La Scena Musicale

My Toronto Concert Picks for the Week of March 9 to 15

- Joseph So

Soprano Adrianne Pieczonka (Photo: www.adriannepieczonka.com)

The big news for voice fans this week is the appearance of Canada's prima donna and Toronto resident, soprano Adrianne Pieczonka, with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra in Vier letzte Lieder. This is in many ways the ultimate song cycle, really a gift from Richard Strauss to the soprano voice. If I were ever stranded on a desert island, this is the music I want, preferably sung by Gundula Janowitz, Lucia Popp, Jessye Norman, and Soile Isokoski. Pieczonka also recorded a beautiful version around 12 or more years ago for Nightingale, a label that belongs to soprano Edita Gruberova and her then husband conductor Friedrich Haider. I will dig it out for a listen this week. Also on the TSO program is Liebestod from Tristan. I am very curious to hear Pieczonka sing this - could Isolde be in her future? Rounding out the evening is Beethoven Symphony No. 7. Italian conductor Gianandrea Noseda, who conducted a great William Tell here last December, is at the helm. This is a concert not to be missed.

http://tso.ca/en-ca/concerts-and-tickets/2014-2015-Season/EventDetails/Beethoven-Symphony-7.aspx

Italian conductor Gianandrea Noseda

Music Toronto is presenting the eminent Austrian pianist Till Fellner in recital on March 10 8 pm at the Jane Mallett Theatre. On the program are works by Bach, Mozart, Schumann, and Alexander Stankovski. Full details at http://music-toronto.com/piano/Till_Fellner.htm

Austrian pianist Till Fellner (Photo: Fran Kaufman)

The University of Toronto Faculty of Music Opera Division is presenting Dominic Argento's one act chamber opera Postcard from Morocco March 12 to 15 at the MacMillan Theatre for four performances. Based on text by the great Scottish writer Robert Louis Stevenson, the opera is set in a trains station in 1914. The only Argento piece I've seen is Miss Havisham's Fire with the late, great Rita Shane at the also late, great New York City Opera in 1979. The style of Postcard has been variously compared to Agatha Christie and Samuel Beckett! This isn't something that one would ever see at the COC so this is your chance! Michael Cavanagh directs and Leslie Dala conducts. https://performance.rcmusic.ca/event/u-t-opera-postcard-morocco-dominick-argento

American composer Dominic Argento

We are in the middle of the 40 days of Lent so there's plenty of religious programming. An intriguing one is the Arvo Part's Passio on March 10 and 11 7:30 pm at the Church of the Holy Trinity, presented by Toronto Mendelssohn Choir. It's a piece not often performed. According the the publicity material, this performance celebrates the 80th birthday of the Estonian composer with a performance of his 1982 setting. Soloists are tenor Michael Colvin and bass Jeremy Bowes. Noel Edison conducts. http://www.tmchoir.org/part-passio/

Estonian composer Arvo Part

Soprano Jennifer Taverner (Photo: Katie Cross)

The mandate of the Canadian Music Centre is to support, preserve, and promote the work of Canadian composers. There is a small recital space in the CMC headquarters on 20 St. Joseph Street in downtown Toronto where they put on many concerts. This Friday March 13 at the unusual time of 5:30 pm, soprano Jennifer Taverner is giving a recital of the vocal works of Jean Coulthard (1908 - 2000). Given today (March 8) is International Women's Day, what better way to celebrate than to program the work of a woman composer - okay, March 13 is close enough! Program includes The Christina Songs, Les chansons du coeur, Two Songs from the Zulu, as well as the Ontario premiere of The Woman I Am (2010) by Lloyd Burritt, a former student of Jean Coulthard. http://www.musiccentre.ca/node/123433

Trumpet virtuoso Jens Lindemann

Compared to strings and piano, brass concerts are a rarity. The Women's Musical Club of Toronto is presenting a recital by the trumpet virtuoso Jens Lindemann on Thursday March 12 1:30 pm at Walter Hall, Edward Johnson Building on the campus of University of Toronto. According to the WMCT website, the program is Brassfire, an eclectic mix of musical genres, that also includes a piano/bass/drum trio, with Kristian Alexandrov (piano/percussion), Mike Downes (bass) and Ted Warren (drums).Lindemann is also giving a trumpet masterclass on Friday the Thirteenth - yikes - 9 am to noon at Walter Hall. http://www.wmct.on.ca/concert-series/jens-lindemann/

Suzie Templeton (Photo: Hugh Gordon)

This Week in Montreal: March 9 to 15
[Version française]

Festival of New Trumpet

Launched in mid-March of last year, FONT (Festival of New Trumpet, Canada) is an extension of a similarly-named event held in the Fall in New York. This pocket-sized fest is spread over four evenings (March 12 to 15), the first two at the Café Résonance (Park and Fairmount), the latter at 185 van Horne, at the corner of l’Esplanade, a loft space formerly known as l’Envers.

While jazz (and improvised musics) are its stylistic backbone, it is intent on stretching its boundaries, with forays into the contemporary classical music idiom and other experimental forms. Amy Horvey (now with the MSO) premieres new composed music for a five-piece chamber ensemble, while Frédéric Demers performs a piece with electronics, to be premiered at the MNM festival in late February.

On the jazz side of the ledger, Ingrid Jensen will be back again in a new quartet with a special guest, guitar hero Ben Monder. The latter will also perform in duo with Shragge (guitar fans do take note). The Altsys Jazz Orchestra will come out swinging, with brassman and co-leader Bill Mahar at the forefront, not to forget its lead Jocelyn Couture and his trademark pyrotechnics. Epps also will chip with his improv stylings at the helm of his trio Pink Saliva.http://fontmusic.org/upcomingevents/canada
– Marc Chénard

Appassionata – Pierre et le loup en direct

For the delight of children and adults, Appassionata once again puts on this show, which combines music and animated cinema. The orchestra will perform Prokofiev’s must-hear Peter and the Wolfwhile pictures from the animated movie by British cineaste Suzie Templeton will be presented. The show opens with a presentation of the instruments. Maison de la culture Frontenac, March 14, 2 pm. www.appassionata.ca
- Renée Banville

Suzie Templeton (Photo: Hugh Gordon)

Cette semaine à Montréal : du 9 au 15 mars
[English Version]

Festival de la nouvelle trompette

Le festival se déroulera du 12 au 15 mars les deux premières soirées au café Résonance, les suivantes au 185, rue van Horne, angle de l’Esplanade. À raison de deux ou trois groupes par soir, des musiciens québécois, canadiens et même quelques Américains seront au rendez-vous. Musiques actuelles, jazz et même un volet de musique contemporaine sont inscrits au programme de cet évènement situé aux confins des styles. http://fontmusic.org/upcomingevents/canada
– Marc Chénier

Appassionata – Pierre et le loup en direct

Pour le plaisir des petits et des grands, Appassionata reprend son spectacle alliant musique et cinéma d’animation. Cet incontournable de Prokofiev sera interprété par l’orchestre sur des images du film d’animation de la cinéaste britannique Suzie Templeton. Une présentation des instruments de l’orchestre ouvre le spectacle. Maison de la culture Frontenac, 14 mars, 14 h. www.appassionata.ca
- Renée Banville

My Toronto Concert Picks for the Week of March 16 to 22

- Joseph So

This being the traditional Spring Break, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra is dark. But there are plenty of other interesting musical events to attend. The Glenn Gould School of the Royal Conservatory of Music is presenting its annual spring opera production, and this year it's Offenbach's frothy La belle Helene. Since its premiere in Paris in 1864, this piece has withstood the test of time as one of the central pillars in French operetta. On first appearance, it seems deceptively easy to stage, but in truth it requires singing actors who not only have beautiful voices but must also look believable and possess plenty of stage charisma, especially Helene herself and her love interest, Paris. I've seen this Offenbach many times, most recently in Santa Fe with the redoubtable Susan Graham - she was formidable indeed! I look forward to seeing it again, this time with younger singers with fresh voices of the Glenn Gould School. Uri Mayer conducts the RCM Orchestra. The fast-rising stage director Joel Ivany, Artistic Director of the cutting-edge Against the Grain Theatre, will show us what he can do with this scintillating Offenbach bon-bon. March 18 and 20 7:30 pm at Koerner Hall. https://performance.rcmusic.ca/event/ggs_opera_spring_1

Stage Director Joel Ivany

On March 19th noon at Walter Hall, Edward Johnson Building on the campus of the University of Toronto, the Faculty of Music is presenting Liebeslieder, a free noon hour concert of love songs by Johannes Brahms and Canadian composer John Greer. Soloists are mezzo Krisztina Szabo, tenor Lawrence Wiliford, and baritone Peter Barnes, with collaborative pianists Lydia Wong and Steven Philcox. https://music.utoronto.ca/concerts-events.php?eid=207&cDate=2015-03-19

Mezzo Krisztina Szabo (Photo: Bo Huang)

Given we are in the middle of Lent, there's plenty of religious programming. Top on my list is Tafelmusik's presentation of Bach's St. John Passion, with soprano Julia Doyle, countertenor Daniel Taylor, and tenor Charles Daniels. Ivars Taurins leads the Tafelmusik Orchestra. Performances at its usual venue of Trinity St. Paul Centre on March 19th 8 pm, with additional shows on 20, 21, and 22, this last a matinee. http://www.tafelmusik.org/concert-calendar/concert/bach-st-john-passion

