Carmen: Captivating & Especially Creative

The Ontario Arts Review
Review by Danny Gaisin
Aug. 7th, ‘11
               It’s been this opera-loving writer’s experience that performances of the genre take two forms only…full blown (and expensive) mountings with elaborate sets and meticulous costuming; or in-concert mode wherein formally dressed soloists present the major arias in duet or quartet format. Last evening, the 2011 Brott Festival bridged the gap between both structures with a superlatively professional staging of Bizet’s iconic “CARMEN”. Only omission: - grandiose scenery or flats. Costumes – yes; full orchestra – of course; choir – naturally; surtitles™ - de rigeuer; and talented divas/divos – certainly. Then the icing … creative gloss and imaginative presentational arranging from an inspired Giandomenico Vaccari – artistic coordinator of Italy’s ‘Teatro Politeama Petruzzelli’.
              Vaccari ingeniously incorporated the physical layout of Mohawk’s McIntyre Theatre utilizing the aisles and side panels into the story, thus making the audience part of the crowd scenes and eliminating the need for supernumeraries (but we weren’t honorarium-ed!).

Cast of CARMEN, accepting kudos!
His arrangement of the opera expanded the amount of un-sung dialogue which escalated plot progress, without diminishing dramatic buildup. A canny piece of imagery… during the familiar overture, the hero and heroine are motionless silhouettes portending the finale stabbing. Creatively, he had his singers blocked with constant movement negating any sense of static so endemic to concert versions. Director Vaccari admitted post-curtain that he does not micro-manage; instead insisting that his performers contribute their own elements to their portrayals.
              The first major aria, Carmen’s ‘Habanera’; had mezzo-soprano Lauren Segal iterating ‘L’amour et un oiseau rabelle’, analogous of her own persona.  Barefooted and frowzy-headed, she emanated all the sexuality a temptress can muster. Not only was Segal the title character, she made the show her own, even with a dynamic octet of co-stars. As her lover cum nemesis, Keith Klassen’sDon José was a tour-de-force interpretation. To his commanding presence and superb vocal skills, he added a dimension of vulnerability that is infrequent in this role’s interpretation. As his back-home girlfriend, Sinéad Sugrue’s Micaëla projected all the tentative diffidence that the role demands. Her solo aria at the beginning of Act III; ‘je dis que rien…’ had the insincere bravado we’ve all experienced at one time or other. Not only did she deliver a heartfelt vocal rendering, she projected an equally potent thespian depiction as well.
              The hypotenuse of the love triangle is an eminent toreador, and baritone Gregory Dahlimbued all the arrogance of a celebrated Palmer, Bryant or Lemieux. He enhanced his depiction with exaggerated posture and swagger that was not only effective, but genuine. His vocal description of the confrontation his ilk has with the bull was viscerally impacting.  Bass Stephen Hegedus gave a credible rendering of Don Jose’s commanding officer who also has the hots for Carmen; and exceptional vocal support came from Mia Lennox-Williams & Rachel Cleland-Ainsworth as Carmen’s BFG’s. Baritone Justin Welsh contributed a strong interpretation to both his roles, including the test of being the opening soloist at the end of the overture.
Vaccari and Luigi Fuiano receiving plaques from Terry Whitehead

 
            The Arcady Singers and the National Academy Orchestra were both led by conductor Boris Brott. A preamble and presentation to the guest directors by Hamilton council-member Terry Whitehead referred to maestro Brott as a “gemlike asset to the culture & status of our city”  ***  The “ARTS REVIEW” has just learned that Brott has been appointed principal guest-conductor of the acclaimed ‘Teatro Petruzzelli’. This Bari landmark; for those who enjoy B/W subtitled movies, will recall it as the actually-named setting of Sordi’s 1973 movie ‘Stardust”!
Comments, dangaisin@sympatico.ca

Who says opera is boring?

by NONNA AROUTIOUNIAN
METRO CANADA
Published: August 04, 2011 4:58 p.m.
Last modified: August 04, 2011 5:00 p.m.

Lauren Segal as Carmen & Keith Klassen as Don Jose 

in Brott Music Festival's performance of the opera Carmen August 6, 2011

A beautiful, fiery young woman finds herself torn between love and desire for two men and a life of freedom which she has sworn to herself she would live by. She promises herself never  to fall victim to love, yet it is love that turns her life completely upside down, ultimately leading to her demise. Interested yet?

Yes, it’s awfully dramatic to be a real life story, but it does have a ring of truth many people can easily identify with: Love, life, jealousy and the trio’s resulting turbulence. No it’s not the latest movie or television drama, it’s Georges Bizet’s legendary opera, Carmen.

L-R Lauren Segal, Rachel Cleland-Ainsworth, Gregory Dahl, Mia Lennox-Williams

The famous French opera premiered in the late 19th century, which may be considered ancient by current popular culture, its basic story is one that has been played out and will continue to play out for centuries to come. Set in Seville Spain around 1820, Carmen depicts the titular gypsy as beautiful young woman free with her love and desires who kicks off a whirlwind of events by wooing an inexperienced young soldier, Don Jose, leading him to reject his former love and trigger a mutiny against his superior ranking officer. When Carmen turns away from him to another man, bullfighter Escamillio, his jealousy pushes him to violence.

