Listen, nobody asked Gus Englehorn to move to Wailuku, Hawaii and start hearing whales inside his guitar, but HERE WE ARE, here we all are, in 2026 or whatever year this diseased calendar has spat us into. But the man has done it, he’s gone and done the thing, he’s made another record, a year after the last one, which means either he’s cracked some cosmic code or the sun out there is doing something genuinely illegal to his brain chemistry. Frankly either explanation is fine, both are fine, we’ll take it, because The Broken Balladeer exists now and it’s got a marxophone (played by his wife Estée who also keeps the beat) on every single song and somewhere in there is a four-minute story about a governor’s son named Edrick who gets raised in a “Horsehair Purse” and ends up on an iron lung and NOBODY, including the man who wrote it, fully understands what happened…

That’s the whole songwriting game, isn’t it? Certainly is for Gus. You open your mouth, and gibberish falls out, and after two hundred hours, the gibberish has a melody and the melody has feeling. Here it is from the man himself, Gus Englehorn, The Broken Balladeer.

PAN M 360: You’re starting your tour in Montreal and then going on this crazy tour with Holy Fuck.

Gus Englehorn: Yeah, and we’re playing 15 shows in a row with Holy Fuck. I’m so scared. I’ve only ever done like five in a row. I don’t know what I’m gonna do

PAN M 360: You’re going to be roadworn for sure!

Gus Englehorn: It’s gonna be brutal, dude. I’m gonna look…, I’m gonna look 10 years older (laughs)

PAN M 360: But what a crazy opportunity to play this new album to a completely new audience.

Gus Englehorn: Yeah, I think their crowd will give me some needed energy.

PAN M 360: I have to admit, I didn’t think we would get a new album from you so soon. The Hornbook came out only a year ago, and now we have this new one The Broken Balladeer.

Gus Englehorn: Yeah! I mean, I’m usually like pretty slow, but in Hawaii, the songs just kind of, they just kind of ooze out of me. I have no friends and no distractions, and I wake up when the sun rises, and by the time noon rolls around, I’ve been playing guitar for like five hours, writing songs. I think the sun gives you energy too, it like changes your whole perspective a little bit. I feel like I’ve been way more productive since moving to Hawaii.

PAN M 360: That makes sense. Do you think Hawaii’s vibe has influeneced what you write about too?

Gus Englehorn: Yeah, for sure. I think you really have no control over it. Like you can choose where to live, but it’s one of those things that you can’t help. The other day I wrote this song about, you know, you stick your head under the water, and in Hawaii you hear the whales. So I play the whale sounds like on the slide guitar. So I wrote this song about the whales singing, and I’m kind of doing this slide thing ( he imitates whale sounds). That’s like the most direct Hawaiian thing, but I haven’t played a lot of slide guitar. I think I have the guitar in my hand so much that my left hand starts turning into a claw after a while, so slide guitar is nice because you don’t have to press it down too hard, you know?

PAN M 360: Yeah, I love slide guitar too. And there are lots of cool and sort of random instrumentation on this new album, too. An omnichord, a marxophone, which is super medieval.

Gus Englehorn: Yeah, dude, and the phone we were playing with was like from the 1800s. Like super old. Estée’s always kind of like bringing to my attention, like, weird, cool instruments. Like they use that instrument on The Smiths’ song “Please, Please, Please.” I was always like, ‘What is that thing?’ But there was one just in the studio, and we’re like, dude! So it’s like, it’s on like, every song.

PAN M 360: So did you record every song in the studio in Austin?

Gus Englehorn: Yeah, I only did one overdub this time, at home. Like one little guitar solo, if you could call it that. But we did the whole thing in like six days in Austin. We played some shows in Montreal and then were just like practicing, and then we imported a truck to the United States and drove it to Texas. Man, I was so tired when we got to Texas. I laid in bed for like three days there, and then we recorded the whole album.

PAN M 360: And you were recording with like legends, too, so you must have been super prepared.

