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2008  
 February 4th: Celebration of Percussion - Alexander Brott Tribute
 March 17th: Two Comic Operas
 April 7th: Mozart Magic
 April 15th: GALA CONCERT
 May 5th: From Vienna with Love
 May 26th: Beethoven!
 September 24th: Dorothée Berryman “In Concert”
 October 20th: Trumpet Triumphant
 November 26th: Handel’s Messiah
 
2007  
 January 29th: Alain Lefèvre Plays Shostakovitch and Lefevre
 February 19th: Organ Superstar Spectacular.
 March 21st: First Annual Alexander Brott Memorial Concert
 May 7th: Canada's Answer to the Vienna Boys Choir
 May 28th: Return of the trumpet
 September 24th: Concierto de Aranjuez - Viva Espana
 October 29th: Songs of Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff and Benjamin Britten
 November 19th: Handel Messiah - 20th ANNIVERSARY
 
2006  
 January 30th: Mozart's 250th Birthday Concert
 February 13th: Beethoven Mass in C
 March 12th: ELIJAH - SPECIAL EVENT
 March 27th: Bernstein and Bizet
 May 1st: Stringz
 May 29th: Beethoven and Brahms..
 September 25th: Mozart Sinfonia Concertante
 October 30th: Two Comic Operas – Concert Staging
 November 20th: First Messiah of the Season
 
2005  
 February 7th: Lord Nelson
 March 14th: Alexander Brott's 90th Birthday Gala
 April 18th: Kuerti Plays Beethoven
 May 9th: Orchestral Virtuosity
 May 30th: Beaver plays Prokofiev
 September 26th: Tchaikovsky!
 October 24th: The Trumpet Shall Sound
 November 21st: Messiah
 
2004  
 February 9th: McGill Evening honouring Columbia Space Shuttle
 March 1st: Beethoven!
 March 29th: Two Great Versions of the Four Seasons
 April 26th: Mozart and Britten
 May 31st: Fialkowska Plays Chopin
 September 27th: Bach and Beyond
 October 18th: Mozart and the Four Temperaments
 November 22nd: Messiah
 
2003  
 September 15th: 9-11 Commemorative Concert
 October 20th: Top Brass - A Tribute to Mozart
 November 17th: Mostly Mahler Upon a Quartet
 December 8th: Messiah
 


concert   
Monique Pagé
9-11 Commemorative Concert 
Pollack Hall, 555 Sherbrooke Street West
September 15th, 2003

Featured guest(s):
Monique Pagé, soprano

Program:
Gabriel Thibaudeau Requiem
(Commissioned by the McGill Chamber Orchestra)
World Premiere in Remembrance of the Victims of September 11, 2001
Barber Adagio for Strings Op. 11
Shostakovich-Barshai Sinfonia Op. 110A

Join us for a concert of reflection - a \"9-11\" tribute to bravery and sacrifice and the world premiere of Quebec film composer Gabriel Thibaudeau’s Requiem with rising soprano star Monique Pagé. Barber’s haunting Adagio for Strings and Shostakovich’s dramatic Quartet No. 8 arranged by Rudolf Barshai for String Orchestra as Sinfonia Op 110A and dedicated against racism and hatred. An opportunity to communicate so aptly with your inner feelings in these uncertain times - INSPIRING!


Review(s):

A deeply moving tribute to the victims of 9/11 was heard at the McGill Chamber Orchestra\'s comemorative concert at Pollack Hall Monday night.....Alexander Brott led the ensemble through his own string arrangement of a Scarlatti Sonata - a gracious and pleasing interlude on this sombre occasion.....Under Boris Brott\'s guidance the ensemble voiced the pervasive sadness of Barber\'s Adagio with such eloquent beauty that it moved me to tears.......The musicians also did honour to Rudolf Barshai\'s string version of Shostakovich\'s Quartet No. 8.........Ilse Zadrozny, Montreal Gazette, September 17,2003


La première qualité observée hier soir est, comme lors du concert auquel j\'assistais en fin de saison dernière, la sonorité collective du petit orchestre à corde de la famille Brott: pleine, compacte, aves une belle résonance des basses et une justesse remarquable.....Claude Gingras, La Presse, 17 séptembre 2003


concert   
Alain Trudel
Top Brass - A Tribute to Mozart 
Pollack Hall
October 20th, 2003

Featured guest(s):
Alain Trudel, Solo Trombone

Program:
Mozart Divertimento K. 251
Malcolm Forsyth These Cloud-Capp’d Towers
Wagenseil Concerto in E-flat major
===
Mozart Symphony No. 33 in B-flat major K. 319
Rozankovic Figabone: paraphrases on themes by Mozart

ALAIN TRUDEL - acknowledged as the world’s best trombone virtuoso, will thrill you with his ‘top brass’ interpretations of works inspired by the legendary Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. - SENSATIONAL!



concert   
MCO Orchestra
Mostly Mahler Upon a Quartet 
Pollack Hall
November 17th, 2003

