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
On-line applications are expected to open in January for the 2013 International Experience Canada / Working Holiday Program for Irish citizens aged 18 to 35 wishing to visit and work in Canada. The launch date was to have been January 15th. That has now been delayed due to administrative reasons since the entire application process is slated to be handled by officials inside Canada for the first time. As in the past, successful applicants will receive their acceptance by email authorizing them to request their Open Work Permit upon arrival in Canada. Read More
Photo ©2012 Stephen Fogarty
About 120 violin students and classical music fans of all ages were privileged to attend a fascinating Master Class given by the Russian violinist Maxim Vengerov in Montréal on Friday, October 26. Mr. Vengerov was in town performing in and conducting two concerts by the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal (OSM). The program notes mentioned that Mr. Vengerov now divides his time equally among playing the violin, conducting, and teaching. His skills in the first two are universally acclaimed, and it was apparent only a few minutes into the Master Class that his skills as a teacher are on an equally high level.
The Master Class featured four Montréal area up-and-coming, young violinists each of whom would begin playing a work for some five to eight minutes. Mr. Vengerov would then give a general overview of their efforts, followed by a review of particular passages to work on technique. He often illustrated the points by playing on his own ex-Kreutzer 1728 Stradivari, and toward the end even played a duet with one of the students, Baptiste Rodrigues. Read More
An enthusiastic crowd packed Pollack Hall on a chilly November 1st evening to hear the McGill Symphony Orchestra (MGSO), which played three works, two rarely performed and one a cornerstone of modern Western culture.
The concert began with the 1920 version of Stravinsky’s Symphonies of Wind Instruments. This rather sombre, one-movement work of some 10 minutes duration was dedicated to the memory of Debussy. Its interesting progressions provide ample opportunity for wind musicians to showcase their talents, which the McGill players surely did. Read More
Legislation is expected in autumn 2012 to close a loophole which had allowed persons who apply for citizenship to request that days spent outside of Canada be counted to satisfy residency requirements.
Under the current rules, a permanent resident may apply for citizenship if he or she has, “within the four years immediately preceding the date of his or her application, accumulated at least three years of residence in Canada”. The term “residence” was not defined in the law, with the result that some judges were approving citizenship applications by individuals who might work for long periods outside Canada, for example, but otherwise kept significant ties to the country, such as the presence of a home, spouse and children. Read More