NAC, Feb. 10: Radu Lupu gives a solo piano recital of Beethoven and Schubert

The phenomenal Radu Lupu gives a solo piano recital of Beethoven and Schubert at the NAC on Feb. 10

Ottawa, Canada ��� A true colossus in the world of music, the Romanian virtuoso Radu Lupu will perform three piano sonatas by Beethoven including the monumental ���Path��tique���, and one Schubert Sonata in the National Arts Centre���s Southam Hall on Tuesday, February 10 at 8 p.m. This solo piano recital opens the 2008-09 season of the Bombardier Great Performers Series.

Of Beethoven���s vast output of 32 piano sonatas, a genre that occupied the composer throughout his entire creative life, the Path��tique Sonata No. 8 in C minor is the most exalted of all both in popular acclaim and historical import. The word ���path��tique��� meant ���moved by strong passions,��� an apt title for this emotionally powerful work composed on the threshold of the age of musical Romanticism. Beethoven���s two Op. 14 Sonatas (Nos. 9 and 10) reveal the composer in a relaxed, genial mood, and are filled with charm, elegance and intimacy.

In the second half of the recital, Radu Lupu will perform Schubert���s Sonata in B-flat major. Like Beethoven, Schubert wrote piano sonatas throughout his lifetime, and this one is considered to one of the greatest works (many claim the greatest) in this genre.

Radu Lupu is firmly established as one of the most important musicians of his generation and is widely acknowledged as a leading interpreter of the works of Beethoven, Brahms, Mozart and Schubert. The pianist won a 1996 Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Soloist Performance for his London/Decca recording the Schubert B-flat major Sonata which he is performing on this concert. His discography also includes a recording of Beethoven���s ���Path��tique��� Sonata as well as complete Beethoven concertos with the Israel Philharmonic and Zubin Mehta.

First Prize winner in the 1966 Van Cliburn, the 1967 Enescu International and the 1969 Leeds International competitions, Radu Lupu has regularly performed as soloist and recitalist in the musical capitals and major festivals of Europe and the United States. He has appeared many times with the Berlin Philharmonic and with the Vienna Philharmonici. He is also a frequent visitor to the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and all of the major London orchestras. This season, his annual winter tour will include concerts with the Cleveland Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic, and the Montreal Symphony. His European orchestral engagements include the Berlin Staatskapelle, Amsterdam Concertgebouw and Zurich Tonhalle, as well as recitals in Berlin, Amsterdam, Paris, Brussels, and Stockholm.

Radu Lupu has performed at the NAC several times, both in recital and as soloist with the NAC Orchestra. His most recent recitals were in 2006 and 1999.

Tickets for this Bombardier Great Performers recital featuring Radu Lupu on February 10 are on sale now at $19.00, $39.00, $45.00, $49.00, $59.00 and $69.00 (GST and Facility Fee included) at the NAC Box Office (Monday to Saturday from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.), and through Ticketmaster (with surcharges) at 613-755-1111. Ticketmaster may also be accessed through the NAC���s web-site at www.nac-cna.ca.

Half-price tickets for students in all sections of the hall are on sale in person at the NAC Box Office upon presentation of a valid student ID card. Live Rush tickets (subject to availability) for full-time students (aged 13 to 29) are $11 at the NAC Box Office from 2 p.m. the day before the concert to 6 p.m. the day of, upon presentation of a valid Live Rush card.

Groups of 10 and more save 15% to 20% off the regular price of tickets to NAC Music, Theatre and Dance performances. To reserve your seats call 613-947-7000 ext. 384 or email grp@nac-cna.ca

Bernarda Fink performs Schubert and Dvorak with SMAT

Bernarda Fink performs Schubert and Dvorak.

The renowned Argentine-born mezzo-soprano, Bernarda Fink conquered the Montreal public and medias when she presented a recital for the ATMS in October 2004 (Salle Claude-Champagne). Her recital, with the brilliant British pianist, Roger Vignoles, remains one of the major moments of our artistic programming. It is with great pride that the artistic direction has re-invited this most distinguished artist in a program devoted to two composers: Franz Schubert and Anton Dvorak. The American pianist, Anthony Spiri will accompany her on this new North-American tour.

Wednesday, January 14. 2009, at 7:30 p.m.

Pre-lecture at 7:00 p.m.

Redpath Hall

3461 McTavish St. (metro McGill)

$ 40 �Ģ $ 34 ( 65 & +) �Ģ $ 25 (22 & -)

Member: $ 35 �Ģ $ 30 ( 65 & +) �Ģ $ 20 (22 & -)

Bernarda Fink, mezzo-soprano

Renowned for her innate musicality, Bernarda Fink has perfor-med a vast array of works from the baroque to the contemporary. She has been invited to perform which such orchestras as the philharmonic orchestras of London, Vienna and Berlin as well as Amsterdam's Concertgebouw Orchestra. She has sung under the direction of such conductors as Sir John Eliot Gardiner, Valery Gergiev, Ren�� Jacobs, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Philippe Herreweghe, Mariss Jansons, Sir Neville Marriner, Marc Minkowski and Riccardo Muti.

