Volume 9 Issue 5 - February 2004

QUODLIBET
teenth century it is perfect for the
by Allan Pulker series. It is different from modern
· . pianos in that each register has a
SOPRANO CAROLYN SINCLAIR and very distinctive sound, something
harpsichordist/organist Michael that some of the guest performers,
Jarvis are not only the co-artistic particularly Russell Braun, have
directors of the Baroque Players been very taken by.
of Hamilton, which will perform In the publicity materials that
in Hamilton on February 1 (see our reached me, "parlour music" was
Further Afield Concert Listings, described as "the precursor to 20th
page 44), they are also the brains century pop music." Most of the
behind a 13-part music series cur- composers of the music performed
rently airing (Sundays, Mondays on the series however would be
and Wednesdays) on Vision TV. com1Tionlyconsidered "classical:"
The series, called "Come into the Haydn, Mozart, Mendelssohn,
Parlour," presents music-making as Schubert, Chopin, Handel, Gounit
might have been in people's od, Bizet, Massenet, Offenbach
homes before radios, records and and Sullivan. Carolyn's take on the
CDs.
"pop" label was that the produc-
Every episode has a different ers of the show were likely of the
theme, for example Victorian fa- opinion that if the show were pubvourites,
the time of Jane Austen, licized as being classical music peoand
Operetta. The couple are joined pie would not watch it. "So we
on many of the programs by mu- suggested to them that they publisicians
with whom they have en- cize it as what people did [to make
joyed performing over the years: music a part of their lives] before
violinist Julie Baumgartel for ex- radio and TV."
ample will be part of the first Feb- Carolyn pointed out that much
ruary show; and on March 7 three of the music on the series was exstudents
who were "discovered" tremely popular in its time; the
at last year's Kiwanis Music Fes- songs of Stephen Foster, featured
tival will recreate a student recital on one of the shows, and the opfrom
the Toronto College of Mu- erettas of Gilbert and Sullivan, feasic
in the 1890s.
tured·on another, are obvious ex-
1 asked Carolyn h.ow the series amples. The enduring appeal of
came about: "In 1997 Michael and the music, the quality of the per-
1 did two TV specials, A Baroque formances and the fact that the per­
Christmas and A Baroque Easter, formers are relaxed and having fun
which are still being played every have all worked together to make
year on Vision and Bravo. David the series very attractive and very
Wesley, the Red Canoe producer, accessible. The show, Carolyn
wanted us to do another show; it says, is receiving mail from peowas
his idea to do parlour music." pie who are making a point of
She went on to say that the parlour
music theme came out of the
fact that she and Michael own a
nineteenth century square Chickering
piano which they found in a
Hamilton antique store a few years
ago. It is the only one in the world
in professional· use and as far as
she knows the only other one like
it is part of the collection at the
Smithsonian Institute. Being the
type of piano that was in widespread
use in the mid to late nine-
A great selection of instrumental &
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watching it.
THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN "popular"
and "serious" music is evidently
also a concern in other parts
of t11e world as well. We recently
received the following invitation
from TranforMusic, a "musical
composition competition" in Hungary:
"In the 20th century there
appeared a huge gap between
schools and genres of serious and
light music. To build a bridge
Where the Music Begins.
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above this we announce
an international composers'
competition the
conditions of which are
as follows.
"The Competition has
to be based on a recognisable
part (e.g. rhythmical
or melodic element,
probably some
other kind of musical
parameter) of a (preferably
well-known) light
music piece written between
the 1960s and
90s. The composition should use
the artistic means of serious music
creating an original new work
from the basic material."
I hope there will some entries
from Toronto. Details can be found
in Announcements on page 49.
NEw READERS OF WholeNote often
say that once they've noticed the
magazine for the first time, they start
seeing it everywhere. It's a bit like
that with a "new" performer. I asked
Sinfonia Toronto artistic director,
Nurhan Arman, why he invited the
young French-Canadian pianist David
Jalbert to be the soloist at Sinfonia
Toronto's February 7 concert.
"He is a very talented performer, a
winner of the CBC competition. I
was just watching him play on Bravo
with Denise Djokic ... a very big
talent!" A good many other people
seem to. agree with Maestro Arman
judging by the number of awards he
has won, including the prestigious
Sylva Gelber Award from the Canada
Council as well as the First Prize
in the 1997 OSM Competition,
which led to a highly acclaimed performance
of the Ravel Concerto for
the Left Hand with the Montreal Symphony
Orchestra. He was in Toronto
in November in recital with Denise
Djokic (recently broadcast on the
CBC) and in addition to the February
appearance with Sinfonia Toronto
at which he will perform J.S. Bach's
Concerto in D Minor he will be back
next month giving a solo recital for
From the Robbie Burns show: Colin Savage,
Bruce Kelly, Carolyn Sinclair, Michael Jarvis
the Women's Musical Club on
March 25.
FEBRUARY AND MARCH are high season
for performances in the music
schools. Many of these concerts
feature faculty members who are
professional performing musicians
at the top of their game, and the
ticket prices to hear them play
where they teach are nothing short
of a bargain. Others are student
ensembles doing fascinating things
that were unheard of in music
schools a few years ago. York
University in particular has much
to offer in this vein - a Balkan
ensemble on Feb. 3 and a Middle
Eastern Ensemble on Feb. 5 for
example. So be sure to include at
least one music school concert in your
activities in the coming weeks. Also
from February 7 to 21 the Kiwanis
Festival is in full swing.
The entire program complete with
competitors names is available on
their extensive website
www3.sympatico.ca/
kiwanismusicfest. torontO.
You never know what you will.
find: I just took· a look at it and
found a recorder ensemble from Almonte
Ontario directed by my grade
i (that's public school, not Conservatory)
music teacher! To experience
some of the best of the Kiwanis Festival,
however, consider attending the
"President's Trophy Competition
and Showcase of Stars" performances
of the first place winners of
trophy finals on February 21.
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FEBRUARY 1 - MARCH 7 2004