PAN M 360 asked its partners to provide a list of the top 3 albums of 2023. Several artistic directors graciously agreed!
After studying clarinet and saxophone performance at the Conservatoire de Montréal, Simon Bertrand turned to composition. Since obtaining a first prize in composition in France under Claude Ballif and a doctorate at the Université de Montréal under José Evangelista and Denis Gougeon, Simon Bertrand has established himself as one of the most prolific and active Quebec composers of his generation, both in Canada and abroad. He has won numerous awards, including the OPUS “Composer of the Year” prize in 2013. A composer committed to his community and to the cause of composers, he recently took over as artistic director of the Société de musique contemporaine du Québec (SMCQ), and intends to work to adapt its action to the evolution of creative music.
Thomas Adès , Los Angeles Master Chorale, Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, dir. Gustavo Dudamel / Dante / Nonesuch Records (contemporary music)
“Avant-garde purists (if there are any left) may criticize Thomas Adès for flirting more than ever with tonality, which is in fact a kind of highly colored pantonality in this ballet. Nonetheless, it’s brilliantly orchestrated, even irresistible. The LA Phil sounds marvellous with its conductor Gustavo Dudamel, and there are sublime dramatic moments in Thomas Adès’s Dante.”
Vikingur Ólafsson – Piano / J.S. Bach – Goldberg Variations / Deutsche Grammophon (classical, baroque)
“The Ólafsson phenomenon is a major one: everything this pianist touches becomes a kind of balm to the heart, with an approach that recalls, by comparison, Glenn Gould – especially in terms of the incredible singing phrasing and clarity of his playing, even if the pianist is less rigid about, for example, the use of rubato and appropriates this monument in his own way.”
Félix Stüssi (piano), Jean Derome (alto and baritone saxes, flutes), Normand Guilbault (double bass), Pierre Tanguay (drums): Supernova 4 / Unicum / Effendi (contemporary jazz)
“Stüssi continues to amaze, charm and surprise with his supernova project. We’re in a sort of “post-Monkian” universe, full of the unexpected and full of “good bad notes”, where nothing happens exactly as you’d expect. Rich, fresh, superbly acted, a delight!”
crédit photo Jan Vailhe
