Orchestre Métropolitain presents

Nielsen & Bartók: Two concertos

A beautiful, charming melody performed by Yukari Cousineau on violin? Irresistible! And that’s what Nielsen’s Violin Concerto has to offer: simplicity, joy and intoxicating melodies. Each of the piece’s two movements begins like a trance, troublingly slow and meditative, before quickly taking off in an explosion of brilliance.

What’s a concerto without a soloist? For Béla Bartók, the answer is in his Concerto for Orchestra, which puts the virtuosity of different musicians in the spotlight, alternating solo performances between brass instruments, strings and other instrumental duets. This balancing act, conducted masterfully by conductor and artistic partner Nicolas Ellis, transports the audience from stiff formality to playfulness; from a mournful funeral march to an exuberant celebration of life.

Artists
Nicolas Ellis, conductor

Nicolas Ellis is the Artistic Director, Conductor and Founder of the Orchestre de l’Agora and currently serves as Artistic Partner to the Orchestre Métropolitain and Yannick Nézet-Séguin.

Mr. Ellis appeared as guest conductor with Les Violons du Roy, the National Arts Centre Orchestra, the Orchestre de chambre I Musici de Montréal, the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony, the Orchestre symphonique de Québec, the Orchestre Métropolitain, Symphony Nova Scotia, the Orchestre classique de Montréal, the Ottawa Symphony, the Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto and Les Grands Ballets Canadiens.

Yukari Cousineau, violin

Yukari Cousineau is the concertmaster of the Orchestre Métropolitain. A member of this orchestra since 1998, she held the position of assistant concertmaster until 2003 and then that of associate principal viola from 2003 to 2009.

Cousineau plays the violin and the viola with equal ease, has been performing on stage for over 30 years. Her talent blossomed very early and she now displays the experience, profound musical maturity and virtuosity that make her an exceptional violinist.

As an 11 year old chamber player, she played solo violin in the world premiere of Alcides Lanza’s Modulos III. At 12, she made her first tour as a soloist, interpreting Vivaldi’s Four Seasons in several Québec cities. In 1987 and 1992, Cousineau toured in France. In 1999, she returned to Bourges, France, where she gave a recital of works for solo violin (Ysaÿe, Prokofiev and Bach). She  repeated the experience in 2010,  playing works by Bach, Paganini, Telemann, and Ysaÿe.

Program
NIELSEN, Violin Concerto
BARTÓK, Concerto for Orchestra

Maison symphonique
Saturday, March 26, 2022 at 7:30pm

To purchase your tickets visit: www.orchestremetropolitain.com

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