The pianist Louise Bessette and violist Marina Thibeault were named finalists in the category Album of the year: Modern and Contemporary Musics at the 26th Opus Prize Gala of the Quebec Music Council!
The album of Louise Bessette released with Analekta in the fall of 2021, Port of Call: Curaçao, is the first volume of the serie "A piano around the world" by the pianist. It features the Antillean Dances composed by Wim Statius Muller. Listen to the album here.
Viola Borealis, launched by Atma Classique in 2022 by Marina Thibeault, brings together the first viola concerto in history, by Georg Philip Telemann, and one of the most recent, by Latvian composer Peteris Vasks. All accompanied by the Agora Orchestra, under the baton of conductor Nicolas Ellis. The album also includes works for solo viola by Melody McKiver of the Anichinabe Nation. Viola Borealis is available here.
Also in the finalists, the album Messiah (Leaf Music) by Ensemble Caprice and Ensemble Vocal-Arts Québec, under the direction of Matthias Maute, presenting George Frideric Handel’s Messiah featuring Karina Gauvin. This album, nominated in the category Album of the Year: Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque Musics, includes a new composition of Latitude 45's composer, Jaap Nico Hamburger. Listen to "Hope and Belief" here.
While waiting for the Opus 2023 Awards Ceremony on February 5, have a look at the complete list of finalists here!