Saturday, October 1, 2011
8 PM | McDougall United Church

Saturday, November 5, 2011
8 PM | Convocation Hall

Wednesday, January 25, 2012*
8 PM | Convocation Hall
*Trio Jean Paul has cancelled;
please note new artists

Monday, February 13, 2012
8 PM | Convocation Hall

Saturday, March 10, 2012
8 PM | Convocation Hall

James Ehnes	James Ehnes Violin
	with Andrew Armstrong  Piano
Saturday, October 1, 2011 8 PM	McDOUGALL UNITED CHURCH 10086 MacDonald Drive Edmonton, AB

Preview with Edmonton Journal’s Elizabeth Withey
September 28, 2011

Canadian-born James Ehnes has thrilled audiences worldwide since his orchestral debut with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra at the age of 13. The recipient of numerous awards, including a Grammy, a Gramophone and six Juno awards, he continues to win superlatives for his artistry and impressive technique.

The concert program has links to two earlier violin virtuosos, Fritz Kreisler and Niccolò Paganini. Kreisler’s arrangement of Tartini’s Devil’s Trill Sonata and Paganini’s Caprices are much admired works of daunting technical challenge.   Balancing their fireworks are Beethoven’s light-hearted ‘Spring’ sonata and César Franck’s rapturous Sonata in A Major. 

The American pianist Andrew Armstrong performs frequently with James Ehnes. A prize-winning soloist, he has appeared with major orchestras in Europe and Asia and throughout North America.

Giuseppe Tartini (1692 –1770)	Sonata in G Minor Op. 1, No. 4 “The Devil’s Trill”
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)	Sonata No. 5 in F Major Op. 24 “Spring”
Nicolò Paganini (1782 –1840)	Caprices Op. 1
César Franck (1822-1890)	Sonata in A Major

 “James Ehnes and his new pianist, Andrew Armstrong, gave an exceptionally high quality recital…the young Manitoba violinist was greeted like a pop star by the full hall…he achieves a sonority of such beauty that words cannot describe it.” –La Presse

photo: Maxime Leduc	Ensemble Masques From Biber to Bach Saturday, November 5, 2011 8 PM Sophie Gent & Tuomo Suni  Violins Kathleen Kajioka  Viola Mélisande Corriveau  Bass viol, cello Benoît Vanden Bemden  Violone Olivier Fortin  Harpsichord
CONVOCATION HALL  U of A Campus | Parking map | Visitor parking rates

Montreal-based Masques enjoys a growing reputation as an early music ensemble that brings together some of Canada’s most talented young musicians.  Inspired by the masques of Elizabethan times, the group collaborates frequently with other artists, Canadian and European, in projects reflecting the diversity of the performers’ musical backgrounds and interests.

For its concert in Edmonton, Masques presents From Biber to Bach, a program highlighting the music of the great 17^th century violinist and composer, Heinrich Ignaz Franz von Biber. A musician in the service of the Archbishop of Salzburg, Biber composed for both the Church and the Court. His ensemble music bridged the sacred and the secular in its pairing of contrapuntal discipline with lively elements of dance.
Program notes

Heinrich Ignaz Franz von Biber (1644–1704)	Sonata V in B flat major (from Sonatae tam aris quam aulis servientes, 1676)
Johann Rosenmüller (c. 1619–1684)	Sonata in F major
Johann Heinrich Schmelzer (ca 1620–1680)	Sonata VII a 5 in A major
J.S. Bach (1865–1750)	Harpsichord concerto in D BWV 1054
Georg Philipp Telemann (1681–1767)	Burlesque Don Quixote
Johann Heinrich Schmelzer (ca 1620–1680)	Balletto a 4 “Fechtschule” (the musical sword fight) in G

	Rossetti String Quartet Wednesday, January 25, 2012 8 PM Henry Gronnier  Violin Sara Parkins  Violin Thomas Diener  Viola Eric Gaenslen  Cello with Rina Dokshitsky  Piano
CONVOCATION HALL  U of A Campus | Parking map | Visitor parking rates

The Rossetti String Quartet is renowned for its highly sophisticated, sensual sound and extensive range of colors. The Quartet’s compelling stage presence and fresh, innovative style has won its members a devoted following.

Founded in 1996, the Rossetti String Quartet is named after 19^th century Pre-Raphaelite painter Dante Gabriel Rossetti, whose artistic ideals about the use of color, poetry, and naturalism are embodied in the Quartet’s musicianship. Each member of the Quartet is an accomplished musical artist in their own right, and the aesthetic depth and insight each brings to the group helps create the intimate, provocative atmosphere that has become the Rossetti trademark.