Who says opera has to be complicated or boring? This particular piece is packed with drama, emotion and pure passion, not to mention great music and song which many will recognize. Canadian Opera Company’s mezzo-soprano Lauren Segal, who will be singing the role of Carmen, says the work “Is a perfect opera for a first-time opera goer. It’s filled with wonderful music and is a great, passionate story”.

Keith Klassen as Don Jose and Sinead Sugrue as Micaela

The characters themselves seem simple on the surface, yet beneath carry all the struggles and desires that real people do. Carmen herself plays a key role in the opera, and is not an easy woman to figure out.

Carmen is a challenge for anyone, she lives independently and for the moment. She is extremely fiery, headstrong and can be fatalistic. “It’s very easy to play the character of Carmen very one-sided” says Segal, “But I’m enjoying the challenge of finding and expressing her vulnerabilities as well as her strengths.”

For many opera singers, it is important to immerse completely into their roles, technically and emotionally. The first step is to finesse the role into the voice, and once there, the exploration of colour and expression can begin. For an experienced and exquisite singer such as Segal, this has proved to be an enjoyable process.

“For Carmen, I feel that the music itself is so powerful and passionate, that not much additional work is required to get in to her character - it is all there in the score,” she says.

Keith Klassen & Lauren Segal

And, of course, this is no high-school musical. On Aug. 6 at Mohawk College McIntyre Theatre, audiences can expect a full-on production. With director Giandomenico Vaccari and professional singers at the head of the stage, they are joined by the much experienced conductor Boris Brott and the National Academy Orchestra of Canada, not to mention a stage crew full of experienced production staff.

With so few classical music events this summer, this is a true headliner. From the great orchestral overtures to the beautiful arias, there is plenty to experience.

Lauren Segal as the free-spirited gypsy, Carmen

“Two of my favourite scenes are the duets with Don Jose at the ends of Act 2 and Act 4” says Segal. “They are filled with many layers, colours and passion”.

So whether you have seen many operas or none, Carmen is a steamy expressive drama you don’t want
to miss.

The Heat Is On with Brott’s Organ Fireworks!

Organist Ken Cowan was spectacular

By Nonna Aroutiounian (NAO clarinet '11)
Playing an orchestral concert is tough enough as it is. The pressure to perform beautifully and musically while playing all the correct notes in time and in tune is no easy task.
But when forced to do so in a church with no ventilation and a temperature hovering around 40 degrees Celsius is a completely different story. I hope to tell you ours – from sweaty start to fabulous fini
While citizens of the GTA – including Hamilton and surrounding area -- will remember July 21 as the beginning of a sweltering heat wave, the musicians of the National Academy Orchestra of Canada who performed in the Organ Extravaganza concert that evening will remember it as possibly one of the hottest and most humid concerts ever to be played in the courses of their career

Nonna Aroutiounian (NAO clarinet '11)

The dress rehearsal that day was a challenge. Each musician packed at least two water bottles and towels to dry themselves off. We soon learned how hot it can get in Centenary Church. We quickly realized normal concert dress simply would not do. I could only imagine the anarchy if the men were forced to wear tuxedos.

As for proper concert attire, Boris Brott proudly announced, “Wear as little as possible! Well within reason, and keeping in sanctity of this church”. We all knew that with an audience, the stifling conditions of the church would rapidly worsen. Some in the orchestra were wondering if an audience would even show with a concert under such conditions. But the audience did show, and the concert, heated and sweaty as it was, went on.

I have to commend Ken Cowan, my fellow musicians and the conductors on playing a great concert under such brutal conditions. I don’t think anyone in the orchestra expected to be dripping sweat and panting quite so much while playing a concert. But I do have to say it was not in vain. Many in the audience came out in support of the NAO, and applauded everyone for playing a concert that would have normally been cancelled under such circumstances.

Organist Ken Cowan, a native of Thorold Ontario, has studied at Yale and works at Princeton. He completed his musical studies at The Curtis Institute of Music and Yale Institute of Sacred Music. He has done numerous recordings under the JAV Label and has toured throughout Canada, United States and Europe. While working with the orchestra all week he made do with a piano, but his technical skill and musical ability shined on Centenary’s restored five keyboard pipe organ. Nothing was more satisfying than when the first notes of the organ blossomed in the middle of Saint-Saens' Third Symphony.

I have to constantly remind myself, and I’m sure others do as well, it may have been hot and unpleasant, but it was and always is first and foremost about the music. As a musician, a standing ovation at the end of the concert was enough to make me feel the success of the night.

Why bother with classical music? (From the Spec)

Musicians strive to reinvent — to bring new life and energy to — orchestral music


by Nonna Arountinian (NAO Clarinet '11)

Special to the Spectator

 

2011 National Academy Orchestra performs under the baton of Boris Brott July 14, 2011

In today’s fast-paced world, what is popular and current in music is more often than not driven by those with short attention spans looking to make a quick dollar and piggyback on the latest beat or catchy chorus. So it’s no small wonder many orchestras are in a constant struggle to stay afloat.