Featured guest(s):


Program:
Jacques Hetu - Poeme op.47
Domenico Scarlatti-Alexander Brott Sonata No. 185 in F major
Domenico Scarlatti-Alexander Brott Sonata No. 3 in C major
Beethoven-Mahler String Quartet - Op. 95
====
Mahler - Adagietto from Symphony No. 5
Schubert-Mahler - Death and the Maiden

Gustav Mahler, acknowledged as one of the greatest symphonists of the 19th Century, was also one of the most celebrated conductors of all time. He arranged both Beethoven and Schubert quartets in lush and virtuoso orchestrations for string orchestra. An all orchestra program displaying the virtuosity of the NEW McGill Chamber Orchestra - FABULOUS!



concert   
Daniel Taylor
Messiah 
Christ Church Cathedral
December 8th, 2003

Featured guest(s):
Suzie Leblanc - Soprano
Daniel Taylor - Counter-tenor
Michiel Schrey - Tenor
Daniel Lichti - Bass


Program:
Handel Messiah

A much anticipated annual event - The McGill Chamber Orchestras FIRST MESSIAH of the festive season. The acclaimed Christ Church Cathedral Singers directed by Patrick Wedd - with a superlative cast, including one of the world’s favourite counter-tenors - Daniel Taylor. INSPIRATIONAL!



McGill Evening honouring Columbia Space Shuttle 
Pollack Hall
February 9th, 2004

Featured guest(s):
McGill University Chamber Singers
Soloists - McGill University Opera Department
McGill Faculty of Music Concerto Winners

Program:
McGill Music Faculty Commission - Competition Winner
Stravinsky - Divertimento in D
Mozart - Requiem

Our annual celebration of our return to our McGill University roots features Mozarts beloved Requiem with the McGill Chamber Singers directed by Julian Wachner and the world premiere of a new work by a McGill Faculty competition winner . EXCEPTIONAL!



concert   
Martin Beaver - Solo Violon
Beethoven! 
Pollack Hall
March 1st, 2004

Featured guest(s):
Martin Beaver

Program:
Beethoven-A. Brott - Papageno Revisited
Beethoven - Symphony No. 2
Beethoven - Violin Concerto in D major Op. 61

Beaver plays Beethoven - the celebrated Canadian First Violin of the Tokyo String Quartet brings his musical maturity and considerable insight to one of the great violin masterpieces of all time. IMPASSIONED!



concert   
Min Lee
Two Great Versions of the Four Seasons 
Pollack Hall
March 29th, 2004

Featured guest(s):
Min Lee, Solo Violin

Program:
Vivaldi Spring
Astor Piazzola Spring
Vivaldi Summer
Astor Piazzola Summer

Vivaldi Autumn
Astor Piazzola Autumn
Vivaldi Winter
Astor Piazzola Winter

Singapore violin sensation Min Lee, in her Canadian orchestral debut, plays Vivaldis celebrated Four Seasons juxtaposed with world famous Argentinian Tango Composer Astor Piazzolas interpretation of the same subject. ENTHRALLING!



concert   
Mozart and Britten 
Pollack Hall
April 26th, 2004

Featured guest(s):
James Sommerville - Solo French Horn
Benjamin Butterfield - Tenor


Program:
Harry Freedman "Images"
Britten Serenade for Tenor, Horn, and Strings
===
Mozart Tenor Arias
Mozart Horn Concerto No. 4

Boston Symphony Principal French Horn James Sommerville, and Amsterdam based tenor Benjamin Butterfield, two of Montreals favourites, join forces to perform the music of two great wunderkinder giants, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Benjamin Britten - CAPTIVATING!



concert   
Janina Fialkowska
Fialkowska Plays Chopin 
Pollack Hall
May 31st, 2004

Featured guest(s):
Janina Fialkowska, piano

Program:
Chopin Piano Concerto in F Minor No. 2
Andrew Culver - Invisible Chopin

Chopin Piano Concerto in E Minor No. 1

Internationally recognized Chopin interpreter Janina Fialkowska will envelop you with the romantic melodic musings of these two great masterpieces in new string orchestra arrangements by Julian Armour. SUBLIME!


Review(s):

My excuse for arriving late was a need to hear the Montreal pianist Janina Fialkowska make a historic debut in her home town.....Brott had his band sounding rich and involved. His father, Alexander, opened the concert with an arch-romantic reading of a transcribed Scarlatti Sonata.
A. Kaptainis Montreal Gazette June 2nd, 2004


concert   
Bach and Beyond 
Pollack Hall
September 27th, 2004

Featured guest(s):
Timothy Hutchins, solo flute
Jennifer Lim, solo piano

Program:
Pierre Mercure - Divertissement
J.S. Bach - D Minor Concerto BWV 1052
Wilhelm Friedemann Bach Sinfonia in F Minor
J.S. Bach - B Minor Suite