Gus Englehorn: Yeah, it was nuts. Like Paul Leary and Stuart Sullivan, the two dudes who recorded the Sublime album, and then, [Mark] Kramer, who played bass with Ween and like The Butthole Surfers, and he played bass on it, and then frickin’ Howie Weinberg, who, like, mastered Nevermind. He mastered it. And that’s all, Paul. He would like call people up who were in town. We were so not worthy. But the first day, we recorded like 11 songs. Paul was like, ‘I’m astonished, usually, I would record, and there’d be, like, some dude, passed out on the floor.’ So I guess just the fact that we just weren’t completely obliterated the whole time, the bar was already pretty low, as long as you showed up sober and well-practiced.

PAN M 360: Ha, what a different time recording was back then. I also hear way more of Estée‘s voice on this one. Did you write it more with her voice in mind, guiding some of these songs?

Gus Englehorn: I think it’s just from doing all the live shows, and I just kind of started realizing after a while, like, ‘Oh my God, every time Estée sings, it sounds so good, I don’t really even know how to sing, so it’s, like, when Estée sings, adds this Pixies thing. Like I love Frank Black [Pixies guitar/vocalist], but, you know, when Kim sings in the back, it adds this beauty to the whole thing. Which is the same as Estée. I think Paul, too, was, like, ‘Well, we should probably have Estée sing on this one, too. ‘We never regret when Estée sings.

PAN M 360: I want to talk about that one song, “Horse Hair Purse.” It’s so catchy, and like I still don’t know what the hell is going on, but what is the inspiration behind that one?

Gus Englehorn: Dude, that’s one of Estée’s favourites, too. I don’t know what it’s about, really, either. I just started seeing this, like, cartoon in my head… I don’t know quite who the mother of Edrick, the governor’s son, is, but it’s like the governor abandons his son, who’s in the courthouse bathroom in a horsehair purse. And then he becomes kind of, like, a creature. I imagine him, living in a kind of bell tower, and coming out, like, doing crazy stuff. And that’s where they try to hang him at the courthouse, and the governor shows up, shoots the rope, and saves him. But then, like, some sort of, like, supernatural force rings out from the lake and renders Edrick, like, I don’t know, brain dead, or something. That’s why he’s being kept alive by an iron lung (12:09) in the governor’s house.

PAN M 360: You see, you’re explaining the story, but I still have no idea. This is like a book, and it’s a four-minute song. Where do you come up with this stuff?

Gus Englehorn: I mean, lately, last songs, I haven’t written anything down. I’ve just been kind of singing off the top of my head, coming up with stuff. It is definitely a mystery to me. I definitely don’t set out to make, like, even stories or anything, but somehow, it just starts kind of taking shape. I remember David Byrne, I was reading a thing with him, and he said he just started, like, shouting out a bunch of gibberish until the sounds kind of started sounding good and then that turned into words. I feel like that’s kind of what I do all day. Poor Estée has to put up with me just shouting gibberish and stuff all day. And then, you know, after, like, 200 hours, it’s like ‘All right, ‘”‘Horsehair Purse” has birthed.

PAN M 360: The Broken Balladeer. I know it’s a song, but why did that title kind of piece everything together for you?

Gus Englehorn: I’ve always been kind of fascinated by those, like, down on their luck, like, aging stars. Not that I’m … I’m aging, but I’m not a star. I’ve definitely got the aging part now. But I watched that movie by Ken Russell, The Boy Friend. It’s just this big theatrical kind of, you know, thing with Twiggy in it and stuff. And it’s just an awesome movie. And I just kind of, like, I started writing that song, the first song of the record, “Hounds Are Out,” and it starts with me saying ‘My hair is turning gray, as I stare into the mirror backstage and say, good evening, ladies and gentlemen, it’s showtime.’

And I just kind of was imagining my not-so-distant future, where you’re like, you’re super dishevelled, and all haggard from the road, and you’re like, you know, you’re The Broken Balladeer.

PAN M 360: That’s going to be you after the Holy Fuck tour.

Gus Englehorn: Yes (laughs). This is what I will become. It’s like a prophecy.

Photos by Estée Preda

Ta da da daaaam! The most famous riff by Beethoven will resound once again at the Maison symphonique: this coming Friday, March 6, the ensemble Caprice will perform the composer’s celebrated Symphony No. 5, and will join forces with ArtChoral for a performance of the Great Mass in C, Op. 86, as well as Mozart’s Ave verum corpus, K. 618. This repertoire is not Baroque in the least, yet these “adventurers” of Baroque and early music will offer interpretations that differ greatly from those of traditional symphony orchestras. Conductor of both ensembles, Matthias Maute explains the program to PAN M 360.

