The Azrieli Foundation, one of the largest philanthropic foundations in Canada and Israel) presents its biennial Azrieli Music Prizes (AMP) Gala Concert on October 22 at 8:00 PM ET (2:00 AM CET) featuring world premieres by the three 2020 AMP Laureates. The concert will be livestreamed by Medici TV, and on the Azrieli Music Prizes’ Facebook page, free for all to enjoy.
Founded in 2014, the prizes aim to discover and promote new music, encouraging ensembles to perform and celebrate current composers. The three laureates will hear their work performed for the first time during this event, held at Salle Bourgie .
Le Nouvel Ensemble Moderne (Le NEM) makes its debut on Medici TV under the direction of its founder Lorraine Vaillancourt. Canadian soprano Sharon Azrieli and Hungarian-Canadian mezzo Krisztina Szabó join Le NEM as soloists.
These world premiere performances form part of the total prize package each AMP Laureate receives – valued at over $200,000 CAD – which also includes a cash award of $50,000 CAD; two subsequent international performances; and a recording of the winning work released on Analekta.
Keiko Devaux, the first winner of the new Azrieli Commission for Canadian Music, presents her work, Arras, weaving together the tapestries of her French and Japanese-Canadian heritage.
Yotam Haber, winner of the 2020 Azrieli Commission for Jewish Music, wrote Estro poetico -armonico III for mezzo-soprano solo, chamber orchestra and pre-recorded audio to continue his ongoing exploration into the music of the Jewish community of Rome.
Yitzhak Yedid, winner of the 2020 Azrieli Prize for Jewish Music, wrote Kadosh Kadosh and Cursed, which consist of twenty tableaux, or musical scenes, that bridge between variegated compositional approaches originating from remote, opposing musical traditions.
Lastly, Canadian composer Jonathan Monro has prepared a special new arrangement for Le NEM and Sharon Azrieli of Canadian composer Pierre Mercure’s song cycle Dissidence. These three songs form part of Mercure’s seminal Cantate pour un Joie (1955), which sets poems by Gabriel Charpentier that express modern man’s search for the happiness of faith.
