NACOcast: Classical music podcast with Sean Rice (Canada's National Arts Centre)

“Every time a child passed through the station, the child wanted to stop, and every time, the adult with them pulled them along on their way.” Sean Rice interviews author Kathy Stinson, illustrator Dušan Petričić and composer Anne Dudley who all had a hand in creating the music performed by the NAC Orchestra’s telling of The Man With The Violin in December 2017. The book and the music were inspired by the real-life story of world-renown violinist Joshua Bell and the National Post's experiment on a January morning in Washington’s subway station.

The Man with the Violin: Suite for Violin and Orchestra is a co-commission with the National Arts Centre Orchestra and the National Symphony Orchestra. The work was premiered at the Kennedy Center, Washington D.C. in February 2017.

Karina Canellakis is the newly appointed Chief Conductor of the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra in
Amsterdam, beginning in the 19/20 season.

Winner of the 2016 Sir Georg Solti Conducting Award, Karina is internationally acclaimed for her emotionally charged
performances, technical command and interpretive depth. She made her European conducting debut in 2015 with the
Chamber Orchestra of Europe in Graz, Austria, replacing the late Nikolaus Harnoncourt, returning the following June to
conduct Concentus Musicus Wien in four symphonies of a Beethoven Cycle. She first made headlines in 2014 filling in at
the last-minute for Jaap van Zweden in Shostakovich Symphony No. 8 with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, where she
held the position of Assistant Conductor for two seasons.

Eric Friesen presents "Orchestral Schmorgesborg", a preconcert talk about the February 19 - 20, 2015 NAC Orchestra Concert "Søndergård Conducts Sibelius".

Major works by Sibelius and Beethoven anchor this concert: Thomas Søndergård’s interpretation of Sibelius’s symphonic masterpiece will enthrall you with its Nordic grandeur; and Beethoven’s high-spirited Second, though composed at a time of deep despair over his increasing deafness, already foreshadows the energy and originality we think of as quintessential Beethoven.

Argentinian pianist Ingrid Fliter (“a remarkable talent” ~ Chicago Classical Review) joins the NAC Orchestra as soloist in Haydn’s jaunty D Major Concerto.

Vanguards of the New York indie classical scene, composer Nico Muhly and violist Nadia Sirota embody the meaning of "classical reincarnated" in an electrifying concert.

Nadia Sirota joins Alexander Shelley in the Canadian premiere of Nico Muhly’s Electrifying Viola Concerto. This much anticipated work was commissioned by an international consortium of orchestras and organisations made up of Orquesta Nacionales de España, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Festival of Saint Denis and National Arts Centre Orchestra.

Nadia Sirota’s debut album, First Things First (New Amsterdam Records), was a New York Times 2009 record of the year, and she can also be heard on albums by Grizzly Bear, yMusic (a new music ensemble who commission Sufjan Stevens, Son Lux, and other young American composers),Jonsi, the National, Ratatat, Doveman, My Brightest Diamond, and Arcade Fire’s Grammy-winning The Suburbs.

Sean Rice and Alexander Shelley talk about the "Soul Stirring Music" coming up in the 2017-2018 season of the NAC Orchestra.

"I am full of anticipation for the NAC Orchestra season ahead and the glorious music that awaits us. We will host some of the finest performers in the world - artists like Itzhak Perlman, Emanuel Ax, Lang Lang, Angela Hewitt, Stephen Hough, Pinchas Zukerman and John Storgards."

- Alexander Shelley

“Earworms… musically depicts our diverted attention spans and multi-tasking lives.”

The double-cd set is called Canadian Works for Oboe and Piano, a collaboration with Ottawa pianist Fred Lacroix. It all started with John Burge’s Sonata Breve No. 4 for oboe and piano, composed in 2012. Fred Lacroix was also rather instrumental in the creation of this recording. Chip outlines several ideas that contributed to his CD which is available on the Canadian Music Centre’s website.

