the music and further proof that underLohmann’s careful direction a baroque stringensemble is a viable means of enjoying thiswell-known fare.—Richard HaskellCLASSICAL & BEYONDCarnaval – Robert Schumann’s Carnavaland KinderszenenCanadian BrassOpening Day ODR 7438openingday.com!!The CanadianBrass has their workcut out for them inthis recording ofbrass adaptations ofRobert Schumann’spiano compositionsCarnaval, Op.9 andKinderszenen, Op.15.Both works are mainstays of the pianorepertoire, being musically and technicallydaunting, humbling and gratifying toperform. In these versions by Brass membersChris Colleti and Brandon Ridenour, thesame challenges are remarkably conquered.Iam familiar with the original piano compositionsso I do miss the subtlety of colour andsentiment in both the fast contrapuntal linesand slower melodic sections that the pianistachieves. However, the performances on brassinstruments add new elements of expression.The brass choir sound such as in theopening “Preambule” of Carnaval worksextremely well. The technical brilliance ofthe ensemble is proven again in the speedyIntermezzo: Paganini. Surprisingly, themost “piano specific” movements work thebest. In Chopin, the pianistic arpeggio-likelines are transformed into a steady backdropagainst the soaring melody. “Traumerei” fromKinderszenen transforms into a brass anthemof contrasting instrumental phrases. Alsofun is to hear the low instruments in “Fastzu Ernst” and in the closing cadence of finaltrack “Der Dichter spricht.” I only wish therewas more sense of spontaneity and abandonin the performances.No surprise in the excellent sound qualityachieved by recording in Toronto’s ChristChurch Deer Park. This is a worthy venue torecord in. And this is a worthy recording tolisten to.—Tiina KiikPiano TitansAnagnoson & KintonOpening Day ODR 7432openingday.com!!Has it really been almost 40 years that theToronto-based pianists James Anagnosonand Leslie Kinton have delighted audienceswith their exemplary keyboard skills? Thetwo pianists met as students while at theAspen Music Festival. Nine discs and morethan 1,000 performanceslater, they’rerecognized as one ofthe world’s foremostpiano duos and thislatest CD, titled PianoTitans with music byClementi, Beethovenand Schubert, is atestament to their ongoing success.To be honest, the title may be a bit of amisnomer. While Anagnoson & Kinton couldrightly be regarded as piano titans, (as couldBeethoven and Schubert), most of the musicon this CD — apart from the great SchubertFantasie — wouldn’t be regarded as “titanic.”Instead, it comprises small musical gems, aspleasing to listen to as they are to perform.The disc opens with two short pianosonatas by Clementi, famous during his lifetimeas a pianist, composer and piano manufacturer.Nowadays Clementi’s works areperformed more by students than by professionals,but his music is not without itscharm, and the duo does it justice, exhibitinga particular precision and elegance of phrase.Three Marches Op.45 by Beethoven follow,scored for four hands at one piano. Completewith musical depictions of treading feet anddrum-roll effects, these pieces are great fun,undoubtedly conceived for performance inamateur Viennese drawing rooms.Anagnoson & Kinton save the best forlast in a compelling performance of thegreat Schubert Fantasie in F Minor D940.Written for one piano, four hands, the pieceis now regarded as one of the finest pianoduet compositions in the repertoire. Herethe two are in perfect sync, easily capturingthe dramatic intensity of the music througha strong and assured performance, thusrounding off the CD in a most satisfying way.Well done, gentlemen. May you continueto face each other across the expanse of twogrand pianos for many years to come!—Richard HaskellFauré – Piano MusicAngela HewittHyperion CDA67875!!In her informativeliner notes, pianistAngela Hewitt writesin her commentaryabout GabrielFauré’s NocturneNo.5 in B-Flat Major,Op.37 that “there is agrace combined witha contained strength behind every note.”This description can also be used to describeHewitt’s powerhouse performances here.Thème et variations, Op.73 opens witha march-like statement reminiscent ofHewitt’s Bach performances. The abruptchanges in dynamics from loud to soft areexecuted perfectly by Hewitt, with heartfeltbeauty and an inherent sense of romanticmelodic line. Each variation is flowing, clearand spontaneous. After variation 10, Allegrovivo’s dramatic ending, it is Hewitt’s intelligentand emotional interpretation of themore sparse