Get your tickets here

Œuvres
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Grande messe en do mineur, K. 427
Ludwig van Beethoven, La Symphonie no 5 en do mineur, op. 67
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ave verum corpus, K. 618
Artistes
Chef d’orchestre
Matthias Maute
Sopranos
Janelle Lucyk
Myriam Leblanc
Ténor
Philippe Gagné
Basse
William Kraushaar
Chœur
Ensemble ArtChoral
Production
Production / DiffusionEnsemble Caprice

The Classica Festival will present its 16th program from May 22 to June 14, 2026. From Beethoven’s Symphonic Heptade to his Piano Concertos, Classica offers more than twenty programs performed mostly by Quebec artists. Reflecting a fully committed artistic vision, Classica 2026 features a hybrid program that blends instrumental and vocal music from the classical repertoire with new explorations in symphonic pop-rock, world music, and youth concerts.

“From its inception, the Classica Festival has defined itself as a space for sharing dedicated to all so-called classical music in multiple configurations, from various eras, origins and movements. With this 16th edition, the Festival embodies its mission more than ever: to offer a unifying program guided by a constant concern for quality,” emphasizes Marc Boucher in a press release.

But what else?

The general manager and founder of the Classica Festival gives a preview of its program, launched this week, under the theme “Concerts within your reach.” Concerts that embrace their potential!

INFO AND TICKETS HERE

Le Vivier is launching its Semaine du Neuf 2026, which will take place from February 27 to March 15, in various venues in Montreal. PanM360 will extensively cover the event featuring contemporary interdisciplinary music and concerts. Here, let us tell you about the concert that will be held on March 1st at the Studio-Théâtre of the Wilder Building in the Quartier des Spectacles. A multimedia concert in which the excellent Montreal instrumentalists of Architek Percussions and the Swiss ensemble Contrechamps will join forces, in addition to featuring video projections and electronic tracks. On the program, three Canadian creations: The Brown Gardener (Co-commissioned by Contrechamps / Le Vivier for Architek Percussion) for percussion quartet, by Alexandre Babel; AUTORRETRATO EXTENDIDO (Commissioned by the Contrechamps Ensemble, in partnership with Art Zoyd Studios) for instrumental ensemble and video, by Daniel Zea; and Crxssfaaz (pronounced something like “crossphase”) for instrumental ensemble, video, and electronics, by our beloved Nicole Lizée. I talked about all this with Serge Vuille, the Artistic Director of Contrechamps, an ensemble that will be on stage in Canada for the first time.

DETAILS AND TICKETS

FESTIVAL WEBSITE LA SEMAINE DU NEUF

Architek Percussion

Ben Duinker (percussions)

Noam Bierstone (percussions)

Alexander Haupt (percussions)

Alessandro Valiante (percussions)

Contrechamps

Susanne Peters (flutes)

Laurent Bruttin (clarinets)

Simon Aeschimann (electric guitar)

Charles Pierron (horn)

Hans Egidi (alto)

Martina Brodbeck (cello)

For those unaware of the country rock singer songwriter, Julianna Riloino, you may have heard her voice as part of Daniel Romano’s The Outfit. But since 2022, she has been releasing fantastic solo music. She just released a deluxe version of her sophomore album, Echo in the Dust, and is currently finishing her Canada East Coast tour in support of it. Echo In The Dust builds on the alt-country elements of All Blue. On top of that, she started her own record label, Moonwhistle Records, late last year. We spoke with Julianna Riolino about the new deluxe version of Echo in the Dust while she was in her home studio on her farm in Ontario.

PAN M 360: So you live on a farm? That must be great for inspiration as an artist?

Julianna Riolino: It is. I think that so much of my life, when I’m on the road, surrounded by people and having to be social. Having a place to relax and be, you know, quiet for a bit, is really nice in order to recharge. It used to be a fully functional farm back when, my cousins, who have had this place since the ’60s, were much younger. I like to grow my own vegetables and monopolize as much of the warm weather as I can by not having to go to the grocery store. So yeah, I dabble in growing a garden, but if a horticulturalist saw it, they’d be like what the heck is going on?

