PREVIOUS EVENTS
 Monique Pagé |
| 9-11 Commemorative Concert |
September 15th, 2003
Featured guest(s): | Monique Pagé, soprano |
| Program: | Gabriel Thibaudeau Requiem
(Commissioned by the McGill Chamber Orchestra) World Premiere in Remembrance of the Victims of September 11, 2001 Barber Adagio for Strings Op. 11 Shostakovich-Barshai Sinfonia Op. 110A Join us for a concert of reflection - a \"9-11\" tribute to bravery and sacrifice and the world premiere of Quebec film composer Gabriel Thibaudeau’s Requiem with rising soprano star Monique Pagé. Barber’s haunting Adagio for Strings and Shostakovich’s dramatic Quartet No. 8 arranged by Rudolf Barshai for String Orchestra as Sinfonia Op 110A and dedicated against racism and hatred. An opportunity to communicate so aptly with your inner feelings in these uncertain times - INSPIRING! |
Review(s): | A deeply moving tribute to the victims of 9/11 was heard at the McGill Chamber Orchestra\'s comemorative concert at Pollack Hall Monday night.....Alexander Brott led the ensemble through his own string arrangement of a Scarlatti Sonata - a gracious and pleasing interlude on this sombre occasion.....Under Boris Brott\'s guidance the ensemble voiced the pervasive sadness of Barber\'s Adagio with such eloquent beauty that it moved me to tears.......The musicians also did honour to Rudolf Barshai\'s string version of Shostakovich\'s Quartet No. 8.........Ilse Zadrozny, Montreal Gazette, September 17,2003 La première qualité observée hier soir est, comme lors du concert auquel j\'assistais en fin de saison dernière, la sonorité collective du petit orchestre à corde de la famille Brott: pleine, compacte, aves une belle résonance des basses et une justesse remarquable.....Claude Gingras, La Presse, 17 séptembre 2003 |
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 Alain Trudel |
| Top Brass - A Tribute to Mozart |
October 20th, 2003
| Featured guest(s): | Alain Trudel, Solo Trombone |
| Program: | Mozart Divertimento K. 251
Malcolm Forsyth These Cloud-Capp’d Towers Wagenseil Concerto in E-flat major === Mozart Symphony No. 33 in B-flat major K. 319 Rozankovic Figabone: paraphrases on themes by Mozart ALAIN TRUDEL - acknowledged as the world’s best trombone virtuoso, will thrill you with his ‘top brass’ interpretations of works inspired by the legendary Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. - SENSATIONAL! |
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 MCO Orchestra |
| Mostly Mahler Upon a Quartet |
November 17th, 2003
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| Program: | Jacques Hetu - Poeme op.47
Domenico Scarlatti-Alexander Brott Sonata No. 185 in F major Domenico Scarlatti-Alexander Brott Sonata No. 3 in C major Beethoven-Mahler String Quartet - Op. 95 ==== Mahler - Adagietto from Symphony No. 5 Schubert-Mahler - Death and the Maiden Gustav Mahler, acknowledged as one of the greatest symphonists of the 19th Century, was also one of the most celebrated conductors of all time. He arranged both Beethoven and Schubert quartets in lush and virtuoso orchestrations for string orchestra. An all orchestra program displaying the virtuosity of the NEW McGill Chamber Orchestra - FABULOUS! |
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 Daniel Taylor |
| Messiah |
December 8th, 2003
| Featured guest(s): | Suzie Leblanc - Soprano
Daniel Taylor - Counter-tenor Michiel Schrey - Tenor Daniel Lichti - Bass |
| Program: | Handel Messiah A much anticipated annual event - The McGill Chamber Orchestras FIRST MESSIAH of the festive season. The acclaimed Christ Church Cathedral Singers directed by Patrick Wedd - with a superlative cast, including one of the world’s favourite counter-tenors - Daniel Taylor. INSPIRATIONAL! |
