10th Anniversary Festival Reaches High Notes
August 19, 2010
By George Laverock

Well, our 10th anniversary festival has come and gone, and for me it has left a lot of pleasant memories as well as deep friendships. I managed to attend 28 of the 42 events (for some reason, I can only be in one place at a time!)... and was not once disappointed with what I heard. I guess one of the yardsticks for our success is how “festive” it felt... and judging from the number of people who told me that they had to make difficult choices about what to attend on certain nights, we appear to have created a festival “buzz”.

I am loath to choose favourite concerts, since I thoroughly enjoyed so many.... but amongst those that left a deep impression were: a) the unbelievably creative improvising of pianist Joe Chindamo and guitarist Doug Devries at the Cellar Jazz Club on August 8; b) the opening bars of Richard Strauss’ Don Juan with the National Youth Orchestra of Canada; c) the première of Stephen Chatman’s Love Songs, with the effervescent Tyler Duncan and the Freshwater Trio from Melbourne; d) the combined voices of 180 singers from 6 choirs singing together at the Chan Centre... and e) the finely crafted and thoroughly entertaining concerts by The Idea of North. Their principal arranger and mezzo-soprano Naomi Crellin should be designated a “National Treasure” in Australia.

More than once during the festival, I was joyously reminded about the reasons that one works for an entire year or more to plan a festival of this nature. I think the importance of live music has also been very eloquently expressed by Professor Karl Paulnack in a speech that he made a few years ago to the incoming freshmen at the Boston Conservatory of Music. I invite you to read what he said: http://www.bostonconservatory.edu/s/940/Bio.aspx?sid=940&gid=1&pgid=1241

Our MusicFest dates next year are going to be August 5 – 14. I hope you will join us again to hear some of the great musical talents in the world.

Yannick-Muriel Noah, architect of a blossoming career
July 26, 2010
By George Laverock

On August 12 at 5:30pm, we’re proud to be presenting a recital by one of Canada’s most promising young singers, Yannick-Muriel Noah, who will be collaborating for the first time with pianist Rena Sharon. It should be a recital to remember... and I hope that Ms. Noah will remember us when she becomes a world renowned artist, which I believe is her destiny.

Ms. Noah has a past connection with Vancouver since she won a $6000 Career Development Grant from the Vancouver Opera Guild in 2009 – and she is indeed developing her career in a big way. She has been winning prizes all around the world, and has now settled in Toronto, where she has been working with the Ensemble Studio of the Canadian Opera Company. Some other illustrious singers who are alumni of this program include Ben Heppner, Isabel Bayrakdarian, Joseph Kaiser and Kristina Szabo.

Somehow, along the way between Madagascar (the French-speaking country where she was born) and Toronto, Noah earned a degree in architecture at Ottawa’s Carleton University, and also racked up a minor in Italian (which will no doubt be useful in her operatic career).

She came across our radar screen in May, 2009 when she won the prize as the top Canadian singer in the Montreal International Music Competition. MusicFest Vancouver has been collaborating with the Montreal competition for many years now... and we basically have an agreement that we will bring one of their winners to our festival in the year following the competition. They alternate between voice, piano and violin... so in our 2011 festival, you will have a chance to hear one of the amazing young violinists that became laureates in May, 2010.

But I digress... it is Yannick-Muriel Noah that we are so excited about introducing to Vancouver music lovers on August 12. With the incomparable Rena Sharon at the piano, Ms. Noah will present a mixed program of songs and opera excerpts, showing off her artistic versatility as well as her technical strengths. She’ll perform everything from Kurt Weill songs to arias by Puccini, Verdi and Erich Korngold. Audience advisory: You may cry when you hear the beauty of her voice.

Old and New
July 19, 2010
By George Laverock

One of the things that I aimed for when planning this 10th anniversary edition of MusicFest Vancouver was having a balance between artists that are new to to the festival, while also featuring some MusicFest favourites from our first 9 seasons.

One of the groups returning (by popular acclaim!) is The National Youth Orchestra of Canada. Last here in 2005, the NYOC is also celebrating an important anniversary this year – their 50th! As in 2005, they will be playing under the charismatic conductor Jacques Lacombe, who is also a favourite Vancouver Opera conductor. The NYOC is indeed fortunate to have Lacombe with them this summer, as he's been much in demand lately, conducting operas this past season in Berlin, London, Munich and Québec...and he is about to become the Music Director of the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra beginning this September. The NYOC is touring with two programs, and the one we are going to hear includes Richard Strauss’ Don Juan and Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherezade... two blockbusters of the romantic orchestral repertoire. A friend of mine attended the orchestra’s first rehearsals earlier this month in London, Ontario, and he assures me that it will be a rapturous performance!

Other returning groups are Argentinian Adrián Iaies' jazz trio (first here in 2008), and a number of popular Vancouver ensembles: The Borealis String Quartet; Van Django; Orquesta Goma Dura; Zapato Negro... and of course the five outstanding Vancouver choirs that will be part of our 10th anniversary choral extravaganza Vancouver Sings, at the Chan Centre on August 13th.

