Tomorrow night, music lovers who like to step off the beaten path can enjoy on the same program two concertos and two premieres, thanks to Orchestre 21. Paolo Bellomia will conduct Sokolović’s Concerto for orchestra (a commission of the OSM, premiered in 2007) and a new work by Hugues Leclair. Debussy is also well-represented on the program. (The concert is presented as part of the international Debussy symposium held this week at Université de Montréal.) The world premiere of an orchestration of Debussy’s sketches for Le diable dans le beffroi, a one-act opera based on a tale of Edgar Allan Poe will be heard, as well as his Fantaisie pour piano. Jimmy Brière will be the soloist.

Details here…

To listen to Jimmy Brière in Corigliano, Korngold and Rota…

Only a week or so after its release, Angèle Dubeau & La Pietà’s new album, A Time For Us, rises to the number 1 spot in the Canadian charts. Indeed, the album stands at the pole position of Nielsen Soundscan’s Classical Chart, with no less than 3 times as more sales than its closest rival. It also stands at the head of iTunes Canada’s prestigious Classical Chart.

Critics seem unanimous. “Angèle Dubeau & La Pietà turn to the rich imagery of the most beloved film music,” was heard CBC Radio 2. “A Time For Us is an album with an impeccable musical integrity,” wrote Le Devoir.

Angèle Dubeau & La Pietà are presently touring across the province of Quebec. For more information…

The Opéra de Montréal’s third production of the season is  Giuseppe Verdi’s  Il Trovatore. Leonora will  be played by Hiromi Omura (who got rave reviews for her portrayal of Madama Butterfly in 2008, also heard in Simon Boccanegra in 2010) and the title role by Korean tenor Dongwon Shin. Canadian baritone Gregory Dahl,mezzo-soprano Laura Brioli and bass Ernesto Morillo will also be heard, as well as Gaétan Sauvageau, Karine Boucher, Riccardo Iannello and Jean-Michel Richer (the latter three are members of Atelier lyrique). The premiere is tomorrow night and shows will also be held on January 24, 26 and 28.

Do you know Il Trovatore? But, of course, even without knowing it, as this video demonstrates.

It will be launched officially on January 31 but, just for you, here a few glimpses of Angèle Dubeau & La Pietà’s newest album, A Time for Us. It features some of the most beautiful movie soundtracks, all favourites of the violonist. She explains how she went about in  selecting the pieces:

“I have chosen musical moments that speak to me, film music that is particularly appealing, and great musical pieces that inspire images.
My relationship to this music is not the kind chosen by composers, who have created emotions that are attached to images, to a reality conceived for film. Rather, I was inspired by pure music, ignoring conveyed images, and taking it elsewhere in order to recreate my own musical universe. What I feel when I play these works comes from the music, and my approach has been comparable in all respects to the one I favour when working on my repertoire. That is why pieces that are first of all functional go beyond their role by defying time and, breaking out of their framework, become masterpieces. ”

Angèle Dubeau & La Pietà will also soon present two concerts featuring film music, one in Montreal (February 28, at Maison symphonique de Montréal) and one in Quebec (March 22, at Palais Montcalm).

The Liszt year is almost over and it would be a shame not to atttend one last recital tomorrow night, at Chapelle historique du Bon-Pasteur, especially when the pianist is  Serhiy Salov. Among others, he will perform the monumental B-Minor Sonata, the Six Paganini-Etudes and the explosive Hungarian Rhapsody No. 12 and Mephisto Waltz. 

Ticket information can be found here…