Cette semaine à Montréal (2 à 11 oct) / This Week in Montreal (October 2 to 11)

Musique, danse, théâtre, etarts plastiques à Montréal cette semaine

Music, dance, theatre, and fine arts in Montreal this week

Danse : Grand déploiement en octobre. Danse Danse nous propose du 1^er au 3 octobre de découvrir la nouvelle tête d’affiche de la danse britannique, Hofesh Shechter avec deux pièces férocement contemporaines, Uprising et In your room, au Maisonneuve. —Aline Apostolska

Contemporary Music: This month, the Forestare Ensemble introduces works by Quebec composers, Richard Desjardins, Denis Gougeon and more, to a Chilean audience in joint performances with the Chilean Guitar Ensemble. Local audiences can catch the ensemble before it leaves for Chili on October 4 at the salle Philippe-Filion in Shawinigan. forestare.com —Hannah Rahimi

Chamber Music: The Ladies Morning Musical Club presents the celebrated Tokyo String Quartet performing Schubert, Bartok and Mendelssohn on the afternoon of October 4. Pollack Hall. 514-932-6796, lmmc.ca —Hannah Rahimi

Early Music: On September 23, eXcentris reopened with two of its three theatres renovated as live performance venues allowing for an environment of innovation and cooperation between genres, styles and media. Renowned pianist Leon Fleischer inaugurated the hall. Upcoming: Theatre of Early Music (Dido and Aeneas), Oct. 4; —Wah Keung Chan

Art visuel : Betty Goodwin : Parcours de l’œuvre à travers la Collection du Musée (hommage), Montréal, Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal, jusqu’au 4 octobre 2009. —Julie Beaulieu

Danse : Une anniversaire, les 25 ans du Studio 303 dédié à la recherche et à l’avant-garde, un lieu incontournable désormais malgré la petitesse de son espace, et devenu indissociable de la créativité montréalaise. Un spectacle gala aura lieu le 4 octobre, conçu spécialement par Marie Chouinard qui mettra son talent au service d’un hommage à ce lieu singulier et original. —Aline Apostolska

Danse : J’aurai le plaisir d’inaugurer une série d’entretiens avec des chorégraphes et danseurs de renom qui tous composent le portrait de Montréal en matière de danse. Ces entretiens de fond, d’une durée de deux heures, porteront sur l’ensemble du parcours créatif des artistes et tenteront de montrer les liens entre vie personnelle et vie artistique, et auront lieu gratuitement devant public dans les trois lieux qui se sont associés pour produire cette nouvelle série originale, soit Circuit-Est Centre chorégraphique. Il suffira au public de se rendre sur place pour assister à l’entrevue. Le programme de l’automne est le suivant : 6 octobre 2009 – 19 h, à Circuit-Est : Jeanne Renaud Les entretiens seront ponctués d’extraits de chorégraphies illustrant leur parcours. Ce sera une occasion unique de découvrir ces créateurs en profondeur. Venez nombreux ! —Aline Apostolska

Orchestral Music: L’Orchestre symphonique de Montréal se prépare à un mois d’octobre chargé. Andrew Grams dirigera l’orchestre dans la Symphonie du Nouveau Monde de Dvořák les 6 et 7 octobre, en même temps que des concertos seront interprétés par des étoiles montantes : le 6, Karen Gomyo jouera le splendide Concerto pour violon de Sibelius et le 7, ce sera Marika Bouraki et le Concerto pour piano de Grieg. 514-842-9951, osm.ca —Hannah Rahimi

Danse : À l’Agora, deux créations, Projet X de Chantal Lamirande, du 6 au 9. —Aline Apostolska

Theatre: The Centaur Theatre delivers us just the thing, opening with the world premiere of In Piazza San Domenico, by the acclaimed author of Mambo Italiano, Steve Galluccio. Set in balmy Naples, in 1952, In Piazza San Domenico is a light-hearted comedy, inspired by Feydeau, Goldoni and Sophia Loren. Misinterpretations, scheming, fast-paced action and romance abound, providing us with a whirlwind of mirth. Sure to leave a smile on your face, In Piazza San Domenico runs from October 6 to November 1. —Jessica Hill

Chamber Music: Quartango celebrates its 25^th anniversary this month with performances October 7, 9 and 10 at the Corona Theatre. Comprising four classically trained musicians, the ensemble performs tangos with virtuosity, wit and dedication, joined by guest artists, soprano Gianna Corbisiero, tenor Marc Hervieux and tango dancers Roxana and Fabian Belmonte. 514-931-2088, quartango.com —Hannah Rahimi

