Ludwig van Beethoven 32 Variations in C minor WoO 80 The theme that Beethoven chose for his 32 Variations in C minor (1806) has a Baroque feel to it, with its chaconne-like harmonic pattern in the left hand and sarabande-like … Continue reading
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In this week's e-news we talk about fundraising in these strange Covid times, and we share a moving testimonial about legacy giving from VRS subscriber and donor Rick Carswell. Plus, pianist Stephen Hough is advocating for the end of intermission at concerts (which is sure to be a little bit controversial). Read it all here: bit.ly/3lyXBu3
We have a new Beyond the Concert Hall video to share... this week Leila chats with trombonist Peter Moore, who was supposed to make his Canadian debut on our series earlier this month. Plus, Yo-Yo Ma has a new album coming out, appropriately titled 'Songs of Comfort and Hope'. And, as always, we're sharing the music we're listening to right now. All in this week's e-news: bit.ly/2J6F1Md
In this week's e-news, we're sharing a video of Paul Lewis playing Beethoven’s 4th Piano Concerto with the Oslo Philharmonic under the baton of Spanish conductor Juanjo Mena. Balm for the soul. bit.ly/3fe9SCl
PROGRAM NOTES: YEKWON SUNWOO
Posted onFranz Schubert Sonata in C minor D 958 Schubert’s unabashed admiration for Beethoven is vividly on display in the opening bars of his Sonata in C minor D 958, composed in September 1828, shortly before his death. Schubert had served … Continue reading
PROGRAM NOTES: THE VERONA QUARTET
Posted onFranz Joseph Haydn Quartet in B at major Op. 50 No. 1 The art music of Western Europe underwent a period of transition in the mid- 18th century as the thickly embroiled scores of the Baroque, with their long spun-out … Continue reading
A change to our first concert in the 2017-18 Season
Posted onThe Simón Bolívar String Quartet’s scheduled performance at the Vancouver Playhouse on September 17 has been postponed to a future season. The current volatile and violent situation in Venezuela, which has heightened following last week’s election, has made it almost impossible … Continue reading
PROGRAM NOTES: BENJAMIN GROSVENOR
Posted onRobert Schumann Arabesque, Op. 18 In the autumn of 1838 Robert Schumann made a career decision. He would move from his native Leipzig to Vienna to find a publisher and a sympathetic public for his piano compositions. The public he … Continue reading
PROGRAM NOTES: JAVIER PERIANES
Posted onFranz Schubert Piano Sonata in A Major D 664 The salubrious effects of country air on the mind and spirits of the vacationing composer are well known. Witness Schubert’s wonderfully relaxed and lyrical Sonata in A Major D 664 composed … Continue reading
PROGRAM NOTES: MURRAY PERAHIA
Posted onJohann Sebastian Bach French Suite No. 6 in E Major BWV 817 The spirit of the dance can be felt across a wide range of Bach’s works, from the fugues of the Well-Tempered Clavier to the Mass in B minor. … Continue reading
PROGRAM NOTES: PAUL LEWIS
Posted onJohann Sebastian Bach Partita No. 1 in B flat major BWV 825 The partita, in late Baroque parlance, was just another name for a dance suite, a multi-movement work made up of the four canonical dance forms—allemande, courante, sarabande & … Continue reading
PROGRAM NOTES: FLORIAN BOESCH AND MIAH PERSSON
Posted onThe Songs of Robert Schumann Robert Schumann was a composer steeped in literature. His compositions bear the dual imprint of both German musical and literary Romanticism. Literature was the family business, one might say, as his father, August Schumann, was … Continue reading
PROGRAM NOTES: HARRIET KRIJGH, CELLO & MAGDA AMARA, PIANO
Posted onFelix Mendelssohn Cello Sonata No. 2 Op. 58 Mendelssohn’s second sonata for cello and piano reveals him as the Classical-Romantic hybrid that he was. An effortless practitioner of Classical etiquette in the construction of symmetrically balanced phrases, he eagerly took … Continue reading