PERFORMER BIOGRAPHIES
Soprano Kripa Nageshwar received her Bachelor of Music degree in Vocal Performance from the University of Alberta and her Master of Music degree from the University of Montréal, under the guidance of Adrienne Savoie and Louise-Andree Baril. She has performed the roles of Miss Pinkerton (The Old Maid and the Thief) and Susanna (Le nozze di Figaro) at the University of Alberta; Moth in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Célie in Signor Deluso and Miss Silverpeal in Der Schauspieldirektor at the Opera NUOVA Summer Program; and Ida in Die Fledermaus at the University of Montréal’s Opera-Studio. Ms. Nageshwar also had the unique opportunity to participate in the summer program at the Franz Schubert Institut in Baden bei Wien, Austria in July 2007, where she developed her skills in German Lieder. In June 2009, Ms. Nageshwar organized and performed in a Trans-Canada Recital Tour, visiting five major Canadian cities, to raise funds for local charities. Since then, she has been auditioning and participating in competitions, whilst continuing to build her operatic repertoire and exploring Oratorio and Baroque music.
Violinist Evan Pyne is a graduate of The Royal Conservatory’s Taylor Academy, studying under Marie Bérard and Barry Shiffman, and currently is in his fourth year of studies with Ilya Kaler at the Cleveland Institute of Music. He has performed as a soloist with the Canadian Sinfonietta, Oakville Chamber Orchestra, North York Concert Orchestra, Cambridge Symphony Orchestra, and Huronia Symphony Orchestra. Evan won first prize at the Canadian Music Competition in 2018, second prize at the Orchestre Métropolitain OMNI Competition in 2021, fourth prize at the 2021 Rudolph Barshai International Strings Competition, third prize at the Ilona Fehér International Violin Competition in 2019, and was a finalist at the 2020 International Grumiaux Competition. Evan’s performances at Canada’s National Commemorative Ceremony in honour of Queen Elizabeth II, and the National Commemoration for the Duke of Edinburgh were aired nation-wide on the Canadian Broadcasting Company.
During the summer of 2022, Evan toured as a member of the National Youth Orchestra of Canada and received one of the program's awards of excellence. The following summer, in 2023, Evan was one of the winners of the Pacific Region International Music Association's concerto competition and performed the first movement of the Sibelius violin concerto with the festival's orchestra. He has also participated at the Heifetz International Music Institute and the Interharmony International Music Festival. Evan has received guidance from violinists such as Guy Braunstein, Martin Beaver, Ida Kavafian, Vadim Repin, Shmuel Ashkenasi, Vadim Gluzman, and James Ehnes.
Sinfonia Toronto now in its 27th season, has toured twice in Europe, in the US, South America and China, receiving glowing reviews. It has released six CD’s, including a JUNO Award winner, and performs in many Ontario cities. Its extensive repertoire includes all the major string orchestra works of the 18th through 21st centuries, and it has premiered many new works. Under the baton of Nurhan Arman the orchestra’s performances present outstanding international guest artists and prominent Canadian musicians.
Maestro Nurhan Arman has conducted throughout Europe, Asia, South America, Canada and the US, returning regularly to many orchestras in Europe. Among the orchestras Maestro Arman has conducted are the Moscow Philharmonic, Deutsches Kammerorchester Frankfurt, Filarmonica Italiana, St. Petersburg State Hermitage Orchestra, Orchestre Regional d’Ile de France, Hungarian Symphony, Arpeggione Kammerorchester, Milano Classica and Belgrade Philharmonic.
PROGRAM NOTES
Serenade for Strings in E minor, Op. 20 by Edward Elgar (1857-1934)
The basis for the Serenade for Strings was the Three Pieces for Strings Elgar had composed for the Worcester Musical Union in 1888. Four years later he re-imagined some of the Three Pieces material to create the most complex and ambitious score he had yet attempted. The premiere was given in Antwerp in 1896; Elgar conducted the English premiere in London in 1905.
The Serenade is in many ways a precursor of his stately Introduction and Allegro, and it remained one of his favourite works. It was one of the scores he conducted at his last recording session in 1933. Elgar was the first composer to leave a recorded archive of his own interpretations of his scores.
The central point of balance in the Serenade is its noble second movement , a Larghetto that flows forward with a spacious, unforced yet inevitable gravitas. Framing this serene outpouring are a beautifully contrasted Allegro with a lively first theme and a wistful second subject, and a pastoral Allegretto that ends with a reprise of the work’s opening motif, creating a satisfying full-circle conclusion.
Sinfonietta for Strings by Petros Shoujounian (1957 - ) World premiere
Notes from the composer:
Throughout history, composers have turned to their cultural roots to craft works that bridge tradition and innovation. Just as Béla Bartók collected and transformed Hungarian folk melodies into orchestral masterpieces, and as Aram Khachaturian infused his compositions with the vibrant rhythms of Armenian dance, my Sinfonietta for Strings follows a similar path - an odyssey into the depths of national identity and musical storytelling.
Here I present a collection from Arshak Brutyan: an exquisitely detailed body of work that unveils a national treasure trove. Within it, we encounter an enchanting interplay of melodies - song and dance entwined in vivid musical lines, breathing life into the simple yet profound world of a people.
Selecting from this wealth of material was a challenge, as the melodies were deeply compelling, each possessing an irresistible charm. I divided the works into three movements, subtly shaping their narratives and embracing their vast, uncharted landscapes.