variation 11, Andante molto,moderato espressivo that foreshadows moremoving performances of the following twosparkling Valse-caprices and three dreamyNocturnes. The slightly chromatic natureof the opening melody combined with thedarkness of the harmonies of the abovementionedtechnically demanding NocturneNo.5 leads to a carefully crafted work of widerangingmoods. The Ballade pour piano seul,Op.19 is the earliest piece featured. Hewitt’ssense of cadence resolution and manipulationof tempo supports well-defined andtonally colourful melodies and trillingornamentation.Hewitt writes that she was first introducedto and learned Fauré’s Ballade as a 15-yearoldstudent. Her decades-long dedication tohis work is apparent here. This is not salonmusic — it is substantial piano repertoireperformed unforgettably by a passionate andbrilliant pianist.—Tiina KiikMODERN & CONTEMPORARYMagnus Lindberg – EXPO;Piano Concerto No.2; Al largoYefim Bronfman; New York Philharmonic;Alan GilbertDacapo 8.226076! ! Magnus Lindbergwas the Marie-JoséeKravis composer-inresidenceat the NewYork Philharmonicfrom 2009 to 2012 andthis CD was recordedlive with the New YorkPhilharmonic underthe leadership of music director Alan Gilbert.You couldn’t ask for a better orchestra orperformances. The New York Philharmonicand Israeli/American pianist Yefim Bronfmanare both incredible virtuosos who can playanything and make it sound effortless.EXPO (2009) is a dynamic piece usingcontrasting fast and slow tempi. Frictionis created when the pulse is calm and thequicker-paced music begins to agitate nervously,merging the various layers of flowingmusic in a kind of perpetuum mobile. Thisis a stunning opener for the CD and it is nosurprise that EXPO has received numerousperformances.The Piano Concerto No.2 (2012), averitable cornucopia of styles, begins withthe solo piano in a slow, hesitating quasiimprovisatorycadenza which is mostappealing. Except for a few more quietmoments the concerto continues in a classicdialogue between piano and orchestra in amenu of flashy pianistic tricks requiring avirtuoso technique and stamina from thecontinued on page 6462 | October 1 – November 7, 2013 thewholenote.com
The terrific Matt Haimovitz is backwith another fascinating CD, thistime featuring the Cello ConcertoNo.2 “Naqoyqatsi” by Philip Glass(Orange Mountain Music OMM 0087).Long-time Glass champion Dennis RussellDavies provides excellent support with theCincinnati Symphony Orchestra.The bulk of the music datesfrom the 2002 score Glass wrotefor Naqoyqatsi: Life as War, thethird film in a Godfrey Reggiotrilogy that featured only musicand images. The prominentsolo cello part was played byYo-Yo Ma. When Glass became acreative director of the CincinnatiSymphony Orchestra in the 2011/12 season,a commission from the orchestragave him the opportunity tore-work the film score as a fullconcerto for cello and orchestra.It’s not a concerto in the traditionalformal or structural sense,but neither is it always what youmight expect to hear if you arefamiliar with Glass’ music. Glassacknowledges that the film’slargely digital images steeredhim towards “a very acoustic,symphonic piece” which wouldmake the images seem lesssynthetic and more approachable,thus hopefully making iteasier for audiences to connectwith the film.There are seven movements, all shorterthan eight minutes in length, with the solocello third and fifth movements acting asconnecting passages within the overall structure.The faster movements certainly havethe typical Glass sound, but the cello writingthroughout is contemplative and more rhapsodicthan virtuosic. Haimovitz plays beautifullythroughout this intriguing and highlysatisfying work.If you come across a performance of theElgar Cello Concerto that puts the iconicJacqueline du Pré recording with Barbirollicompletely out of your mind, then you knowyou’ve found something really special. That’sexactly what the French (but Montreal-born)cellist Jean-Guihen Queyras manages to dowith his stunning new harmonia mundiCD, which couples the Elgar concerto withTchaikovsky’s Rococo Variations and twoshort pieces by Dvořák (HMC 902148).It’s clear from the opening solo bars of theElgar that Queyras understands the innersoul of this quintessentially English work bythe most English of composers. It’s a simplybeautiful opening — thoughtful, probing andexpansive. Jiří Bĕlohlávek draws a performancefrom the BBC Symphony Orchestra thatTERRY ROBBINSis perfectly attuned, catching the mood ofwistful Romanticism with playing that alwayshas