Orchestras Canada

Every once in a while, the media releases that flood into our inbox at Orchestra News start to form into a pattern. And so it is this week, with reminders of major concerts in Trois-Rivières and Montréal: post-romantic repertoire is alive and well in La Belle Province!

Sunday, March 18, the Orchestre Métropolitain (led by music director Yannick Nezet-Seguin) performs both the adagio from Mahler’s Symphony No. 10 and—rather remarkably–the Montréal premiere of Alexander Zemlinsky’s Lyric Symphony (1923) at the Maison symphonique. The latter work features soprano Angela Meade and baritone Brett Polegato.

March 17, the Orchestre symphonique de Trois-Rivières (led by its music director, Jacques Lacombe) presents a performance of Mahler’s Symphony No. 9 – a work the orchestra describes as an “expression of love for life, complete with reflections on mortality, heroism, the necessity of fighting against tyranny, and the thirst for freedom.” The concert also marks the conclusion of the OSTR’s work with thirty-four students at Shawinigan’s école Immaculée-Conception, who have been working since January with the orchestra. Each student has been twinned with an orchestra member, the class has had a number of visits from orchestra musicians and staff, and they also attended a rehearsal of the Mahler symphony in Montreal.

This coming weekend, at a performance by the Orchestre Metropolitain, Maestro Yannick Nézet-Séguin will be presented with Prix Denise-Pelletier by Mme Christine St-Pierre, Quebec Minister of Culture, Communications and the Status of Women. The award is one of twelve Prix du Québec, and specifically honours outstanding artistic achievement. Previous winners of the award include such icons as Félix Leclerc (1977), Gilles Vigneault (1983), Joseph Rouleau (1990), Jean-Pierre Ronfard (1999) and Robert Lepage (2003).

Hearty congratulations to the winners of the 2012 Knigge Piano Competition, held at the UBC School of Music. First Prize went to Rudin Lengo (a student at the Glenn Gould School); second prize went to Jocelyn Lai, (studying at UBC); and third prize went to Shifra Day, (a student at the Conservatoire de Musique de Montréal). The prize for the best performance of the required work (Echoes by UBC alumnus Richard Covey) went to Isabelle David (from the Conservatoire de Musique de Montréal). Distinguished juror John O’Conor had this to say about the standard of competition: “It was a great pleasure to be on the jury of the Knigge Competition. It was a feast of piano playing from eight very talented young pianists and I wish them all great satisfaction for the future. They all deserve to do very well.”

We recently learned, with sadness, of the recent passing of Dr. Larry Agranove, a London Ontario business leader, consultant and long-time instructor at the School of Business and Economics at Wilfrid Laurier University. A life-long lover of the arts, Dr. Agranove was the founding president of the Ontario Federation of Symphony Orchestras, and president of the London Symphony (later re-named Orchestra London).

Last week, the National Arts Centre Orchestra live-streamed its 2012-13 season launch – and by all accounts, it was a stellar affair. The season marks Pinchas Zukerman’s 14th as music director – and it’s action packed! Highlights include a Beethoven festival, a tour of northern Canada, two world premieres by Peter Paul Koprowski and Ana Sokolovic, an all-Strauss program, presented in partnership with Montreal’s L’Orchestre Métropolitain (and led by that orchestra’s popular Maestro, Yannick Nézet-Séguin), chamber concerts, children’s concerts, pops performances, solo recitals, and a pair of guest orchestras: Les Violons du Roy and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. For more information, please visit nac-cna.ca.

Early last week, the nominations for this year’s Juno Awards (to be presented in Ottawa, March 26-31) were announced. We were delighted to see so many Canadian orchestras – along with the soloists and composers who enliven their seasons – honoured in the assorted classical categories.

Our particular congratulations to the following nominees:

Classical Album of the Year: Large Ensemble or Soloist(s) with Large Ensemble Accompaniment:

Alexandre Da Costa/Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal Acacia Classics*Universal
Daugherty : Fire and Blood
Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Orchestre Métropolitain ATMA*Naxos
Bruckner 4
Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Orchestre Métropolitain ATMA*Naxos
Florent Schmidt- La tragédie de salomé

Classical Album of the Year: Vocal or Choral Performance:

Marie-Josée Lord; Orchestre Métropolitain; Giuseppe Pietraroia ATMA*Naxos
Marie-Josée Lord
Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra & Daniel Taylor Analekta*Select
J.S. Bach: Cantatas 70 & 154; Concerto 1060; Orchestral Suite No. 2

Classical Composition of the Year:

Jeffrey Ryan Naxos
Equilateral (recorded by the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Bramwell Tovey)

For a complete list of nominations, please visit junoawards.ca.

This week and next, Orchestre Métropolitain (as part of Montréal en Lumière and in collaboration with the Canadian Music Competition) will give four performances of a program that features a youthful conductor (Daniel Myssyk), and an extraordinarily young group of soloists. Performances will take place at the new Maison symphonique, and in three other communities in Montréal: Pointe-Claire , Hochelaga-Maisonneuve and St-Laurent from February 10-19.

Featured works include Tim Brady’s Amplify, Multiply, Remix and Redefine: In Memory of Les Paul, with 27 electric guitarists, Mendelssohn’s Piano Concerto No. 1, Boieldieu’s Harp Concerto in C major and Saint-Saëns’s Introduction and Rondo capriccioso – and soloists include guitarists from Marguerite-De Lajemmerais High School, Daniel Clarke Bouchard (piano), Antoine Malette-Chénier (harp) and Étienne Girard (violin). For more information about this program – and others on the orchestra’s 30th anniversary season – please visit orchestremetropolitain.com.