The glorious music of Johann Sebastien Bach and beyond featuring a new pianist sensation Jennifer Lim and Montreal’s favorite flautist Timothy Hutchins just returned from his triumphs in the US. Beautiful!



concert   
Mozart and the Four Temperaments 
Pollack Hall
October 18th, 2004

Featured guest(s):
Sara Buechner, solo piano

Program:
Paul Hindemith - Four Temperaments
Joaquin Turina – Rhapsodie
W.A. Mozart - Piano Concerto K.449

Sara Buechner, an extraordinary pianist with a worldwide reputation, seldom heard in Montreal joins us for three captivating compositions. Extraordinary!



concert   
Messiah 
Christ Church Cathedral
November 22nd, 2004

Featured guest(s):
Daniel Taylor, Counter tenor
Benjamin Butterfield, tenor
Ensemble Musica Orbium
Christ Church Cathedral Singers


Program:
Handel's Messiah

A Montreal tradition: The city’s first annual Messiah of the Christmas season in the intimate setting of Christ Church Cathedral. Transcendent!



concert   
Lord Nelson 
Pollack Hall
February 7th, 2005

Featured guest(s):
McGill University's Chamber Singers
Julian Wachner
Kelly Winter, counter-tenor
Frédéricka Petit-Homme, soprano
Pascal Charbonneau, Tenor
Luc Lalonde, bass baritone

Program:
Dvorak Serenade Op 44 in D Minor arr. for Strings
Joseph Haydn - Lord Nelson Mass

Haydn’s regal Lord Nelson Mass performed by our extraordinary orchestra joined by the fresh and vigorous voices of McGill University Faculty of Music’s finest vocal talent. Invigorating!


Review(s):

"Even a casual reading of this exuberant piece makes a vivid effect. A positive one, like this, is electrifying!" The Gazette, Arthur Kaptainis

Conduction with firm gestures but no baton, Brott captured the optimistic spirit of the score. His young and mostly female orchestra, supplemented by two trumpets, organ and antique timpani, sounded crisp. The Gazette, Arthur Kaptainis



concert   
Alexander Brott's 90th Birthday Gala 
Pollack Hall
March 14th, 2005

Featured guest(s):
Denis Brott, cello
Jonathan Crow, violin
Paul Merkelo, trumpet
Daniel Taylor, counter-tenor

Program:
Alexander Brott - Arabesque
Alexander Brott - Three Astral Visions
Handel arias - Ombra mai fu
Handel aria - Domero la tua
Giuseppe Tartini - Trumpet Concerto in D major
J.S. Bach - Violin Concerto in E major

Be part of the celebration of the extraordinary ninety years of Alexander Brott’s achievement. We are awaiting confirmation of a special guest star for this once in a lifetime Gala Event.
Ensure your seats now as a subscriber - Not to be missed!



concert   
Kuerti Plays Beethoven 
Pollack Hall
April 18th, 2005

Featured guest(s):
Anton Kuerti, piano solo

Program:
André Prevost - Celebrations
Ludwig van Beethoven - Symphony No. 8
Ludwig van Beethoven - Piano Concerto # 2

Beethoven and Kuerti back by popular demand in two of the great works of his early maturity. Powerful!



concert   
Orchestral Virtuosity 
Pollack Hall
May 9th, 2005

Featured guest(s):
featuring our own orchestra

Program:
Igor Stravinsky - Appolon Musagetes
Alberto Ginastera - Concerto for Strings
Bela Bartok - Divertimento

An evening devoted to the brilliance and enthusiasm of our great orchestra featuring three works displaying the full panoply of their virtuosity. Dazzling!



concert   
Beaver plays Prokofiev 
Pollack Hall
May 30th, 2005

Featured guest(s):
Martin Beaver, solo violin

Program:
S.I.Glick Suite Hebraique #1
Schubert Symphony No. 5 in B b
Prokofiev Violin Concerto #2 in G Minor

Martin Beaver had you on your feet last season – He’s among the world’s best violinists. Don’t miss his exciting performance of Prokofiev’s powerful G Minor Violin concerto. Captivating!



concert   
Tchaikovsky! 
Pollack Hall,555 Sherbrooke Street West
September 26th, 2005

Featured guest(s):
Sharon Azrieli, Soprano

Program:
Arensky, Variations on a theme by Tchaikovsky
Tchaikovsky, Songs arranged by Alexander Brott
Tchaikovsky, Serenade Op. 48

An evening filled with passion and pathos. Tchaikovsky’s songs come to life in their original Russian in the premiere of Alexander Brott’s arrangement., Boris and the orchestra perform the composer’s beloved Serenade and Arensky Variations..How Romantic!.



concert   
The Trumpet Shall Sound 
Pollack Hall, 555 Sherbrooke Street West
October 24th, 2005

Featured guest(s):
Jens Lindeman, trumpet

Program:
Claude Debussy, Girl with the Flaxen Hair
Hertel, Concerto No. 1 in E flat
Chris Howard, Places Far Away
Gershwin, Three Preludes for Trumpet and Strings
Benjamin Britten, Simple Symphony

