sm13-5_cover_noupc.qxd 1/30/08 10:17 AM Page 1

Transcription

1

2 sm13-5_pxx_layoutwkc-ads.qxd 1/27/08 7:16 PM Page 2

3

4 Lundi 3 mars au vendredi 7 mars 2008 Monday, March 3 to Friday, March 7, 2008 Ensembles Cappella Antica, Valerie Kinslow, directrice Cappella McGill, Peter Schubert, directeur Chanteurs d Orphée, Peter Schubert, directeur Corno di Caccia Ensemble, Denys Derome, répétiteur McGill CME (Contemporary Music Ensemble), Denys Bouliane, directeur McGill DCS (Digital Composition Studio), Sean Ferguson, directeur McGill Percussion Ensemble, Aiyun Huang, Fabrice Marandola, directeurs McGill Wind Symphony, Alain Cazes, directeur Schulich String Quartet, André Roy, répétiteur Ucello, Matt Haimovitz, répétiteur Collaboration spéciale Société de musique contemporaine du Québec, Walter Boudreau, directeur artistique Memory of Ages Quenched: (The Book of Days) La Mémoire des âges: (Le Livre des jours) Solistes Mira Benjamin, violon Rogers Covey-Crumb, ténor (Hilliard Ensemble, Londres) Denys Derome, cor (Orchestre symphonique de Montréal) Dom Richard Gagné, chantre (directeur du Chœur de l Abbaye de St-Benoît du Lac et ancien directeur du Chœur de l'abbaye de Solesmes) Matt Haimovitz, Chloé Dominguez, violoncelles Kyoko Hashimoto, Sara Laimon, Julia den Boer, pianos Aiyun Huang, Fabrice Marandola, percussion Hank Knox, clavecin Shawn Mativetsky, tabla - Julie Lebel, harmonium Ingrid Schmithüsen, Iris Luypaers, sopranos Erika Donald, t-stick soprano - Fernando Rocha, t-stick ténor - Xenia Pestova, rulers Jacinthe Riverin, piano (soliste SMCQ) - Alain Trudel, trombone (soliste SMCQ) Composers, Lecturers, Round-table participants Jean Lesage, composer (McGill Schulich School of Music) Hank Knox, harpsichord (McGill Schulich School of Music) Dom Richard Gagné, Gregorian specialist (choir director, Abbaye de St-Benoît du Lac and former choir director, Abbaye de Solesmes) Peter Schubert, choral conductor (McGill Schulich School of Music) Sean Ferguson, composer (McGill Schulich School of Music) Polo Vallejo, composer, ethnomusicologist (Madrid) Fabrice Marandola, percussion (McGill Schulich School of Music) Shawn Mativetsky, percussion (McGill Schulich School of Music) Martin Matalon, composer (Paris) Julie Cumming, musicologist (McGill Schulich School of Music) Julian Anderson, composer (Harvard University - Royal College of Music, London) Rogers Covey-Crump, tenor (Hilliard Ensemble, London) John Rea, composer (McGill Schulich School of Music) Denys Bouliane, composer (McGill Schulich School of Music) Jonathan Wild, composer (McGill Schulich School of Music) Stephen McAdams, director CIRMMT (Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Music, Media and Technology) 4 e édition / 4 th Edition

5 PUCCINI, THE GREAT OPERA COLLECTION Renata Tebaldi, Carlo Bergonzi et autres Archambault célèbre le 150 ième anniversaire de Puccini avec le coffret de 15 CD The Great Opera Collection. Une magnifi que compilation des grands opéras de Puccini interprétés par les voix inoubliables de Renata Tebaldi, Carlo Bergonzi, Mario del Monaco et plusieurs autres. PRIX EXCEPTIONNEL CD BEST VIVALDI 100 Artistes variés EMI classics présente Best Vivaldi 100 en hommage à Antonio Vivaldi, compositeur le plus infl uent de l histoire de la musique. Vous retrouverez sur ce coffret de 6 CD ses œuvres les plus populaires interprétées par des artistes de renommée dont Gérald Lesne, Fabio Biondi et Vivica Geneaux CD Renee Fleming soprano Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Diana Damrau, soprano chef/conductor UN CONTE DE FÉES Angèle Dubeau & La Pietà 9 99 PASSION Angèle Dubeau & La Pietà 9 99 DVD DVD Joyce DiDonato, mezzo-soprano Matthew Polenzani, ténor/tenor VERDI, LA TRAVIATA Renée Fleming, Ronaldo Villazon, James Conlon VERDI, NABUCCO Leo Nucci, Maria Guleghina VIVALDI, AMOR PROFANO Simone Kermes, Venice Baroque Orchestra, Andrea Marcon CANTICUM CANTICORUM Les Voix Baroques MAGASINS Pour connaître nos adresses: , ou sur CARTE-CADEAU ARCHAMBAULT Offrez le plaisir de choisir COMMANDE ET SERVICE AUX INSTITUTIONS ET ENTREPRISES ou

6 SOMMAIRE / CONTENTS SOMMAIRE / CONTENTS SOMMAIRE / CONTENTS SOMMAIRE / CONTENTS SOMMAIRE / CONTENTSOMMAIRE / CONTEN FÉVRIER 2008 FBRUARY PHOTO: HERB GREENSLADE ANDRÉ MOISAN P. 8 CE MOIS-CI THIS MONTH ACTUALITÉS / IN THE NEWS 8 André Moisan 15 Notes 20 Opus 21 Otto Joachim : l avant-garde 22 Karlheinz Stockhausen Série Hommage IV : Vivier, parangon du postmodernisme 26 Julie Boulianne: Dreaming of Rosina? 27 Staging the Barber of Seville 43 Callas : Entre regard et voix 44 Sweeney Todd Music and magic in Montreal: Houdini JAZZ 48 Portrait Montréal / Montreal Portrait 49 Oscar Peterson MUSIQUES DU MONDE 51 Critiques GUIDES 46 L education musicale au primaire et au secondaire / Primary and Secondary Musical Education SECTION CALENDRIER / CALENDAR SECTION 29 Calendrier régional/ Regional Calendar 32 Calendrier détachable/ Pull-Out Calendar 41 Petites annonces/ Classified Ads 51 Jazz + 52 CRITIQUES REVIEWS RÉDACTEURS FONDATEURS / FOUNDING EDITORS Wah Keung Chan Philip Anson VOL FÉVRIER 2008 FEBRUARY ÉDITEUR / PUBLISHER La Scène Musicale CONSEIL D ADMINISTRATION / BOARD OF DIRECTORS Wah Keung Chan (prés.), Sandro Scola, Gilles Cloutier, Holly Higgins-Jonas RÉDACTEUR EN CHEF / EDITOR Wah Keung Chan RÉDACTEUR JAZZ / JAZZ EDITOR Marc Chénard RÉDACTEUR MUSIQUES DU MONDE / WORLD MUSIC EDITOR Bruno Deschênes COORDONNATEUR CD / CD COORDINATOR Graham Lord COLLABORATEURS / CONTRIBUTORS Michel Beaulac, Francine Bélanger, René Bricault, Pierre Marc Bellemare, Louis-Pierre Bergeron, Charles Collard, Frédéric Cardin, Martin David-Blais, Kris Berey, Pierre Demers, Philippe Gervais, Olivier Giroud- Fliegner, W.S. Habington, Félix-Antoine Hamel, Alexandre Lazaridès, Norman Lebrechet, Graham Lord, Caroline Louis, Lucie Renaud, Julie Roy, Paul Serralheiro, Joseph So, Christine Rogers, Pierre Sultan, Mike Vincent TRADUCTEURS / TRANSLATORS Alain Cavenne, Ron Rosenthall RÉVISEURS / COPY EDITORS & PROOFREADERS Alain Cavenne, Lilian I. Liganor, Annie Prothin, Jef Wyns, Marthe Beauregard, Christine Asselin CALENDRIER RÉGIONAL / REGIONAL CALENDAR Eric Legault ASSISTANTS AU CALENDRIER / CALENDAR ASSISTANTS Dominic Spence, Andie Sigler, Christian Szczepanik DIRECTEUR ARTISTIQUE / ART DIRECTOR Bruno Dubois GRAPHISME / GRAPHICS Kamal Akhabir SITE WEB / WEBSITE Normand Vandray, Michael Vincent PHOTO DE COUVERTURE / COVER PHOTO Herb Greenslade ADJOINTS ADMINISTRATIFS / ADMIN. ASSISTANTS Langakali Halapua, Graham Lord DIRECTRICE DE LA DISTRIBUTION / DISTRIBUTION MANAGER Langakali Halapua TECHNICIEN COMPTABLE / BOOKKEEPER Kamal Ait Mouhoub BÉNÉVOLES / VOLUNTEERS Christine Asselin, Marthe Beauregard, Maria Bandrauk, Susan Callaghan, Wah Wing Chan,Yannick Chartier, Nathalie Contant, Holly Jonas Higgins, Virginia Lam, Linda Lee, Antoine Letendre, Lilian I. Liganor, Stephen Lloyd, Annie Prothin, Jef Wyns ADRESSES / ADDRESSES 5409, rue Waverly, Montréal (Québec) Canada H2T 2X8 Tél. : (514) / Téléc./Fax : (514) info@scena.org Web : production artwork : graf@scena.org PUBLICITÉ /ADVERTISING (514) Gregory Cerallo Mario Felton-Coletti Gillian Pritchett Christine Rogers Julie Roy LA SCENA MUSICALE, publié dix fois par année, est consacré à la promotion de la musique classique et jazz. Chaque numéro contient des articles et des critiques ainsi qu un calendrier de concerts, de conférences, de films et d émissions. LSM est publié par La Scène Musicale, un organisme sans but lucratif. La Scena Musicale est la traduction italienne de La Scène Musicale. LA SCENA MUSICALE is dedicated to the promotion of classical music and jazz. It is published ten times per year. Inside, readers will find articles and reviews, as well as listings of live concerts, lectures, films and broadcasts. LSM is published by The Music Scene, a registered non-profit charity. La Scena Musicale is Italian for The Music Scene ABONNEMENTS / SUBSCRIPTIONS L abonnement postal (Canada) coûte 43 $ / an (taxes incluses). Veuillez envoyer nom, adresse, numéros de téléphone, télécopieur et courrier électronique. Tous les dons seront appréciés et sont déductibles d impôt (no RR0001). Surface mail subscriptions (Canada) cost $43 / yr (taxes included) to cover postage and handling costs. Please mail, fax or your name, address, telephone no., fax no., and address. Donations are always welcome and are taxdeductible. (no RR0001). Ver : La Scène Musicale. Le contenu de LSM ne peut être reproduit, en tout ou en partie, sans autorisation de l éditeur. La direction n est responsable d aucun document soumis à la revue. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced without the written permission of LSM. ISSN Version imprimée / Printed ISSN Version Internet Envois de publication canadienne, Contrat de vente / Canada Post Publication Mail Sales Agreement No LE PROCHAIN NUMÉRO fera partie de La SCENA NEXT ISSUE inserted in La SCENA Mars Camps de musique d été / Festivals internationaux March Summer Music Camps / International Arts Festivals DATE DE TOMBÉE PUBLICITÉ : 20 février 2008 ADVERTISING DEADLINE: February 20, 2008

