Canadian classical music


In Canada, classical music includes a range of musical styles rooted in the traditions of Western or European classical music that European settlers brought to the country from the 17th century and onwards. As well, it includes musical styles brought by other ethnic communities from the 19th century and onwards, such as Indian classical music and Chinese classical music. Since Canada's emergence as a nation in 1867, the country has produced its own composers, musicians and ensembles. As well, it has developed a music infrastructure that includes training institutions, conservatories, performance halls, and a public radio broadcaster, CBC, which programs a moderate amount of Classical music. There is a high level of public interest in classical music and education.
Canada has produced a number of respected ensembles, including the Montreal Symphony Orchestra and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, as well as a number of well-known Baroque orchestras and chamber ensembles, such as the
I Musici de Montréal Chamber Orchestra and the Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra & Chamber Choir. Major Canadian opera companies such as the Canadian Opera Company have nurtured the talents of Canadian opera singers such as Maureen Forrester, Ben Heppner, and Jon Vickers. Well-known Canadian musicians include pianist Glenn Gould; pianist Ronald Turini, violinist James Ehnes; pianist Jan Lisiecki; conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin; flautist Timothy Hutchins; and composers Claude Vivier, R. Murray Schafer, Harry Somers and Jacques Hétu. Well-known music schools include the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto and the Schulich School of Music at McGill University in Montreal.

Opera and vocal

Opera singers

A number of Canadian singers who learned their craft in Canadian opera companies went on to sing in major international opera houses.
The Holman Opera Troupe, which toured throughout Canada in the 1860s–1880s, were at separate periods, lessees of the London Opera House, the Royal Lyceum, Toronto, the Grand Opera House, Ottawa, and the Theatre Royal, Montreal. The troupe consisted of Mr. George Holman, his wife, his daughter Sallie Holman another daughter, and two sons, with some others, including William H. Crane and Sallie's husband Mr. J. T. Dalton. Bertha May Crawford, a coloratura soprano from Toronto, was probably the only Canadian singer of her era to achieve significant success performing in major opera houses in Russia and Poland during the First World War and through the 1920s.
In the early 20th century, contralto singer Portia White achieved international fame because of her voice and stage presence. As a Canadian of African descent, her popularity helped to open previously closed doors for talented blacks who followed. She has been declared "a person of national historic significance" by the Government of Canada. George London was a Montreal-born concert and operatic bass-baritone. From 1975 until 1980 he was general director of the Washington Opera. Pierrette Alarie 1921, is a French-Canadian coloratura soprano. Lois Marshall was a Canadian soprano who was made a Companion of the Order of Canada in 1967. She was both a concert and recital singer, first as a soprano and later as a mezzo-soprano.
Louis Quilico was a Canadian baritone, known as "Mr Rigoletto." In Canada, Quilico performed regularly with the Canadian Opera Company in Toronto, and throughout the 1970s he performed in opera companies in the United States. Quilico's contemporary Jon Vickers is a tenor born in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, who joined the Metropolitan Opera in 1960. A powerful "heldentenor", he became known for his German- and Italian-language roles. Maureen Forrester was a Canadian operatic contralto known for her performances of Mahler and for her great stamina onstage. Victor Braun was a Canadian-born operatic baritone who performed at major opera houses from Europe and North America. His contemporary Teresa Stratas is a soprano who had a 36-year career at the Metropolitan Opera. Judith Forst is a Canadian mezzo-soprano who was made an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1991.
Richard Margison is an operatic tenor who was named an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2001 and lives in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Gino Quilico is a lyric baritone of Italian descent and the son of Canadian baritone Louis Quilico and Lina Pizzolongo. Ben Heppner is a tenor, specializing in opera and classical symphonic works for voice. performs frequently with major opera companies in the United States and Europe, as well as concert appearances with major symphony orchestras. Gerald Finley is a bass-baritone opera singer renowned for his interpretations of Mozart roles. Michael Schade is a Canadian operatic tenor, who was born in Geneva and raised in Germany and Canada; he is known as a "Mozart tenor". Russell Braun is an operatic lyric baritone, who is the son of baritone Victor Braun. Isabel Bayrakdarian is an Armenian-Canadian opera singer who moved to Canada as a teenager. James Westman is an operatic baritone, in his youth he was the first boy soprano to perform Gustav Mahler, 4th symphony with Leonard Bernstein. Joni Henson and Measha Brueggergosman are both Sopranos that perform regularly both in concert and in fully staged Operas.

Opera companies

  • Canadian Opera Company
  • Opera Atelier
  • Opéra de Montréal
  • Vancouver Opera
  • Manitoba Opera
  • Opera in Concert
  • Opera Lyra Ottawa
  • Calgary Opera
  • Edmonton Opera
  • Opera Hamilton
  • Opéra de Québec
  • Pacific Opera Victoria

    Choirs

  • Toronto Mendelssohn Choir
  • Amadeus Choir
  • Nathaniel Dett Chorale
  • Tafelmusik Chamber Choir
  • Ottawa Bach Choir
  • Theatre of Early Music