Orchestras fight daily to make ends meet, to pay the cost of musicians, directors, administrative staff, covering the cost of venues, rehearsal space, and a number of other things — not to mention trying to keep the costs of attending such concerts low enough to keep them accessible to all types of audiences.

So why bother? Why bother trying to uphold a style of music and an industry that is clearly being pushed out by the pop stars of our generation?

Classical music and the tradition it upholds is one of the jewels of Western civilization, part of what makes the Western world what it is. It played an important role in the history and culture of Western populations and is at the root of our artistic and creative evolution. As a musician and performer, I truly believe it is something to be cherished and celebrated.

Luckily, the musicians of the National Academy Orchestra of Canada and the Brott Music Festival are helping to bring new life and energy to many classical works, symphonies and concertos this summer season. The NAO, primarily based in Hamilton, was founded in 1989 by conductor Boris Brott. It is made up of Canada’s emerging young professional performers who work as apprentice musicians alongside established professionals from some of Canada’s finest orchestras.

With nationwide auditions, an opportunity such as this does not present itself often to Canada’s young musicians. I personally feel incredibly lucky to be able to participate in this orchestra, to help reinvent music and share my passion for it. For many of us in the orchestra, myself included, this is a key stepping-stone to carving out a career as a professional orchestral musician, music administrator or a teacher.

The NAO’s orchestral season began on June 8 and runs through to Aug. 18. With seven concerts already behind us, my colleagues are relentless in bringing an unmatched youthful vitality and energy to our performances. With one of the most exciting starts to the season and a packed audience, the season kicked off impressively with a guest performance by Giampiero Sobrino on clarinet playing Weber’s Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra No. 1 in F minor, and the highly anticipated Beethoven’s 5th Symphony.

To the audience’s delight, the orchestra did not disappoint and followed it with an equally fantastic concert on June 18, with guest conductor and french horn player James Sommerville. He is also the music director for the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra and principal horn for the Boston Symphony Orchestra.

The season has continued to gain momentum with fantastic performances by guest artists Laurence Kayaleh on violin, Valerie Tryon on piano and most recently the young virtuoso pianist Jan Lisiecki.

Also worth mentioning are the wonderful conductors who are behind the creative process of the orchestra. While Brott heads the orchestra full time, he is joined by his apprentice conductor Philippe Menard, and guest conductors Martin MacDonald (resident conductor, Symphony Nova Scotia), Alain Trudel (artistic director, Orchestra London Canada) and Sommerville.

Nonna Aroutiounian

For myself and others in the orchestra, it is a complete pleasure and privilege to be able to work daily with such creative minds. I cannot even begin to describe the excitement and drive that is felt in every rehearsal and performance, it must be seen to be thoroughly understood.
To experience the wonder of what music has to offer, one truly must hear the beauty of sound in the moment of its creation. The NAO’s upcoming concerts on July 21, 23 and the 27, as will the rest of the season, lend themself to the highest of standards in offering audiences nothing but the very sublime.

Nonna Aroutiounian earned her Bachelor’s in Music Performance at the University of British Columbia and is currently earning her Masters in Clarinet Performance at the University of Michigan. She is a performing clarinetist for the National Academy Orchestra of Canada’s 2011 season.

The Three Bowties!

Boris Brott, Jan Lisiecki, Philippe Menard

McIntyre Centre for the Performing Arts July 14, 2011

From Ontario Arts Review: From Romance to a Love Affair

Review by Eyal Bitton  July 7th, ‘11
Photos by Diane Clark

Famed Metropolitan Opera star Ermanno Mauro

A public love affair with opera was on display last evening as maestro Boris Brott expertly seduced the audience with a selection of stellar romantic works in Opera Romance. The evening opened with the National Academy Orchestra's interpretation of the overture from Rossini's ‘Il Barbiere di Siviglia’, deftly conducted by the NAO's current RBC Foundation apprentice-conductor Philippe Ménard. Ménard's expressive conducting and evident joy in the music infused the opening piece with the evening's theme - passion. Mezzo Lauren Segal then graced the stage as Rosina from ‘Barbiere’.

Mezzo Lauren Segal sings 'Una voce poco fa" under the baton of Philippe Menard

We were indeed watching Rosina and not Segal as the mezzo completely immersed herself in her character. This was no recital but truly opera as Segal, with her rich, full voice playfully, coyly, and beautifully performed ‘Una voce poco fa’. The audience loved it as they could not contain their shouts of approval following the aria. Brava!

Perhaps the most impressive arias of the evening were sung by tenor Ermanno Mauro. What command! What beauty!

