Venom of Love and Alice Ping Yee Ho

One of Canada’s most gifted composers, Alice Ping Yee Ho here offers excerpts from Venom of Love, presented in premiere by Little Pear Garden Dance Company at the Fleck Theatre, Toronto in 2014. Venom is a four-act 60′ musical composition for ballet based on the enthralling Legend of the White Snake 白蛇傳, one of China’s […]

The master. The song.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIpF-RPw0pw The master. The song. Montréal. 2008

Rachel, Rodney, and three for you

From our friends at Music on Main, pianist Rachel Kiyo Iwaasa, and composer Rodney Sharman, a hauntingly beautiful and evocative triptych:  Voyageur, Watchful, and Notes on Beautiful. While you listen, forbid disturbances. You’ll know why.

Maud Lewis, painter

In 2016, many Canadians discovered the painter Maud Lewis for the first time, in the film Maudie, starring Sally Hawkins and Ethan Hawke. It was revelation. Someone dismissed as a ‘primitive’ turned out to be a fountain of purity, emotional honesty, directness and courage. Here from 40 years earlier, an NFB documentary about a uniquely […]

James O’Callaghan and Kosuth Variations

One of Canada’s most gifted and unpredictable composers, James’ work intersects acoustic and electroacoustic media, employing field recordings, amplified found objects, computer-assisted transcription of environmental sounds, and unique performance conditions. He won his first Juno at age 26, for ‘Classical Composition of the Year’. His artistic output spans chamber, orchestral, live electronic and acousmatic idioms, […]

Russell Braun & Russell Braun & Pearl Fishers

It’s #WorldOperaDay, and how better to celebrate than with… well, you know. Here, the immortal Duet from The Pearl Fishers (1863), by Georges Bizet. In the spirit of Canadian comity for which we are so famous, it is sung by celebrated Canadian tenor Russell Braun, and celebrated Canadian baritone Russell Braun. The duet is abetted […]

Danny Boy on bass, with Gary K and Harmon L

Something about this Festival has attracted a lot of interest from double bassists and their admirers. In a futile effort to appease them, here is the legendary duo of Gary Karr and Harmon Lewis, and a folk song that needs no further.  

Meet the Octobass at OSM

L’ Orchestre symphonique de Montréal has long been recognized as the greatest French orchestra in the world. In Canada, the OSM is a major part of our music. In our second largest city, it is a major part of Québec culture. In 2016, the OSM added an octobass to its ranks, in order to play […]

Angela Hewitt and Ravel

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Mgw8pV4iPM We think of the great Canadian pianist Angela Hewitt as a master of Bach, and rightly so. Her clarity, her command of architecture, style, and substance make it so. Bach has made her name, and she has honoured his. But listen to this:  her Ravel. It is remarkable in its colours and contours, its […]

Collage, Paper Cuts, and Jacob Intilé

Charles Ives never knew the work of Jacob Intilé, but would surely have been inspired. Today we switch gears, and move from collage in music to its precursor in art and design. This fascinating clip is from a CBC Arts online series, Paper Cuts. Hint:  wear gloves.  

Bella Ciao!

Appearing today at the FESTIVAL OF CONTEMPORARY: Bella Ciao! a remarkable film by Carolyn Combs, set in East Van, on Commercial Drive, in perilous times. Starring Carmen Aguirre, Tony Nardi, Alexandra Lainfiesta, Marie Clements, and Taran Kootenhayoo. It has an earned intimacy, an honest clarity, that refreshes and compels.

Measha & Jennifer & George & Felix

Here, the wondrous Canadian soprano Measha Brueggergosman with her friends Jennifer Tung, George Koller and Felix Deak, being musical, themselves, and dealing with current circumstances. The real fun starts about 5:50.