Montreal Chamber Music Festival Announces 2024 Program

VC Artist Kerson Leong, the Ehnes Quartet, and the Barbican Quartet will be featured, among others

The Montreal Chamber Music Festival and Artistic Director Denis Brott reveal the details of their 29th season, June 13 to 23, 2024.

The Festival presents eight main programs and five free noon-hour concerts in the beautiful Salle Bourgie, Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. The closing concert, on June 23rd, is at Maison Symphonique, Place des Arts.

June 13 opening night is entitled Soirée Virtuose — Obsession Violon, featuring VC Artist Kerson Leong, pianist Illia Ovcherenko, and the Barbican Quartet performing works by Ysaÿe, Ravel, and Chausson.

On June 14, the Barbican Quartet will perform quartets by Haydn and Ravel in a free noon-hour concert. That evening, Pour l'amour du violoncelle will feature the stunning young Galvin Cello Quartet and eight other cellists, including Festival Artistic Director Denis Brott, playing works by Bach, Romberg, Piazzolla, and Villa-Lobos.

On June 15, the free noon-hour concert features the brilliant young Vatra Trio playing Shostakovich and Brahms. In the evening, the Barbican Quartet will headline Isn’t Britain Great. Honens International Piano Competition winner Illia Ovcherenko, and an ensemble of Winners of the Canada Council Musical Instrument Bank perform works by Elgar and Britten. 

On June 16, the Festival presents Les Passions de Clara, a program revealing a world-premiere text exploring Clara Schumann’s relationship with her husband Robert Schumann and Johannes Brahms. Featured works include Clara Schumann's Piano Trio Op. 17 and the Sextet Op. 36 by Johannes Brahms. Two renowned actors, Jean Marchand and Geneviève Rochette, will play the roles of Clara, Robert, and Johannes in Canada’s two official languages.

The June 20th free noon-hour concert features winners of the Canada Council for the Arts Musical Instrument Bank, including internationally acclaimed cellists Cameron Crozman and Leland Ko. That evening, Klezmer, Gershwin and All That Jazz light up the stage with two Canadian premieres of arrangements for septet of Gershwin’s beloved An American in Paris and Rhapsody in Blue. Headline performers include Matt Herskowitz (piano) and David Krakauer (clarinet).

On June 21, the Musical Instrument Bank winners will present another free noon-hour concert. The evening event features the remarkable 2024 Juno Award-winning violinist James Ehnes and his quartet in a program devoted to Beethoven’s Russian quartets Op. 59, Nos. 2 and 3.

On June 22, the final free noon-hour concert will bring together the Musical Instrument Bank winners in a varied program featuring Mendelssohn’s Viola quintet, Op.87. The evening program gives top billing to the viola in a concert entitled Beethoven’s Viola. Former Dover Quartet violist Milena Pajaro-van de Stadt joins the Ehnes Quartet, performing the remarkable Beethoven Quintet, Op. 29. 

June 23 brings the Festival to a celebratory close in a program at Maison Symphonique entitled Bravo, Bach! James Ehnes leads 19 all-star performers in all six Brandenburg Concerti. Trumpet virtuoso Jens Lindemann, first chair players from the Montreal Symphony Orchestra and the National Arts Centre Orchestra and other Festival artists make up this unique ensemble. This is a fantastic musical excursion through some of the greatest repertoire ever written—a concert not to be missed!

Leading up to this year's Festival, The Violin Channel will stream multiple concerts from the 2023 Montreal Chamber Music Festival in April.

You can find out more about the Festival here.