pianist shares ‘the music of friends’ with all montrealers — at no charge
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pianist and allegra chamber music orchestra artistic director dorothy fieldman fraiberg at home in westmount with frankie, her golden retriever. allegra is celebrating its the 45th anniversary season.
dave sidaway
/
montreal gazette
there is an intimacy to chamber music. it typically features a small group of players — think trios, quartets and quintets — and there is no conductor. performances feel like musical conversations between friends.
because of its intimate nature, chamber music has been described as “the music of friends,” said dorothy fieldman fraiberg. “i wanted to share that.”
and so in 1980, the montreal pianist founded the grassroots allegra chamber music and recruited talented professional musicians, drawing from such places as montreal’s orchestre métropolitain. she has served as its artistic director since. the philosophy that music fulfills a basic need in all of us was — and remains — at the heart of the not-for-profit organization’s mission to make great chamber music accessible to all montrealers by not charging admission to its concerts.
when she walked on to the stage of mcgill university’s redpath hall for the opening concert of allegra’s 45th season, elegant in a white blouse and wide black velvet pants, yannick nézet-séguin walked on with her. to many, he is the world-renowned conductor of the orchestre métropolitain, new york’s metropolitan opera and the philadephia orchestra — but that october evening, he was there as a pianist and longtime friend of allegra.
“i love your warmth, your generosity, your friendship — all of those qualities,” fieldman fraiberg told him. then she called the five musicians performing that evening out on to the stage, one by one.
she lauded simon aldrich, who has been with allegra for 25 years and is its artistic adviser, as “an extraordinary clarinetist and superb arranger” and praised violinist alex lozowski, a 19-year allegra veteran, as someone “whose exquisite sound, artistry and intellect always inspire me.”
violist pierre tourville’s “joie de vivre and spirit come through everything he plays,” she said, referring to him as “my dear friend and my favourite shopping companion.” tourville, who is nézet-séguin’s husband, has been with allegra for 18 years. she described sheila hannigan, 14 years with allegra, as “an elegant, warm, passionate cellist. … she is also my emotional confidante.”
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amélie benoit bastien, who joined allegra in 2015, is “a great violinist whose strength and collaborative spirit have enriched all our rehearsals and performances.” such is her dedication to allegra, fieldman fraiberg told concertgoers, that she performed one evening — and entered a hospital to give birth the following morning.
“i love you all,” she told them, her voice thick with emotion, “and through every note, rehearsal and concert, we have become more than just a chamber music group: we’re family.”
friendly frankie the golden retriever likes to greet musicians and listen to them rehearse at pianist dorothy fieldman fraiberg’s westmount home.
dave sidaway
/
montreal gazette
turning to the concertgoers, she said: “nothing gives us more pleasure than playing and sharing our music with you, our audience — and together you have all helped keep allegra’s mission alive: to provide beautiful music, accessible to all, free of charge, for 45 years.”
nézet-séguin took the microphone next and addressed fieldman fraiberg: “in the name of all these allegrians, we want to say that all the qualities you said about everyone are actually in you: the warmth, the passion, the shopping, the confidante, the emotional, the joie de vivre: we all get inspired by you.”
the concert began with nézet-séguin and fieldman fraiberg performing franz schubert’s fantasia in f minor for piano four hands — a musical arrangement in which two musicians sit side by side and play a single piano together. nézet-séguin described it as “the most intimate way of playing chamber music” and said schubert’s fantasia is among “the top five of the whole repertoire of music ever written.”
at the opening concert of allegra’s 45th season at redpath hall, world-renowned conductor yannick nézet-séguin, who is also a pianist, took the stage with allegra founder dorothy fieldman fraiberg. photo courtesy of ezra soiferman
intermezzo in a major op. 118 no. 2 by johannes brahms, arranged by aldrich for clarinet and piano, followed, then mozart’s concerto for piano & string quartet no.12 in a major k 414.
fieldman fraiberg started to play piano at the age of six. she earned undergraduate and graduate degrees in music from the université de montréal and studied for a year in new york with nadia reisenberg, a gifted pianist and teacher. among other accomplishments, she has performed as a soloist with the mcgill chamber orchestra and as a chamber musician in north america and abroad and has recorded on the atma classique label.
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she also brings her considerable creative force and energy to a second musical program, bach before bedtime, an interactive series for children age 7 and younger, which she founded in 2008. “i always wanted to introduce children to chamber music because of its intimacy and warmth — and i wanted them to experience it in a concert hall, to have it be welcoming, not intimidating.”
the bilingual program reaches 5,000 children each year. the series uses a format of 45-minute concerts in which a script is paired with excerpts from well-known classical music pieces — think the nutcracker by tchaikovsky or bizet’s opera carmen — and the condensed story features whimsical characters including acrobats and puppeteers, singers and dancers, authors and visual artists.
the allegra foundation raises money to support both the allegra and bach before bedtime programs, relying on corporate and individual fundraising and on federal and provincial grants to complement its fundraising, said stephanie riddell, a board member and past chair of the allegra foundation. she recalled taking her own children to bach before bedtime concerts “and i was hooked.”
“dorothy is the heart and soul of allegra,” said riddell, special adviser at the montreal general hospital foundation. “she gives us that glimpse of the artistic side and keeps us going.”
rehearsals for allegra and bach before bedtime concerts are held at fieldman fraiberg’s house, where there is a piano in the living room and where frankie, her golden retriever, likes to greet the musicians and listen to them rehearse.
at a glance
learn more about allegra and the 2025-2026 concert season at allegrachambermusic.com, where videos of past concerts can also be viewed. for the 2025-2026 bach before bedtime concert series, go to bachbeforebedtime.com/concerts. bach before bedtime tickets are $16.
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