PAN M 360: Cool. Let’s get into your music. So what brought on this idea to release a deluxe version of Echo in the Dust?

Julianna Riolino: So, when we were recording the album, we were able to record 14 songs, but the problem that I faced was that 14 songs on the physical album would have changed the demand for the physical record. So it would have had to have been like a double LP, which is a much harder sell. It’s also way more expensive, too. So I had to make the hard decision of cutting three of them. The hope was to have them be an EP or something. But then the album was released in October. I just felt like it was too sad to separate all of them. There’s a thread I think that binds all of those all of 14 songs together. Thematically, they go, and I tend to like once a record is recorded, I’m on to the next thing.

PAN M360: So basically, you needed to get them out there, but you didn’t want them to be separate from the album.

Julianna Riolino: Yeah, exactly. They needed to be bound together.

PAN M360: I suppose because you have your own label now, you can just do that too? You’re the decision maker. Was that the reason you started the label?

Julianna Riolino: I think so. I think I don’t like being told what to do. Which is maybe a character flaw or maybe it’s a good thing? I want to be fluid and have the freedom to make these decisions when I want to and release music when I want to release it. So that’s definitely a bonus. I have a lot more freedom, and I don’t have to, you know, wait.

PAN M 360: I love one of the newer songs, “Don’t Put Me in the Middle.” What spurred that one on?

Julianna Riolino: I think I look at songs as more like encapsulating feelings. So I think that like, it’s being in situations with people or in relationships with people where they’re dysfunctional, or you’re trying your best and nothing’s really good enough, and you have to decide to leave. So I mean, you can look at it as like my farewell to something that is no longer serving me, and it’s kind of identifying all of those different things, as you know, I gave it everything I could. It’s kind of me writing a letter to whatever fill-in-the-blank situation or person, and saying I tried my best, and you know, it’s all love and great, but I have to move on.

PAN M 360: That thread of moving on is definitely on this album, thematically.

Julianna Riolino: Yeah. I think that this is like another window into that. Like, I look at “Smile” as unpacking a lot of stuff and still being like really tethered to it. And then “Don’t Put Me In The Middle,” I always kind of compare it to—and I know this is like an insane thing to say because this is like an iconic song—but it’s like my version of “I will always love you,” by Dolly Parton. You know, she wrote this song for Porter Wagoner because she wanted to leave the show and move on to her own things. Like that was kind of what I had in my head, that motivated and propelled the song forward.

PAN M 360: Your first album, All Blue, is much more country, but Echo in the Dust really moves through different genres. Did you know you wanted this early on?

Julianna Riolino: There’s obviously the country nuances to all of my songs. Like people said All Blue was country, and I think yeah, “Queen of Spades” is a country song. But, like for more or less, it’s always just little little trickles of it. I think that Echo in the Dust is a lot more rocking than All Blue, and I think maybe some of the listeners were missing a bit more of that, like Americana.

PAN M 360: I wanted to ask you about glass staining. How did you get into that, and do you still do it?

Julianna Riolino: I went to school for Architectural restoration, and I went to a small, little, it’s like a trade college in Niagara on the Lake, which is really close to where I live. I ended up picking it up again during the pandemic. Stained glass is like the term that everyone can easily identify, but it’s more leaded glass because I’m not actually painting on the glass. Staining, that’s a whole other like scientific … that’s what you see in like churches, though, is stained glass. You’ll see leaded glass windows at churches, too, depending on how many of those windows at churches are sponsored by families. All of those windows are supposed to be like memorials for people who have passed away. So I don’t do that because of time. I did a restoration project this past fall. And I’ll do more when I have time. Last year was crazy. I think I got home from like a festival and then immediately went into this restoration project, and then I was back on tour again. So, I’m taking a break, but I think I’ll be back at it when I have a window of time, after the tour, maybe.