7 Collecte de fonds de la Saint-Valentin : La Scena Musicale vous invite à l opéra LE BARBIER DE SÉVILLE Cette année, la collecte de fonds annuelle de la Saint-Valentin de La Scena Musicale est jumelée à une soirée à l opéra. Vous pourrez assister, le jeudi 14 février, à la présentation de l Opéra de Montréal du Barbier de Séville de Rossini, l histoire de deux jeunes amoureux qui surmontent les obstacles à leur union. Le forfait comprendra un enregistrement de l opéra de Rossini. Les billets sont offerts en quantités limitées. Rossini : Le Barbier de Séville Opéra de Montréal le jeudi 14 février 2008 à 20 h Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier, Place des Arts, Montréal / kali@scena.org OFFRE 1 (123 $): Simple Un billet de catégorie 1 (valeur de 123 $) Un DVD du Barbier de Séville* (valeur de 40 $) Double (221,40 : 10 % de réduction) Deux billets de catégorie 2 (valeur de 246 $) Un DVD du Barbier de Séville* (valeur de 40 $) OFFRE 2 (96$): Simple Un billet de catégorie 1 (valeur de 123 $) Un CD d extraits du Barbier de Séville (valeur de 10 $) Double (172,80$ : 10 % de réduction) Deux billets de catégorie 2 (valeur de 246 $) Un CD d extraits du Barbier de Séville (valeur de 10 $) The Music Master Series offers a variety of learning experiences which embrace the enjoyment of discovering music and the realisation of making music. Visit our website today and order online: ATMA classique Nouveautés ACD ACD Ce disque est une expérience tout aussi sonore que musicale [ ] c est du grand art! CHRISTOPHE HUSS, LE DEVOIR ACD LA SCENA MUSICALE / LA SCENA Celebrate Festivals in 2008 March: International Arts Festivals May (National Issue): Canadian Jazz, World and Folk Festivals June (National Issue): Canadian Classical Music and Arts Festivals (514) Graham Bennett His Philosophy is to provide the stimulus and tools to develop skills in the musical language through a fun and exciting path which integrates composing, playing and discovery. ACD atmaclassique.com

8 ANDRÉ SCULPTEUR DE SON SOUND SCULPTOR MOISAN Marc Chénard Qu on l entende sur scène ou sur disque, André Moisan rayonne d une confiance suprême. Des mélomanes avertis aux critiques les plus aguerris, tous apprécient la musicalité innée de ce grand virtuose de chez nous. Doté d un arsenal complet de clarinettes, de l énorme contrebasse en métal au quasi-bâtonnet de bois en mi bémol, il les joue toutes avec panache et aisance, comme ses proches cousins, les saxophones. Qu il interprète du Brahms ou du Boulez, du Saint-Saëns ou du Stockhausen, aucun volet du répertoire, classique ou contemporain, ne semble au-delà de sa portée. PHOTOS : HERB GREENSLADE 8 Février 2008 February Whether you hear him on stage or on a recording, total confidence radiates from André Moisan. One of our finest virtuosos, his innate musicality is appreciated by informed music lovers and hardened critics alike. Equipped with a complete arsenal of clarinets, from the enormous metal contrabass to the quasi-wooden stick that is the sopranino in Eb, he plays them all with panache and ease, alongside the clarinet s cousins, the saxophones. Whether he s performing Brahms or Boulez, Saint-Saëns or Stockhausen, no part of the classical or contemporary repertoire seems out of his reach.