weight and depth, but is never heavy.The performance level never dropsthroughout the remainder of the CD. Dvořák’sRondo Op.94 and Klid (Silent Woods)Op.68/5 were originally written for celloand piano, and orchestrated by thecomposer in 1893, shortlybefore he began workon his Cello Concerto.Again, Queyras’ tone isquite beautiful.The TchaikovskyVariations were extensivelyrevised andrearranged, prior to publication,by the cellist Wilhelm Fitzenhagen,the composer’s colleague at theMoscow Conservatory, not exactlywith Tchaikovsky’s approval,but apparently without muchcomplaint either. It’s still theversion we usually hear.Another dazzling performanceby Queyras rounds out amarvellous CD.The Dutch cellist PieterWispelwey has compiled an extensiveand impressively varied discography,ranging from the BachSolo Suites (reviewed in thiscolumn last April) to works byShostakovich, Ligeti and Britten.His latest CD on Onyx Classicspairs two rarely heard works: theLalo D Minor Cello Concerto and the ConcertoNo.2, also in D minor, by Saint-Saëns(Onyx 4107).Wispelwey is in terrific form; indeed, onthe strength of these performances it’s difficultto understand why we don’t hear thesetwo outstanding concertos more often. TheLalo is a powerful work with a charming slowmovement. Wispelwey’s line is strong andfluent, offering wonderfully assured playingwith never a hint of empty bravura. The Saint-Saëns No.2 is a striking concerto that has beenunjustly overshadowed by No.1, and remindsus just how much this often-marginalizedcomposer has to offer. Wispelwey displaysterrific agility in an extremely difficult andchallenging work, with some particularlytender and heartfelt high register playing inthe slow movement.The Flanders Symphony Orchestra underSeikyo Kim provides top-notch supportthroughout, and also performs the filleron this CD, the Love Scene from Berlioz’dramatic symphony Roméo et Juliette. It’sBerlioz at his best and beautifully performed,but this is a CD you’ll be buying for the Laloand Saint-Saëns.Violinist Isabelle Faust and conductorDaniel Harding team up on anotheroutstanding harmonia mundi CD, withmarvellous performances of the ViolinConcertos Nos.1 & 2 by Béla Bartók (HMC902146). The orchestra is the Swedish RadioSymphony Orchestra; Harding has beentheir principal conductor since 2007. He hasalready recorded highly successful concertodiscs with violinists Nicola Benedetti, JanineJansen and Ray Chen, and this latest CD is theequal of any of them. Faust is a consummateartist, and her rapport here with Hardingis palpable.For many years the 1938 concertowe now refer to as No.2 wasregarded as Bartók’s only violinconcerto, but 30 years earlierhe had written a concerto forthe violinist Stefi Geyer, withwhom he was deeply in love.The relationship didn’t last,though, with Geyer rejecting notonly the composer but also theconcerto. She did keep the manuscript thecomposer sent her, however, and bequeathedit to the Swiss conductor Paul Sacher, whoconducted the premiere in Basel in 1958; itwas published in 1959 as Violin ConcertoNo.1, Op.posth. In her preparation for thisrecording Faust went back to the variousoriginal sources for this early concerto, anddiscusses the process in fascinating detail inher excellent — and extensive — booklet notes.The depth of her understanding is evident inthe depth of her interpretation; this really isan exceptional performance in all respects.The same innate grasp of the material is justas evident in the Concerto No.2, which alsoreceives an outstanding performance. Whatmakes it even more special is that Faust andHarding choose to use the original ending forthe work, which has no solo violin part overthe closing bars. Zoltán Székely, for whom theconcerto was written, asked the composer towrite an alternative ending where the violincould play to the end of the work along withthe orchestra and Bartók obliged. The originalending is well worth hearing!The young Dutch violinist RosannePhilippens is a new name to me, but ifRhapsody, her debut CD on Channel Classics(CCS SA 35013), is anything to go by, we’llall be hearing a lot more of her in the future.She is accompanied by her regular keyboardpartner Yuri van Nieuwkerk in a recital ofworks by Ravel and Bartók. This may seemlike an odd pairing at first glance, but theperformers note that both composers workedin a period when a wide range of musicalstyles — jazz and blues, for instance — wereinfluencing the European musical world;almost all of the works here were written inthe 1920s.Ravel’s Tzigane is given a straightforwardbut very solid performance, but the real Ravelgem here is the Violin Sonata No.2, whichshowcases Philippens’ big, expansive tone.There is a perfect balance between the twoperformers in the first movement; a lovelyModerato: Blues middle movement; and somethewholenote.com October 1 – November 7, 2013 | 63