Cellist and composer Vincent Bélanger and his company, Productions (VBMP), present a live performance of Songe, his original chamber music album. This new work features original compositions where the cello, double bass, and human voice play a prominent role in the arrangements, as well as adaptations of works by Johann Sebastian Bach and the late composer André Gagnon, one of its main inspirations. Songe was produced in collaboration with Toronto-based producer Jay Lee, renowned in the international audiophile community. Recorded at Saint-Benoît Church in Mirabel, Songe maximizes the church’s natural acoustics, which prompted its creator, also an ambassador for the British high-fidelity company Audio Note, to plan a tour of churches in Quebec and Eastern Ontario to showcase their acoustic qualities. Before the tour dates are officially announced, it all kicks off this Saturday, February 28th, at the magnificent Church of the Visitation. A winter afternoon’s dream, needless to say. The following interview reveals much more; here is Vincent Bélanger interviewed by Alain Brunet.

Dominique Fils-Aimé continues her rigorous artistic trajectory with the release of her fifth album, My World is the Sun, the second chapter of her new trilogy. Conceived as a concept album, the work explores intergenerational transmission and the structuring role of natural elements in her personal and creative journey. Her first three albums—Nameless (2018), Stay Tuned! (2019), and Three Little Words (2021)—formed an initial trilogy built around the roots of African-American genres: jazz, blues, and soul. With Our Roots Run Deep (2023), she began a new cycle, more introspective and grounded in heritage. The third single, “PHOENIX RISING,” is accompanied by a double music video directed by Vladim Vilain and Miryam Charles, visually extending this reflection on memory, resilience, and rebirth. Our journalist Keithy Antoine spoke with the artist for PAN M 360.

Credit: Vladim Vilain

She’s Brazilian, she’s a photographer, and recently she’s become a cultural event organizer—but not just any kind of event. In November 2025, Renata Carmo gained recognition thanks to her highly successful event celebrating Black Awareness Month, the Brazilian equivalent of Black History Month, in Montreal. After a trip to Brazil during the holiday season, she returned even more energized to launch the very first edition of Brazilian Black History Month. While Montreal has a large Brazilian population, the Black Brazilian community is smaller and still relatively unknown. This is precisely the mission Renata set for herself by creating Racines Cor d’Anil and her project combining photography and interviews to shine a light on her compatriots. The first two events, held on February 14th and 21st, exceeded Renata’s expectations, and she anticipates a successful evening on February 28th, which will include a roda de samba. Sandra Gasana met with her, after her dance class, to discuss the plans for February 28th and also to learn more about her many roles.

During his visit to Club S.A.T., Amselysen presents on stage the culmination of a project that has been a long time in the making: American Vulgarities, You’re My Lucky Star. He refines a more embodied, more direct approach. In this interview, he looks back on the evolution of his live performances, the influences of his years in a band, and the conceptual dimension of the album, where political fiction, irony, and marketing strategy intersect as an artistic gesture.

Publicité panam

Performance as an outcome

Amselysen: It’s going to be the culmination of the material from American Vulgarities, You’re My Lucky Star. The album is in its final stages and quietly preparing for release.

I had the opportunity to tour Europe, which allowed me to refine some of the material. The prototype was first presented on May 31, 2025. After that, I went on tour with the album and composed a few new songs.

J’ai pu raffiner tout le processus. À Club S.A.T., ça va être l’aboutissement final de cette tournée-là. C’était un privilège de pouvoir vivre cet album en live avant sa sortie, une chance que je n’ai pas toujours eue avec mes anciennes parutions.

PAN M 360: How has the tour changed your approach to the project?

Amselysen: The first time I performed live, I realized that what interests me and what interests people is when I pick up the microphone. That was the first step toward returning to a more embodied dynamic. Then I thought to myself that now that everything was back on the table and I no longer had to adhere to a self-imposed technical standard, it was time to bring the bass guitar back into my music.

I used to have a band, largely inspired by the Californian duo The Garden, who gave me the courage to release music. It was a pastiche of their lineup: guitar, bass, vocals, and drums.

I brought back the bass as a lead instrument, very prominent on certain tracks. There are also live percussion and mini beatboxing samples added to give a little flavor to the very electronic drums, which were composed using oscillators rather than samples.

I tried to breathe new life into the whole thing. Lots of vocal improvisation, a few slightly ridiculous interludes. At times, it almost becomes a comedy sketch.

PAN M 360: How do your years in bands influence your current practice?

Amselysen: It’s years of living live music 100%, and also messing up. It’s happened to me a lot, an absolute disaster on stage. It sounds like a LinkedIn post, but it teaches you stress management, how to deal with failure, moderate your expectations, and recover from accidents in live situations.