L’ensemble s’intitule Canadian Works for Oboe and Piano, et est une collaboration avec le pianist d’Ottawa Frédéric Lacroix. Le tout a commencé avec la Sonate Breve no 4 pour hautbois et piano de John Burge, composée en 2012. Frédéric Lacroix à eglaement joué un rôle important dans la création de cet enregistrement. Chip souligne plusieurs idées qui ont contribué à son CD, œuvre disponible sur le site web du Centre de musique canadienne.

Sean Rice, NAC Orchestra’s 2nd clarinetist, chats with Canadian violinist Blake Pouliot. At age fourteen Blake attended the NAC’s Young Artist Program and credits that experience for inspiring him to pursue a career in music.
Sean and Blake discuss the pressures of music competitions, his relationship with the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal and Blake’s passion for French composers. Pouliot’s debut album for Analekta Records featuring works by Debussy and Ravel received a 2019 JUNO nomination for Best Classical Album.

Nick speaks with Alexander Shelley, Music Director, about the 2015/2016 NAC Orchestra Season.

Alexander Shelley was appointed Music Director-designate of Canada's National Arts Centre Orchestra in October 2013 and will take up the position of Music Director in September 2015. In 2015 he enters his seventh year as Chief Conductor of the Nuremberg Symphony Orchestra where he has transformed the orchestra’s playing, education work and touring activities which have included tours to Italy, Belgium, China and a re-invitation to the Musikverein in Vienna. In January 2015 Shelley was named Principal Associate Conductor of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra with whom he will curate and perform a series of concerts at Cadogan Hall each season.

Born in the UK in 1979, Alexander first gained widespread attention when he was unanimously awarded first prize at the 2005 Leeds Conductors Competition and was described as "the most exciting and gifted young conductor to have taken this highly prestigious award. His conducting technique is immaculate, everything crystal clear and a tool to his inborn musicality."

Since then he has been in demand from orchestras around the world including the Philharmonia, City of Birmingham Symphony, Rotterdam Philharmonic, Stockholm Philharmonic, Mozarteum Orchester Salzburg, Konzerthausorchester Berlin, DSO Berlin, Leipzig Gewandhaus, Simon Bolivar, Seattle and Houston Symphony Orchestras. Further afield Alexander is a regular guest with the top Asian and Australasian orchestras. Recent press has singled him out as "a musician of considerable gifts and extraordinarily impressive interpretative qualities" (Strauss, Elgar and Sibelius in London), a conductor with "exceptional artistic authority" (Brahms with DSO Berlin) and described his Verdi Requiem in Salzburg as an "original, intelligent, thoroughly convincing and well-crafted interpretation".

Alexander’s operatic engagements have included The Merry Widow and Gounod’s Romeo and Juliet for Royal Danish Opera; La Bohème for Opera Lyra at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa, Iolanta with the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, Cosi fan tutte in Montpellier and a new production of The Marriage of Figaro for Opera North in 2015.

Alongside his regular appearances in London, Ottawa and Nuremberg, the 2014/15 season and beyond includes return visits to, among others, the DSO Berlin, Gothenburg Symphony, Konzerthausorchester Berlin, Leipzig Gewandhaus, Melbourne Symphony and NDR Radio Philharmonic as well as his debuts with Camerata Salzburg, Czech Philharmonic, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Orchestre Philharmonique de Luxembourg and Oslo Philharmonic. His first recording for Deutsche Grammophon, an album with Daniel Hope and the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic, was released in September 2014.

In Germany Alexander enjoys a close relationship with the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, with whom he performs regularly both in subscriptions in Bremen, and around Germany, and in October 2013 he took the orchestra on tour to Italy with a signature programme of Strauss, Wagner and Brahms. He is artistic director of their Zukunftslabor project - an award-winning series which aims to build a lasting relationship between the orchestra and a new generation of concert-goers through grass-roots engagement and which uses music as a source for social cohesion and integration.