Art visuel : Je suis là même si tu ne me vois pas (Hadjithomas + Joreige), Montréal, Galerie Leonard & Bina Ellen, jusqu’au 10 octobre 2009. —Julie Beaulieu

Art visuel : Madone de Bentalha (Pascal Convert), Montréal, Galerie de l’UQAM, jusqu’au 10 octobre 2009. —Julie Beaulieu

Orchestral Music: L’immense pianiste Marc-André Hamelin se joint à l’Orchestre symphonique de Montréal le 11 octobre dans le Concerto pour piano no 2 de Liszt sous la direction du dynamique Jean-François Rivest, le programme comprenant également les toujours populaires Planètes de Holst. 514-842-9951, osm.ca —Hannah Rahimi

Théâtre : Fragments de mensonges inutiles. Une nouvelle création signée Michel Tremblay est toujours un événement attendu. Et les meilleures pièces de l’auteur d’Albertine en cinq temps reposent généralement sur une idée forte, une construction du temps et de l’espace qui s’éloigne du réalisme. Mise au monde par Serge Denoncourt, celle-ci navigue entre deux années, 1959 et 2009, alors qu’elle dépeint la relation amoureuse entre deux adolescents gays vivant à des époques différentes. Jusqu’au 17 octobre, au Théâtre Jean-Duceppe —Marie Labrecque

Cette semaine à Montréal (18 au 27 septembre) / This Week in Montreal (September 18 to 27)

Musique, danse, théâtre, etarts plastiques à Montréal cette semaine

Music, dance, theatre, and fine arts in Montreal this week

Jazz Ven. 18 Trio Marianne Trudel. Jazz Bar le dièse onze. 20 h. www.mariannetrudel.com —Marc Chenard

Blackbird : Au printemps dernier, le Groupe La Veillée nous a fait découvrir cette puissante pièce de l’Écossais David Harrower. Montréal en accueille une production, louangée, du Théâtre des Célestins de Lyon. Deux acteurs réputés, Maurice Bénichou et Léa Drucker, s’affrontent dans cette œuvre complexe et nuancée, fouillant les zones grises d’une relation amoureuse entre un homme mûr et une fille de douze ans. Jusqu’au 18 septembre, au Théâtre du Nouveau Monde. www.laveillee.qc.ca —Marie Labrecque

Esteban : Ludique, audacieux, touche-à-tout, Stéphane Crête multiplie les entreprises décapantes. On lui doit notamment des Laboratoires Crête, mêlant science et théâtre, et la délirante pièce Mycologie. Mais sauf erreur, c’est la première fois qu’on le verra seul en scène, dans un numéro de cabaret « impudique » qui emprunte aussi à la danse, au mime et à la poésie. Bref, il faut s’attendre à tout. Jusqu’au 19 septembre, au Théâtre La Chapelle. www.lachapelle.org —Marie Labrecque

Le claveciniste et organiste Luc Beauséjour dirigera douze chanteurs et sept instrumentistes dans le premier concert de la série Clavecin en Concert à la chapelle Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours le 18 septembre. Le programme comprend une cantate et un motet de Bach, une partita de Böhm et une messe du compositeur baroque rarement entendu J.C.F. Fischer. www.lucbeausejour.com/cec —Hannah Rahimi

Autre virtuose confirmé, le flûtiste suisse Maurice Steger aura carte blanche lors de la 8e édition des Journées de la flûte à bec (18 septembre, Maison des Jeunesses Musicales) www.mauricesteger.com —Philippe Gervais

Teesri Duniya Theatre presents Truth and Treason at the Monument National, until September 19. Set in modern Iraq, the play features a 10-year-old girl shot by a US soldier at a checkpoint. A complex story arises surrounding her mother, a Canadian woman, and her father, an Iraqi writer who was imprisoned by Saddam Hussein and considered a terrorist by the US. This story, plunging us into the heart of the action in Iraq, unveils the truth behind the war on terror. www.teesriduniyatheatre.com —Jessica Hill
Jazz Sam 19 Yannick Rieu, François Bourassa, Adrien Vedady, Phillipe Melanson. Jazz bar le dièse onze. 20 h. www.dieseonze.com —Marc Chenard

