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Email: info@robertrival.com
 
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CURRENT PROJECTS
 
book on music, gesture & rhetoric
 
trio for 2 violins & viola
 
LISTEN ON APPLE MUSIC
 
Traces of a Silent Landscape
Sonata "Muskoka"
 
CD RELEASES
 
Global tapestry - Ananta duo
 
Sonata "Muskoka" for clarinet & piano (Lake movement). Ananta Duo: "Global Tapestry" (2018). Purchase. Spotify.

 
Windermere String Quartet: Inner Landscapes
 
Traces of a Silent Landscape. Windermere String Quartet: "Inner Landscapes" (2016). Purchase. iTunes. Spotify. Naxos Music Library.

 

 
Lullaby. Edmonton Symphony Orchestra: "A Concert for New York" (2013). 2014 Western Canadian Music Awards nominee for Classical Recording of the Year. Purchase.

"...gentle textures and flowing themes occasionally yield surprising harmonic turns and briskly changing meters."
—Allan Kozinn, New York Times, on Lullaby

"...a work of quiet rapture and refined sensibility...elegant concision..."
—Jack Sullivan, American Record Guide, on Lullaby

"...a beautifully crafted work that will appeal to those who enjoy musical construction as much as it will to those who want their ears to be charmed."
—Mark Morris, Edmonton Scene, on Sunshine Variations
   
WHAT'S NEW
jellyfish JAN 2023—I'm thrilled that the Gryphon Trio will premiere Nature Rhythms I, which they commissioned with the support of the Ontario Arts Council, on Mar 30 at Music Toronto as part of the trio's 30th anniversary celebration. This work for piano trio was inspired by the empirical study of semi-periodic rhythms occurring in nature: jellyfish, swaying branches, drifting clouds, falling raindrops.
OCT 2022—Watch the world premiere of The Midnight Sea sung by Chor Leoni Men's Choir led by Erick Lichte. The concert film also includes new works by Katerina Gimon & Pierre Simard, co-finalists in the C/4 Canadian Choral Composition Competition, and interviews with the composers.
OCT 2022—Watch the world premiere of my Sunshine Variations, commissioned by the Edmonton Recital Society and performed by Kathleen de Caen (vc) & Janet Scott Hoyt (pno). From Mark Morris's glowing review:
"[...] a beautifully crafted work that will appeal to those who enjoy musical construction as much as it will to those who want their ears to be charmed."
Intersections journal OCT 2022—Read my article "Malcolm Forsyth’s Double Concerto: Forging a New Simplicity" in the latest issue of Intersections: Canadian Journal of Music. From the abstract:
This article explores Forsyth's conception of simplicity by placing a close [...] analysis in several contexts: the work's history of revisions, what Mozart, Schubert, and Brahms reveal about musical simplicity, the debate on profundity in music, the discourse on "late style," and personal anecdotes.
JUL 2022—Watch excerpts of all five movements from the world premiere of my Violin Concerto "All'ombra de' cipressi" (under the shadow of the cypresses) performed by Marc Djokic & Sinfonia Toronto led by Nurhan Arman.
   
PERFORMANCES / EVENTS
Date Location Work Details
2022
Sep 25 Edmonton, AB Sunshine Variations
(world premiere)
Edmonton Recital Society commission in memory of Tanya Prochazka. Kathleen de Caen (vc) & Janet Scott Hoyt (pno). Muttart Hall, MacEwan University.
Oct 22 Tallinn, Estonia Ten Miniatures Excerpts. Estonian Academy of Music & Theatre gala concert featuring graduates of the chromatic kannel (kantele / zither) class. Gerda Pärnaku.
Oct 30 Qualicum Beach, BC Schubert Fantasy Nicholas Ross (vn), Donna Falconer (pno). The Old Schoolhouse Arts Centre.
2023
Mar 30 Toronto, ON Nature Rhythms I
(world premiere)
Commissioned by the Gryphon Trio with the support of the Ontario Arts Council. The trio celebrates its 30th anniversary at Music Toronto.
Apr 11 Montréal, QC Violin Concerto Marc Djokic, solist. Orchestre classique de Montréal. Nurhan Arman, conductor. Salle Pierre-Mercure.
May 4 Hamilton, ON Scherzo "Crème Brûlée" Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra. Gemma New, conductor. The Cotton Factory.
PREMIERES POSTPONED (COVID-19)
? Harrington, QC The Grass Is Full of Stars (world premiere) For children's choir & chamber ensemble. Commissioned by violinist Marc Djokic for CAMMAC with the support of the Canada Council.