Classical Music

Classical Music

This new album by the great pianist and composer Alain Lefevre unveils the results of three years of hard work by Jacques Marchand, George Nicholson and Alain Lefevre aimed at restoring Andre Mathieu’s famous Concerto No. 3. Presented as a world premiere in February 2017 in Buffalo, where it was performed by Alain Lefevre and the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of the renowned JoAnn Falletta, the reconstituted Concerto No. 3 was enthusiastically received by the audience. Recorded at those performances, the album Andre Mathieu: Concerto No. 3 accurately conveys the brilliance of Alain Lefevre and the enthusiasm of the musicians, aware as they were of sharing a highly emotional and one-of-a-kind moment. JoAnn Falletta had previously collaborated with Alain Lefevre in presenting works by Mathieu – in New York’s Carnegie Hall in 2013, among other settings. It was in the fall of 1942, 75 years ago, that young Quebec prodigy Andre Mathieu, just 13 years old and at the peak of his glory, began writing his Concerto No. 3, which he would finish the following summer. In 2008, George Nicholson discovered the original score of Andre Mathieu’s Concerto No. 3 written in the Quebec composer’s own hand. The differences, which were noteworthy, between this original score and the Concerto de Quebec, the well-known, modified, version of the work, were the starting point for an enormous undertaking aimed at restoring this masterwork of Mathieu’s. The new album also contains George Gershwin’s An American in Paris. Commissioned by the New York Philharmonic and premiered in 1928, the work translates into music the vivid impressions of an American visiting Paris, strolling the city streets and soaking up the exuberant atmosphere of the French capital.

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REVIEW:

After languishing unnoticed for several decades, in 2008 the original autograph score for two pianos of Andre Mathieu's Concerto No. 3 was discovered in Ottawa. Since then, composer and conductor Jacques Marchand has prepared a critical edition that is faithful to the original manuscript. This is its first full recording. It has all the sweeping gestures of its period and a devilishly difficult piano part. Lefèvre’s performance at the keyboard is masterful. He and the BPO perform the work with astonishing authenticity, restoring a fascinating chapter to Canadian music history of that period.

– The Whole Note (Canada)

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!”

“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.

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

How to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the ensemble La Pietà? The answer came naturally to Angèle Dubeau: through music! For the occasion, she proposed an album entirely conceived, performed, and composed by women. The result is an album filled with the joy of exchanging through the medium of creation with the women composers gathered here. This album witnesses Angèle Dubeau's virtuosity and confirms her immense talent for creating programs that are off the beaten path, while being as innovative as they are accessible.

REVIEW:

This Canadian group, led by Dubeau, always delivers the goods, with accessible and wide-ranging programmes. Marking 25 years, Elle brings together works by women composers both familiar and unsung, from Hildegard to Isobel Waller-Bridge. Very fine playing.

-- BBC Music Magazine

A new release from Angèle Dubeau & La Pietà is always something to look forward to – this time playing the music of John Adams. Here is an ensemble that gives listeners that rare, giddy feeling of expectation as when one realizes at the start of a good book or movie: "This is going to be good!"

“Sosa and Keita deliver a work that variously ebbs, flows and sparkles.” (Jane Cornwell, Jazzwise)

SUBA is the second album from the collaboration between one of Cuba’s most prolific Jazz Artists, pianist Omar Sosa, and Senegalese kora master Seckou Keita. Omar and Seckou’s debut album Transparent Water has toured worldwide since 2017 to enormous critical acclaim. They are again accompanied on this tour and album by Venezuelan percussionist Gustavo Ovalles. Seven-time Grammy-nominated jazz pianist Omar Sosa has been passionately interested in exploring African musical cultures and their connections with his Afro-Cuban roots throughout his career, subtly blending traditional and contemporary sounds on many of his recordings. Seckou Keita has arguably become the most influential and inspiring Kora player of his generation, an exceptional and charismatic musician and a modern global citizen, with seven centuries of tradition and heritage expressed through his music.

Watch Sosa and Keita's Tiny Desk Concert for NPR Music!

REVIEWS:

With a lighter, lyrical, improvisational approach, the two musicians create something artistically special and pull it off with aplomb. With its sympathetic sensitivity to human condition, SUBA’s mesmerizing music is a hymn to courage, strength and perseverance in a post-pandemic world. Each relaxing track, whether emphasizing piano, kora or vocals, presents itself a prayer for health, unity and sunnier skies ahead.