9 En septembre dernier, ce sympathique musicien entamait sa trentième année de carrière professionnelle. Depuis son entrée dans l arène publique, à 17 ans, son parcours est semé d expériences les plus diverses: concerts à titre de musicien de pupitre avec l Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal (l OSM), récitals de soliste et de chambriste, musiques de studios (trames sonores, jingles publicitaires, accompagnement d artistes populaires), voire quelques détours dans les contrées du jazz. Chef d orchestre aussi, cet ancien élève de Boulez assume la direction des matinées musicales de l OSM depuis près de dix ans. Communicateur au verbe facile, il transmet son grand savoir aux aspirants clarinettistes inscrits à l Université de Montréal, et ce, du bac au doctorat; sollicité du reste comme conférencier, il anime autant des classes de maîtres que des séminaires sur l un de ses principaux chevaux de bataille: la gestion du stress. Peu importe le chapeau qu il porte, maestro Moisan jongle avec ses nombreuses occupations avec autant d enthousiasme et de conviction que de brio! Dès son plus jeune âge, Moisan a baigné dans la musique, son père Gilles ayant été le titulaire du pupitre de la clarinette basse à l OSM pendant 46 ans, soit de 1952 à Peu après la retraite de ce dernier, André, l aîné de trois fils, lui a succédé en remportant le concours d audition devant un jury, incluant son redoutable chef. Népotisme diriez-vous?... Point du tout! D une part, l épreuve se déroule de manière à ce que les candidats soient dissimulés derrière un rideau. D autre part, l heureux élu souligne que dame Chance lui a souri lorsque son fabricant d instruments lui a fourni l un des premiers exemplaires de son nouveau modèle de clarinette basse, réputée comme étant la Cadillac en son genre. SENTIR LA MUSIQUE À l orée de ses 48 ans, Moisan a atteint les plus hauts échelons de sa profession, mais il ne se permet pas d être complaisant dans ses choix musicaux. Bien que ses propres enregistrements sur étiquette Atma (voir discographie en fin d article) indiquent une nette préférence pour des musiques tonales des deux derniers siècles, il ne dédaigne pas le répertoire contemporain. «J ai passé, je ne sais pas, des centaines d heures à travailler Domaines de Boulez, pour les maîtriser d un point de vue technique, évidemment, et les rendre avec émotion. J ai même demandé au compositeur s il fallait les jouer ainsi ou d une manière plus détachée, neutre si l on veut, et il a effectivement confirmé mon intention.» Dans un tout autre créneau du répertoire, il raconte comment il a décidé de modifier certaines indications, même une tournure ou deux dans Tema con Variazioni de Jean Françaix (œuvre incluse sur le disque «Impressions de France»). Juste après l enregistrement du morceau, dame Chance lui sourit de nouveau quand il apprit, à sa grande surprise, que le compositeur vivait encore. Par personne interposée, il réussit à le joindre à son domicile parisien, espérant lui faire entendre sa version lors d un passage déjà prévu dans la capitale française. Chose dite, chose faite, si bien que le compositeur en fut ému et accepta de plein gré les changements effectués par l interprète. «L important pour moi, précise Moisan, c est de sentir une pièce, autant dans ses phrases individuelles que dans son ensemble, faute de quoi je l ajuste, quitte à la mettre de côté tout simplement. Pour mes disques, c est la même chose. Par ailleurs, ma maison de disques me laisse entière liberté pour choisir le répertoire. Dans presque tous les cas, je cherche à inclure une première mondiale ou un morceau rarement joué, comme la sonate de Jenner, un compositeur malheureusement oublié de nos jours, qui fut tout de même le seul élève de Brahms. Chose intéressante, bien des collègues m ont déconseillé de jouer ce morceau, mais m ont remercié de l avoir fait par après, et je dois saluer ici mon pianiste Jean Saulnier qui m a encouragé à le faire, même si sa partition est vraiment monstrueuse. Les critiques ont aussi applaudi mon initiative, quelques-uns l ayant même préférée aux deux sonates de Brahms qui la précédent sur le disque.» ALÉAS DU MÉTIER Compte tenu de son milieu familial et de sa précocité, tout porte à croire qu André Moisan a suivi un chemin en droite ligne pour atteindre les succès qu on lui connaît et une reconnaissance à la fois nationale et internationale. Pourtant, la route a été plus tortueuse que Last September, the charismatic musician began the 30 th year of his professional career. Since his arrival on the scene at age 17, his journey has been filled with diverse experiences: countless concerts as a musician in the Montreal Symphony Orchestra (MSO), solo and chamber recitals, studio music (soundtracks, advertising jingles, accompaniment for pop artists), and even some forays into jazz. Equally at home as a conductor, this one time student of Boulez has led the MSO Youth Matinées series for almost 10 years. What s more, he passes on his vast knowledge to aspiring clarinetists enrolled at l Université de Montréal (from Bachelor s to doctoral students); highly in demand as a lecturer, he gives masterclasses as well as seminars on one of his favourite subjects: stress management. No matter what role he assumes, Maestro Moisan juggles his many occupations with enthusiasm, conviction, and brilliance! From a very young age, Moisan was immersed in music; his father, Gilles, was the bass clarinetist in the MSO for 46 years ( ). After the latter s retirement, André, the eldest of his three sons, took over the chair by winning the audition in front of a panel that included the legendary (and often intimidating) Charles Dutoit himself. Sounds like nepotism, you say? Not at all! For one, the audition is conducted so that the candidates are screened; in other words, they play behind a curtain to protect anonymity. In addition, the fortunate winner insists that Lady Luck was smiling down on him, since his instrument maker had provided him beforehand with one of the first prototypes of a new bass clarinet model, now renowned as the Cadillac of its kind. FEELING THE MUSIC Now in his 48 th year, Moisan has attained some of the highest peaks of his profession, but he doesn t allow himself to become complacent in his musical choices. As much as his recordings for the Atma label (see the discography at the end of this article) underscore a real preference for tonal music of the last 200 years, he doesn t shun contemporary repertoire. I probably spent a good hundred hours working on Domaines by Boulez, to master them from a technical point of view, obviously, and to perform them with emotion. I even asked the composer if one should play them as such or in a more detached, if not neutral style, and he confirmed my intention. In another realm of the repertoire, he relates how he decided to change a few indications in the score, even a turn of phrase or two in Jean Françaix s Tema con Variazioni (a work included on Moisan s CD entitled Impressions de France). Just after recording the piece, Lady Luck smiled on him again when he learned, to his great surprise, that the composer was still alive. Through a third party, he managed to meet Françaix in Paris, hoping to have the composer hear his version. This meeting worked out so well for Moisan that the composer was deeply impressed and willingly accepted the performer s changes. What s important for me, states Moisan, is to feel a piece, as much its individual phrases as its collective whole, otherwise I adjust it, or I simply put it aside. For my recordings, it s exactly the same. My label gives me complete freedom in choosing the repertoire, too. Almost every time, I aim to Février 2008 February 9

10 cela. «J ai commencé presque en cachette à la petite école, avoue-t-il, et c est un monsieur du nom de Lucien Rivard qui m a montré les premiers rudiments. Mon père a pris le relais, mais j étais un élève assez récalcitrant parce que je questionnais sans cesse ses enseignements. Durant mon adolescence, j ai pratiqué comme un dément, des fois jusqu à ce que mes lèvres soient en sang. Je me fixais des objectifs durant cette période, l un d eux étant de régler toute ma technique pour mes 20 ans, quitte à me consacrer à vraiment faire de la musique après coup. En 1977, mon père a mis sur pied le Quatuor de clarinettes Moisan avec mes deux frères et moi, une expérience familiale formidable qui a duré 12 ans pour moi, et je dis bien familiale ici, parce que notre mère nous servait d imprésario.» Quant à savoir si ceux qui viennent d un milieu musical ont un net avantage sur d autres musiciens n ayant pas grandi dans un tel environnement, il concède que cela permet à l individu de se développer plus tôt, mais n est pas pour autant une condition sine qua non. Et pour cause, car ses cadets ont décidé de ne pas en faire une carrière. Par ailleurs, il y a une perception générale voulant que les grands artistes sont destinés à la gloire par la seule force de leur talent. Mais il faut plus que cela: il faut être extrêmement motivé et travailler avec acharnement, deux atouts qui ont justement permis à André Moisan d accéder à son enviable statut d artiste de scène. Encore adolescent, le chemin semblait tracé d avance pour une rapide ascension au sommet. En 1977, par exemple, il débuta à l OSM à titre de surnuméraire. Mais son vrai premier boulot professionnel était bien modeste, soit de jouer une musique de fond pour une annonce publicitaire. La glace ainsi brisée, un travail mena à un autre, sa carrière s amorçait bien, mais le tableau allait bientôt s assombrir. «Tout allait pour moi jusque-là, je m amusais pas mal, mais c est devenu beaucoup moins drôle par la suite. Je suis entré dans l orchestre des Grands Ballets Canadiens à 17 ans et là j ai commencé à sentir le stress. La musique c est une chose, mais il y a la dimension humaine aussi, où on doit apprendre à transiger avec des gens de métier. On te regarde comme le petit jeunot sans expérience qui doit include a world premiere or a rarely performed piece, like the sonata by Jenner, a composer who has unfortunately been mostly forgotten, even though he was Brahms only student. Interestingly, many colleagues advised me not to do the piece, but finally thanked me for having done it, and I should thank my pianist, Jean Saulnier, who encouraged me in this regard, even though he has an extremely difficult part to play. Critics also appreciated my initiative; some even preferred the Jenner to the two Brahms sonatas that precede it on the disc. OCCUPATIONAL HAZARDS Given his precocious nature, as well as the family s connection to music, one could be led to believe that André Moisan followed a direct path to the international reputation and many successes he has attained; however, the road was not without some hairpin turns. I started to play almost in hiding at grade school, he admits, and a man named Lucien Rivard first taught me the basics. My father took over, but I was a fairly stubborn student; I constantly questioned his assignments. As a teen I practiced fiendishly, sometimes until my lips bled. I set goals for myself during this period: one of them was to get my technique together by the age of 20, just so I could concentrate on really making music from then on. In 1977, my father started up the Quatuor de clarinettes Moisan with my two brothers and me, which was a fantastic family experience that lasted for 12 years for me. I emphasize the word family here, because our mother acted as our impresario. As to his thoughts on the possible benefits of coming from a musical background, he concedes that this gives an individual the opportunity to develop earlier on, but that it is not an absolute advantage, a case in point being his own siblings, who decided not to make a career out of music. In addition, there is a general perception that great artists are destined for glory based only on sheer talent there s more to it than that: one must have motivation and determination, two assets that allowed André Moisan to reach his enviable status as a performing artist. When still a teenager, he seemed primed for a quick rise to the top. In 1977, for instance, he made his début as a substitute with the MSO. Yet, his first real professional gig was more modest: playing a jingle for an ad. The ice was broken, though, as one engagement led to another, and his career 10 Février 2008 February