Acclaimed Canadian Brass trumpeter Jens Lindeman performs on three different instruments in this eclectic program featuring the best of brass1! Boris and the orchestra perform the popular Benjamin Britten “Simple Symphony”! Let the trumpet sound!



concert   
Messiah 
Christ Church Cathedral
November 21st, 2005

Featured guest(s):
Daniel Taylor, counter tenor
Suzie LeBlanc, soprano
Pascal Charbonneau, tenor
Daniel Lichti, baritone

Program:
Handel - MESSIAH

Ring in the Holiday Season with Montreal’s first “Messiah”. This performance of the original “Dublin” version has become a tradition with our audiences. Our cast is guaranteed to impress, and includes a fabulous new tenor discovery international countertenor superstar and the magnificent voices of the Christ Church Cathedral Choir. An inspiration every holiday season!



concert   
Mozart's 250th Birthday Concert 
Theatre Maisonneuve, Place des Arts
January 30th, 2006

Featured guest(s):
Janina Fialkowska, piano

Program:
Ka Nin Chan, Flower Drum Song
Mozart , PC K 491 in C Minor
Beethoven, Symphony No. 4
Mozart, Eine Kleine Nachtmusik (First Movement) (specially conducted by David Lank, highest bidder for this once a season opportunity at our Heritage 65 fundraising event)

Mozart turns 250 and you’re invited to the party! Internationally acclaimed pianist Janina Fialkowska will send your spirits soaring, with the composer’s C Minor piano concerto. The orchestra weighs in with Beethoven’s monumental fourth symphony. Please join us for an after concert reception. Happy Birthday Amadeus!



concert   
Beethoven Mass in C 
St. Andrew & St. Paul Church
February 13th, 2006

Featured guest(s):
McGill Chamber Choir directed by Julian Wachner

Program:
William Rowson, Mozartiana
Beethoven, Mass in C
W.A. Mozart, Symphony No. 38 in D major, K. 504
“Prague”

Our extravaganza with the youthful purity of the McGill Concert Choir has become an annual event not to be missed. Thrill to the voices of the future joined in Beethoven’s magnificent Mass in C.



ELIJAH - SPECIAL EVENT 
St. Andrew and St. Paul Church
March 12th, 2006

Featured guest(s):
Stephen Salter, baritone
Benjamin Butterfield, tenor
MCGILL CHAMBER ORCHESTRA

Program:

The McGill Chamber Orchestra has been invite to perform in The Church of Saint Andrew and Saint Paul's performance of Mendolssohn's ELIJAH startins Stephen Salter and Benjamin Butterfield. For details please consult the church's web site www.standrewstpaul.com or call the MCO's offices at 514-487-5190

The Church of St. Andrew and St. Paul
3415 Redpath Street
Montreal, Quebec Canada H3G 2G2
514-842-3431
info@standrewstpaul.com



concert   
Bernstein and Bizet 
Pollack Hall
March 27th, 2006

Featured guest(s):
Dimitri Berlinsky, violin
McGill Percussion ensemble

Program:
Alexina Louie Nightfall
Bernstein Serenade
Bizet arr Schedrin The Story of Carmen
Henry Kucharzyk Third Generation

Bernstein and Bizet! Add two more B’s to the traditional three for scintillating performances of “Leonard’s” virtuoso Serenade on Plato’s Symposium featuring Russian violin sensation Dimitri Berlinsky, while “George’s” popular music from Carmen is given a highly rhythmic and amusing treatment by another brilliant Russian, composer Rodion Shchedrin. The McGill Percussion Ensemble will join the orchestra to set the hall on musical fire



concert   
Stringz 
Pollack Hall
May 1st, 2006

Featured guest(s):
Jean Francois Rivest and the Thirteen Strings of Ottawa

Program:
Alexander Brott Ritual
Michael Tippett Concerto for Double String Orchestra
J.S. Bach Concerto for 2 Violins
J. Strauss Metamorphosen

Two of Canada’s greatest Chamber orchestras, our own MCO join with Ottawa’s Thirteen Strings for performances of rarely heard repertoire by Michel Tippet and Richard Strauss. Our two concertmasters join as soloists and our maestros Brott and Rivest will share the podium in this May Day extravaganza.



concert   
Beethoven and Brahms.. 
Pollack Hall
May 29th, 2006

Featured guest(s):
Anton Kuerti, piano

Program:
Betthoven arr. Kuerti - Piano Concerto no. 0
Brahms(Quartet arrangement by Martin Foster) - String Quartet No. 2 in A minor, Opus 51, No. 2
Anton Kuerti - Pastorale, Intermezzo and Fugue

Anton Kuerti & The World Premiere of a "new" Beethoven Piano Concerto

Monday May 29, 2006 * Pollack Hall * 7:30 pm
BORIS BROTT, Principal Conductor & Music Director
Martin Foster, concertmaster
ANTON KUERTI, piano
________________________________________________________________________
MONTREAL – Internationally renowned Beethoven interpreter Anton Kuerti returns to the MCO stage for the ensemble’s final concert of the season, with the world premiere of his own reconstruction of a “lost” piano concerto Beethoven wrote when he was 14 years old.