Bernarda Fink has performed at numerous festivals such as those of Salzburg, the Mozartwochen, the Printemps de Prague, London's Promenade Concerts and the Tokyo Summer Festival. She has given recitals at the Musikverein, the Konzerthaus in Vienna, in Salzburg, at the Schubertiade in Schwarzenberg and in Hohenems, at the Concertgebouw, at London's Wigmore Hall and at the Th����tre des Champs-��lys��es in Paris as well as New York's Carnegie Hall.

This past season in Europe, she has interpreted Bach Passions and cantatas with Nikolaus Harnoncourt and Ivan Fischer. In recital, she has performed with Oleg Maisenberg and Thomas Quasthoff as well as with her brother, Marcos Fink, at Groningue and Enschede and with Genia K��hmeier at the Schwarzenberg and Hohenems Schubertiades. On the operatic stage, she has performed Idamante in Luc Bondy's production of Mozart's Idomeneo under the direction of Jes��s L��pez Cobos in Madrid.

Bernarda Fink has participated in over sixty recordings. Many have earned prestigious prizes (Grammy Awards and Diapason d'Or), most notably the series of lieder recordings devoted to Dvorak, Schumann and Brahms for Harmonia Mundi with the pianist Roger Vignoles. Her recording of the cycles Les nuits d'��t�� (Berlioz) and Sh��h��razade (Ravel) also won a horde of prizes. The recently released CD of Schubert lieder with pianist, Gerold Huber was widely acclaimed by the musical press.

�� One of the records of the year, no doubt. �� Hugh Canning, The Sunday Times

�� Quelle artiste! �Ķ elle vous vrille le c��ur. Profond��ment et durablement. �� Christophe Huss, Le Devoir

�� ... a jewel in a very large crown of Schubertian glories �� Steven Ritter, Audiophile Audition

�� �Ķ a lieder disc of distinction. �� Anna Picard, The Independent

PROGRAM

Franz Schubert (1797-1828)

Auf der Riesenkoppe D 611

An die Nachtigall D 196

Der Vollmond strahlt auf

Bergesh��hn D 797/3b

Fr��hlingsglaube D686

An Silvia D 891

Die G��tter Griechenlands D 677

Nachtviolen D 752

An den Mond D 193

Die Sternenwelten D 307

Six m��lodies sur des textes de Goethe

Rastlose Liebe D 138

Geheimes D 719

Ganymed D 544

Auf dem See D 543b

Wonne der Wehmut D 260

Suleika I D 720

Antonin Dvorak (1841-1904)

Biblick�� Pisne, op. 99

Oblak a mr��kota jest vukolol neho

Slys, �� Boze! Slys modlitbu mou

Hospodin jest muj pastyr

PԨ�i Ԩ�ek��ch babylonskych

Sp��vejte Hospodinu p��sen novou

Cigansk�� melodie, op. 55

M�� p��sen zas mi l��skou zn��

Aj! Kterak trojhranec muj

pԨ�erozkosn�� zvon��

A les je tichy kolem kol

Kdyz mne star�� matka zp��vat,

zp��vat u����vala

Struna nalad��na, hochu, to�� se v kole

Sirok�� ruk��vy a sirok�� gat��

Dejte klec jestԨň�bu ze zlata ryz��ho

Soci��t�� musicale Andr��-Turp

Caf�� d'art vocal

1223, rue Amherst

Montr��al (Qu��bec) H2L 3K9

(514) 397-0068

info@turp.com

www.turp.com

Violin Magic with Schubert and Sarasate

Violin Magic with Schubert and Sarasate

Sinfonia Toronto will present a Masterpiece Series concert on Friday, November 14 at 8 pm in the Grace Church on-the-Hill (300 Lonsdale Road). Music Director, Nurhan Arman will conduct.

The concert titled 'Violin Magic' will feature the orchestra's concertmaster Violinist Mary-Elizabeth Brown in Schubert's playful Rondo and Sarasate's virtuoso showpiece 'Gypsy Airs'.

In addition to her position as concertmaster of Sinfonia Toronto, Mary-Elizabeth is currently Associate Concertmaster of Orchestra London Canada as well as Concertmaster of the Youth Orchestra of the Americas and of the Britten-Pears orchestra in Aldeburgh, England. She has played under distinguished conductors such as Kryszstof Penderecki, Lorin Maazel, Benjamin Zander, Carlos Miguel Prieto, Isaac Karabtchevsky and Placido Domingo.

