Past Events

Chopin Preludes feat. Byron Schenkman, fortepiano

Frederic Chopin was a central figure of 19th century Romanticism, but his connections to J.S. Bach are clear in his own preludes, which were directly inspired by Bach’s The Well-Tempered Clavier. This program also places Chopin’s music in the context of Romantic composers who influenced his work, including the great Polish pianist Maria Szymanowska and the composer/critic Robert Schumann. EMV favourite Byron Schenkman will play this concert on EMV’s 19th century Broadwood.

“An elegant stylist with a cleanly articulated sound.” – Allan Kozinn, The New York Times

Bach Complete Brandenburg Concertos Pt. 2 – SOLD OUT

This performance will include concertos No. 1, 3, and 5

The Six Brandenburg Concertos by Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) are universally regarded as some of the greatest musical works ever written. Full of joy and almost unfathomable creative genius, Bach sent the scores to the Margrave of Brandenburg, Christian Ludwig, in Berlin on March 24, 1721 as a sort of audition portfolio.

Though Bach never heard back, the music was preserved in the Brandenburg archives. When rediscovered in the 19th century, they quickly became some of the most beloved and oft-played collections of orchestral music of all time. Join Montreal’s Ensemble Les Boreades for two performances of the complete concertos over two nights performed alongside lesser-known orchestral works from the Baroque era.

Bach Sonatas & Chamber Music

A concert of virtuosic chamber music by J.S. Bach arranged for violin, various flutes, recorder, gamba and harpsichord. The concert will also include the Ciaccona from the partita no. 2 in D minor for solo violin played by one of North America’s greatest Baroque violinists, Olivier Brault.

Venice in the East – Music from Renaissance Crete

A celebration of medieval Byzantine chant and related Latin works influenced by Byzantine Tradition in Crete and the Ionian Islands, which were ruled by Venetians after the Latin conquest of Constantinople in 1205, and in Cyprus, a Venetian outpost from 1489 to 1571. Commissioned by the Utrecht Early Music Festival (Netherlands), the largest early music festival in the world, where Cappella Romana gave the debut of this program in 2016

Guillaume de Machaut – Remede de Fortune

Guillaume de Machaut’s narrative poem Remede de Fortune tells the tale of a woebegone lover who is counseled by Lady Hope on how to be happy and persevere in the face of the ups and downs dished out by Fortune and her wheel. Boston –based Blue Heron present a pocket version of the Remede, including narration, projected images from manuscripts curated by Machaut, all of the music included in the poem, and more!

The Polish Romantics – Tobias Koch

For the second concert of EMV’s collaboration with the Vancouver Chopin Society, Tobias Koch will play an all 19th century programme of music by lesser well known but accomplished Polish composers Oginski, Kurpinski, Krogulski, Mikuli, Elsner, Szymanowska, Friedmann, Paderewski and, of course, Chopin.

Chopin – The Last Concert – Tobias Koch

Chopin’s last public concert performance took place in Edinburgh on 4 October 1848, at the end of a concert tour through England and Scotland. Shortly after that Chopin returned to Paris and died a year later. The reconstruction of this historic concert program will be performed by German pianist Tobias Koch, on a historical fortepiano from Chopin’s time.