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| McGill Evening honouring Columbia Space Shuttle |
February 9th, 2004
| Featured guest(s): | McGill University Chamber Singers
Soloists - McGill University Opera Department McGill Faculty of Music Concerto Winners |
| Program: | McGill Music Faculty Commission - Competition Winner
Stravinsky - Divertimento in D Mozart - Requiem Our annual celebration of our return to our McGill University roots features Mozarts beloved Requiem with the McGill Chamber Singers directed by Julian Wachner and the world premiere of a new work by a McGill Faculty competition winner . EXCEPTIONAL! |
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 Martin Beaver - Solo Violon |
| Beethoven! |
March 1st, 2004
| Featured guest(s): | Martin Beaver |
| Program: | Beethoven-A. Brott - Papageno Revisited
Beethoven - Symphony No. 2 Beethoven - Violin Concerto in D major Op. 61 Beaver plays Beethoven - the celebrated Canadian First Violin of the Tokyo String Quartet brings his musical maturity and considerable insight to one of the great violin masterpieces of all time. IMPASSIONED! |
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 Min Lee |
| Two Great Versions of the Four Seasons |
March 29th, 2004
| Featured guest(s): | Min Lee, Solo Violin |
| Program: | Vivaldi Spring
Astor Piazzola Spring Vivaldi Summer Astor Piazzola Summer Vivaldi Autumn Astor Piazzola Autumn Vivaldi Winter Astor Piazzola Winter Singapore violin sensation Min Lee, in her Canadian orchestral debut, plays Vivaldis celebrated Four Seasons juxtaposed with world famous Argentinian Tango Composer Astor Piazzolas interpretation of the same subject. ENTHRALLING! |
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| Mozart and Britten |
April 26th, 2004
| Featured guest(s): | James Sommerville - Solo French Horn
Benjamin Butterfield - Tenor |
| Program: | Harry Freedman "Images"
Britten Serenade for Tenor, Horn, and Strings === Mozart Tenor Arias Mozart Horn Concerto No. 4 Boston Symphony Principal French Horn James Sommerville, and Amsterdam based tenor Benjamin Butterfield, two of Montreals favourites, join forces to perform the music of two great wunderkinder giants, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Benjamin Britten - CAPTIVATING! |
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 Janina Fialkowska |
| Fialkowska Plays Chopin |
May 31st, 2004
| Featured guest(s): | Janina Fialkowska, piano |
| Program: | Chopin Piano Concerto in F Minor No. 2
Andrew Culver - Invisible Chopin Chopin Piano Concerto in E Minor No. 1 Internationally recognized Chopin interpreter Janina Fialkowska will envelop you with the romantic melodic musings of these two great masterpieces in new string orchestra arrangements by Julian Armour. SUBLIME!
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Review(s): | My excuse for arriving late was a need to hear the Montreal pianist Janina Fialkowska make a historic debut in her home town.....Brott had his band sounding rich and involved. His father, Alexander, opened the concert with an arch-romantic reading of a transcribed Scarlatti Sonata. A. Kaptainis Montreal Gazette June 2nd, 2004 |
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| Bach and Beyond |
September 27th, 2004
| Featured guest(s): | Timothy Hutchins, solo flute
Jennifer Lim, solo piano |
| Program: | Pierre Mercure - Divertissement
J.S. Bach - D Minor Concerto BWV 1052 Wilhelm Friedemann Bach Sinfonia in F Minor J.S. Bach - B Minor Suite The glorious music of Johann Sebastien Bach and beyond featuring a new pianist sensation Jennifer Lim and Montreal’s favorite flautist Timothy Hutchins just returned from his triumphs in the US. Beautiful! |
