Podcast appearances and mentions of maureen forrester

durée : 01:28:44 - Relax ! du mardi 22 avril 2025 - par : Lionel Esparza - A la découverte de Maureen Forrester, contralto canadienne renommée et grande mahlérienne.

durée : 01:28:44 - Relax ! du mardi 22 avril 2025 - par : Lionel Esparza - A la découverte de Maureen Forrester, contralto canadienne renommée et grande mahlérienne.

A final offering of Christmas music on Countermelody this year, but far be it from me to rehash the usual Christmas carols! Absolutely not! In this episode I offer a follow-up to an episode posted years ago featuring Christmas-themed art song. Expect the unexpected (including a big helping of 20th Century selections by Britten, Hindemith, Martinů, Rorem, and Corigliano), alongside selections from our favorite Romantic and post-Romantic composers (Brahms, Schumann, Reger, Grieg, and Strauss). Singers include Gundula Janowitz, Hermann Prey, Maureen Forrester, Edith Mathis, Karl Erb, Janet Baker, Peter Schreier, Tom Krause, and Nicolai Gedda, among many, many others. Happy Holidays to all my fans and supporters! Countermelody is a podcast devoted to the glory and the power of the human voice raised in song. Singer and vocal aficionado Daniel Gundlach explores great singers of the past and present focusing in particular on those who are less well-remembered today than they should be. Daniel's lifetime in music as a professional countertenor, pianist, vocal coach, voice teacher, and journalist yields an exciting array of anecdotes, impressions, and “inside stories.” At Countermelody's core is the celebration of great singers of all stripes, their instruments, and the connection they make to the words they sing. By clicking on the following link (https://linktr.ee/CountermelodyPodcast) you can find the dedicated Countermelody website which contains additional content including artist photos and episode setlists. The link will also take you to Countermelody's Patreon page, where you can pledge your monthly or yearly support at whatever level you can afford.

This week I pull out all the Baroque stops (appropriately enough), to present you with an episode chock full of contraltos, all singing the music of Johann Sebastian Bach. I have chosen 28 different contraltos, active between the late 1930s and the early 2000s, who excelled in the singing and interpretation of this most spiritual, and most genius, of composers. I am dividing this episode into two separate segments, the first of which I present here, a group of singers which includes such legendary historical figures as Kathleen Ferrier and Marian Anderson, and Christa Ludwig, as well as such exceptional voices from the Americas as Maureen Forrester and Carol Smith; and, from the continent, Aafje Heynis, Germaine Cernay, Brigitte Fassbaender, Hilde Rössel-Majdan, Claudia Hellmann, Marga Höffgen, and Margarethe Bence. These women are joined by a further a group of British contraltos and mezzo-sopranos, each with distinctive and exceptional approaches to the music of Bach, including Helen Watts, Norma Procter, Maureen Lehane (for me, the big discovery of the week), and of course Janet Baker, beloved to all of us. I also pay tribute to a select group of exceptional Kapellmeister including Karl Richter, Helmuth Kahlhöfer, Fritz Werner, Kurt Thomas, and Hans Thamm, who thrived in recordings and live performances from the 1950s and beyond. If certain favorite names of yours are missing from this week's setlist, no worries: they may well appear on next week's episode, which continues to combine Bachian expressive profundity with plummy contralto depths. Countermelody is a podcast devoted to the glory and the power of the human voice raised in song. Singer and vocal aficionado Daniel Gundlach explores great singers of the past and present focusing in particular on those who are less well-remembered today than they should be. Daniel's lifetime in music as a professional countertenor, pianist, vocal coach, voice teacher, and journalist yields an exciting array of anecdotes, impressions, and “inside stories.” At Countermelody's core is the celebration of great singers of all stripes, their instruments, and the connection they make to the words they sing. By clicking on the following link (https://linktr.ee/CountermelodyPodcast) you can find the dedicated Countermelody website which contains additional content including artist photos and episode setlists. The link will also take you to Countermelody's Patreon page, where you can pledge your monthly support at whatever level you can afford.

