Presse

TheWholeNote

Written by Andrew Scott

Just as the range of human experience is vast and wide, the expansiveness of Jewish music (Ashkenazi, Sephardic, Ladino, religious, secular) is equally nuanced, leaving a rich legacy of artistry and beautiful composition. Accordingly, New Jewish Music, Vol.5, is appropriately equally varied, a welcome collection platforming works of the 2024 laureates of the biennial Azrieli Music Prize: Jordan Nobles, Josef Bardanashvili, Yair Klartag, and Juan Trigos. 

Over 16 tracks performed by the Chorus of the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal (OSM) under the direction Andrew Megill, this fine new recording presents multiple musical traditions, experiences, and a diversity of voices while articulating themes from the cosmos during the time of the Aztec, to beautifully bringing to life the traditional Georgian influence heard on Bardanashvili’s five-part Light to My Path. 

Celebrating what is possible with a variety of ensemble sizes, this recording runs the gamut from the atmospheric sparseness and intimacy of Nobles’ a cappella piece Kanata – musically plumbing the vastness of the Canadian landscape – before augmenting in scope and size with members of the OSM for Trigos’ Simetrías Prehispánicas (Pre-Hispanic Symmetries). Bardanashvili adds saxophone, percussion and piano to the mixed choir for his work, while Klartag’s Parable of the Palace supplements the chorus with four double basses. 

New Jewish Music, Vol.5 is ambitious, musically satisfying and consistently excellent.

• BBC Music Magazine

  "This recording's combination of vast orchestral virtuosity and a sumptuous acoustic is impressive in itself. But the truly remarkable feature is how all the excitement, however spectacular, isn't simply generated from without, but instead seems to come from within the music itself."

• Textura.org

  "Top 20 Classical Instrumental Albums of 2025 #18"

• Apple Music

  "An exhilarating new sci-fi-inspired work joins Strauss' blockbuster tone poem."

Reviews

'Superbly performed and recorded, this is a fine production with an intriguing and enjoyable programme of première recordings. I for one am delighted to have been given the opportunity to discover the music of Ernest Kanitz.'

Dominy Clements - MusicWeb International - 15 March 2026

4 étoiles

'Violinist Anna Štube deals in ravishing melodies and dreamy asides; Kanitz balances the finely carved material with expressive, seemingly off-the-cuff diversions.'

Claire Jackson - BBC Music Magzine - Christmas 2025

'Throughout, the ARC Ensemble perform with their customary polish and rhythmic perspicacity, making a persuasive case for this unjustly neglected figure.'

Andrew Palmer - Yorkshire Times - 1 November 2025

'This is another attractive entrant in the series not least for the fact that, as so often in the series, these are all premiere recordings. All the performers prove adept, sensitive and stylish exponents.'

Jonathan Woolf - MusicWeb International - 28 October 2025

'...piano that delights in Kanitz's arrival in the New World. All get convincing performances from the ARC Ensemble.'

Richard Fairman - Financial Times - 1 November 2025

'As before, stellar performances from the ARC Ensemble offer the best possible case for reappraising this neglected composer.'

Joanne Talbot - The Strad - 24 October 2025

'Here again, the players of the ARC Ensemble really find the music's sardonic, tender and deeply melancholy soul: an affecting centrepiece to this rewarding and important release.'

5 etoiles

Richard Bratby - Gramophone - November 2025

'In its latest instalment, the ensemble has revived the strikingly varied and enigmatic chamber works of Ernest Kanitz...These are bold, adventurous compositions which carry the listener through many worlds'

Heather Weinreb - myscena.org - 13 November 2025

Music Web International

"The sound is faithfully “concert hall” in its acoustic: broad, open, well-balanced and utterly without distractions."

• BBC Music Magazine

"Ehnes's playing throughout mixes precision with expressive engagement. His unashamed use of vibrato adds undoubted appeal to such movements as the Adagio from the E major solo concerto ..."

• Panm360.com

"The tempos are just what you’d expect, and the nuances avoid the precocious Sturm und Drang (storm and stress) of some rival versions, helping to highlight the delicate, precise playing of the soloists’ voices and that of the orchestra. Bach’s music, all clarity and quiet refinement."

