Considered by the New York Times to be “one of the most important musicians of his generation”, pianist Igor Levit is in a class of his own. He will perform an original program featuring transcriptions of symphonies by Mahler and Beethoven, as well as Brahms’ poignant Opus 119.
Considéré par le New York Times comme « l’un des musiciens les plus importants de sa génération », le pianiste Igor Levit est dans une classe à part. Il interprètera un programme original comprenant des transcriptions de symphonies de Mahler et de Beethoven ainsi que le poignant Opus 119 de Brahms.
The tranquil and (too) discreet music of Missy Mazzoli
by Frédéric Cardin
On Wednesday 28 February, Salle Bourgie welcomed violinist Jennifer Koh and composer and pianist (and keyboardist) Missy Mazzoli for a type of concert that is still rare in Montreal, hence the title of this article. It’s a discreet kind of music, because here in Montreal it’s still under-recognised. Yet Mazzoli is one of the most important musical creators of our time. Elsewhere in English speaking North America, she is a star.
The programme presented in Montreal was part of a tour by the two musicians and friends celebrating fifteen years of collaboration. It featured works by Mazzoli either written for solo violin or as a duo with piano (or synthesiser keyboard). With perfect organic coherence, this programme was deployed like a great thin veil, with undulating movements that swell and deflate the sound fabric, in a stylistic whole that is quite soaring and resolutely post-minimalist.
The final result gives an imperfect idea of Mazzoli’s musical contribution to the early 21st century, for her output is far more complex and fleshed out than yesterday’s relatively monochrome programme. Listen, for example, to her superbDouble Bass Concerto ‘’Dark With Excessive Bright’’, her opera Proving Up, or These Worlds in Us for orchestra, and you’ll get a better idea.
That said, this concert, full of beautiful moments of intangibility and contained spirituality, was important because it presented in Montreal a still too rare concert of what I would describe as real “music of our time”. Scholarly music that blends the need for a return to tonality with the sonic possibilities inherited from the modernist avant-garde, scholarly influences with vernacular, impressionistic and affective atmospheres with textures more akin to indie pop/rock or electro. But, because Montreal has been a strong continental hub of avant-garde post-Boulezian contemporary music, the awareness, even less the appreciation, of newer post-minimalist stuff has been slow coming.
This is not to say that this music is better than ‘traditional’ contemporary avant-garde music. Not. At. All. It’s just a paradigm shift. Traditional contemporary music, with its abrasive and abstract worlds, is in fact a tool, a way of doing things that is hyper-concentrated on intellectual formalism. The result can be works of fabulous, suprasensible beauty. New contemporary music, on the other hand, takes an infinitely more holistic (or inclusive) approach, aiming to create new worlds of sound and, above all, emotion, without denying itself any compositional tool or technique, and shunning concepts of High and Low art.
The first is fuelled by rigorous knowledge, and leads sometimes to emotions. The second is fuelled by emotions and imagination, using a large amount of knowledge that leads to transcendence.
I’d like to thank Olivier Godin, Artistic Director of Salle Bourgie, for his commitment to the development of a Montreal listening culture for this music that we can’t afford to ignore for long.
This concert invites you on a cross-cultural musical journey around the rhythms of the world, where jazz notation and improvisation merge. It brings together experienced musicians to share their musical ideas, inspired by their many travels.
Ce concert invite à un voyage musical interculturel autour des rythmes du monde où la notation et l’improvisation jazz se confondent. Il réunit des musiciens d’expérience qui souhaitent partager leurs idées musicales, inspirées de leurs nombreux périples.
Arion Orchestre Baroque Presents Requiem and Coronation
by Rédaction PAN M 360
This concert (re)discovers two contrasting Masses heard in France during the reigns of Louis XVI and Napoleon. Written by Mozart in 1791 on his deathbed, at the urgent request of an enigmatic figure, his Requiem was performed in Paris for the first time in 1804 in a slightly reworked version, conducted by Luigi Cherubini. It was a triumph! A little earlier, in 1774, François Giroust, the last representative of the French grand motet, had been commissioned to compose the music for Louis XVI’s coronation mass in Reims cathedral.
Ce concert propose de (re)découvrir deux Messes contrastées entendues en France sous les règnes de Louis XVI et de Napoléon. Écrit par Mozart en 1791 sur son lit de mort, à la demande pressante d’un personnage énigmatique, son Requiem est donné à Paris pour la première fois en 1804 dans une version légèrement remaniée et sous la direction de Luigi Cherubini. C’est un triomphe ! Un peu auparavant, en 1774, c’est François Giroust, le dernier représentant du grand motet à la française, qui avait été chargé de composer la musique de la messe du sacre de Louis XVI en la cathédrale de Reims.
This singular concert offers a musical retrospective of the life of Claude Debussy. Reinvented for cello and piano by two renowned musicians, these forgotten images paint a timeless portrait of this great name in music history.