What drama! In his first aria, ‘Un di all'azzurro spazio’ from Giordano's “Andrea Chénier”; Mauro's entire body seemed to embrace the music. His tour de force, however, was ‘Vesti la giubba’ from Leoncavallo's Pagliacci. Mauro's acting was unquestionably superb & breathtaking… it was a master class in opera. Watching Mauro's emotionally wounded Pagliacci was an incredibly heart-wrenching experience. As he stumbled, we stumbled; as he fell apart, we too, fell apart. The audience leaped to its feet to give Mauro a merited standing ovation for a formidable performance.

Another guest conductor, Martin MacDonald, made a brief but memorable appearance conducting an energetic and electrifying Bacchanale from Camille Saint-Saëns' “Samson et Dalila”. It was another audience favourite.

Sinead Sugrue sings 'Stridono Lassu' as Boris Brott conducts the National Academy Orchestra

Baritone Peter McGillivray and Mezzo Lauren Segal perform a duet from Saint Saens Samson e Dalila

Silky-voiced Irish-Canadian soprano; Sinéad Sugrue, was magnificent. A standout performance of the evening was her rendition of ‘Sempre libera’ from “La Traviata”. Sugrue possesses a stunning vocal instrument with great emotional and dynamic range. She displayed such facility in singing such a complex vocal piece and it was truly masterful. Baritone Peter McGillivray seemed to relish both the music and the roles he played as well. In a duet with Segal (‘J'ai gravi la montagne’ from “Samson et Dalila”), he was particularly contemptible & snide as the High Priest of Dagon, conveying the essence of the character through his acting as well as his voice. His mellifluous tones and powerful vocal chords filled the room. McGillivray had an opportunity to shine in his aria ‘Di provenza il mar’ from “Traviata”. He sang it beautifully; tenderly, and with lovely sensitivity.



A touching moment- one that captures the mood of the evening; occurred during Mauro's final aria, ‘Torna a Surriento’ by Ernesto De Curtis. Maestro Brott had earlier mentioned that the tenor was battling a vocal problem due to rehearsing for several days in the air-conditioned hall and was soldiering on nevertheless. By this time in the concert, Mauro had, unfortunately, lost his voice. He valiantly tried to sing his opening words but little came out. What happened next was beautiful. The audience took over. It was the audience's way of supporting an admired tenor who had won their hearts. It was a show of compassion and passion - not just for Mauro but for opera itself. The warmth filled the room. Indeed, this installment of the Brott Music Festival, Opera Romance, was a romance in itself. More than that, it was a love affair!

From the Spec: Kayaleh Makes Her Brott Debut

Kayaleh to make Brott debut

Laurence Kayaleh 2.jpg Laurence Kayaleh will be making her Brott Festival debut this Saturday in Burlington.

Michael Slobodian/Special to The Hamilton Spectator

Some people are born with a silver spoon in their mouth. Laurence Kayaleh was born with a violin in her hand.

After all, she is the daughter of Habib Kayaleh, the noted violin pedagogue who’s been running his elite Kayaleh Violin Academy in Crans-près-Céligny, near Geneva, Switzerland, since 1989, and with his pianist wife, Ingrid Hoogendorp, their Ecole supérieure de musique since 1973.

“He taught me everything,” said Kayaleh of her father over the phone from her Montréal pad.

Though her dad was her primary teacher, she also took master classes and played for the crème de la crème: Nathan Milstein, Igor Oistrakh, and Yehudi Menuhin among others. Not a bad upbringing.

Career wise, she’s played around the globe, giving concerts in her native Switzerland, Europe, the U.S., Latin America, the Far East, Russia, and Canada.

Kayaleh first came to Canada in 1999 to solo with the Montréal Symphony Orchestra under then-conductor Charles Dutoit. She’d been looking for a pied-à-terre in North America, and Montréal, with its Old World charm and French language, not to mention relative proximity to the U.S. (well, it’s closer to the Big Apple than Geneva is), fit her bill.

A Canadian citizen for four years now, she’s been on the faculty at the Université de Montréal for the past two years, counting a dozen students in her studio.

This Saturday, Kayaleh makes her Brott Festival début performing Beethoven’s Violin Concerto with the National Academy Orchestra in St. Christopher’s Church, Burlington.

Scores of people have written cadenzas for this concerto’s three movements. However, none of them have the surname Beethoven. It seems that Beethoven either couldn’t have been bothered to write out the cadenzas, or more likely, simply left that to the improvisational skills of the soloist. So, at the concerto’s première in 1806, that challenge fell to Franz Clement, a violin virtuoso and sometime composer whose own violin concerto may well have been an influence on Beethoven’s essay.

Over the years, composers from Camille Saint-Saëns to Ferruccio Busoni to Alfred Schnittke have had a go at putting the cadenzas to paper. And then there are the cadenzas by violinists such as Joseph Joachim, Henryk Wieniawski, Eugène Ysaÿe, Carl Flesch, Joseph Silverstein, and most recently, Rachel Barton Pine.

As for Kayaleh, she’ll be doing Fritz Kreisler’s cadenzas, something she’s done whenever and wherever she’s performed the concerto.

“I think it’s the most concise cadenza,” stated Kayaleh. “It’s beautifully written, but at the same time it’s not long.”