What do Paul Shaffer, Maureen Forrester and Nick St. Nicholas from Steppenwolf have in common? They are all highlighted in the book "Musicians Under the Radar: 36 Notable Canadian Jewish Performers." Our Music Director Cristina Lavecchia chats with its author David Eisenstadt.

After two weeks of so-called “deep dives” into the careers and recordings of Lois Marshall and Jon Vickers – two of the greatest Canadian singers – this week I offer a potpourri episode of great Canadian singers singing art song. Contemporary Canadian art song, mélodie, and Lieder: it's all here, and sung by a bevy of Canadian beauties of all vocal categories: among others, sopranos Irene Jessner, Pierrette Alarie, and Teresa Stratas; mezzo-sopranos Maureen Forrester, Portia White, and Catherine Robbin; tenors Léopold Simoneau, Raoul Jobin, and Richard Verreau; baritones Victor Braun, Gino Quilico, and James Milligan; and bass-baritones George London, Joseph Rouleau, and Donald Bell. They perform work of Schubert, Loewe, Strauss, Weill, and Hindemith, Duparc, Debussy, Milhaud, Honegger, and Sauguet, as well as Canadian composers Oskar Morawetz, Godfrey Ridout, and Robert Fleming, accompanied by John Newmark, John Wustman, Allen Rogers, Glenn Gould, and others. The episode begins with tributes to two recently deceased singers: the early music tenor Nigel Rogers and the Verdi baritone Gianni Maffeo, as well as a teaser on next week's episode on the extraordinary Maria Ewing. “O Canada, we stand on guard for thee!” Countermelody is a podcast devoted to the glory and the power of the human voice raised in song. Singer and vocal aficionado Daniel Gundlach explores great singers of the past and present focusing in particular on those who are less well-remembered today than they should be. Daniel's lifetime in music as a professional countertenor, pianist, vocal coach, voice teacher, and journalist yields an exciting array of anecdotes, impressions, and “inside stories.” At Countermelody's core is the celebration of great singers of all stripes, their instruments, and the connection they make to the words they sing. By clicking on the following link (https://linktr.ee/CountermelodyPodcast) you can find the dedicated Countermelody website which contains additional content including artist photos and episode setlists. The link will also take you to Countermelody's Patreon page, where you can pledge your monthly support at whatever level you can afford. Bonus episodes available exclusively to Patreon supporters are currently available and further bonus content including interviews and livestreams is planned for the upcoming season.

This week I turn to the music of Gustav Mahler, specifically his orchestral settings of poems from the influential collection of folk poetry, Des Knaben Wunderhorn, collected by Achim von Arnim and Clemens Brentano and published in three separate volumes between 1805 and 1808. The themes of war, death, and humor, the latter often of the grimmest variety, pervades the texts that Mahler set. I present recordings of each of the fifteen orchestrated songs (several of which form movements of three of his symphonies) by such singers as Janet Baker, Christa Ludwig, Maureen Forrester, Lucia Popp, Brigitte Fassbaender, Irmgard Seefried, Bernd Weikl, Geraint Evans, Walter Berry, and many others, in performances conducted by Leonard Bernstein, Klaus Tennstedt, Wyn Morris, Bernard Haitink, and Adrian Boult. I also include a tribute to the Hungarian baritone István Gáti on the occasion of his 72nd birthday and a commemoration of the Dutch contralto Aafje Heynis on the fifth anniversary of her death. From chaos to transfiguration, Mahler conjures and depicts a world perhaps not far-removed from our own. Countermelody is a podcast devoted to the glory and the power of the human voice raised in song. Singer and vocal aficionado Daniel Gundlach explores great singers of the past and present focusing in particular on those who are less well-remembered today than they should be. Daniel’s lifetime in music as a professional countertenor, pianist, vocal coach, voice teacher, and journalist yields an exciting array of anecdotes, impressions, and “inside stories.” Occasional guests from the “business” (singers, conductors, composers, coaches, and teachers) lend their distinctive insights. At Countermelody’s core is the interaction between singers of all stripes, their instruments, and the connection they make to the words they sing. Please visit the Countermelody website (www.countermelodypodcast.com) for additional content. And please head to our Patreon page at www.patreon.com/countermelody to pledge your monthly support at whatever level you can afford. Bonus episodes available only to Patreon supporters are currently available, including a new extra episode further exploring today’s topic.

