Louise Bessette | PRESS RELEASE

Press release for immediate distribution

LOUISE BESSETTE'S FALL ACTIVITIES

Montréal, October 22, 2007: After numerous recitals in Québec and a visit to China, Louise Bessette has yet to slow her pace down this fall. She is booked to perform two concerts in Hartford, on November 9 and 10, 2007, and she is invited in Paris as member of the jury at the Concours International Olivier Messiaen from November 25 to December 3, 2007.

Guest soloist for the evening Gershwin! of the Hartford Symphony Orchestra, Louise Bessette will play the famous Concerto in F on November 9 and 10, 2007, at the Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts, with Maestro Edward Cumming conducting. The world premiere of the piece took place on December 3, 1925, at Carnegie Hall in New York, with Gershwin himself at the piano. Although the concerto is traditional in its form, it is already infused with the jazzy chords that will come to be an integral part of the Gershwin style. More precisely, the second movement is constructed on slow rhythms and bluesy motifs. The third movement reintegrates all the melodies used in the other movements but at the same time rejuvenates the overall feeling through an explosion of energy finding its peak of expression in the final pages.

As for the Concours Olivier Messiaen, it is now in its third edition and is member of the affiliation of the Concours Internationaux de la Ville de Paris. This event focuses on the repertoire of Messiaen but also put a great deal of emphasis on contemporary music. The jury, with Gilbert Amy as president, will be represented by a plethora of internationally recognized artists, and the final round will be conducted by Pierre Boulez. The competition offers more than 31,000 Euros in prizes to the winners, and numerous engagements with orchestras and international festivals. Louise Bessette shall be a member of this wonderful event for the very first time and will very proudly represent Canada, which, for the record, will have its first representation at the competition.

A versatile musician with an acrobatic mastery of the keyboard, Louise Bessette is appreciated throughout the world. She performs frequently with renowned formations and is seen regularly in festivals throughout Europe and America. She won the First Prize at the Concours International de Musique Contemporaine in Saint-Germain-en-Laye, the First Prize and the Special Prize for Piano at the International Gaudeamus Competition, the 1991 Flandre-Québec Award, and the Prix Opus for "soloist of the year" 1996-97, awarded by the Conseil Québécois de la Musique. Piano teacher at the Conservatoire de musique de Montréal since 1996, she is transmitting to young virtuosos her passionate love of music.

For more information, please contact:
Louise Bessette
514-387-8871
info@louisebessette.com
www.louisebessette.com

or visit:
www.hartfordsymphony.org www.civp.com/messiaen/amessiaen.html

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