Kuerti, who terms the work “Piano Concerto No. O” has reinvented thematic and harmonic material found in the composition, written in 1784. Kuerti says he did not so much “divine” what the 14 year-old composer would have done as using a style “more in keeping with the early works of the adult Beethoven.”

Of the work, Kuerti says “Since authenticity was unachievable, the focus was rather on making a piece that is interesting and attractive in its own right, while staying within Beethoven’s musical language.”

Kuerti scored the Concerto for the standard small orchestra of that period with flute, 2 oboes, 2 bassoons and 2 horns, which is identical to the next Concerto Beethoven wrote. Kuerti composed his own cadenzas, following Beethoven’s patterns in his early Piano Concerti Nos. 1 and 2 as well as his cadenzas to Mozart concerti. Though the work has been performed very rarely over the years, this performance will be the world premiere of Kuerti’s version.

Kuerti’s Pastorale, Intermezzo and Fugue, originally composed in 1996 for the Mooredale Orchestra in Toronto will also be performed by the orchestra.
An additional feature of this program will be the world premiere of MCO Concertmaster Martin Foster's new arrangement of Brahms’ String Quartet No. 2 in A minor for string orchestra.


Review(s):

A lost Ludwig for the ears
Montreal pianist fills in gaps for world debut of Beethoven's `Concerto No. 0'

He'll team with Boris Brott to present salvaged work in Hamilton this summer
May 31, 2006. 01:00 AM
JOHN TERAUDS
CLASSICAL MUSIC CRITIC


Like an unwanted gift, a work by one of music's great masters got shuffled from shelf to piano bench to closet for more than two centuries.

Until a Toronto pianist brought it back to life.

Monday night at Pollack Hall in downtown Montreal, that pianist — the much-admired Anton Kuerti — sat down to perform the world premiere of a piano concerto by Ludwig van Beethoven that only a few people knew existed.

The performance itself wasn't perfect, but backed up by the McGill Chamber Orchestra and its conductor Boris Brott, it did introduce us to a new and very pretty landscape in the luminous world of the great Viennese composer.

From its brisk, hunting-themed opening movement, to a slow, introspective middle, to a closing rondo fuelled by a nursery-tune theme, it was 30 minutes of aural pleasure.

The road from long-neglected manuscript to a standing ovation from the crowd at Pollack Hall was not straight or easy.

Wars, revolutions, natural disaster and plain-old human forgetfulness have cost us hundreds of compositions from the old masters. Often, the experts have to fill in blanks when tattered manuscripts are discovered.

What we heard Monday night was equal parts Beethoven and Kuerti, a frequent performer of the Viennese composer's 32 piano sonatas and five previously known piano concertos.

In an interview at his Toronto home last week, Kuerti explained that he had known about this neglected concerto for a long time.

Composed when Beethoven was 14, in 1784, it pre-dates Beethoven's other works for piano and orchestra. Kuerti has named it Concerto No. 0.

It is in the key of E-flat major, and the original manuscript is useless, because it only contains a piano part.

When the orchestra is playing, that's what the piano part shows. But when a piano solo comes in, the orchestra portion disappears.

German musicologist Willy Hess reconstructed the work in 1940, and it was performed by Edwin Fischer soon afterward. But few people liked the result.

Kuerti tried Hess's score 20 years ago. "I thought it was very poor," he said. So he vowed to create his own version one day.

During the interview, Kuerti laid out his computer-printed manuscript alongside the Beethoven original (published by the German firm Schott) on his coffee table.

"I found myself with some free time in December, so I decided to sit down and write the piece," the pianist said. He figured he spent about 100 hours on the orchestration.

"Most musicologists regard it as a curiosity, but I think there is a lot of value in the piece," he said.

"The slow movement is so beautiful, and the piano part is so much more ornamental than we are accustomed to in Beethoven."

Kuerti created parts for violin, viola, cello, double bass, oboe, bassoon, horn — and flute. Despite being an instrument Beethoven didn't like, he mentions a flute in the manuscript. And it is central to the new score.

Kuerti thought it would make a nice companion for all the "florid passages."

The phone rang and Kuerti excused himself. One couldn't help overhearing the conversation, which was about Concerto No. 0.

"Some of what you criticized is by Beethoven himself," said Kuerti.

The caller turned out to be to his son Julian, a promising young orchestra conductor.

The half-overheard exchange exposed the landmine all musical archeologists must face.

As in the visual arts, authenticity is everything. And while the concerto's original outline is true Beethoven, the final product is also Kuerti's.

Some of it is all Kuerti, like the three cadenzas (solo passages that show off the performer's technique) and the final measures that smooth out Beethoven's abrupt ending.

