“Engaging with death”: the OSM plays Strauss and Sibelius

By Edward Sava-Segal, 25 November 2020

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“Shelley and the OSM painted with great care the details of the musical soundscape”

Reviewed at Maison symphonique, Montreal on 24 November 2020

Strauss R., Vier letzte Lieder (Four Last Songs)

Sibelius, Valse triste, Op.44 no.1

Strauss R., Tod und Verklärung (Death and Transfiguration), Op.24

Adrianne Pieczonka, Soprano

Orchestre symphonique de Montréal

Alexander Shelley, Conductor

Payare and the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal welcome Spring

Ian Cochrane, 22nd April

Rafael Payare conducts a scintillating Le Sacre du Printemps in a program that also showcases Bruce Liu's bravura Tchaikovsky.

****1

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

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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.

“Engaging with death”: the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal plays Strauss and Sibelius