This weekend, Arion Orchestre Baroque presents its opening concert with Maskoutain pianist \u00c9lisabeth Pion as guest soloist, in a concert whose main attraction is the (re)premiere of works by French composer H\u00e9l\u00e8ne de Montgeroult (1764-1836).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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A great visionary, the rare aristocrat to have been spared by the French Revolution and the only woman to have passed the competitive examination to teach the first piano classes at the Paris Conservatoire de Musique, Montgeroult’s musical language is imbued with the palette of Mozart’s classicism, but with a few experiments that hint at the beginning of Romanticism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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After the orchestra’s introduction of Mozart’s Symphony No. 26<\/em>, allowing us to appreciate Mathieu Lussier’s energetic conducting, the soloist presented Montgeroult’s Piano Concerto No. 1 in E-flat major<\/em>, which the composer constructed as an adaptation of Viotti’s violin concertos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n The instrument here is worthy of mention, as it lends full relief to the “historically informed” spirit of the concert. Played on a Broadwood 1826 forte-piano, on loan from patron Jacques Marchand, the instrument offers a woodier, less resonant sound than modern pianos, but allows greater agility than a harpsichord.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n