PrettyInScarlett

As a final Ottawa concert and a break from mad packing, M and I attended the Rush Hour Concert: Music Miniatures by the Chamber Players of Canada on 12th February. Our interest piqued by Apartment 613's enthusiastic write-up of Monday evening's concert, we spent a fun hour in St Andrew's Church. The fare varied from lesser known works by Mahler and Prokofiev to relatively obscure composers such as Charles Lefebvre and William Grant Still. I really enjoyed the Mahler selection, Quartet for Piano and Strings - a little miniature by a young Mahler but certainly anticipatory of his later, larger works, with a unison pizzicato ending coming almost by surprise; the opening piano theme was also somehow familiar, as if it has been borrowed many times. M preferred Prokofiev's Overture on Hebrew Themes - according to Julian Armour's introduction, it's a rare example of Prokofiev using other melodies as a reference for a composition.  Howard Cable's The Petty ...

I initially hadn't planned to go to Friday 18th May's Chamber Players of Canada concert featuring Angela Hewitt - Schubert's String Quartet No. 14, Death and the Maiden isn't really my thing. However, I had the chance to attend Friday's rehearsal. As part of 'Angela Hewitt Week' the rehearsal had been opened up to students from Glebe Collegiate, Carleton Heights Public School and Gowling Public School; there were also some attendees from the OrKidstra programme. Once all the students had arrived at Christ Church, the assembled musicians started by playing the final movement of Schumann's Piano Quintet in E flat major, Op. 44. The sound quality from my seat at the back was of a warm, mellow sound (matching the late morning sun outside) combined with an exciting peformance - the kids were hooked. Sufficiently hooked to sit through a good few minutes rehearsing before hearing the first movement from the Piano Quintet . In between playing, both Hewitt an...

I just received information from a friend about Angela Hewitt Week in Ottawa, 14th-20th May as declared by Mayor Jim Watson. Ms Hewitt is performing with Chamber Players of Canada on Friday 18th May; there will also be An Afternoon With Angela Hewitt on 20th May at the National Arts Centre hosted by the Canadian Friends of the Trasimeno Music Festival .

After thoroughly enjoying Angela Hewitt's February concert at the National Arts Centre, 3 friends and I attended her chamber concert on 7th May at Christ Church Cathedral. Promoted by the Chamber Players of Canada, the recital was in aid of the Bruyère Foundation and, according to their representative and the Ottawa Citizen's review , raised over $26,000 for the Foundation. Our group arrived very early (on advice from Chamber Players regulars) and found good seats in the front of the 'regular' section. By the time the concert started with speeches, the cathedral was very definitely full. The programme comprised of: 10 of Bach's 15 Three-Part Inventions (Sinfonias); Variations and Fugue, Op. 25 'Eroica' by Beethoven; then, after the interval, Bach's French Suite No.3 in B minor and Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Handel, Op. 24 by Brahms. Although not an enormous Bach lover, I did enjoy the French Suite particularly well along with the Beethoven varia...

Something of a late April/May bonanza for shows - now that spring is here (mostly - in between the rainy days) there seem to be events galore! First up, an interesting and unusual evening. M and I received complimentary tickets to see Chamber Music of Healey Willan from Chamber Players of Canada , 23rd April. Neither of us were familiar with his works, but there's a first time for everything. I particularly liked the evening's premiere, which was a Willan piece for cello and piano completed by Matthew Larkin. Very very interesting, but sadly far too short! The trio in B minor was pretty good too. The first half programme (Fugue in G minor, Introduction/Allegro, Romance for Violin & Piano, Sanata in E minor for Violin & Piano), didn't engage us quite as much, though. The Chamber Players series also includes Angela Hewitt on May 7th. From one festival to another. The Prairie Scene (co-promoted by the National Arts Centre) is a showcase of music, visual arts/media, th...