July/August issue is now available in flipthrough HERE, bringing to a close 25 seasons of doing what we do (and plan to continue doing), and on stands early in the week of July 5. Not the usual bucolic parade of music in the summer sun, but lots, we hope, to pass the time: links to online and virtual music; a full slate of record reviews; plenty new in the Listening Room; and a full slate of stories – the future of opera, the plight of small venues, the challenge facing orchestras, the barriers to resumption of choral life, the challenges of isolation for real-time music; the steps some festivals are taking to keep the spirit and substance of what they do alive. And intersecting with all of it, responses to the urgent call for anti-racist action and systemic change.
"COVID's Metamorphoses"? "There's Always Time (Until Suddenly There Isn't)"? "The Writing on the Wall"? It's hard to know WHAT to call this latest chapter in the extraordinary story we are all of a sudden characters in. By whatever name we call it, the MAY/JUNE combined issue of The WholeNote is now available, HERE in flip through format, in print commencing Wednesday May 6, and, in fully interactive form, online at thewholenote.com. Our 18th Annual Choral Canary Pages, scheduled for publication in print and flip through in September is already well underway with the first 50 choirs home to roost and more being added every week online. Community Voices, our cover story, brings to you the thoughts of 30 musical community members, all going through what we are going through (and with many more to come as the feature gets amplified online over the course of the coming months). And our regular writers bring their personal thoughts to the mix. Finally, a full-fledged DISCoveries review section offers cues and clues to recorded music for your solitary solace!
After some doubt that we would be allowed to go to press, in respect to wide-ranging Ontario business closures relating to COVID-19, The WholeNote magazine for April 2020 is now on press, and print distribution – modified to respect community-wide closures and the need for appropriate distancing – starts Monday March 30. Meanwhile the full magazine is right here, digitally, so if you value us PLEASE SHARE THIS LINK AS WIDELY AS YOU CAN. It's the safest way for us to reach the widest possible audience at this time!
FEATURED: Music & Health writer Vivien Fellegi explores music, blindness & the plasticity of perception; David Jaeger digs into Gustavo Gimeno's plans for new music in his upcoming first season as music director at TSO; pianist James Rhodes, here for an early March recital, speaks his mind in a Q&A with Paul Ennis; and Lydia Perovic talks music and more with rising Turkish-Canadian mezzo Beste Kalender. Also, among our columns, Peggy Baker Dance Projects headlines Wende Bartley's In with the New; Steve Wallace's Jazz Notes rushes in definitionally where many fear to tread; ... and more.
Visions of 2020! Sampling from back to front for a change: in Rearview Mirror, Robert Harris on the Beethoven he loves (and loves to hate!); Errol Gay, a most musical life remembered; Luna Pearl Woolf in focus in recordings editor David Olds' "Editor's Corner" and in Jenny Parr's preview of "Jacqueline"; Speranza Scappucci explains how not to reinvent Rossini; The Indigo Project, where "each piece of cloth tells a story"; and, leading it all off, Jully Black makes a giant leap in "Caroline, or Change." And as always, much more. Now online in flip-through format here and on stands starting Thurs Jan 30.
Welcome to our December/January issue as we turn the annual calendar page, halfway through our season for the 25th time, juggling as always, secular stuff, the spirit of the season, new year resolve and winter journeys! Why is Mozart's Handel's Messiah's trumpet a trombone? Why when Laurie Anderson offers to fly you to the moon you should take her up on the invitation. Why messing with Winterreisse can (sometimes) be a very good thing! And a bumper crop of record reviews for your reading (and sometimes listening) pleasure. Available in flipthrough here right now, and on stands commencing Thursday Nov 28. See you on the other side!