For the past 18 years, Kayaleh’s hands have held a 1742 Petrus Guarnerius. She owns the violin, after it was purchased for her by a now deceased Swiss maecenae. Kayaleh fondly recalls the day she tried out this Venetian violin in Geneva’s Tonhalle.

“I saw the beauty of this instrument. I cannot describe it. It was something absolutely overwhelming,” said Kayaleh. “I took it in my hands and started to play a few notes. I knew that this was my violin.”

“This instrument is really part of me. It is a continuation of my body, of my soul,” said Kayaleh. “At the same time, it’s a tool I’m working with. It’s living with me actually all the time, my big love.”

The bill also includes Mendelssohn’s ‘Italian’ Symphony, Mercure’s Kaléidoscope, and Beethoven’s Creatures of Prometheus Overture.

Leonard Turnevicius writes on classical music for The Spectator

leonardturnevicius@gmail.com

Beethoven’s Violin Concerto

With: Laurence Kayaleh, Martin MacDonald and the National Academy Orchestra

When: Saturday, June 25 at 7:30 p.m.

Where: St. Christopher’s Anglican Church, 662 Guelph Line, Burlington

Cost: $32, senior $27, student $10 (plus HST); add $5 for a reserved section seat

Call: 905-525-7664

Coming up

The TD Toronto Jazz Festival celebrates its silver jubilee with performances across the city until July 3. Of note to classical fans is Jessye Norman’s concert in Koerner Hall, 273 Bloor St. W. on Tuesday, June 28 at 8 p.m.

Sommerville Conducts Beethoven's Seventh Symphony: An excerpt

Brott, of course, it's summer

 More than just warm weather has arrived in the city.

So, too, has a batch of 20-somethings from across Canada with their instruments.

Yes, these are the musician-apprentices of Boris Brott's National Academy Orchestra. And for the next three months they'll be providing the area with the sounds of summer.

This Saturday at St. Christopher's Anglican Church, Burlington, Brott kicks off the 24th edition of his Summer Music Festival with the first of four concerts designed as a salute to Beethoven. On the program, “da-da-da-daaah,” Beethoven's Fifth.

The remaining three concerts will see a string of guest conductors mount the podium as Brott heads off to the Teatro Petruzzelli in Bari, Italy, for rehearsals of Puccini's Madama Butterfly with five performances scheduled for the beginning of July.

So, on June 18, Jamie Sommerville, the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra's music director, conducts the NAO in Beethoven's Seventh Symphony. On June 25, Martin MacDonald, resident conductor at Symphony Nova Scotia, accompanies Laurence Kayaleh in Beethoven's Violin Concerto. The Beethoven minifest closes on June 30 with pianist Valerie Tryon in the Emperor Concerto (she played this work with the NAO in 2007) accompanied by conductor Alain Trudel.

But audiences do not live by Beethoven alone. This Saturday's bill will feature Italian clarinetist Giampiero Sobrino in Carl Maria von Weber's First Concerto.

Von Weber, you're saying with furrowed brow?

Now here's a composer, who, in spite of the popularity of his opera Der Freischuetz (The Marksman) in German-speaking lands, is rarely heard in these parts. For modern-day concert programmers and audiences, von Weber seems to have been caught, or rather placed in some kind of vortex between Mozart (he was actually a cousin of Mozart's wife, Constanze) and Beethoven.

Well, no such vortex exists for licorice stick lovers. Any clarinetist worth his or her weight in Arundo donax will have the two von Weber Concertos and the Concertino firmly tucked in a back pocket. Ditto for Sobrino's other piece, the Adagio for Clarinet and Strings by Heinrich Baermann, incidentally for whom von Weber composed most of his clarinet works.

Continuing with the “non in Beethoven solo vivet” theme, next week Sommerville will also be bringing along his axe to solo in Richard Strauss's First Horn Concerto under the baton of current NAO apprentice conductor Philippe Ménard. Similarly, MacDonald and Trudel will offer readings of Mendelssohn's Italian Symphony and Brahms's Second Symphony, respectively.

Later on, the festival will see the return of pianists Jan Lisiecki (July 14), and Sara Davis Buechner (July 27) plus violinists Susanne Hou (July 23) and Lara St. John (August 11). To help wrap up the Royal Canadian College of Organists' six day Hamilton Organ Festival, the Brottfest will have organist Ken Cowan pull out all the stops in Saint-Saëns's Third Symphony among other works (July 21).

This summer's festival, according to Brott, “is leaning toward vocal music,” and not just because the final concert (August 18) features Orff's Carmina Burana. Ermanno Mauro headlines the Opera Ovations concert (July 7).

Bizet's Carmen (August 6), with Lauren Segal as the smouldering gypsy, receives a semi-staging directed by Giandomenico Vaccari of the Teatro Petruzzelli. Vaccari will also chat (Aug. 5) about his role in rebuilding the Petruzzelli after it was destroyed by an arsonist. Sì, one more Italian opera house that went up in flames. Misterioso, no?