Le 19 septembre, le fougueux Ensemble Caprice se joint à l’ensemble israélien Quynade, spécialisé dans la musique du 13e au 15e siècle. Dans la chapelle Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours, les deux petites formations joueront de la musique séfarade médiévale et des œuvres de la Renaissance. www.ensemblecaprice.com —Hannah Rahimi

Une autre série de conférences, intitulée « Quand l’œil écoute », traitera des rapports entre musique et arts plastiques et sera inaugurée par François Filiatrault, qui parlera de la musique chez Vermeer (24 septembre, 17 h). www.mbam.qc.ca —Philippe Gervais

Jazz Mer. 23 Rencontre Amsterdam-Vancouver-Montréal avec le batteur Michael Vatcher, les saxophonistes Coat Cooke et Pierre Labbé, et le bassiste Clinton Ryder. Casa del Popolo, 21 h. www.casadelpopolo.com —Marc Chenard

Jazz Jeu. 24, McCoy Tyner Trio. L’Astral. 20 h. (En reprise les 25 et 26.) www.lastral.ca —Marc Chenard



Pour la deuxième année, après la Catalogne en 2008, l’Agora de la danse nous convie à une Destination danse, cette année la France, en coproduction avec les Rencontres chorégraphiques de Seine-Saint-Denis, festival incontournable du mois de mai dans la région parisienne. Du jusqu’au 26 nous découvrirons quatre jeunes chorégraphes français très représentatifs : du 16 au 19, Julie Nioche avec Matter et Pierre Rigal avec Press / du 23 au 26, Nacera Belaza avec Le cri et Fabrice Lambert avec Abstraction-Gravité. www.agoradanse.com —Aline Apostolska

Le SMAM se tourne vers la Renaissance et chantera les Lagrime di San Pietro de Lassus (27 septembre, église Saint-Léon) www.smam-montreal.com —Philippe Gervais

"Tanglewood" Revisited: Basking in the Beauty of the Berkshires

It has been years since I visited Tanglewood, the summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. This year, with some encouragement from friends, Marita and I decided it was time to go back. We traveled from the Eastern Townships of Quebec – where we can usually be found at this time of year – taking a scenic route via secondary roads through Vermont so that we could visit Stowe for the first time.

We had an excellent lunch on the backyard patio of the Whip restaurant, part of the Green Mountain Inn in Stowe, and marveled at the breathtaking ski slopes all around us. We arrived in Lenox about 5:00 pm and checked into the Yankee Inn on Route 7. It’s a very ordinary motel but thanks to the crush of music-lovers from Boston, New York and almost everywhere else, they can charge $225 per night!

In Lenox, we joined our friends for dinner at a new restaurant called the Firefly – a little rushed because we had to make the BSO concert at 8:30 pm – but what we sampled was first-rate. Marita raved about a terrific gorgonzola penne; not as good as a now legendary pasta of the same description enjoyed in Trinidad, of all places, years ago, but excellent nonetheless.

The "Rolls Royce" of American Music Festivals

Surely Tanglewood must be considered the "Rolls Royce" of all American summer music festivals. It started the trend in the mid 1930s, and it stands today as a model of how such things should be done. Not only is it the summer home of one of the world’s great orchestras – the Boston Symphony - it is also a music school which perennially attracts the crème de la crème – both teachers and students. To make the argument even stronger, Tanglewood sits on some of the prettiest real estate in the Berkshire mountains of Massachusetts.

Incredibly, this mecca of music-making was conceived and inaugurated by conductor Serge Koussevitsky in 1936, during the depths of the depression. Shortly after its establishment, America was engulfed in a world war. The festival closed shop during the war years; rationing of rubber, steel and gasoline meant that few Americans had the means to travel hundreds of miles to a music festival. Fortunately, Tanglewood outlived the war and remains today a marvel of imagination and inspiration.

I never had the pleasure of attending Tanglewood as a student – following in the footsteps of the likes of Bernstein, Foss, Abbado, Maazel, Ozawa, Dohnányi, Mehta, Michael Tilson Thomas and so many others – but I was often a member of the audience in the 1970s. I recall with great joy a performance of a lean and lively Messiah and a thrilling Elgar First Symphony conducted by Sir Colin Davis and a resounding and mesmeric Berlioz "Requiem" conducted by Seiji Ozawa. Then there was Scott Joplin’s "Treemonisha" conducted by Gunther Schuller. I also loved the Prelude concerts with members of the Boston Symphony playing chamber music, and not least of all, the numerous events put on by students at the Berkshire (since renamed the “Tanglewood”) Music Center. These gifted young people invariably played with remarkable skill and enthusiasm.