Ce concert singulier propose une rétrospective musicale de la vie de Claude Debussy. Réinventées pour violoncelle et piano par deux musiciens dont la réputation n’est plus à faire, ces Images oubliées dressent un portrait intemporel de ce très grand nom de l’histoire de la musique.
Arion Orchestre Baroque Presents Love Letters at Salle Bourgie
by Rédaction PAN M 360
To celebrate Valentine’s Day in an original way, Arion presents, under the inspired direction of Australian violinist Sophie Gent, a happy blend of Italian and English Baroque concertos grossos in a program that weaves together music and poems to paint a complex and delightful portrait of amorous feelings.
Pour célébrer d’originale façon la Saint-Valentin, Arion présente, sous la direction inspirée de la violoniste australienne Sophie Gent, un heureux mélange de concertos grossos baroques italiens et anglais dans un programme qui tresse un entrelacs de musiques et de poèmes brossant le portrait à la fois complexe et délicieux des sentiments amoureux.
The Quatuor Molinari presents four works by Quebec composers who witnessed the effervescent artistic experimentation in Quebec since the publication of the radical manifesto Refus global in 1948: Otto Joachim, Rachel Laurin, Jean Lesage and Jean Papineau-Couture.
Le Quatuor Molinari présente quatre œuvres de compositeurs et compositrices québécois.e.s, témoins de l’effervescente expérimentation artistique au Québec depuis la parution en 1948 du manifeste radical Refus global : Otto Joachim, Rachel Laurin, Jean Lesage et Jean Papineau-Couture.
In connetion with the exhibition Françoise Sullivan
Rachel LAURIN Poème, pour quatuor à cordes, op. 35 Jean PAPINEAU-COUTURE Quatuor à cordes no 2 Otto JOACHIM Quatuor à cordes Jean LESAGE Quatuor à cordes no 4
To commemorate the 100th anniversary of the deaths of two of France’s most expressive composers, Gabriel Fauré and Théodore Dubois, the admirable soprano Florie Valiquette and the brilliant pianist David Jalbert join Nicolas Ellis to deliver all the nuances of a repertoire of profound humanity.
Pour commémorer le 100e anniversaire de la mort de deux des plus expressifs compositeurs français, Gabriel Fauré et Théodore Dubois, l’admirable soprano Florie Valiquette et le brillant pianiste David Jalbert se joignent à Nicolas Ellis pour livrer toutes les nuances d’un répertoire d’une profonde humanité.
Salle Bourgie presents a retrospective of the choreographies of Françoise Sullivan and Françoise Riopelle, two pioneers of Canadian dance and signatories of the Refus global manifesto.
La Salle Bourgie présente une rétrospective des chorégraphies de Françoise Sullivan et de Françoise Riopelle, deux pionnières de la danse au Canada et signataires du manifeste Refus global.
As a commentary on the Marisol exhibition, the Quatuor Cobalt will present the magnificent Suite for harp and string quartet by Rachel Laurin, and a new work by Venezuelan composer Adina Izarra commissioned by Salle Bourgie. Entitled Tres Miradas a Marisol, each movement bears the title of one of Marisol’s works featured in the exhibition.
En guise de commentaire sur l’exposition Marisol, le Quatuor Cobalt présentera la magnifique Suite pour harpe et quatuor à cordes composée par Rachel Laurin, et une œuvre en création de la Vénézuélienne Adina Izarra commandée par la Salle Bourgie. Intitulée Tres Miradas a Marisol, chaque mouvement porte le titre d’une œuvre de Marisol qui est présentée dans l’exposition.
First visit to Quebec by this world-renowned British vocal quartet! Specializing in medieval repertoire, they will present music from the 12th to 15th centuries inspired by the Annunciation and the Nativity.
Première visite au Québec de ce quatuor vocal britannique reconnu mondialement ! Spécialisé dans le répertoire médiéval, il présentera des musiques du XIIe au XVe siècles inspirées par l’Annonciation et la Nativité.
In 18th-century Paris, Christmas and its repertoire of hymns and popular songs were a delight for families, where music played an important role, whether in modest thatched cottages, in the gilded halls of the many royal palaces, or in the smoke-filled dwellings of the bourgeoisie. Arion, under the direction of the brilliant recorder player Vincent Lauzer, invites us to discover the French and Italian works, at times danceable, at times collected, that filled these musical evenings placed under the sign of pleasure, sharing and celebration.
À Paris au XVIIIe siècle, Noël et son répertoire de cantiques et de chansons populaires ont fait le délice des familles chez qui la musique occupait une belle place, que ce soit dans les modestes chaumières, dans les salles dorées des nombreux palais royaux ou encore dans les logements enfumés de la bourgeoisie d’alors. Arion, sous la direction du brillant flûtiste à bec Vincent Lauzer, nous invite à découvrir les œuvres françaises et italiennes, tantôt dansantes, tantôt recueillies, qui meublaient ces soirées musicales placées sous le signe du plaisir, du partage et de la fête.
This content comes from Arion Orchestre Baroque and is adapted by PAN M 360.
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