No doubt the summer will be really heating up, so stayed tuned to these pages for most of the lowdown on the festival.

Leonard Turnevicius writes on classical music for The Spectator.

What: Brott Summer Music Festival

With: Giampiero Sobrino and the National Academy Orchestra

When: Saturday, June 11 at 7:30 p.m.

Where: St. Christopher's Anglican Church, 662 Guelph Line, Burlington

Cost: $32, seniors $27, students $10 (plus HST); or all four Burlington concerts at 15 per cent discount; additional $5 for a reserved section seat

Call: 905-525-7664

Sunday at 3 p.m., vocalist Tiffany Ormerud, trumpeter Mike Malone, saxophonist Jim Gay, pianist Rick Gillespie, guitarist Dan Willer, bassist Jon Stemmler, and drummer Adam Fielding jam on jazz classics by Porter, Ellington, and others at Church of the Ascension, 64 Forest Ave. Tickets $20, students/seniors $15. Call 905-527-3505.

At 7:30 p.m., Jack Mendelsohn's chamberWORKS! ensemble plays the Lincoln Alexander Centre, 150 King St. E., one last time before moving to The Studio at Hamilton Place next season. On the bill, Schubert's Trio op. 99 with Mendelsohn on cello, Bernadene Blaha on piano, and Mark Skazinetsky on violin, plus Dohnanyi's Sextet with the above lineup augmented by Chris Gongos on French horn, Stephen Pierre on clarinet, and Chau Luk on viola. Tickets: $33, $29, seniors $27.50, $23.50, students $12, $10. Call 289-260-9165.

Boris Brott sings Flanders & Swann's Ill Wind

Boris Brott sings Flanders & Swann's "Ill Wind" to the tune of Mozart's Fourth Horn Concerto at a celebration of . Philippe Menard conducts the National Academy Orchestra of Canada at McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada to celebrate the donation of the Boris Brott Archives to its library.

Toute une journée (What a Day), by the MCO

Excerpts of "Toute un journée" (What a Day)
Composed by Maxime Goulet www.maximegoulet.com
Performed by Boris Brott and the McGill Chamber Orchetsra www.ocm-mco.org
Filmed during the premiere by Patrick Peris on May 9th 2011 www.patrickperis.com

What a day, a four-movement work for string orchestra, outlines the parallels between a day and a life, as if one were the microcosm of the other. The first movement "Joyful Morning", embodies a busy morning and a child coming to life. The second movement, "A Long Day at Work" is characterized by the accumulation of many repeated motifs representing the daily hours spent at work or in school. "Tête-à-tête Evening" is a duet between the solo violin and solo cello accompanied by the orchestra. The melodic dialogue symbolizes a romantic evening or the life shared by a couple. The last movement, "Serene Night", uses all the melodies from the previous movements. Like a dream at the end of the day or at the end of a life, it offers a retrospective. To better stimulate the auditor's imagination, lighting effects and small objects are incorporated to the piece, such as an alarm clock and the beginning of the day, a punch clock at work, a pendulum clock at night... The piece is dedicated to The Beatles and and their song A Day in the Life.

Brott’s storied legacy takes root at Mac

Boris puts his baton down... momentarily to sing Flanders & Swann's Ill Wind, sung to the tune of Mozart's Fourth Horn Concerto

by Leonard Turnevicius

Special to the Spectator 

Want to know everything there is to know about Boris Brott’s career? Well, now you won’t have to go any further than Hamilton’s McMaster University to find out.

Last night, a ceremony held at Mac’s Convocation Hall formally marked the university’s reception of Brott’s donated archives.

“My hometown is Hamilton now. I’ve lived here for over 42 years,” said the Montreal-born Brott in an interview with The Spectator. “It was McMaster who gave me my honorary doctorate (in 1988).”

Brott explained that there had been offers from other institutions such as the University of Calgary, as well as Ottawa’s Library and Archives Canada which house the papers of his late father, Alexander Brott. Yet, when the call came from McMaster about his archives, Brott accepted at the drop of a hat.

“I wanted to have close touch also with what I was giving,” said Brott. “There are several books that I want to write, and I’ll do the research at Mac.”

Among his archives is correspondence with some of the crème de la crème of the classical music world from the 1960s onward: Leonard Bernstein, Pierre Monteux, Aaron Copland, Benjamin Britten, Isaac Stern, Mstislav Rostropovich, Jean-Pierre Rampal, Leonard Rose, Glenn Gould and many others.

Brott’s sizeable archives also consist of numerous recordings, photos, posters, and files dating from his early life as a child prodigy to the present. As such, they cover literally every facet of his international musical and entrepreneurial career including, of course, the years 1969 to 1990 when he led the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra.

“Both my mom (Lotte, who passed away in 1998) and dad were pack rats,” said Brott. “And they did teach me to keep everything. And I did. But it was just getting scary, to be quite frank, with all of this stuff at my home. I thought, ‘What if there was a fire? What if there was a flood?’ It was just too valuable to have that (happen).”