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| Mozart and the Four Temperaments |
October 18th, 2004
| Featured guest(s): | Sara Buechner, solo piano |
| Program: | Paul Hindemith - Four Temperaments
Joaquin Turina – Rhapsodie W.A. Mozart - Piano Concerto K.449 Sara Buechner, an extraordinary pianist with a worldwide reputation, seldom heard in Montreal joins us for three captivating compositions. Extraordinary! |
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| Messiah |
November 22nd, 2004
| Featured guest(s): | Daniel Taylor, Counter tenor
Benjamin Butterfield, tenor Ensemble Musica Orbium Christ Church Cathedral Singers |
| Program: | Handel's Messiah A Montreal tradition: The city’s first annual Messiah of the Christmas season in the intimate setting of Christ Church Cathedral. Transcendent! |
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| Lord Nelson |
February 7th, 2005
| Featured guest(s): | McGill University's Chamber Singers
Julian Wachner Kelly Winter, counter-tenor Frédéricka Petit-Homme, soprano Pascal Charbonneau, Tenor Luc Lalonde, bass baritone |
| Program: | Dvorak Serenade Op 44 in D Minor arr. for Strings
Joseph Haydn - Lord Nelson Mass Haydn’s regal Lord Nelson Mass performed by our extraordinary orchestra joined by the fresh and vigorous voices of McGill University Faculty of Music’s finest vocal talent. Invigorating! |
Review(s): | "Even a casual reading of this exuberant piece makes a vivid effect. A positive one, like this, is electrifying!" The Gazette, Arthur Kaptainis Conduction with firm gestures but no baton, Brott captured the optimistic spirit of the score. His young and mostly female orchestra, supplemented by two trumpets, organ and antique timpani, sounded crisp. The Gazette, Arthur Kaptainis |
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| Alexander Brott's 90th Birthday Gala |
March 14th, 2005
| Featured guest(s): | Denis Brott, cello
Jonathan Crow, violin Paul Merkelo, trumpet Daniel Taylor, counter-tenor |
| Program: | Alexander Brott - Arabesque
Alexander Brott - Three Astral Visions Handel arias - Ombra mai fu Handel aria - Domero la tua Giuseppe Tartini - Trumpet Concerto in D major J.S. Bach - Violin Concerto in E major Be part of the celebration of the extraordinary ninety years of Alexander Brott’s achievement. We are awaiting confirmation of a special guest star for this once in a lifetime Gala Event.
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| Kuerti Plays Beethoven |
April 18th, 2005
| Featured guest(s): | Anton Kuerti, piano solo |
| Program: | André Prevost - Celebrations
Ludwig van Beethoven - Symphony No. 8 Ludwig van Beethoven - Piano Concerto # 2 Beethoven and Kuerti back by popular demand in two of the great works of his early maturity. Powerful! |
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| Orchestral Virtuosity |
May 9th, 2005
| Featured guest(s): | featuring our own orchestra |
| Program: | Igor Stravinsky - Appolon Musagetes
Alberto Ginastera - Concerto for Strings Bela Bartok - Divertimento An evening devoted to the brilliance and enthusiasm of our great orchestra featuring three works displaying the full panoply of their virtuosity. Dazzling! |
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| Beaver plays Prokofiev |
May 30th, 2005
| Featured guest(s): | Martin Beaver, solo violin |
| Program: | S.I.Glick Suite Hebraique #1
Schubert Symphony No. 5 in B b Prokofiev Violin Concerto #2 in G Minor Martin Beaver had you on your feet last season – He’s among the world’s best violinists. Don’t miss his exciting performance of Prokofiev’s powerful G Minor Violin concerto. Captivating!