Last Sunday evening, the Conseil Quebecois de la Musique (CQM) celebrated both the 25th anniversary of its founding and the excellence of the musical community it supports, at the 15th annual Prix Opus Gala. We salute the following friends and members of Orchestras Canada, whose exceptional accomplishments were recognized:

Hommage prize: cellist and conductor Yuli Turovsky, founder and 30-year leader of I Musici de Montreal.
Concert of the year, Montreal: Shostakovich’s four last quartets, Quatuor Molinari
Concert of the year, modern/contemporary: Homage to Xenakis, Nouvel Ensemble Moderne
New work of the year: Mutation, by Denis Gougeon (Nouvel Ensemble Moderne)
Concert of the Year, young audiences: On n’est jamais trop classique, Orchestre symphonique de Montréal
Recording of the year, romantic/post-romantic/impressionist: La tragédie de Salomé, F. Schmitt, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Orchestre Métropolitain, ATMA Classique
Artistic Director of the year: Jean-François Rivest, Orford Arts Centre
Event of the year: Festival de Lanaudière, summer 2011

This week, we bring you news from the Westmount Youth Orchestra.

The group has just announced the appointment of violist, conductor and music educator Jean MacRae as their new artistic director and conductor. Noting that Ms MacRae is the only female youth orchestra conductor in Quebec – and one of only a handful across Canada – the news release goes on to say that “Ms MacRae is no stranger to the WYO: she has conducted the popular Dolce Musica and the String Ensemble with the Westmount Youth Orchestra since its inception. With her extensive orchestral experience as a violist with l’Orchestre Métropolitain, l’Orchestre Symphonique de Québec, La Pietà with Angèle Dubeau, Montréal Chamber Players, plus many other major orchestras across Canada, as well as many years as professor of violin, viola and chamber music at École Secondaire Pierre Laporte in Montréal, the Victoria Conservatory of Music, and at CEGEP Vincent D’Indy, she brings her talent, experience and enthusiasm to her ground breaking position.”

Congratulations to all!

The last few weeks have been good ones for Orchestras Canada members, and we’d like to acknowledge some key accomplishments and landmarks.

Congratulations to the Royal Conservatory of Music, which kicked off its 125th year of operation on November 20th. Speaking about the milestone, RCM President Dr. Peter Simon noted that, ““the broad-based programs of The Royal Conservatory support Canadian education and, ultimately, Canadian innovation. The Conservatory provides a structured system of learning that develops musical literacy, professional training for Canada’s most gifted young artists, and pioneering learning solutions. Over 125 years it has been the vision of The Royal Conservatory to weave these programs into the very fabric of society, based on our conviction that the arts are our greatest tools for learning, for fostering creativity and personal fulfillment, and for contributing to stronger and more productive societies.”
For more information about The Royal Conservatory and its programs, please visit rcmusic.ca.

We’d also like to acknowledge the many Orchestras Canada members who are finalists for the 15th annual Prix Opus, presented by the Conseil québécois de la musique (CQM). The awards – which recognize outstanding concerts, events, musical works and writing about music during the 2010-11 season – will be presented January 29 at the Salle Bourgie at the Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal. The evening will also include a special tribute to Maestro Yuli Turovsky, founder of I Musici de Montreal.

Finalists of note from our membership include:

Nouvel Ensemble Moderne (multiple categories)
Quatuor Molinari (multiple categories)
Les Violons du Roy
Orchestre symphonique de Montreal (multiple categories)
Orchestre symphonique de Québec (multiple categories)
Orchestre symphonique de Trois-Rivières
Orchestre Métropolitain
Tim Brady/Bradyworks

For more information about the Prix Opus – and to learn more about the nomination categories and nominees – please visit cqm.qc.ca (some pages are available only in French).

On October 24, ADISQ (the association for music and sound recording in Quebec) will hold its “other gala” – an event to honour the outstanding non-commercial recordings and performers of the year. A number of Orchestras Canada members have been nominated for the classical music awards, and we’re proud to list them here:

In the “classical recording of the year – orchestra or large ensemble”, featured nominations include recordings by Les Violons du Roy (Bonbons on ATMA Classique, led by Bernard Labadie), Orchestre metropolitain (Florent Schmitt : La Tragédie de Salomé, César Franck : Symphonie en ré, on ATMA Classique, led by Yannick Nezet-Seguin) and the Orchestre symphonique de Montreal (Beethoven: Des Dieux, des Héros et des Hommes, on Analekta, led by Kent Nagano).

In the “classical recording of the year – soloist or small ensemble”, we salute the nomination of the Quatuor Alcan, participants in the recording entitled Mathieu: Trio & Quintette; Chausson – Concert, also featuring Alain Lefèvre and David Lefèvre, on the Analekta label.

Finally, in the “classical recording of the year – vocal”, we recognize the nominations of Les Violons du Roy (Britten: Les Illuminations, featuring Karina Gauvin and led by Jean-Marie Zeitouni, on the ATMA label), and Orchestre Metropolitain (on a recording entitled Marie-Josée Lord, led by Giuseppe Pietraroia featuring the eponymous singer, on ATMA Classique).

Last week, Montreal’s Orchestre Metropolitain – led by music director Yannick Nezet-Seguin along with some gifted young musicians, rappers and dancers – staged a flash mob celebration of the orchestra’s 30th season in a shopping mall. You can watch the festivities, here.

Photo: Pierre Dury