Brott began delivering his archives in lots to the university about eight or nine months ago. Archivists at Mac’s William Ready Division of Archives and Research Collections are currently cataloguing the material. Brott also hopes to one day gift his very large library of scores as well as about 50 of his children’s concerts scripts to Mac.

Last evening’s event was emceed by Hamilton native and TVO host Steve Paikin and included the requisite official remarks and thank-yous from Mac librarian Jeff Trzeciak, and president Patrick Deane. Professor emeritus Dr. Alan Walker, an internationally acclaimed scholar and biographer of Franz Liszt and Hans von Bülow, spoke on Contemplating Boris Brott. Also on hand were Brott’s wife, Ardyth, two of their three children, David and Alexandra, plus mother-in-law Betty Webster, staff from the Brott Music Festival, and more than 150 invited guests.

But all was not dry, formal back-patting. Brott and his National Academy Orchestra performed the final movement from Mendelssohn’s Fourth Symphony, nicknamed the Italian, an obvious tip of the hat to the country where Brott’s opera conducting career is currently on an upswing. That was followed by the instrumental version of Alexander Brott’s Cradle Song composed for Boris in 1944, the year of his birth.

Pianist Valerie Tryon, a longtime musical collaborator with Brott and perennial guest at his summertime festival, performed Chopin’s Andante spianato et Grand polonaise accompanied by Brott and the NAO.

Thereafter, Brott ceded the podium duties to NAO apprentice conductor Philippe Ménard in order to sing (yes, you read that correctly) Ill Wind, a Flanders and Swann drollery set to the last movement of Mozart’s Third Horn Concerto. F&S’s lyrics, “I practised the horn and was longing to play it but somebody took it away,” served as a witty wink at Brott’s French horn playing days.

Brott’s archives will be available at McMaster’s Mills Memorial Library alongside numerous other international and Canadian collections.

Leonard Turnevicius writes on classical music for The Spectator.

leonardturnevicius@hotmail.com

Congratulations to NAO Alumnus Andrew Dunsmore

Photo credit: Cameron Ogilvie

Congratulations to Andrew Dunsmore (NAO percussion '06-'07) who recently won a position with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra! He wrote this lovely letter to Boris:

Dear Maestro Brott,

A few weeks ago Emily and I traveled to Montreal with a car full of percussion instruments. The purpose of the trip was for me to audition for the OSM. After 19 players, 5 semi-finalists and 2 rounds I was the last person standing for the 3rd and final round in their percussion audition. After what Emily assured me was an eternity of time they announced that I had won the audition and they would be hiring me for their 2011-2012 season!

I start with the orchestra in August, which could not have been better planned for us as we are getting married in July. Furthermore they are going to Edinburgh straight away, so we will enjoy a honeymoon in Paris after their brief tour of Scotland.

Thank you so much to you and the National Academy Orchestra. I learned so much about orchestral playing, repertoire and professionalism while working with the NAO - knowledge that will no doubt continue to serve me well in my new post as Section Percussion in the OSM. I often tell my colleagues what a wonderful opportunity playing in the NAO is and I will certainly continue to do so in Montreal.

Thank you so much,

Andrew

Mr & Mrs. Brott Go To Washington

That's Boris and Ardyth with guest of honour Paloma Picasso this past weekend at a reception hosted by the Ambassador of Morocco in Washington D.C.

From the Globe and Mail: Former NAO Apprentice "follows his own path"

Julian Kuerti following his ‘individual path’ 

COLIN EATOCK

From Saturday's Globe and Mail

Published Friday, Apr. 08, 2011

In February, conductor Julian Kuerti was back in his hometown of Toronto for a concert. At 34, he’s still a “young” conductor – but on stage at Koerner Hall, standing before the Royal Conservatory Orchestra, there was confidence in his bearing and experience in his hands.
The biggest challenge on the program was Stravinsky’s Petrushka Suite, a work that demands strong leadership from the podium. Kuerti’s gestures were precise and clear – an open-handed invitation to the contrabassoon, an abrupt karate chop in the air for the violins – as he steered his orchestra through the score’s tricky changes in tempo and dynamics.

