Black Ice Sound is launching a musical concert series! Our inaugural concert features the juicy classical music of Brahms played by two of Canada’s top chamber performers. Black Ice Sound owner Carmen Braden says “Yellowknife is increasingly on the map as a place for fantastic players to bring their music. I am thrilled to be starting a series of musical encounters featuring engaging, exciting music and phenomenal performers.”
Performed by Edmonton Symphony Orchestra’s concertmaster Robert Uchida (violin) and superb Halifax pianist Peter Allen in their first visit to Yellowknife, this promises to be a concert filled with musical passion, subtlety and world-class playing.
The repertoire for this concert features three of the most important violin+piano works of the classical canon: Johannes Brahms’ impressive Violin Sonatas. Spanning his mature years from 1879 - 1888, the three Sonatas are rich and varied, written with inspirations from Romantic poems and songs. From the pastoral first “Rain Song” to the lyrical second “Meistersinger” Sonata to the stormy D minor third Sonata, hearing all three pieces in one concert is an event not to be missed.
Performer links:
7pm, Thursday May 3rd 2018
Museum Café, Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre
Admission by donation
About the music - Who is Brahms, and why is his music so cool?Like his fantastic beard, Brahms’ music is substantial, rich, and simultaneously rooted the past and moving towards the future. A major musical force for the last half of the 19th Century, he wrote music for all kinds of ensembles. His harmonies are succulent and complex, his melodies are lyrical beauties, and he was a bridge in many ways between Classical and Romantic concepts. See this link for more detailed program notes by Hyperion.
Sonata No. 1 Op. 78 - also called the “Rain Song” because is quotes another Brahms song called “Regenleid” (Rain Song) which sets a poem (by Klaus Groth) about childhood memories triggered by the patter of rain on a window-pane.
Vivace, ma non troppo(Lively, but not too quick)
Adagio (pretty slow)
Allegro molto moderato(Moderately fast)
Sonata No. 2 Op 100 - refers to another Groth poem, this one about the transient nature of experience: “Like melodies it steals softly through my mind…”.
Allegro amabile(fast and pleasant)
Andante tranquillo - Vivace(calm walking pace - then lively!)
Allegretto grazioso, quasi Andante(fairly quick and graceful)
Intermission
Sonata No. 3 Op. 108 - stormy and passionate!
Allegro(Fast!)
Adagio(Slow)
Un poco presto e con sentimento(Pretty quick and with feeling)
Presto agitato(Very quick and agitated)
Robert Uchida Biography
Canadian violinist Robert Uchida has been hailed for his “ravishing sound, eloquence and hypnotic intensity” (Strings Magazine). A regularly featured guest artist with many of Canada’s orchestras and chamber music festivals, Robert has performed with Edgar Meyer, Ksenija Sidorova, Sarah Slean, Elizabeth Wallfisch, Tianwa Yang and Pinchas Zukerman.
Concertmaster of the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, Robert held the same position with Symphony Nova Scotia and previously performed as Associate Concertmaster of the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra. He has served as Concertmaster for such conductors as Valery Gergiev and Kurt Masur. Engagements as a guest leader have included projects with the Netherlands Radio Chamber Philharmonic and the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra.
Robert’s CD recordings include “Requiem 21.5: Violin Concerto” by Tim Brady for CentreDiscs, which won Classical Recording of the Year at the ECMAs, “Sonata for Unaccompanied Violin” by Andrew Violette for Innova Records, and the “Alpine Symphony” under Edo de Waart as guest Concertmaster of the Royal Flemish Philharmonic.
A passionate teacher, Robert serves on the faculty at the University of Alberta and has held teaching positions at Acadia University, the Manhattan School of Music and the National Arts Centre of Canada’s Young Artists Program. He has given masterclasses across Canada and has thoroughly enjoyed working with the students of the ESO’s YONA-Sistema program. His teachers include Patinka Kopec, Heratch Manoukian, David Stewart and Pinchas Zukerman.
Robert loves volunteering whenever possible and is honoured to have been inducted into the Ronald McDonald House’s Character Club in Edmonton. He performs on an outstanding Lorenzo Ventapane violin made in Naples, Italy in 1820 and uses Vision Solo Titanium violin strings by Thomastik-Infeld Vienna.
Peter Allen Biography
Nova Scotian Peter Allen is one of Canada’s most respected and talented musicians. He is known nationally as a concert pianist, composer, conductor and teacher.
As a concert pianist, he has been heard for years on CBC regional and national radio performing solo works, concertos with orchestra, and chamber music. He continues to stay busy performing many concerts, as well as participating regularly with Scotia Festival, The New Brunswick Summer Festival, the Kincardine Music Festival, Musique Royale and as soloist with numerous orchestras centered here in the Maritimes. He has recorded two solo cd’s as well as numerous duo recordings with flautist Patricia Creighton.
As a composer, Peter has fulfilled many commissions. He has written orchestral music: Mar Atlantico; Variations on the Halifax Explosion; a Suite for Clarinet and Orchestra; and the much heralded CBC/SNS commissioned Hurricane Juan Piano Concerto. His much chamber music includes 2 String Quartets; Scherzo for 4 celli; Elegy for violin and piano; and other string pieces. Music for piano includes Haligonian Rhapsody for 2 pianos; Vaudeville for piano 6 hands; 90 Bagatelles and many other solo pieces. His wind music includes Black and Blues for Clarinet and piano; and 2 pieces for flute and piano, most recently a suite called Scenes from Nova Scotia. Other works include music for band and choir. His most recent work, Lamentation was premiered in France in April of 2016, a work for clarinet quintet, which was later repeated in an entire concert devoted to his works on the Cecilia Concert Series in Halifax in February, 2017.
This season has been another busy year for Peter. Some highlights include: more composition; numerous concerts, including five performances of Bach’s Goldberg Variations; also, a concert in Kitchener with Patricia Creighton and duo performances in Halifax, St.John, Toronto and Edmonton and of course,Yellowknife, with violinist, Robert Uchida, performing the complete Brahms Sonatas.
He also conducted 2 performances of his Variations on the Halifax Explosion for the city’s 100thanniversary of that event.
Peter is currently Associate Professor of Music at Dalhousie University's Fountain School of Performing Arts. He teaches piano, orchestration, and conducts the Dalhousie Symphony Orchestra.