But for the listener, it may be less about authenticity than about the final sound. And here, Kuerti has done magnificently, leading the audience effortlessly into the limpid sounds of the late 18th century. After all, the piece was written just three years after Mozart died.

For Kuerti, this was a labour of love. Surprisingly, for a subject as renowned as Beethoven, the pianist has made no arrangements to record the work or to have it published.

Fortunately, people in southern Ontario will be able to hear a live performance soon.

On July 7 and 8, Kuerti and Brott will team up on all six of Beethoven's piano concertos as part of the Brott Summer Festival lineup at the Dofasco Centre for the Arts in Hamilton.


concert   
Martin Foster, concertmaster
Mozart Sinfonia Concertante 
Pollack Hall, 555 Sherbrooke Street West
September 25th, 2006

Featured guest(s):
Martin Foster, Concertmaster, MCO
Yukari Cousineau, Principal Alto, MCO

Program:
Malcolm Forsyth Sinfonia
Haydn Farewell Symphony No. 45 Mozart Sinfonia Concertante
Elgar Introduction and Allegro

The MCO opens its season with our own Concertmaster and Principal Viola performing Mozart’s double concerto masterpiece - a celebration of our own superb musical family. Sir Edward Elgar’s engaging Introduction and Allegro showcases the ensemble's virtuosity.



concert   
Julian Wachner
Two Comic Operas – Concert Staging 
Pollack Hall, 555 Sherbrooke Street West
October 30th, 2006

Featured guest(s):
Julian Wachner, Director - McGill Opera Department
McGill Opera Department "Stars"

Program:
Mozart Bastien and Bastienne
Joseph Quesnel Colas et Colinette

Two enchanting comic Chamber Operas performed in concert staging with costumes and important set pieces. Mozart’s hilarious comedy Bastien and Bastienne and an opera written during the same period by captured gun-running composer and founder of the Boucherville Opera, Joseph Quesnel. Both works will amuse and amaze you! Our Artistic Director Boris Brott and Julian Wachner, Director of the McGill Opera Department will share the podium.



concert   
Daniel Taylor
First Messiah of the Season 
The Church of St. Andrew & St. Paul, 3415 Redpath
November 20th, 2006

Featured guest(s):
Daniel Taylor, Counter tenor
Gillian Keith, Soprano
Pascal Charbonneau, Tenor
Daniel Lichti

Program:
Handel Messiah

Our annual first Messiah of the season featuring counter-tenor Daniel Taylor will showcase the celebrated Choir of The Church of St. Andrew and St. Paul. The performance takes place in the beautiful and wonderful acoustical environment of this, one of Montreal’s most spectacular churches. Don’t miss it!



concert   
Alain Lefèvre
Alain Lefèvre Plays Shostakovitch and Lefevre 
Place des Arts, Theatre Maisonneuve
January 29th, 2007

Featured guest(s):
Alain Lefèvre , piano
Manon Lafrance, trumpet

Program:
Stravinsky Appolon Musagettes
Alain Lefèvre Lylatov
Shostakovitch Piano Concerto No. 1

Montreal’s own internationally recognized Alain Lefèvre performs Shostakovitch’s exciting piano concerto, with trumpet obligato played by Manon Lafrance. The orchestra completes the musical menu with Stravinsky’s colourful Appolon Musagettes.

TO PURCHASE TICKETS - CONTACT PLACE DES ARTS BOX OFFICE (514) 842-2112



concert   
Felix Hell
Organ Superstar Spectacular. 
Church of St. Andrew & St. Paul
February 19th, 2007

Featured guest(s):
Felix Hell, organist

Program:
Mozart Serenade, Eine Kleine Nachtmusik
Handel Organ Concerto The Cuckoo and
the Nightingale
Gustav Holst St. Paul’s Suite
Healey Willan Intro, Passacaglia and Fugue
Francis Poulenc Organ Concerto

Wunderkind organ soloist Felix Hell aged 20, is taking the music world by storm. He performs Poulenc’s dramatic Organ Concerto and Handel’s delightful Cuckoo and the Nightingale. The MCO completes the program with two contrasting favourites, Mozart’s Eine Kleine Nachtmusik and Holst’s St Paul’s Suite.



concert   
Denis Brott
First Annual Alexander Brott Memorial Concert 
Pollack Hall
March 21st, 2007

Featured guest(s):
Denis Brott, Cello
Katerina Juraskova, Cello

Program:
Alexander Brott Triangle, Circle, Four Squares
Haydn C Major Cello Concerto
Menotti arr. A. Brottt Suite for Two Cellos
Mozart Symphony No 29. in A Major

Brothers Brott collaborate in a memorial concert to their father Alexander. Our own captivating principal cellist collaborates with her mentor Denis Brott in Alexander Brott s arrangement for string orchestra of Menotti’s Suite for Two Cellos. Mozart’s vivacious Symphony No 29 completes the program



concert   
Canada's Answer to the Vienna Boys Choir 
555 Sherbrooke Street West, Pollack Hall
May 7th, 2007