-- Roots Music Report

One of the New York Times' 5 Classical Albums to Hear Now!

“What if a woman wrote the song?” This question drives a recital of songs by female composers performed by soprano Golda Schultz and pianist Jonathan Ware. Opening with works by Clara Schumann and Emilie Mayer (including her setting of the ballad "Erlkönig"), this recital weaves stories of women’s experience with fantastic tales of powerful sirens like the Lorelei. The great American-British violist and composer Rebecca Clarke’s arresting William Blake settings offer a woman’s perspective on texts also set by Benjamin Britten. Devotional works from Nadia Boulanger reveal a compositional master in her own right, in addition to her legendary status as pedagogue to innumerable greats including Aaron Copland and Daniel Barenboim. This be Her Verse, a song cycle by poet-librettist Lila Palmer and composer Kathleen Tagg was directly commissioned by the artists to conclude the program and add an important contribution to the repertory: songs written by women, about women, highlighting the female experience.

This new release is the second album in the series of recordings by the soloists of the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal, under the artistic direction of Andrew Wan, concertmaster of the OSM since 2008. The recording of Franz Schubert’s Octet in F Major, D. 803 by the OSM Chamber Soloists confirms what La Presse wrote about the musicians and their first album: "... we can only applaud the superior quality of their attack, their accuracy, their cohesion, their collective discourse." For the OSM Chamber Soloists, recording this work was the logical next step after Beethoven’s Septet in E flat major Op. 20. Indeed, many have remarked on the similarities between the two works, composed 25 years apart. Both use similar forces, with Schubert merely adding a second violin to Beethoven’s ensemble of violin, viola, cello, double bass, clarinet, bassoon, and horn; both have six movements connected by identical key relationships; and both feature a generally optimistic character. Surely they will be applauded again for their Octet by Schubert, another great album by the OSM Soloists!

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REVIEW:

Structured in six strong movements, the Octet features many of Schubert’s signature marks such as prominent dotted rhythms, dramatic momentum, and sumptuous melodies. The fourth movement, Andante—variations, is especially captivating with its sublime transitions between the variations.

The OSM Chamber Soloists (comprising members of the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal) is a splendid ensemble. Each instrumentalist has a distinct character of their own but the synergy of the ensemble, the osmosis of the musical ideas, is extraordinary.

– The Whole Note (CA)

Classical Music

The profound and delightful Partitas, Bach’s Opus 1, sparkle in Eleonor Bindman’s brilliant performance. Her unhurried tempos bring out the twists, turns and quick modulations of the dance movements and preludes of this unparalleled set of six suites — famous in Bach’s day and today for their vitality and depth. Bindman’s spirited recording enriches the listener’s experience by revealing the power and emotional nuances of the suites. One of Bach’s favorite forms, the suite, or partita, incorporates lively, stately, graceful and stirring dances introduced by an opening movement — with a different title in each suite: Praeludium, Sinfonia, Toccata, Fantasia, Ouverture and Praeambulum. The scope of these works is vast — melody, harmony and counterpoint blending in sonorous combinations that surprise, fascinate and enchant. According to Bach’s first biographer, J.N. Forkel, “Such excellent compositions for the clavier [keyboard] had never been seen and heard before. Anyone who had learnt to perform well some pieces out of them could make his fortune in the world thereby.”

Past praise for Eleonor's Bindman's other recent Bach recording projects:

Bach: Cello Suites (transcribed for piano by E. Bindman):

Bindman takes him quite literally, transcribing in the register he wrote in, mostly, and clearly with enjoyment. Her tempos are sometimes faster than a cellist’s fingers might find practical, but her musical sense is excellent.

-- American Record Guide

The Brandenburg Duets (arr. for piano duet by E. Bindman):

These transcriptions are not easy to play, but Bindman and Lin are up to the task. Fast movements are played crisply, but not with brittleness, although the pianists play the opening movement of the Sixth Concerto in a more legato fashion, and use the sustaining pedal—a necessary choice, Bindman writes, given the concerto’s violin-less scoring. The slow movements are not Romanticized, but are duly lyrical. The two pianists equally divvy up the primo and secondo parts.

-- Fanfare

Les Folies Françoises have recreated Bernier’s masterpiece composed at the very end of the reign of Louis XIV. (Alpha)

"Nagano is a model of interpretative responsibility, meaning that she maintains a restrain appropriate to the anti-virtuoso path that's been chosen here." - Gramophone (Analetka)