Canada Dvořák , Schulhoff, Mendelssohn: Pražák Quartet (Jana Vonášková and Vlastimil Holek [violins], Josef Kluson [viola], Michal Kanka [cello]) and Zemlinsky Quartet (František Souček and Petr Střížek [violins], Petr Holman [viola], Vladimír Fortin [cello]), Vancouver Playhouse, Vancouver, 29.1.2019. (GN)
Geoffrey Newman
Wide-Ranging New Music Festival Adds Luster to the Vancouver Symphony’s Centenary Celebrations
Canada 2019 VSO New Music Festival: Nathalie Paulin (soprano), Vern Griffiths (percussion), New York Polyphony, Vancouver Symphony Orchestra / Otto Tausk (conductor), Orpheum Theatre and Christ Church Cathedral, Vancouver, 16-19.1.2019. (GN)
The Ehnes Quartet Makes an Inspired Vancouver Debut
Canada Mozart, Janáček, Schubert: Ehnes Quartet [James Ehnes and Amy Schwartz-Moretti (violins), Richard O’Neill (viola), Edward Arron (cello)], Vancouver Playhouse, Vancouver, 22.1.2019. (GN)
PIANIST MARC-ANDRÉ HAMELIN IN CONVERSATION WITH GEOFFREY NEWMAN
THE GREAT CANADIAN ARTISTS: AN INTERVIEW WITH MARC-ANDRÉ HAMELIN
Pianist Marc-André Hamelin has emerged as one of the marvels of the twenty-first century. Few living pianists can match his transparency of articulation, rhythmic and tonal control and cunning virtuoso strength, and these characteristics are resoundingly illustrated in his recordings and concert performances of a vast range of nineteenth- and twentieth-century repertoire. His early – and indeed enduring – contribution lay in bringing technically-challenging works of lesser known and often forgotten composers to public attention, placing them on the world stage in the best light for others to absorb and study. In recent years, he has applied his interpretative and technical acumen to more mainstream literature with great success.
Reverence and Distilled Beauty from Masaaki Suzuki and the Bach Collegium Japan
Canada Various: Joanne Lunn (soprano), Ryo Terakado (violin), Liliko Maeda (traverse flute), Masamitsu San’nomiya (oboe), Bach Collegium Japan / Masaaki Suzuki (director/continuo), Chan Centre, Vancouver, 9.12.2018. (GN)
Wonderful Strength and Cohesion in Yefim Bronfman’s Brahms
Canada Brahms, Liszt, R. Strauss: Yefim Bronfman (piano), Vancouver Symphony Orchestra / Jun Märkl (conductor), Orpheum Theatre, Vancouver, 8.12.2018. (GN)
Keenlyside and Martineau on Top Form in German and French Repertoire
Canada Brahms, Poulenc, Ravel, Schubert: Sir Simon Keenlyside (baritone), Malcolm Martineau (piano), Vancouver Playhouse, Vancouver, 25.11.2018. (GN)
A Revealing Distillation of ‘Life’ from Igor Levit
Canada Various composers (in arrangements by Igor Levit), ‘Life’: Igor Levit (piano), Chan Centre, Vancouver, 4.11.2018. (GN)