11 CINQ CONSEILS POUR CLARINETTISTES EN HERBE 1 TOUJOURS S AMUSER 2 FAIRE DES SONS FILÉS 3 RESPIRER 4 RESPIRER 5 BIEN RESPIRER AVANT DE JOUER «Les poumons sont aux instruments à vent ce que l archet est aux cordes. Qu il s agisse d articulation, de legatos, de la qualité de son ou de dynamiques, rien n existe s il n y a pas une respiration ample et profonde. Nous sommes comme des sculpteurs, mais notre outil est la respiration et notre matériau, le son. L artiste ne doit pas juste respirer l air autour de lui, mais «inspirer» la musique. Si la respiration n est pas un acte d artiste, un acte d amour pleinement délibéré, ça ne fonctionnera jamais!» (À méditer.) FIVE HINTS FOR ASPIRING CLARINETISTS 1 HAVE FUN, ALWAYS 2 DO LONG TONES 3 BREATH 4 BREATH 5 TAKING DEEP BREATHS BEFORE PLAYING The lungs are to wind players what bows are to string players. Whatever a musician plays, his articulation, legato, quality of sound or dynamics, nothing can happen without deep and full breaths. We are like sculptors, but our chisel is our breath, and the sound is our chosen material. But for artists, it s not only a matter of drawing in air, but making music, too. If our breath is not an artistic one, an act of love made in total awareness, it simply will never fly (Sound advice, indeed.) être moins bon qu eux et tu te mets à penser à toutes sortes de choses pas très plaisantes, à savoir ce qu ils pensent de toi. À l OSM, j ai vu la dureté du chef envers ses musiciens et j avais peur de faire une bavure. À un moment, je me posais la question à savoir si on m engageait parce que j étais le fils de l autre. Toutes ces choses ont fini par me miner jusqu à ce que j arrête complètement de jouer pendant un an, en 1980, à cause de ces angoisses. Il est malsain, par exemple, de ne pas s estimer bon parce qu on n a pas fait quelque chose parfaitement. Ce qui ne veut pas dire d abaisser la barre; gardez-la haute, mais si on ne l atteint pas tout de suite, il faut accepter cela comme une étape dans le cheminement. Jadis, je ne comprenais pas cette capacité de relativiser les choses, de les mettre en perspective, mais j ai fini par saisir.» DU PLAISIR AVANT TOUTE CHOSE De cette dure expérience, André Moisan a tiré une bonne leçon, à savoir qu il n y a pas de mauvaises expériences en soi; certes, elles peuvent être très difficiles, mais on finit toujours par trouver quelque chose pour son compte. Et il peut certes en parler aussi. «Pour surmonter mon désarroi, je me suis livré à des recherches personnelles pour vraiment comprendre et retrouver cette motivation profonde que j avais complètement perdue. Pendant un an, je me suis retiré de la musique pour étudier ces questions, mais la musique me manquait tellement que j y suis revenu au galop. J ai dû me refaire EN CONCERT Dimanche 24 Février, 14 h 30. En soliste avec l OSM (Place des Arts, salle Wilfrid-Pelletier). Le sexe des anges, concerto pour clarinette basse et orchestre de Denys Bouliane. Lundi 3 mars, 7 h 30 (N.B. le matin). Série «Sonnez les matines», Chapelle de l Église Saint-Jean Baptiste, 4250, rue Drolet. Œuvres de Kovac, Stravinski, Béchet et autres surprises. Vendredi 14: Conférencier invité (Journée de la clarinette Buffet-Crampon) et récital (samedi 15 à 19 h 30) avec le pianiste Jean Saulnier. (Conservatoire de Hull à Gatineau). Mercredi 3 avril, 19 h 30. Soliste invité avec le Big Band de jazz de l Université de Montréal, dir. Ron di Lauro. Faculté de musique, Université de Montréal, 220 ch. Vincent-D Indy. Jeudi 2 mai, 18 h 30, Musée des Beaux-Arts. Exécution de l Octuor de Schubert avec les solistes de l OSM. began well enough. The first roadblocks, however, lay around the corner. Everything was going well for me up until then: I was having a good time, but it became less fun very quickly. I started with the Grands Ballets Canadiens orchestra when I was 17, and it was then that I began to feel stressed. Music is one thing, but then there s the human factor as well, like dealing with people already established in the business. They see you as the new kid who can t possibly be as good as them and that s when all kinds of unpleasant thoughts run through your mind, like what they think of you. In the MSO, I saw how stern the conductor was towards his musicians and I was terrified of making a mistake. At one point, I wondered if I was getting hired because I was the son of Gilles Moisan. All these fears ate away at me until I stopped playing for a year in It s most unhealthy to think poorly of yourself just because you haven t done something perfectly. This isn t to say that you should lower the bar; keep it high, but if it isn t attained right away, you have to accept it as a stage in the process. Once upon a time, I didn t have this capacity to see things relatively, to put them in perspective, but I finally caught on. ENJOY YOURSELF ABOVE ALL From this difficult period, André Moisan learned the valuable lesson that there are no purely bad experiences: they can certainly be very difficult, but there is always a silver lining to every cloud. He, for one, knows all too well: To escape this despair, I pondered long and hard to truly understand this deep-seated motivation in me, which I completely lost but needed to find SUR DISQUE 2007 Phantasiestücke (Œuvres de Rheinberger, von Sachsen Meininghausen, Schumann et Reinecke) ACD2 2516* 2005 Brahms Jenner / Sonates pour clarinette et piano. ACD2 2358* 2001 Adolphe Blanc, Septuor op. 40, Trio op. 23, Quintette op. 37 (André Moisan, direction artistique et clarinette avec l ensemble Les Vents de Montréal) ACD Alla Gitana (Œuvres de Bartok, Dukas, Martinu, Vaughan Williams et autres) ACD2 2187** 1997 Beethoven Symphonie n o 7 et Septuor op. 20 (André Moisan direction de l ensemble Les Vents de Montréal) ACD2 2129** 1996 Impressions de France (Œuvres de Poulenc, Saint-Saëns, Rabaud, Debussy, Widor, Pierné et Françaix) ACD2 2121** * Jean Saulnier, piano ; ** Louise-Andrée Baril, piano (Tous les titres sont sur Atma Classique) Février 2008 February 11

12 une hiérarchie des valeurs en plaçant le plaisir en haut de celle-ci et je me suis résolu à compter de ce moment-là à ne plus laisser personne hypothéquer ce plaisir, plaisir qui ne vaut pas juste en musique mais pour tout dans la vie. De nos jours encore, je poursuis ce travail de recherche, lequel m a permis de mettre au point mon séminaire sur La stratégie mentale de l artiste de scène au XXI e siècle.» Durant son exposé, le conférencier ratisse large en traitant de sujets aussi divers que la neurophysiologie, la psychologie et la philosophie, le tout appuyé d une présentation audiovisuelle dynamique et de quelques démonstrations avec des étudiants «cobayes». À cet effet, musiciens et mélomanes sont cordialement invités à assister à son prochain entretien le 1 er mars prochain à la salle Serge-Garant (local 484) de la Faculté de musique de l Université de Montréal, 211, chemin Vincent-D Indy, de 13h30 à 16h30. (Infos et réservation : ). Interprète émérite, chef d orchestre passionné et communicateurné, André Moisan est un artiste de la vie qui a trouvé les clés de son propre succès en les partageant pleinement avec son public, des plus avertis aux plus novices! again. For a year, I withdrew from music to study these problems, but I missed playing so much that it came back to me at warp speed. I had to reexamine my priorities and decided to put pleasure at the top of my newfound scale of values; from that moment on, I resolved to never again allow anyone to compromise this enjoyment which is so valuable, not only in music, but in all aspects of life. I m still researching these issues to this day, and this has allowed me to develop my seminar, which I call (translated from French): Mental Strategies for Performing Artists in the 21 st Century. During his lecture, Moisan draws on subjects as diverse as neurophysiology, psychology, and philosophy, supported by a very broad-based audiovisual presentation and demonstrations with some guinea-pig students. To that end, musicians and fans alike are cordially invited to his next talk on March 1, from 1:30-4:30 PM, in the Salle Serge-Garant (room 484) at l Université de Montréal s Faculty of Music (220, chemin Vincent-D Indy). For more information and reservations, call Skilled performer, passionate conductor and born communicator all rolled into one, André Moisan is a remarkable artist who has found not only the key to his own success, but the knack to share this gift with his audience, from novices to experts alike! [Traduction : Graham Lord] NEW BACKUN / LEBLANC CLARINETS MAKE A BIG SPLASH Graham Lord For about a decade now, a woodwind mecca has been establishing itself on the west coast. The Backun Musical Servies shop in Burnaby, BC, just a 20-minute Skytrain from downtown Vancouver, began by carving a niche for itself as one of the world s most respected woodwind repair centres. Initially, founder and president Morrie Backun introduced custom handcrafted barrels and bells. Not limiting himself to grenadilla (by far the industry s standard wood), Morrie experimented with cocobolo, tulipwood, and others; these accessories received great acclaim for their warm and refined sound, as well as their stunning visual beauty. More recently, Morrie teamed up with Philadelphia Orchestra principal clarinetist Ricardo Morales, regarded as one of the finest woodwind artists of our time, to create a new series of mouthpieces. Now, Backun has answered the call from Leblanc and joined them as director of product development for their new line of professional clarinets. This can only be good news for Leblanc, since the Backun client list generally reads as a who s who of today s top clarinetists: Ricardo Morales, David Shifrin, Sabine Meyer, British prodigy Julian Bliss, Larry Combs, James Campbell, and jazz legend Eddie Daniels, among others. The end result? The new Backun/Leblanc line features three new clarinets that will represent a formidable challenge to the competition: the flagship Legacy, the tribute to tradition model, entitled Symphonie, and a step-up model for students becoming more serious about performance, Cadenza. Appropriately, the Cadenza is only available in Bb, while the Legacy and Symphonie models are offered in either Bb or A. As a nod to the distinct stylistic tastes of a wide variety of players, all three models offer two styles of Backun Ringless barrels (cocobolo and grenadilla) along with the clarinet, while the Legacy and Symphonie give a similar choice of bells; students using the Cadenza will have to do without. Other features include acoustic foam on several keys (designed to eliminate unwanted vibrations), a voicing pin for the octave vent (to enhance performance for register shifts and tone production in the upper register), post pivot locking screws it seems as though they ve thought of everything. While the masterful acoustic design,high quality of wood,and keywork (including 24K gold-plated register and thumb tubes) are enough to impress, there s something else noteworthy here: the price tag. If necessary,performers who are serious about their craft are willing to pay exorbitant amounts, so it s a surprise to see such highly-touted instruments be reasonably affordable. At $5895, the Legacy is on par with other, more traditional pro models. The Symphonie is a fair bargain at $3895,but the big story for value here is the quasi-student model Cadenza, which runs at $1895. Marketed as ideal for college-bound musicians, it may not feature all the bells and whistles of the two higher end models,yet it is still made from a fine grade of wood,comes equipped with the barrels (if not bells), and has the same silver-plated keywork and highgrade Valentino pads as the Legacy and Symphonie. Without doubt, it will give developing students a taste of the professional sound for a very modest price. Trying out new instruments is highly dependent upon each player s particular needs and tastes, so I am somewhat apprehensive about writing too much about my own experience in testing out the new clarinets. Still, I must heartily recommend these instruments: the sheer ease of the usually-dreaded register shift will shock you, and the ergonomic nature of the keywork is outstanding.that same warm, rich sound that made Backun s barrels and bells famous is present more than ever: if you were impressed by his gadgets before, you simply must check out the complete package. If not, these may not be the right instruments for you. For those that have not yet had the pleasure of trying these accessories, particularly students looking to upgrade, take note: this may be your next clarinet. For more information, check out the Backun home page at 12 Février 2008 February

