Toot Suite presents big-screen projections of short films from yesteryear showcasing Black artists who played in famous Montreal clubs and cabarets from the 1920s to 1950. Screenings are accompanied by live musical performances.
All short films come from the Cinéclub de Montréal / The Film Society (CFS) archives and will be projected on 16mm film.
ARTISTS:
Taurey Butler, piano
The Theo Abellar Trio:
Théo Abellard, piano
Marie-Ketely Gomes, bass
Betsaleel Jean-Charles, drums and percussion
For the OFF Festival de jazz, pianist Rafael Zaldivar takes inspiration from his native country and plays with Sarah Rossy (vocal), Louis-Vincent Hamel (drums), Rémi-Jean LeBlanc (bass) and Amado Dedeu Garcia (percussions and vocals).
Festival Quartiers Danses presents a project where Morton Feldman’s famous For Bunita Marcus merges with a choreography by modern dance pioneer Jeanne Renaud.
One of Arte Musica’s major projects is to present the complete sacred cantatas by Johann Sebastian Bach, following the liturgical cycle. The next two will be performed by la Bande Montréal Baroque, under the direction of German cellist and conductor Olaf Reimers. Four soloists will be featured: soprano Ariadne Lih, countertenor Matthew Muggeridge, tenor Philippe Gagné and baritone Clayton Kennedy.
PROGRAM
Olaf Reimers, conductor, cello
Johann Sebastian Bach
Cantatas
Mein Gott, wie lang, ach lange, BWV 155
Höchsterwünschtes Freudenfest, BWV 194
Two years ago, I Musici de Montréal invited the Latvian-born Israeli violinist Vadim Gluzman to perform Peteris Vasks’ Distant Light. Fabulous! To the delight of music lovers, Gluzman is back with the Montreal ensemble under the direction of Jean-Marie Zeitouni. This time, the virtuoso goes to work on Beethoven’s Violin Concerto, accompanied for the occasion by cadenzas by composer Alfred Schnittke. Schnittke’s Concerto grosso sees an exchange between two violins, so Gluzman will dialogue with Julie Triquet, concertmaster of I Musici. At the opening of the concert, I Musici will supplement its core team for the performance of Prokofiev’s Classical Symphony.
ARTISTS AND PROGRAM
I Musici de Montréal
Vadim Gluzman, violon
Jean-Marie Zeitouni, conductor
Serguei Prokofiev : Symphony No. 1, Op. 25 Classical (I Musici de Montréal will add some more musicians for this piece.)
Alfred Schnittke : Concerto grosso No. 1
Ludwig van Beethoven : Violin Concerto, Op. 61
Vadim Gluzman on YouTube
The 250th anniversary of Beethoven’s birth is the occasion for so many special programs around the world. Arte Musica offers us a superb selection of Beethoven, including the following series of chamber music concerts.
PROGRAM
Trio Grimal Gastinel Cassard
David Grimal, violin
Anne Gastinel, cello
Philippe Cassard, piano
Strauss McNabney Haimovitz Trio
Axel Strauss, violin
Douglas McNabney, viola
Matt Haimovitz, cello
String trio No. 4 in D major, Op. 9 No. 2
Piano Trio No. 3 in C minor, Op. 1 No. 3
String Quintet in C major, Op. 29
Considered one of the great Mozartians of our time, the English gentleman and virtuoso Christian Blackshaw returns to Montreal for a series of four concerts featuring all of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Piano Sonatas. The deep understanding of these works and the virtuoso elegance of this delightful performer are arguments to assert that this series is a must for lovers of the classical period, starting with Mozart fans, of course.
PROGRAM
Christian Blackshaw, piano
Sonata No. 7 in C major, K. 309
Sonata No. 11 in A major, K. 331
Sonata No. 15 in F major, K. 533/494
Sonata No. 18 in D major, K. 576
Considered one of the great Mozartians of our time, the English gentleman and virtuoso Christian Blackshaw returns to Montreal for a series of four concerts featuring all of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Piano Sonatas. The deep understanding of these works and the virtuoso elegance of this delightful performer are arguments to assert that this series is a must for lovers of the classical period, starting with Mozart fans, of course.