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| Tchaikovsky! |
September 26th, 2005
| Featured guest(s): | Sharon Azrieli, Soprano |
| Program: | Arensky, Variations on a theme by Tchaikovsky
Tchaikovsky, Songs arranged by Alexander Brott Tchaikovsky, Serenade Op. 48 An evening filled with passion and pathos. Tchaikovsky’s songs come to life in their original Russian in the premiere of Alexander Brott’s arrangement., Boris and the orchestra perform the composer’s beloved Serenade and Arensky Variations..How Romantic!. |
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| The Trumpet Shall Sound |
October 24th, 2005
| Featured guest(s): | Jens Lindeman, trumpet |
| Program: | Claude Debussy, Girl with the Flaxen Hair
Hertel, Concerto No. 1 in E flat Chris Howard, Places Far Away Gershwin, Three Preludes for Trumpet and Strings Benjamin Britten, Simple Symphony Acclaimed Canadian Brass trumpeter Jens Lindeman performs on three different instruments in this eclectic program featuring the best of brass1! Boris and the orchestra perform the popular Benjamin Britten “Simple Symphony”! Let the trumpet sound! |
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| Messiah |
November 21st, 2005
| Featured guest(s): | Daniel Taylor, counter tenor
Suzie LeBlanc, soprano Pascal Charbonneau, tenor Daniel Lichti, baritone |
| Program: | Handel - MESSIAH Ring in the Holiday Season with Montreal’s first “Messiah”. This performance of the original “Dublin” version has become a tradition with our audiences. Our cast is guaranteed to impress, and includes a fabulous new tenor discovery international countertenor superstar and the magnificent voices of the Christ Church Cathedral Choir. An inspiration every holiday season! |
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| Mozart's 250th Birthday Concert |
January 30th, 2006
| Featured guest(s): | Janina Fialkowska, piano |
| Program: | Ka Nin Chan, Flower Drum Song
Mozart , PC K 491 in C Minor Beethoven, Symphony No. 4 Mozart, Eine Kleine Nachtmusik (First Movement) (specially conducted by David Lank, highest bidder for this once a season opportunity at our Heritage 65 fundraising event) Mozart turns 250 and you’re invited to the party! Internationally acclaimed pianist Janina Fialkowska will send your spirits soaring, with the composer’s C Minor piano concerto. The orchestra weighs in with Beethoven’s monumental fourth symphony. Please join us for an after concert reception. Happy Birthday Amadeus! |
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| Beethoven Mass in C |
February 13th, 2006
| Featured guest(s): | McGill Chamber Choir directed by Julian Wachner |
| Program: | William Rowson, Mozartiana
Beethoven, Mass in C W.A. Mozart, Symphony No. 38 in D major, K. 504 “Prague” Our extravaganza with the youthful purity of the McGill Concert Choir has become an annual event not to be missed. Thrill to the voices of the future joined in Beethoven’s magnificent Mass in C. |
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| ELIJAH - SPECIAL EVENT |
March 12th, 2006
| Featured guest(s): | Stephen Salter, baritone
Benjamin Butterfield, tenor MCGILL CHAMBER ORCHESTRA |
| Program: | The McGill Chamber Orchestra has been invite to perform in The Church of Saint Andrew and Saint Paul's performance of Mendolssohn's ELIJAH startins Stephen Salter and Benjamin Butterfield. For details please consult the church's web site www.standrewstpaul.com or call the MCO's offices at 514-487-5190
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| Bernstein and Bizet |
March 27th, 2006
| Featured guest(s): | Dimitri Berlinsky, violin
McGill Percussion ensemble |
| Program: | Alexina Louie Nightfall
Bernstein Serenade Bizet arr Schedrin The Story of Carmen Henry Kucharzyk Third Generation Bernstein and Bizet! Add two more B’s to the traditional three for scintillating performances of “Leonard’s” virtuoso Serenade on Plato’s Symposium featuring Russian violin sensation Dimitri Berlinsky, while “George’s” popular music from Carmen is given a highly rhythmic and amusing treatment by another brilliant Russian, composer Rodion Shchedrin. The McGill Percussion Ensemble will join the orchestra to set the hall on musical fire |
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| Stringz |
May 1st, 2006
| Featured guest(s): | Jean Francois Rivest and the Thirteen Strings of Ottawa |