13 ÉDITORIAL / FROM THE EDITOR Repensant à l année 2007, je suis fasciné par l évolution de la technologie et l accessibilité sans cesse croissante qu elle permet. L an dernier, le Met a profité des percées technologiques pour lancer les diffusions en direct de ses productions dans les salles de cinéma du monde entier. L éclatant succès de l entreprise en a surpris plus d un et ce succès ne pourra qu aller en s accélérant en 2008, étant donné que même les reprises des présentations en HD remplissent partout les salles. Là où il y a de l argent à faire, on peut s attendre à voir arriver la concurrence et bientôt le Met ne sera plus seul dans ce marché (voir les Notes) beau dilemme en perspective! Je prévois que nous verrons cette année une convergence des vieilles technologies avec Internet. Il existe maintenant plus de chaînes de radio sur Internet, dont 5000 font jouer de la musique classique. Imaginez un radiorécepteur pouvant syntoniser chaînes! On trouve maintenant des récepteurs de radio Internet sur le marché et LSM sera là pour vous guider dans ce nouvel univers de la musique. Chef de file en musique et en arts en ligne, LSM continue également d innover grâce à la technologie. Nous avons ajouté à notre site Web un nouveau blogue qui offre des nouvelles, des critiques et des commentaires (plus de 70 affichages dans notre premier mois) et, récemment, des sections uniques comme les Anniversaires de musiciens (incluant certaines vidéos) et le Fil de presse LSM, un service gratuit pour diffuser des communiqués de presse se rapportant à la musique et aux arts (plus de 80 communiqués affichés en un mois). En outre, toutes nos critiques de CD sont maintenant publiées en ligne avant même la sortie de la version imprimée du magazine. D autres services s ajouteront bientôt à l intention de la communauté artistique. En mars, nous lancerons une section «Nouveautés» (pour les CD, DVD, livres, instruments et accessoires) dans notre magazine imprimé et en ligne. Ce mois-ci, l article-vedette est un portrait du clarinettiste André Moisan qui célèbre ses 30 ans avec l OSM. Le récit de sa lutte pour vaincre le stress est particulièrement éclairant. Nous présentons aussi l étoile montante Julie Boulianne, qui sera en février la Rosine de Rossini à l Opéra de Montréal. Nous poursuivons notre série sur le compositeur Claude Vivier et, en hommage aux héros de la musique, nous nous penchons sur la vie de Maria Callas d un point de vue psychologique. Nous soulignons également la disparition de deux grands noms de la musique, Karlheinz Stockhausen et Oscar Peterson. Ce numéro fait enfin le bilan de la 11 e édition du Gala annuel des prix Opus présentés par le Conseil québécois de la musique (CQM), où on rendu hommage au musicien et compositeur Otto Joachim, toujours très actif à l âge de 97 ans. Au nom de toute l équipe, je vous souhaite une merveilleuse année 2008, de la musique et de la santé! N oubliez pas de prendre votre exemplaire de La Scena. P.-S. Cette année, la collecte de fonds annuelle de la Saint-Valentin de La Scena Musicale est jumelée à une soirée à l opéra. Vous pourrez assister, le jeudi 14 février, à la présentation de l Opéra de Montréal du Barbier de Séville de Rossini, l histoire de deux jeunes amoureux qui surmontent les obstacles à leur union. Le prix comprend un enregistrement-cadeau de l opéra de Rossini. Comme les billets sont offerts en quantités limitées, ne tardez pas à réserver. LSM est un organisme caritatif sans but lucratif et compte donc sur votre soutien de ses diverses activités de collecte de fonds et votre générosité. A s I look back on 2007, I cannot help but marvel at the pace of technology and its ability to enable accessibility. Last year, the Met made good use of technological advances when it introduced its Metropolitan Opera Live in HD telecasts at movie theatres around the world. Its resounding success has taken many by surprise and the momentum of this success can only be expected to accelerate in 2008, given that even encore presentations of the live performances are filling theatres everywhere. Where there s money to be made, competition is soon to follow and the Met will no longer be the only option in town (see the Notes section) a nice dilemma for audiences to have! This year, I predict that we will see the convergence of old technologies with the web. There are now over 50,000 internet radio stations, of which 5,000 play classical music. Imagine if your radio receiver could tune in to all 50,000 channels! Internet Radio Receivers are now on the market and LSM will be there to guide you through these exciting times. As a global leader in music and arts online, LSM also continues to make good use of the available technology. We ve added a new blog to our website offering news, reviews and commentary (we ve had over 70 posts in our first month) and recently introduced unique features such as Today s Musician Birthdays (including selected videos) and LSM Newswire,a free service for disseminating music and arts press releases (more than 80 press releases have been posted in one month). As well, all of our CD reviews are now published online even before the print version of our magazine hits the stands! Watch for more services to be launched to further benefit the artistic community. In March, we will be introducing our NEW RELEASES section (for CDs, DVDs, books, instruments and accessories) in our print magazine and online. This month s cover features clarinetist André Moisan who celebrates 30 years of playing with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra. His battle to overcome stress makes for an interesting and insightful read. As well, we introduce Julie Boulianne as our rising star as she takes on the role of Rosina at the Opéra de Montréal. We continue our series on composer Claude Vivier and as we honor our musical heroes, we take a look at Maria Callas life from a psychological angle. With their recent passing, we pay homage to musical greats Karlheinz Stockhausen and Oscar Peterson. This issue also takes a look at the 11 th Annual Opus Awards presented by the Conseil québecois de la musique (CQM) as it honors musician and composer Otto Joachim who remains very active at 97. On behalf of my team of staff and volunteers, I wish you a wonderful and healthy 2008! Remember to take the time to treat yourself to La Scena. P.S. This year, La Scena Musicale s 3 rd Annual Valentine s Day Fundraising initiative is An Evening at the Opera, which includes tickets to Opéra de Montréal s performance of Rossini s Barber of Seville, a story of young love overcoming adversity. Included in this package will be a gift bag containing a recording of the opera. Tickets are limited so please reserve early. As a non-profit charity, LSM counts on your active support of its various fundraising activities throughout the year as well as your generous donations. WAH KEUNG CHAN FONDATEUR ET RÉDACTEUR EN CHEF FOUNDING EDITOR AND PUBLISHER La Scena Musicale / La SCENA Février 2008 February 13