• Gramophone

"Ehnes is best in the Concerto in A minor, BWVI041. The second movement is simply sublime. His sound gleams, almost implausibly so, and stil there is copious nuance within the luminosity. Ehnes organically moves between the innocent and hyperbolically operatic, the heartfelt and triumphant - it is an entirely convincing performance."

• AllMusic

James Ehnes is one of the hottest violinists in the world as of 2025, known for exacting yet exciting, almost preternaturally bright readings of the great violin concerto repertory with top orchestras. Bach isn't what he has been most known for, although he did release a well-regarded collection of the composer's Sonatas and Partitas for solo violin. Here, he takes on the composer's "complete violin concertos," a troubled concept that involves the reconstruction of lost concertos that are thought to have preceded existing versions for other instruments, as well as double and triple concertos. Ehnes has quite a corps of fans, and they didn't hesitate to put this album on classical best-seller charts in the spring of 2025. In the slow-movement melodies and in the virtuoso fast-movement figuration, he does not disappoint. In addition to being a great virtuoso, he is a skilled collaborator with other players, and there are enjoyable interactions with the soloists from Canada's National Arts Centre Orchestra. That orchestra is not a group specializing in Baroque music, and here, it is rather oversized for Bach. Further, the sound tends to mix Ehnes into the orchestral textures rather than showcasing his solo work, an effect especially noticeable in the concertos for multiple instruments. Few will choose this as a primary representation of Bach's violin concerto output, but for Ehnes fans, it will deliver just fine.

• The Strad

Bach’s violin concertos, comprising works with extant autograph sources and adapted compositions believed to have originated as concertos for the instrument, are presented here in clear, generally well-balanced recordings captured over three days. However, James Ehnes’s accounts of the solo concertos fail consistently to convince. Adopting a modern performing approach, his reading of BWV1042 is accurate and precise but smacks somewhat of routine. The opening Allegros of BWV1052R and BWV1041 fare similarly; but the florid solo cantilenas of these works’ and 1056R’s centrepieces, which showcase Ehnes’s sonorous ‘Marsick’ Stradivari of 1715 across most of its range, are particularly expressively rendered; and their brisk, energetic finales are exhilarating.

In the double and triple concertos, Ehnes and his partners alternate as principal voice in the texture or engage in canonic imitation. BWV1060R features beautiful oboe playing by Charles Hamann, with whose seamless phrasing Ehnes strikingly interacts in the lyrically intense Adagio. Yosuke Kawasaki, too, proves an admirable ally in BWV1043: their outer movements are powerful and vivacious and they interweave with lyrical intensity in the soulful Largo.

Jessica Linnebach joins Ehnes and Kawasaki as soloist in BWV1064R in an account most remarkable for its finale, in which each takes a turn at bravura display. Ehnes’s dramatic improvisatory cadenza eventually concludes the interplay. The least memorable performance is that of BWV1044, its outer movements feeling laboured. That said, the eloquent traversal of its central movement is a redeeming factor, along with Luc Beauséjour’s harpsichord cadenza before the finale’s closing ritornello, dispatched with commendable aplomb. The well-drilled orchestra gives sterling support throughout.

ROBIN STOWELL

Gramophone

Kent Nagano has recorded Brahms’s Ein deutsches Requiem as it was presented at the work’s Bremen premiere on Good Friday 1868, without the yet-to-be-composed fifth movement, but with musical interpolations and vast choral forces. Andrew Farach-Colton finds out more

Presto Music

Recorded in August 2022 at concerts given in Hamburg’s Elbphilharmonie by the Philharmonisches Staatsorchester Hamburg under Kent Nagano, this version of Johannes Brahms’s celebrated choral masterpiece will come as a surprise to many. The German Requiem is heard not in its usual seven movement version, but rather as it was first performed in Bremen Cathedral on 10th April 1868 (Good Friday) under Brahms’s direction, without the fifth movement for soprano and choir that was completed later that year. On the other hand, there are numerous interludes, instrumental and vocal, secular and sacred, by Bach, Tartini, Schumann and Handel – including pieces that were then regarded as essential parts of a Good Friday concert. Such a programme might seem unusual today, but these musical additions shed new light on Brahms’s work, which in this version manifests itself as what Umberto Eco might have described as an ‘open work’. Presenting the work in the form heard at the Bremen premiere is more than just a reconstruction: it enriches our understanding of this unique music.