Today’s episode, dedicated to historical performances of Johann Sebastian Bach, is the first in an ongoing series I have dubbed “Full-Figured Baroque.” It begins with a bang with the great Canadian soprano Lois Marshall rocketing her way through the opening salvos of “Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen,” an apt way to celebrate the US election outcome after a week of even greater anxiety than usual. I describe my love for old-fashioned Bach performance, and why it still speaks to us in a genuine and elevating manner. In particular, I foreground the early years of the Bach Aria Group, founded in 1946 by the American philanthropist and collector William H. Scheide. All the singers in this episode (including Lois Marshall) performed under the aegis of this ensemble, either as members or featured guests: Eileen Farrell, Maureen Forrester, Richard Lewis, Norman Farrow, Mack Harrell, William Warfield, and Jennie Tourel. Many of the great instrumentalists associated with the group are heard in duet with these singers, including Robert Bloom, Samuel Baron, and Bernard Greenhouse. The episode ends with that most radiant of singers, Eleanor Steber, also an occasional guest of the Bach Aria Group in a fleet but full-voiced outpouring of celebratory coloratura. YouTube Link to the documentary about the Bach Aria Group referenced in the episode: A Time for Bach (1948) Countermelody is a podcast devoted to the glory and the power of the human voice raised in song. Singer and vocal aficionado Daniel Gundlach explores great singers of the past and present focusing in particular on those who are less well-remembered today than they should be. Daniel’s lifetime in music as a professional countertenor, pianist, vocal coach, voice teacher, and journalist yields an exciting array of anecdotes, impressions, and “inside stories.” Occasional guests from the “business” (singers, conductors, composers, coaches, and teachers) lend their distinctive insights. At Countermelody’s core is the interaction between singers of all stripes, their instruments, and the connection they make to the words they sing. Please visit the Countermelody website (www.countermelodypodcast.com) for additional content. And please head to our Patreon page at www.patreon.com/countermelody to pledge your monthly support at whatever level you can afford. Bonus episodes available only to Patreon supporters are currently available, including a new extra episode further exploring today’s topic.

Créées en 1949, les Jeunesses musicales du Canada ont agi comme un formidable tremplin dans la carrière de nombreux artistes classiques du pays, de Joseph Rouleau à Marie-Nicole Lemieux, en passant par Maureen Forrester et Louis Quilico. Invitée : Françoise Davoine

La contralto canadienne Maureen Forrester, qui chantait en 26 langues, a connu une brillante carrière internationale. Et peu importe où elle était dans le monde, elle a toujours eu à coeur de représenter le Canada à l'étranger. Invitée : Françoise Davoine

