Thoughts about IHS55

It’s going to take some time to process everything that took place in Montréal this past week for #IHS55. The flow of talent and creativity was exhilarating and inspiring! The learning was unbounded, including what I learned and discovered of myself. It was an honour and great privilege to have presented a growing body of new … Read more

David Jaeger Chamber Works and Duo Cavatine

Duo Cavatine: NuagesKNS Classical David Jaeger: Chamber Music for ViolaNavona Records 2023 is shaping up to be quite the year for Canadian composer David Jaeger. Consider: in March Elizabeth Reid issued a superb collection of his viola music on Redshift Records, and now another set of chamber pieces for the instrument has appeared on Navona. Adding to … Read more

Nuages has the most spins on Spotify

Duo Cavatine - Nuages

The CD “Nuages” by Duo Cavatine, recently released by KNS Classical, had the most spins of all the recordings in the KNS Classical catalogue on Spotify last week. Congratulations to this outstanding duo!! Acclaimed for their captivating and sophisticated personas, the pair unveils a profound harmony and heartfelt vulnerability, which lies at the core of … Read more

The intersection of Poetry and Music Lecture Recital

French Hornist Olivia Esther and David Jaeger will be presenting a lecture recital at the International Horn Society annual conference in Montreal Wednesday, July 26, 2023 with special guests: Elise Martel, horn (OSQ) and Sara Schabas, Soprano. The presentation will take place at 5 pm in the Salle Serge Garant at the Faculty of Music of the … Read more

A History of The Canadian Electronic Ensemble

Book cover for An Orchestra at my Fingertips

When the Canadian Electronic Ensemble (CEE) began as a group of students at the University of Toronto in 1972, they performed with cumbersome, finicky analog instruments and DIY logistics, never sure if everything would work as intended. Today’s CEE sound comes from a sophisticated mixture of digital and analog hardware, laptops, and acoustic instruments. Across … Read more

Nuages – Duo Cavatine

Duo Cavatine - Nuages

Nuages is another outstanding Canadian cello and piano disc, showcasing Noémie Raymond-Friset and Michel-Alexandre Broekaert respectively, collectively known as Duo Cavatine (KNS Classical KNS A/121 duocavatine.com). The title for this debut disc, which translates as clouds, comes from its centrepiece, producer David Jaeger’s Constable’s Clouds for solo cello. I spoke in my February column about a reworking of this piece … Read more

Editor’s Corner: Blaze

Blaze - Alice Ping Yee Ho, composer, Christina Petrowska Quilico, piano

Although there is an electronic aspect on one of the tracks of Christina Petrowska Quilico’s latest CD Blaze featuring piano music of Alice Ping Yee Ho (Centrediscs CMCCD 31323cmccanada.org/product­ category/recordings/Centrediscs), the rest are purely acoustic. Ho tells us “The eight works in this collection have short, descrip­ tive titles, with inspiration drawn from abstract paintings, … Read more

Editor’s Corner: Nuages

Nuages is another outstanding Canadian cello and piano disc, showcasing Noemie Raymond-Friset and Michel-Alexandre Broekaert respectively, collectively known as Duo Cavatine (KNS Classical KNS A/121 duocavatine.com). The title for this debut disc, which translates as clouds, comes from its centrepiece, producer David Jaeger’s Constable’s Clouds for solo cello. I spoke in my February column about … Read more

Conjuring: Viola Music of David Jaeger

Elizabeth Reid playing her viola

This recording of the Viola Music of David Jaeger features violist Elizabeth Reid and pianist Alison Bruce Cerutti, both prodigious artists on their instruments. The disc features spirited, occasionally restless performances that thrillingly capture the adrenalin rush of a live concert albeit the fact that it is a wonderfully produced studio recording. Needless to say, … Read more

Elizabeth Reid: Conjuring: The Viola Music of David Jaeger

Conjuring: Viola Music of David Jaeger

Redshift Records While he’s not unknown outside Canada, within its borders David Jaeger (b. 1947) is revered as a pivotal figure in the history and development of Canadian contemporary music. Many a listener versed in that scene knows him as the radio music producer for the CBC’s fondly remembered contemporary music program Two New Hours, which … Read more