The maturity of his playing is most impressive. So too is the scope of his recital, which avoids the obvious. In Beethoven’s Op 51 Rondos he is particularly responsive to the Second Rondo’s more capricious moments, while its close, with a sudden outbreak of high spirits, is delightful. His way with Chopin's early Introduction and Rondo, balancing delicacy and sinew without a hint of sentimentality, is very telling.

But the highlight for me was Enescu’s Second Suite. I have to confess this was new to be—but what a piece! Everywhere, he displays a strong sense of narrative, making him a compelling storyteller. Captured in a warmly immediate recording, Richard-Hamelin is a welcome new voice on the pianistic firmament.

– Gramophone

Québec-born Marianne Fiset has recently won several prizes – the First Grand Prize of the Montreal International Musical Competition, the Jean A Charles Prize for the best Canadian artist, the Joseph Rouleau Prize for best artist from Québec, the Poulenc French Song Award and the People’s Choice Award in May 2007 . More recently she was named Young Soloist 2008 by the Public Francophonie Radios (Radio France, Radio Suisse–Romande, RTBF Belgium and Radio–Canada). The best news of all is that she thoroughly deserves everything she has received for she has a voice of power and purity, strength but gentleness, and this recital is a real winner.  


Hearing Ravel’s orchestral song–cycle Sh é h é razade with piano accompaniment is an ear–opener for we can concentrate, entirely, on the voice without being distracted by Ravel’s rich orchestration. This is very helpful when hearing a new voice for the first time. The long first song, Asie is built gradually, the descriptions of Asia slowly coming into focus until the big climax, at the words “Je voudrais voir mourir d’amour ou bien de haine” (I would like to see death caused by love or even by hate), she lets loose a superbly sustained top register, full of emotion and wonder. The climax, which is fully scored in the orchestral version fares well in this performance, it’s obviously not piano music but it worksl. The coda, full of the thoughts of story telling is well controlled and is tinged with fatigue. Fabulous singing! It’s hard to believe that a song called The Enchanted Flute could work without a solo flute but so sensitive is Marie–È ve Scarfone’s playing that I was never conscious of something missing in this performance.  

“I waken…
And hear outside
The song of a flute pour forth
By turns sadness and joy.”  

Fiset sings, imagining her lover playing the instrument and the notes being kisses landing on her cheek. L’indiff érent (The Indifferent One) is all restraint, but not despair at parting.  

“…remain
On my doorstep and I will watch you depart,
Making a last graceful gesture to me…”  

Here Fiset hits the right tone of I couldn’t care less/I want you but can’t tell you and the short instrumental epilogue sounds as if the loved one were walking into the distance.  

Debussy’s Proses lyriques is an early set of four songs to texts by the composer himself. He was well acquainted with impressionist painters and Symbolist poets so it is, perhaps, no surprise that Debussy would, at some point, create some words of his own to set to music. Certainly these words are highly perfumed, but the music isn’t, and in the long run it might be best to ignore the words and simply enjoy the wonderful songs as pure music. After all, Debussy wrote, “…Good heavens, music is the dream from which the veil is lifted! It is not even the expression of feeling, it is feeling itself.” So as Debussy writes,  

“Dusk falls like tattered
White silk on the sea
The waves chatter like silly
Little girls let out of school
In their lustrous frilly
Green silk dresses.”  

he sets the words to music of such insouciance that we are not concerned with the meaning of the words, rather the sound they make when wedded to the music. This is a fine performance.


For some strange reason the disk ends with Song to the Moon from Rusalka. It sits uncomfortably beside two such strong works of French impressionism, and it seems very old hat indeed! It’s very lovely but this isn’t the place for it. The Orchestre de la francophonie canadienne, under its director Jean–Philippe Tremblay accompany well, and I’d love to hear it in some symphonic repertoire for their playing is very first–rate and well worth hearing.

 

This is every inch Fiset’s disk and it’s a good debut. This is a voice which will go far and I do hope that she will not give all her time to the opera for there are some of us who treasure song and there simply aren’t enough singers today giving us good song recitals.

 

The sound is very good, the balance between voice and piano, and orchestra, is excellent. The notes are good too. Indeed, everything about this disk makes it well worth having.

-- Bob Briggs, MusicWeb International

Recorded live in concert, this album features works by Ludovico Einaudi, Max Richter, Philip Glass, Ennio Morricone, George Enescu, Joe Hisaichi, Camille Saint-Saens and Srul Irving Glick. Angèle Dubeau writes of this release: “’Music must not be the prerogative of the elite, it belongs to everyone.’ These words by Telemann have been my motto for a very long time. I like to think that music should be shared with as many people as possible, and it was in this spirit that I developed the concert program “One Last Time”, performed 33 times in Canada in the fall of 2017 and then on tour in Latin America in the winter of 2018. This album, recorded live at Quebec City’s Palais Montcalm in November 2017, features some of the most striking works that La Pietà has performed during its 21 years of existence. I gave my first concert at the age of five, and 51 years later, I would like to say “thank you,” because after all these years, what fills me with joy is knowing that my music is there with you, both in your everyday life and in the special moments. Thank you for all of these experiences. Enjoy!”