The son of professional musicians, inspiring future generations of musicians and audiences has always been central to Alexander’s work. In Spring 2014 he conducted an extended tour of Germany with the Bundesjugendorchester and Bundesjugendballett which included a collaborative concert at the Baden-Baden Easter Festival with Sir Simon Rattle and members of the Berliner Philharmoniker. In 2001, during his cello and conducting studies in Dusseldorf, he founded the Schumann Camerata with whom he created "440Hz", an innovative concert series involving prominent German television, stage and musical personalities, conceived by him as a major initiative to attract young adults to the concert hall.

https://nac-cna.ca/en/orchestra/reincarnated

In this episode of the NACOcast Sean Rice speaks with NAC Music Director Alexander Shelley. On the occasion of its 50th Anniversary, the National Arts Centre Orchestra will embark on a European tour in May 2019. CROSSINGS: the NAC Orchestra 50th Anniversary European Tour will feature concerts and collaborative community outreach events in 7 cities and 5 countries: London, Paris, Utrecht, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Gothenburg and Saffron Walden. On this tour, Alexander Shelley and the NAC Orchestra will break new ground for the orchestral experience with an unprecedented representation of Canadian art, artists and stories.

“Crossings is emblematic of what is at the heart of this tour….We are crossing expectations, generations and distances and as we engage with new and diverse audiences, artists and young people to experience music and to make music together.”-Alexander Shelley, NAC Music Director.

In 2015 in collaboration with Western Front, Remy fused his many interests to create Foxconn Frequency (no.2) — for one visibly Chinese performer. Today his work continues to span chamber music, dance, theatre, installations, and audio-visual work. During his residency with the Canada Council for the Arts and the National Arts Centre’s Carrefour Composer program, Remy composed New Notations, a work for two X-box controllers and machine, which will premiere in 2020.

The NAC Orchestra’s Concertmaster Yosuke Kawasaki and Associate Concertmaster Jessica Linnebach speak with second clarinetist Sean Rice about their lives together, and their collaboration in the NACO’s February 2019 performance of Jocelyn Morlock’s Cobalt which just happens to be taking place on Valentine’s Day. The work is written for violin duet supported by orchestra – perfect for this married couple! Tune in for good stories and a few laughs.

Jocelyn Morlock’s Cobalt was composed in 2009, and was a NAC Orchestra and CBC co-commission. Premiered on April 30th, 2009 in Southam Hall in Ottawa, as part of the NAC's BC Scene, it featured violin soloists Jonathan Crow and Karl Stobbe, with the NAC Orchestra conducted by Alain Trudel.

Percussion playing is not just a matter of indiscriminate crashing and banging. NAC Orchestra percussionists Jon Wade and Ken Simpson explain the finer points of playing in an orchestral percussion section. It's MUCH more complicated than you think!

Tchaikovsky - 4th Symphony
Rimsky-Korssakoff - Capriccio espagnol Op. 34
Arturo Sandoval - Conga
Leonard Bernstein - Mambo
Tchaikovsky - Marché Slav Op. 31

As a prelude to the NAC Orchestra's UK Tour -- a tour of commemoration and remembrance -- Nick speaks with renowned historian Margaret MacMillan about Canada and its role in the First World War.

Prof MacMillan, is an historian and professor at the University of Oxford, where she is Warden of St Antony's College. She is former provost of Trinity College, professor of history at the University of Toronto and Ryerson University. A leading expert on history and international relations, MacMillan is a frequent commentator in the media. [wikipedia.org]

Philip Glass: String Quartet No. 5
Analia Lludgar: Luz for violin and cello
Johannes Maria Staud: Black Moon for bass clarinet
Bryce Dessner: Aheym for string quartet

Inspired by Robert Burns's Birthday on January 25, Nick presents a selection of Scottish folk songs in arrangements by Haydn, Beethoven and others.

Featured music in this episode:

Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau - Maggy Lauder
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau - O köstliche Zeit
Lois Marshall - The Bonnie Banks O' Loch Lomond
Lois Marshall - The Cockle Gatherer
Isobel Baillie & Kathleen Ferrier - Comin' through the rye
Kathleen Ferrier - Ca' the yowes
Kenneth McKellar - Afton Water
Kenneth McKellar - Ae fond kiss
Kenneth McKellar - My love is like a red, red rose

November 16 & 17 was the world-premiere of Peter Paul Koprowski's Concertante for Double Bass, Strings and Percussion, written for and performed by the NAC Orchestra’s own world-class, mega-talented principal double bass Joel Quarrington. Sean talks with Joel about his roots, his training and his career as a double bass player.