Episode #86 Sitting down with David Warrack was a real treat for me. David strikes me as someone who has, over time, become even more passionate about the arts and living a creative lifestyle. He has not become jaded or bitter about certain projects not going the way he wanted or maybe not even being produced at all. He has figured out a way to adapt and go with the flow of change in the industry through his career as an artist. David is a real champion of the artist. Your success is his success and he strives to create that kind of supportive environment wherever he goes by creating and producing new work, cheering on his colleagues, and most of all listening to the thoughts and feelings of others until they feel understood. The last thing he said to me before we parted was, “I am only an email away” and after spending time with him, I knew he meant it. Sometimes it’s what people say that impacts me the most and sometimes it's the impact of who they are that leaves the biggest impression. With David, it was both. In this episode, we discuss what changes he would like to see happen in the entertainment industry, why he believes every artist should explore writing on some level, what was the biggest takeaway from his lunch with Leonard Bernstein and so much more!   About David: Conductor, Pianist, Organist, Composer, Lyricist, Book-Writer, Musical Director, Orchestrator, Arranger, Singer, Vocal Coach, Music Producer, Producer (theatre, television, recordings), Guest Lecturer, Teacher Toured for fifteen years with Maureen Forrester, starting with the Vancouver Symphony at EXPO 86 (CD), 5 years with Jeff Hyslop (CD), and 8 years with Michael Burgess, in each case as Musical Director/Accompanist/Conductor.  In 2013, enjoyed a 19 concert cross Canada tour with Rebecca Caine and Michael Burgess.  2010 – 2015:  conductor of the Rose Orchestra in Brampton.   Starting in 2017 – touring with the quartet of Rebecca Caine, Ben Heppner, Gary Relyea, and Jean Stillwell. Musical Director of over 200 shows for stage or television, including SHENANDOAH on Broadway, 9 of Ross Petty’s Pantomimes at Toronto’s Elgin Theatre, the cross Canada tour of JACQUES  BREL …, the Vancouver production of UNFORGETTABLE, seven consecutive years at the Elora Festival, and all of the CBC’s DuMAURIER SEARCH FOR STARS.   Founding Conductor of the Canada Pops Orchestra. Credited as writer or co-writer of 79 professionally produced musicals, including some of the longest running shows in Toronto’s Theatre History (FLICKS, SWEET REASON, THE VAUDEVILLIANS, TEASE FOR TWO).  ROB ROY opened at the Edinburgh Festival (Scotland) in 2006 to rave reviews, and was recorded in 2007. More recently, THE THREE DAVIDS (the music of David Shire, David Frishberg, and David Warrack) premiered in 2013.  A SNOW WHITE CHRISTMAS, written with Norm Foster, premiered at Theatre Collingwood in 2014. The Oratorio ABRAHAM premiered in Toronto in 2015 with Richard Margison in the starring role, along with a cast of 6, plus the Bach Children’s Choir and the Elmer Iseler Singers.   Current: SHE’S NO LADY in workshop; CATWALK optioned as a film. Beginning with the 1972 radio special of the Charlottetown Festival’s BALLADE (orchestrator, conductor), over 40 years as a studio musician.  Recent: THE SECOND TIME AROUND (film). Huge body of choral and instrumental work. Created role of Jack Ayre in THE DUMBELLS at the Charlottetown Festival.  Shared the stage over the years with iconic performers, including Ronnie Hawkins, Don Harron, Len Cariou (most recently at 2013 Stratford Music Festival), Sheila McCarthy, Marilyn Lightstone, Sheila Brand, Brent Carver, Louise Pitre, Juan Chioran, George Masswohl, Mary Pitt, Thom Allison, Ma Anne Dionisio, Cynthia Dale, and Amanda Martinez.  Recently performed with the Bravura Baritones. Playing for Blues/Gospel Diva Jackie Richardson in October and November.  THE UNIVERSE IS DANCING (one man show) in October (Guelph, then the Jazz Bistro in Toronto).  CD release Hugh’s Room. In December.Christmas/Hanukkah show with Theresa Tova. 1980: produced TORONTO TORONTO, which ran for three years, followed by 2 years of TORONTO TORONTO 2. 1981: He had six shows running simultaneously in Toronto and he produced the award-winning CBC television superspecial  ALL FOR ONE. 1981 – 1983, he produced the Dora Mavor Moore Award shows for Toronto theatre, the only three years they were ever televised. He has won three Doras: producing TORONTO TORONTO, producing ON TAP, and music directing CLOSER THAN EVER. Starting in 1985, he was a regular guest on Peter Gzowski’s MORNINGSIDE (CBC radio) singing his trademark satirical songs, and creating songs spontaneously. Organist/Choir Director at Hillcrest Christian Church since 2006. Part of three man artistic team (along with Michael James and Kevin McCormick) who created SONGS OF THE CITY for United Way Toronto (now United Way Toronto/York Region) in 2015, a theatrical event originally presented at the Jane Mallet Theatre, which matches up three United Way speakers who have been “rescued” by a United Way sponsored organization with a three composers who each write a song about his or her experience. These songs are then performed during the evening, along with other selections which celebrate the renewal of the human spirit.  A second SOTC took place this past spring, and a third is happening in April, 2017, moving into the 1,000-seat Wintergarden Theatre.  A version took place last year in Fredericton, New Brunswick , and one is being planned for Halifax, Nova Scotia early in 2017.  Created as a Donor Appreciation Event, SONGS OF THE CITY has had a huge impact already in terms of increased pledges to support the remarkable work of United Way in the community. While the ongoing involvement in the various segments of the arts community has not allowed David the time to contribute to the education of up and coming artists that he might have preferred, he has maintained a presence in developing students to become professional artists.  For 20 years, he has been on the faculty of the Avenue Road Arts School. He participated in the BMI Music Theatre Workshops in New York and Toronto, originally conceived by Lehman Engel.  When BMI no longer supported the Toronto workshops, Mr. Warrack kept them going on his own initiative. He has taught part-time at the Randolph Academy and the Ryerson Theatre School, and given numerous guest lectures at Sheridan College (now University).  For many years he was on the advisory board of Humber College, and he is currently on the advisory board of the Toronto Film School. He is also an honorary member of IATSE. David is married to Lona Davis, a celebrated musician in her own right, and they are blessed with three children – Gordon (Jessica), Cayleigh (Patrick) and Levi, as well as four grandchildren: Alexis, Grayson, Griffin, and Neave, all three years old or younger! Connect with David! www.davidwarrack.ca e:dwarrack@rogers.com      Chelsea thisischelseajohnson.com Facebook: @thisischelseajohnson Instagram: @thisischelseajohnson Twitter: @thisischelseaj  