Bach's St. John Passion (Photo: www.tafelmusik.org)

One can always count on Music Toronto to bring outstanding chamber ensembles to Toronto. This week, it's the Elias String Quartet. According to the Music Toronto website, this group takes its name from Mendelssohn's Elijah. It was formed in 1998 and was the recipient of a 2010 Borletti-Buitoni Trust Award. It made its Carnegie debut in 2011, and has recently toured Australia. The performance is on Thursday March 19th at the usual venue of Jane Mallett Theatre. On the program are works by Haydn, Mozart, and Mendelssohn. http://music-toronto.com/quartets/Elias.htm You can find out more information on this ensemble at http://eliasstringquartet.com/ For a sample of their playing, go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Rc86iV4c1U

Elias String Quartet (violinists Sara Bitlloch and Donald Grant, violist Martin Saving and cellist Marie Bitlloch)

The Canadian Opera Company is currently just starting rehearsal for Barber of Seville, so no opera as yet! But this being Spring Break, opera comedienne Kyra Millan is returning to the Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre on Thursday March 19 for a free noon hour Opera Interactive. Joining her is bass-baritone Iain MacNeil for arias and sing-along chorus. This is designed to entertain the kids this week, but adults are free to join in! http://files.coc.ca/pdfs/concert150319.pdf

Poster for Tapestry Opera's presentation (Photo: www.tapestryopera.com)

A very intriguing event is put on by Tapestry Opera this week, called Tap:Ex Tables Turned, featuring soprano Carla Huhtanen and composer/electronic specialist Nicole Lizee. This is billed as a multi-media concert where remixed selection from Alfred Hitchcock and Sound of Music(!) is played alongside video recordings of Maria Callas, projected alongside the performers. March 21st 8 pm at the Ernest Balmer Studio, 9 Trinity Street in the Distillery District. For more details, go to https://tapestryopera.com/tapex-tables-turned/

Napoléon II

Cette semaine à Montréal :le 16 au 22 mars

Orchestre symphonique de Montréal

L’OSM présente L’Aiglon trois fois (les 17, 19 et 21 mars) avec deux invités européens, la soprano belge Anne-Catherine Gillet et le baryton français Marc Barrard dans les rôles principaux, mais aussi avec une brochette d’artistes remarquables. L’OSM offre un rabais de 15% aux lecteurs de La Scena musicale avec le code promo « scena ». www.osm.ca

Rentrée à Bon-Pasteur

Ensemble en résidence, Transmission propose Transmission en trio… de Schubert à Sokolović. Musiciens : Guy Pelletier, flûte, Lori Freedman, clarinette, Alain Giguère, violon, Julie Trudeau, violoncelle, Julien Grégoire, percussion, et Brigitte Poulin, piano. 15 mars, 15 h 30. www.ville.montreal.qc.ca/chapellebonpasteur

- Renée Banville

Jean-Guihen Queyras à la salle Pollack

Élu « Artiste de l’Année » par les lecteurs de Diapason et « Meilleur soliste instrumental » aux Victoires de la Musique Classique en 2008, Jean-Guihen Queyras possède un répertoire qu’atteste sa discographie variée et ambitieuse. 22 mars. Les concerts ont lieu à la salle Pollack à 15h30. www.lmmc.ca
- Renée Banville

Napoleon II

This Week in Montreal: March 16 to 22

L’Aiglon at the OSM
The OSM presents the opera L’Aiglon, a little-known work by Jacques Ibert and Arthur Honegger, three times (March 17, 19 and 21) with two European artists in the featured roles, namely the Belgian soprano, Anne-Catherine Gillet and the French baritone, Marc Barrard. They are supported by an impressive array of leading Canadian singers including Étienne Dupuis (as Metternich), Philippe Sly, Marianne Fiset, Tyler Duncan, Julie Bouliane, Michèle Losier and Pascal Charbonneau, all under the direction of Kent Nagano. The OSM is offering a 15% discount to LSM readers for the concert using the promo code “Scena”. Take advantage of this offer today! www.osm.ca

Chapelle Bon-Pasteur

The musical ensemble in residence Transmission proposes Transmission en trio… from Schubert to Sokolović. Musicians: Guy Pelletier (flute), Lori Freedman (clarinet), Alain Giguère (violin), Julie Trudeau (cello), Julien Grégoire (percussions) and Brigitte Poulin (piano). March 15, 3:30 pm. www.ville.montreal.qc.ca/chapellebonpasteur

- Renée Banville

Jean-Guihen Queyras at Pollack Concert Hall

Elected “Artist of the Year” by the readers of Diapason and “Best instrumental soloist” at Victoires de la Musique Classique in 2008, Jean-Guihen Queyras has a vast and ambitious repertoire that shows in his discography. March 22, 3:30 pm. Pollack Concert Hall. www.lmmc.ca
- Renée Banville

My Toronto Concert Picks for the week of March 23 to 29

~ Joseph So

With spring break over, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra is back in business with a very interesting program of pairing Stravinsky's groundbreaking The Rite of Spring with Dvorak's sublime Cello Concerto. This Dvorak piece, together with the Elgar, are for me the two desert island cello concertos - I never get tired of hearing either one. And to have the wonderful Argentinean cellist Sol Gabetta here to play it is an occasion not to be missed. At the helm is the young and dynamic Polish conductor Krzysztof Urbanski. Performances March 27 and 28 7:30 pm at Roy Thomson Hall. http://tso.ca/en-ca/concerts-and-tickets/2014-2015-Season/EventDetails/Stravinsky-The-Rite-of-Spring.aspx

Cellist Sol Gabetta (Photo: www.solgabetta.de)

Polish conductor Krzysztof Urbanski (Photo: Lena Knutli)

Georgian violinist Lisa Batiashvili and British pianist Paul Lewis team up for a joint recital at Koerner Hall on Friday March 27th 8 pm, playing works of Bach, Schubert, Telemann and Beethoven. The two of them are on a NA tour that takes them to Philadelphia, Boston, Princeton New Jersey, New York as well as Toronto. https://performance.rcmusic.ca/event/batiashvili_lewis

Violinist Batiashvili and pianist Paul Lewis at Koerner Hall

Among the crop of up and coming Canadian singers is Etobicoke native baritone Elliot Madore. He possess a warmly appealing lyric baritone, abundant musicality and attractive stage presence. He won the Met Auditions five years ago, and at the time I interviewed him for an article in La Scena Musicale - http://www.scena.org/lsm/sm15-9/sm15-9_madore_en.html Since then, he has gone on to an enviable international career, singing a very successful Don Giovanni in Glyndebourne and Lysander in the Met's The Enchanted Island. He is also making his Munich Opera debut this season as Pelleas in a new production of Pelleas et Melisande, which I will be seeing in July. He is giving a recital under the auspices of Music Toronto on Thursday March 26th 8 pm at Jane Mallett Theatre. The centerpiece is Schumann's Liederkreis, plus songs by Charles Ives and Poulenc. Canadian pianist Rachel Andrist is at the keyboard. You can experience Mr. Madore in this video clip of his aria from The Enchanted Island. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9cxlbncsOiU For more information about the recital this week - http://music-toronto.com/discovery/Elliot_Madore.htm

Baritone Elliot Madore

Mezzo Charlotte Burrage and baritone Clarence Frazer are both graduating from the Canadian Opera Company Ensemble Studio this year. They are giving a joint noon hour recital at the Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre on March 26th. Another chance to hear them will be the Ensemble Performance of The Barber of Seville on May 15th, with Charlotte as Rosina and Frazer as Figaro. The program in this noon hour concert includes songs by Schubert, Brahms and Mahler. Jennifer Szeto is the collaborative pianist. http://files.coc.ca/pdfs/concert150326.pdf Be sure to show up an hour early to ensure a seat.

Mezzo Charlotte Burrage

The mandate of the Canadian Art Song Project, spearheaded by pianist Steven Philcox and tenor Lawrence Wiliford, is to promote Canadian classical songs. They will be giving a recital on Monday, March 24th 8 pm at Walter Hall on the campus of the University of Toronto. Tenor Wiliford, baritone Geoffrey Sirett, and soprano/comedienne Mary Lou Fallis will be presenting Humour, Play and the Canadian Art Song, a program that explores humour and play in contemporary Canadian vocal repertoire, including a new commission by composer/pianist Peter Tiefenbach. Pianist is Steven Philcox. https://performance.rcmusic.ca/event/u-t-faculty-music-humour-play-and-canadian-art-song

Soprano and Comedienne Mary Lou Fallis

Florian Heyerick

Cette semaine à Montréal : le 23 au 29 mars

Faculté de musique de l'Université de Montréal

Le jeudi 26 mars, le Big Band de l’Université de Montréal présentera Le Big Band jazze avec le trompettiste Randy Brecker sous la direction de Ron Di Lauro. 19h30, salle Claude-Champagne. musique.umontreal.ca

Chants Libres – Chants du Capricorne

Opéra performance créé en 1995, Chants du Capricorne est une conception de la soprano et metteure en scène Pauline Vaillancourt. Elle recevait le Prix d’interprète de musique contemporaine Flandres-Québec en 1999. Vingt ans plus tard, Chants Libres reprend cette œuvre. Avec la mezzo-soprano Marie-Annick Béliveau. Usine C, 12, 13, 14 mars.