| Program: | Alexander Brott Ritual
Michael Tippett Concerto for Double String Orchestra J.S. Bach Concerto for 2 Violins J. Strauss Metamorphosen Two of Canada’s greatest Chamber orchestras, our own MCO join with Ottawa’s Thirteen Strings for performances of rarely heard repertoire by Michel Tippet and Richard Strauss. Our two concertmasters join as soloists and our maestros Brott and Rivest will share the podium in this May Day extravaganza. |
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| Beethoven and Brahms.. |
May 29th, 2006
| Featured guest(s): | Anton Kuerti, piano |
| Program: | Betthoven arr. Kuerti - Piano Concerto no. 0
Brahms(Quartet arrangement by Martin Foster) - String Quartet No. 2 in A minor, Opus 51, No. 2 Anton Kuerti - Pastorale, Intermezzo and Fugue Anton Kuerti & The World Premiere of a "new" Beethoven Piano Concerto
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Review(s): | A lost Ludwig for the ears Montreal pianist fills in gaps for world debut of Beethoven's `Concerto No. 0' He'll team with Boris Brott to present salvaged work in Hamilton this summer May 31, 2006. 01:00 AM JOHN TERAUDS CLASSICAL MUSIC CRITIC Like an unwanted gift, a work by one of music's great masters got shuffled from shelf to piano bench to closet for more than two centuries. Until a Toronto pianist brought it back to life. Monday night at Pollack Hall in downtown Montreal, that pianist — the much-admired Anton Kuerti — sat down to perform the world premiere of a piano concerto by Ludwig van Beethoven that only a few people knew existed. The performance itself wasn't perfect, but backed up by the McGill Chamber Orchestra and its conductor Boris Brott, it did introduce us to a new and very pretty landscape in the luminous world of the great Viennese composer. From its brisk, hunting-themed opening movement, to a slow, introspective middle, to a closing rondo fuelled by a nursery-tune theme, it was 30 minutes of aural pleasure. The road from long-neglected manuscript to a standing ovation from the crowd at Pollack Hall was not straight or easy. Wars, revolutions, natural disaster and plain-old human forgetfulness have cost us hundreds of compositions from the old masters. Often, the experts have to fill in blanks when tattered manuscripts are discovered. What we heard Monday night was equal parts Beethoven and Kuerti, a frequent performer of the Viennese composer's 32 piano sonatas and five previously known piano concertos. In an interview at his Toronto home last week, Kuerti explained that he had known about this neglected concerto for a long time. Composed when Beethoven was 14, in 1784, it pre-dates Beethoven's other works for piano and orchestra. Kuerti has named it Concerto No. 0. It is in the key of E-flat major, and the original manuscript is useless, because it only contains a piano part. When the orchestra is playing, that's what the piano part shows. But when a piano solo comes in, the orchestra portion disappears. German musicologist Willy Hess reconstructed the work in 1940, and it was performed by Edwin Fischer soon afterward. But few people liked the result. Kuerti tried Hess's score 20 years ago. "I thought it was very poor," he said. So he vowed to create his own version one day. During the interview, Kuerti laid out his computer-printed manuscript alongside the Beethoven original (published by the German firm Schott) on his coffee table. "I found myself with some free time in December, so I decided to sit down and write the piece," the pianist said. He figured he spent about 100 hours on the orchestration. "Most musicologists regard it as a curiosity, but I think there is a lot of value in the piece," he said. "The slow movement is so beautiful, and the piano part is so much more ornamental than we are accustomed to in Beethoven." Kuerti created parts for violin, viola, cello, double bass, oboe, bassoon, horn — and flute. Despite being an instrument Beethoven didn't like, he mentions a flute in the manuscript. And it is central to the new score. Kuerti thought it would make a nice companion for all the "florid passages." The phone rang and Kuerti excused himself. One couldn't help overhearing the conversation, which was about Concerto No. 0. "Some of what you criticized is by Beethoven himself," said Kuerti. The caller turned out to be