These pieces are intricate yet concise - brief yet rich in meaning. In an era where music constantly seeks new frontiers, these timeless works resonate as luminous gems, inviting the vast cosmos of sound to listen, reflect, and embrace their beauty.
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Petros Shoujounian was born in Gyumri, Armenia. His musical training began with violin; he began composing when he was 12 years. He moved to Canada in 1976 and studied composition with Giles Tremblay at the Conservatoire de musique du Québec in Montréal.
He completed his master’s in composition in 1982, rounding off his studies by winning a second prize in composition and presenting his symphonic poem Ararat for choir, three soloists, large orchestra, piano, organ, and ondes Martenot. His works have been played by Canadian orchestras, broadcast on Radio-Canada and recorded on Atma Classique, SNE and Radio Canada. They are published by Les Production d’Oz, Cherry Classic Music, J.W. Pepper and the Canadian Music Centre and are available on his website www.musicaunica.com.
Four Song Offerings Colin Eatock (1958 - ) World premiere
Notes from the composer:
Rabindranath Tagore’s Song Offerings are the poet’s own English-language translations of his Bengali-language Gitanjali. While Tagore’s translations are not exactly literal, they present to the Western world a window into the tradition of Hindu devotional poetry. Tagore won the 1913 Nobel Prize for literature for the collection.
In the four excerpts I have chosen to set to music, love and beauty are recurring themes, richly elaborated with images from nature. But as with many of the poems in Gitanjali, the “love” and “beauty” can be interpreted as either worldly or spiritual.
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Colin Eatock has been a music critic, author, editor, teacher and arts administrator as well as a composer. Originally from Hamilton, he has lived in Toronto for more than three decades. He holds a PhD in musicology, masters degrees in music composition and music criticism and a bachelor of music. His choral works, songs, chamber music and orchestral compositions have been performed and broadcast in Canada, the US and Europe and recorded on the Centrediscs, Furiant, Echiquier and Toreador labels.
Eatock has written for the Globe and Mail, National Post, Opera Canada, Opus, Queen’s Quarterly and WholeNote; the New York Times, Houston Chronicle, Kansas City Star, American Record Guide, Early Music America and Strings in the US; and BBC Music, The Strad, Opera, Musical Opinion and International Piano in the UK. His books include Mendelssohn and Victorian England, Remembering Glenn Gould: Twenty Interviews With People Who Knew Him and Music After the Millennium.
Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso Camille Saint-Saëns (1835-1921)
Orchestra version by Nurhan Arman
Camille Saint-Saens suffered great losses with the early deaths of his wife and children. His energetic career, filled with unceasing activity - as a composer, write of books and articles, teacher, conductor pianist, organist and curator of virtuoso transcriptions and scholarly editions - was perhaps in part a way to fill the void their deaths had created.
His many achievements earned him international honours, and he is remembered for works ranging from the solemn and sensuous opera Samson et Dalila to the grandiloquent Organ Symphony, charming Carnival of the Animals, popular piano concertos, and this Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso, a favourite violin showpiece.
He wrote the Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso as an independent work. The virtuoso Pable de Sarsate actually used it to cap Saint-Saëns’ Violin Concerto No. 1 as an extra-brilliant finale and often performed the two works together; but it is most often allowed to stand alone in its spectacular splendor.
Sonata Pathétique, No. 8 in C Minor, Op. 13 by Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
Orchestra version by Joshua Choe
Ludwig van Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 8 in C Minor, Op. 13 is one of his most famous early works. Composed in 1798 and published a year later, it reveals Beethoven's dramatic and emotional style, foreshadowing his later compositions. The sonata’s nickname "Pathétique" ("passionate," or "emotional") was bestowed by his publisher, and Beethoven approved of the title.
The Pathétique Sonata was a major success that helped establish Beethoven’s reputation not only as an extraordinary pianist but also as a composer. It was instantly popular and introduced listeners to many of the musical qualities Beethoven would continue to develop in the years that followed: strong contrasts, dramatic moments, and lyrical sections, blending Classical form with Romantic expressiveness.
The first movement follows sonata-allegro form, with a slow introduction, a dramatic Grave section marked by heavy, descending chords and extreme changes in dynamics. This creates an emotional build-up before the main Allegro, which is fiery and intense. The first theme in minor is agitated and stormy, followed by a more lyrical second theme in major. The movement ends with a powerful coda, returning to the first theme and then revisiting the second theme in a new form.
The second movement is one of Beethoven's most expressive and lyrical slow movements. It features a beautiful, song-like melody with an elegant, singing quality. The harmonies are simple but rich in emotion, with the melody accompanied by broken chords in the left hand. The movement is structured like a rondo, with the main theme returning three times, separated by two contrasting episodes. The movement ends with a short coda.
The third movement is a lively and energetic Rondo in ABACA form, revisiting the stormy mood of the firstmovement. It features rapid arpeggios and syncopated rhythms, with a restless, agitated main theme. The middle sections offer moments of relief before returning to the main theme. The movement ends dramatically in C minor, reinforcing the passionate, intense character of the sonata.
Because of its dramatic quality, various composers have arranged the piece for orchestral performance, turning the piano work into a symphonic one. These arrangements, bringing out Beethoven’s orchestral textures, give the work a new life in a different setting. Whether performed on the piano or in orchestral versions, the sonata remains one of Beethoven’s most beloved and influential works.