Chants Libres organise une 5e édition de son évènement Oper’Actuel Works in progress qui permet au public de découvrir un éventail des nouvelles tendances et possibilités en opéra actuel. Maison de la culture Frontenac, 27 et 28 mars. www.chantslibres.org
- Renée Banville

La rentrée à Bon-Pasteur

Évènement à noter dans la série du compositeur en résidence Jimmie LeBlanc, Chant d’amour et de mort présente la première partie de la Trilogie de Tristan d’Olivier Messiaen. Avec Kristin Hoff, mezzo-soprano, et Sonia Wheaton-Dudley, piano. 29 mars, 15 h 30 . www.ville.montreal.qc.ca/chapellebonpasteur
- Renée Banville

L’école française chez Arion

Inauguré à Paris en 1725, le Concert Spirituel était chargé de présenter au public parisien, jusqu’à la Révolution, des œuvres de qualité lorsque l’Opéra ne jouait pas. Invitation au Concert Spirituel veut renouer avec ces anciennes découvertes. Avec le chef et soliste Alexander Weimann et le clarinettiste Eric Hoeprich. Conférencière : Lucie Renaud. Au programme : Richter, Stamitz, Gossec. 20, 21, 22 mars, salle Bourgie. www.mbam.qc.ca/concerts/
- Renée Banville

OM : Stabat mater de Dvořák

Sous la direction de Yannick Nézet-Séguin, l’Orchestre Métropolitain et le Chœur de l’OM propose un « pèlerinage musical » avec l’une des grandes œuvres chorales de Dvořák, son Stabat Mater. Ce concert pourra compter sur une bonne distribution de solistes : Layla Claire, soprano, Karen Gargill, mezzo-soprano, Brandon Jovanovitch, ténor, et John Relyea, basse. Maison symphonique. 29 mars, 15 h. www.orchestremetropolitain.com
- Justin Bernard

Bach aux Idées heureuses

À l’approche du mois d’avril, l’ensemble Les Idées heureuses, dirigé par Florian Heyerick, présentera un concert dans le cadre de la série sur l’intégrale des cantates de Bach. Trois cantates pour le dimanche des Rameaux et pour Pâques seront interprétées. Au programme, les BWV 4, 39 et 182, dont Christ lag in Todesbanden. Quatre solistes se joindront à l’orchestre : Agnes Zsigovics, soprano, Daniel Taylor, contre-ténor, Philippe Gagné, ténor, et Normand Richard, basse. Salle Bourgie du Musée des beaux-arts. 29 mars, 14 h. www.sallebourgie.ca
- Justin Bernard

Florian Heyerick

This Week in Montreal: March 23 to 29

At the Université de Montréal’s Faculty of Music

On March 26, the Big Band for Université de Montréal will present Le Big Band jazze avec le trompettiste Randy Brecker under the direction of Ron Di Lauro. 7:30 pm, salle Claude-Champagne. musique.umontreal.ca

Chants Libres – Chants du Capricorne

Composed in 1995, the performance opera Chants du Capricorne is a conception of soprano and producer Pauline Vaillancourt. In 1999, she received the prize contemporary music performer Flandres-Québec. Twenty years later, Chants Libres, take over her creation with mezzo-soprano Marie-Annick Béliveau. March 12, 13 and 14. Usine C.

Chants Libres also plan the 5^th edition of its event Oper’Actuel Works in Progress, giving the public the opportunity to discover new trends and possibilities in contemporary opera. March 27 and 28. Maison de la culture Frontenac. www.chantslibres.org
- Renée Banville

Chapelle Bon-Pasteur

In its series with composer in residence Jimmie LeBlanc, Chant d’amour et de mort is performed by mezzo soprano Kristin Hoff and pianist Sonia Wheaton-Dudley. The concert presents the first part of Olivier Messiaen’s Tristan Trilogy. March 29, 3:30 pm. www.ville.montreal.qc.ca/chapellebonpasteur
- Renée Banville

French School at Arion

Inaugurated in Paris in 1725, the Concert Spirituel was charged with presenting concerts that were not performed at the Opera to Parisian audiences. March 20, 21, 22 at Bourgie Hall. Invitation to Concert Spirituel wants to renew with old discoveries. With conductor and soloist Alexander Weimann and clarinettist Eric Hoeprich. Guest speaker: Lucie Renaud. On the program: Richter, Stamitz, Gossec. www.mbam.qc.ca/concerts/
- Renée Banville

OM: Stabat mater by Dvořák

Directed by Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Orchestre Metropolitain and the Chœur de l’OM propose a “musical pilgrimage“ with one of the Choral Masterpiece by Dvořák, Stabat Mater. The concert can count on a great cast of soloist: Layla Claire, soprano, Karen Gargill, mezzo-soprano, Brandon Jovanovitch, tenor, and John Relyea, bass. Maison symphonique, March 29, 3 pm. www.orchestremetropolitain.com
- Justin Bernard

Bach to Idées heureuses

With April near, the Ensemble Les Idées heureuses, directed by Floria Heyerick, will present a concert for Bach cantatas series. Three cantatas on Palm Sunday and Easter will be performed. On the program: the BWV 4, 39 and 182, among them Christ lag in Todesbanden. Four soloists will join the orchestra: Agnes Zsigovics, soprano, Daniel Taylor, countertenor, Philippe Gagné, tenor, and Normand Richard, bass. Bourgie Hall, Musée des beaux-arts, March 29, 2 pm. www.sallebourgie.ca
- Justin Bernard

Elliot Madore Impressive in Hometown Recital (Review)

~ Joseph So

Baritone Elliot Madore and Pianist Rachel Andrist (Photo: Joseph So)

Schumann: Liederkreis, Op. 39
In der Fremde
Intermezzo
Waldegesprach
Die Stille
Mondnacht
Schone Fremde
Auf einer Burg
In der Fremde
Wehmut
Zwielicht
Im Walde
Fruhlingsnacht

Poulenc: Banalites FP107
Chanson d'Orkenise
Hotel
Fagnes de Wallonie
Voyage a Paris
Sanglots

Ives : The Circus Band
Ich grolle nicht
The Side Show
Tom Sails Away
Memories

Encores: Deh vieni alla finestra from Don Giovanni (Mozart)
Chanson a boire from Don Quichotte a Dulcinee (Ravel)

Elliot Madore, baritone
Rachel Andrist, piano

Music Toronto / Jane Mallett Theatre / Thursday March 26th 8 pm 2015

One of my favourite concert presenters is Music Toronto, an organization dedicated to promoting chamber music in our city. It was at Music Toronto that I first heard Marc Andre Hamelin and Simon Trpceski, among others. And I've also heard plenty of singers over the years, singers who for whatever reason don't sing here often eough. This year, Music Toronto is bringing to town baritone Elliot Madore. Actually, he is a Toronto native, where he grew up in the western suburb of Etobicoke. I daresay most voice fans in Toronto have not heard him in person, for the simple reason that his career is almost exclusively outside Canada. Madore studied voice at Curtis Institute, won the Metropolitan Opera Auditions in 2010, subsequently became a member of the Lindemann Young Artists Program, sang at Tanglewood under James Levine, and then went on to Europe to build his career. At the time of his Met Auditions win, I interviewed him for an article in La Scena Musicale - http://www.scena.org/lsm/sm15-9/sm15-9_madore_en.html Since that time, Madore's career has gone on a remarkable trajectory. He received great notices in The Enchanted Island at the Met, made his debut at Glyndebourne in L'heure espagnole / L'enfant et les Sortileges, and last summer, he sang the title role of Don Giovanni there. He is currently at Zurich Opera on a fest contract. This spring, he makes his Munich Opera debut in a new production of Pelleas et Melisande.

A light moment (Photo: Joseph So)

There was a good crowd tonight at the Jane Mallett Theatre, with a large contingent of family and friends of the artist, based on the amount of cheering that erupted periodically throughout the concert. Madore began with Schumann's "song cycle" Liederkreis Op. 39. I put it in quotation marks because unlike other cycles, there's no true thematic thread running through the songs. The twelve songs are of course familiar to Lieder acifionados, particularly the exquisite Mondnacht and the ecstatic Fruhlingsnacht. Madore has a lovely lyric baritone with a recognizable timbre, even from top to bottom, capable of both power and nuance, with an impressive range, particularly an excellent top register. I can see why Pelleas is in his near future! I look forward to hearing him make his Munich debut in this role during this year's Festival. Tonight, he sang with a solid, virile, warm and ingratiating baritone that was a pleasure to the ear. He gave unstintingly, delivering some of the songs in near-operatic fashion. This is not to suggest he's an insensitive artist - far from it. Throughout the song cycle, he gave the audience a full spectrum of dynamics. from solid fortes to lovely pianissimos. His attention to textual nuance was also impressive. One gets the feeling that this singer is extremely well schooled, with a solid technique, and abundant musicality. One can understand just from this cycle why he has managed to forge such an impressive career in a short time.