Amselysen is conceived as a concert project, structured in terms of songs, even for the instrumentals, rather than according to logic more strictly linked to dance music such as techno.

PAN M 360: An even more LinkedIn-like version?

Amselysen: Screwing up on stage eight times taught me a lot: B2B interactions with the audience, managing demographics and audience size, public relations, PR, and dealing with failure in a professional environment.

An album between fiction and reality

PAN M 360: What does the title American Vulgarities, You’re My Lucky Star represent?

Amselysen: The name was decided before the current political dynamics in the United States. I wanted to construct a form of docu-fiction through the track names, imagining a potentially terrible political reality.

But as time goes by, reality is surpassing my fiction, which was already quite dystopian. I felt the need to emphasize the slightly cruder, more vulgar side of the project in the process.

PAN M 360: Do you have a release date?

Amselysen: Until everything is finalized, I don’t want to spill the beans. I’m in talks with a record label.

I am also developing the marketing campaign, which plays a central role in the album. It has been designed with a visual dimension, not audiovisual, but conceptual, inspired by Theodor Adorno’s theory of the fetishization of music, Guy Debord’s The Society of the Spectacle and Georges Bataille’s The Accursed Share.

There is a reflection on the objectification, commodification, and fetishization of the product. The idea is to turn it into something akin to a fashion item, an object intriguing enough to attract an audience that would not naturally be interested or that would be very new to the field.

I am in the process of producing this material.

PAN M 360: So marketing is also becoming an artistic endeavor?

Amselysen: Listen, there’s nothing more American than turning marketing into a form of self-expression. Thematically, it fits perfectly with the concept of the album.

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The transcultural ensemble Oktoecho, in collaboration with the Gaïa and Phœbus choirs, presents the program Nordic Voices. This program will be presented on Saturday, February 21, 2026, at 3:30 p.m. at the Church of the Annunciation in Oka. The performance will be preceded by a talk at 3:00 p.m.: An Encounter Between Inuit Throat Singing and Western Choral Music. Under the direction of choir director Roseline Blain and Oktoecho director Katia Makdissi-Warren, this program offers an exploration of Nordic identity through Nordic, Scandinavian, and North American voices and traditions. Throat singers Lydia Etok and Nina Segalowitz will express themselves in this process, bringing together three ensembles on stage and adding an Inuit touch to choral singing and original music of Western origin. The program highlights works by Erik Bergman, Ēriks Ešenvalds, Sibelius and Mäntyyärvi, Richard Kidd, and Katia Makdissi-Warren. The following interview brings together Katia and Roseline, who explain this summit of choral singing, throat singing, and chamber music that couldn’t be more contemporary.

TICKETS AND INFO

February 21, 2026 – 3:30 p.m.

Church of the Annunciation
181 Rue des Anges, Oka

QC J0N 1E0

Her name might raise eyebrows at times, but it certainly doesn’t leave anyone indifferent. She can be found on several Montreal stages, as well as across the Atlantic, notably in France where she has already completed two tours. LiKouri, whose name is inspired by both China (Li) and her Lebanese roots (Kouri), is a singer-songwriter, accordionist, and storyteller. She was one of three finalists at the MUZ showcase of world music in 2024, and since then, her rise has been meteoric. She has several projects underway, but one of them is with her trio, formed by Charles Cantin on guitar and Isabelle Gaudreau on clarinet. Together, they are the creators of the “Dans mon quartier” project, which they will present at Le Ministère on February 26, as part of the Mozaïk series of world music evenings, presented by Vision Diversité. For the occasion, Sandra Gasana spoke with Li to learn more about her career and her many projects for 2026.

This Sunday, February 22, at 4 p.m., in the Pierre-Mercure Hall, the first Carte Blanche concert presented by Pro-Musica will feature Alberta pianist Jan Lisiecki. Preceded by a talk led by Maurice Rhéaume, the program explores two themes: first, the theme of the 2026 season, “The Great Romantics,” and second, a collection of 14 dances composed by Romantic and modern composers. This program was conceived and performed by Lisiecki himself, who joined us in Calgary to explain its intricacies.