Excerpts of Peter Paul Koprowski's Concertante for Double Bass, Strings and Percussion from the NAC Orchestra concert in Southam Hall on November 17, 2016.

In this episode of the NACOcast NAC Orchestra violinist Carissa Klopoushak interviews two founding violinists, Karoly Sziladi and Elaine Klimasko. They are joined by long time orchestra champion Evelyn Greenberg who was also the original harpsichordist and pianist of the orchestra. Together they share many wonderful memories, from first auditions to fifty years of touring and performing across Canada and the world. This episode of the NACOcast will transport you to the very beginning of this beloved orchestral family.

Additional Resources:

NACO at 50: Karoly Szilady’s journey full of musical memories

NACO on Tour: On the road with the happy warrior Elaine Klimasko

Musical memories: Evelyn Greenberg connects NACO and uOttawa

The NAC celebrates our 50th anniversary all year long

The death knell for classical music has been ringing for decades.
Yet many say the music is not only alive, it’s kicking!

Join us for a fascinating, up-close-and-personal conversation with two highly original voices – Alexander Shelley, Music Director of the NAC Orchestra, and Andrew Potter, Editor of the Ottawa Citizen. With special guest Nadia Sirota ,violist and host of WQXR's Q2 Music Meet the Composer podcast.

Canadian voices. Nick takes a look at three iconic Canadian singers from the past: Lois Marshall, Leopold Simoneau and James Milligan, all of whom deserve a place in the pantheon of vocal art.

CANADIAN-VOICES.pdf

Sean and Alexander unravel some historic and musical stories within each of these symphonies, as we begin an exploration of the development of Beethoven through his nine symphonies.

The National Arts Centre mourns the loss of Maestro Mario Bernardi, the founding conductor of the NAC Orchestra. Maestro Bernardi passed away peacefully in Toronto on June 2. In this episode of the NACOcast we pay tribute to the great music director by reprising a previous edition of the NACOcast featuring an interview conducted by Christopher Millard at the maestro's home in Toronto in 2006.

A conductor, and accomplished pianist, Mario Bernardi was born in Kirkland Lake, Ontario in 1930. He moved to Italy when he was six years old with his mother, living in the small city of Treviso, near Venice, where they remained throughout the war.

He studied at the Venice Conservatory and excelled in the keyboard instruments of piano and harpsichord. A man of many musical talents, he was considered among the best of Canada’s promising young musicians emerging in the postwar period—a group that included Glenn Gould.

He began his professional career with the Royal Conservatory Opera School in Toronto. He first began to conduct in his mid-twenties at the Canadian Opera Company. In 1963, he moved to London, England where he was recruited by the Sadler’s Wells Opera Company (now the English National Opera). He served as Music Director of Sadler’s Wells before being enticed back to Canada to become the founding conductor of the National Arts Centre Orchestra of Canada from 1968-1982.

From the original podcast show notes: As a tribute to Walter Prystawski, the NAC Orchestra's founding concertmaster who is retiring after 37 years at the first desk, Christopher talks to founding NACO music director Mario Bernardi as well as three of Walter's original orchestra colleagues. The conversations touch on the core classical repertoire of the orchestra, NACO's signature sound and the critical role Walter Prystawski played in shaping that sound.

Both composers were Russian, but had different experiences of Russia in the 20th century. Kelly gets Lars to tell us about the contrast between the two composers and how they were perceived in their time. Was Rachmaninoff a propagandist? Did Shostakovich take the wrong path? Ask yourself that next time you listen to these great works.

Robert Chafe is a 2010 Governor General Award recipient for his play, Afterimage. His extensive body of work also includes such plays as Place of First Light, Charismatic Death Scenes, Belly Up, Emptygirl, Oil and Water, Butler's Marsh, and Tempting Providence. Butler's Marsh and Tempting Providence also earned Robert a 2004 Governor General Award nomination. Robert is Artistic Director for the company, Artistic Fraud, based in St. John's, and he collaborates quite frequently with our head of English Theatre here at the NAC, fellow Newfoundlander, Jillian Keiley. We are incredibly fortunate that Robert is able to join us today to talk about his work, Heirloom.