Baritone Elliot Madore and pianist Rachel Andrist (Photo: Joseph So)

After intermission, for a change of pace, he sang the five songs by Poulenc that makes up Banalites. I've heard this sung mostly by women for some reason, from Frederica von Stade to Canada's own Catherine Robbin. Madore sang well if occasionally a bit loudly in some of the songs, where a more half-voiced delivery would have been better, especially given the intimate size of Jane Mallett Theatre. The darkly humorous Hotel was given an appropriately languid delivery, however sans cigarette. He ended the formal part of the recital with five Ives songs, all "chestnuts" for Ives fans - a mix of fun and seriousness. Tom Sails Away was beautifully delivered, as well as the difficult Ich grolle nicht, with text by Heine, interestingly also set by Schumann in Dicterliebe, here beautifully rendered by Madore, I also enjoyed the very last song, Memories, often heard as an encore by visiting divas. It's not an easy song to pull off by a male singer, and Madore sang it well. Following a vociferous reception by some members of the audience - deservedly so I might add - Madore rewarded them with two encores. First was the very familiar "Deh vieni alla finestra" or Don Giovanni's serenade to Zerlina. Then it was an ebullient rendition of the Drinking Song from Ravel's Don Quichotte a Dulcinee. Madore did these two pieces full justice. Throughout, Rachel Andrist was the model collaborative pianist, totally supportive of the singer. It was a most enjoyable end to a cold and snowy "spring" day.

My Toronto Concert Picks for the Week of March 30 to April 5

~ Joseph So

American conductor James Conlon

This being Easter Week, there's plenty of religious programming but fewer than usual purely classical offerings. Still I have several that I can highly recommend. Following last week's scintillating Toronto Symphony Orchestra concerts of Stravinsky/Dvorak under the baton of visiting maestro Krzysztof Urbanski, we have another famous guest conductor this week in the person of American James Conlon, leading the TS forces in Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 4 and the Prelude to Lohengrin. For me, the big draw is Korngold's Violin Concerto, a piece of music that really speaks to me, like almost all of Korngold's music. My first exposure to Korngold was his Die tote Stadt which I saw at the New York City Opera way back in 1975 - yikes, that's forty years ago. That started a lifelong love for Korngold. Some would consider his musical idiom old fashioned, or worse, syrupy. I suppose that's true. He stuck with the post-Romantic aesthetic to the end while his contemporaries were into 12-tone and serialism. When he moved from Hollywood back to his native Vienna after WWII, he was practically ignored by the musical establishment and he spent his last, unhappy years with his star in eclipse. That in itself is a poignant story fitting for an opera libretto! I can highly recommend the documentary on Arthaus, Korngold: The Adventures of a Wunderkind. In it is the Violin Concerto, though not complete, played marvelously by Leonidas Kavakos. This doc also introduced me to his cello concerto, played by Dutch cellist Quirine Viersen. Apparently it was composed as film music during Korngold's Hollywood years, and later extracted as a stand-alone concert piece. Hopefully someday the TSO will program this lovely work. In the meantime, we can look forward to the terrific Norwegian violinist Vilde Frang as soloist in the violin concerto. For those interested in finding out more of the artistry of Ms. Frang, I can recommend this short documentary - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93fMv75z_d4 Performances on Wednesday April 1 8 pm and Thursday April 2 at 2 pm, Roy Thomson Hall. http://tso.ca/en-ca/concerts-and-tickets/2014-2015-Season/EventDetails/Tchaikovsky-Symphony-4.aspx

Norwegian violinist Vilde Frang

The Canadian Children's Opera Company, under the direction of Ann Cooper Gay, is presenting Alice in Operaland, with music by composer Errol Gay and libretto by Michael Albano. This is given with piano accompaniment by Gergely Szokolay. Concert is on Wednesday April 1st at the unusual time of 5:30 pm at the Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre, Four Seasons Centre. This is a preview of a staged production to be held at the Harbour Front Centre May 7 to 10. Program details can be found in this link - http://files.coc.ca/pdfs/concert150401.pdf For more information on the the CCOC, go to http://www.canadianchildrensopera.com/

Poster for the full staging at Harbourfront in May

On Thursday April 2nd noon at Walter Hall, Edward John Building of the University of Toronto campus, there's a winners concert featuring the recipients of two music prizes - Canadian soprano Jennifer Krabbe who is the winner of the Jim and Charlotte Norcop Prize in Song, and Australian pianist Lara Dodds-Eden, winner of the Gwendolyn Koldofsky Prize in Accompaniment. Mr. James Norcop is a prominent figure in Toronto's musical life. A former singer and manager of the Vancouver Opera, this scholarship is in memory of his late wife, Charlotte Norcop. The piano prize is in memory of Canadian accompanist Gwendolyn Williams Koldofsky.

Pianist Gwendolyn Koldofsky accompanying soprano Lotte Lehmann (Photo: Palace Pianos)

On the program are works by Purcell, Schubert, Poulenc and Libby Larsen. You can find out more about the artists at http://laradodds-eden.com/ and http://www.jenniferkrabbe.com/#!about2/c1wbk Details of the concert at https://music.utoronto.ca/concerts-events.php?eid=226

Conductor Uri Mayer

The University of Toronto Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of conductor Uri Mayer, is giving a concert on April 2nd 7:30 pm at the MacMillan Theatre, Edward Johnson Building. The program consists of the rousing William Tell Overture, Mendelssohn's Symphony No. 5, and Elgar's Enigma Variations, Op. 36. Details at https://performance.rcmusic.ca/event/university-toronto-faculty-music-presents-brthe-university-toronto-symphony-orchestra-4

Toronto Mendelssohn Choir and Festival Chorus

The Toronto Mendelssohn Choir is giving a concert of sacred music of Taverner, Tallis and Faure on April 3rd at the St. Paul's Basilica (80 Power Street at Queen St. E and Parliament). Noel Edison leads the TMC, with soloists baritone David Roth and organist Michael Bloss. http://www.tmchoir.org/sacred-music-for-a-sacred-space/

This Week in Montreal: March 30 to April 5

25 Candles for Quatuor Alcan

Quatuor Alcan have been seducing and captivating audiences for twenty-five years. In a fresh manner, it alternates between masterpiece repertoire and fascinating discoveries. The recording of Beethoven’s works for quartet will be released during the celebration of the ensemble’s 25th anniversary. Also performed during the festivities, “Les lundis d’Edgar”, a concert animated by Edgar Fruitier, will presents pieces by Beethoven, Mendelssohn and Denis Gougeon. Maison de la culture Frontenac, March 20, 8 pm. . www.accesculture.com
- Renée Banville

Cette semaine à Montréal : le 30 mars au 5 avril

25 bougies pour le Quatuor Alcan

Le Quatuor Alcan captive et séduit depuis maintenant vingt-cinq ans. Il alterne d’une façon rafraîchissante joyaux du répertoire et découvertes fascinantes. L’enregistrement de l’œuvre pour quatuor de Beethoven paraîtra au cours des festivités soulignant les 25 ans de l’ensemble. Présenté dans le cadre de l’évènement « Les lundis d’Edgar », ce concert animé par Edgar Fruitier présente des œuvres de Beethoven, Mendelssohn et Denis Gougeon. Maison de la culture Frontenac, 30 mars, 20 h. www.accesculture.com
- Renée Banville

Burrage and Frazer Bid Adieu in Superb Recital

Joseph So

Schubert / Der Einsame
Nacht und Traume
Auf der Bruck
Lied eines Schiffers an die Dioskuren
Erlkoenig

Brahms / Die Nonne und der Ritter

Mahler / Ruckert-Lieder
Ich atmet' einen linden Duft
Liebst du un Schonheit
Blicke mir nicht in die Lieder
Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen
Um Mitternacht

Gounod / Barcarola

Charlotte Burrage, mezzo
Clarence Frazer, baritone
Jennifer Szeto, piano

Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre, March 26, 2015 12:00 pm

Clarence Frazer and Charlotte Burrage (Photo: Chris Hutcheson)

As a follower of all things COC, I must say it's always wonderful to see how the young artists in the Ensemble Studio develop during their tenure here. But at the same time it fills me with sadness when they leave the nest and venture forward to forge a career. So it was with mixed emotions that I attended the noon hour recital. I came away with a feeling of satisfaction, knowing that both mezzo Charlotte Burrage and baritone Clarence Frazer are ready, willing and able to make their respective marks in the musical world.

Baritone Clarence Frazer (Photo: Chris Hutcheson)

The recital began with a group of Schubert sung by Frazer, five of the best known pieces. Whether it was joyful or sad, fast or slow, Frazer sang with firm tone and vivid expression. I have to say that over the course of his time at the COC, Frazer has developed tremendously. A good voice to begin with, it has grown in refinement and musicality. To my ears, he's really singing very well these days, better than at any time during his tenure here. There was a time when his lower range has a too pronounced vibrato, but he seems to have fixed that. At the same time, his top voice is blooming more than ever. These Schubert songs were dispatched with robust tone and fine expression - his Auf der Bruck was particularly nice, with pianist Jennifer Szeto offering perfect support. The acid test was of course the highly operatic Erlkoenig, which he sang with rich tone and very good textual nuance. There are four "voices" in the piece - the boy, the father, the Erl-King, and the narrator. Frazer was able to modify his delivery to separate the four characters, although he could do it even a bit more. Given Frazer's voice seems to be moving up, the father's lines are less than ideally solid, but other than that, it was beautifully done. Jennifer Szeto mentioned that this was her first Erlkoenig - well, it could have fooled me. She was fully up to the fearsome technical challenges of the piece and played marvelously well.