On the slim chance you might not have already heard the news, Estonian Canadian composing giant Udo Kasemets was born the same year that Leo Thermin invented the theremin --1919. Which means this is the centenary year for both of them, and both are being celebrated in style, as Andrew Timar and MJ Buell respectively explain. And that's just a taste of a bustling November, with enough coverage of music of both the delectably substantial and delightfully silly on hand to satisfy one and all.
Long promised, Vivian Fellegi takes a look at Relaxed Performance practice and how it is bringing concert-going barriers down across the spectrum; Andrew Timar looks at curatorial changes afoot at the Music Gallery; David Jaeger investigates the trumpets of October; the 30th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution (and the 20th Anniversary of our October Blue Pages Presenter profiles) in our Editor's Opener; the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir at 125; Tapestry at 40 and Against the Grain at 10; ringing in the changing season across our features and columns; all this and more, now available in Flip Through format here, and on the stands commencing this coming Friday September 27, 2019. Enjoy.
Vol 1 of our 25th season is now here! And speaking of 25, that's how many films in the upcoming Toronto International Film Festival editor Paul Ennis, in our Eighth Annual TIFF TIPS, has chosen to highlight for their particular musical interest.
Also inside: Rob Harris looks through the Rear View Mirror at past and present prognostications about the imminent death of classical music; Mysterious Barricades and Systemic Barriers are Lydia Perović's preoccupations in Art of Song; Andrew Timar reflects on the evolving priorities of the Polaris Prize; and elsewhere, it's chocks away as yet another season creaks or roars (depending on the beat) into motion. Welcome back.
What a range of stuff! A profile of Liz Upchurch, the COC ensemble studio's vocal mentor extraordinaire; a backgrounder on win-win faith/arts centre partnerships and ways of exploring the possibilities; an interview with St. Petersburg-based Eifman Ballet's Boris Eifman; Ana Sokolovic's violin concert Evta finally coming to town; a Love Letter to YouTube, and much more. Plus our 17th annual Canary Pages Choral directory if all you want to do is sing! sing! sing!
Arraymusic, the Music Gallery and Native Women in the Arts join for a mini-festival celebrating the work of composer, performer and installation artist Raven Chacon; Music and Health looks at the role of Healing Arts Ontario in supporting concerts in care facilities; Kingston-based composer Marjan Mozetich's life and work are celebrated in film; "Forest Bathing" recontextualizes Schumann, Shostakovich and Hindemith; in Judy Loman's hands, the harp can sing; Mahler's Resurrection bursts the bounds of symphonic form; Ed Bickert, guitar master remembered. All this and more in our April issue, now online in flip-through here, and on stands commencing Friday March 29.
Something Old, Something New! The Ide(a)s of March are Upon Us! Rob Harris's Rear View Mirror looks forward to a tonal revival; Tafelmusik expands their chronological envelope in two directions, Esprit makes wave after wave; Pax Christi's new oratorio by Barbara Croall catches the attention of our choral and new music columnists; and summer music education is our special focus, right when warm days are once again possible to imagine. All this and more in our March 2019 edition, available in flipthrough here, and on the stands starting Thursday Feb 28.
In this issue: A prize that brings lustre to its laureates (and a laureate who brings lustre to the prize); Edwin Huizinga on the journey of Opera Atelier's "The Angel Speaks" from Versailles to the ROM; Danny Driver on playing piano in the moment; Remembering Neil Crory (a different kind of genius)' Year of the Boar, Indigeneity and Opera; all this and more in Volume 24 #5. Online in flip through, HERE and on the stands commencing Thursday Jan 31.
When is a trumpet like a motorcycle in a dressage event? How many Brunhilde's does it take to change an Elektra? Just two of the many questions you've been dying to ask, to which you will find answers in a 24th annual combined December/January issue – in which our 11 beat columnists sift through what's on offer in the upcoming holiday month, and what they're already circling in their calendars for 2019. Oh, and features too: a klezmer violinist breathing new life into a very old film; two New Music festivals in January, 200 metres apart; a Music & Health story on the restorative powers of a grassroots exercise in collective music-making; even a good reason to go to Winnipeg in the dead of winter. All this and more in Vol 24 No 4, now available in flipthrough format here.
