AUGUST 2023

PHILIP CHIU WINS 2023 JUNO AWARD

Released on the Montréal based label ATMA Classique, titled “Fables” is a solo recording by Canadian pianist Philip Chiu. The album pairs two piano transcriptions of music by Ravel with Mnidoonskaa (A Multitude of Insects), a 2021 work by Anishinaabekwe composer Barbara Assiginaak. One of Ravel’s best-known works, Mother Goose is heard here in a version for solo piano by Jacques Charlot, published in 1910. Though the composer’s String Quartet in F major is an early piece from 1903, Ravel’s playful, idiosyncratic language is already well established. Chiu performs a transcription of the quartet for solo piano by Lucien Garban, published in 1921. Assiginaak’s music expresses traditions and messages of Indigenous history. A direct descendant of hereditary chiefs who signed major treaties in Ontario, the composer is a child and grandchild of residential school survivors.

 

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AUGUST 2023

GRYPHON TRIO: CELEBRATING 30 YEARS

Three-time Juno winning ensemble, Gryphon Trio is firmly established as one of the world’s preeminent piano trios. Celebrating their 30th anniversary this season, it has earned acclaim for and impressed international audiences with its highly refined, dynamic, and memorable performances. The Trio’s repertoire ranges from traditional to contemporary, and from European classicism to modern-day multimedia. It is committed to redefining chamber music for the 21st century. Still the same membership throughout the three decades, violinist Annalee Patipatanakoon, cellist Roman Borys, and pianist Jamie Parker are creative innovators with an appetite for discovery and new ideas. They have commissioned over 85 new works, and they frequently collaborate with other artists on projects that push the boundaries of Classical music. The Trio tours regularly throughout North America and Europe.

 

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AUGUST 2023

VC2 RELEASES “I AND THOU”

VC2’s second full-length album, "I and Thou", reflects on the role relationships play, whether fleeting or lasting, in how humans construct meaning in the world. The title of the record, and the philosophy to which it refers, comes from Philosopher Martin Buber. This idea became particularly salient during the Covid-19 pandemic, when the relationships we enjoyed with our family, friends, and community weathered a strain never before seen in modern times. In the spirit of the album’s context, VC2 invited some colleagues with whom they enjoy the closest of relationships to contribute to the album. Together, they form the record I and Thou. A pensive, deliberate rumination on the power of relationships to undergird a pillar of a person’s well-being; the need for meaning. This recording is released on the Leaf Music label.

 

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AUGUST 2023

TorQ & ELORA SINGERS RECORD NEW WORKS

New on Redshift Records: Continuing a long-standing interest in music written for percussion and voice, TorQ Percussion Quartet and Elora Singers present "To the Ground From the Sky", an album of works for chamber choir and percussion quartet, conducted by Mark Vuorinen. Inspired by Paul Frehner's stunning work "Corpus", originally commissioned by Soundstreams Canada for TorQ Percussion Quartet and the Stuttgart Chamber Choir, TorQ and the Elora Singers commissioned three more works from notable composers Carmen Braden, Annika Socolofsky and Melody McKiver. The result is an album filled with emotionally charged and sonically arresting music that pairs the Elora Singer's smooth, flexible sound with TorQ's broad palette of percussive textures.

 

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AUGUST 2023

CELLIST CROZMAN SHARES A MUSICAL SPAIN

The renowned Canadian cellist, Cameron Crozman has teamed up with the talented pianist Philip Chiu to deliver his album, Tapeo. The album aims to capture the tastes and colours of Spain and packages them into a musical experience that takes you to the stunning countryside of Spain. Crozman states “I fell in love with Spain the moment I first stepped into a tapas bar in the middle of Barcelona. Each of the short pieces on this album was chosen for its own unique flavor and will give you a musical taste of Spain's incredibly diverse and rich culture. And just as Spanish food would be unthinkable without the tomatoes and potatoes of the New World, so too it felt like an album of Spanish music would be incomplete without a couple gems from Hispanic America.” Album released on the ATMA Classique label, it features works by de Falla, Ravel, Turina, Granados, Ponce, Albeniz, and Guerrero.

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AUGUST 2023

THREE KEYBOARD MASTERS PERFORMED BY KEYBOARD MASTER

Released on the Skylark label, pianist Jane Coop celebrates works by three of the most important keyboard performer-composers in history. Album titled “Three Keyboard Masters,” it features works by Beethoven’s Bagatelles, Op. 33, selected Preludes and works of Rachmaninoff, and Bach’s Chromatic Fantasy and Fugue. These great composers also shared another element, all were virtuosi players in their respective eras, and Coop captures this virtuosity in her new, sparkling interpretations.

 

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