On the new-artist side, we are particularly proud to be bringing 11 performers from Australia who have never been at our festival before: The jazz vocal group The Idea of North; the chamber ensemble Freshwater Trio; the didgeridoo virtuoso William Barton; classical pianist Rita Reichman; and jazz musicians Joe Chindamo (piano) and Doug de Vries (guitar). I had the privilege of hearing all these amazing people when I visited Melbourne and Sydney last year... and I can’t wait for you to join me in discovering how rich the musical life is Down Under.

Other artists who have never been with us before are coming from Germany (Concerto Köln Chamber Orchestra); Japan (Brilliant Harmony women’s choir); France (Ludus Modalis, Renaissance vocal ensemble), the USA (Poncho Sanchez Latin Jazz Band); and Madagascar (soprano Yannick-Muriel Noah, via Ottawa and Toronto). Ms. Noah is looking forward to performing for the first time with Vancouver’s Rena Sharon, who is renowned as one of the best collaborative pianists on the planet.

When it comes to creative projects, we are beating the drum about a few this year:
a) The first performances of a delightful operetta being developed by composer Cameron Wilson and writer Kico Gonzalez-Risso (Supernatural Noir)
b) The première of a song cycle called Love Songs by Stephen Chatman, to be performed by baritone Tyler Duncan with the Freshwater Trio on August 11.
c) The first North American performances of several new arrangements of Chopin Preludes for piano trio, by two Australian composers: Adam Starr and Joe Chindamo... as well as new arrangements of two of Schumann’s Scenes of Childhood by the same two Aussie composers.

So, in summary, Old and New will be juxtaposed throughout the festival... and I urge you to come and savour some of each!

Supernatural Noir - a new operetta
July 12, 2010
By George Laverock

On August 12, 13 and 14, Fugue Theatre will be producing a new operetta for MusicFest Vancouver at the Vancouver East Cultural Centre. The new music theatre piece is being created by composer Cameron Wilson and writer Kico Gonzalez-Risso. It will feature four singers and a four piece band. The story involves a psychic detective (Slim Diggins), who is hired to help a woman whose husband has mysteriously disappeared.

Here is a Q & A that I did with writer Kico Gonzalez-Risso.

Q1: What’s the significance of the title?
The “supernatural” is in the title because our protagonist has a psychic link to the dead. His three partners are all ghosts. The piece is written in a film noir style - which often involves anti-heroes, femme fatales, shady characters, lots of plot twists, fedoras and booze.

Q2: What is it like to work with composer/violinist Cameron Wilson? How do you work together?
Cam and I are both Noir fans, and I find him very easy to work with. I love music and he loves mysteries. From day one we’ve been on the same page in terms of storyline, characters and style. We watched many classic film noirs together, studying their elements – including how music was used. With SUPERNATUAL NOIR, I’d write the scenes, we’d read them aloud and discuss who’s doing what to whom. Cam’s been brilliant at coming up with music that’s has a cool, Noir feel. I don’t know of any other opera that’s been composed purely in the style of serious Noir.

Q3: How would you describe the tone of the new work. Is it comedic?
The work has lots of humour in it – including some dark comedy - in true Noir fashion - but, in the end, it is a dramatic murder mystery, complete with a love story. The music is edgy with lots of lyricism. The score is very innovative; as with the plot, there are lots of twists in the music.

Q4. MusicFest Vancouver is featuring Australia this year. What’s the Australian connection with Supernatural Noir?
Now, George, I can’t give away too much here. Let’s just say that things happen in Australia that set the story in motion. There’s a didgeridoo involved as well. (Come to think of it, I can’t think of any Noir I’ve seen or read that features a didgeridoo, so this could be a first.)

Q5: What makes you so excited about the singers/actors chosen for this first production of your work?
Their versatility. For professional singers this cast comprises award-winning actors, as well. We have a blend of music theatre and classically trained singers who can, and have, performed both the newest plays and Shakespeare. Cam and I feel very lucky to have these four performers. They’re tailor-made for this project. Then we have JOE TRIO, a Noir ensemble if there ever was one. The Trio has a number of surprises in store for their fans.

Q6: What is the environmental connection to the plot?
Another leading question! Let’s just say there are things floating in our oceans that should be watched carefully. Very, carefully…! ( Fade to…Noir.)

Bench Strength

July 5, 2010

By George Laverock

The other day I was thinking about how the piano, a powerful communicating instrument, permeates our festival this year. I then realized that we will be presenting some 13 different pianists over the 10-days of the festival. They include:

David Torres - with Poncho Sanchez Latin Jazz Band on August 6

Adrián Iaies (Argentina) - with his Trio on August 6

André Carrasquero - with Zapato Negro on August 6

Lou Mastroianni - with Orquesta Goma Dura on August 6

Rita Reichman (Australia) – Chopin recital on August 10

Eidit Golder (Australia) – with the Freshwater Trio on August 10 and 11

Rena Sharon – in recital with Yannick-Muriel Noah on August 12

Allen Stiles – in Joe Trio for Supernatural Noir August 12, 13 and 14

Joe Chindamo (Australia) with his Quartet August 7, and in a Duo August 8

Tilden Webb - with Jodi Proznick August 10

Miles Black – with René Worst August 13

Dawn Clement (USA) with Ingrid Jensen Quartet August 14

Ross Taggart – with Darren Radtke August 15

You may check out the details of these performances by clicking the on the dates above or by going to our website.