PROGRAM
Complete Mozart Piano Sonatas – Concert III
Sonata No. 6 in B major, K. 284
Sonata No. 12 in F major, K. 332
Sonata No. 16 in C major, K. 545
Sonata No. 14 in C minor, K. 457
Fantasia in C minor, K. 475
Mozart Piano Sonatas by Christian Blackshaw on Spotify
This programme sheds particular light on the nyckelharpa, a traditional Swedish instrument through which one can discover the kinship between Irish and Swedish traditional music, as well as the music of the Baroque period. Original arrangements of works by the Irish composer Turlough O’Carolan (1670-1738) and traditional Swedish music will be performed. La Nef’s approach, which has been in play since the 1990s, is based on the blending of cultures, styles and periods. It draws its inspiration from early, antique and oral-tradition music, but it also makes room for more recent or downright contemporary music.
PROGRAM:
Alex Kehler, musical direction, nyckelharpa, violin
Sylvain Bergeron, artistic direction, archlute, baroque guitar
Antoine Malette-Chénier, Gaelic harp, baroque harp
Kirsty Money, nyckelharpa, viola, violin
Tina Bergmann, hammered dulcimer
Works by Turlough O’Carolan (1670-1738) and traditional music from Ireland and Sweden
Photo fournie par la Salle Bourgie
Arriving in France in the ’90s, Argentine composer and pianist Gerardo Jerez Le Cam has seven albums under his belt, and collaborations including Gotan Project, Juan Jose Mosalini and Osvaldo Calo, among others. While remaining faithful to the modern tango, the master of which remains the late Astor Piazzolla, Le Cam (also) strives to integrate traditional classical music, modern jazz, and also gypsy music from Eastern Europe, even some traditional African music. That being said, the Argentine leader generally remains in the territory of tango nuevo, where he continues the work of his contemporaries and predecessors.
ARTISTS
PERSONNEL
Gerardo Jerez Le Cam, piano and composition (tango and Romani)
Iacob Maciuca, violin
Manu Comté, bandoneon
Mihai Trestian, cymbalom
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An interesting proposal, this literary concert – the prolific writer Hélène Dorion will read excerpts from her most recent collection of poems, Comme résonne la vie, accompanied the music of Les Violons du Roy, or in alternation with it. The musical palette will be varied: from the very Italian Renaissance madrigals of Gesualdo to a hypnotic piece by Estonia’s Arvo Pärt, as well as selected movements from string quartets by Schubert and Janacek, not to mention the premiere of a custom-made piece by Quebec composer Simon Bertrand.
PROGRAM
Gesualdo: Madrigals from libro quinto and libro sesto (Simon Bertrand, transcription)
Simon Bertrand: Creation pour des poèmes d’Hélène Dorion
Arvo Pärt: Summa
Janacek: String Quartet No. 2, Intimate Letters, 1st movement
Schubert: String Quartet No. 14 in D minor, D. 810, Death and the Maiden, 2nd movement (arr. for string orchestra)
It’s the middle of winter… so what? Isn’t it better to talk about it than to wallow in denial and impatience? That’s exactly why I Musici de Montréal will feature horn players Louis-Philippe Marsolais and Louis-Pierre Bergeron with a promise of nothing less than a “hike from the Prussian forest to the Rocky Mountains”! This trek also promises to be through time, as we plunge in turn into the Baroque period with Jean-Philippe Rameau, the Classical period with Ludwig van Beethoven and Ferdinand Ries, and the contemporary era with Alberta composer John McPherson.
ARTISTS AND PROGRAM :
I Musici de Montréal
Jean-Marie Zeitouni: conductor
Louis-Philippe Marsolais: French horn
Louis-Pierre Bergeron: French horn
Rameau, Les Boréades (excerpts)
Beethoven, Sextet in E-Flat major, Op. 81B
McPherson, In the Land of Pidge
Ries, Concerto for Two Horns