Mezzo Charlotte Burrage (Photo: Chris Hutcheson)

This was followed by one of Brahms' great duets for low voices, The Nun and the Knight. I've always enjoyed this song, so very Brahms! And the text is so Gothic! I feel like I am in Flying Dutchman or an Emily Bronte novel. Burrage and Frazer sang it very expressively if a touch heavily - but then that's the nature of the beast, ie Brahms Lieder! Well done. Then it was Burrage's turn to shine, in five of the Ruckert songs, leaving out Revelge and Der Tamboursg'sell. These are very spiritual songs, and Burrage sang them with poise and repose. The mezzo has a lovely, rich, distinctive timbre, which I find ideal in the German things. She sang all five songs with beauty, poise and expressivity. The first, Ich atmet' einen linden Duft was lovely. I think she's best in the slower songs, it gives her lively vibrato some breathing room. My desert-island song, Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen was delivered with an admirable Zen-like quality. Her voice has quite a bit of metal which allows it to carry, but perhaps in this song, a bit more hushed quality in the last line with its ppp high G would have been icing on the cake. All in all, it was an impressive showing by Burrage, and I can really see her as an Octavian and Komponist in the not too distant future.

Burrage and Frazer in duet from Il barbiere di Siviglia (Photo: Chris Hutcheson)

To vigorous applause, Burrage and Frazer offered two duets - the Figaro-Rosina duet from Il barbiere di Siviglia, and from Oklahoma - the delightful "People will say we're in love." And delightful they were! Frazer is a bit of a "ham" which is of course perfect in this repertoire. The two acted it out with lots of charm and panache, together with beauty of tone and impeccable diction. They were so charming that one could easily believe they were in love. All this bodes well for these two young artists. And I mustn't forget the collaborative pianist Jennifer Szeto who outdid herself in her beautiful playing today. Bravi tutti!

If you missed this concert, you can catch these two as Figaro and Rosina in the special Ensemble Performance of Il barbiere di Siviglia on May 15. Also, Charlotte will be the Gypsy in the upcoming Janacek song cycle Diary of One Who Disappeared, with tenor Owen McCausland.

Photo courtesy of Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal

Last row 3rd&2nd from right:
Jeunes Gouverneurs co-president Élise Sauvé & Jessica Drolet, JG founder/co-president flanked by committee members (left to right):
Catherine Coursol, Camille Lamy, Marie-Christine Beaulieu, Caroline Abastado, Coco Messier, Luce Caillères,
Sophie Gagnon, Nicolas Rubbo, Lise Berichel, Sophie Bergeron, Alexandra Meunier

Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal's Jeunes Gouverneurs stage princely soirée

by Naomi Gold

For their third Grand Ballets Canadiens gala, the Jeunes Gouverneurs choreographed a fabulously festive fundraiser fit for, well, a prince. Held in conjunction with the hugely successful springtime production of Didy Veldman's Le Petit Prince, the benefit was led by JG co-presidents Jessica Drolet and Élise Sauvé. TV host Virginie Coossa served as emcee, while GBC CEO Alain "dance man" Dancyger and veteran artistic director Gradimir Pankov lent their support. Some 400 enthusiastic attendees were treated to scrumptious eats, silky smooth spirits, a silent auction, hair and makeup stations, DJ Thomas H spinning discs and the performance itself. After much schmoozing, grooving, mixing, dining and imbibing, thoroughly satiated attendees were ushered into PdA's Théâtre Maisonneuve for the main event.

London-based, Dutch-born choreographer Didy Veldman created Le Petit Prince for Les Grands Ballets Canadiens and it premiered to critical acclaim in May of 2012. Based on Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's timeless classic, Veldman's oeuvre is set in a more urban environment and performed as a series of earthly encounters. Evoking the fable's pithy, philosophical musings whilst maintaining the simplicity of its message, it challenges viewers to confront their personal prisms and perspectives. The fast-paced, spectacularly performed ballet, with its mesmeric, at times hypnotic beats clearly resonated with spectators, who responded with a standing ovation and rapturous applause.

Post-performance, sybarites sashayed their way back to Maison Symphonique's Salon Urbain for some high octane dessert refueling, serious fun and the event's major announcement. Thrilled to learn that $83,000 had been raised, partygoers busted out all the right moves and danced like no one was looking. Eventually emerging from backstage, GBC pros pranced over to party central to unwind, recharge and biorefuel. Dancing like everyone was looking, they wowed and dazzled once again, until the proverbial wee hours.

Top corporate sponsors were Banque Nationale and L’Oréal Professionnel. Panache Coiffure stylists proved particularly popular as they preened and pampered tresses with curls, updos, and touch-ups throughout the gala.

GBC will be staging their flagship fundraising ball at Uniprix Stadium on April 18th. And in mid-April they welcome Boris Eifman's ballet troupe from St. Petersburg who will perform Anna Karenina at Place des Arts. Gala tickets and information can be found on their website: http://www.grandsballets.com. Eifman's Anna Karenina runs from April 15-18; call the Place des Arts box office @(514) 842-2112.

My Toronto Concert Picks for the Week of April 6 to 12

~ Joseph So

Finnish conductor Jukka Pekka Saraste (Photo:www.tso.ca)

A highlight this week is the return of former Toronto Symphony OrchestraMusic DirectorJukka-Pekka Saraste as the guest conductor in a program of Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 2 and Mahler's Symphony No. 5. Saraste's tenure at the TSO (1994-2001) was an artistic success, but it was marred by labour strife in the orchestra and financial difficulties, especially in his later years. But all that is history now and maestro Saraste has since returned as guest conductor on several occasions. Joining him this week is Ukrainian pianist Valentina Lisitsa, as soloist in the Rachmaninoff. Lisitsa rose to fame as one of the most watched classical pianists on Youtube. She has her own channel on Youtube with a phenomenal number of subscribers (for classical music!), totaling at last count 177,261. Do take a look at https://www.youtube.com/user/ValentinaLisitsa Lisitsa was last in Toronto a couple of seasons ago at Koerner Hall. Two performances, April 8th and 9th 8 pm at Roy Thomson Hall. http://tso.ca/en-ca/concerts-and-tickets/2014-2015-Season/EventDetails/Rachmaninoff-Piano-Concerto-2.aspx

Ukrainian pianist Valentina Lisitsa

Two of the finest young singers currently in the Canadian Opera Company Ensemble Studio are tenor Andrew Haji and bass-baritone Gordon Bintner. I believe both will be graduating at the end of this season. But you can still catch them in recital at the Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre on Thursday noon April 9th. Haji is singing Schumann's beloved song cycle Dichterliebe, Op. 48, while Bintner takes on Schubert's Schwanengesang, D957, appropriately named since this will be one of the last performances Bintner gives as a member of the Ensemble. Program details at http://files.coc.ca/pdfs/concert150409.pdf Be sure to show up an hour earlier to line up for a seat. Bintner and Haji will sing in the Ensemble Studio Performance of Barber of Seville on May 15th. http://www.coc.ca/PerformancesAndTickets/1415Season/BarberofSeville/EnsembleStudioPerformance.aspx

Bass-baritone Gordon Bintner (Photo: Michele Patry)

The preeminent 81 year old British conductor Sir Roger Norrington is in town to conduct the Royal Conservatory Orchestra, on Friday April 10 8 pm at Koerner Hall. On the program are Vaughan Williams'Symphony No. 5 in D Major, and Beethoven's Symphony No. 5 in C Minor, Op. 67. A specialist in the Baroque, Classical and Romantic repertoire, Sir Roger has had a huge influence on performance practice as we know it today. He was a student at the Royal Conservatory of Music right here in Toronto when he was evacuated as a young boy to Canada during the Second World War, so it's only fitting that he comes back periodically to conduct the RCM Orchestra. https://performance.rcmusic.ca/event/roger_norrington

Sir Roger Norrington conducts the RCM Orchestra

Soprano Mireille Asselin, a former member of the COC Ensemble Studio, returns to Toronto as a soloist with the Amici Chamber Ensemble on April 12th at the unusual time of 3 pm. The venue is Mazzoleni Hall at the Royal Conservatory of Music. The program is an interesting and unusual mix of old and new, including works of Glinka, Schubert, Nicolai, Andre Previn, Paul Juon, and John Taverner. Program details at http://amiciensemble.com/event/mireille-asselin-the-shepherd/

Soprano Mireille Asselin soloist with the Amici Chamber Ensemble

Now for something a little different and non-classical, Max Raabe and the Palast Orchester is in town again! They made their Koerner Hall debut in 2010 and returned two seasons ago. This is their third appearance . I've been unable to find program details from either the Koerner website or the Palast-Orchester website. Having attended a performance last time they were here, I can say it was hugely entertaining. They are currently on a North American tours with stops in Austin, TX, Kansas City, Chicago, and Ann Arbor, MI. Performances on Saturday April 11 8 pm and Sunday April 12 2 pm. https://performance.rcmusic.ca/event/max_raabe2015_1

Vocalist Max Raabe (Photo:www.palast-orchester.de)

Dublin Guitar Quartet

Mooredale Concerts is presenting the classical guitar ensemble, Dublin Guitar Quartet in their Canadian debut on Sunday April 12 3:15 pm at Walter Hall. It's an eclectic program they are playing - music of American composer Philip Glass, Cuban Leo Brouwer, British John Taverner, Hungarian Gyorgy Ligeti, among others. I was trying to find the names of the individual musicians but the information does not appear to be on the Mooredale Concerts website. I eventually found their names on their Facebook page - Brian Bolger, Pat Brunnock, David Creevy and Tomas O'Duircain.

http://dublinguitarquartet.com/

La Guilde des musiciens et musiciennes du Québec lance sa coopérative

par Claudie Provencher

Mercredi soir au pub l’Île Noire, la Guilde des musiciens et musiciennes du Québec lançait sa coopérative, lagamme.mu (voir mon précédent article sur le sujet). C’est dans une ambiance chaleureuse et décontractée que Mylène Cyr, directrice générale de la Guilde, et Jacques Bourget, vice-président Québec de la Guilde, accueillaient les invités. Mettant de l’avant son « service », la soirée accueillait trois différentes formations membres de la coopérative qu’il est possible d’engager via la plateforme web.

