A classic summer at full throttle

From Montreal to Saint-Irénée via Joliette, Quebec and Orford, there will be something for everyone in terms of classical concerts, from the piano to the large orchestra, not to mention opera and chamber music. The Press selected some of the most promising moments among the dozens of proposals in Quebec.

Beethoven on period instruments

Better known by its old name of Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, Akamus will host the Festival de Lanaudière for three concerts from July 15 to 17. After playing almost all of the Brandenburg concertos of Bach in Montreal and Quebec three years ago, the German group and its conductor Bernhard Forck will this time dive into the Beethoven universe. Each evening its symphony (the n^bone 3, 5 and 6), each time illuminated by works by contemporary composers of the Bonn master (Wranitzky, Cherubini, Méhul and Knecht).

A keyboard magician in Orford

The Orford Music Festival is rolling out the red carpet for the piano as always. While the concerts by Alain Lefèvre (July 8) and Marc-André Hamelin (July 30) are certainly worth the detour, it is the arrival of pianist Martin Helmchen that constitutes the peak of the Estrie festival. Praised by the New York Times for his “noble sound”, the Berlin musician will perform the Partitas nos 5 and 6 of Bach and the Nachtstucke, opus 23, by Schumann on July 22 at the Salle Gilles-Lefebvre. The next afternoon, he will play Brahms and Fauré with his wife, cellist Marie-Elisabeth Hecker, winner of the legendary Rostropovitch Competition in 2005.

Faust in the Old Capital

For voice lovers, it is to the Festival d’opéra de Québec, of which this will be the first “normal” edition since 2019, that you will have to go. And it’s on none other than the Faust de Gounod that the organization has made its choice. Drawing on his overseas contacts, the baritone and artistic director of the company, Jean-François Lapointe, called on a French team to bring to life this milestone in the lyrical repertoire which has not been given for 25 years in the capital city. Director Jean-Romain Vespirini (who conducted the work at the Paris Opera) and conductor Victorien Vanoosten will collaborate with tenor Thomas Bettinger (Faust) and soprano Anne-Catherine Gillet (Marguerite).

A high priest of the Baroque in Lanaudière

William Christie is probably the biggest classic size that Quebec will receive this summer. His ensemble Les Arts florissants, with whom he has cut dozens of award-winning recordings, of French baroque music among others, will be present at his side on July 30 on the stage of the Fernand-Lindsay amphitheater for the ode The Allegro, Il Pensoroso ed il Moderato by Handel, which will feature three solo singers from the Jardin des Voix founded by Christie. Two days later, the American conductor will conduct a series of motets by Charpentier at the cathedral in Joliette.

Return of concerts at Mount Royal

Between their various appearances at the Festival de Lanaudière and at the Domaine Forget, the Orchester Métropolitain and its conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin will take a break in the metropolis to offer, on the evening of August 2, a free concert at the foot of Mount Royal, a tradition now well established. If many will come first to hear the famous Symphony No. 5 of Beethoven, the Symphony No. 3 by Louise Farrenc and As long as the river flows by the Anishinabée Barbara Assiginaak, two works performed last fall, are certainly also worth the trip. The concert will also begin with an excerpt from the Overture “Cosmopolitan City” by Montrealer Airat Ichmouratov.

Bruce Liu at the Classical Spree

The Orchester symphonique de Montréal is also returning to a more normal summer with, from August 10 to 14, the return of its Classical Spree, a creation by Kent Nagano enthusiastically taken over by new conductor Rafael Payare. If the mini-festival includes many appointments worthy of interest (including a free concert on the esplanade of the Olympic Park on August 10), the concert on August 13 at the Maison symphonique will surely attract more attention given the presence by Montreal pianist Bruce Liu, who won the prestigious Warsaw Chopin Competition last fall. In addition to accompanying him in the vertiginous Rhapsody on a theme by Paganini by Rachmaninoff, the OSM will perform works by Canadian R. Murray Schafer and Villa-Lobos under the direction of Payare.

The cream of the crop at Domaine Forget

The long but superb journey to Domaine Forget in Charlevoix will end the classical summer in style on August 20 with a closing concert that seems straight out of a dream. Under the direction of their conductor Jonathan Cohen, the Violons du Roy will perform the Symphony No. 104“London”, by Haydn, in addition to the Piano Concerto No. 20 of Mozart with none other than Charles Richard-Hamelin at the keyboard. To add to the fun, three of today’s best Quebec singers, Karina Gauvin, Marie-Nicole Lemieux and Jean-François Lapointe, will join the orchestra for a few pieces yet to be unveiled.