14 Artistic Director Daniel Taylor THE MONTREAL HIGH LIGHTS FESTIVAL Sun life Financial Performing Arts THE PATH TO PARADISE Vocal masterpieces by Allegri, Britten,Bryars, Byrd and Tallis The Choir of the Theatre of Early Music conducted by Daniel Taylor with Coleman&Lemieux Dance Company ''Miserere'' by David Earle ''Soudain l'hiver'' by James Kudelka Tickets available on admission: (514) or 40$ Adult / 25$ Senior / 15$ Student (plus taxes and service charges) Tickets available at the door For more information: or (514) Sunday, March 02, h00, Église Saint-Léon de Westmount 4311, de Maisonneuve West Blvd. Westmount

15 NOTES scena.org PROFITS IN THE CLASSICAL MUSIC RECORDING INDUSTRY Two recent announcements from the recording industry show that there are still profits to be made in classical music. According to the company s press release, ArkivMusic s 2007 year ended with a 30% increase in revenues year-over-year. Operating exclusively online, ArkivMusic s advantage is its endless shelf of available classical CD inventory. The company is an example of The Long Tail theory, wherein companies profit by selling less of more. Classical aficionados can access the largest number of classical recordings available anywhere in the world over 82,000 titles including nearly 5,000 formerly out-of-print titles produced on demand as ArkivCDs. The ArkivCD program made up about 10% of our overall business in the fourth quarter, continued Feidner. That s a significant percentage for what is essentially a new line of products. We launched this initiative late in 2006, and we continue to reissue hundreds of releases each month as we expand the catalog of formerly deleted titles. Naxos founder Klaus Heymann recently revealed in an interview with Stereophile that the company was profitable, especially with their digital strategy, When I started, all I was trying to do was sell a CD at the price of an LP I never imagined we d become a powerhouse, with 300 employees worldwide, and 60 programmers and systems analysts in our Information Technology department. We re the only record company in the world with our own digital platforms. We have our own download and streaming sites, handle digital distribution for some of the labels we distribute physically, and also have books, audio books, and educational materials. For me, being in classical music has always been a lifestyle decision. For years, we didn t make any money. I ve invested an enormous amount of money $80 million US in the entire catalog and range of products, and never had a normal return until, thanks to the advent of digital platforms, I made a decent return last year. I m extremely happy. I m doing what I love, and I ll finally make some money from it. The moral of the story is that there are always winners and losers in any industry. While the major labels and retailers were downsizing, specialized companies have been able turn a profit. BARENBOIM TAKES PALESTINIAN CITIZENSHIP January saw Israeli conductor Daniel Barenboim take yet another bold step in the name of coexistence in the troubled Middle East: he now holds honorary citizenship in Palestine. A frequent critic of the Israeli occupation of the West Bank, Barenboim has often gone on record for reconciliation between Jews and Arabs in the region. I believe that the destinies of the Israeli people and the Palestinian people are inextricably linked, he said. Born in Argentina to Russian Ashkenazi Jewish parents, Barenboim has often been at the centre of controversy with regard to Israeli-Palestinian relations. This past December, he cancelled a concert scheduled in the Gaza Strip in protest, because one of the members of his ensemble, a Palestinian, was stopped at the border and told he needed individual permission to enter the region (even though the group had already been granted authorization to perform in Gaza by Israeli officials). In 2001, he once again ignited controversy in Israel by performing the music of Richard Wagner, which has traditionally been a taboo in the Jewish state due to Wagner s noted anti- Semitism. Barenboim claims the idea came from an interruption during a press conference he was holding: a cell phone went off, to the tune of Ride of the Valkyries (from Wagner s epic opera, Die Walküre), I thought if it can be heard on the ring of a telephone, why can t it be played in a concert hall? Barenboim is currently Principal Guest Conductor of La Scala in Milan (in the absence of a music director) and the director of the Berlin State Opera. Graham Lord and Wah Keung Chan VIOLIST LAMBERT CHEN WINS 2ND ANNUAL GOLDEN VIOLIN, $20,000 SCHOLARSHIP Montreal-based violist and doctoral candidate Lambert Chen has been awarded a $20,000 scholarship as well as the honour of having his name on a prestigious trophy, the Golden Violin, that some have dubbed the Stanley Cup of classical music. Over a year ago, noted businessman and philanthropist Seymour Schulich bought the ornamental violin, made of pewter with gold leaf, and decided it would make the perfect trophy to award to top string players at McGill s Schulich School of Music (renamed after his unprecedented $20-million gift to the faculty). The violin itself is very fragile, so Chen won t be keeping it, though it regularly stays on display in the school s library and will soon make a stopover at the Hockey Hall of Fame, where it will take its place next to the real Stanley Cup. He s really very talented and has the potential to win the major competitions in viola down the road, said Don McLean, dean of the Schulich School, referring to Chen. It is a question of acknowledging someone in the final year of their studies as a kind of career-launching recognition. Schulich himself has credited his own success to a $1600 scholarship, which helped him to complete the MBA he received from McGill in 1965, before going on to become a remarkably successful mining magnate; this scholarship, claims Schulich, played a vital role in his becoming a notable philanthropist in the realm of Canadian universities. Last year, the inaugural Golden Violin was awarded to violinist Emmanuel Vukovich. La Scena Musicale Vous amène à l opéra! En collaboration avec VOYAGE LM LTÉE Takes you to the opera! In cooperation with LM TRAVEL AGENCY LTD. En préparation / We re working on La Russie et l Ukraine avec le festival des Nuits Blanches de Saint-Pétersbourg 6 au 24 juin 2008 Russia and the Ukraine with St-Petersburg s White Nights Festival June 6-24, 2008 Festival de Lanaudière et Québec (festivités du 400 e ) 5 au 10 juillet 2008 Lanaudière Music Festival and Quebec City (400 th anniversary festivities) July 5th to 10th, 2008 L agence des mélomanes depuis 1975 Serving opera lovers since 1975 Pour information et réservations For information and reservations * Cadeaux pour membres d Intermezzo Gift for Intermezzo members Février 2008 February 15