Featured guest(s):
Les Petits Chanteurs du Mont-Royal (Gilbert Patenaude, directeur)

Program:
Vivaldi - Gloria
Anton Bruckner - Jesu erbarme dich
Claude Vivier - Jesu, erbarme dich
Mozart - Ave Verum Corpus

Les Petits Chanteurs du Mont Royal - Canada’s Vienna Boys Choir celebrate their fiftieth anniversary, with Mozart’s Coronation Mass and bruckner's Os Justi. Our own MCO performs an orchestral version of Mendelssohn’s spectacular Octet for Strings.



concert   
Return of the trumpet 
Pollack Hall, 555 Sherbrooke Street West
May 28th, 2007

Featured guest(s):
Jens Lindeman, trumpet

Program:
Barbara Croall Falling Water
Neruda Trumpet Concerto George Gershwin Trilogy for trumpet and strings
Tartinni Concerto for Piccolo Trumpet Elgar Introduction and Allegro

Jens Lindeman returns by popular demand. This spectacular performer, a former member of The Canadian Brass performs music from the Baroque to Jazz. You will be enthralled.



concert   
Concierto de Aranjuez - Viva Espana 
Pollack Hall, 555 Sherbrooke Street West
September 24th, 2007

Featured guest(s):
Alvaro Pierri, Guitar

Program:
Arriaga - Symphony in D
Vivaldi - Guitar Concerto
Various Guitar Solos TBD
Rodrigo - Concierto de Aranjuez

World renowned guitar virtuoso Alvaro Pierri performs Vivaldi, the ever popular Concierto de Aranjuez by Rodrigo and favorite solos while the orchestra evokes airs of Spanish romance in Arriaga’s Symphony in D.


Review(s):

Joy. The conversation here included the red-blooded OM Chorus.
A late start meant my intermission escape also was late. I still managed to catch the celebrated slow movement of Rodrigo's Concierto de Aranjuez as performed in Pollack Hall by Alvaro Pierri and the McGill Chamber Orchestra under Boris Brott. The challenge is to make the oft-covered heart-throbber seem fresh, which the guitarist did with a delicate array of spontaneous-sounding ornaments.
The finale was buoyant, even more so as an encore. The guitar, necessarily, was miked, but the band also got a boost, resulting in an aggressive soundscape.
A. Kaptainis, The Gazette, September 26, 2007


concert   
Sharon Azrieli - Gideon Zelermyer
Songs of Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff and Benjamin Britten 
Pollack Hall, 555 Sherbrooke Street West
October 29th, 2007

Featured guest(s):
Sharon Azrieli, soprano
Gideon Zelermyer, tenor

Program:
Songs by Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninoff
Benjamin Britten - “Les Illuminations”
Stephen Glass - Duo for Soprano and Tenor
Shostakovitch - Chamber Symphony

Celebrated Cantor Gideon Zelermyer of Congregation Shaar Hashomayim performs Britten’s “Les Illuminations”. Acclaimed Montreal Soprano Sharon Azrieli delights in newly commissioned arrangements of songs by Rachmaninoff and Tchaikovsky. Stephen Glass leads a performance in the world premiere of his new composition for Tenor and Soprano. Shostakovitch’s stirring Chamber Symphony closes this program.



concert   
Handel Messiah - 20th ANNIVERSARY 
Christ Church Cathedral, Ste. Catherine Street West
November 19th, 2007

Featured guest(s):
Daniel Taylor, Countertenor, Ben Butterfield, Tenor
Alexander Dobson, Bass baritone, Monique Page, Soprano
Chorus of the Christ Church Cathedral, Patrick Wedd Director


Program:
Handel - Messiah

The MCO marks the 20th annual presentation of Handel’s immortal masterpiece with famed countertenor Daniel Taylor.
An annual Montreal tradition – the First Messiah of the Montreal season.



concert   
Ensemble de Percussion McGill Percussion Ensemble
Celebration of Percussion - Alexander Brott Tribute 
Pollack Hall, 555 Sherbrooke Street West
February 4th, 2008

Featured guest(s):
McGill Percussion Ensemble (Director: Fabrice Marandola)

Program:
Mozart – Serenata Notturno
Vivier - Pulau Dewata (Percussion work)
Brott – Critics’ Corner
Bartok - Concerto for Strings Percussion and Celeste

A celebration of percussion and strings featuring McGill’s exciting Percussion Ensemble directed by Fabrice Marandola. This program will pay tribute to Founding Conductor, the late Alexander Brott with a performance of his humorous description of Montreal Music Critics.



concert   
Two Comic Operas 
Pollack Hall, 555 Sherbrooke Street West
March 17th, 2008

Featured guest(s):
Soloists – McGill Faculty Opera Department

Program:
Pergolesi – La Serva Pedrona Conducted by Julian Wachner
Haydn – La Canterina Conducted by Boris Brott

A concert staged presentation in costume of two side-splitting comic operas featuring the stars of McGill’s Opera Department.



