Panayoti Karousos' new works presented in Montreal, Canada

12 May 2011 at the Loyola Campus Chapel of Concordia University in Montreal, Canada

Canadian composer presented his new works. The beautiful Divertimento for Cello and Piano was created with veteran pianist of the Opera de Montreal Claudette Denys and excellent cellist David Bouchard. Johanne Patry, mezzo-soprano performed three songs in the poems of Obama, Apollinaire and Queen Elizabeth I.

The voice of Johanne Patry is velvet and accurate with fine musicality. 

President Barack Obama’s poem Underground is exotic and mysterious but Karousos added a strong melody and sounds very atmospheric. Apollinaire’s poem Automne in French has an influence from French romantic school era. Queen Elizabeth’s poem Written on a Wall at Woodstock was the most difficult and inspiring in a long evocative musical phrase.

I never hear Mme Claudette Denys to play so wonderfully the piano, the legatos, the crescendos everything on the right moment so lyrically and secure.

Mme Johanne Patry gave all her emotion to the music of Panayoti Karousos. Her voice deep and mature interpreted in English and French and gave justice to the poets.

Lyrical in Apollinaire, American in Obama, and dynamic in Queen Elizabeth I songs.

Young cellist David Bouchard is an intelligent musician with potentials of a future professional career. The most impressive on him is a strange sensibility in his produced sound of his cello. All artists did a unique performance, very intellectual.  

(Pictures: Pierre Dufourd with Claudette Denys on the piano, Johanne Patry with Panayoti Karousos, and cellist David Bouchard. - Claudette Denys with Panayoti Karousos and David Bouchard.)