Alain Lefèvre | Photo: Simon Fowler – Warner Classics

ALAIN LEFÈVRE and MOZART

September 21
7:30 p.m. 

Reserve
Conducted by
Jean-François Rivest
 
with
Alain Lefèvre,
piano 
Hubert Brizard,
violin (I Musici member)
 
± 83 minutes of music
plus intermission

I Musici’s fortieth anniversary will kick off with the transcendent pianist Alain Lefèvre who “breaks the mold” (International Piano, London), celebrating Mozart’s brilliance and charm with conductor Jean-François Rivest. Lefèvre and Rivest will hence continue exploring the world of Mozart—they took home a Félix award at the ADISQ ceremonies for their recording of the composer’s Piano Concerto No. 23. This time, Lefèvre will perform Piano Concerto No. 27, the last and undoubtedly most moving of all of Mozart’s piano concertos. This concert will also include the debut of Johann Sebastian Bach’s complete violin concertos, featuring violinist Hubert Brizard. I Musici musicians will present the complete series of Bach’s concertos for one, two, and three violins as soloists throughout the season. We will finish off the evening with Mozart’s Symphony No. 40, coined the Great Symphony. This intense work was written at the peak of Mozart’s career; it continues to charm us to this day.

– Jean-François Rivest

Thursday, September 21
7:30 p.m.

Pierre-Mercure hall
of the Pierre-Péladeau Centre

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Program

Bach

Violin Concerto in A Minor, BWV 1041
Duration: approx. 13 minutes

Mozart

Piano Concerto No. 27 in B-flat Major, K. 595
Duration: approx. 35 minutes

Mozart

Symphony No. 40 in G Minor, K. 550 (without clarinets)
Duration: approx. 35 minutes


Alain Lefèvre | Photo: Simon Fowler 

Alain Lefèvre
Piano

Biography

Hailed as a “hero” (Los Angeles Times), a “smashing” performer (Washington Post), “a pianist who breaks the mold” (International Piano) and “who stands out from the typical trends and artifices offered on the international scene” (Classica), Alain Lefèvre performed in over forty countries to the most prestigious venues including Carnegie Hall, Kennedy Center, Royal Albert Hall, Royal Festival Hall, Théatre des Champs-Élysées, Théatre du Châtelet, Salle Pleyel, Teatro Colon, Palacio de Bellas Artes, Herodes Atticus and Epidaurus Theatres, and participated to numerous international festivals such as Ravinia, Saratoga, Wolf Trap, Athens, Istanbul and Cervantino.

His dazzling performances were many times described as “unequaled” (Westdeutsche Zeitung) and “unparalleled” (Los Angeles Times, Sacramento Bee). Saluted for his “phenomenal technique”

(The Spectator), his « sparkling playing resulting in fascinating interpretations » (Kölner Stadt Anzeiger), his “sovereign mastery” (Hamburger Abendblatt), Mr. Lefèvre has been guest soloist of great orchestras such as the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the Orchestre National de France, the Philadelphia Orchestra, Detroit Symphony, National Symphony, the China Philharmonic, the SWR, the Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo, the Moscow Virtuosi and has collaborated with renowned conductors such as James Conlon, Charles Dutoit, Christoph Eschenbach, JoAnn Falletta, Claus Peter Flor, Lawrence Foster, Jacek Kaspszyk, Kent Nagano, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Jukka-Pekka Saraste, Vladimir Spivakov and Long Yu.

He has revived the music of the forgotten pianist and composer of genius, André Mathieu, hailed as the ‘’Canadian Mozart’’, in concert in New York, Paris, London, Berlin, Shanghaï and many other cities worldwide. 

His discography covers a vast repertoire, from John Corigliano’s Piano Concerto, praised as the ‘’reference version’’ (BBC Music Magazine), to Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No. 4 with Kent Nagano and the OSM, ‘’a superb recording’’ (Gramophone). Since 2018 he records exclusively for Warner Classics. My Paris Years and Concerto de Québec received a Trophée Radio Classique (France). His latest album of original woks,  Opus 7, was launched in 2021, to be followed in 2023

by ‘’Paris Memories’’.

Hubert Brizard

Hubert Brizard
Violin

Biography

Graduating from the Conservatoire de Musique de Montréal, where he studied with Johanne Arel and Helmut Lipsky, Hubert Brizard began his chamber music career with the Ensemble Contemporain de Montréal (ECM+). Regular contributor to the Nouvel Ensemble Moderne and the Société de Musique Contemporaine du Québec, he actively participates in the development and creation of new music. In 2022, he joined the Ensemble Paramirabo, a contemporary music sextet working in the creation and dissemination of new works. In addition to his activities as a chamber musician, Hubert performs with various ensembles throughout the province, such as the Sherbrooke Symphony Orchestra, the Estuary Symphony Orchestra, and the FILMharmonique Orchestra, with which he participates in many concerts, including Star Wars and Lord of the Rings. Supernumerary with I Musici for several years, he has been a regular member of the orchestra since June 2022.

 
Julie Triquet plays on a Giuseppe Odoardi 1726 violin, generously loaned by Mr. David B. Sela. 
Christian Prévost plays on a Rafelle and Antonio Gagliano violin, Naples (ca.18xx) and a Jean Joseph Martin bow (ca.1880), kindly lent by CANIMEX.
Amélie Benoit Bastien plays a Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume violin, Paris, ca. 1845, number 1672, Stradivarius model and a Eugène Sartory bow, Paris, ca. 1935, courtesy of CANIMEX.  
Annie Guénette plays on a Josef Gagliano 1768 violin and a Lamy bow, generously loaned by CANIMEX. 
Tim Halliday plays the 2014 Kolia cello by Mira Gruszow and Gideon Baumblatt, generously on loan from Mr. David B. Sela.