Morgan Luethe The 2017 Summer Solstice Music Festival, in addition to its impressive roster of international artists, featured much Canadian talent, as well. In concerts at the Art Gallery of Alberta and, once again, at the University of Alberta’s Convocation Hall, audiences were reminded of the high-calibre musicians that live and work in Edmonton and across Canada, … Read more
The exciting sounds of Constantinople and Ghalia Benali were both a welcome and engaging foray into a perfumed world of Middle Eastern rhapsody. November 9th’s third concert of the ECMS’ 2019/20 season saw a presentation of this group’s latest program, In the Footsteps of Rumi – an experience that was both transporting and entrancing. Musicians of the … Read more
Montreal-based collectif9 left its mark on Edmonton this past month, presenting listeners with a program of interesting and augmented takes on some classic repertoire staples. A string orchestra of nine young and seriously talented players, the group brought a diverse selection of works to the ears of the ECMS audience that included pieces by Mahler, Purcell and … Read more
Trio Solisti’s mid-September concert at Robertson-Wesley United Church made for a powerful opening to the ECMS’ 65th season, with a meat-and-potatoes program of Haydn, Dvořák and Schumann. Balancing classical restraint, folksy ebullience and dark romantic passion the evening’s music drew from nearly eight decades of repertoire that gave not only interesting insight into the development … Read more
The 2019 edition of the ECMS’ Summer Solstice Festival has, once again, left the ears of the audience bathed in terrific music making. Over the course of three mainstage concerts and numerous daytime and evening outreach events in the community, the Festival delivered its annual dose of top-notch chamber music to diverse spaces in downtown … Read more
Elisa Citterio, Music DirectorBlair Williams, Narrator / Actor For around forty years, Tafelmusik has been recognized as a renowned institution of Canadian music-making, with performances of theirs being the highlight of many a concert season in this country. Once again, the group made this clear in their latest appearance in Edmonton which brought the inextinguishable … Read more
January 19th saw the return of the renowned London Haydn Quartet and frequent collaborator, clarinetist Eric Hoeperich. The concert presented two mature works of the Quartet’s namesake as well as a staple of the clarinet repertoire, the B-flat Quintet of von Weber, and the evening handily delivered on the promise of a superb musical experience. Having, for … Read more
The Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Trio delivered a world-class listening experience at McDougall United Church on the evening of November 9th. While this is not surprising (the group has become internationally renowned since their debut concert at the 1977 presidential Inauguration of Jimmy Carter), what was fascinating were the various often unarticulated elements of the music brought to life and highlighted so … Read more
As has taken place for the past eleven years now in our city, Edmonton played host to an excellent late-June week of terrific music making. The 2018 Summer Solstice Music Festival had something for every taste, from larger scale ensembles to more intimately cast duo concerts. Matching the wide variety in performances was an equally … Read more
Rounding out the ECMS’ last event of its regular 2018 concert season was, arguably, the year’s most affecting performance. The renowned Tallis Scholars, one of the world’s preeminent chamber choirs, presented their program War and Peace, in commemoration of the lives lost in the First World War. Not only did the group mesmerize listeners with the … Read more
