An evening of Stravinsky, Fauré and Mendelssohn with violinist Joan Blackman and cellist Ariel Barnes on Hornby Island.
Programme:
Stravinsky: Suite Italienne for cello & piano
Fauré: Sonata No. 1 in A major, Op. 13
Mendelssohn: Piano Trio No. 1 in D minor, Op. 49
About Joan:
Joan Blackman, Associate Concertmaster of the Vancouver Symphony, enjoys a vibrant and varied musical life. Ms. Blackman is the Artistic Director of Vancouver’s Vetta Chamber Music and Recital Society, and is also a member of the acclaimed American String Project, which brings together concertmasters and soloists throughout North America. She has performed and recorded as soloist with the Vancouver Symphony, Victoria Symphony, CBC Radio Orchestra, and the Banff Festival Orchestra.
Joan has also performed chamber music with premier groups such as the Penderecki String Quartet, Purcell String Quartet, Curio, Vancouver New Music, and the Turning Point Ensemble. She has appeared on the series Music in the Morning, Music Fest Vancouver , the Pender Harbour Music Society Concert Series, The Jeffrey Concerts in London, Ont., and at several summer festivals including the Hornby Island Festival, Pender Harbour Chamber Music Festival, and the Victoria Summer Music Festival. She is frequently heard in recital broadcasts on CBC radio.
“Shapelier phrases and sweeter tone would be hard to imagine”, “a ravishing tone”, “first rate soloist”, “exchanged lines meltingly in a flawless performance” “playing with lyricism, precision, and evident joy”; are some of the accolades that have graced Joan’s reviews. In 2010 Zach Carstensen of Seattle’s Gathering Note wrote “Your heart would need to be made of stone not to have loved Joan Blackman’s splendid solo “.
Joan is also an active teacher, having been a faculty member at the University of British Columbia, Kwantlen College, and Symphony Orchestra Academy of the Pacific. Presently she is Head of Strings at the VSO School of Music.
About Ariel:
Described as creating a “mesmerizing musical experience” by combining his “deep personal connection” (Toronto Live Music Report), “luscious tone and technical prowess”(The Vancouver Sun), cellist Ariel Barnes has been engaging audiences with his imaginative interpretations and commanding stage presence. Equally comfortable in musical languages from the Baroque to music of our modern times, Ariel’s performances range from evenings of unaccompanied Bach to world premiers of contemporary art music. Critically acclaimed by the press, he has been hailed as a “rising star” by the Georgia Straight, “a surprising standout” by the KW Gazette, “new wave” by L’Acadie Nouvelle and “a musician of real stature” by the Vancouver Sun. His solo and chamber music performances have been broadcast by CBC Radio Canada on such programs as In Performance, The Signal, Tempo, West Coast Performance, Choral Concert and On Stage, and he was recently selected as one of 6 cellists across the nation to celebrate the launch of cbcmusic.ca as a featured artist in the Canadian Bach Cello Suite Project. His performances in recent years include the concertos of Dvorak, Saint – Saens, Brahms (Double), Ernst Bloch’s “Schelomo”, Tchaikovsky’s Rococo Variations, and recital appearances in New York, Toronto, Ottawa, Halifax, Quebec City, Vancouver, San Francisco and Guadalajara Mexico. His solo and chamber music recordings have been received with critical acclaim, having been nominated for a Juno Award and two Western Canadian Music Awards. As a winner of the 2012 Canada Council Instrument Bank Competition, he has been awarded the use of the 1730 Newland Joannes Franciscus Celoniatus cello, built in Turin, Italy, for the next 3 years. In January 2013, Ariel was appointed Principal Cello of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra.
The performance of 21st century art music plays a significant role in Ariel’s creative life. He has given the world premier of over 50 works by composers such as Jocelyn Morlock, James Maxwell, Andrew Staniland, Caroline Lizotte, Imant Raminsh, Stephen Chatman, R. Murray Schafer, Brad Turner, Marcus Goddard, John Oliver, Rodney Sharman, Dorothy Chang, Glenn Buhr, Owen Underhill, Keon Birney, Elizabeth Knudson and Farshid Samandari. His new project “Couloir” with Harpist Heidi Krutzen keenly focuses on the creation of new music for the beautiful combination of cello and harp. Upcoming projects for “music’s new rare pair” (The Georgia Straight) include the release of their second installation of recordings and development of new works by Ana Sokolivic and Jeffery Ryan. (www.couloir.ca)
Passionate about chamber music literature Ariel has spent much time performing as a former member of the Borealis String Quartet, Trio Accord and has collaborated with many fine artisits such as The St. Lawrence String Quartet, Musica Intima, Trio Verlaine, The Zodiac Trio, Jonathan Crow, Dale Barltrop, Barry Schiffman, Benjamin Bowman, Jane Coop, Evgeny Starodubstev, Pavel Kolesnikov, Sergio Pallotelli, Tara Helen O’Connor, Daniel Philips, Andrew Dawes, Martin Chalifour, Carrie Dennis, Mark Morton, Mahan Esfahani, Arthur Rowe, Ian Parker and Daniel Bolshoy, among many others. Memorable appearances at chamber music festivals include the Ottawa Chamber Music Festival, The Zodiac Music Festival and Academy, Denman Island Chamber Music Festival, Saltspring Island Chamber Music Festival, MusicFest Vancouver, Mendocino Music Festival, Victoria Summer Music Festival, B.C. Scene, Elora Festival, Centre D’Arts at Mount Orford, and the Banff Centre for the Arts. He is a founding member and regular guest of the Scotiabank Northern Lights Music Festival in Ajijic, Mexico and collaborates with fine artists worldwide.
Upcoming recording projects include works by Jocelyn Morlock on the Naxos label, (including her Double Cello Concerto “Aeromancy”), and Couloir’s second CD featuring works by James Maxwell and Nico Muhly. His past recordings can be heard on Ravello Records (PARMA), Atma Classiques, Skylark Records, Universal Music and Centrediscs record labels, as well as regular broadcasts of live concerts on CBC Radio. For more about Ariel, please visit www.ariel-barnes.com
“…played passionately by Ariel Barnes…”
BBC Music Magazine
“Cellist Ariel Barnes, gave the night’s most mesmerizing musical experience… The epic nature of this composition was expressed ideally by Ariel’s dazzling technique and personal connection.”
The Live Music Report, Toronto, Ontario