The NAC Orchestra and Shallaway Youth Choir performed "Heirloom" by Larysa Kuzmenko and Robert Chafe (based on Brahms Intermezzo, Op. 118, No. 2) on April 27, 2017.

In this last edition of this season of the NACOcast, Nick gives us the lowdown on Eastern Europe with The Slavic Bass … He explores the curious fact that Slavic countries tend to produce excellent tenors.

Music in this episode:

Epistle to the Romans - Liturgical Music from the Russian Cathedral
Dinev: The Judicious Villain - Music from the Slavonic Orthodox Liturgy
Borodin: Khan Konchak's Aria - Chaliapin: Great Scenes from Boris Godunov
Rimsky-Korsakov: Song of the Viking Guest - Chaliapin: Great Scenes from Boris Godunov
Mozart: Don Giovanni, Madamina! il catalogo è questo - Boris Christoff: Opera Arias
Ariodante: Al sen ti stringo e parto - Alexander Kipnis
Mozart: La Flûte Enchantée, acte 2: In diesen heiligen Hallen - Alexander Kipnis
Brahms: Sapphische Ode, Op. 94, No. 4 - Alexander Kipnis
Brahms: Vier Ernste Gesaenge, Op. 121 No. 3, Oh Tod, o Tod, wie bitter bist du - Alexander Kipnis

Nick shares his impressions of the First World War through his own family memories, interspersed with some of the popular music of the time.
The Regimental March of the PPCLI is performed by the Central Band of the Canadian Armed Forces.

Musical Excerpts:

Regimental March - Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry
Roses of Picardy - Wood-Weatherly
Keep the Home Fires Burning - Novello
Keep Right on to the End of the Road - Harry Lauder
The Parable of the Old Man and the Young - Wilfred Owen

Sean Rice, NAC Orchestra 2nd clarinet, talks with Toronto-based Carrefour* Composer Ian Cusson. They talk about R. Murray Schaffer, Bulgarian women’s choirs, and unrelated studies at the University of Toronto before delving into his chosen career. During Ian’s two year Carrefour residency with the NAC Orchestra from 2017-2019, he was commissioned for two works which received premieres at that National Gallery of Canada and in Southam Hall: Where There’s a Wall for mezzo-soprano and sextet, which featured poetry by acclaimed Japanese-Canadian poet, Joy Kogawa, and Le Loup de Lafontaine, an orchestral suite based on a story from his home town. During this time, he was also jointly commissioned by the NAC Orchestra and the Canadian Opera Company for Dodo, mon tout petit, an aria for soprano and orchestra, which will be included as part of Harry Somers and Mavor Moore’s opera, Louis Riel. An Associate Composer of the Canadian Music Centre, Ian is currently the Composer-in-Residence for the Canadian Opera Company.

* The Carrefour Composer Program is made possible by the Canada Council for the Arts.

Sean Rice, second clarinetist of the NAC Orchestra, interviews the five apprentices who participated in the NAC's annual Institute for Orchestral Studies in the fall of 2017. They were:

Alexander Volkov, violin
Gabrielle Bouchard, violin
Alisa Klebanov, viola
Grace Sommer, cello
Talia Hatcher, double bass

The Institute for Orchestral Studies (IOS) is an apprenticeship program designed to prepare highly talented young musicians towards successful orchestral careers. It was established in 2006 under the guidance of former Music Director Pinchas Zukerman, and is funded by the National Arts Centre Foundation through the National Youth and Education Trust. Apprentices take a seat in regular NAC Orchestra rehearsals and performances, and get private lessons, coaching and mentorship throughout their apprenticeship.

In this archival episode from 2016, NACOcast host Sean Rice connects with composer and pianist Timo Andres whose works were performed by members of the NAC Orchestra as part the WolfGANG Sessions.
During their conversation Andres discusses the inspiration and structure of his compositions Early to Rise and Safe Travels and describes himself as a very harmonic composer who is obsessed with compositional craft.
Philip Glass selected Timo Andres as the recipient of The City of Toronto Glenn Gould Protégé Prize in 2016 and calls Andres as “a brilliant compositional mind with a wonderful sense of interpretation of music.”

