Precision, but rigid Mozart and Strauss in Montreal

By Edward Sava-Segal, 07 October 2020

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Reviewed at Maison symphonique, Montreal on 6 October 2020

Mozart, Clarinet Concerto in A major, K622

Strauss R., Le Bourgeois gentilhomme (Der Bürger als Edelmann) suite, Op.60b

Todd Cope, Clarinet

Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal

Susanna Mälkki, Conductor

Rafael Payare and his Montrealers show off their jazz chops

Ian Cochrane, 11th March

Rafael Payare boldly programmes Kinan Azmeh's Suite for Improvisor and Orchestra in a diverse concert bill that also features long-standing Principal Flute Timothy Hutchins.

****1

A national treasure revisits Montreal: Angela Hewitt plays Mozart

Ian Cochrane, 28th February

Angela Hewitt joins the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal for an exquisite rendering of a Mozart concerto, and Leonard Slatkin conducts Tchaikovsky's Winter Daydreams.

****1

Last minute jump-in Hankyeol Yoon saves the day in Montreal

Ian Cochrane, 21st January

Virtuosic Alina Ibragimova joins the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal for a dynamite performance of Stravinsky’s Violin Concerto, while youthful conductor Hankyeol Yoon leads polished Rachmaninov.

****1

Payare, Lamsma and the OSM: Korngold and Bartók in Montreal

Ian Cochrane, 3rd December

The Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal (OSM), conductor Rafael Payare, and violin soloist Simone Lamsma joined forces in a program that featured seminal works by two musical titans who settled in the United States after fleeing Europe in the mid-twentieth century.

****1

Faust’s bargain, Berlioz’s triumph in Montréal’s season launch

Ian Cochrane, 17th September

Rafael Payare leads a fevered account of desire, damnation and sonic grandeur, ably supported by Karen Cargill and Andrew Staples.

****1

Benjamin Grosvenor’s Ravel sparkles in Montreal

Ian Cochrane, 1st May

The British are coming! An exciting evening of Ravel and Vaughan Williams with conductor Andrew Manze and pianist Benjamin Grosvenor in Montreal.

****1

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Edward Sava-Segal

Edward has been living in New York for the last 25 years, one of the reasons being the extraordinarily rich cultural life in this city. He has studied piano and classical music in his early years. He switched later on to computer science and data architecture but he kept an unwavering interest in following the classical music phenomenon here in New York and in his travels. Edward occasionally reviews fine arts events for the most prestigious literary magazine in Romania, his home country.