to his son Julian, a promising young orchestra conductor. The half-overheard exchange exposed the landmine all musical archeologists must face. As in the visual arts, authenticity is everything. And while the concerto's original outline is true Beethoven, the final product is also Kuerti's. Some of it is all Kuerti, like the three cadenzas (solo passages that show off the performer's technique) and the final measures that smooth out Beethoven's abrupt ending. But for the listener, it may be less about authenticity than about the final sound. And here, Kuerti has done magnificently, leading the audience effortlessly into the limpid sounds of the late 18th century. After all, the piece was written just three years after Mozart died. For Kuerti, this was a labour of love. Surprisingly, for a subject as renowned as Beethoven, the pianist has made no arrangements to record the work or to have it published. Fortunately, people in southern Ontario will be able to hear a live performance soon. On July 7 and 8, Kuerti and Brott will team up on all six of Beethoven's piano concertos as part of the Brott Summer Festival lineup at the Dofasco Centre for the Arts in Hamilton. |
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 Martin Foster, concertmaster |
| Mozart Sinfonia Concertante |
September 25th, 2006
| Featured guest(s): | Martin Foster, Concertmaster, MCO
Yukari Cousineau, Principal Alto, MCO |
| Program: | Malcolm Forsyth Sinfonia
Haydn Farewell Symphony No. 45 Mozart Sinfonia Concertante Elgar Introduction and Allegro The MCO opens its season with our own Concertmaster and Principal Viola performing Mozart’s double concerto masterpiece - a celebration of our own superb musical family. Sir Edward Elgar’s engaging Introduction and Allegro showcases the ensemble's virtuosity. |
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 Julian Wachner |
| Two Comic Operas – Concert Staging |
October 30th, 2006
| Featured guest(s): | Julian Wachner, Director - McGill Opera Department
McGill Opera Department "Stars" |
| Program: | Mozart Bastien and Bastienne
Joseph Quesnel Colas et Colinette Two enchanting comic Chamber Operas performed in concert staging with costumes and important set pieces. Mozart’s hilarious comedy Bastien and Bastienne and an opera written during the same period by captured gun-running composer and founder of the Boucherville Opera, Joseph Quesnel. Both works will amuse and amaze you! Our Artistic Director Boris Brott and Julian Wachner, Director of the McGill Opera Department will share the podium. |
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 Daniel Taylor |
| First Messiah of the Season |
November 20th, 2006
| Featured guest(s): | Daniel Taylor, Counter tenor
Gillian Keith, Soprano Pascal Charbonneau, Tenor Daniel Lichti |
| Program: | Handel Messiah Our annual first Messiah of the season featuring counter-tenor Daniel Taylor will showcase the celebrated Choir of The Church of St. Andrew and St. Paul. The performance takes place in the beautiful and wonderful acoustical environment of this, one of Montreal’s most spectacular churches. Don’t miss it! |
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 Alain Lefèvre |
| Alain Lefèvre Plays Shostakovitch and Lefevre |
January 29th, 2007
| Featured guest(s): | Alain Lefèvre , piano
Manon Lafrance, trumpet |
| Program: | Stravinsky Appolon Musagettes
Alain Lefèvre Lylatov Shostakovitch Piano Concerto No. 1 Montreal’s own internationally recognized Alain Lefèvre performs Shostakovitch’s exciting piano concerto, with trumpet obligato played by Manon Lafrance. The orchestra completes the musical menu with Stravinsky’s colourful Appolon Musagettes.
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 Felix Hell |
| Organ Superstar Spectacular. |
February 19th, 2007
| Featured guest(s): | Felix Hell, organist |
| Program: | Mozart Serenade, Eine Kleine Nachtmusik
Handel Organ Concerto The Cuckoo and the Nightingale Gustav Holst St. Paul’s Suite Healey Willan Intro, Passacaglia and Fugue Francis Poulenc Organ Concerto Wunderkind organ soloist Felix Hell aged 20, is taking the music world by storm. He performs Poulenc’s dramatic Organ Concerto and Handel’s delightful Cuckoo and the Nightingale. The MCO completes the program with two contrasting favourites, Mozart’s Eine Kleine Nachtmusik and Holst’s St Paul’s Suite.
