Classique du Thé

The classical decoder! Clément Lebrun is a born pedagogue: in just a few words, this inspired all-rounder makes the greatest works of classical music accessible… In this programme intended for all ears, he tells the story of Brahms’s Fourth Symphony, movement by movement, with the enthusiastic participation of the Orchestre de Paris (conducted by Fabien Gabel), which is also heard performing the work in its entirety under the direction of Simone Young. Just listen to the Fourth and you too will love Brahms…

As one of the most successful classical performers of his time, violinist Nigel Kennedy's genre-defying music helped him achieve a level of fame typically reserved for pop stars. A native of Brighton, England, he studied music at the Yehudi Menuhin School and at Juilliard; his debut recording, Elgar Violin Concerto, appeared in 1984, shortly followed by Nigel Kennedy Plays Jazz.

Canadian composers have managed, at least to some degree, to avoid the dichotomy between "high" and "low" art that causes so much animosity on the American new music scene; advocates of "popular" classical composers such as Glass and Adams, and of "serious" classical composers like Babbitt and Carter, tend to be divided by distrust, if not downright contempt for each other's aesthetic. Québécois composer André Hamel is one of a substantial group of Canadian composers who draws freely and productively on a variety of traditions, without embarrassment or apology. His À Huit for eight saxophones is remarkable in that it sounds like it was created almost entirely with computer-generated sonorities and not by live performers.

Because authentic Baroque performance practices have become so widely accepted, the appearance of Bernard Labadie's excellent 2007 recording of George Frideric Handel's Water Music might not seem exceptional; the use of period instruments by his superb chamber ensemble, Les Violons du Roy, might not seem extraordinary to anyone who has heard recordings of eighteenth century music since the 1980s.

Juno Award-winning ensemble Les Violons du Roy reveals its astonishing breadth with a new CD release, Bartók, under the baton of Associate Conductor Jean-Marie Zeitouni. Best known for interpretations of baroque and classical masterpieces, Les Violons tackle Bartók’s Divertimento, Romanian Folk Dances and Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta with conviction and verve. Bartók’s music was deeply influenced by Hungarian, Slovakian and Romanian folk music. His Romanian Folk Dances, composed in 1915, have remained his most popular work. Premiered two decades later in 1937, Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta is the culmination of Bartók’s long search to forge a language for art music that integrates the characteristics of the folk music of the countries of eastern Europe.

ATMA Classique presents Johann Sebastian Bach’s Goldberg Variations in an arrangement for strings and continuo by Bernard Labadie, performed by Les Violons du Roy under Labadie’s baton. This recording was originally released on the Dorian label in 2000.