Toronto Symphony’s Maestro Peter Oundjian Guest Conductor

Peter Oundjian conducted the Boston Symphony at the Tanglewood Shed our first night there, with Joshua Bell playing Chausson’s “Poème” and Saint-Saens’ Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso. As a former violin soloist himself, Oundjian was an ideal accompanist, especially since Bell played with a lovely but somewhat unpredictable improvisatory quality. According to the program notes, the Chausson was last heard at Tanglewood in a performance by the same Joshua Bell in 1999. Few other violinists play it these days but it remains a unique, brooding masterpiece. We had good seats in about the 10th row on the extreme right of the stage. Not enough violins given our seat locations but otherwise very good sound.

Incidentally, famed architect Eliel Saarinen submitted the original plans for the Shed back in 1936, but the plans were too elaborate and too costly so the Boston Symphony settled for something much more modest from local Stockbridge engineer Joseph Franz. The Shed we enjoy today is still pretty much the handiwork of Franz, and he deserves much of the credit for its surprisingly good acoustics.

Earlier in the concert Oundjian had conducted Ravel’s “Alborado del gracioso” and after intermission led a very good performance of the familiar Mussorgsky-Ravel “Pictures at an Exhibition.” Particularly impressive was the tenor tuba solo in a very slow Bydlo; more expressive than I have ever heard it although there were some slips near the end. “The Great Gate of Kiev” was also slow and a little ponderous but the climaxes at the end with resplendent bells were spectacular.

After the concert, we made our way backstage to say hello to Peter, whose father had occasionally attended my concerts in Toronto.

Good Eats, Pouring Rain, and Shattered Hopes for Great Golf!

We had breakfast the next morning in a fine and very popular bakery-restaurant in Lennox called Haven. I loved the samplings of apple cake and the blueberry ‘something’ hot out of the oven, served free to patrons waiting in the food line. The service is cafeteria-style but none the worse for that. The weather in this unusually wet summer was nice enough to sit outside. The manager was much amused to see me heading out with a latte in one hand and a bottle of ketchup in the other. “Was I starting a new fad - latte with ketchup - yet another specialty coffee?”

Our friends had arranged golf for the men in our party at the Taconic Golf Club in Williamstown, about a 45-minute drive north on route 7. Unfortunately, the weather had other ideas. We drove up in pouring rain but it stopped soon after we arrived and we prepared ourselves to get a round in after all. After waiting an hour we started to play. The radar at the club indicated the rain cell had moved on and that clear weather would last through the afternoon. We got to the third hole and the rain came again, this time even heavier than before. The professionals play through rain and only give up in the face of thunderstorms, but there was so much water on the greens here that putted balls barely moved and nearly every fairway had large pools of water. The management at the Taconic Golf Club wisely closed the course for the rest of the day.

Mass MoCa – No, it’s not a Giant Cup of Coffee

With time on our hands we drove east to North Adams to visit the art gallery set up in an abandoned factory and known as Mass MoCa (Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art). North Adams was a factory town for most of its existence and this was a complex of 27 buildings, renovated when the factory gave up. The facility was built between 1872 and 1900 by Arnold Print Works, a textile printer. Thousands of people had jobs at the print factory in its heyday but times changed and the factory closed in 1942.

Sprague Electric Company, a capacitor manufacturer, re-opened the facility. Sprague flourished for many years but finally lost out to competition in cheaper markets and closed down in 1985. The town of 18,000 was devastated. All 4,000 jobs went to the southern states and then to the Third World. North Adams became a depressed area almost overnight.

The town remains a shadow of its former self but the once forlorn factory complex has been given new life as a vast and imaginative art gallery. At Mass MoCa there are rooms full of recent paintings and sculptures and several exhibits with an environmental angle. It was all stimulating and wondrous to behold in such an unlikely place.

Two of the curated exhibitions had special merit: “Badlands: New Horizons in Landscape” – contemporary artists giving us new insight into the world around us - and “Eastern Standard: Western Artists in China”, a timely show with all eyes on the Beijing Olympics this summer.

The Mass MoCa complex also has offices and restaurants and we had dinner in an eatery called Café Latino. Its menu was just as creative as its surroundings.