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 Denis Brott |
| First Annual Alexander Brott Memorial Concert |
March 21st, 2007
| Featured guest(s): | Denis Brott, Cello
Katerina Juraskova, Cello |
| Program: | Alexander Brott Triangle, Circle, Four Squares
Haydn C Major Cello Concerto Menotti arr. A. Brottt Suite for Two Cellos Mozart Symphony No 29. in A Major Brothers Brott collaborate in a memorial concert to their father Alexander. Our own captivating principal cellist collaborates with her mentor Denis Brott in Alexander Brott s arrangement for string orchestra of Menotti’s Suite for Two Cellos. Mozart’s vivacious Symphony No 29 completes the program |
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| Canada's Answer to the Vienna Boys Choir |
May 7th, 2007
| Featured guest(s): | Les Petits Chanteurs du Mont-Royal (Gilbert Patenaude, directeur) |
| Program: | Vivaldi - Gloria
Anton Bruckner - Jesu erbarme dich Claude Vivier - Jesu, erbarme dich Mozart - Ave Verum Corpus Les Petits Chanteurs du Mont Royal - Canada’s Vienna Boys Choir celebrate their fiftieth anniversary, with Mozart’s Coronation Mass and bruckner's Os Justi. Our own MCO performs an orchestral version of Mendelssohn’s spectacular Octet for Strings. |
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| Return of the trumpet |
May 28th, 2007
| Featured guest(s): | Jens Lindeman, trumpet |
| Program: | Barbara Croall Falling Water
Neruda Trumpet Concerto George Gershwin Trilogy for trumpet and strings Tartinni Concerto for Piccolo Trumpet Elgar Introduction and Allegro Jens Lindeman returns by popular demand. This spectacular performer, a former member of The Canadian Brass performs music from the Baroque to Jazz. You will be enthralled.
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| Concierto de Aranjuez - Viva Espana |
September 24th, 2007
| Featured guest(s): | Alvaro Pierri, Guitar |
| Program: | Arriaga - Symphony in D
Vivaldi - Guitar Concerto Various Guitar Solos TBD Rodrigo - Concierto de Aranjuez World renowned guitar virtuoso Alvaro Pierri performs Vivaldi, the ever popular Concierto de Aranjuez by Rodrigo and favorite solos while the orchestra evokes airs of Spanish romance in Arriaga’s Symphony in D. |
Review(s): | Joy. The conversation here included the red-blooded OM Chorus. A late start meant my intermission escape also was late. I still managed to catch the celebrated slow movement of Rodrigo's Concierto de Aranjuez as performed in Pollack Hall by Alvaro Pierri and the McGill Chamber Orchestra under Boris Brott. The challenge is to make the oft-covered heart-throbber seem fresh, which the guitarist did with a delicate array of spontaneous-sounding ornaments. The finale was buoyant, even more so as an encore. The guitar, necessarily, was miked, but the band also got a boost, resulting in an aggressive soundscape. A. Kaptainis, The Gazette, September 26, 2007 |
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 Sharon Azrieli - Gideon Zelermyer |
| Songs of Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff and Benjamin Britten |
October 29th, 2007
| Featured guest(s): | Sharon Azrieli, soprano
Gideon Zelermyer, tenor |
| Program: | Songs by Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninoff
Benjamin Britten - “Les Illuminations” Stephen Glass - Duo for Soprano and Tenor Shostakovitch - Chamber Symphony Celebrated Cantor Gideon Zelermyer of Congregation Shaar Hashomayim performs Britten’s “Les Illuminations”. Acclaimed Montreal Soprano Sharon Azrieli delights in newly commissioned arrangements of songs by Rachmaninoff and Tchaikovsky. Stephen Glass leads a performance in the world premiere of his new composition for Tenor and Soprano. Shostakovitch’s stirring Chamber Symphony closes this program. |
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| Handel Messiah - 20th ANNIVERSARY |
November 19th, 2007
| Featured guest(s): | Daniel Taylor, Countertenor, Ben Butterfield, Tenor
Alexander Dobson, Bass baritone, Monique Page, Soprano Chorus of the Christ Church Cathedral, Patrick Wedd Director |
| Program: | Handel - Messiah The MCO marks the 20th annual presentation of Handel’s immortal masterpiece with famed countertenor Daniel Taylor.