Reluctant arranger! National Ballet Orchestra percussionist Kris Maddigan on creating the JUNO and BAFTA award-winning smash hit Cuphead video game soundtrack; Evergreen by name and by nature, quintessentially Canadian gamelan (Andrew Timar explains); violinist Angèle Dubeau on 20 years and 60 million streams; two children’s choirs where this month remembrance and living history must intersect. And much more, online in our kiosk now, and on the street commencing Thursday November 1.
Presenters, start your engines! With TIFF and "back-to-work" out of the way, the regular concert season rumbles to life, and, if our Editor's Opener can be trusted, "Seeking Synergies" seems to be the name of the game. Denise Williams' constantly evolving "Walk Together Children" touching down at the Toronto Centre for the Arts; the second annual Festival of Arabic Music and Arts expanding its range; a lesson in Jazz Survival with Steve Wallace; the 150 presenter and performer profiles in our 19th annual Blue Pages directory... this is an issue that is definitely more than the sum of its parts.
In this issue: The WholeNote's 7th Annual TIFF TIPS guide to festival films with musical clout; soprano Erin Wall in conversation with Art of Song columnist Lydia Perovic, about more than the art of song; a summer's worth of recordings reviewed; Toronto Chamber Choir at 50 (is a few close friends all it takes?); and much more, as the 2018/19 season gets under way.
PLANTING NOT PAVING! In this JUNE / JULY /AUGUST combined issue: Farewell interviews with TSO's Peter Oundjian and Stratford Summer Music's John Miller, along with "going places" chats with Luminato's Josephine Ridge, TD Jazz's Josh Grossman and Charm of Finches' Terry Lim. ) Plus a summer's worth of fruitful festival inquiry, in the city and on the road, in a feast of stories and our annual GREEN PAGES summer Directory.
In this issue: our sixteenth annual Choral Canary Pages; coverage of 21C, Estonian Music Week and the 3rd Toronto Bach Festival (three festivals that aren’t waiting for summer!); and features galore: “Final Finales” for Larry Beckwith’s Toronto Masque Theatre and for David Fallis as artistic director of Toronto Consort; four conductors on the challenges of choral conducting; operatic Hockey Noir; violinist Stephen Sitarski’s perspective on addressing depression; remembering bandleader, composer and saxophonist Paul Cram. These and other stories, in our May 2018 edition of the magazine.
In this issue: we talk with jazz pianist Thompson Egbo-Egbo about growing up in Toronto, building a musical career, and being adaptive to change; pianist Eve Egoyan prepares for her upcoming Luminato project and for the next stage in her long-term collaborative relationship with Spanish-German composer Maria de Alvear; jazz violinist Aline Homzy, halfway through preparing for a concert featuring standout women bandleaders, talks about social equity in the world of improvised music; and the local choral community celebrates the life and work of choral conductor Elmer Iseler, 20 years after his passing.
In this issue: Canadian Stage, Tapestry Opera and Vancouver Opera collaborate to take Gogol’s short story The Overcoat to the operatic stage; Montreal-based Sam Shalabi brings his ensemble Land of Kush, and his newest composition, to Toronto; Five Canadian composers, each with a different CBC connection, are nominated for JUNOs; and The WholeNote team presents its annual Summer Music Education Directory, a directory of summer music camps, programs and courses across the province and beyond.
In this issue: composer Nicole Lizée talks about her love for analogue equipment, and the music that “glitching” evokes; Richard Rose, artistic director at the Tarragon Theatre, gives us insights into their a rock-and-roll Hamlet, now entering production; Toronto prepares for a mini-revival of Schoenberg’s music, with three upcoming shows at New Music Concerts; and the local music theatre community remembers and celebrates the life and work of Mi’kmaq playwright and performer Cathy Elliott . These and other stories, in our double-issue December/January edition of the magazine.