    Ensembles and performers

Orchestras and ensembles

Symphony orchestras:
  • Victoria Symphony
  • Vancouver Symphony Orchestra
  • Calgary Philharmonic
  • Edmonton Symphony Orchestra
  • Saskatoon Symphony
  • Regina Symphony Orchestra
  • Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra
  • Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra
  • Kingston Symphony Orchestra
  • Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra
  • Toronto Symphony Orchestra
  • National Arts Centre Orchestra
  • Orchestre Métropolitain du Grand Montréal
  • Montreal Symphony Orchestra
  • Orchestre Symphonique de Québec
  • Symphony New Brunswick
  • Symphony Nova Scotia
  • Newfoundland Symphony Orchestra
Community orchestras:
  • Oakville Symphony Orchestra
  • Ottawa Symphony Orchestra
  • Prince Edward Island Symphony Orchestra
Baroque orchestras and chamber ensembles:
  • Amati Quartet
  • New Orford String Quartet
  • Quatuor Bozzini
  • Canadian Brass
  • Canadian Chamber Ensemble
  • I Musici de Montréal Chamber Orchestra
  • Les Violons du Roy
  • Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra
  • Quartetto Gelato
  • Manitoba Chamber Orchestra

    Instrumentalists

Pianists

was a Chilean-Canadian composer, pianist, and teacher whose students included Glenn Gould and Jon Kimura Parker. Glenn Gould was noted for his recordings of the music of Johann Sebastian Bach, his technical proficiency, unorthodox musical philosophy, and eccentric personality and piano technique. Ronald Turini was the personally most highly regarded student of Vladimir Horowitz and performed as soloist with major orchestras around the world. Zeyda Ruga Suzuki is a Cuban-Canadian classical pianist and Juno Award nominee. Dang Thai Son is a classical pianist known for being the first Asian pianist to win the International Frederick Chopin Piano Competition in 1980. He remains a well-known Chopin interpreter, and now resides in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Naida Cole has recorded music by Fauré, Chabrier, Satie and Ravel. Wonny Song Korean-Canadian pianist and professor. First Prize winner at the 2005 Young Concert Artists International Auditions in New York, Prix d'Europe 2003, and winner of the Minnesota Orchestra's WAMSO Competition.
  • Steve Barakatt
  • JJ Jun Li Bui
  • Ronald Turini
  • Angela Cheng
  • Marc-André Hamelin
  • Charles Richard-Hamelin
  • Angela Hewitt
  • Anton Kuerti
  • Lee Kum-Sing
  • Bruce Liu
  • Louis Lortie
  • Jan Lisiecki
  • Harold Bradley
  • Jon Kimura Parker
  • Christina Petrowska Quilico
  • Giancarlo Scalia
  • Wonny Song
  • Zeyda Ruga Suzuki
  • Tony Yike Yang

    Violinists

Canadian violinists:
  • Martin Beaver
  • Nikki Chooi
  • Timothy Chooi
  • Alexandre Da Costa
  • Angèle Dubeau
  • James Ehnes
  • Moshe Hammer
  • Susanne Hou
  • Leila Josefowicz
  • Chantal Juillet
  • Juliette Kang
  • Jessica Linnebach
  • Catherine Manoukian
  • Peter Oundjian
  • Walter Prystawski
  • Erika Raum
  • Lara St. John
  • Scott St. John
  • Steven Staryk
  • Harold Sumberg
  • Ralitsa Tcholakova
  • Robert Uchida
Non-Canadian violinists within the Canadian music community:
  • Jacques Israelievitch
  • Hidetaro Suzuki
  • Pinchas Zukerman

    Other instrumentalists

Other string players include violist Rivka Golani and cellists Donald Whitton, Ottawa-based chamber musician Julian Armour, and soloist Ofra Harnoy. Well-known wind players include bassoonists such as William Douglas and Nadina Mackie Jackson; flautists Timothy Hutchins and Alexander Zonjic; and oboists such as James Mason and Marc Rogers. Notable Canadian organists include Eric Robertson, Gerald Bales, François Brassard, and Healey Willan. There are also several well-known Canadian organ builders, including Casavant Frères and Gabriel Kney. Two classical guitarists from Canada have become well known: Liona Boyd and Norbert Kraft. Well-known brass players from Canada include Jens Lindemann, James Sommerville and Alain Trudel.

Composers

  • Robert Aitken
  • István Anhalt
  • Louis Applebaum
  • Violet Archer
  • Michael Conway Baker
  • Steve Barakatt
  • John Beckwith
  • Denys Bouliane
  • John Burge
  • Amice Calverley
  • Pat Carrabré
  • Brian Cherney
  • Jean Coulthard
  • Eleanor Joanne Daley
  • Victor Davies
  • R. Nathaniel Dett
  • Airat Ichmouratov
  • John Estacio
  • Gordon Fitzell
  • Malcolm Forsyth
  • André Gagnon
  • Steven Gellman
  • Peter Hannan
  • Stephen Hatfield
  • Christos Hatzis
  • Jacques Hétu
  • Gary Kulesha
  • Rachel Laurin
  • Alexina Louie
  • Hummie Mann
  • Bruce Mather
  • Michael Matthews
  • Oskar Morawetz
  • Marjan Mozetich
  • Owen Pallett
  • Randolph Peters
  • Imant Raminsh
  • John Rea
  • Godfrey Ridout
  • John Robertson
  • James Rolfe
  • George Ross
  • Vahram Sargsyan
  • Giancarlo Scalia
  • R. Murray Schafer
  • Howard Shore
  • Mark Sirett
  • Harry Somers
  • Donald Steven
  • Claude Vivier
  • John Weinzweig
  • Healey Willan
See also: