Coup de cœur francophone : Dany Placard et Cartier Préféré au Verre Bouteille
by Rédaction PAN M 360
Dany Placard
Dany Placard fait partie du paysage depuis plus d’un quart de siècle, ce qui lui a laissé en masse le temps d’explorer une trâlée de chemins de campagne musicaux. Ayant précédé la vague folk des années 2010, il est toujours là, des décennies plus tard, à faire résonner des morceaux qui nous bercent depuis longtemps ou qui nous remuent depuis la veille. Ce spectacle, c’est l’occasion désignée pour revisiter – ou découvrir – le généreux catalogue d’un monument de la chanson indé d’ici, riche de huit albums solo.
Dany Placard has been a fixture on the scene for over a quarter of a century, which has given him plenty of time to explore a whole host of musical country lanes. Having preceded the folk wave of the 2010s, he’s still here, decades later, performing songs that have been lulling us to sleep for a long time or stirring us up since yesterday. This show is the perfect opportunity to revisit—or discover—the extensive catalog of a legend of the local indie music scene, with eight solo albums to his credit.
Cartier Préféré
Cartier Préféré, c’est le projet solo de Charles Guay, collaborateur prisé d’une pléthore d’artistes d’ici (Marie-Mai, Sara Dufour, Julien Sagot et Dany Placard, entre autres) qui a décidé de prendre du temps pour lui – pour affirmer un cheminement artistique qui est le sien. Guidé par le désir de concilier création et vie familiale, il propose une pop à la fois intime, sensible et accessible, comme une fenêtre ouverte sur sa vie personnelle et sa pratique artistique – traitant de parentalité, de temps qui passe et du moment présent.
Cartier Préféré is the solo project of Charles Guay, a sought-after collaborator with a host of local artists (including Marie-Mai, Sara Dufour, Julien Sagot, and Dany Placard, among others), who has decided to take some time for himself—to forge his own artistic path. Driven by a desire to balance his creative work with family life, he offers a style of pop that is at once intimate, sensitive, and accessible—like a window into his personal life and artistic practice—exploring themes of parenthood, the passage of time, and living in the moment.
Coup de cœur francophone : Zéa Calla au Cabaret Lion d’Or
by Rédaction PAN M 360
Où vont les rêves lorsqu’on les abandonne?, c’est d’emblée une bonne question – et c’est aussi le titre du premier album de Zéa Calla. Pour son lancement, elle transforme le Lion d’Or en cabinet de curiosité : un espace où les fantômes, les cicatrices et les choses mortes peuvent encore raconter quelque chose. Un exutoire de pop électronique, percussive et théâtrale, avec une intensité à la fois énergique et confessionnelle; une célébration des transformations imparfaites, coûteuses, nécessaires; une rencontre pour celles et ceux à qui l’on reproche leur intensité, leur sensibilité ou leur radicale honnêteté.
“Where do dreams go when we let them go?” is a good question right off the bat—and it’s also the title of Zéa Calla’s debut album. For its release, she transforms the Lion d’Or into a cabinet of curiosities: a space where ghosts, scars, and dead things can still tell a story. An outlet for electronic, percussive, and theatrical pop, with an intensity that’s both energetic and confessional; a celebration of imperfect, costly, yet necessary transformations; a gathering for those who are criticized for their intensity, their sensitivity, or their radical honesty.
Festival du monde arabe : Saison de la migration vers le Sud à l’Espace Culturel Kawalees
by Rédaction PAN M 360
Apprendre une musique qui n’est pas la sienne, c’est accepter de désapprendre une partie de soi. Gabrielle Cloutier et Juulie Rousseau, deux artistes québécoises qui ont traversé les frontières de leur propre langage musical pour se laisser façonner par d’autres traditions, ont emprunté ce chemin exigeant, celui qui mène vers les cultures musicales arabes et persanes, guidées par la curiosité autant que par le respect. À travers cette rencontre, il s’agit de comprendre ce qui se joue lorsqu’un univers musical étranger devient un espace de découverte, de dialogue et de transformation. Comment on apprend à écouter autrement, comment une tradition nous transforme en retour, et ce que la transmission exige de patience et d’ouverture. Chanteuse formée aux répertoires médiévaux et méditerranéens, Gabrielle Cloutier explore depuis plusieurs années les chants mozarabes, séfarades et arabo-andalous, où se croisent les traces de plusieurs civilisations. Juulie Rousseau, autrice-compositrice-interprète, a quant à elle bâti son univers musical au fil de séjours prolongés en Inde, en Mongolie, en Turquie et en Iran, où le chant est devenu pour elle un langage qui dépasse les mots. Joshua Greenberg, musicien et oudiste, explore les traditions musicales du Moyen-Orient et leur dialogue avec d’autres univers sonores, faisant de la rencontre entre les cultures un fil conducteur de son parcours artistique. Portée par ces parcours, la discussion porte sur la transmission, la curiosité et l’écoute comme conditions de la rencontre entre les cultures, laissant aussi une place à la musique et à la poésie, témoins vivants de ces chemins parcourus.
To learn a music that is not one’s own is to accept unlearning a part of oneself. Gabrielle Cloutier and Juulie Rousseau, two Quebec artists who have crossed the borders of their own musical language to let themselves be shaped by other traditions, have taken this demanding path, one that leads toward Arab and Persian musical cultures, guided as much by curiosity as by respect. This encounter seeks to understand what is at stake when a foreign musical universe becomes a space of discovery, dialogue, and transformation: how one learns to listen differently, how a tradition transforms us in return, and what transmission demands in terms of patience and openness. A singer trained in medieval and Mediterranean repertoires, Gabrielle Cloutier has spent several years exploring Mozarabic, Sephardic, and Andalusian Arab songs, in which the traces of several civilizations intersect. Juulie Rousseau, a singer-songwriter, has for her part built her musical universe through extended stays in India, Mongolia, Turkey, and Iran, where song became, for her, a language beyond words. Carried by these two journeys, the discussion lingers on transmission, curiosity, and listening as conditions for encounter between cultures, while also making room for music and poetry, living witnesses to the paths travelled.
CE SPECTACLE EST GRATUIT!
Ce contenu provient du Festival du Monde Arabe de Montréal et est adapté par PAN M 360
Festival du monde Arabe : L’Écho des mondes à la salle Pierre-Mercure
by Rédaction PAN M 360
Cette soirée tisse des ponts entre les cultures. Des rives du Moyen-Orient aux élans de l’orchestre contemporain, elle fait dialoguer les traditions et les imaginaires, portée par une création mondiale de Katia Makdissi-Warren et des œuvres de Bechara El-Khoury, Fazıl Say et d’autres voix inspirées.
This evening weaves bridges between cultures. From the shores of the Middle East to the surge of the contemporary orchestra, it brings traditions and imaginations into dialogue, carried by a world premiere by Katia Makdissi-Warren and works by Bechara El-Khoury, Fazıl Say, and other inspired voices.
Le Vivier : Squid in Chains / Adrianne Munden-Dixon & Raphaël Foisy à l’église Sainte-Hilda
by Rédaction PAN M 360
Squid in Chains est un trio de Vancouver mêlant improvisation, électronique et instruments acoustiques. Il réunit François Houle (clarinette et électronique), Douglas Schmidt (bandonéon et saxophone) et John Oliver (synthétiseurs, échantillonneurs et traitement sonore). En première partie: Adrianne Munden-Dixon et Raphaël Foisy, explorent en duo ou avec des invité-es (Karen NG, Ben Bennett, James Goddard, Andrew Furlong, Yves Charuest, Joni Void, Geneviève Gauthier, Mark Molnar, Susanna Hood…) une musique pour violon et guitare où les instruments se confondent mimétiquement et s’interrompent dans un territoire de textures, de timbres, de dynamiques, de contrastes, de bruits, de réflexes et d’accidents.
Squid in Chains is a Vancouver-based trio blending improvisation, electronics, and acoustic instruments. It brings together François Houle (clarinet and electronics), Douglas Schmidt (bandoneon and saxophone), and John Oliver (synthesizers, samplers, and sound processing). Opening the evening: Adrianne Munden-Dixon and Raphaël Foisy explore, as a duo or with guests (Karen NG, Ben Bennett, James Goddard, Andrew Furlong, Yves Charuest, Joni Void, Geneviève Gauthier, Mark Molnar, Susanna Hood…), a music for violin and guitar in which the instruments merge mimetically and interrupt one another within a territory of textures, timbres, dynamics, contrasts, noises, reflexes, and accidents.
