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.
DON HUNTSTEIN Leonard
DON HUNTSTEIN Leonard Bernstein at the dressing room, Lincoln Center, February 1970 Bernstein conducting the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra in Roy Thomson Hall in the late 1980s. Mahler figured prominently in Bernstein’s programs, recording all the symphonies except the Eighth with the Philharmonic during his tenure there. His Mahler was something to hear and see, as his demeanour suggested an enraptured identification with the composer. Mahler’s symphonies Two, Three, Six and Nine are here together with Kindertotenlieder and excerpts from Rückert Lieder both with Jennie Tourel, and Des Knaben Wunderhorn and Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen with Christa Ludwig, Walter Berry and Dietrich Fischer- Dieskau. In this unique collection are the works of 70 composers from A to Z in compositions ranging from marches, incidental music, ballets, encore-type pieces, chamber music, concertos, symphonies, operas, ballet music, lieder, film music, overtures, etc. Assisting artists include Isaac Stern, Lucas Foss, Adele Addison, Glenn Gould, Eileen Farrell, Andre Watts, Charles Bressler, Felicia Montealegre, Benny Goodman, Zino Francescatti, Regina Resnik, Erich Kunz, Yehudi Menuhin, Julius Baker, Judith Raskin, Judith Blegen, Robert Casadesus, Barbara Cook and others. Also heard are the Juilliard String Quartet, the Westminster Choir, the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, the Vienna State Opera Chorus and the Camerata Singers, among others. In summary: this edition is a collection of some significant recordings from 1945 to c.1976 issued by Columbia/Sony, either recently or newly remastered for the occasion. The opulent boxed set of 100 CDs in original covers includes a lavishly illustrated, 196-page hardcover book of presentation quality outlining the often complex remastering of the process. Compared to the previous releases of all the recordings that I have sampled these new incarnations are a revelation. For instance, I was disappointed in the perfunctory performance on the original release of Liszt’s Faust Symphony, also with the version on The Royal Edition. However, in this new presentation the sound is immediate and dynamic, revealing playing that is most certainly alert. I wonder, out of the many hundreds of Bernstein performances of so many different works in the Sony archives, how particular recordings were chosen. It certainly wasn’t the choice of someone or other with little or no knowledge, nor was it a computer’s choice based on sales. For example, the performance of The Age of Anxiety decided upon is the original mono version recorded on February 27, 1950 with soloist Lucas Foss, a recording that required a lot of time and dedication to restore the less-than-mint original elements. How much easier it would have been to utilize the 1965 performance with Philippe Entremont. Regardless, it is the earlier performance that we hear on this well-chosen collection. Well-chosen indeed; there are works one would never think of including, but there is not one that I would remove. There are complete details of every disc at arkivmusic.com and an interesting YouTube video about the project, titled Leonard Bernstein – The Art of Remastering. H A N N A F O R D S T R E E T S I L V E R B A N D P R E S E N T S Christmas Cheer Tuesday, December 12th, 2017 7:30 PM Metropolitan United Church Ben Heppner, Host and Tenor Soloist Elmer Iseler Singers Lydia Adams, Artistic Director Tickets available online at www.hssb.ca By Phone: 416.366.7723 or 1.800.708.6754 92 | December2017 / January2018 thewholenote.com
TORONTO CHILDREN’S CHORUS The Fire Within Featuring opera stars Krisztina Szabó and Lesia Mackowycz SAT DEC 16 ◆ 2 PM Made possible by the generous support of Edwards Charitable Foundation 21 ST ANNUAL FREE NOON HOUR CHOIR & ORGAN CONCERTS ELMER ISELER SINGERS Season of Joy Lydia Adams, conductor Shawn Grenke, organ TUE DEC 19 ◆ 12 PM THE BARRA MACNEILS An East Coast Christmas THU DEC 21 ◆ 8 PM TICKETS MAKE GREAT GIFTS! Gift certificates available. FOR TICKETS VISIT ROYTHOMSONHALL.COM OR CALL 416-872-4255
