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Volume 9 Issue 10 - July/August 2004

  • Text
  • Festival
  • Toronto
  • Jazz
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  • August
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  • Concerts
  • Trio

The WholeN ote Selection

The WholeN ote Selection Subscribe now for the 2004/2005 season Select Series Highlights Our Select Series offer something for al I musical tastes and passions. Choose five or more concerts from a selection of over 35 concerts in our Select Series listing. All Select performances begin at 8 pm. For the complete listing of Select Series concerts, visit www.tso.ca Piano Emanuel Ax plays Chopin Wed.Sep.29,2004 Radu Lupu plays Beethoven Sat. Feb. 12, 2005 Helene Grimaud plays Ravel Wed. June 8, Thurs. June 9, 2005 Violin Sarah Chang plays Dvorak Thurs. Nov. 11, Fri . Nov. 12, 2004 Leila Josefowicz plays Schubert Wed. June 15, Thurs. June 16, 2005 Vocal Gianandrea Noseda conducts Stravinsky's Nightingale Wed. Mar. 9, Thurs. Mar. 10, 2005 Measha BrOggergosman and Russell Braun sing in Dvofak's Te Deum Wed. June 1, 2005 Conductors Peter Oundjian conducts Beethoven Thurs. Sep. 23, 2004 Emmanuel l

.... A.NA.l.iEK.JA.. It's our name. lt 1 s your music. EDITOR'S CORNER This month we have the truly great pleasure of welcoming world-renowned Canadian flutist Robert Aitken to the pages of D/SCoveries, writihg about his memor Marcel Moyse. Moyse was one of the most distinguished musicians and pedagogues of his time. In 1906 he received first prize from the Paris Conservatory and later became a professor there. He was a member of the Ballets Russes orchestra in Paris; then principal flute with the major French orchestras of the first half of the 20th century. In 1951 he was one of the founders of the Marlboro Music School and Festival in the United States and in later years also spent time at the Ban.ff Centre at Aitken 's invitation. When a recent Dull on Laboratories release of remastered peiformances of "Moyse plays Mozart" crossed my desk I knew exactly whom I had to ask to undertake the review . Marcel Moyse plays Mozart with Lily Laskine, harp Piero Coppola & Eugene Bigot, condnctors Moyse Trio Dutton CDBP 9734 The release of these historic recordings by Marcel Moyse is of greater significance than the actual quality of · the performances themselves. It represents a special time in France, should not miss. Dutton Laboratories between the wars, when the musi- have done an excellent job ofrestorcal life was vibrant and full ofactiv- ing these 78s . The pitch has been ity . The recording business was in corrected and therefore the tempi and full swing and Marcel Moyse was we have the opportunity of hearing the exclusive contractor with five ' the profound musicianship and recording companies, and the record- special sound quality of Marcel ing_sessions he could not do himself Moyse in all its glory. he distributed amorig his former students. There were other wonderful flutists in Paris at this time, but Marcel Moyse was the one most in demand, especially for recordings. As is well known, editing possibilities did not yet exist and the use of multiple microphones was just begin~ ning. Often there was only one opportunity to record the piece and the short time possible on one side of a 78 recording explains erratic tempi and uneven quality of the playing. When Moyse recorded the Hungarian Fantasy of Franz Doppler, the sound engineer said, "Here is the On button. When you are ready to start recording push that." Then he left the room and went to lunch. Moyse, himself, was not pleased with most of thes~ Mozart recordings. Only the D major concerto pleased him and he said it was conducted by a music hall conductor who seemed to find the exact spirit for the piece. Having provided excuses for questionable intonation, variable sound quality, uneven balance and sometim.es poor ensemble, I must say it is still an exciting recording and one which collectors )ULY 1 - SEPTEMBER 7 2004 The Mozart Flute and Harp concerto is exactly as he used to teach it, with great contrasts between the noble, expressive and virtuosic material. The legendary harpist Lily Laskine, who performed this piece with over 5 decades of flutists, is beyond reproach and together they present one of the most sensitive, romantic and intelligent performances of this piece one is ever likely to hear. Especially memorable are th_e cad_enzas of Karl Reinecke, which almost overshadow the concerto itself. In fact, the cadenza performances in each concerto are outstanding. Unlike performers today, Moyse chose to play existing cadenzas by Donjon .and Taffanel, little gems in their own right which show little relationship to the style of Mozart's time. Neve!"(heless, they are important for flutists to know and this is the traditional way of performing them. After all, Taffanel was the venerated teacher of Moyse and one cannot get much closer to the source than this. As for the D major and G major con- · certos, the former is definitely the Continued page 10 AN 2 9762 SUBLIME VOICES L. FORTIN K. GAUVIN S.LEBLANC M.-N. LEMIEUX D. Sov1ERO ......................................... !!A

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