C’est en 2011, lors d’une réunion des membres de la Guilde, que s’est fait sentir la nécessité d’offrir plus de visibilité, et plus de sécurité, aux musiciens et musiciennes professionnelles du Québec, membres ou non de la Guilde.

Lagamme.mu veut devenir la référence dans le domaine, explique Jacques Bourget. Elle souhaite regrouper en un endroit distinct un éventail de musiciens et musiciennes aux styles différents pour plusieurs sortes d’événements. Le consommateur peut donc chercher une formation pour son événement tout en étant assuré d’obtenir un service professionnel. Normand Brathwaite, président d’honneur, a d’ailleurs souligné avec justesse et humour que les crêpes du samedi matin sans musique et le film sans bande sonore susciteraient moins d’agrément, tout comme un événement sans musique « live », d’où l’intérêt du projet.

L’idée de créer une coopérative indépendante de la Guilde provient d’une volonté de transparence de la part de ses fondateurs qui souhaitent éviter tout favoritisme. Le duo de pianistes TwinMuse, composé des jumelles Hourshid et Mehrshid Afrakhteh, qui n’est pas membre de la Guilde est l’une des 40 formations déjà inscrites à la coopérative. C’est après plusieurs démarches infructueuses auprès d’agents d’artistes que les deux sœurs sont entrées en contact avec lagamme.mu, souligne Mehrshid. La coopérative offre l’avantage d’une bonne visibilité tout en simplifiant les démarches administratives.

La coopérative lagamme.mu ne souhaite pas être liée seulement à la métropole. Mylène Cyr et Jean Bourget ont évoqué leur désir de la faire connaître à travers toute la province, faisant d’ailleurs déjà acte de présence dans plusieurs événements corporatifs tels le Salon de la mariée et le Symposium de l’événement corporatif. Bien qu’à long terme ils souhaitent faire voler le projet de lui-même, pour l’heure ils en font la promotion tant à Montréal qu’à Rimouski et Chicoutimi.

Le site de la coopérative, lagamme.mu, sera mis en ligne aujourd’hui. Mylène Cyr et Jacques Bourget invitent les musiciens et musiciennes à aller y créer un profil, et les consommateurs à prendre connaissance de l’offre.

http://lagamme.mu

Haji and Bintner offer Marvelous Lieder Recital (Review)

Poetic Love

Schubert: Schwanengesang D. 957
Das Fischermadchen
Am Meer
Die Stadt
Der Doppelganger
Irh Bild
Der Atlas

Gordon Bintner, bass-baritone
Jennifer Szeto, piano

Schumann: Dichterliebe, Op. 48
Im wunderschonen Monat Mai
Aus meinen Tranen spriesen
Die Rose, die Lilie
Wenn ich in deine Augen seh'
Ich will meine Seele tauchen
Im Rhein, im heiligen Strome
Ich grolle nicht
Und wusten's die Blumen
Das ist ein Floten und Geigen
Hor' ich das Liedchen klingen
Ein Jungling Liebt ein Madchen
Am leuchtenden Sommermorgen
Ich hab'im Traum geweinet
Allnachtlich im Traume
Aus alten Marchen winkt es
Die alten bosen Lieder

Andrew Haji, tenor
Liz Upchurch, piano

Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre / 12:00 pm April 9th 2015

Now that we are in the final weeks of the 2014-15 COC season, it means some members of the Ensemble Studio will be finishing their tenure. To mark the occasion, there's a series of farewell recitals at the Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre. Two weeks ago, we had a superb outing by mezzo Charlotte Burrage and baritone Clarence Frazer. This time around, we have tenor Andrew Haji and bass-baritone Gordon Bintner in a Liederabend, albeit at noon. To my ears, Haji and Bintner are two of the best young voices in Canada today. So it's a bit sad that they are leaving, but given their prodigious talent, it only means they are moving onto greater things - "Zu neuen Taten!" as they say in Gotterdammerung!

Bass-baritone Gordon Bintner / Pianist Jennifer Szeto (Photo: Chris Hutcheson)

Bintner began the recital with six songs from Schubert's Schwanengesang. These so called Swan Songs were composed by Schubert in his last years, and the 14 songs don't seem to have a thematic unity. The ones Bintner chose are set to text by Heinrich Heine. These are particularly challenging songs, if for no other reason than the fact that they are heavier and more serious in nature than the ones set to text by Rellstab and Seidl, also part of the cycle. Total concentration and commitment by the soloist is absolutely essential. Unfortunately, throughout his performance, there was a constant, distracting noise coming from a member in the audience, loud enough to be bothersome to me, and I am sure to the performers as well. I gave Gordon Bintner absolutely full marks for maintaining his composure throughout. He did extremely well under the circumstances, singing with beauty of tone and plenty of expression. The tempo taken on a couple of the very serious songs - like Der Doppelganger and Am Meer - was very slow and it taxed Bintner's support to keep the tone as steady and rock solid as possible. I couldn't help thinking that if he had programmed a couple of the lighter songs like Taubenpost and Liebesbotschaft, it would have given it a bit more variety and lighten the mood. But the others are not set to text by Heine, so I understand the decision. If I were to quibble, perhaps a bit more piano - which the singer can do beautifully - would have been preferable. In any case, this performance amply demonstrated that Bintner can perform under less than ideal conditions and still comes out a winner. With his beautiful, virile low baritone and dashing stage presence, he will go far. Jennifer Szeto, who was impressive in the recital last time with Burrage and Frazer, continued to show why she's one of the most promising of young collaborative pianists in Canada.

Tenor Andrew Haji / Pianist Liz Upchurch (Photo: Chris Hutcheson)

Fortunately, by the time Haji started his cycle of Schumann's Dichterliebe, the disturbance had stopped. He sang the first edition of this cycle, which contains the 16 original Heine songs. Pianist Liz Upchurch, head of the COC Ensemble Studio, announced at the beginning that the cycle was dedicated to the memory of the great Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau. (That actually caused a bit of confusion in some people in the audience, thinking that FiDi just passed away . Of course he died quite some years ago! This cycle was closely associated with the great baritone.) Haji has a glorious tenor, bright, clarion, sweet, rich, always used with musicality and discerning taste. To sum it up in a few words, his singing on this occasion was marvelous. He and Upchurch gave this same program in his recent New York recital debut, so the piece was extremely well rehearsed. It showed, in their absolute security and freedom throughout the performance. I was very impressed with the impeccable German diction of Haji, and he really tried to tell a story with the text. As a tenor, the high tessitura of Ich grolle nicht posed no problem for him, the high A perfectly true. And there was liberal use of soft dynamics where appropriate. I also liked his dramatic urgency - he brings a poetic impulse to these songs that's very endearing. Liz Upchurch played marvelously, arguably the best I've heard her in recent memory. I must say this was one of the most satisfying Lieder recitals I've heard in recent years. The audience was extremely appreciative, giving the performers a standing ovation. One could argue North Americans tend to stand at a drop of a hat, but in this case, it was richly deserved.