Grande finale du Concours OSM – Édition 2026 – Piano
by Rédaction PAN M 360
Depuis 1940, le Concours OSM a révélé des talents exceptionnels qui ont marqué durablement la scène musicale. Parmi ses lauréats figurent des pianistes aujourd’hui reconnus sur la scène internationale, tels que Bruce Liu, Jan Lisiecki et Angela Hewitt, dont les carrières illustrent le rôle déterminant du concours comme tremplin artistique. Pour cette 87e édition, le piano est à l’honneur, avec un programme riche et contrasté où les finalistes, accompagnés par l’Orchestre symphonique de Montréal sous la direction d’Antony Hermus, proposeront une interprétation à la fois virtuose et d’une grande intensité expressive.
Since 1940, the OSM Competition has brought to light exceptional talents who have left a lasting mark on the musical landscape. Among its laureates are pianists now acclaimed on the international stage, such as Bruce Liu, Jan Lisiecki, and Angela Hewitt, whose careers exemplify the competition’s pivotal role as an artistic springboard. For its 87th edition, the spotlight is on the piano, with a rich and contrasting program in which the finalists—performing with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Antony Hermus—will offer interpretations that are both virtuosic and deeply expressive.
Les finalistes et leur programme seront dévoilés à l’issue des épreuves de demi-finale du Concours OSM 2026, le 11 novembre 2026.
The finalists and their programme will be announced following the semifinal rounds of the 2026 OSM Competition, on November 11, 2026.
Arion Orchestre Baroque : Les quatre saisons à la salle Bourgie
by Rédaction PAN M 360
Si Les quatre saisons de Vivaldi, œuvres oubliées pendant plus de deux siècles, sont aujourd’hui parmi les pages les plus appréciées du répertoire baroque, c’est parce qu’elles sont bien plus que des concertos pour violon. Illustrant en musique la morsure du froid, la chaleur accablante du soleil d’été ou encore le pépiement des oiseaux au printemps, ces œuvres sont depuis plus de 300 ans les bandes sonores de nos vies ! Sous l’archet de la brillante violoniste suisse Leila Schayegh que l’on retrouvera à la direction d’Arion, et assortie d’œuvres vocales de Vivaldi et de Bembo livrées par l’admirable soprano québécoise Sophie Naubert, cette présentation promet tout un carrousel d’émotions et de contrastes.
If Vivaldi’s Four Seasons—works forgotten for over two centuries—are today among the most beloved pieces in the Baroque repertoire, it is because they are far more than just violin concertos. Depicting the biting cold, the oppressive heat of the summer sun, or the chirping of birds in spring, these works have become the soundtracks of our lives after over 300 years! Brought to life by the brilliant Swiss violinist Leila Schayegh, who returns to conduct Arion, and paired with vocal works by Vivaldi and Bembo performed by the remarkable Quebec soprano Sophie Naubert, this presentation promises a whirlwind of emotions and contrasts.
Programme
Antonio Vivaldi (1678 –1741) Les quatre saisons, RV 269, RV 315, RV 293, RV 297 Concerto pour cordes en si bémol majeur, RV 163 « Conca » In Furore iustissimae irae, RV 626 « Vedrò con mio diletto » (Il Giustino, RV 717) « Agitata da due venti » (Griselda, RV 718) Antonia Bembo (1640-1720) Cantate “Per il natale”
Program
Antonio Vivaldi (1678 –1741) The Four Seasons, RV 269, RV 315, RV 293, RV 297 Concerto for strings in B-flat Major, RV 163 “Conca” In Furore iustissimae irae, RV 626 “Vedrò con mio diletto” (Il Giustino, RV 717) “Agitata da due venti” (Griselda, RV 718) Antonia Bembo (1640-1720) Cantate “Per il natale”
Arion Orchestre Baroque : Les quatre saisons à l’église Saint-Viateur d’Outremont
by Rédaction PAN M 360
Si Les quatre saisons de Vivaldi, œuvres oubliées pendant plus de deux siècles, sont aujourd’hui parmi les pages les plus appréciées du répertoire baroque, c’est parce qu’elles sont bien plus que des concertos pour violon. Illustrant en musique la morsure du froid, la chaleur accablante du soleil d’été ou encore le pépiement des oiseaux au printemps, ces œuvres sont depuis plus de 300 ans les bandes sonores de nos vies ! Sous l’archet de la brillante violoniste suisse Leila Schayegh que l’on retrouvera à la direction d’Arion, et assortie d’œuvres vocales de Vivaldi et de Bembo livrées par l’admirable soprano québécoise Sophie Naubert, cette présentation promet tout un carrousel d’émotions et de contrastes.