In this issue: conversations (of one kind or another) galore! Daniela Nardi on taking the reins at "best-kept secret" venue, 918 Bathurst; composer Jeff Ryan on his "Afghanistan" Requiem for a Generation" partnership with war poet, Susan Steele; lutenist Ben Stein on seventeenth century jazz; collaborative pianist Philip Chiu on going solo; Barbara Hannigan on her upcoming Viennese "Second School" recital at Koerner; Tina Pearson on Pauline Oliveros; and as always a whole lot more!
In this issue: several local artists reflect on the memory of composer Claude Vivier, as they prepare to perform his music; Vancouver gets ready to host international festival ISCM World New Music Days, which is coming to Canada for the second time since its inception in 1923; one of the founders of Artword Artbar, one of Hamilton’s staple music venues, on the eve of the 5th annual Steel City Jazz Festival, muses on keeping urban music venues alive; and a conversation with pianist Benjamin Grosvenor, as he prepares for an ambitious recital in Toronto. These and other stories, in our October 2017 issue of the magazine.
In this issue: a look at why musicians experience stage fright, and how to combat it; an inside look at the second Kensington Market Jazz Festival, which zeros in on one of Toronto’s true ‘music villages’; an in-depth interview with Elisa Citterio, new music director of Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra; and The WholeNote’s guide to TIFF, with suggestions for the 20 most musical films at this year’s festival. These and other stories, in our September 2017 issue of the magazine!
CBC Radio's Lost Horizon; Pinocchio as Po-Mo Operatic Poster Boy; Meet the Curators (Crow, Bernstein, Ridge); a Global Music Orchestra is born; and festivals, festivals, festivals in our 13th annual summer music Green Pages. All this and more in our three-month June-through August summer special issue, now available in flipthrough HERE and on the stands commencing Thursday June 1.
From science fact in "Integral Man: Music and the Movies," to science fiction in the editor's opener; from World Fiddle Day at the Aga Khan Museum to three Canadians at the Cliburn; from wanting to sashay across the 401 to Chamberfest in Montreal to exploring the Continuum of Jumblies Theatre's 20-year commitment to the Community Play (there's a pun in there somewhere!).
In this issue: Our podcast ramps up with interviews in March with fight director Jenny Parr, countertenor Daniel Taylor, and baritone Russell Braun; two views of composer John Beckwith at 90; how music’s connection to memory can assist with the care of patients with Alzheimer’s; musical celebrations in film and jazz, at National Canadian Film Day and Jazz Day; and a preview of Louis Riel, which opens this month at the COC. These and other stories, in our April 2017 issue of the magazine!
On our cover: Owen Pallett's musical palette on display at New Creations. Spring brings thoughts of summer music education! (It's never too late.). For Marc-Andre Hamelin the score is king. Ella at 100 has the tributes happening. All; this and more.
In this issue: an interview with composer/vocalist Jeremy Dutcher, on his upcoming debut album and unique compositional voice; a conversation with Boston Symphony hornist James Sommerville, as as the BSO gets ready to come to his hometown; Stuart Hamilton, fondly remembered; and an inside look at Hugh’s Room, as it enters a complicated chapter in the story of its life in the complex fabric of our musical city. These and other stories, as we celebrate the past and look forward to the rest of 2016/17, the first glimpses of 2017/18, and beyond!
In this issue: a conversation with pianist Stewart Goodyear, in advance of his upcoming show at Koerner Hall; a preview of the annual New Year’s phenomenon that is Bravissimo!/Salute to Vienna; an inside look at music performance in Toronto’s health-care centres; and a reflection on the incredible life and lasting influence of the late Pauline Oliveros. These and more, in a special December/January combined issue!
In this issue: David Jaeger and Alex Pauk’s most memorable R. Murray Schafer collabs, in this month’s installment of Jaeger’s CBC Radio Two: The Living Legacy; an interview with flutist Claire Chase, who brings new music and mindset to Toronto this month; an investigation into the strange coincidence of three simultaneous Mendelssohn Elijahs this Nov 5; and of course, our annual Blue Pages, a who’s who of southern Ontario’s live music scene- a community as prolific and multifaceted as ever. These and more, as we move full-force into the 2016/17 concert season- all aboard!
