Volume 7 Issue 3 - November 2001

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acoustics of that church. This recording features the ·Chamber Choir of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra and the Societe de musique contemporaine du Quebec under the direction of Walter Boudreau who brings an exciting and moving edge to the performance. . It opens with Envol (Taking Flight), a solo cadenza for flute played here by Lise Daoust, which is a splendid tour de force. In the two parts which follow, biblical passages sung in French and set in a modernist idiom are juxtaposed with Gregorian plainsong sung in Latin, underlining the affinities Tremblay sees between the harmonic languages of modem and medieval music. The work closes with a Magnificat featuring a splendid Marie-Danielle Parent in a joyful soprano cadenza. One of the most compelling.aspects cif this work is its generous range of colour, and in this Tremblay is aided by a panoply of wonderful percussion instruments - exotic gongs and cymbals mallet instruments, tam-tams and tuned bells. 'Les Vepres de la Vierge will be presented by Soundstreams Canada at the opening concert of the Massey Hall NUMUFEST on November 18. NUMUFEST also includes the premiere -of Tremblay's Croissant, commissioned by New Music Concerts for the Pendere~ki String Quartet, on November 19. · Pamela Margles is a high-profile competition named for her for which young performers are encouraged to hone their contemporary repertoire (and in which, incidentally, Jasper Wood was a grand prize winner). Her Ten Caprices are. evocative character pieces and are reminiscent of the caprices of Paganini and solo sonatas of Ysaye in their demands on the instrument. Kulesha is active in Toronto as a composer, teacher, conductor and the Composer Advisor to the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. His Three Caprices, written in 1978 and revised 20 years later, are clever, virtuosic works that experiment with quarter tones in the third caprice. Wood's performances of these pieces are first-rate. I especially enjoyed the effortless rendering of Eckhardt-Gramatte's sixth caprice El pajarito with its glissandi, double-stop trills· and tremolo effects: an·amazing piece played with sensitivity and panache. Similarly, in l(ulesha's angular second caprice, Wood brings. the piece alive with an intelligent, moving performance. {iis understanding and musicianship match his estimable technique. There's something for everyone on Israelievitch' s disc of "fantasies" by a wide range of 19th and 20th century composers. If your taste ruhs to tonal, straight-ahead violin virtuosity and sentimentality, there's the Wieniawski Grand Caprice Fantastique - a piece. which Israelievitch premiered in North America, Fritz Kreisler's arrangement of a Dvorak Sia- · Eckhardt-Gramatte, Kulesha vonic Fantasy and Saint-Saens' ethereal and 13 Canadian Caprices touching Fantaisie, op. · 124. If you're willing to Jasper Wood, Violin take a few more chances, there's Schoenberg's Analekta FL 2 3149 (Full Price) Phantasy and the recent Michael Colgrass fan- Stiite Fantaisie: Music by Wieniawski, Dvorak, tasy for violin and marimba entitled Hammer ·colgrass, Schoenberg, Saint-Saens & and Bow. And lsraelievitch concludes the disc Schubert. Jacques lsraelievitch, Violin with Judy with a top-drawer warhorse, ·Schubert's C Major Fantasy. Loman, Stephane Lemelin & Michael It's a brilliant program and Israelievitch de- Israelievitch livers it with ease and · confidence. Supporting Fleurs de Son Classics FDS 57941 (Full Price) musicians include his talented son Michael, with These two recordings from two of the To- . whom he plays Colgrass' strong and dramatic ronto area's piece. Harpist Judy Loman joins him for the leading violinists Saint-Saens and the sensational pianist Stephane both share a Lemelin proves a more than able partner in the sense of intelli- other works. gence, wit and I have no hesitation in recommending t!Jese charm. The first-rate performances by two of Toronto's young, award- musical treasures; performances that demonstrate winning phe- what violin playing is all about. nomenon Jasper Michael lsraelievitch is the featured young Wood was artist in a Music Around Us noon hour recital at. trained in Cleve- Glenn Gould Studio on November 8 and will land and has pre- be joined by father Jacques in works by Col grass miered many works for the violin. This record- (Hammer arµi Bow), Luedeke and Bach. Jasper ing juxtaposes solo violin caprices by Sophie- Wood will perform for the Women's Musical Carmen Eckhardt-Gramatte and Gary Kulesha. Club of Toronto at 1 :30 on November 22 at Eckhardt-Gramatte was a Russian-born concert Walter Hall and, further afield, at the Arkell pianist, violin soloist and composer who spent Schoolhouse Gallery on the 24th. . the last twenty years of her life in Canada. There Larry Beckwith 48 wholenote NovEMBER 1, 2001 - ~ECEMBER 7, 2001 CONCERT PREP: SPECIAL MENTION Heavy Metal, Hannaford Street Silver Band; Bramwell Tovey, conductor (Opening Day ODR 9319)/Messiaen - Quartet for the End of Time, Amici Ensemble (Naxos 8.554824) Both of these discs, reviewed in recent issues of WholeNote, serve as a fine introduction to the November 20 concert which features both the Hannaford Street Silver Band and Amici. In Paradisum: The Music of Michael J. Baker, various ensembles; MichaelJ. Baker, conductor (Artifact Music ART 026) Released last month, this disc includes Skyling, a work that will be performed by Continuum on November 21. . Music of a Life So Far ... Simon Fryer, cello; Lydia Wong, piano (Phoenix Records PHX 0877-2) features the cellist who was the moving force behind the decision to pr,ogram Penderecki's Concerto Grosso for three cellos on Esprit's November 23 concert. The CD in- . eludes a work by Penderecki and one by Gary Kulesha, whose Violin Concerto will be performed by Gwen Hoebig and the TSO on November 22. . Redemption: Peter Paul Koprowski - Concerti, Robert Aitken, flute; Joseph Petric, a~cordion; Rivka Golani, viola; Toronto Symphony Orchestra; Jukka-Pekka Saraste, conductor (CBC Records SMCD 5206) The Toronto Symphony's November 22 performance will include concerti by four Canadians. This disc (reviewed in our July/August 2001 issue) presents three concerti by one of Canada's finest composers. Giovanni Bottesini: Music for Double Bass and Piano Vol.l, Joel Quarrington, double bass; Andrew Burashko, piano (Naxos 8.554002) As noted in our review of Virtuoso Reality, below, Joel Quarrington is one of the soloists featured on the TSO concert November 22. This Naxos disc is also a fine showcase of Quarrington's talents. Harry Somers - Celebration, James Parker, piano; Jean Stilwell, mezzo-soprano; Esprit Orchestra: Alex Pauk, conductor (CBC Records SMCD 5199) Any of Esprit's CBC recordings would be a good introduction to the orchestra (which,)ike the ,TSO, will perform a program of concerti on November 23), but this one is of particular interest having been recorded at the Massey Hall New Music Festival in 1999. Arraymusic: 25 Miniatures (Artifact Music ART 025) This is an eclectic offering from the Arraymusic ensemble who will share the stage at Massey Hall with the Evergreen Club contemporary gamelan for the festival's final concert on November 24. II. NEW RELEASES Bach Arrangements Angela Hewitt, piano Hyperion CDA67309 (Full Price) This collection of works by Bach transcribed for piano by various composers and concert pianists complements the Canadian pianist Angela Hewitt's very successful series of recordings of Bach keyboard works. continues

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