If Vivaldi’s Four Seasons—works forgotten for over two centuries—are today among the most beloved pieces in the Baroque repertoire, it is because they are far more than just violin concertos. Depicting the biting cold, the oppressive heat of the summer sun, or the chirping of birds in spring, these works have become the soundtracks of our lives after over 300 years! Brought to life by the brilliant Swiss violinist Leila Schayegh, who returns to conduct Arion, and paired with vocal works by Vivaldi and Bembo performed by the remarkable Quebec soprano Sophie Naubert, this presentation promises a whirlwind of emotions and contrasts.
Programme
Antonio Vivaldi (1678 –1741) Les quatre saisons, RV 269, RV 315, RV 293, RV 297 Concerto pour cordes en si bémol majeur, RV 163 « Conca » In Furore iustissimae irae, RV 626 « Vedrò con mio diletto » (Il Giustino, RV 717) « Agitata da due venti » (Griselda, RV 718) Antonia Bembo (1640-1720) Cantate “Per il natale”
Program
Antonio Vivaldi (1678 –1741) The Four Seasons, RV 269, RV 315, RV 293, RV 297 Concerto for strings in B-flat Major, RV 163 “Conca” In Furore iustissimae irae, RV 626 “Vedrò con mio diletto” (Il Giustino, RV 717) “Agitata da due venti” (Griselda, RV 718) Antonia Bembo (1640-1720) Cantate “Per il natale”
OSM : Les mille et une notes de Shéhérazade – Express
by Rédaction PAN M 360
Dans ce programme condensé, la force des individualités de l’Orchestre se déploie comme rarement. Les Danses polovtsiennes de Borodine ouvrent la soirée dans une effervescence charnelle : chaque pupitre y brille, sollicité avec une virtuosité tantôt sauvage, tantôt caressante, comme si l’orchestre tout entier se muait en un ensemble de solistes. Puis surgit Shéhérazade, où la voix du violon – celle d’Andrew Wan – trace en filigrane le destin de l’héroïne des Mille et une nuits. Ses lignes souples et envoûtantes esquissent les stratégies, les doutes, la douceur et l’audace de cette femme qui apprivoise peu à peu le sultan et transforme sa propre histoire en salut. Deux œuvres qui magnifient la richesse expressive d’un orchestre en pleine incarnation.
In this condensed program, the orchestra’s individuality shines as rarely before. Borodin’s Polovtsian Dances open the evening in a sensual whirlwind: every section dazzles, summoned to a virtuosity that is at times wild, at times tender, as if the entire orchestra were transformed into a constellation of soloists. Then comes Sheherazade, where the violin—Andrew Wan’s voice—traces the destiny of the heroine from One Thousand and One Nights. Its supple, mesmerizing lines sketch her strategies, doubts, gentleness, and audacity as she gradually tames the sultan and turns her story into salvation. Two works that magnify the expressive richness of an orchestra in full incarnation.
Programme/program
Alexandre Borodine, Prince Igor : Danses Polovtsiennes/Polovtsian Dances (14 min) Nikolaï Rimski-Korsakov, Shéhérazade, op. 35 (42 min)
Azrieli Prize: Next stop 2028, with Linda Bouchard, Luis Arias, and Matthew Rosenblum!
by Frédéric Cardin
The Azrieli Foundation announced today the three composers who will receive commissions for works in anticipation of the Azrieli Music Prizes. The award-winning compositions will be presented at a gala concert in the fall of 2028, and performed by the Nouvel Ensemble Moderne (NEM) under the direction of Jean-Michaël Lavoie, the partner for this edition.
