memorial series. This
memorial series. This disc presents in more modem times. ,Featured are taught at Yale an.d was thoroughly us with the two late Schubert 19th and 20th century anthem and bound, according to pupil Charles symphonies, and it opens with a hymn composers such as Samuel · Ives, by German tradition. Vathek bonus track: one of Georg Tintner's · Wesley, Felix Mendelssohn, John was the grandson of Haroun Alanecdotal talks from the stage of the Rebecca Cohn Auditorium. The maestro's tale of the genesis of Schubert's No. 8 is touching in its .insight, while adhering to the relevant historical facts. Symphonies 8 and 9 are given comfortably conservative interpretations, with some of the repeats omitted from the larger No.9. That deviates from Tintner's· standard practise of including eacli and every repeat in 19th-century works. Excellent playing emanates from all sections of the orchestra: principal oboist Suzanne LeMieux charms us with her fluid sound in the all-toobrief solo oboe passages and principal · horn Robert McCosh deserves high praise for his contributions. Violinists George Maxmann and Phillippe Djokic are both given credit as concertmaster, but we aren't given · indications of who played on which symphony. The well-behaved Halifax audience in the Cohn Auditoriu'm contribute a mere hint of extraneous noise. This budget-priced Naxos CD would be an excellent addition to your library, particularly if like me, you still have a favourite version of 'the Great' C major on aging vinyl. The two Symphonies with tJle anecdote make for one hefty programme, filling the CJ:? to capacity. Tanya Tintner's programme notes are up to her usual high standard, and the cover photo shows Tintner in a delightful moment of music-making. - · John S. Gray !Im f'AUt!;lSTlh':Hl!AVEN ;,:Ii,; , m :itin.
combined with acoustic piano in Synchronisms VI represents an early attempt to humanize electronic music. Trope forms a movement of French composer Pierre Boulez's still-in-progress Third Piano Sonata. Petrowska creates poignant, shimmering textures out ofBoulez's abstract fragmented structures. Assemblages by Micheline Coulombe Saint-Marcoux, another individual voice in Canadian music who died too young, is a delicate, elegant work whose open structure benefits from Petrowska Quilico's rich imagination. Pamela Marg/es Concert Notes: Christina Petrowska Quilico will perform Bregent 's "Portraits" (1966-1988) for solo piano at St. George the Martyr Church on Sunday, September 21 at 8 pm as pan of a Piano Marathon Weekend presented by New Music Concens and the Music Gallery. Mario Davidovsky, as Roger D. Moore distinguished Visitor in Composition at the University of Toronto Faculty of Music, will give a lecture in Room 330 of the Edward Johnson Building on Thursday, October 23, at 7:30. A concen of his chamber music will be held on Sunday, October 26 at 2:30, in Walter Hall, featuring Susan Hoeppner, Lynn Kuo, Aaron Brock and Monica Whicher. Yo soy Ia Desintegracion Pauline Vaillancourt, soprano Jean Piche, electroacoustic music Yan Muckle, libretto Amberola ambe cd 7109 The extraordinary life of Mexican painter Frida Kahlo (1907-1954) forms the basis for this opera for voice and electroacoustics. A woman whose life was tragically transformed by a bus accident at age 18, Kahlo' s artistic output was as a result undoubtedly affected by the pain she subsequently suffered both physically and emotionally. Soprano Pauline Vaillancourt discovered the. world of Frida Kahlo through her intimate "Journal" and was moved to commission a work based on Kahlo's life for her Montreal performance company Chant fibres. Composer Jean Piche has written a dark and difficult opera for solo voice that is quite accessible harmonically at times. The music with its Fren:ch and Spanish text by librettist Yan Muckle is gripping, disturbing and mesmerizing. Clocking in at just under one hour, it is however, unfortunately .a tad too long to completely sustain one's attention with such heavy material. From the eerie opening to the final long held note, the suffering endured by the character "the woman" cannot be forgotten, as she is devastated, yet remains devastatingly beautiful, with each punch that life swings at her. This cannot be an easy role to perform musically or emotionally. Vaillancourt' s performance is a tour de force - she is both inside the music and her character and watching the action from the outside simultaneously. This is not easy listening! Only after repeated tries was 1 able to listen to the opera in its entirety. Days later it is still very much on my mind. Tiina Kiik Editor's note: This CD was released on· the hard to find Amberola label several years ago but has recently been.added to the Canadian Music Centre's Distribution Service, and is now available at the CMC, 20 St. Joseph St., or online at www.musiccentre.ca. Bang on 'a Can Classics Bang on a Can All-Stars Cantaloupe Music CA21010 Julia Wolfe-The String Quartets Ethel; Cassatt String Quartet; Lark Quartet Cantaloupe Music CA21011 Cantaloupe Music was created in 2001 by three of the founders of New York City's legendary Bang on a Can Festival, which has been presenting cutting edge new music CONTINUED ON PAGE 56
