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WE ARE ALL MUSIC’S CHILDRENSeptember’s Child Rufus Wainwrightmj buellWho isOctober’sChild?Hmm ... what’ll itbe today?The film festival?Or the operahouse?With Danna?Or Mozart?A devil’s knot ofa decision.Know ourMystery Child’sname?Send your bestguess tomusicschildren@thewholenote.comby September 24.Win concerttickets andrecordings!Victoria, BC,circa 1966.On the subject of hisacclaimed show and recordinglatest recording, Outin which he recreates Judyof the Game, RufusGarland’s 1961 Carnegie HallWainwright hasconcert. He recently composedsaid, “In a lot of ways, whilemy mother was still alive, Iwas singing to her. She was mytoughest critic and my biggestfan. With her not having beenaround for this album, therewas a kind of release, a necessityto get to the next step.”“There’s a famous saying thatyour mother gives birth to youtwice — once when you’re bornand once again when she dies.So having a slightly tougher,wiser attitude on this record, Ithink I only could have done thatafter her passing ...”Rufus and Martha, Westmount, PQ, 1978.an opera, Prima Donna,which had its North Americanpremiere at Luminato in 2011.Wainwright’s sister, MarthaWainwright, is also a singer andsongwriter with a considerablecareer. Music was clearlythe fabric of their childhood— raised among peoplefor whom singing is as normalas breathing, immersed in asongwriting ethos with thepower to move anyone, regardlessof musical preferences,because it’s personal in auniversal kind of way. SingingComposer and singer-songwriter Rufus Wainwright isa musical chameleon with roots in both Canada and theUSA. He’s the son of Loudon Wainwright III and the lateKate McGarrigle — half of the musical sisters duo Kateand Anna McGarrigle.Wainwright was born in New York State, grew up inMontreal, and has lived in London, New York and LosAngeles. His daughter, Viva, now two, lives with hermother, Lorca Cohen (daughter of LeonardCohen), in Los Angeles. Wainwright andhis partner Jorn Weisbrodt have a home inToronto’s Annex neighbourhood (Weisbrodtis the artistic director of Luminato) butWainwright spends a huge amount of timetouring internationally — he’ll make twoOntario appearances before the end of theyear — October 11 with the Toronto Symphonyat Roy Thomson Hall, and November 2 atOttawa’s National Arts Centre.Rufus Wainwright has recorded sevenalbums of original songs in a range ofstyles. Other projects (among many) includeShakespearean sonnets set to music for a theatre pieceby Robert Wilson, soundtrack collaborations and anto, for and about each other has remained a Wainwright/McGarrigle constant.In June 2013, Nonesuch Records released Sing Me TheSongs: Celebrating The Works Of Kate McGarrigle — twoCDs of performances from benefit concerts in New York,London and Toronto which include Rufus and MarthaWainwright and a remarkable array of friends andfamily. Many, including Anna McGarrigle, elder sisterJane McGarrigle, Emmylou Harris, Teddy Thompson,Norah Jones, Sloan Wainwright and Joel Zifkin are inthe feature documentary Sing Me The Songs That SayI Love You: A Concert For Kate McGarrigle, directedby Ian Larson (seen at Luminato and TIFF Go to theMovies in 2012). Proceeds from the CDs go to the KateMcGarrigle Foundation, which supports cancer care andsarcoma research.Canadian performers across all genres often travel faraway before finding themselves on a river that bringsthem back. Wainwright didn’t sing Joni Mitchell’sRiver at the June Massey Hall birthday tribute concertfor Mitchell’s upcoming 70th birthday, but the songshe performed — All I Want, A Case of You, SlouchingTowards Bethlehem and Free Man In Paris — were eachin some way about searching and longing.dane lankenConGRAtulAtionS TO OUR WinnerS!“Rufus Wainwright with Orchestra” (TSO, Oct 11, 8pm) will feature Wainwright as both acomposer and singer-songwriter. The concert will include music from Wainwright’s opera PrimaDonna, his orchestral setting of Five Shakespeare Sonnets and songs that reflect his extraordinary range of musical appetites(from Arlen to Berlioz), with Melody Moore, soprano, and Jayce Ogren, conductor. There’s a pair of tickets for Kathleen O’Neil.Prima Donna – The Story of An Opera is a 90-minute documentary film by George Scott (Decca, 2010). This fascinating portraitof Wainwright, his musical history and career, includes interviews with Wainwright and family, Prima Donnacollaborators and commentary by Renée Fleming. Why opera? A scene with Wainwright and his mother,sitting on her sofa, listening to an old record by Beniamino Gigli, might just hold a clue or two. Lucky NaomiLuker and Paul Sayer each win a copy. All Days Are Nights: Songs for Lulu is Rufus Wainwright’s sixthalbum (DECCA RECORDS, 2010). Wainwright’s first recording after the death of Kate McGarrigle is a departure fromhis usually more extravagant arrangements: these 12 original songs are for piano and voice. Three are settingsof Shakespeare’s sonnets 10, 20 and 43: The words “All Days Are Nights” are from the sonnet 43: “All days arenights to see till I see thee...” Loretta London and Sheri Katz each win a copy, along with a copy of Out of theGame, Wainwright’s newest album of original pop music (Decca, 2012).Music’s Children gratefully acknowledges Shushan and Joseph, Eve, Marcy, Loudon and Kate.thewholenote.com September 1 – October 7, 2013 | 59