As you can see, three of these ivory ticklers are from Australia, and have never played in Vancouver before. I feel fortunate to have had the opportunity to hear all three, and it would be difficult to choose a favourite... but you may make your own decisions by listening to a few samples:

Sample one:

Rita Reichman playing Chopin's “Grande Waltz Brilliante”

Sample two:

Joe Chindamo (Live at the Umbria Jazz Festival – 2005)- "It's Alright with Me"

Sample three:

Eidit Golder (and the Freshwater Trio, playing Mozart) - click on the picture below to see this video

I'll be back next week to tell you about our special event: Supernatural Noir.
Until then, enjoy!

Rita Reichman - Distinguished Chopin Interpreter

June 29, 2010

By George Laverock

“The piano bard, the piano rhapsodist, the piano mind, the piano soul is Chopin. Tragic, romantic, lyric, heroic, dramatic, fantastic, soulful, sweet, dreamy, brilliant, grand, simple: all possible expressions are found in his compositions, and all are sung by him upon his instrument.” Anton Rubinstein, pianist, composer and conductor (1829-94)

Last year, I had the pleasure of spending two months in Melbourne, Australia... a city that has much in common with Vancouver. I was very impressed with the vibrancy of the cultural life there, and more specifically the music scene (with several jazz festivals, chamber music and other classical events, two orchestras, excellent opera, and several fine institutions offering advanced musical training).

I was lucky to arrive in Melbourne only months after the opening of the splendid new Melbourne Recital Centre, an 1100-seat hall that any city would be proud of. As part of its first season, the distinguished Australian pianist Rita Reichman presented a recital of works by Haydn, Schubert, Debussy and Brahms. For our festival concert (August 10 at Christ Church Cathedral), her all-Chopin program will be anchored by the great Sonata No. 3 in B minor. She will also perform this famous sonata at the Hornby Island Festival on August 7, as one of our outreach concerts in the Windsor Plywood Spectacular Music B.C. series.

I can’t wait to hear this all-Chopin program. What I heard in Melbourne was a powerful and poised performance by an artist who really excels in classical and romantic music. It’s not surprising that she plays this music with such authority, as her principal teachers came from a lineage directly connected with Chopin himself (Rudolph Serkin, Mieczyslaw Horszowski and George Bolet). Her CD recording “The Chopin Collection” is a must for lovers of romantic piano music.

Reichman was somewhat of a child prodigy, and after studying at the famous Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia (where she was the youngest-ever graduate), she pursued a major career in the USA and the UK. Since returning to her native Australia over 10 years ago, she has focused her efforts on mentoring and teaching younger talents Down Under. She’s been the Head of Piano at the Australian National Academy of Music for some years, the founder of the Australian Young Musicians Academy and a guest lecturer at Monash University – an Australian school with a strong musical tradition.

When friends ask me what they should not miss at our 10^th anniversary festival, I encourage them to put a circle around August 10 in their diaries so they can enjoy one of the best interpreters of Chopin on the planet!

P.S. If you want to hear Rita Reichman’s personal insights into Chopin’s music, be sure to attend her free “Inside the Music” talk/demonstration the day before her concert. That’s Monday afternoon, August 9 at 2pm at Christ Church.

Counting Down to our Opening Night - Celebracion!
June 21, 2010
By George Laverock

It's hard to believe that in less than ten weeks our 10^th festival will have begun! Between now and August 16, hundreds of artists will be coming to the West Coast, many for the first time, and all to help us celebrate our 10^th anniversary.

I have had a lot of fun putting together this year’s program, and we are very proud that we are bringing great musicians from 9 countries to enhance Vancouver’s musical life in August.

This year we are starting on a Friday night, and unlike last year when the Orpheum was closed for Olympic renovations, we are back in the big theatre for our Odlum Brown Opening Night – Celebración!

I can promise you that it will be an evening that will make you want to dance (which apparently is illegal in civic theatres!). In this extravaganza of Latin sounds, we have musicians from Argentina, Cuba, the USA and Canada... happy music with a strong sense of rhythm. We are so pleased to be able to bring back the Adrián Iaies Trio (from Buenos Aires), who were a hit at our 2008 Festival. They will get things under way on August 6, with intimate trio sounds that resonate with tango flavours. Then trumpeter Miguelito Valdés will join the trio for at least one song, as we could not do an evening like this without saluting Cuba and the many wonderful musicians we have had in the past from that highly cultured island. Miguelito is also a member of Vancouver’s popular Latin group Zapato Negro, so he will be staying on the stage for the second set. Then John Korsrud and his 22-piece Orquesta Goma Dura will heat things up with a set of their powerful arrangements. After intermission, the headliner group, the Poncho Sanchez Latin Jazz Band will show is why they are considered the hottest Latin jazz band on the continent.

I’ll be back next week to tell you about some of the immensely talented Australian musicians that are coming.