Johann Sebastian Bach Three Chorale Preludes (arr. György Kurtág) The chorale, a hymn setting of pious verse in simple note values, was a central element in Lutheran liturgical practice, whether sung in unison by the congregation, in four-part harmony by … Continue reading
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A sold-out performance for the Jussen brothers, another coup for Sheku, and Happy Lunar New Year! Check out this week's e-news...
A sold-out performance for the Jussen brothers
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We're looking forward to welcoming pianists Lucas and Arthur Jussen to our stage at the Playhouse this Sunday. The concert is sold out (we have a wait list for tickets: call us at 604-602-0363 or email us if you'd like to be added to the list). Seated at a single piano, this remarkable pair of Dutch...Another coup for Sheku Kanneh-Mason. Congratulations Sheku! 👏
Sheku Kanneh-Mason makes UK Album Chart history by entering the Top 10
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Kanneh-Mason becomes the first cellist in the history of the UK Official Album Chart to break into the Top 10 and the first British classical instrumentalist in 30 yearsHey piano lovers, check out this week's e-news...
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In the words of the great Irving Berlin: I love a piano. I have piano on my mind because I’m still on a high after the Li brothers’ brilliant performance at the Playhouse on Sunday. Despite the inclement weather, George and Andrew Li played to a full house, and our next concert this month, featu...Program Notes: George and Andrew Li
Posted onWolfgang Amadeus Mozart Sonata in D major K. 381 for Piano Duet In the 1760s, when Wolfgang & his sister Nannerl were touring Europe as child prodigies, the keyboard duet was a popular novelty item on their programs, one that … Continue reading
Program Notes: Sheku and Isata Kanneh-Mason
Posted onLudwig van Beethoven 12 Variations on “Ein Mädchen oder Weibchen” from The Magic Flute Op. 66 Beethoven’s set of variations on a theme from Mozart’s Magic Flute features twelve sharply chiselled operatic duets between piano and cello, widely differentiated in … Continue reading
Program Notes: Danish String Quartet
Posted onJohann Sebastian Bach The Well-Tempered Clavier Book I Fugue No. 16 in G minor BWV 861 (arr. Förster) If you have ever happened to see one of those cooking shows in which a chef is challenged to create an entire … Continue reading
Program Notes: Z.E.N. Trio
Posted onFranz Schubert Notturno in E-flat major Op. 148 Schubert’s Adagio for Piano Trio D 897 was composed in 1827 but only published decades later, under the publisher’s title Notturno. And indeed, the opening section does conjure up images of nighttime … Continue reading
Program notes: Nikki and Timmy Chooi and Angela Cheng
Posted onClaude Debussy Sonata in G minor for violin and piano The sound of Debussy’s music confounded many of his contemporaries. From a tonal point of view, it floated in stasis in a world of pastel sounds that arrived at their … Continue reading
PROGRAM NOTES: TETZLAFF-TETZLAFF-VOGT TRIO
Posted onWolfgang Amadeus Mozart Piano Trio No. 1 in B-flat Major K 502 The piano trio developed out of the ‘accompanied’ keyboard sonata, a makeshift compositional genre that attempted to compensate for the weak ‘tinkly’ tone of the early fortepiano (forerunner … Continue reading
Program notes: Andrew Tyson
Posted onAlban Berg Sonata Op. 1 The tonal system in use throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, from Bach to Tchaikovsky, was predicated on the understanding that pieces would be in a home key – from which they would depart, and to … Continue reading
Program Notes: Jonathan Roozeman
Posted onLuigi Boccherini Sonata in A major G 4 Luigi Boccherini was perhaps the greatest cellist of the 18th century, and like his compatriot of a previous generation, Domenico Scarlatti, he spent the most active portion of his professional life at … Continue reading
PROGRAM NOTES: Yevgeny Sudbin
Posted onDomenico Scarlatti Sonata in B minor K 197 Sonata in G major K 455 “Probably one of the most outrageously individual compositional outputs of the Baroque era is to be found in the keyboard sonatas of Domenico Scarlatti,” writes Yevgeny … Continue reading