On this day in 1930, the Canadian singer Maureen Forrester was born. A contralto with an arrestingly rich voice, Forrester was one of the 20th century's leading vocalists. On today's "A Classical Day in the Life", have a listen to her contributions to opera and the concert stage.

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Check out David’s thinking on a host of different issues, including how to be funny, why comedy works and how tough it can be in Canadian show business.David Merry is a veteran comedian, television personality and host, actor, master of ceremonies, magician and certified golf professional. He has traveled the globe for the last twenty years with many versions of his 45 min. stand up comedy magic act as well as doing unbelievable sleight of hand in close up settings and corporate functions.Since his appearances on “SCTV”, “BIZARRE” and “An Evening at the Improv”, David has been on “Open Mike with Mike Bullard”, (2 appearances), “Yuk Yuk’s the TV Show”, “The John Oakley Show”, “Cooking with Comics”, “Comedy College”, 3 episodes of “Comedy at Club 54″ including their 7th Anniversary Special, the “Komedy Kitchen”, and has just completed his own half-hour comedy special of “Comics!”, on CBC. He is a past recipient of Canada’s “Club Comic of the Year” Honors. Theater is David’s true love, playing many of Canada’s premiere stages. They include “Night of 100 Stars with Michael Burgess and Maureen Forrester at the Ford Center for the Performing Arts, The Blythe Festival Theater and The Stratford Festival Theater.David has performed on cruise ships in the Caribbean and Mediterranean and has performed in such places as St. Kitts, Bermuda, Athens, Greece, Maui, Alert (Northwest Territories), Los Angeles, Amsterdam, Tucson, Paris, France Walt Disney World, Yellowknife, Banff, Venezuela, , Malaga, Iqaluit, Queen Charlotte Islands, Key Largo, Los Cabos Mexico, Gothaab (Greenland), Whistler, Goose Bay (Labrador), Lake Tahoe (Nevada), Las Vegas, Palm Springs, Atlantic City, and Monte Carlo. He has written jokes for Rodney Dangerfield and Joan Rivers and has been a contributing writer for The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Besides the several TV commercials he’s done, most notably the 1050 CHUM D.J. commercial, David also appeared in a movie called Recruits. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

