Notes

Version française...

• Le Quatuor Molinari a dévoilé le 31 mai le nom des lauréats de son premier Concours international de composition pour quatuor à cordes. Le premier prix (une bourse de 3 000 $ accompagnée d'une sérigraphie de l'artiste canadien Guido Molinari) a été remis au Russe Vsevolod Chmoulevitch pour son Quatuor à cordes « romantique ». Le compositeur de 32 ans a déjà remporté cinq concours internationaux, dont le Concours H. Dutilleux en 1999 et ses œuvres ont été jouées par plusieurs orchestres et ensembles. Le deuxième prix (2 000 $) a été remporté par le compositeur allemand Morritz Eggert pour Kleine Fluchten (Little Hide Away). Le compositeur canadien Wolf Edwards a quant à lui mérité le troisième prix (1 000 $) pour Island. Il avait remporté l'année dernière le premier prix au Strings of the Future International Festival et a déjà reçu le prix Murray Adaskin en composition. Le concert des lauréats aura lieu le 15 novembre 2002.
• Alberto Parrini becomes the new cellist of the St. Lawrence String Quartet, replacing Marina Hoover. In addition to a very extensive concert schedule, the cellist will join the teaching staff at Stanford University (where the St. Lawrence has been Ensemble in Residence since 1999). Barry Shiffman, second violinist in the quartet, had this to say about the search for a new cellist : "Having played over 1 500 concerts together without any personnel changes we quickly realized that the task of finding a 'replacement for Marina' was going to be very difficult. We had the luxury of inviting fifteen cellists of exceptional ability to make music informally with us. While every candidate was an interesting musician and highly accomplished cellist, Alberto immediately captured the imagination of the group. His commanding presence, and genuine collaborative spirit have inspired us. We are thrilled that he has agreed to join the ensemble and we are eager to share the stage together beginning in September '02."

Concours / Competitions

• Japanese pianist Ayako Uehara won first prize June 21 in the piano contest at the 12th International Tchaikovsky Competition. Uehara, 21, is the first woman and the first Japanese to win the piano division in this prestigious competition. Uehara also took part in the previous competition four years ago and became the youngest competitor to advance to the second round. Tamaki Kawakubo, 22, of Japan, placed second in the violin division, sharing the position with Chinese violinist Xi Chen. No first prize was awarded in this department.
• Les gagnants(es) de la première édition du
  Concours International de Montréal des Jeunesses Musicales ont été annoncés le 5 juin. La soprano canadienne Measha Brueggergosman a remporté le premier prix de 25 000 $ (voir l'article à la page 18). La basse turque Burak Bilgili, un autre favori du public, a remporté le deuxième prix tandis que les Canadiens Joseph Kaiser et Mélanie Boisvert repartaient avec les troisième et quatrième prix. Le baryton coréen Daesan No s'est classé cinquième et le ténor américain John Matz (le seul ténor parmi les 51 demi-finalistes), sixième.
• The Honens International Piano Competition announced that the competition will move from a four-year to a three-year cycle and will take place in Calgary October 23 to November 7, 2003. Applications are available online at or by calling at 1-800-249-7574. The deadline for applications is October 25, 2002.
• Winners of the first International Piano-e-Competition, the first such event to use a remote judge, Yefim Bronfman -- who heard a final round of the competition from a studio in Japan on a Yahama Disklavier Pro concert grand piano -- were announced on June 16. First prize, which includes a $25,000 award, was given to American pianist Mei-Ting Sun, 21. Victoria Korchinskaya-Kogan, 24, from Canada, took second place. The performances were recorded on the Disklavier, sent over the Internet to Japan, downloaded onto another Disklavier and reproduced for M. Bronfman, who didn't have to take time off his busy schedule to travel to Minneapolis !
• Mezzo Joyce DiDonato has been named recipient of the 2002 Richard Tucker Award.
• The 31^st annual George London Award winners are soprano Latonia Moore, mezzo Jessie Raven, tenors Paul Mow and Scott Piper and baritones Anton Belov and Nicolai Janitsky.

 Orchestres / Orchestras

• The 56 musicians of the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra finally ratified the second part of a two-year deal worked out earlier this year. "In the interest of promoting ticket sales and ensuring there will be a season, the musicians have accepted the agreement," said ESO Musicians Association spokesman Bill Dimmer. The deal gives musicians a 2.5 % pay increase for the coming season.
• Deposed ESO conductor Grzegorz Nowak had unveiled earlier in June his 10-concert season for a new 24-piece chamber orchestra under his direction. His seven-year stint as principal conductor and music director for the ESO ended because of artistic and musical differences. Though Nowak claims the chamber orchestra isn't intended to compete with the ESO, it will be made up largely of professional musicians from the ESO. Some amateur musicians and members of the musical faculty at the University of Alberta may also join. Nowak is counting on his personal popularity to help sell his series.
• David Bowser devient le nouvel assistant-chef en résidence de l'OSQ, qui célébrera son 100^e anniversaire en octobre. Monsieur Bowser remplace Stéphane Laforest, dont le mandat s'est terminé récemment. L'Orchestre annonce également la nomination de Blair Lofgren en tant que violoncelle solo. Il entrera officiellement en poste en septembre, mais participera à quelques-uns des concerts de l'orchestre cet été.
• L'Association marketing de Montréal a remis en mai un prix (catégorie communications-marketing) à Jacques Denis, directeur principal du marketing et du développement des affaires de l'OSM.

Opéra

• Le baryton Grégoire Legendre, actuel directeur général de l'Opéra de Québec, deviendra également le directeur artistique de la compagnie le 1^er juillet 2003. On se rappellera que Bernard Labadie, le directeur artistique en poste, vient d'être nommé à la tête de L'Opéra de Montréal.
• Isadore Sharp announced on June 19 that his company, the Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, is giving $20 million toward the construction of a new opera house in Toronto. In exchange, the Canadian Opera Company's new home will be named the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts. While construction of the $105-million facility is set to start next spring, opening night won't be until mid-2005.
• Deborah Voigt vient de recevoir le titre de « Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres », décerné par le gouvernement français.

Prochains numéros / Next Issues

• Septembre 2002 September : La rentrée / Fall Preview
• Octobre 2002 October : Éducation supérieure / Higher Education
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