A highly sought-after musician not only for his virtuosity and the subtlety of his playing, Luc Beauséjour is never short of ideas when it comes to offering music programs imbued with authenticity and refinement. For his new album, Le rappel des oiseaux, the harpsichordist proposes a selection of works by French composers inspired by birdsongs. The extreme diversity of timbre, tune, and rhythm found in birdsong has always fascinated musicians. Even when the creatures in question are out of sight, their twittering, warbling, and chirping fill the air with sweet and pleasant music, both under the morning sun and at nightfall.

Portrait is a string of recordings presenting contemporary composers with a unique musical signature. Ludovico Einaudi is one of them. This grand and prolific Italian composer creates works that dwell within us for a long time. A music which captivates the listener, a sonic landscape to discover.

Starting from the original versions starring this composer and brilliant pianist, I wished to explore these works with my violin, surrounded by the wonderful musicians of my string orchestra La Pietà. This is a revisit of his music, changing its texture, rethinking its character while bringing a new sonic dimension. I am happy to share with you my latest musical highlight. -- Angèle Dubeau

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REVIEW:

Joined by her string ensemble La Pietà, Dubeau brings out the classical side (as opposed to the easy-listening side) of this composer, particularly in textured tracks like Divenire, Life and Time Lapse, which features some gentle electronic undercurrents.

– WQXR-FM (105.9 FM), NYC

Since 2002, Buzz Brass quintet has been travelling all over the globe and has captivated classical music lovers. With over 1,600 appearances to its credit, the ensemble has reached more than 350,000 music lovers throughout North America, Europe and China. The numerous awards and distinctions that Buzz Brass has earned over the years attest to both the quality and the relevance of its musical performances. Thanks to numerous innovative programs, praiseworthy recordings, a unique repertoire and a vision of classical concerts that reaches out to a wide audience, the group now features among the most reputable brass quintets in Canada. The new album, Famous Inspirations, showcases the rich array of colors and timbres of brass instruments and features transcriptions of celebrated works by prominent composers such as Ravel, Satie and Dvorak. Inspired and inspiring music!

“An album that features composers whose music speaks deeply to me. Music in which I have found a refuge and a wellspring of goodness. Music that is sometimes imbued with finesse, or even purity, fragility, or with meditative gentleness and that can provide an introspection into one's emotions. An IMMERSION in oneself.” (Angèle Dubeau) Angèle Dubeau has pursued a career as a classical musician for over 40 years and has played in as many countries, always with the same passion, zest and generosity. Beyond her virtuosity as a musician, this exceptional woman has other qualities that have earned her a special place in the hearts of her audiences. While her virtuosity and musicality have won over critics, audiences adore Angèle Dubeau for her captivating music, her uncommon gift as a communicator, her generosity, and her outstanding ability to connect with listeners. She has garnered many awards over the years, and she is one of the few classical violinists in the world to earn gold records. She has sold over 600,000 albums over her career, and works from her discography have been streamed over 100 million times in over 100 countries.

This album explores the cello’s origins and the creative process of new music fascinate Elinor Frey. Her excellent new album, Guided by Voices, consists of six commissions for baroque cello, including three for the five-string cello. Composed by Scott Godin, Linda Catlin Smith, Ken Ueno, Isaiah Ceccarelli, Maxime McKinley and Lisa Streich, these new works played on instruments built in recent years reveal the incredible versatility and remarkable colors of the instruments which have inspired these outstanding composers. Elinor Frey plays both period and modern instruments. Her recent release on the Belgian label Passacaille, Berlin Sonatas with Lorenzo Ghielmi on fortepiano, was nominated for a Juno award for Best Classical Album, Solo & Chamber Music and won the 2015 Québec Opus Prize for Early Music album of the year. Her first Baroque album, La voce del violoncello, was praised for its “careful scholarship and brilliant layering of moods and tempos” (Toronto Star) and for the “honest, reflective beauty of her music making” (Strings). Her performance of this program was the winner of the public prize at the 2013 Utrecht Early Music Festival Fringe.

Juno Award winning pianist James Gelfand is a well know figure on the Canadian jazz scene and in the world of soundtracks for movies and television. Along with his new trio consisting of bassist Morgan Moore and drummer Jim Doxas, he now offers a great new album titled Ground Midnight, in which Gelfand uses different types of compositional devices to give a conceptual vision to each of his compositions and arrangements. Gelfand's fingers can certainly fly on the piano and his trio can groove, but the thematic and rhythmic structure of the compositions never gets lost. This is a ground-breaking album that will delight music aficionados! James Gelfand has performed on more than 40 albums, with 10 under his own name. He has received six Juno Award nominations for both solo albums and collaborative efforts, and a Juno Award for the album The Merlin Factor, on which he performed and contributed his compositions and arrangements.