PAN M 360: We’ve known about your career for a long time, even though you’re barely 30. As a child, you were already well-known as early as 2010! How would you summarize your long progression? Artistically and professionally?

Jan Lisiecki : I was very lucky because I started playing at a very young age.

PAN M 360: That said, we also know that it is difficult or even dangerous for a virtuoso to endure all this pressure from the gifted child.

Jan Lisiecki :I think I’d forgotten about those issues. I tried instead to stay true to myself, to keep learning from others, to receive advice, to listen. In that sense, I was very lucky because even though I started performing at a very young age, I was able to experience working with the best musicians on Earth, to share with them. And when you keep your eyes wide open, it really allows you to create something new while remaining true to yourself. That’s how I saw my own evolution.

PAN M 360: So you had to find your own fuel and feed it, didn’t you?

Jan Lisiecki : In many ways, I’ve stayed the same. I taught a very young person to discover themselves, to try to figure out who they were. I think that’s very important for any artist who has to perform at a concert. Because we’re like Olympic athletes. We have to perform when the time comes. There’s the same kind of stress, the same kind of challenge, and also the same pressure on you.

PAN M 360: Of course, the evaluation of an artist and an athlete differs profoundly.

Jan Lisiecki : Yes, absolutely, and I think one of the main differences between a classical performer and an Olympian athlete is that the classical soloist is more on their own. Of course, they have a teacher… and that’s it. You don’t have that incredible support team that a top athlete has. So, you have to rely on yourself, you have to be able to teach yourself, depend on your own resources when you travel…

PAN M 360: Competition does exist, but you are judged according to very different criteria.

Jan Lisiecki : Competitions remain an incredible tool for me; they’ve given me many concert opportunities. It was always my goal to play with an orchestra. I didn’t enter competitions primarily for the grant or the prize, but above all to play with an orchestra. In the end, I think the most interesting aspect is playing for yourself. Of course, you play for your audience, but you play first and foremost for yourself; you have to be convinced of your interpretation. If you’re doing it to please someone else, you’re going astray. I had a teacher who told me that trying to repeat what’s already been done is a caricature, just to impress the audience.

PAN M 360: You then become a crowd pleaser.

Jan Lisiecki : Exactly.

PAN M 360: As a player, where do you see your recent improvements and achievements?

Jan Lisiecki : As a pianist, I’m very happy to discover the repertoire; it’s a virtually limitless source. For example, I recently played a Prokofiev concerto for the first time. It was a bit strange for me, very different from anything I’d done before.

For me, in terms of technique, I think the last big step was when I took lessons with Professor Marc Durand, who was at the time at the Glenn Gould School of Music in Toronto. He really helped me create sounds. I was always focused on the beauty of the sound. I loved pianissimo, but projection wasn’t really my goal.

I didn’t want to play very loudly. Marc Durand then helped me to create something bigger.

PAN M 360: What are your next challenges as a player?

Jan Lisiecki : Honestly, I don’t see anything that scares me. I’ve worked with singers, with violinists, I’ve played with great conductors, symphony orchestras, chamber orchestras, small ensembles… You also have to know how to work with a singer, how to breathe with him or her, discover languages with which you are not completely comfortable.

PAN M 360: Where are you based?

Jan Lisiecki :I’m still in Calgary, but I also have a place in Poland. My 93-year-old grandmother lives there and is still in good health.

PAN M 360: A few words on each of the 14 pieces in the Montreal program? It’s an ambitious and diverse program, from Piazzolla to Martinu.

Jan Lisiecki :

Bohuslav Martinů, 3 Danses tchèques, H. 154 : Martinů is a Czech composer. Very enjoyable. This music always carries you along. You can also hear the folk elements. It’s quite angular, I’d say. Contemporary in that sense, but you can still feel the melodic line. For me, it’s a discovery.

Manuel De Falla, Danza Española N° 2, N° 1: The arrangement of this piece comes from the composer himself or was approved by him. It’s interesting because it has this incredible orchestral sound, this orchestral energy. And at the same time, it’s written for the piano. You can imagine yourself in Spain. That’s the aim of this program: a journey through the world of dance.