Linda Bouchard – Azrieli Canadian Music Commission 2028:Le Saguenay, Saki-nip
The composer will present Le Saguenay, Saki-nip, a majestic portrait of the Saguenay fjord, also inspired by the relationships between the French settlers and the Innu in the 17th century. Bouchard says she draws inspiration from the impressions left by the book Le peuple rieur by Simon Bouchard and Marie-Christine Lévesque, which precisely recounts this friendly and peaceful relationship. In an interview during the unveiling of the winners, Ms. Bouchard said she wanted to create metallic, coppery textures to reflect the radiant grandeur of Saguenay.
Mathew Rosenblum – Azrieli Commission for Jewish Music 2028:Tamim(Simplicity)
The American Rosenblum will present Tamim (Simplicity), a memory work that will include recordings of his grandmother singing or speaking about her life in Ukrainian and Yiddish. Through, also, sound artefacts related to his grandmother’s homeland (Ukraine), and a mezzo-soprano voice, it is the themes of migration, loss, and identity that Rosenblum will explore, also making the mezzo-soprano score a relay of his own identity as a composer and human being from a family that experienced exile.
Luis Arias – Azrieli Commission for International Music 2028:Optimised for Loneliness
Arias will compose Optimised for Loneliness, a reflection on how contemporary digital mediation transforms the perception and memory of traditional Semana Santa (Holy Week) processions in Andalusia. Arias remembers that, as a young boy, he enjoyed listening to the brass bands that played during these processions. He wanted to imitate them and do as the marching musicians did. Today, he questions the fact that the new generations observe these events as inherently unifying and collective, in their individual bubbles, connected via Instagram or other social networks.
The fourth prize usually awarded, the Azrieli Prize for Jewish Music, which is not a commission but rather the interpretation of an existing work, will change its format. The obligation to choose a work created in the last 75 years by a living composer is over. The focus will instead shift to rewarding a work of Jewish music from the past, regardless of the year, emphasising neglected composers or works forgotten or obscured by History. The focus will be on discovery and historical research. The winning piece has not yet been chosen. Another change: the selected work will have its own concert, to further emphasise its importance.
Those who are familiar with European classical music will understand the significance of the capital letter in the term Romantic from the title. For others, allow me to explain: the term Romantic with a capital letter refers to the period of Romantic music, which encompasses almost the entire 19th century and continues until the early 20th century, even to the present day as this aesthetic continues to be practiced (in great film music, for example). The word does not refer to romantic sensuality (although it is very possible), but rather to personal and individual affirmation, intense expressiveness, and other specific characteristics that make the Romantic Period one of the most emblematic of Western music. Think of Tchaikovsky, think of Brahms, think of the operas of Puccini, Verdi, think of Mahler, think of Rachmaninoff, etc., etc. There you go.
MaqaMorphose offered an atypical chamber quintet reinterpretation (piano, cello, qanun, ney, and percussion) of the iconic music of Mohammed Abdelwahab on Sunday evening, a composer who wrote numerous hits of the great classical Arab song, and who also wrote others for famous divas like Fairouz, Warda, and Oum Kalthoum.
Informed reinterpretations driven by the desire of the two initiators of the project, the qanun player Chaima Gaddour and the cellist Samih Souissi, to create a dialogue between Arab music and Western music, in an aesthetic close to transcultural scholarly classicism. Abdelwahab was well-suited to this initiative because he himself had sometimes drawn from Beethoven and others, out of respect and openness.
We are first struck by the sound system, powerful. Personally, I find it too much. I would like to hear these instruments in their authentic personality, and their intertwined relationships without constraints. In this forced amplification, we lose the natural grain of the cello. Of the ney too. I enquired: due to the use of a synthetic piano, inevitably amplified, it was necessary to amplify the others. Fine. That said, when you have an acoustic piano, let me know, I would be very pleased to savour the true essence of this lovely chamber music. Samih Souissi also tells me that it’s a work-in-progress. Adjustments still need to be made.
Finally putting this detail aside, I focus on the music itself, of course. The first part focuses on the songs that Abdelwahab himself performed, as well as on his film music and some pieces he called “instrumental symphonies.” Beautiful compositions that sometimes overlay quarter-tone inflections, typical of Arabic music, and Eastern music in general, with the equal temperament imposed by the presence of the piano. Friction that will initially seem strange, sometimes giving the impression that one is playing out of tune, but which requires patience until their resolution.