16 EXAMPLE SET BY MET S LIVE IN HD FOLLOWED BY OTHER COMPANIES Worldwide, the innovation of the last season was the Met Opera at the Movies series. Such was its success that other art forms and competition from other opera companies are poised to enter the marketplace: The National Ballet of Canada showed their soldout December 22 nd matinee performance of The Nutcracker at Cineplex theatres in Live HD. The San Francisco Opera will be showing six pre-recorded HD operas from March to November 2008 in a four-year agreement with The Bigger Picture, a subsidiary of Access Integrated Technologies, Inc. Britain s Opus Arte, a leader in opera and ballet on DVD, in collaboration with Montreal s DigiScreen (a Daniel Langlois company), has begun showing recorded and edited HD versions of operas and the San Francisco Ballet s The Nutcracker in selected movie theatres across Canada, the US and Europe. In Canada, Empire Theatres picks up Nutcraker plus four independent cinemas in Montreal, Toronto, Waterloo and Vancouver. La Scala also got into the act with their sixopera HD broadcast season, which is available in North America, but only in the US. The series got underway in December 2007 with Aïda. Showing operas at the cinema can be quite lucrative.the debut for the Met s second season of Live in HD performances, Gounod s Roméo et Juliette, reached 97,000 viewers and took in $1.65 million, according to the company s blog. The question is 27th Season clarinet Simon Aldrich horn Louis-Philippe Marsolais violin Yukari Cousineau violin Alexander Lozowski viola Brian Bacon cello Alexandre Castonguay Works by Mozart, Martinu, Ysaÿe and Ireland Thursday, February 21, 8 pm Redpath Hall, McGill University Admission free whether the approach taken by San Francisco Opera and Opus Arte of presenting edited pre-recorded opera with a better picture quality can match this kind of turnout. The Met at the Movies has the advantage of being live and benefits from free PR from the associated buzz, so it s going to take some serious marketing efforts to match them. APPLICATION DEADLINES FOR COMPETITIONS, SCHOLARSHIPS, AND GRANTS Looking for some extra cash? Is there a musical project you ve always dreamed of completing but never had the funding to realize? Check out these websites for more information on upcoming competitions and grant programs that may interest you: 97 th Prix d Europe: March 1 ( Canadian International Organ Competition: February 15 ( Alcan/Équi Vox Montréal Scholarship: April 30 ( Canada Council for the Arts ( Festival Programming/Travel Grants: Feb. 15 Individual Grants (classical): March 1 Individual Grants (non-classical): March 1 Aboriginal Peoples Music Program: March 1 New Music Program: March 15 Travel Grants to Professional Musicians: Anytime Conseil des arts de Montréal ( Project Grant: March 1 Operating Grant: March 1 Multi-year Grant (4-year cycle starts in 08): March 1 Festival or Major Event Grant: March 1 Conseil des arts et lettres du Québec ( Artistic Research and Creation: April 1 Commissioned Works: April 1 Development: April 1 Studios/Apartments: April 1 REVIEW Get Smarter: Life and Business Lessons By Seymour Schulich with Derek DeCloet 296 pages, Key Porter books, $29.95 Seymour Schulich s recently released book, Get Smarter: Life and Business Lessons, is a highly entertaining read full of valuable insights and tips, but a bit hard to classify. The Montreal-born self-made billionaire turned philanthropist recently endowed McGill s music faculty with a transformative gift, and has now written, alongside Derek DeCloet, 49 short chapters of engaging stories of wisdom and experience. Although Schulich briefly recounts the history of his business investments in oil and mining in the appendices of the book, Get Smarter is not a typical business memoir, nor is it simply a strategy manual for business, or even a life management guide. Rather, it s like taking a drive with your favourite uncle and listening to him hold forth on the distilled wisdom he has acquired through a lifetime in business. Most of the chapters discuss financial practices and ideas, ranging from starting a business to venture capital to personal money management. Anyone with even a mild interest in the workings of money will find it engrossing. Some sections of the book discuss what could loosely be described as life management topics. The first chapter presents an insightful mechanism for deciding on a particular course of action: assign numerical values to the pros and cons and pursue it only if the advantages more than double the sum of the disadvantages. The book also includes several surprises, such as a poem about relationships in the chapter called Sex and Love and an appendix listing Schulich s ten favourite movies (no explanation given). Schulich states his goals for his book and his major endowments to five different university faculties: first, to make a significant impact on the lives of individuals, and second, to be remembered. With Get Smarter, Schulich is on his way to imparting his hard-earned knowledge to the next generation. For his philanthropic projects, he also plans to have an atypically large effect not just on institutions, but also on the lives of the recipients. To succeed, he stipulates that 7 to 10 per cent of his endowments be paid out each year, compared to the standard 5 per cent, so that individual students get the same life-changing benefit that he himself received from a sizable grant in As the benefactor of such dramatically effective philanthropic gifts, his name will not be forgotten soon, and with his book, Schulich has succeeded in memorably introducing himself to his public. In short, Get Smarter is both more personal and more useful than many books written by businessmen, and is the kind of book one can turn to again and again for inspiration, guidance, or simply entertainment. Christine Rogers FEBRUARY BIRTHDAYS Feb. 1, 1922 Renata Tebaldi (d. 2004) Feb. 2, 1875 Fritz Kreisler (d. 1962) Feb. 3, 1809 Felix Mendelssohn (d. 1847) Feb. 4, 1912 Erich Leinsdorf (d. 1993) Feb. 5, 1911 Jussi Björling (d. 1960) Feb. 6, 1903 Claudio Arrau (d. 1991) Feb. 7, 1878 Ossip Gabrilovich (d. 1936) Feb. 8, 1932 John Towner Williams Feb. 9, 1885 Alban Berg (d. 1935) Feb. 10, 1927 Leontyne Price Feb. 11, 1912 Rudolf Firkusny (d. 1994) Feb. 12, 1923 Franco Zeffirelli Feb. 13, 1873 Feodor Chaliapin (d. 1938) Feb. 14, 1959 Renée Fleming Feb. 15, 1947 John Adams Feb. 16, 1938 John Corigliano Feb. 17, 1653 Arcangelo Corelli (d. 1713) Feb. 18, 1939 Marlos Nobre Feb. 19, 1743 Luigi Boccherini (d. 1805) Feb. 20, 1791 Carl Czerny (d. 1857) Feb. 21, 1927 Pierre Mercure (d. 1966) Feb. 22, 1817 Niels Gade (d. 1890) Feb. 23, 1685 George Frideric Handel Feb. 24, 1934 Renata Scotto Feb. 25, 1873 Enrico Caruso (d. 1921) Feb. 26, 1949 Emma Kirkby Feb. 27, 1897 Marian Anderson (d. 1993) Feb. 28, 1882 Geraldine Farrar (d. 1967) Feb. 28, 1792 Gioachino Rossini (d. 1868) Compiled by Susan Callaghan Visit 16 Février 2008 February

17 sm13-5_pxx_layoutwkc-ads.qxd 1/29/08 4:47 PM Page 17 AÉ=>K:G :C BJH>FJ: A:H 6GIH ;>C6C8>ÝG: HJC A>;: BILLETS EN VENTE MAINTENANT! /[ :K (' <xlh?;h 7K ( C7HI (&&. x:?j?ed ITALIA, ETC. UNE SOIRÉE INTIME AVEC LA SOPRANO QUI A IMMORTALISÉ CARMEN AU GRAND ÉCRAN LE SIÈCLE DES LUMIÈRES DE PARIS À BERLIN s de Après avoir joué aux côté Sting, Steven Tyler, ste petti trom le é, Bubl Michael de l heure présente son! Italia tacle spec eau nouv 8=G>H 7DII> 6JIDJG 9: A6 ;AæI: ÓÓÊ 6,,ÊUÊÓäÊ THÉÂTRE MAISONNEUVE, PDA Ó Ê 6,,ÊUÊÓäÊ NOTRE-DAME-DE-BONSECOURS VIVALDI ET SES GITANS?JA>6 B><:C:H en collaboration avec Ó Ê 6,,ÊUÊÓäÊ THÉÂTRE MAISONNEUVE, PDA BDO6GI E>6CD FJ6GI:I :CH:B7A: 86EG>8: ÓxÊ 6,,ÊUÊ Ê ÊÎä THÉÂTRE MAISONNEUVE, PDA À la fois comédiens, bricoleurs et musiciens, ils font revivre la magie des compositions du grand Ennio Morricone! HE6<=:II> L:HI:GC DG8=:HIG6 Ó Ê 6,,ÊÊ 1ÊÓÎÊ 6,,ÊUÊÓäÊ (23 février à 18 ÊÎäÊet 21 ÊÎä THÉÂTRE OUTREMONT A:H K>DADCH 9J GDN ÓÎÊ 6,,ÊUÊÓäÊ SALLE PIERRE-MERCURE 7>AA:IH ACHATS EN PERSONNE À LA BILLETTERIE CENTRALE DU FESTIVAL : / ticketpro.ca 59, rue Ste-Catherine Est NOTRE-DAME-DE-BONSECOURS L EXPÉRIENCE BARTÓK PLACE DES ARTS METROPOLIS ÓnÊ 6,,ÊUÊÓäÊ / / pda.qc.ca / admission.com E6I= ID E6G69>H: ÓÊ,-ÊUÊ ÈÊ ÉGLISE SAINT-LÉON DE WESTMOUNT SALLE PIERRE-MERCURE DU CENTRE PIERRE-PÉLADEAU / admission.com THÉÂTRE OUTREMONT ÉGLISE SAINT-LÉON DE WESTMOUNT / admission.com De meilleurs sièges offerts en exclusivité aux titulaires de la Carte American ExpressMD! montrealenlumiere.com/ americanexpress CHAPELLE NOTRE-DAME-DE-BONSECOURS / ensemblecaprice.com / admission.com >C;D"AJB>ÝG: / +'* (..#//++ '... *--#//++ CEDJH;7B;DBKC?;H;$9EC MD : utilisée par la Banque Amex du Canada en vertu d une licence accordée par American Express.

