Ludwig van Toronto

Louise Bessette, apostle of Olivier Messiaen, plays for Music Toronto Tuesday night

Music Toronto presents us with a rare opportunity to hear contemporary piano music in a mainstream concert series. Louise Bessette brings the full spectrum from familiar to brand-new to her Tuesday-evening recital at the Jane Mallett Theatre.

You can check out all the details here.

Bessette plays with a combination of a deep iron will leavened by a lyrical surface — perfect for the music of Olivier Messiaen, with which she is most closely identified.

To give you a sample, here is the promotional clip from Les oiseaux, a 2008 album Bessette recorded for Analekta:

John Terauds

(Photo of Louise Bessette courtesy of the Centre de musique canadienne au Québec)