On Saturday afternoon he’s plying his trade at Lincoln Center, where he’ll make his New York debut conducting Oliver Knussen’s opera Where the Wild Things Are at the New York City Opera. His route to New York has been circuitous.
“Every conductor has an individual path,” Kuerti points out. “First, you have to somehow convince a bunch of people to sit in front of you while you hack your way through something. Then you have to somehow gain enough confidence and credibility to make a step up to the next ensemble, and a piece that’s more complex than what you’ve just done.”
Further complicating things, in Kuerti’s case, is the fact that he was a late starter. The son of the Canadian pianist Anton Kuerti (and there’s a striking family resemblance), Julian comes from an intensely musical family – but this wasn’t necessarily a stepping-stone to a musical career.
“When I was growing up in Toronto,” he recalls, “my parents dissuaded me from music. They said don’t be a musician unless it’s the only thing you can do.” Heeding this advice, he completed a degree in engineering science. But music was always part of his life. “I had scores to Beethoven symphonies open on top of my physics textbook, when I was supposed to be studying for my exams.”
A tour to Brazil as a violinist in a world-music band called Kahana, followed by a season with the New-York based Jupiter Symphony Orchestra, convinced him that music was his calling. When Kuerti returned to Toronto, he decided to reboot his career and get serious about conducting. Already 24, he felt he had lost a lot of time.
He spent the next five years studying music in Berlin, followed by a stint as assistant conductor of the Budapest Festival Orchestra. Returning to North America, he scored a big opportunity when he was appointed assistant conductor to the Boston Symphony Orchestra in 2007, working closely with renowned maestro James Levine for three years.
Levine has been in the news lately for ongoing health problems that recently forced him to quit the BSO and reduce his workload at the Metropolitan Opera. But Levine’s frequent cancellations opened up a world of opportunity for Kuerti. On several occasions, the 34-year-old stepped in to conduct the Boston Symphony, earning glowing reviews for his efforts. “Kuerti rose to the occasion and pulled off a triumphant concert,” declared The Boston Globe. “This was easily his finest hour.”
Kuerti can’t say enough good things about his time with the BSO. As he tells it, what he learned from Levine extended beyond mechanical techniques to the realm of psychology. “He’d rarely tell people, ‘No, it’s not right’ – he’d use language and musical gesture to get at something from the positive side. He would depend on the orchestra and trust them.”
Since September, Kuerti has been a free agent. He’s signed up with a prestigious New York manager, and has a full slate of guest-conducting engagements for a year. Over the next 12 months, he faces a trial by fire, leading orchestras in Atlanta; Phoenix; Cincinnati, Ohio; Milwaukee, Wis.; Halifax; Ottawa; Victoria; Kitchener, Ont.; Edmonton and Montreal – many for the first time.
Fortunately, he has his survival strategy all worked out. “One of the things I make sure of when I’m putting together a program,” he explains, “is that one piece is something I’ve done before. If every week is an entirely new program, it’s maddening. It’ll burn you out, and you’ll half-bake everything.”
Guest conducting is all well and good – but what Kuerti really wants is an orchestra to call his own. “As a guest conductor,” he points out, “you have the chance to change things on the surface: You can change a sound, or ask for a different tempo. But you never get as close to what you really want as you do with an orchestra you work with all the time, that knows your body language well.”
The ambitious conductor may soon get his wish: He hints that he’s currently involved in a few music-director searches. Are any of these orchestras in Canada? “Maybe,” is his coy answer to that question.
In the meantime, he’ll spend the next year living out of a suitcase and racking up air miles.
Special to The Globe and Mail

World Premiere of Terry Riley's Zephir

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYtXBQ48UeA&NR=1

Samson et Dalila TRIESTE

Composers In Love: Encore Performance Valentine's Day Eve

'The remarkable Clara Wieck was the creative partner of two men, Robert Schumann and Johannes Brahms. She was remarkable for a number of reasons…. She was unique in her time for being a thorough professional, and a working wife and mother, in an age when musical talent in a female was regarded only as an asset in the marriage market! She had extraordinary sense and stability which sustained her through many personal and artistic crises, and she was a pianist of exceptional gifts, regarded and acknowledged as the peer of Franz Liszt, Thalberg and Anton Rubenstein.

The story of her love affair with Robert, and her close friendship with Brahms will be played out in the 'Composers in Love' programme at The Hamilton Conservatory for the Arts on Sunday February 13th at 2 pm - a great way to welcome in Valentine's Day!!

Internationally renowned pianist Valerie Tryon will perform some of the most beloved and romantic works of both composers, whilst Robert Latimer-Cornell, Jacqui Templeton Muir and Aubrey Boothman relate the story of the 'eternal triangle'!'

Tickets available at the door. Tickets $27–regular, $22- senior, $15 – student

TheSpec - Musical treasure of Hamilton history found

By Mark McNeil, the Hamilton Spectator

For pictures and the full article

For decades it sat in an old desk drawer with a bunch of yellowed newspaper clippings and a Ziploc plastic bag of military badges.

No one talked about the vaguely remembered sheet music inside a tattered envelope. It was just part of some papers left behind by a long-gone family member.

But a few weeks ago Brenda Robinson got to thinking about her great, great grandfather George R. Robinson, for whom the bandshell at Gage Park is named.

The bandshell had been in the news. Vandals had stolen sections of copper from its side leaving an unsightly scar. And, unrelated to the damage, the Festival of Friends announced it wasn’t going to be using the bandshell or Gage Park anymore because the event was moving to the Ancaster Fairgrounds.

So he opened the drawer, and gently pulled out the music. The paper was tattered around the edges but the print was still very legible. The piano arrangement was published in 1879 in Hamilton and called The Leander Waltz. It was written by “G. Robinson” and “respectfully dedicated to the Leander Rowing Club.”

A few phone calls later and it became apparent that Brenda had unearthed a bit of a musical treasure of Hamilton history.

Click here to hear the piece played