Music lover's TIFF (our fifth annual guide to the Toronto International Film Festival); Aix Marks the Spot (how Brexit could impact on operatic co-production); The Unstoppable Howard Cable (an affectionate memoir of a late chapter in the life of of a great Canadian arranger; Kensington Jazz Story (the newest kid on the festival block flexes its muscles). These stories and much more as we say a lingering goodbye to summer and turn to the task, for the 22nd season, of covering the live and recorded music that make Southern Ontario tick.
It's combined June/July/August summer issue time with, we hope, enough between the covers to keep you dipping into it all through the coming lazy, hazy days. From Jazz Vans racing round "The Island" delivering pop-up brass breakouts at the roadside, to Bach flute ambushes strolling "The Grove, " to dozens of reasons to stay in the city. May yours be a summer where you find undiscovered musical treasures, and, better still, when, unexpectedly, the music finds you.
INSIDE: The Canaries Are Here! 116 choirs to choose from, so take the plunge! The Nylons hit the road after one last SING! Fling. Jazz writer Steve Wallace wonders "Watts Goode" rather than "what's new?" Paul Ennis has the musical picks of the HotDocs crop. David Jaeger's CBC Radio continues golden for a little while yet. Douglas McNabney is Music's Child. Leipzig meets Damascus in Alison Mackay's fertile imagination. And "C" is for KRONOS in Wende Bartley's koverage of the third annual 21C Festival. All this and as usual much much more. Enjoy.
From 30 camp profiles to spark thoughts of being your summer musical best, to testing LUDWIG as you while away the rest of so-called winter; from Scottish Opera and the Danish Midtvest, to a first Toronto recital appearance by violin superstar Maxim Vengerov; from musings on New Creations and new creation, to the boy who made a habit of crying Beowulf; it's a month of merry meetings and rousing recordings reviewed, all here to discover in The WholeNote.
2016 is off to a flying start! We chronicle the Artful Times of Andrew Burashko, the violistic versatility of Teng Li, the ageless ebullience of jazz pianist Gene DiNovi and the ninetieth birthday of trumpeter Johnny Cowell. Jaeger remembers Boulez; Waxman recalls Bley's influence, and Olds finds Bowie haunting Editor's Corner. Oh, and did we mention there's all that music? Hello (and goodbye) to the February blues, and here's to swinging through the musical vines of the Year of the Monkey.
What's a vinyl renaissance? What happens when Handel's Messiah runs afoul of the rumba rhythm setting on a (gasp!) Hammond organ? What work does Marc-Andre Hamelin say he would be content to have on every recital program he plays? What are Steve Wallace's favourite fifty Christmas recordings? Why is violinist Daniel Hope celebrating Yehudi Menuhin's 100th birthday at Koerner Hall January 28? Answers to all these questions (and a whole lot more) in the Dec/Jan issue of The WholeNote.
"Come" seems to be the verb that knits this month's issue together. Sondra Radvanovsky comes to Koerner, William Norris comes to Tafel as their new GM, opera comes to Canadian Stage; and (a long time coming!) Jane Bunnett's musicianship and mentorship are honoured with the Premier's award for excellence; plus David Jaeger's ongoing series on the golden years of CBC Radio Two, Andrew Timar on hybridity, a bumper crop of record reviews and much much more. Come on in!
Vol 21 No 2 is now available for your viewing pleasure, and it's a bumper crop, right at the harvest moon. First ever Canadian opera on the Four Seasons Centre main stage gets double coverage with Wende Bartley interviewing Pyramus and Thisbe composer Barbara Monk Feldman and Chris Hoile connecting with director Christopher Alden; Paul Ennis digs into the musical mind of pianist Benjamin Grosvenor, and pianist Eve Egoyan is "On the Record" in conversation with publisher David Perlman ahead of the Oct release concert for her tenth recording. And at the heart of it all the 16th edition of our annual BLUE PAGES directory of presenters profile the season now well and truly under way.
Paul Ennis's annual TIFF TIPS (27 festival films of potential particular musical interest); Wu Man, Yo-Yo Ma and Jeffrey Beecher on the Silk Road; David Jaeger on CBC Radio Music in the days it was committed to commissioning; the LISTENING ROOM continues to grow on line; DISCoveries is back, bigger than ever; and Mary Lou Fallis says Trinity-St. Paul's is Just the Spot (especially this coming Sept 25!).
