Country : Canada (Quebec) Label : Indépendant Genres and styles : Klezmer Year : 2025

Oktopus – Brahms, Balkans & Bagels

· by Frédéric Cardin

Oktopus is a super klezmer/fanfare group from Montreal, made up of extremely talented musicians such as Guillaume Martineau on piano, Gabriel Paquin-Buki on clarinet, Francis Pigeon on trumpet, Simon Jolicoeur on trombone and Julie Rivest on violin, amongst others. Joining the core ensemble for this album are Emie Rioux-Roussel (piano), Janna Kate (voice) and Dutch violinist Rosanne Philippens, who took advantage of her visit to Montreal and a concert with the OSM to make a diversion to the studio to record a folk piece (Kállai kettős, popularised by David Oistrakh) with the group. 

Brahms, Balkans & Bagels is a little marvel of fusion between several classical sources (the 3rd movement of Brahms’ 3rd symphony, Mahler’s 1st and 5th symphonies, Dvořák, Liszt, Saint-Saëns), klezmer, a little jazz and above all lots and lots of originality and fun. The classical melodies twirl (or sometimes lull) with a vital energy carried by the technical excellence of the artists, who build a musical communion that is both surgical in its precision and organic in its discursive ease.

Some highlights (which in no way detract from the quality of the other pieces) are worth noting: Mahler Goes Meshuge (Mahler goes mad), with its obvious links between the composer’s Titan Symphony and the street music of his native Vienna; Balkanale, a truculent version of the Bacchanale from Saint-Saëns’s opera Samson et Dalila; Liszt’s Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2, carried here by an impressively truthful Guillaume Martineau, who is at once a great Romantic virtuoso, a flamboyant gypsy, a jazz improviser and a touch Bugs-Bunny-esque accompanist.

Fabulous; Reel de Beatrice, a lovely fusion of Quebec trad music and klezmer; and finally, the powerfully poignant Wiegala, a melody composed by a Jewish nurse who asked to be deported with the children she was caring for to Auschwitz. It is said that she sang this song to them as they entered the gas chamber… In the version performed here by Janna Kate, the emotional power of the moment is felt through the vulnerable voice of the Austrian-born singer. The final bars, held by the trumpet motif from the first movement of Mahler’s 5th Symphony, are unforgettable. The video of this version (see above) won the People’s Choice Award at the Bubbe Awards for the best video of a Jewish song, a distinction awarded each year by the Institute of Jewish Music in Brazil. A huge bravo.

Brahms, Balkans & Bagels is an album you’ll want to listen to again and again, such is its relevance and impressive quality.  

Latest 360 Content

Vitta Morales, Our Versatile Colleague

Vitta Morales, Our Versatile Colleague

Late-Night Warehouse Ambiance for Juan Atkins All-Nighter at the SAT

Late-Night Warehouse Ambiance for Juan Atkins All-Nighter at the SAT

Lifeguard – Ripped and Torn

Lifeguard – Ripped and Torn

Brainwasher – At Least It Beats an Actor

Brainwasher – At Least It Beats an Actor

Nicholas Daniel – Complete Works for Oboe by Madeleine Dring

Nicholas Daniel – Complete Works for Oboe by Madeleine Dring

Christine Tassan; Marie-Véronique Bourque – Bruissement boréal

Christine Tassan; Marie-Véronique Bourque – Bruissement boréal

Lanaudière Festival | Metropolitan Orchestra/Yannick Nézet-Séguin/Marc-André Hamelin: When Nature Drives the Concert

Lanaudière Festival | Metropolitan Orchestra/Yannick Nézet-Séguin/Marc-André Hamelin: When Nature Drives the Concert

Festival de Lanaudière | Sol Gabetta : Queen of the cello meets les Violons du Roy

Festival de Lanaudière | Sol Gabetta : Queen of the cello meets les Violons du Roy

The “rodas de samba” That Never End

The “rodas de samba” That Never End

Friday night at the Dômesicle – All night long with Jump Source

Friday night at the Dômesicle – All night long with Jump Source

Éli Doyon et la Tempête – Attraper le ciel avant qu’il tombe

Éli Doyon et la Tempête – Attraper le ciel avant qu’il tombe

Barbara Hannigan; Katia et Marielle Labèque – Electric Fields

Barbara Hannigan; Katia et Marielle Labèque – Electric Fields

Montreal Vocal Arts Festival | The Magic Flute to conclude ICAV’s opera month

Montreal Vocal Arts Festival | The Magic Flute to conclude ICAV’s opera month

Fire, Fungi, and Family Fun: The ShazamFest XX Experience

Fire, Fungi, and Family Fun: The ShazamFest XX Experience

Festival de Lanaudière | Kent Nagano: The eternal, and always welcome, return

Festival de Lanaudière | Kent Nagano: The eternal, and always welcome, return

Tyler, the Creator – DON’T TAP THE GLASS

Tyler, the Creator – DON’T TAP THE GLASS

Off Piknic with Gorgon City, Dennis Ferrer, Riordan, and Linska

Off Piknic with Gorgon City, Dennis Ferrer, Riordan, and Linska

Jeff Bridges – Slow Magic, 1977-1978

Jeff Bridges – Slow Magic, 1977-1978

Piknic Electronik | DJ Fuckoff Turns Up The Heat for Pep Rally

Piknic Electronik | DJ Fuckoff Turns Up The Heat for Pep Rally

Orford 2025 | Collectif9: folk that innovates and grooves

Orford 2025 | Collectif9: folk that innovates and grooves

Nuits d’Afrique 2025 | The next global star of Tuareg blues is born, and it is in Montreal

Nuits d’Afrique 2025 | The next global star of Tuareg blues is born, and it is in Montreal

Ruby Creek – Forget Me Not

Ruby Creek – Forget Me Not

Clipse – Let God Sort Em Out

Clipse – Let God Sort Em Out

Ross Lee Finney : Landscapes Remembered

Ross Lee Finney : Landscapes Remembered

Subscribe to our newsletter