It is in the second part of the concert that the music truly lifts the Ausang Plaza. MaqaMorphose then offers a series of medleys in tribute to the songs that Abdelwahab created for the most popular female singers of the golden age of Arabic music. Fairouz, Warda, Oum Kalthoum, three names that have crossed into the West, but still resonate as idols in the Arab world. A bit like Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughan and Ella Fitzgerald in jazz, a Trinity of collective memory. The arrangements are lively, pleasantly polyphonic, and the melodies evoked are often sung in unison by the knowledgeable audience that fills the intimate space of the Ausgang Plaza.
Between the pieces, beautiful texts recited by the various musicians, which set the stage for an enhanced appreciation of what we are about to hear. At the beginning, these pieces were almost all sung. The lyrics, in Arabic music, are central to the artistic approach. Poetry, in general, remains a royal discipline, unlike in the West where it has become marginal. In the end, even if MaqaMorphose wishes to emancipate this music from its subordinate link to the text, the artists cannot completely disregard its omnipresent spirit behind these compositions.
You can feel that the material is coming through. Not only for the nostalgic, but, for my part, for the curious music lover inspired as much by European classical music as by non-European traditions. Abdelwahab here dons the garb of a Romantic imbued with a unique creative personality and filled with beautiful riches.
Beyond this tribute to a well-known composer of the Arab tradition, it is a universe of encounters and transcultural and scholarly dialogues (in a very positive sense, anything but pedantic) that the approach of the group, largely based in Montreal (except for the cellist, based in Paris), reveals.
In the meantime, find a good Yamaha of a high-end classical range (no need to chase after Steinways), and bring us this music in a purely acoustic setting, in a room designed for it, so that we can fully enjoy this stimulating offering.
Jazz@Vue | Impressive Léno duo and the elegance of Gentiane MG
by Frédéric Cardin
A Halloween Saturday night in Outremont. Bernard Street was buzzing with friendly monsters, both big and small. Without probably realising it, inside the Théâtre Outremont, the third “double bill” of the new Jazz@vue festival was taking place, organised by the Théâtre Outremont in collaboration with the Effendi label, Yves Léveillé Productions, and Félix Stüssi Productions. Third evening where two groups share the stage in turn. On this evening of the dead, it was the rather vital and tonic music of the Parisian duo Léno (for pianist LÉonardo Montana and drummer ArNAUD Dolmen) that covered the first half of the lineup.
Energising music, yes, absolutely. A pulsing, percussive piano that generously blossoms in dramatic intensity and expressive strength as the pieces progress. A melodic discourse, fragmented but constantly groovy. A friend pointed out to me that this guy (Leonardo Montana, just like Dolmen the drummer, I’ll come back to that) must have a hidden third arm to add notes.
Arnaud Dolmen, another skilled hand, impresses with his highly assured technique. This stick artist maintains the pulse but plays with it like a cat with a ball, making it soar, roll, and bounce in surprising, always exciting paths.
The two boys blend the sounds and influences of modern jazz, heavily informed by bop and post-bop, but also with many Caribbean resonances (Dolmen is from Guadeloupe) and modern Brazilian (several echoes of Milton Nascimento, at least to my ears). This beautiful ecumenism serves as an expressive framework for impressive reinterpretations of Mongo Santamaria (Afro Blue), Wayne Shorter (Joy Rider), Pedro Aznar, and some personal compositions (Spirale) from their self-titled album released in 2024.
The kind of show that makes me happy, because it’s definitely one of the best jazz musical performances of my year 2026! They will have to be invited again. The kind of show that, unfortunately, saddens me, because the Théâtre Outremont seemed far too large for the audience present. A little embarrassing. How can this high level of artistic quality remain so confidential in the media (except at PanM)?
The second part was provided by the music of the Gentiane MG trio, all elegance and contemporary finesse, yet accessible. Good excerpts from the album Can You Hear the Birds? released last March, for which I offered you a positive review.
I was saying this about the music from the album: … invites us instinctively to breathe, to relax, and to let the impulse of the moment nestle in and stimulate our imagination. An airing of the play and the phrases, a gentleness in the interactions between the three artists…
Obviously, on stage, spontaneity expands, freedom stirs a bit more, but in general, the spirit is fully respected, and it helps conclude a very beautiful evening, united by the juxtaposition of two different yet complementary visions of contemporary jazz.