concert   
Mozart Magic 
Pollack Hall, 555 Sherbrooke Street West
April 7th, 2008

Featured guest(s):
Adrian Anantawan Solo Violin
Raffi Armenian - Guest Conductor

Program:
Victor Davies - Music for Fun
Haydn - Mercury Symphony No. 43 in E flat major (Robbins Landon edition)
Mozart - Violin Concerto No. 5
Mozart - Violin Concerto No. 4

Adrian Anantawan the amazing violin virtuoso will delight you in performances of Mozart’s last two Violin concerti. The orchestra performs Haydn - Mercury Symphony No. 43 in E flat minor (Robbins Landon edition). The MCO welcomes its first Guest Conductor of the season - Raffi Armenian.



concert   
GALA CONCERT 
Théâtre Maisonneuve, Place des Arts
April 15th, 2008

Featured guest(s):
Jan Lisiecki, Pianist

Program:
W. A. Mozart - Ouverture, Nozze di Figaro
W. A. Mozart - Concerto pour piano no 20 en ré mineur K. 466
S. Rachmaninoff. - Prélude en do dièse mineur, Op.3 No. 2
F. Liszt - .Concert Étude “Un Sospiro”
J. Brahms - Intermezzo en mi-bémol mineur, Op. 118 No. 6
F. Chopin- .Étude en la mineur, Op. 25 No. 11
F. Chopin - Andante Spianato et Grande Polonaise Brillante Op. 22 en mi-bémol majeur

GALA CONCERT FEATURING CHILD PRODIGY JAN LISIECKI AND HEADED BY HONOURARY CHAIRPERSONS DR. HANS P. BLACK AND MRS. JANET BLACK. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT THE MCO OFFICES AT 514-487-5190. TO PURCHASE TICKETS PLEASE CONTACT THE BOX OFFICES OF PLACE DES ARTS (514-842-2112)



concert   
Credit: Tristan Cook
From Vienna with Love 
Pollack Hall, 555 Sherbrooke Street West
May 5th, 2008

Featured guest(s):
Escher String Quartet

Program:
ZEMLINSKY String Quartet No. 4, Op. 25
MOZART String Quartet in G Major, K. 387
SCHUBERT String Quartet in D minor, D. 810 “Death & Maiden”

The Escher String Quartet is the star of this evening Be prepared to be amazed!



concert   
Beethoven! 
Pollack Hall, 555 Sherbrooke Street West
May 26th, 2008

Featured guest(s):
Sara Davis Buechner, Piano,


Program:
Coriolan Overture
Symphony No. 4
Piano Concerto No. 3

Sara Buechner Davis returns to perform Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 3. A delightful way to end our season with this charming and entertaining performer!



concert   
Dorothée Berryman “In Concert” 
Théâtre Maisonneuve, Place des Arts
September 24th, 2008

Featured guest(s):
Dorothée Berryman, Jazz Vocalist


Program:
Hindemith - Five Pieces for Strings
Dorothée Berryman and ensemble -commissioned arrangements

Jazz and our sweet MCO Strings join the mellifluous, smoky voice of Canada’s great actress -jazz chanteuse Dorothée Berryman and her ensemble as she sings songs from the great American songbook: Porter, Rodgers and Hart. Billy Strayhorn's Lush life….and perhaps one or two French ''chansons''.

TO PURCHASE TICKETS FOR THIS CONCERT PLEASE CONTACT THE PLACE DES ARTS BOX OFFICE ONLY - 514-842-2112



concert   
Trumpet Triumphant 
Pollack Hall, 555 Sherbrooke Street West
October 20th, 2008

Featured guest(s):
Jens Lindemann, trumpet

Program:
Arcangelo Corelli Concerto Grosso Op. 6 No. 1
Hugo Wolf Italian Serenade
Antonio Vivaldi Concerto Op. 3 No. 9 from L'Estro Armonico RV 230
Joaquin Rodrigo Concierto de Aranjuez “Adagio”
Manuel de Falla Tus ojillos negros
'Fats' Waller Loungin' at the Waldorf
Miguel Sandoval Sin tu amor
Duke Ellington Echoes of Harlem
'Fats' Waller Handful of Keys

The great Trumpeter Jens Lindemann plays trumpet, piccolo and flugel – music from the classics and Baroque to Duke Ellington. Lindemann and the orchestra will transport you to a land of smiles where time stands still.



concert   
Handel’s Messiah 
Christ Church Cathedral - 635 Ste Catherine Street West
November 26th, 2008

Featured guest(s):
Daniel Taylor, Jeremy Budd, Marie-Eve Munger, Alex Dobson

Program:
Handel - Messiah

Montréal’s first Messiah – always a sell out. Canada’s best countertenor Daniel Taylor joins Marie-Eve Munger, Jeremy Budd and Alex Dobson – a dream cast for this magnum opus joins the professional voices of the Christ Church Choir led by Patrick Wedd. Your subscription wins you the best seat in the church.