It’s that time of year again, when orchestras across the land are dusting off their holiday pops programs and choruses are warming up for Messiahs and sing-a-along carol extravaganzas. But for the recording industry, Christmas music has changed. The big orchestral albums of the sort that conductors like Arthur Fiedler or Eugene Ormandy used to make have fallen by the wayside. So have the grand star vehicles, with a sequined opera diva belting out Christmas songs backed up by a choir and orchestra. But as we hear in this edition of Conducting Business, what remains are plenty of smaller-scale recordings that either attempt to make a cozier or refined spiritual statement (as with many early-music groups), or round up a bunch of stars from different genres to perform the standards. The changes are partly driven by economics, said Anastasia Tscioulcas, who covers classical music for NPR Music. “Where did the recordings go? They’re very expensive to make,” she told host Naomi Lewin. “The big star-studded album with the full symphony orchestra behind them and maybe chorus thrown in for good measure is extremely expensive to produce.” The new realities are a reflection of changes in the classical music business. “The number of stars that have that sort of appeal has descended dramatically,” noted Anne Midgette, classical music critic of the Washington Post. “Renee Fleming and Anna Netrebko are the only opera singers who have that sort of mass appeal.” Of course, Christmas is not a time for snobbery or strict adherence to high-minded artistic ideals, say the panelists. Nostalgia is a big part of what drives the business. Listeners are often attracted to a holiday album by their favorite star, which sticks with them later in life. Steven Epstein, a multi-Grammy Award-winning record producer, says a simpler aesthetic has come to dominate. “The most successful Christmas albums are those where the arrangements are not complex and that the melodies don’t get lost,” he said. Epstein’s imprint can be found on several albums that follow an increasingly popular template: gather together stars from different genres and try and capture some of their respective fan bases. The most recent recording of this sort is “Musical Gifts from Joshua Bell and Friends,” which was released last month, but Epstein cites a similar effort from back in 1989: "Crescent City Christmas," for which Wynton Marsalis was joined by singers like Jon Hendricks and Kathleen Battle. “That is what really brings in the consumer are the additional guest artists,” Epstein noted. Midgette sees no loss in the decline of the diva Christmas record. “Artistically these things are negligible – and I say that as somebody who has my favorite Christmas albums, which have been basically the same since I was about seven." Listen to the full podcast above and tell us below: What are your most and least favorite holiday albums? Sidebar: A Few of our favorite Christmas Recordings Anne Midgette:Christmas from a Golden Age (Naxos) (singers including Victoria de los Angeles, John McCormack, Rosa Ponselle and others)The Messiah Remix (Cantaloupe) (featuring remixed versions by Paul Lansky, Eve Beglarian, Phil Kline and others) Anastasia Tsioulcas:Vince Guaraldi: "A Charlie Brown Christmas"Robert Shaw Chorale: "The Many Moods of Christmas" Steven Epstein:Christmas with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir Naomi Lewin:Britten's Ceremony of Carols (Philadelphia Singers, Benita Valente, Maureen Forrester, David Gordon)...And an honorable mention for worst Christmas collaboration: Michael Bolton and Placido Domingo sing "Ave Maria" from "Merry Christmas from Vienna" .chart_div { width: 600px; height: 300px; } loadSurvey( "which-piece-classical-holiday-music-most-overexpos", "survey_which-piece-classical-holiday-music-most-overexpos");

Some opera stars really can "crossover" into superb renditions of "Pop" music.(Well,most of them,anyway). Here are some examples featuring: Thomas Hampson,Bryn Terfel, Kip Wilborn, Dorothy Kirsten, Rise Stevens, Sumi Jo, Maureen Forrester, Dorothy Bishop, Thomas Quasthoff, Rene Fleming, Federica Von Stade, Placido Domingo,Diana Soviero (at 17), Regina Resnik, Renata Tebaldi,Cesare Siepi, and the famous Burnette/Horne/Farrell trio.                        (72 min.)