Quebec National Assembly reconvenes after election as Liberal government changes social and economic climate for the better Read More
A large audience was present in Montreal last Friday evening to hear the American violinist Hilary Hahn on tour with pianist Cory Smythe. Ms Hahn’s warm and engaging personality helped to dispel the cool and rainy weather concert goers had faced on the way to the Maison Symphonique. And then there was the music! Ms Hahn is well-known for her championing of modern music as well as pairing modern pieces with well established parts of the repertoire. Hahn’s current tour follows the release of her latest CD, 27 Pieces: The Hilary Hahn Encores. She undertook this project to encourage contemporary composers and to increase the repertoire of encores available for classical artists. She is playing two of these compositions on tour. These contemporary works tied in well with the overall theme of the evening which was thematic development and fantasy. Read More
Two new categories and a quota jump to 10,700 places among important changes to 2014 Canada-Ireland IEC agreement Read More
By Stephen Fogarty A new wave of talented young citizens of Ireland aged 18 to 35 will be coming to Canada starting in April and May under the latest incarnation of the Working Holiday Program (WHP) through the International Experience Canada initiative between Canada and Éire, the Republic of Ireland. The quota of places available to Irish nationals for Canada jumped by 1,000 up to 6,350 for 2013. Even with this increase, demand was extremely high. The WHP opened on-line at 3:30 P.M. Dublin time on January 29th, and less than 36 hours later, the quota was met. On February 1st, Canadian officials announced that they would permit an over-subscription to allow for possible cancellations and refusals among the pool of applicants, but the demand continued to be so high that no new applications were permitted starting February 4th. This situation contrasts sharply with the 2012 program which took until May 28th to fill the then 5,350 places. Read More
By Stephen Fogarty When the soloist was sitting down on Saturday night, I said to my concert companion, “He looks strong enough to break the piano!” The soloist in question was Denis Matsuev and I would not be surprised to learn that he was also a judoka on the Russian Olympic Team. So considering pure physicality, we knew we were in strong hands to perform what many claim to be the most demanding of all piano concertos, Rachmaninov’s 3rd. This piece includes many forceful passages with the piano and orchestra playing simultaneously, as well as a number of dialogues between piano and orchestra sections, especially the brass. You simply won’t hear the piano most of the time unless it is played vigorously. Also much of the piano’s work is set at a very fast pace. The whole thing has the serious potential of flying apart in all directions. Read More