Rina Dokshitsky
Acclaimed for “playing with ultimate naturalness and considerable charm,” Rina has performed solo recitals in such prestigious concerts halls as the Kennedy Center, Carnegie’s Weill Recital Hall, the Isabella Gardner Museum and Jordan Hall in Boston, and the Ruth Ackerd Hall in Florida. Her chamber music engagements have included appearances at such world-renowned festivals as the Spoleto Festivals – USA and Italy, Ravinia Festival, and the Grand Teton Music Festival.

Antonin Dvořák (1841-1904)	Piano Quintet in A major, Op. 5
César Franck (1822-1890))	Piano Quintet in F minor, M. 7

Daniel Taylor | Artistic Director photo: Marie Reine Mattera	Theatre of Early Music Daniel Taylor  Artistic Director With the Consort of the Theatre of Early Music Monday, February 13, 2012 8 PM
CONVOCATION HALL  U of A Campus | Parking map | Visitor parking rates

Montreal’s Theatre of Early Music returns to Edmonton to perform, in concert, Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas. A tragic opera in three acts, Dido and Aeneas tells the tale of doomed love between the widowed Queen of Carthage and Aeneas, a prince of Troy. The concert will begin with a selection of works from Handel’s oratorios Samson, Theodora, and Judas Maccabeus and motets by Thomas Tallis and Henry Purcell.

Derived from the fourth book of Virgil’s Aeneid, with a libretto by Nahum Tate, the work was written around 1685 but performed only once in Purcell’s lifetime. In the late 18^th century it was rediscovered and adapted for concert performance. It endures as a masterpiece, notable for the emotional authenticity and unaffected beauty of its music.
Dido and Aeneas program notes  

Total Eclipse Aria from Samson		Benjamin Butterfield Tenor
The Pilgrim’s Home Aria from Theodora		Agnes Zsigovics Soprano
As with Rosy Steps Aria from Theodora		Meg Bragle  Mezzo
Oh Lovely Peace Duet from Judas Maccabeus		Grace Davidson  Soprano Daniel Taylor Countertenor
O Nata Lux Motet by Thomas Talli Remember Not, O Lord Motet by Henry Purcell Hear My Prayer Motet by Henry Purcell
Dido and Aeneas
	Dido	Noemi Kiss  Soprano
	Aeneas	Alexander Dobson   Baritone
	Belinda	Grace Davidson   Soprano
	2nd Woman	Agnes Zsigovics   Soprano
	Sorceress	Daniel Taylor   Countertenor
	Sailor	Benjamin Butterfield   Tenor
	First Witch	Meara Conway  Soprano
	Second Witch	Meg Bragle  Mezzo-soprano
	Spirit	David Clegg   Countertenor

“A regular Baroque-performance standout is the sensitive artistry and burnished voice of Canadian countertenor Daniel Taylor.”  –Toronto Star

“The Theatre’s orchestra played with consummate skill and understanding.”
–Ottawa Citizen

Ebène Quartet Saturday, March 10, 2012 8 PM Pierre Colombet  Violin Gabriel Le Magadure  Violin Mathieu Herzog  Viola Raphaël Merlin  Cello CONVOCATION HALL U of A Campus Parking map | Visitor parking rates

Named “Newcomer of the Year” in 2009 by BBC Music Magazine, the Ebène Quartet has very quickly joined the top ranks of string quartets. A debut tour of the U.S., participation in the recent Haydn cycle at London’s Wigmore Hall, appearances throughout Europe, and a multi-award winning CD have brought it considerable and enthusiastic notice within the span of only a few years.

The young French musicians share an interest in other genres of music — including jazz, pop, soul and rock — that has found expression in their most recent recording, Fiction. Its eclectic mix of standards, Beatles’ songs, and themes from film scores is the model for the second half of the Ebène’s concert program. Moving from the intensity of Mozart’s Quartet in D Minor to the gentle lyricism of the famous “Notturno” in Borodin’s second String Quartet and ending with exuberant improvisations and arrangements of popular songs, the group reveals “the other Ebène” and the impressive range of its talents.

W.A. Mozart (1756-1791)	Quartet in D Minor K. 421
Alexander Borodin (1833 –1887)	Quartet No. 2 in D Major
Jazz and Pop Standards, reimagined by the Ebène Quartet

“Their performance …was a riot of nuance, sometimes raptly lyrical and sometimes swingingly rhythmic…the Ebène revealed that they don’t take themselves too seriously. They seem bound for greatness all the same.” –Alex Ross, The New Yorker