frisky album of unknown pieces for multiple pianos and orchestra by Mendelssohn, Moscheles, Schubert and Liszt. Four-hand is where musicians share in-jokes. Was it a fun hour? Actually, not far from it. The first piece, by Mendelssohn and his pal Ignaz Moscheles, was…

Notre-Dame reopening: our music list

By Madeline Boldt on 20 December 2024 Classical, La Scena Online, Orchestral

Notre-Dame de Paris has long stood as the heart of France and became a powerful symbol of hope, unity, and faith following the fire in 2019. At the reopening ceremony on December 7, 2024, this spirit of renewal and togetherness was palpable, with the joyous sounds of orchestras, choirs, and the cathedral’s iconic 8,000-pipe organ filling the air. Below is a list of the music and musicians featured in the reopening ceremony of Notre-Dame de Paris. Notre-Dame de Paris (Excerpts) (Arr. Pierre Bertrand-Cagnes), Richard Cocciante Garou (Guitar) Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France (Orchestra) Amazing Grace, William Walker Pretty Yende (Soprano)…

Orchestre classique de Montréal presents Handel's Messiah in Saint Joseph’s Oratory. Photo: Tam Photography

Review | Orchestre classique de Montréal’s Warm & Welcoming Messiah

By Amanda Wong on 15 December 2024 Baroque and Early, Choral, Concert Reviews, La Scena Online, Montreal, Vocal

As the holidays approach, George Frideric Handel’s Messiah begins to line concert programs around the world—and so, Orchestre classique de Montréal presents its annual performance of the great oratorio in one of the city’s most fitting venues: Saint Joseph’s Oratory. There, OCM, Filles de L’île women’s choir, Chantres Musiciens men’s choir, and four Canadian soloists presented 44 movements from the original piece under the baton of Israeli-French conductor Roï Azoulay. Though originally written for Easter, the English oratorio has become synonymous with Christmas. It details the birth and death and resurrection of Jesus Christ despite the fact the majority of…

Marmen Quartet, Photo: Marco Borggreve

Lebrecht Weekly | Marmen Quartet Excels in Ligeti & Bartok String Quartets

By Norman Lebrecht on 13 December 2024 CD and Book Reviews, Chamber Music, Lebrecht Weekly

It’s 30 years since I heard Gyorgy Ligeti explain why he was allowing his first string quartet to be performed after four decades lying in a drawer. The quartet, composed in 1954, was too close to its sources. “It’s Bartok’s seventh,’ said Ligeti, ‘But I’ve now realised that’s not such a bad thing.” Titled Metamorphoses nocturnes, the quartet has buzzing insects, whispering grasses and many things that go bump in the night. In amidst the feral noises there are wistful lines of melody and a macabre sense of humour, blacker by far than Bartok’s Bluebeard. Every now and then, a…

Kent Nagano conducting Orchestre symphonique de Montréal. Photo: Antoine Saito

Review | Experimental OSM Holiday Program Misses the Mark

By Amanda Wong on 12 December 2024 Classical Music, Concert Reviews, Montreal, Orchestral

The return of esteemed conductor Kent Nagano marked the first of Orchestre symphonique de Montréal’s festive December celebrations. Under the banner Le temps des fêtes avec Nagano (‘Tis the Season with Kent Nagano), the OSM presented a program ranging from cheerful Christmas ballets to dark and biblical storytelling including excerpts from The Nutcracker, a brand new oratorio, and an adaptation of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons. Though Nagano has not served as the OSM’s Music Director since 2020, he has continued to grace the Maison symphonique stage during past holiday seasons, and his presence is always welcome. The highlights of the evening…

OM Messiah. Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Anna-Sophie Neher, Emily D'Angelo. Photo: François Goupil – Orchestre Métropolitain

Review | Yannick’s Messiah Vibrates Montreal’s Notre-Dame Basilica

By Wah Keung Chan on 10 December 2024 Baroque and Early, Choral, Concert Reviews, La Scena Online, Montreal, Vocal

Performances of Handel’s Messiah at Montreal’s Notre-Dame Basilica had been an annual tradition of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra up until about 12 years ago when its artistic director Kent Nagano did away with Handel in favour of Bach. Orchestre Métropolitain (OM)’s artistic director Yannick Nézet-Séguin grew up with this tradition as he announced before the concert from the stage, and this is the second year in a row that OM has presented Messiah at the Basilica to a full house. Nézet-Séguin hinted that this will become a tradition, so hopefully, it will be an annual event. What you missed? Dec.…

Jan Mráček (soloist) with the Czech Philharmonic conducted by Semyon Bychkov. Photo: Petra Hajská

Review | Czech Philharmonic: A Rare Treat of Czech Music in Canada

By Denise Lai on 10 December 2024 Classical Music, Concert Reviews, Orchestral, Toronto

2024 is the Year of Czech Music. Inaugurated in 1924 to celebrate the centenary of the birth of Bedřich Smetana, this tradition occurs every decade in the year ending in 4, which also marks other important milestones in Czech music history: Smetana’s death in 1884, Leoš Janáček’s birth in 1854, and Antonin Dvořák’s death in 1904. How fortunate for us in Toronto that the 129-year-old Czech Philharmonic concluded the 100th anniversary of this celebration with two concerts in our city, as part of its North American tour in which the orchestra also played at Carnegie Hall. It was even more…

Czech Philharmonic conducted by Semyon Bychkov at Koerner Hall. Photo: Petra Hajská

Review | Czech Philharmonic Triumphs with Celebratory Program at Toronto’s Koerner Hall

By Gianmarco Segato on 10 December 2024 Classical Music, Concert Reviews, Orchestral, Toronto

The Czech Philharmonic’s guest appearance at Toronto’s Koerner Hall on Dec. 7 is part of a year-long series of concerts they are presenting the world-over in honour of the year of Czech music. Years that end in 4 often coincide with the anniversaries of the birth, death, or creation of key works of the most prominent Czech composers. 2024 coincides with anniversaries of several great Czech composers including the 200th of Bedřich Smetana’s birth and the 120th Antonín Dvořák’s death. Both were the focus of Dec. 7’s concert led by the orchestra’s Chief Conductor and Music Director, Semyon Bychkov. The…

Lebrecht Weekly | David Oistrakh: The Warner Remastered Edition (58CDs, 3DVDs)

By Norman Lebrecht on 6 December 2024 Lebrecht Weekly, Violin

Where has my week gone? Much of it was spent plundering a coffin of one of the most captivating violinists that ever lived. David Oistrakh, Odessa born (thus Ukrainian-rather than Russian-Jewish), set the tone for violin playing in the Soviet era. Not just in his own performances but in those of his Moscow students who included Oleg Kagan, Gidon Kremer, Lydia Mordkovich, Nina Belina, Stoika Milanova, Rimma Sushanskaya and many more, not to mention his own distinguished son, Igor. Maintaining a distinctive individualism in an authoritarian state, he taught young musicians to find their own path to the variable meanings…

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