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 Ensemble de Percussion McGill Percussion Ensemble |
| Celebration of Percussion - Alexander Brott Tribute |
February 4th, 2008
| Featured guest(s): | McGill Percussion Ensemble (Director: Fabrice Marandola) |
| Program: | Mozart – Serenata Notturno
Vivier - Pulau Dewata (Percussion work) Brott – Critics’ Corner Bartok - Concerto for Strings Percussion and Celeste A celebration of percussion and strings featuring McGill’s exciting Percussion Ensemble directed by Fabrice Marandola. This program will pay tribute to Founding Conductor, the late Alexander Brott with a performance of his humorous description of Montreal Music Critics. |
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| Two Comic Operas |
March 17th, 2008
| Featured guest(s): | Soloists – McGill Faculty Opera Department |
| Program: | Pergolesi – La Serva Pedrona Conducted by Julian Wachner
Haydn – La Canterina Conducted by Boris Brott A concert staged presentation in costume of two side-splitting comic operas featuring the stars of McGill’s Opera Department. |
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| Mozart Magic |
April 7th, 2008
| Featured guest(s): | Adrian Anantawan Solo Violin
Raffi Armenian - Guest Conductor |
| Program: | Victor Davies - Music for Fun
Haydn - Mercury Symphony No. 43 in E flat major (Robbins Landon edition) Mozart - Violin Concerto No. 5 Mozart - Violin Concerto No. 4 Adrian Anantawan the amazing violin virtuoso will delight you in performances of Mozart’s last two Violin concerti. The orchestra performs Haydn - Mercury Symphony No. 43 in E flat minor (Robbins Landon edition). The MCO welcomes its first Guest Conductor of the season - Raffi Armenian. |
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| GALA CONCERT |
April 15th, 2008
| Featured guest(s): | Jan Lisiecki, Pianist |
| Program: | W. A. Mozart - Ouverture, Nozze di Figaro
W. A. Mozart - Concerto pour piano no 20 en ré mineur K. 466 S. Rachmaninoff. - Prélude en do dièse mineur, Op.3 No. 2 F. Liszt - .Concert Étude “Un Sospiro” J. Brahms - Intermezzo en mi-bémol mineur, Op. 118 No. 6 F. Chopin- .Étude en la mineur, Op. 25 No. 11 F. Chopin - Andante Spianato et Grande Polonaise Brillante Op. 22 en mi-bémol majeur GALA CONCERT FEATURING CHILD PRODIGY JAN LISIECKI AND HEADED BY HONOURARY CHAIRPERSONS DR. HANS P. BLACK AND MRS. JANET BLACK. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT THE MCO OFFICES AT 514-487-5190. TO PURCHASE TICKETS PLEASE CONTACT THE BOX OFFICES OF PLACE DES ARTS (514-842-2112) |
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 Credit: Tristan Cook |
| From Vienna with Love |
May 5th, 2008
| Featured guest(s): | Escher String Quartet |
| Program: | ZEMLINSKY String Quartet No. 4, Op. 25
MOZART String Quartet in G Major, K. 387 SCHUBERT String Quartet in D minor, D. 810 “Death & Maiden” The Escher String Quartet is the star of this evening Be prepared to be amazed! |
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| Beethoven! |
May 26th, 2008
| Featured guest(s): | Sara Davis Buechner, Piano,
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| Program: | Coriolan Overture
Symphony No. 4 Piano Concerto No. 3 Sara Buechner Davis returns to perform Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 3. A delightful way to end our season with this charming and entertaining performer! |
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