In celebration of Beethoven and Schumann – two highly expressive and innovative composers, the NAC Orchestra created an eclectic evening of music, dance and art called Classical Collisions. Fine art inspired graffiti artists while classical music mixed with DJ scratching - and everybody danced.

Artist Anita Kunz, who was commissioned to create the illustration of Beethoven and Schumann in a fraternal kiss loved the concept. “It’s a lovely, warm idea of brotherhood between these two great composers.”

For Music Director Alexander Shelley it was an opportunity to welcome a diverse community of artists to collaborate and create. "It’s absolutely appropriate that we should have other improvisers in the building showing what they do with these themes." explained Shelley.

Classical Collisions was a 21st century interpretation of the free spirited romantic era. And it was a party I’m sure both Beethoven and Schumann would have loved.

Host Sean Rice speaks with conductor Elim Chan who made her NAC main series debut in the 18-19 season. A past fellow in the NAC Orchestra’s Conductor’s Program, the Hong Kong-born musician has made her mark on the classical music circuit with her thoughtful and dynamic performances, imbued with energy and imagination.

Elim and Sean discuss the experiences that shaped her journey into the world of conducting, their shared love of Mendelssohn and the newly commissioned Cello Concerto by Canadian composer Marjan Mozetich.

Symphonies 5 and 6, forming in his mind before the fourth, were premiered on December 22, 1808. Discover how that evening unravelled, and hear Sean and Alexander rave about Beethoven’s accomplishments and contributions to the world.

Did you know the Canadian Brass shares founding members with the National Arts Centre Orchestra!? Join Sean Rice in a conversation about the history and future of Canadian Brass with founding member Chuck Daellenbach and newest member Caleb Hudson. Chuck shares stories like filling in with the NAC Orchestra, getting to Carnegie Hall by way of children's concerts, and Caleb talks about possibly the most difficult audition in history.

Musical excerpts are from their spectacular concerts with the NAC Orchestra from November 3-5, 2016.

Antonio Salieri was a successful composer, who wrote about forty operas; he was an excellent teacher, whose students included Beethoven, Schubert and Liszt, and he was, for a time, the most powerful musician at the Vienna court of the Habsburgs. He lived from 1750-1825 – not bad going if you think of Mozart, Schubert, Chopin and Mendelssohn, all of whom died young, but not so impressive if you consider the enduring fame of the composers who lived only half as long. Salieri, if he is remembered at all nowadays, is best known for his association with Mozart, and, most especially, as a suspect in Mozart’s death.

In this edition of the NACOcast, Nick talks to Ian Kyer, whose book on Salieri shows that the oft-maligned composer deserves a lot more respect! And as a very special bonus for NACOcast listeners, Ian Kyer has graciously allowed us to make available the full text of his novel as a downloadable PDF. Get it here:

PDF: https://radio.nac-cna.ca/podcast/NACOcast/NACOcast_Salieri-DamagingWinds.pdf
ePub: https://radio.nac-cna.ca/podcast/NACOcast/NACOcast_Salieri-DamagingWinds.epub

Music is this edition of the NACOcast:

Armida: Aria of Armida: "Tremo, dell'idol mio"
Artist: Chen Reiss, L'arte Del Mondo, Werner Ehrhardt
Album: Liasions
Composer: Antonio Salieri
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/ca/album/liasions/id473691865

La Fiera Di Venezia - Vi Sono Sposa E Amante
Artist: Cecilia Bartoli; Adám Fischer: Orchestra Of The Age Of Enlightenment
Album: The Salieri Album
Composer: Antonio Salieri
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/ca/album/cecilia-bartoli-salieri-album/id79134963

Les Danaïdes - Act 2: Par Les Larmes Dont Votre Fille
Artist: Mojca Erdmann; Andrea Marcon: La Cetra
Album: Mozart's Garden
Composer: Antonio Salieri
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/ca/album/mozarts-garden/id467451230

Christopher speaks with the distinguished conductor Leonard Slatkin about the problem of repeats in Schubert.
The conversation focuses on his Ninth Symphony, The Great C Major, with a careful examination of the exquisite Andante Con Moto.