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Volume 9 Issue 10 - July/August 2004

  • Text
  • Festival
  • Toronto
  • Jazz
  • Theatre
  • August
  • Musical
  • Arts
  • Ensemble
  • Concerts
  • Trio

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- - --------- - -- - tf\laaTna--Mackie Ja ·GREAT MU~IC NOW ONLINE OVER 40,000 CLASSICAL & JAZZ TITLES IN OUR ONLINE CATALOGUE better performance, although both have moments of faulty intonation. At the same time they are good examples of how Moyse liked to teach these concertos. The flute tone through-. out is the well-sustained, rich and lively sound for which Moyse was Robert Aitken & Marcel Moyse with his daughterfamous. Of course, in-law Blanche Honegger Moyse, .Ba.nff; l?ti4 \ \ 1 there are cuts in all of the pieces in ~rder to conform to the old 78s time restrictions. The J .S. Bach G major Trio which fills out this CD was recorded in the same time period by the Moyse Trio (Marcel Moyse, flute, Blanche Honneger Moyse, violin, Lou.is Moyse, piano). It is an excellent example of the intense, considered music mak-· ing which continues o~ i~ the tradi:· .· tion of the Marlboro festival today. It may not be irt the style we consider "authentic" but much can be enjoyed in this performance and the entire CD for its sincere,' honest artd intelligent music making. Robert Aitken on a G-string) and the Sonata No. 1 A for Solo Violin. The one unfortunate s for my own iistening, I inclusion is the somewhat cliched have been enjoying Swedish guitar- Minuet in G (now attributed to Chrisist Goran Sollscher's "Eleven-String tian Petzold) from the Notebook for Baroque" (Deutsche Grammophon Anna Magdalena Bach. In the midst 474 815-2). I first encountered Solis- ·of an otherwise serious and mostly · cher's playing about a decade ago contemplative record'iqg the playful" when he recorded several of Bach's ness of this overl'y familiar ditty 'is c 0 enllho 1 .ssu 1uittee~. E < jarring and out of place, especially ' coming immediately after' thb lush like 11, Air. That being said, this really iS' a · string guitar. . ' fine collection. ' · ' ' 1 As an amateur celing is already well laid o~t it seems. Tm; REST OF my summer listenlist myself Having spent some time' recently I must confess that I am wary of transcriptions Quartet recordings of the Shostako- · with the original Borodin String · of these masterworks and would vich Quartets 1-.13(Chand0s10064, guard them jealously from other instruments. There have however been in the November 2003 WhbleNote ' 4 CDs • see Bruce Surtees'' review transc~iptions for two very different available online), I decided that' I instruments that have convinced me would now explore a recent addition to relax my attitude somewhat: Marion Verbriiggen' s for recorder, of all things, and Sollscher's for guitar. So it was with pleasure that I received this new offering. Sollscher presents an eclectic mix of familiar and lesswell-known works, by both familiar and obscure composers of the period. The collection consists predominantly of works written originally for to the Shostakovich catalog: Quartets 1-15 in live recordings by the lute or harpsichord, by Silvius young Belgian Rubio Quartet Leopold Weiss, Johann Pachelbel (Brilliant Classics 6429, 5 CDs). (did you know he wrote more than These live recordings were made "that" canon?) and Fran

Ec9. ·by Colin Eatock When i_s a Competition not a Competition? The provincial finals of the Canadian Music Competitions were in town last month. This unfortunately under-publicized event showcased some of Canada's finest rising talent in recitals at the University of Toronto's Faculty of Music. Indeed, the CMC 's track record - past winners include Louis Lortie, Marc-Andre Hamelin, Naida Cole and Martin Beaver - suggests that this organization knows how to spot talent. Curious, I dropped by Walter Hall to check out the competition. June 18, 2004; 5:00 pm: Along with a dozen other people, I spent the afternoon listening to competitors in the second round of the CMC's International Stepping Stones competition. That's a category for musicians in their twenties who have outgrown CMC events intended for younger perfonners, and who are ready for the rigours of a major competition. (Thus, the !SS is intended as a "stepping-stone" to competing internationally.) 111e top prize in this category is ,000, so it's not surprising that the contest attracts a variety of aspiring musicians: today I heard a mezzosoprano, a saxophonist and a cellist, all of professional ability. At the end of the session I Hagged down the CMC's General Director, Louis Dallaire, who kindly agreed to take a few minutes from his hectic schedule to talk. "We have. 21 chapters across Canada," he stated with pride, "in every province except New BrunswiCk and PEI. Every year we have about 750 candidates, as young as seven years. Many kids come back year after year - it gives them a goal to reach for, beyond their lessons. " "But don't some people dislike competitions?" I asked, citing oftheard complaints that such events encourage flashy playing on one hand and interpretive confonnity on the other. "Our goal is.not to have a competition," responded Dallaire. "There's no comparison made between contestants. If the jurors give passing marks to all ten competitors, where's the competition?" Dallaire went on to explain that the real value;: of the CMC lies in giving young performers the opportunity to hear each other, and to receive constructive critiques from a pane! of international jurors. And yet, at the end of the day, some contestants walkaway with awards and others don't. June 18, 2004, 9:30 pm: This evening I heard two more performers - a guitarist and another saxophonist - and while marks were being tabulated to decide who would advance to the next round, I spoke to a contestant about the value of the CM C. "You have to learn a lot of repertoire for the CMC, and that's probably a good thihg," said 26-year-old saxophonist Allen Harrington. "If you want ·to be a performer, that's what you have to do." Harrington expressed the hope that his CMC experience would help prepare him for an international saxophone competition in Belgium, two years from now. In true Canadian style, the CMC people have created a competition that's kinder and gentler than many - but which remains a competition nonetheless. And while it's easy to decry such events as contrary to the purposes of art, 'there's no getting around the fact that music is a competitive business. (Just ask anyone who's ever auditioned for a professional orchestra.) Music competitions have been around for centuries, dating back to the time of the Ancient Greeks. And if we want our musicians to succeed, they will have to learn to compete. . If you're intereste;:d in the results of this year's Canadian Music Competition you should attend the CM C's Gala Concert, at 7:30 pm on July 3 in th~ University of Toronto's MacMillan Theatre. It promises to be a fine evening of music: prize-winners will appear as soloists with orchestra, under the baton of Kerry Stratton - and with a pay-what-you-can admission, what's there not to like? ** Colin Eatock is a composer and writer in Toronto who contributes to the Globe and Mail and other publications. His T.O. Musical Diary is a regular monthly feature of The Whole Note magazine. Don't miss the 25th Anniversary Season in the new Charles W Stockey Centre for the Performing Arts - our beautiful new home on the Parry Sound waterfront! i For a brochure, call 705-746-2410 or 1-866-364-006! Box Office: 42 James Street, Parry Sound, 01; tario E-mail: info@festivalofthesound.on.ca www.festivalofthesound.on.ca. J ~U_l_Y~,--~S~E-PT-;7~2~0~0~4,--~~~~~~~~~~~~~--;-cw~w~wT.T~H~EW""'HAOl~E~NO~T~E~.C~O~Mc==============================-~-=-=-==- --. -=-====T=='1

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