The New York Times

The Good Friday premiere of Brahms’s “Ein Deutsches Requiem,” or “A German Requiem,” in 1868 at Bremen Cathedral was a major success for the 34-year-old composer, who conducted the performance in front of 2,500 listeners. But what they heard was not the “Requiem” cherished by concert audiences today. Brahms had yet to compose the fifth of what would, in its final form, become seven movements. And to appease local religious authorities who took issue with the texts that Brahms had set — excerpts from scripture about death and consolation that included no mention of Jesus — he interwove his own music with works by other composers.

That original version was reconstructed and recorded in 2022 at the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg, Germany, featuring 400 singers from eight community choirs. It is an unexpectedly moving testament to the living historical traditions and communal piety that influenced Brahms. Instrumental interludes by Bach, Tartini and Schumann create meditative pockets amid the austere tenderness of Brahms’s choral numbers. After offering a heart-rending aria from Bach’s “St. Matthew’s Passion,” Brahms gives the last word to Handel, concluding this “Requiem” — however scandalously to modern ears — with the radiant “Hallelujah” chorus. CORINNA da FONSECA-WOLLHEIM

Apple Music

"Canadian artists respond to Richard Strauss' works in majestic fashion."

A visionary recording uniting Canadian artistic excellence

Tuesday, November 19, 2024

Now available – Jacques Hétu’s Symphony No. 5 by Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra, the Orchestre symphonique de Québec, and the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir led by Alexander Shelley

Performing live on tour at Toronto’s Roy Thomson Hall, led by music director Alexander Shelley © Greggory Clark This project is more than a recording – it is a celebration of Canadian artistic excellence, a tribute to the late Jacques Hétu, and a reflection on the power of music to unite, inspire, and transcend. Two Orchestras, One Symphony is a benchmark performance of Jacques Hétu’s Symphony No. 5, his final work and a new milestone in Canadian orchestral music. The album is a tribute to Hétu’s epic composition and a testament to the unity and strength of Canada’s orchestral music community.

Celebrating the legacy of a final masterpiece

Symphony No.5 is undoubtedly one of internationally renowned Québecois composer Jacques Hétu’s most significant achievements. His final work draws inspiration from Paul Éluard’s Second World War poem Liberté, which explores themes of freedom and hope, to portray Nazi-occupied Paris, concluding with a choral setting of Éluard’s poem, celebrating the liberation of France. Unfortunately, Hétu never heard his masterwork performed live. He died three weeks shy of its world premiere by the Toronto Symphony Orchestra in 2010. 

This landmark recording reimagines Symphony No. 5, featuring over 200 artists from the NAC Orchestra, the Orchestre symphonique de Québec, and the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir. The result is a sweeping, emotionally charged performance that breathes new life into Hétu’s masterpiece.

This project was an incredibly fulfilling endeavour for Alexander Shelley, now in his tenth season as the NAC Orchestra’s music director. Shelley commented: ‘Hétu’s music has a refined elegance and craftsmanship that is both challenging and rewarding to explore. Bringing together two orchestras and a full choir for this recording was a thrilling experience, and the result is something truly special.’

A powerful collaboration

Having guest conducted the OSQ in several concerts, Shelley envisioned a collaborative project that would showcase the unique strengths of both orchestras. The Toronto Mendelssohn Choir, one of Canada’s oldest and most revered choral groups, added another layer of richness to the project. 

"It’s not often that we can bring together so many talented artists from different parts of the country. The combined energy and passion of the NAC Orchestra, OSQ, and the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir made this project something truly remarkable"

Alexander Shelley, NAC Orchestra music director

Following a critically acclaimed tour in Québec and Ontario, this new recording took place in March 2024 in Southam Hall at the National Arts Centre. The monumental effort involved hundreds of musicians and singers performing under Shelley’s inspired direction. The result is a technical achievement that symbolizes the unity in Canadian music, bridging different regions and musical traditions to create a shared work of art.

