Ottawa International Chamber Music Festival 2008 Highlights
Roughly five hours drive from the Southern Ontario conglomeration that is Kitchener-Waterloo, Guelph, London, Toronto etc, Ottawa is a bit of a hike. Miss Mussel did consider using ad revenue to fund her trip but then discovered that the $10.42 she has earned since July 2007 would only get her as far as Milton….or 300 miles short of the goal.
Nevertheless, the Ottawa International Chamber Music Festival has a load of great programs on offer. After looking through the entire season brochure, it seems the programming is a bit more random than the Elora Festival or The Festival of the Sound, but in a good way. The OICMF is put on by the Ottawa Chamber Music Society and the overall emphasis seems to be on friends getting together to play music they like. And really, what else is chamber music for?
With eight concerts a day from 25th July to 9th August, there should be plenty keep anyone interested, chamber music nerd or not.
Here’s what Miss Mussel would be going to see if Adsense paid $1 per impression:
26th July
The Creaking Tree String Quartet
Venue: Royal Canadian Legion, Montgomery
Time: 10:30pm
27th July
Shanghai Quartet
* Beethoven String Quartet No. 6 in B-flat major, opus 18, no. 6, La Malinconia
* Chen Yi From the Path of Beauty
* Brahms String Quartet in A minor, opus 51, no. 2
Venue: Dominion Chalmers Church
Time: 8pm
28th July
New Zealand String Quartet
Ravel, Debussy and Schubert’s G major String Quartet, D. 887.
Venue: First Baptist Church
Time: 2pm
Messiaen
Prélude; Fantaisie Offrande au Saint Sacrement; Verset pour la fête de la dédicace; Quatuor pour la fin des temps
Venue: Dominion Chalmers Church
Time: 8pm
29th July
Keller Quartet, Douglas McNabney & viola, Denise Djokic & cello
* Bartók String Quartet No. 1 in A minor
* Ligeti Quartet No. 1, Metamorphoses nocturnes
* Tchaikovsky String Sextet in D minor, opus 70, Souvenir de Florence
Venue: Dominion Chalmers Church
Time: 8pm
31st July
Penderecki String Quartet
* Panufnik String Quartet No. 3, Wycinanki
* Szymanowski String Quartet No 2, opus 56
* Mendelssohn String Quartet in D major, opus 44, no.
Venue: St Andrew’s Presbyterian
Time: 8pm
Joseph Petric and friends
Venue: The Royal Canadian Legion, Montgomery
Time: 10:30pm
1st August
Gilles Apap & violin, Myriam Lafargue & accordion
Venue: Dominion Chalmers Church
Time: 8pm
2nd August
St. Lawrence String Quartet; James Sommerville & horn; Barry Shiffman & viola; Desmond Hoebig & cello
* Mozart Quintet in E-flat major for Horn and Strings, K. 407
* Schafer String Quartet No. 3
* Brahms String Sextet No. 2 in G major, opus 36
Venue: St Andrew’s Presbyterian
Time: 8pm
3rd August
Ensemble Caprice, Quator Bozzini
Reich – Different Trains
Venue: Dominion Chalmers Church
Time: 8pm
5th August
Leipzig String Quartet
* Stravinsky Three Pieces for String Quartet
* Lutoslawski String Quartet
* Shostakovich String Quartet No. 15 in E-flat major, opus 144
Venue: St Andrew’s Presbyterian
Time: 8pm
Nexus – percussion ensemble
Venue: Canadian Museum of Civilization
Time: 8pm
7th August
Lori Gemmell & harp; Jennifer Swartz & harp
Venue: Church of St John the Evangelist
Time: 12pm
Quartetto Gelato
Venue: Dominion Chalmers Church
Time: 8pm
8th August
Louise Bessette & piano; Estelle Lemire & ondes Martenot
A celebration of Messiaen that will include the world premiere of his work Four Pieces for Piano and Ondes Martenot
Venue: Church of St John the Evangelist
Time: 12pm
I Furiosi Baroque Ensemble
Venue: Christ Church Cathedral
Time: 5pm
9th August – Closing Gala
Larysa Kuzmenko’s Dreams and Christos Hatzis’s Wormwood
Venue: Dominion Chalmers Church
Time: 8pm