18 présenté par En collaboration avec Symphonie du Nouveau Monde de Dvořák L incontournable Cinquième de Beethoven MARDI 26 MERCREDI h chef d orchestre violoncelle accordéon Symphonie n o 5 Les Pierres crieront Écoutez mon histoire, première mondiale, commande de l OSM ˇÁK, Symphonie n o 9, «du Nouveau Monde» Yves Lambert est le soliste d une création de Denis Gougeon inspirée du folklore québécois Billets : osm.ca

19 NEW LA SCENA MUSICALE ONLINE FEATURES: BLOG AND NEWSWIRE We are proud to unveil the La Scena Musicale Blog (blog.scena.org), which is the ideal place to check out commentary and news on music and the arts in Canada and around the world. Our writers will be posting regularly to keep you up to date on the latest developments throughout the musical world. In addition to the blog, we invite you to check out our online newswire (newswire.scena.org), a new service for arts organizations who wish to post press releases related to music, arts, and culture. Concert details, radio and television events, the arts online...it's all there! INTRODUCING OUR NEW RELEASES PAGE Our readers are always on the lookout for something new. Concertgoers and music lovers want to know about the latest CDs, DVDs, and books. Musicians want to know about new instruments and accessories for themselves and their students. Why not show them your latest goodies? Whether it's musical or relevant to any of the arts (theatre, dance, visual art, etc.), your product will benefit from great visibility in our magazines' latest feature, the New Releases Page. This is a new and remarkably affordable advertising supplement, starting at only $25 per listing! It will appear next to the Reviews section in all three of our magazines, creating national exposure for your product. Best of all, our culturally passionate and musically inclined readers are tailor-made for your new releases, allowing you to appeal to an ideal targeted market. Visit ads.scena.org NOTED WORLD PREMIERES OF OPERAS Joseph So Following the successes of his operas Dead Man Walking (2000) and The End of the Affair (2004), American composer Jake Heggie is working on another ambitious project, an operatic adaptation of Herman Melville s novel, Moby Dick. It stars Canadian tenor Ben Heppner as Captain Ahab. The conductor will be Houston Grand Opera music director Patrick Summers. The librettist is Gene Scheer, and its premiere is slated for April 2010 at the 2200-seat Margot and Bill Winspear Opera House, the soon-to-be new home of the Dallas Opera. Heggie attributes the idea of adapting the Melville novel to playwright and Dead Man Walking librettist Terrance McNally. He claims he has re-read the novel ten times since he decided to set it to music. No details of the staging are available at this time. This is a co-production with San Francisco Opera, San Diego Opera and Calgary Opera, which has become the Canadian leader in presenting Canadian and World premieres of new opera. Dead Man Walking had its Canadian premiere there in 2006, and the company gave the Canadian debut of The Ballad of Baby Doe just last month. On a more modest scale,tapestry New Opera Works of Toronto is putting on Opera to Go 2008, showcasing seven world premieres of six 15-minute chamber operas and a Bravo!FACT film by composer-writer teams who have graduated from Tapestry s Composer-Librettist Laboratory, an annual opera boot camp that brings together artists of various disciplines to collaborate on new opera creations. The program features She sees her lover in the light of morning by Leanna Brodie and Craig Galbraith, in which a cautious Ph.D. succumbs to unfettered romance. Brodie also partners with David Ogborn on The Translator, a disturbing story about a woman who, having witnessed atrocity, embeds herself with a nation s turmoil. Peace of my Heart is a black comedy by Dave Carley and David Ogborn, while See Saw, by Anna Chatterton and Andrew Staniland, is all about the end of a relationship. A queen pursues an unlikely mate in The Colony, a quirky comedy by Lisa Codrington & Kevin Morse, and in The Shaman s Tale, Krista Dalby and Kevin Morse take us on a mythic journey which ends in the ultimate sacrifice. The program also includes the screening of The Perfect Match, a film by Krista Dalby and Anthony Young about a chance encounter that transforms tow lives forever. Opera to Go 2008 features soprano Carla Huhtanen, mezzo Jessica Lloyd, tenor Keith Klassen, and baritone Calvin Powell, accompanied by a chamber orchestra under the baton of music director Wayne Strongman. Performances will be sung in English with English surtitles.the show previews on February 14, and runs from Feb , at 8 pm, except the Feb. 17 matinee at 2 pm. Harbourfront Centre Box Office: or at Finally, a role premiere of note is the first-ever Siegfried of tenor Ben Heppner, in Wagner s Siegfried, slated to take place at the Festival International d Arts Lyrique d Aix-en-Provence this summer. The dates are June 28, July 1, 4, 7. Tickets go on sale on January 23, 2008 see This is part of a continuing new Ring Cycle at Aix. Heppner is slated to sing the Siegfried in Götterdammerung there next summer, and rumour has it that he will reprise the role in the new Robert Lepage Ring at the Metropolitan Opera starting Le FESTIVAL MONTRÉAL EN LUMIÈRE et la SCENA MUSICALE vous sortent cet hiver! Voyez ces 3 spectacles avec l invité de votre choix 21 FÉVRIER, 20 H en collaboration avec Théâtre Maisonneuve, PdA NOM : ADRESSE : CODE POSTAL : TÉLÉPHONE ( jour ) : COURRIEL : ITALIA, ETC. 22 FÉVRIER, 20 H Théâtre Maisonneuve, PdA QUESTION : Nommez une des deux coprésidentes d honneur des Arts Financière Sun Life RÉPONSE : OUI, je veux recevoir de l information sur vos festivals. Envoyez votre coupon-réponse avant le 18 février 2008 au : Concours Scena Musicale, 400, boul. de Maisonneuve O. 9 e étage, Montréal, H3A 1L4 25 FÉVRIER, 19 H 30 Théâtre Maisonneuve, PdA L annonce concours apparaît dans la Scena Musicale de février Aucun achat requis. Le gagnant sera tiré au hasard le 19 février 2008 à midi. Il sera contacté par téléphone ou par courriel. Il devra récupérer son prix au Festival Montréal en lumière, 400, Boulevard de Maisonneuve O. Le participant doit être âgé de 18 ans et plus. Le concours se termine le 18 février 2008 à minuit. Février 2008 February 19

20 PHOTOS : FILIPE ESTRELA GALA DES PRIX OPUS Caroline Louis L e 27 janvier 2008, à la salle Claude-Champagne à Montréal, le Conseil québécois de la musique remettait les prix Opus, récompensant ainsi les interprètes, compositeurs, créateurs, promoteurs, organisations musicales et musicologues québécois qui se sont illustrés entre le 1 er septembre 2006 et le 31 août Pas moins de vingt-six trophées furent distribués lors de cette 11 e édition du gala des prix Opus, animé avec beaucoup d humour par Mario Paquet et Martin Bernier. Tout au long du gala, nous avons pu entendre des arrangements musicaux de Louis Babin, qui dirigeait un ensemble d une douzaine de musiciens, tandis que des œuvres picturales du compositeur Otto Joachim défilaient sur écran géant en haut de la scène. Sans grande surprise, le prix de l Événement musical de l année fut remporté par l Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, pour le concert d ouverture du 6 septembre 2006 dirigé par Kent Nagano. Ce concert, projeté en direct de la salle Wilfrid-Pelletier et de l esplanade de la Place des Arts, avait attiré quelques centaines de milliers d auditeurs via le site Internet, la télévision, la Première Chaîne de la radio de Radio-Canada et Espace musique. Le prix d Interprète de l année fut remis à l ensemble Les Voix humaines, et le jury a sélectionné le compositeur et électroacousticien montréalais Serge Arcuri comme Compositeur de l année. L exceptionnelle saison du 30 e anniversaire du Festival de Lanaudière fut soulignée par le prix Diffuseur de l année. La soprano Marianne Fiset a obtenu le prix Découverte de l année, prix qui fut par le passé accordé à des artistes tels que Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Marie-Nicole Lemieux et le Quatuor Molinari. Le jeune musicologue Philip Gareau, étudiant à l Université de Montréal, reçut le prix du Livre de l année, ayant vu son mémoire de maîtrise publié chez L Harmattan sous le titre La musique de Morton Feldman ou le temps en liberté. Le baryton Marc Boucher, partageant avec le pianiste Olivier Godin le prix du Disque de l année Musiques classique, romantique, postromantique, impressionniste, a pour sa part invité les compositeurs à s inspirer plus souvent de la poésie québécoise, déclarant : «Commettez-vous, chers musiciens, et nous serons heureux de vous interpréter.» Par ailleurs, le Conseil québécois de la musique soulignait cette année la carrière du musicien Otto Joachim, récipiendaire du prix Hommage. Davis Joachim, fils du compositeur émérite, interpréta avec simplicité une œuvre pour guitare de son père et le critique musical Claude Gingras prononça un bref discours en l honneur de son ami de longue date. Déplorant de se retrouver sur scène plutôt que dans l assistance, l intransigeant critique du journal La Presse provoqua de francs éclats de rire en s exclamant, plissant les yeux sous l intensité des projecteurs, «C est ça, être artiste?» et cherchant le compositeur dans la salle obscure, afin de pouvoir le féliciter directement: «Wo bist du, Otto?» Parmi les moments forts du gala, mentionnons l interprétation virtuose que donna le Quatuor Molinari du périlleux deuxième mouvement du Quatuor à cordes n o 2 d Alfred Schnittke et la surprenante prestation multimédia d Espaces Sonores Illimités, intitulée Spatio- Lumino. L exécution d une œuvre pour percussions d Iannis Xenakis par l ensemble Sixtrum fut également très appréciée. 20 Février 2008 February