Opening night at the Grand Théâtre de Québec, the first stop on the Two Orchestras, One Symphony tour © Greggory Clark

A lasting tribute to Jacques Hétu

One of Canada’s most esteemed and frequently performed composers, Hétu’s catalogue includes some 70 works, including symphonies, operas, choral and chamber music, and concertos for numerous instruments. 

"It was a remarkable journey, one that not only honoured Jacques Hétu’s memory but also strengthened our artistic bonds. In these challenging times, Hétu’s work offers a profound sense of comfort and inspiration."

Astrid Chouinard, President and CEO of the Orchestre symphonique de Québec

 Hétu’s relationship with the NAC Orchestra stretches back nearly five decades. In 1977, the Orchestra commissioned Antinomi and performed the piece under former music director Mario Bernardi. Later, under Pinchas Zukerman, Hétu’s works featured prominently on the Orchestra’s European tour in 1990 and its Québec tour in 2006. This enduring partnership laid the groundwork for this grand-scale interpretation of Symphony No. 5, which marks a fitting conclusion to Hétu’s legacy.

A showcase of leading Canadian ensembles, Two Orchestras, One Symphony has the potential to make a lasting impression on listeners worldwide. Set for release on the Analekta music label, the new album is now available for purchase and streaming across all major platforms.

Planet Hughill

Canadian composer Jacques Hétu's remarkable final symphony in a stunning new recording resulting from the collaboration between three of Canada's major ensembles

• CBC

  "collectif9 are not only one of the most exciting chamber ensembles in Canada, for my money they are one of the most exciting in the world. The way they play is just electric [...] Outstanding new record."

• Panm360.com

  "It’s an album of music that’s soothing and nourishing, emotionally, intellectually and even spiritually."

• Online Merker

  "Mit „Rituæls“ hat collectif9 ein Album geschaffen, das in seiner Dramaturgie und musikalischen Vielfalt beeindruckt. Die kunstvolle Verknüpfung von Stücken aus verschiedenen Epochen und ihre fesselnde Interpretation lassen den rituellen Charakter der Musik deutlich hervortreten. Jede Komposition erhält durch das Ensemble eine eigene, tief empfundene Farbe, und gemeinsam formen sie eine Klanglandschaft, die den Zuhörer auf eine intensive, fast spirituelle Reise mitnimmt."

All Music review

Chamber Works by Frederick Block Review by James Manheim

Frederick Block was born Friedrich Bloch in Vienna and fled to England and then America as work for Jews rapidly dried up after Nazi Anschluss. Other Jewish composers headed for Hollywood and studied the language of American popular music, but Block went his own way. Writer Helmut Flechtner is quoted in the booklet here with a nice summary of his career: "He was a composer who didn't belong to any school of movement, who didn't want to prove anything by his composing, who was not abstract or romantic, but who with indefatigable industry finished work after work unconcerned about criticism..." Indeed, the chamber music here gives the listener the sense of entering a composer's particular little world. His music, even that written in America, has a Viennese flavor, and one influence is Mahler; if that composer had written more than a youthful essay in chamber music, it might have sounded a bit like this. Block can shift directions in the midst of a movement in an attempt to suggest a large canvas for small music, but he can also be quite concise. Sample the Suite for clarinet and piano, Op. 73, whose five movements take up less than eight minutes. Each work is different in structure, but there is a thread of Viennese lyricism connecting everything. Any one of the four pieces here would enhance a chamber music recital, and the ARC Ensemble deserves credit for its revival of Block's music in the Chandos label's "Exiles" series.

Music web international

All the works are beautifully performed and the recording has been splendidly balanced. The director of the ensemble, Simon Wynberg, he has contributed the customarily fine booklet notes, to which I’m indebted for all biographical details. Block seems to have been a composer with nothing much to prove. He is lyric, occasionally puckish, always professional. That said,  I can’t always detect real personality in his writing but perhaps I’ve not lived long enough with it.

Jonathan Woolf