Now in its sixth year, BIGLAKE Festival presents 10 concerts over nine days beginning August 21 in beautiful Prince Edward County (PEC).
The concerts take place in a variety of venues across PEC, from historic music halls and churches to private homes, inviting attendees to explore and experience different parts of the county.
The festival is co-founded and co-directed by two prominent names in the Canadian classical world: Johannes Debus, Music Director of the Canadian Opera Company, and JUNO Award-winning violinist Elissa Lee.
Each year, the festival has a distinct theme. Last year, the festival featured “Hidden Gems,” which was a great discovery journey not only for the audiences, but also for the musicians. By contrast, this year’s program returns to the “Classics,” pieces that are famous or popular in the repertoire.
Ludwig Van spoke to Elissa about this year’s festival program.
Opening Night: Kerson Leong (August 21)
Elissa is very excited to have Canadian violinist Kerson Leung headline the festival, whom she describes as one of the world’s best violinists currently.
The program will be a contrast of darkness and light, angels and devils, evil and good.
“The inspiration came from hearing Kerson’s recording of Tartini’s Devil’s Trill. This is a piece that I grew up playing a lot. It’s a virtuoso piece with a big cadenza.”
The rest of the program will be pieces by Poulenc, Vaughan Williams, Ysaÿe, Pärt and Ravel.
Philip Chiu Up Close (Aug 22)
Philip has been a staple of BIGLAKE. Elissa gushes about the JUNO Award-winning pianist and CBC guest host. “He is magnet on his own. Everywhere he goes, he sort of attracts his own fan base following. He creates a good rapport with his audiences.”
The program will feature many familiar pieces, from Chopin Nocturnes and Rachmaninoff Preludes to Debussy’s Clair de Lune and Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata.
“Speaking is a big part of the recital, and Philip will be telling hidden stories behind the pieces. It will be like a Philip Chiu radio show.”
The Goldberg Variations: Bach Then & Now (August 23)
Pianist Ilya Poletaev, another regular performer at BIGLAKE, will perform J.S. Bach’s famous piece on both the modern piano and the harpsichord, the instrument for which it was originally composed.
“Ilya is a phenomenal keyboardist who is so versatile. It’s actually quite challenging to play on both instruments in the same concert. It’s not just about playing a different instrument with the same fingerings. The mechanics are completely different to play on the harpsichord.”
The Goldberg Variations has special historic importance for Canada, and was made famous by Glenn Gould’s defining recordings. In advance of the festival on August 3, BIGLAKE will host a special screening of the documentary, “Genius Within: The Inner Life of Glenn Gould” to complement this concert.
Philharmonisches Streichquartett Berlin (August 24)
A quartet of musicians from the Berlin Philharmonic will make their Canadian debut.
“I wanted to try bringing Europe to the county. Berlin Philharmonic is synonymous with the highest level of artistry and they hold the bar for the classical music scene,” Elissa says.
“The program will feature the truly classics of the quartet repertoire: Barber’s Adagio, Dvorak’s American String Quartet, and Schubert’s Death and The Maiden. The last piece is not only one of the most beloved works, it is also one of the most challenging quartet pieces to ever pull off.”
A Musical Friendship: Schumann to Brahms (August 25)
Ensemble Made in Canada is Elissa’s own piano quartet, which has been a staple of the festival.
“Some of the most famous piano quartet repertoire are by Brahms and Schumann. So we are going to do one little twist and perform the Brahms quartet in A major. It is the least played, but one of the most beautiful.”
Kaffeekuchen: Haydn and The Viennese Court (August 26)
Literally translated as “coffeecake,” Kaffeekuchen concerts were a part of Viennese culture during Haydn’s time. The Count entertains nobles at his lavish castle with light music performed by the court musicians, while the guests also enjoy coffeecake.
This all-Haydn special concert will take place in the spectacular Maison Millefleurs, perched on the shores of Lake Ontario and overlooking the lake and vast lavender fields.
“The Berlin Philharmonic Quartet will return to play Haydn’s “Emperor” string quartet, which is where the German national anthem is pulled from. So it reverts back to their culture.”
Before the concert, audiences will enjoy coffee and cake provided by The Renaissance Farm, a local county establishment.
Candlelight Concert: Beethoven Then & Now (August 27)
This candlelit salon experience transports the audience to Beethoven’s time, with his works played on both the fortepiano and the modern piano, by Ilya Poletaev and Ruxandra Oancea. Elissa describes the experience as, “sort of like test driving a Model T Ford and a Porsche!”
Kerson Leong & Philip Chiu: Dorman & Chausson (August 28)
In addition to Gustav Mahler’s Piano Quartet and Avner Dorman’s Nigunim, this concert will also feature Ernest Chausson’s Concerto for Violin, Piano and String Quartet.
Elissa describes the last piece as, “one of the few pieces that’s written as a concerto for the violin and piano with a quartet accompaniment instead of an orchestra. It is a powerful, intense piece, and it’s very difficult. The Berlin Philharmonic String Quartet will accompany the soloists.”
Medieval Songs (August 29)
Elissa points out that classical and Western music is rooted as far back as the medieval times.
“Medieval music is where it all began. Ensemble Comtessa dedicates themselves to researching and performing this type of music, which was written in a different way. They also perform on reconstructed period instruments from that time, which I thought was fascinating.”
The program features Florilegium, a collection of medieval songs from the British Isles (1150–1300) that traces the lifecycle of a flower through the four seasons.
“This is also part of our yearly Impact Series, in which we raise funds for a local charity or cause. Because the concert is a cycle about nature, we’re raising funds for the Prince Edward Point Bird Observatory, a local charity that helps protect birds and other wildlife and their habitats on the south shores of the county.”
Festival Finale: Vivaldi & Bach (August 29)
It’s go big or go home. For the finale, Elissa created a program of all double concertos by Bach, Vivaldi and Telemann, played by a 12-piece festival ensemble. “It will be a fun Baroque finale with many artists on stage, and we’ll all take turns playing the solo part.”
Final Thoughts
Elissa says that BIGLAKE is not just a summer festival.
“We’ve expanded beyond just the summer festival month to have a Christmas concert in December, plus three or four winter concerts during the quieter months, and some scattered concerts in June and July which we like to call ‘warm-up concerts’ before the summer festival,” Elissa says.
“Johannes and I want to break the golden cage of classical music, to make it open to everyone.”
It looks like they have more than succeeded.
- Find tickets and event details for the BIGLAKE Festival [HERE].
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