BEST CDs. BEST RECORDINGS:  CLASSICAL MUSIC                                             From the Desk of Irma Panayotti

CHRISTINA PETROWSKA QUILICO Gems With An Edge (Welspringe) As part of New Music Concerts' Piano Marathon at The Music Gallery this weekend, Christina Petrowska Quilico will offer comments on and performances of the keyboard music of her first husband, the late Michel-Georges Brégent, whose aleatorically influenced Geste, originally recorded on the RCI label, reappears on this Welspringe disc. Its disc-mates include Mario Davidovsky's Synchronisms VI (1970), Pierre Boulez' early Third Sonata (1961) and most particularly a selection of Olivier Messiaen's Vingt regards sur l'enfant Jésus (once picturesquely translated by the late CBC radio broadcaster Bob Kerr as Twenty Peeks At The Baby Jesus), the latter originally released on CBC Records. One of Canada's most loyal interpreters of contemporary keyboard music, Petrowska Quilico's other albums include four CDs recorded with her late husband, the celebrated Canadian Metropolitan Opera baritone Louis Quilico.-Willi Litter

Photo: Christina Petrowska Quilico.

« An extraordinary Talent. » New York Times

Christina Petrowska Quilico is not only one of Canada's foremost pianists, but also a most innovative and adventurous one with an eclectic approach to programming. Her vast and diverse repertoire is reflected in more than sixteen recordings of classical, romantic, new and world music, including a JUNO nominated CD with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra. An unusually gifted and well-rounded performer, she has worked with leading composers of the 20th century such Pierre Boulez, John Cage, Louis de Pablo, Lowell Liebermann, György Ligeti, Krzysztof Penderecki and Karlheinz Stockhousen among others. In Canada she has collaborated with Glenn Buhr, Omar Daniel, Chris Paul Harman, Christos Hatzis, Larysa Kuzmenko, Alexina Louie, Heather Schmidt, Claude Vivier and her first husband Michel-Georges Brégent, to name just a few, premiering countless new works, many written especially for her. Petrowska Quilico recorded four CDs in partnership with her late husband, the legendary Metropolitan Opera baritone Louis Quilico, and toured extensively with him in concert. Her own solo tours have been highlighted by appearances at major New York venues from Carnegie, Alice Tully and Town Halls to the Museum of Modern Art and Merkin Concert Hall. In November 2002, Petrowska Quilico released Gems with an Edge to coincide with a live performance of Pierre Boulez' First Sonata in the presence of the composer on the occasion of presentation of the International Glenn Gould Prize. On March 15, 2003, Ms. Quilico presided over "The Christina and Louis Quilico Competition for Voice Majors in the Glenn Gould School of Music." Coloratura soprano Sinead Sugrue was awarded the first prize of $1,000. Soprano Miriam Khalil and Mezzo Soprano Ramona Carmelly received awards of $500 and $250, respectively. The contestants are all voice majors at The Glenn Gould School at The Royal Conservatory of Music where Louis Quilico held his last teaching position. For more information on how you can contribute to The Christina and Louis Quilico Fund at the Ontario Arts Council, which finances the competition.  

Photo: Virtuoso Robert Silverman

Silverman Bio Synopsis: In a world that sees wunderkinds of the piano come and go, Robert Silverman has reached a level of musical and technical authority that can only be accomplished after years of deep commitment to the instrument and its vast literature. Many aspects of Silverman’s playing are frequently noted: a polished technique, an extraordinary range of tonal palette, an uncanny ability to sing his way into the heart of a phrase, and his probing interpretation of the most complex works in the repertoire. The distinguished pianist has performed in concert halls throughout North America, Europe, the Far East and Australia. Under the batons of such renowned conductors as Seiji Ozawa, John Eliot Gardiner, Gerard Schwarz, Neeme Järvi, Sergiu Comissiona, Zdenek Macal, and the late Kiril Kondrashin, he has performed with orchestras on three continents, including the Chicago Symphony, the Sydney Symphony, the BBC (London) Symphony, the St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestras, and every major orchestra in Canada. Robert Silverman's discography includes 25 CDs and a dozen LPs.

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