She has been the recipient of numerous awards and grants from the University of Toronto, the City of London, DePaul University, the Hazel Crydermann-Wees Foundation, the Universit�� de Montr��al, Fonds des Amis de l'Art and the American Suzuki Foundation. She has soloed in masterclasses with Regis Pasqier, Pierre Amoyal, Sylvia Rosenberg, Jean-Jacques Kantorow, Pamela Frank, Pinchas Zukerman and the late Lorand Fenyves, among others. She has appeared with the London Youth Symphony, Orchestra London Canada and the Banff Festival Chamber Orchestra.

As a chamber musician, she has been heard on CBC Radio and at major festivals across Canada including the Scotia Festival, Le Festival Internationale du Domaine Forget and the Banff Summer Arts Festival. She has worked with members of the St. Lawrence, Orford, Artur Leblanc and Brentano Quartets as well as the Gryphon Trio, William Aide and Laurence Lesser. A two-time laureate of the Canadian Music Competition National Finals, she plays on a 1737 Guidantus violin and an F.N. Voirin bow on loan from the Banff Centre for the Arts.

Other works on the program are Janacek's brilliant Suite and Dvorak's romantic Serenade.

There will be a free post-concert reception, giving audience members a chance to meet the orchestra members, conductor and soloists.

Online discount tickets are $35 adult, $27 senior, $7 student (16-29) and can be purchased at www.sinfoniatoronto.com or at regular price by phone 905-825-8477 or at the door.

Bernard Labadie Conducts the Classic Landmark Masters featuring Soprano Allyson McHardy- May 3 (8PM) & 4 (2PM)

Edmonton, AB �Ķ A weekend of classical elegance and melody awaits, as Bernard Labadie makes a welcome return on the ESO podium. Hailed for his "full-bodied" and "strongly dramatic" interpretations that manage "to preserve a sense of transparency" (Toronto Star), Bernard Labadie has established himself as one of the leading conductors of the Baroque and Classical repertoire.

He leads the ESO in two great symphonies, Schubert's Fifth and Haydn's "Military," as well as some treasured Mozart vocal works, sung by rising Canadian mezzo-soprano Allyson McHardy, who has been called "a singer of enormous imagination and versatility," by the San Francisco Chronicle. The performance also includes concert and opera arias and features Edmonton pianist Michael Massey for Mozart's Ch'io mi scorid di te?... Non temer, amato bene.

Ticket prices for this performance range from $36 to $53 (agency fees apply). Tickets are available through the Winspear Centre Box Office. Saturday evening's 7:15pm Symphony Prelude features Edmonton Mezzo-Soprano Michelle Milenkovic.

.

The next performance of The Masters takes place on May 23^rd and 24^th with Conductor David Atherton and Pianist Anton Kuerti.

Saturday, May 3^rd is generously sponsored by Classic Landmarks Master Builder

Media Sponsors: CKUA Radio Network and the Edmonton Journal

Hotel Sponsor: The Westin Hotel Edmonton

Winspear Centre Box Office:

(780)428-1414 or 1-800-563-5081

www.edmontonsymphony.com

#4 Winston Churchill Square

Biographies

Bernard Labadie completed most of his musical training in his native Qu��bec City at the School of Music of Laval University as well as the conservatories of Quebec and Montreal.

Much of Labadie's unique reputation is the result of his work with Les Violons du Roy and La Chapelle de Qu��bec, which he founded in 1984 and 1985, respectively, and continues to lead as music director to this day. With the two ensembles he regularly tours Canada, the U.S., and Europe. Passionate about opera, Bernard Labadie was Artistic Director of L'Op��ra de Montr��al through the end of the 2005/06 season. Between 1994 and 2003, Labadie was also Artistic and Music Director of L'Op��ra de Qu��bec. He embraces the entire Baroque, Classical and Romantic opera repertoire.

Equally at home on the concert stage, Labadie has become a sought-after guest conductor with the major orchestras. Ever since his triumphant debut with the Minnesota Orchestra in 1999, he has conducted the New York and Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestras, as well as symphonies including the symphonies of San Francisco, Atlanta, Seattle, Toronto, and Vancouver. 2007-08 is another season full of noteworthy appearances with such top orchestras as the St. Louis Symphony, and the Houston Symphony. His extensive discography includes many recordings on the Dorian label. Other recordings feature his own arrangements of J.S. Bach's Goldberg Variations and The Art of Fugue, among others. He also appears regularly on radio and television broadcasts on the CBC/Radio-Canada network.

For his achievements, the Canadian government honored him with the appointment as "Officer of the Order of Canada" in 2005 and Quebec made him a "Chevalier de l'Ordre National du Qu��bec" in 2006.