Haji and Bintner will perform in the Ensemble Studio performance of The Barber of Seville on May 15 at the Four Seasons Centre. http://www.coc.ca/PerformancesAndTickets/1415Season/BarberofSeville/EnsembleStudioPerformance.aspx

My Toronto Concert Picks for the Week of April 13 to 19

~ Joseph So

It's sometimes said that classical music is a dying art form, if for no other reason than the changing demographics - attendees are aging and as they passed on, they are not replaced by the younger generation. Presenters are trying hard to bring the young people into the concert halls. The Toronto Symphony Orchestra for example has its Soundcheck program, intended to attract young people by offering them very inexpensive tickets. Another way is to have more "crossover" programming. The hope is that these shows put bums into seats, and perhaps the concertgoers will be intrigued enough to explore the core classical repertoire in the future. The two shows at the TSO this week will do just that. The TSO pops conductor Steven Reineke conducts a program of TV music such as Monty Python's Flying Circus, Downton Abbey and Game of Thrones. Three performances, on Tuesday April 14 8 pm, and Wednesday April 15 2 pm and 8 pm at Roy Thomson Hall. Then on April 18 and 19, it's an all-Russian program of the "greatest hits" variety, from Swan Lake to the Flight of the Bumblebee. The one rarity is the Double Bass Concerto played by TSO Principal Jeffrey Beecher, under the baton of guest maestro Bulgarian conductor Rossen Milanov. http://tso.ca/

Bulgarian conductor Rossen Milanov (Photo:www.rossenmilanov.com)

The big news for opera fans is the start of the Canadian Opera Company's spring season, with one of its two productions, The Barber of Seville, opening on Friday April 17th 7:30 pm at the Four Seasons Centre. This is a co-production with Houston Grand Opera, Opera Australia, and Opera National de Bordeaux. The concept and set design is by the Spanish team of Joan Font of the Els Comediants, the same team that did the very successful La cenerentola we saw here two years ago. I went to one of the rehearsals over the weekend. I find it visually striking and I think it will appeal to the Toronto audience. Given that there are twelve performances (plus the Ensemble show), a lot of the roles are double-cast. Canadian baritone Joshua Hopkins is singing all twelve shows in the title role. Italian mezzo Serena Malfi is Rosina, shared with American mezzo Cecelia Hall. American tenor Alek Shrader and Romanian Bogdan Mihai share Almaviva. Bartolo is shared by Renato Girolami and Nikolay Didenko. Rory MacDonald conducts. The second performance is on Sunday April 19th at 2 pm. http://www.coc.ca/PerformancesAndTickets/1415Season/BarberOfSeville.aspx

Italian mezzo Serena Malfi

Opera Atelier's Orpheus and Eurydice continues this week at the Elgin Theatre with performances on April 14 and 18. It stars mezzo Mireille Lebel as Orfeo, soprano Peggy Kriha Dye as Eurydice, and soprano Meghan Lindsay as Amor. David Fallis conducts. I caught the performance on Sunday and it was an excellent show, with standout performances by the three principals but particularly the Orfeo of Lebel, a virtual tour de force. Gluck's original Paris version in 1774 was for a castrato Orfeo. In Berlioz's version (chosen for the OA production) is for a contralto Orfeo, although Lebel is a high mezzo. The ballet originally cut by Berlioz is restored here. For details, go to http://operaatelier.com/

French pianist Helene Grimaud

A frequent visitor to Toronto is French pianist Helene Grimaud. She returns to Koerner Hall this week in an unusual program she calls Water Music. Not Handel, but works of Berio, Takemitsu, Faure, Ravel, Albeniz, Liz, Janacek, Debussy and Brahms - how's that for eclectic taste! Performance on Sunday April 19th 3 pm. Details at https://performance.rcmusic.ca/event/helene_grimaud

Dutch mezzo-soprano Christianne Stotijn (Photo: Stephan van Fleteren)

A musical highlight for me this week is the appearance of Dutch mezzo Christianne Stotijn in recital, under the auspices of Women's Musical Club of Toronto. The recital is at Walter Hall on Thursday April 16th at 1:30 pm. Ms. Stotijn is that rare breed, a singer whose major focus is the art song and the recital stage. While she does sing opera, it's less frequent than her many song recitals and orchestral concerts. I've heard her on several occasions in Germany and found her beautiful, warm, soft-grained mezzo, coupled with consummate musical intelligence an unalloyed pleasure. It's great that she's coming to Toronto. (She also is booked to sing in Montreal on April 12 at Pollock Hall - I assume it's the same program) Partnering her is the great collaborative pianist Julius Drake. On the program are songs by Tchaikovsky, Shostakovich, Strauss and Korngold. As I write this, I am listening to one of her CDs on the Onyx label, Stimme der Sehnsucht (Voice of Longing), in which she sings Pfitzner, Strauss and Mahler. The beauty of tone is there to be sure, but such expression and attention to textual nuance is rare among singers of today. It's one of the most enjoyable lieder discs I've heard in recent years. You can hear her sing the Strauss group in Toronto. http://www.wmct.on.ca/concert-series/christianne-stotijn/

Christianne Stotijn Sings Pfitzner, Strauss and Mahler (Onyx 4075)

Lafayette Quartet

Music Toronto is presenting the Lafayette Quartet at the Jane Mallett Theatre in the St. Lawrence Centre on Thursday April 16th 8 pm. This string quartet is made up of violinists Ann Elliott-Goldschmid and Sharon Stanis, violist Joanna Hood and cellist Pamela Highbaugh Aloni. They had previously appeared with Music Toronto three times, most recently in 2012. They are artists in residence at the University of Victoria. On the program are works by Haydn, Beethoven and Canadian composer Jean Coulthard. http://music-toronto.com/quartets/Lafayette.htm

A very interesting even this week is the announcement of the Eleventh Glenn Gould Prize by the Glenn Gould Foundation on Tuesday April 14th at 11 am at Koerner Hall. The star-studded jurypanel includes such luminaries as American soprano Deborah Voigt, American heldentenor Jay Hunter Morris, British singer Petula Clark, Canadian journalist Adrienne Clarkson, and novelist Michael Ondaatje. Past recipients included Robert Lepage, Leonard Cohen, Yehudi Menuhin, Yo Yo Ma and Oscar Peterson. I understand in the award ceremony this Tuesday, both Jay Hunter Morris and Petula Clark (at the grand age of 82) are going to sing! http://www.glenngould.ca/eleventh-glenn-gould-prize-laureate-to-be-announced-april-14th/

Eifman Ballet performs Anna Karenina to music by Tchaikovsky

in Montreal’s Place des Arts 15-18 April

By Robert Kilborn

Is Anna Karenina the greatest novel ever written?

Dostoyevsky and Nabokov declared it “flawless.” Faulkner described it as “the best ever written.” Hemingway, Woolf, Proust, Joyce, Mann, and countless others learned large parts of their craft from it. In 2007, Time magazine published a poll of 125 big-name authors—from Norman Mailer to David Foster Wallace—which placed Tolstoy’s epic tale of outlaw passion and self-destruction at Number One in a list of “The Top Ten Books of All Time.”

Numerous stage, film, television, radio, opera, dance, and other adaptions of Anna Karenina have swelled consciousness for more than 100 years; a 2012 film version starred Keira Knightley and Jude Law. And now over four nights and one afternoon in mid-April 2015, St. Petersburg's Eifman Ballet will perform their 2005 version of Anna Karenina in Montreal.

Choreographer Boris Eifman isn’t celebrated for his subtlety. Some see too much yang and not enough yin in his work, and compare him unfavourably to George Balanchine. But can't we just enjoy extreme emotions belted out with staggering energy and technical virtuosity? Every artist works differently. It is our duty to watch carefully. We mustn’t always reflexively and harshly judge every new work against the masterpieces of the past.

We hear the death train coming.

It comes, and Anna throws

herself under its carriage, for love.

In Anna Karenina, Eifman eschews subplots and focuses on the trichotomy of Anna, her tedious bureaucrat husband Karenin, and her dashing cavalry officer lover Vronsky. He keeps most of Tolstoy’s key themes and obsessions intact. What is this thing called life, then? What is our duty to society, marriage, children, family? Can we be happy? Eifman hears the echoes of these questions, and creates rituals with their reverberations. For him, dance is not an imitation of reality. It penetrates the very core of reality. It seizes on the roiling sea that is the subconscious, incantatory, sometimes terrifying and magical world that lives inside us. We intuit that somewhere inside us lives the true, natural world, a world not subject to society’s artifice. But we also know that society’s artifice is crucial to our very survival.

Anna’s passion condemns her to the life of an outcast. She cannot find happiness in her travels, in her husband’s rich estate, or in the habitual amusements of the society in which she lives. In the rapture of love, she strives toward the selfhood and inner peace that love cannot by itself endow. Even in her exalted state, she cannot find an unwavering self or an untroubled peace. How can she then experience the flames of love, outside her disappointing 19th century icebox marriage, except by melting into a dangerous passion?

At a high society ball in Moscow (where Anna and Vronsky fall in love); at a racetrack in St. Petersburg (where a reckless Vronsky breaks his horse’s back); during a carnival assembly in Venice (where sinister masks glisten in the mist); we see hypocrisy, jealousy, faith, fidelity, and carnality sway, leap, twirl, dart, and pirouette. We eye bodies rivering in desire, longing, consummation, and torment. We observe Anna’s fluid thoughts and free associations tumble out in a stream of consciousness made of ardent signals, gestures of anxiety and, finally, a desperate lust for oblivion. We delight in the intricate patterns that all these bodies create; we delight, and we squirm. In inchoate rage, Karenin rapes his wife. In bitter betrayal, Vronsky destroys the Orthodox Church of Anna’s mind, like a bomb dropping on St. Petersburg’s exquisite Smolny Cathedral.

Eifman is a master at creating effective visual equivalents of emotional states: a serenity of swans now promises bliss; a murder of crows now menaces it. Below an ominous bridge, intermittently lit up by lightning obscured by fog, a turmoil of dancers pulses and churns like the contents of Anna’s psyche. We hear the deathtrain coming. It comes, and Anna throws herself under its carriage, for love.