This package includes 1 CD and a DVD.

The works on this beautiful recording are transcriptions for flute and piano of Franz Schubert masterpieces, from "Heidenr�slen," a lied he composed as a fresh-faced 17-year- old, to "St�ndchen," written just prior to his premature death at the age of 31. The exquisite and expressive playing of flutist Nadia Labrie and pianist Mathieu Gaudet is seductive. "I have always found this music inspiring, so I wanted to perform a flute and piano version of some of my favourites. Schubert's music is so uplifting, so inspiring, so passionate - it taps into the soul, the voice, the breath of life." (Nadia Labrie) Nadia Labrie is a graduate of the Conservatoire de musique du Quebec and the Universite de Montreal. She received the Medal of the Governor General of Canada for the excellence of her college studies, and was awarded the Citizenship Lifetime Achievement Award by the Lieutenant Governor of Quebec and Celebrations Canada President Marc Garneau.

About this unusual release Angèle Dubeau writes:

"I have never placed limits on my choice of repertoire, and for this project, I pushed my curiosity to the extreme, toward a world that was completely unknown to me. In my quest to discover the gems of modern music, I listened to many works written and revisited by composers of great talent. When I began my research, video games quickly emerged as a logical avenue of exploration. I have always strived to interest young people in classical music because I feel it has the power to touch everyone. Seeing the passion of young people for video games, I wanted to understand the secrets of their success and to evaluate their musical value. On my most recent recording, I approached movie music without consideration for the images and scenes that inspired it, and I took the same tack in reviewing the gold mine that is video game music. I have assembled here the works that spoke to me, giving no real thought to the adventures they accompany. I immersed myself in the worlds that created these excerpts, and I conveyed my new conception to the musicians of La Pietà, going into great detail to bring forth all of their beauty and power. Above all, I wanted to avoid distorting them, and my intention has been to preserve the form that initially won over video game aficionados while at the same time breathing new life into them. So it is with great pleasure that I invite you to dive into the fantastical world of video games with me." – Angèle Dubeau

This attractive disc collects three outstanding works for cello and piano from composers who were all contemporaries but who wrote in very different styles. All of the performances are very fine indeed, particularly the big Rachmaninov sonata in which pianist Francine Kay proves a commanding partner to Elizabeth Dolin's passionately committed cello playing. They offer an impressively cogent account of the finale in particular, a movement that easily can sound too long in less adroit hands. The two players bring the necessary lightness of touch to the Debussy (where the central Sérénade has special atmosphere) and the right raw energy to the Janácek Fairy Tale. It's a program that can be savored in bits or at a single sitting with equal pleasure.


Now for the one problem: cellist Elizabeth Dolin, like so many cellists, breathes very loudly and distractingly. Her gasping proves quite intrusive in spots, but like the squeaking of frets in a guitar recital, this distraction seemingly comes with the territory and each listener will have to decide how bothersome this will be. The recording, generally quite fine, favors the cello but doesn't prevent Kay from assuming center stage when she must, though it may be that a little more distance would have mitigated Dolin's respiratory counterpoints. If the couplings interest you, though, don't let this reservation hold you back. This is still a lovely disc in all other respects.
--David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com

The new album Darlings of the Muses by The National Arts Centre Orchestra under the direction of Alexander Shelley is the first of four albums to be released over the next two years. This series will explore the closely intertwined personal and artistic connections between three musical giants: Clara Schumann, Robert Schumann and Johannes Brahms. The album includes Robert Schumann and Johannes Brahms’ First Symphonies, Clara Schumann’s Piano Concerto Op. 7, her first (and last) multi-movement orchestral work, and Gabriela Montero offers original improvisations inspired by Clara’s music. Gabriela Montero’s visionary interpretations and unique compositional gifts have garnered her critical acclaim and a devoted following on the world stage. Anthony Tommasini remarked in The New York Times that “Montero’s playing had everything: crackling rhythmic brio, subtle shadings, steely power…soulful lyricism…unsentimental expressivity.” Recipient of the prestigious 2018 Heidelberger Frühling Music Prize, Montero’s recent and forthcoming highlights include debuts with the San Francisco Symphony (Edward Gardner), New World Symphony (Michael Tilson Thomas), Yomiuri Nippon Symphony in Tokyo (Aziz Shokhakimov), Orquesta de Valencia (Pablo Heras-Casado), and the Bournemouth Symphony (Carlos Miguel Prieto), the latter of which will feature her as Artist-in-Residence for the 2019-2020 season.

Includes nocturne(s) for pno by Frédéric Chopin. Soloists: Thérèse Motard, Louise-Andrée Baril.