Fabulous Feydeau Farce at Famous Williamstown Theatre

After dinner, we made the short drive back to Williamstown for the Williamstown Theatre production of Feydeau’s “A Flea in Her Ear” in a new version by David Ives. John Rando directed a fast-paced and very funny production with terrific sets and finely-tuned ensemble acting. Mark Harelik was particularly outstanding as both Victor Chandebise and Poche. There may never have been quite so many laughs in the disreputable Frisky Puss Hotel.

The Williamstown Theatre has been in business for 54 years and has seen the likes of Gywneth Paltrow, Blythe Danner – her mother – Christopher Reeve, Joanne Woodward, Frank Langella and many other New York and Hollywood luminaries over the years and under current artistic director Nicholas Martin it remains a summer theater of the highest quality. While the principal actors are all experienced professionals, the Williamstown Theatre Festival also offers training for hundreds of young people each season. In its way it is the theatrical counterpart of the Tanglewood - Tanglewood Music Center combination.

It was back to the Haven the next morning – this time for excellent pancakes with our Sunday New York Times - then back to Tanglewood.

Second Tanglewood Concert: Disappointing Sound and Substance

The plan was to have a picnic on the lawn before the concert. Rain was again in the forecast and the pessimists among us feared the worst. Fortunately, the rain held off until the concert began. No problem for us because we had tickets inside the Shed, but while we stayed dry, we were too far away from the stage to hear much music, especially from Yo Yo Ma in the Lalo Cello Concerto, a poor piece anyway. The conductor - Mexican-born Carlos Prieto - was in over his head. The orchestra sounded second-rate. The performance of Rachmaninov’s “Symphonic Dances” lacked both fire and melancholy.

Prieto opened with selections from Albeniz’ “Iberia” in orchestrations by Arbos. These are genre pieces of no great distinction. Fine for a travelogue but not for a serious concert. But then this is Tanglewood - probably sounded just right if one were stretched out on the lawn with a glass of wine in hand, taking it in through the external sound system. The Shed seats 5,000 and the lawn another 18,000!

Lounging on the Lawn and Fine Dining in Great Barrington

After the concert we went back to our chairs on the lawn and chatted, a nice way to wind down and avoid the traffic jams as everyone tries to leave at once. Later, we drove down to Great Barrington ‘the back way’ on Hawthorne Road through Stockbridge for dinner at a superb restaurant also owned by the same people who run Café Latino. It is called Allium on Railroad St. Wonderful Spanish tempranillo called Torremoron. The manager/owner claimed to have visited the town where this wine is made. It was only $36 and it was rich and smooth. Marita had a tasty Turkish Lamb that rivaled a wonderful risotto praised by others at our table. We finished off with panna cotta and a selection of house-made ice creams.

Our Tanglewood trek this year came after an absence of more than twenty years and we got involved after all the plans were set in motion. We had a great weekend, but in retrospect we might have tried to plan it differently. After all, the musical highlight of the weekend was Tchaikovsky’s “Eugen Onegin” conducted by James Levine and starring Renée Fleming. Levine had to cancel due to kidney surgery but by all accounts Sir Andrew Davis filled in admirably. We were otherwise engaged with Feydeau in Williamstown.

Toronto Symphony Orchestra and the Tanglewood Model

Tanglewood remains the unique musical paradise BSO conductor Serge Koussevitsky created more than 60 years ago. His successors have both honored his memory and added to its reputation. Physically, Tanglewood has grown over the years with the addition of more land and a second major concert facility, but the beauty of the site is remarkably unspoiled. The lawn seems as green and spacious as it ever was, and no signs of commercialism have been allowed to penetrate this musical oasis. No wonder the board of the Toronto Symphony is using Tanglewood as a model as it explores Niagara-on-the-Lake as a possible summer home.

Paul E. Robinson is the author of Herbert von Karajan: the Maestro as Superstar and Sir Georg Solti: his Life and Music, both available at http://www.amazon.com/. For more about Paul E. Robinson please visit his website at http://www.theartoftheconductor.com/.

Stockhausen Spotlight Page

There has been an outpouring of reactions to the recent passing of avant-garde German composer Karlheinz Stockhausen. La Scena Musicale has created a Stockhausen Spotlight at scena.org to cover the tributes and reactions. Our February 2008 issue will discuss why Stockhausen was a major composer. We welcome your comments, some of which will be published in the article.