The music is a mélange of 14 pieces by Tchaikovsky. The stylistic and emotional range of Russia’s greatest composer orbits and sweeps the dancers through the Mozartian charm of his Serenade for Strings, the foreboding of Roméo et Juliette, and the devastation of the Pathétique.

Boris Eifman founded his now nearly 60-dancer company in 1977. Though grounded in the 300-year-old tradition of Russian classical ballet, he achieved an early reputation as a “choreographic dissident.” In the teeth of the Soviet dance apparatchiks, he fused expressionist theatricality and a contemporary intellectual and psychological outlook into the received language of ballet. In his new dialect, emotion prisms through strikingly sharp and precise patterns and impulses that disrupt the fluid lines of tradition. His is an audacious individual reformation of classical rigour for our time. It marries modern showmanship with a traditional sophistication that traces back to the court of Peter the Great.

Eifman has created more than 40 dances in his St. Petersburg choreographic laboratory, a perpetual motion machine for one maestro's vision.

“Ballet is a very special art form that allows us to delve into the subconscious and the heart of psychological drama,” says Eifman. “Anna Karenina allows us not only to go deep into the heroine’s psyche, but also to fully understand her psychoerotic essence.

“What is more important: to preserve the widely accepted illusion of harmony between duty and emotion, or to allow true passion to take over? These questions beleaguered Tolstoy, and they are still inescapable today. Yet there are no answers. There is only the unquenchable thirst for understanding, either in life or in death.”

_______________________________________________________________

Eifman Ballet performs Anna Karenina, April 15-17 at 8 pm and April 18 at 2 pm and 8 pm in Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier of Place des Arts, Montreal. Presented by Les Grands Ballets Canadiens. Tickets: $62-$124. 514-842-2112. www.pda.qc.ca

Robert Kilborn is a Montreal writer. Contact him at rkilborn@sympatico.ca

Philip Glass Announced as
Eleventh Glenn Gould Prize Laureate

A fearlessly innovative, collaborative and prolific composer

“I am very pleased to be the winner of the Eleventh Glenn Gould Prize. It is for me a special honor as I am one of the many musicians who have been inspired by him. Glenn Gould’s name is associated with a lifetime of excellence in music interpretation and performance. Also I am aware that this award places me in the company of some of the most celebrated names in the broad spectrum of the music of our time. It is, therefore, with great pleasure that I accept this award.” – Philip Glass.

Toronto, ON (April 14, 2015) – American composer Philip Glass has been chosen as the Eleventh Glenn Gould Prize Laureate. Through his operas, symphonies, film scores, compositions for ensembles, and wide-ranging collaborations with artists from many disciplines, Philip Glass has had an extraordinary impact on the musical, artistic and intellectual life of his times.

“Our jury has made a brilliant choice in selecting Philip Glass,” said Brian Levine, Executive Director of The Glenn Gould Foundation. “At the start of his career his music was seen as radical and even derided for being contrary to the prevailing musical current, but his work advanced solidly until it permeated our cultural consciousness; it has exerted a profound influence on a whole generation of composers, filmmakers, dramatists and operatic directors. In his work and life, he reveals himself to be a man of deep spirituality and conscience as reflected in the themes of his operatic creations and film scores. We are honoured to present the Prize to an artist of such originality, conviction and vision.”

“I am thrilled with our choice of Laureate,” said Bob Ezrin, chair of the Glenn Gould Prize Jury. “ Philip Glass is one of the towering figures of modern music. With an iconic career that has spanned fifty years, his body of work is unrivalled in its breadth and depth. He not only helped to reclaim tonality as a vital force in serious music, he took minimalism and brought it from the fringes of the avant-garde to the mainstream where it has literally provided the subscore to most of our lives. We hear his music and music he has influenced on stage and screen – virtually everywhere. Finally he is a man of principle and deep spirituality who has used his art to help elevate humanity. On behalf of the jury, I can say that we couldn’t be more proud of this decision.”

A prolific and respected composer, his early work is associated with the minimalist movement, although Glass preferred to speak of himself as a composer of “music with repetitive structures.” He has written a large collection of new music for the Philip Glass Ensemble, which he founded in the late 1960s and with which he still performs on keyboards. His operas, including one of his best known works, the landmark Einstein on The Beach, along with Satyagraha, Akhnaten, and The Voyage have played throughout the world’s major opera houses. His repertoire includes music for dance, opera, chamber ensemble, orchestra, experimental theatre and film, including the Academy Award-winning The Hours for which he received a Best Score nomination, and the iconic Koyaanisqatsi. Since the 1960s, Glass has collaborated with artists from pop, rock and world music plus the worlds of dance and film including Twyla Tharp, Woody Allen, David Bowie, Leonard Cohen, Paul Simon, Kronos Quartet and Yo-Yo Ma, to name a few, garnering him a wide, multi-generational audience.

Philip Glass was chosen from a distinguished list of international candidates nominated by the general public and will receive a cash award and the Glenn Gould Prize statue by Canadian artist Ruth Abernethy. This year, The Glenn Gould Foundation has announced that it will double the award to $100,000 (CAD). Mr. Glass will choose an outstanding young artist to receive The City of Toronto Glenn Gould Protégé Prize of $15,000 (CAD), an individual who embodies the qualities of creative promise, innovation and career potential demonstrated by Gould in his youth. The recipient of the Protégé Prize will be announced later this year. Both Mr. Glass and his protégé will receive their awards at a gala ceremony and their work will be honoured through a series of public events presented within the next twelve months.

Eleventh Glenn Gould Prize Jury

back: Martin Katz, Wu Man, Michael Ondaatje OC, Brian Levine (Executive Director of The Glenn Gould Foundation), Bob Ezrin (Jury Chair), Deborah Voigt, Jay Hunter Morris
front: Petula Clark CBE, The Right Honourable Adrienne Clarkson, PC CC COM CMM CD, HRH Julie of Luxembourg, Sarah Polley OC

The Eleventh Glenn Gould Prize Jury included singer, actress and composer Petula Clark, CBE (UK); author and broadcasterThe Right Honourable Adrienne Clarkson, PC, CC, COM, CMM, CD (Canada); tenor Jay Hunter Morris (United States); arts philanthropist HRH Julie of Luxembourg (Switzerland/United States), Prospero Pictures president, and chairman of the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television Martin Katz (Canada); pipa virtuoso and Grammy Award-nominee Wu Man(China/United States); Booker Prize-winning novelist and poet Michael Ondaatje, OC (Canada); renowned actor, director, and writer Sarah Polley, OC (Canada); and acclaimed soprano Deborah Voigt (United States).

This Week in Toronto (March 9 - 15)

This Week in Montreal: March 9 to 15

Cette semaine à Montréal : du 9 au 15 mars

This Week in Toronto (March 16 - 22)

Cette semaine à Montréal :le 16 au 22 mars

This Week in Montreal: March 16 to 22

This Week in Toronto (March 23 - 29)

Cette semaine à Montréal : le 23 au 29 mars

This Week in Montreal: March 23 to 29

Elliot Madore at Music Toronto (Review)

This Week in Toronto (March 30 - April 5)

This Week in Montreal: March 30 to April 5 / Cette semaine à Montréal : 30 mars au 5 avril

Burrage and Frazer Bid Adieu in Superb Recital (Review)

Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal's Jeunes Gouverneurs stage princely soirée

This Week in Toronto (April 6 - 12)

La Guilde des musiciens et musiciennes du Québec lance sa coopérative

Poetic Love: Andrew Haji and Gordon Bintner in Lieder Recital (Review)

This Week in Toronto (April 13 - 19)

Anna Karenina: Dancing on the Grave of Love

American Composer Philip Glass is Eleventh Glenn Gould Prize Laureate

Philip Glass Announced as
Eleventh Glenn Gould Prize Laureate

A fearlessly innovative, collaborative and prolific composer

Eleventh Glenn Gould Prize Jury

back: Martin Katz, Wu Man, Michael Ondaatje OC, Brian Levine (Executive Director of The Glenn Gould Foundation), Bob Ezrin (Jury Chair), Deborah Voigt, Jay Hunter Morris
front: Petula Clark CBE, The Right Honourable Adrienne Clarkson, PC CC COM CMM CD, HRH Julie of Luxembourg, Sarah Polley OC

Philip Glass Announced asEleventh Glenn Gould Prize Laureate

A fearlessly innovative, collaborative and prolific composer

Eleventh Glenn Gould Prize Jury

back: Martin Katz, Wu Man, Michael Ondaatje OC, Brian Levine (Executive Director of The Glenn Gould Foundation), Bob Ezrin (Jury Chair), Deborah Voigt, Jay Hunter Morrisfront: Petula Clark CBE, The Right Honourable Adrienne Clarkson, PC CC COM CMM CD, HRH Julie of Luxembourg, Sarah Polley OC

Philip Glass Announced as
Eleventh Glenn Gould Prize Laureate

back: Martin Katz, Wu Man, Michael Ondaatje OC, Brian Levine (Executive Director of The Glenn Gould Foundation), Bob Ezrin (Jury Chair), Deborah Voigt, Jay Hunter Morris
front: Petula Clark CBE, The Right Honourable Adrienne Clarkson, PC CC COM CMM CD, HRH Julie of Luxembourg, Sarah Polley OC