Striking mezzo-soprano Allyson McHardy made her debut with New York City Opera as Marquise Melibea in Rossini's Il Viaggio a Reims. Recent concert engagements have included Messiah for the National Arts Centre Orchestra, Elijah in Montr��al, Les nuits d'��t�� in Bielefeld, Germany and Alexander Nevsky for Orchestra London. Ms. McHardy will appear with the Toronto Symphony in Messiah. In Toulouse, she appears as Ph��dre in a rare staging of Hippolyte et Aricie. Minnesota Opera patrons hear her in May of 2009 as Rosina in Il Barbiere di Siviglia, and she returns to Vancouver Opera for a reprise of Olga in Eugene Onegin.

Born in Oshawa, Ontario, she studied voice at Wilfrid Laurier University, earning an Honours Bachelor of Music Degree in Performance and an Opera Diploma. She is an alumna of the Merola Programme at the San Francisco Opera the Ensemble Studio of the Canadian Opera Company. This is Ms. McHardy's official debut with the ESO, however she has sung several roles for Edmonton Opera, with the ESO performing, most recently as Mallika in Lakm�� in October 2004.

Michael Massey was born in England and emigrated to Canada in 1957. Studies at the University of Alberta earned him a Bachelor of Music degree and the gold medal in piano performance of the Western Board of Music. Following his graduation he spent two years studying at the Geneva Conservatory where he was unanimously awarded the "Premier Prix de Virtuosit��." Mr. Massey has performed as a soloist and chamber musician throughout Canada, England and Scotland. He has been the orchestral pianist with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra for over 25 years. Since 1977, he has been Music Director of the Edmonton Youth Orchestra program. In 1988 and 1996 Mr. Massey wrote and published The Canadian Repertoire Manual, a source book and analysis of Canadian music suitable for youth orchestras. In 2002, for his contribution to the cultural life of the city, Mr. Massey was inducted into the Edmonton Cultural Hall of Fame as an Artist���Builder and also received the Queen's Golden Jubilee Medal.

[CD] Winterreise sur ATMA disponible en magasin d��s le 8 janvier

SCHUBERT: WINTERREISE

Pour diffusion imm��diate: 8 janvier 2008

NOUVEAUT�� - JANVIER 2008

ATMA entame la nouvelle ann��e avec le lancement du c��l��bre Winterreise - Voyage d'hiver - de Franz Schubert dans une version de chambre in��dite qui fera les d��lices des m��lomanes. Compos�� �� l'origine pour piano et voix, Winterreise se d��ploie ici dans un arrangement de Normand Forget pour voix, accord��on et quintette �� vent. L'enregistrement met en vedette Christoph Pr��gardien, internationalement reconnu comme l'un des meilleurs t��nors de notre ��poque, l'accord��oniste virtuose Joseph P��tric et bien s��r, l'ensemble montr��alais Penta��dre. �� Avec seulement trois fl��tes et trois clarinettes [...] un cor, un basson, le seul hautbois d'amour pour sa propre participation et un m��lancolique accord��on comme ��l��ment unificateur, Forget a retrouv�� l'intimit�� de Winterreise. [...] Le t��nor allemand Christoph Pr��gardien [...] amena les musiciens qui l'entouraient et les 300 personnes qui les ��coutaient �� vivre ce tragique Voyage d'hiver aussi intens��ment que l'antih��ros de M��ller et Schubert. �� (Claude Gingras, La Presse, critique du concert inaugural de la saison 2007-2008 de Penta��dre) Cycle de 24 po��mes ��crits par Wilhelm M��ller, Winterreise inspire �� Franz Schubert des lieder sombres et magnifiques qui constituent un chef-d'oeuvre du genre. Winterreise exprime la d��tresse d'un homme bris�� �� la suite d'une rupture amoureuse. Voyageur errant sans but et sans espoir, ses pas s'enfoncent dans la neige et ses larmes, br��lantes, g��lent son visage. �� travers ces lieder, c'est sa propre souffrance que Schubert confie. Plusieurs compositeurs, fascin��s par les couleurs du piano de Schubert, ont orchestr�� quelques-uns de ces lieder. En 2005, Normand Forget en r��alise une toute premi��re version de chambre, dont la cr��ation en concert fut assur��e par le t��nor Rufus M��ller. Fond�� en 1985, Penta��dre se consacre �� la red��couverte d'un r��pertoire de musique de chambre vari��, original et souvent moins connu. L'ensemble collabore avec des artistes de renom, entre autres, Russell Braun, Karina Gauvin et Naida Cole. Il s'associe �� l'occasion �� des ensembles comme le Quatuor Arthur-Leblanc et le Penderecki String Quartet. Winterreise sera disponible �� compter du 8 janvier 2008. Pour plus de d��tails: www.atmaclassique.com Contact m��dia : Communications Lise Raymond 450 640-0500 Contact ATMA : Michel Ferland | 514 731-4297