Karol Szymanowski, 4 Danses polonaises, M60 : In my previous program, I had a set of Szymanowski pieces that weren’t so difficult to play but very difficult to memorize—so much tonality and complicated harmonies. It didn’t always seem logical to me, but here it’s simpler. It’s a mix of dissonance and consonance, and we have this Polish dance rhythm in the middle of it all. It took me a while to find my own voice in it.

Franz Schubert, 16 Danses allemandes, D. 783 : Schubert isn’t usually associated with dance music, and perhaps that’s not his strength. In fact, these 16 dances are very short pieces and contain a lot of repetition. I was able to read them all quite easily in a day after asking myself, “Oh! What am I going to do with this musically?” Nevertheless, for me, it’s one of the best parts of the program because there’s so much energy, so much elegance, and also so much room for change because of the repetition. I can have fun in concert and spontaneously decide to do something different.

Béla Bartók, Danses folkloriques roumaines, Sz. 56 : Some people are familiar with these dances. However, the arrangements are often not very good, whereas here we have the original version. I think the key here is the transition: when you go from Schubert to Bartók, you stay in the same key, and the dance continues with the same flow. You don’t feel like you’re in a completely different world. And I think that’s why Béla Bartók works so well.

Alberto Ginastera, Danzas Argentinas, Op. 2: Ginastera is a fantastic composer for the piano, and these are three great dances. The first dance has an incredible writing style; the second is, in my opinion, one of the most beautiful pieces on this program, possessing an elegance enriched by adversity—otherwise, it would be too kitschy. And it leads into a dance of the outlaw. Very technical, very demanding… It’s simply amazing! Frédéric Chopin, Grande valse brillante, Op. 18 : Cette valse est absolument magnifiques. Qui plus est, très amusante à jouer. Puisqu’ il y a beaucoup de répétitions dans cette pièce, vous avez beaucoup de flexibilité dans la façon de l’exécuter. C’est l’un des morceaux que j’ai le plus joués.

Johannes Brahms, Valse, Op. 39 N° 3: From Chopin, we move directly to one of the two Brahms waltzes I’ve often played. When I played No. 3 in Vienna earlier this year, I was asked if it was Chopin. It relies on a delicate arrangement in this program and makes a charming interlude for what follows.

Frédéric Chopin, Valses, Op. 34, N° 1 and N° 2 & Johannes Brahms, Valse, Op. 39 N° 15:

These pieces were composed around the same time. Of course, but you don’t really think about Brahms and Chopin. Brahms is darker, more serious, while Chopin was always romantic. However, this contrast also highlights the similarities; the way these pieces are combined is important, beyond just preparing for performance. Both of Chopin’s pieces are wonderful. Chopin brought forward his own vision, his world of colors and emotions that exist only in his music.

Astor Piazzolla, Libertango: I’ve always loved tango, but also the bandoneon, which I’d love to learn to play; it would be quite a challenge. For now, this is as far as I’ve been able to go with this music. This transcription incorporates the piano and the bandoneon, the common lines of the composition and the improvisation, which makes it very technically challenging to play. Astor played it slowly and maintained a magnificent tension with his quartet (piano, bandoneon, double bass, violin). For my part, I continue to experiment with this arrangement by Nikola Kuznetsov. It’s a very dissonant, very energetic, very modern Argentine tango.

Isaac Albéniz, España, Op. 165 n° 2: Tango: Here again in this program we have a contrast between the previous piece and that of Albéniz, with less tension, a kind of elegant dance.

Manuel De Falla, Danse du feu (Ritual Fire Dance) : Once again, we have that great Spanish energy. Super!

Frédéric Chopin, Polonaise en la bémol majeur, Op. 53 : This is a work by Chopin, composed late in his life. I think the audience will appreciate it; it’s a good way to conclude.

PAN M 360: Why did you choose dance as the main theme of this program?

Jan Lisiecki : My last program was based on preludes, the one before that on nocturnes, and now here are the dances. It’s a kind of continuity and also a way to create an original program. Of course, bringing together wonderful works that people love is very good, but it’s also very good and different to conceive such a program, to create an arc, a thematic cohesion.

PAN M 360: In short?

Jan Lisiecki : I sought to achieve an interesting balance, to find a way to show not only the Beethovens, the Chopins, the Mozarts, but also to find these gems and present them to the public.

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