Montreal, November 18, 2025 – For those looking to celebrate the holiday season a little differently this year, Tchaikovsky & Saint-Saëns | The Magic of Two Pianos offers a festive and distinctive musical experience. Presented on December 4, 2025, at Palais Montcalm and December 6, 2025, at Maison symphonique, the concert brings together two exceptional pianists — Serhiy Salov and Jean-Philippe Sylvestre — for an evening where virtuosity, artistry, and poetic expression meet.

While keeping with the spirit of the holiday season, this program invites audiences to rediscover familiar masterpieces in a new light. The evening begins with two beloved works by Camille Saint-Saëns. Danse macabre sets a mysterious tone before giving way to the playful wit and charm of The Carnival of the Animals.

The program continues with Sergei Rachmaninov’s Suite No. 2, Op. 17, a monumental work for two pianos that combines ardent lyricism and sweeping romantic energy. Finally, Tchaikovsky’s timeless Nutcracker Suite closes the concert in a dazzling two-piano arrangement, offering a fresh, intimate perspective on one of the most cherished works for the holiday season.

Balancing tradition and innovation, Tchaikovsky & Saint-Saëns | Magic for Two Pianos offers a refined and refreshing way to experience the holidays through music.

REMINDER Tchaikovsky & Saint-Saëns | Magic for Two PianosDecember 4, 2025, 7:30 PM  Palais Montcalm, Quebec CityDecember 6, 2025, 7:30 PM  Maison symphonique, Montreal For information and tickets: Tchaikovsky & Saint-Saëns | The Magic of Two Pianos | GFN Productions

About Jean-Philippe Sylvestre

Renowned for his dazzling technique and vivid imagination, Jean-Philippe Sylvestre has been called “a poet of the piano” by Yannick Nézet-Séguin. Both in Quebec and on the international stage, the Sainte-Julie–born artist has received numerous awards, including the Virginia Parker Prize—the highest distinction from the Canada Council for the Arts—the First Prize and the Audience Prize at the Montreal Symphony Orchestra Competition, as well as several First Prizes at the Canadian Music Competition, at one point earning the highest score of the entire event.

Jean-Philippe Sylvestre has performed in many of the world’s most prestigious venues: the Berlin Philharmonie, the Musikverein and the Ehrbar-Saal in Vienna, Salle Gaveau (Paris), the Concertgebouw (Amsterdam), the Rudolfinum (Prague), Kings Place (London), the Palais des Beaux-Arts (Brussels), the Oriol Martorell Hall (Barcelona), Teatro Mayor (Colombia), Theatro Municipal and Teatro B32 (Brazil), Recital Hall (Sydney), as well as the Maison symphonique, Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier, and Salle Bourgie (Montreal), the Glenn Gould Studio and George Weston Hall (Toronto), and the National Arts Centre (Ottawa), among many others.

He has recorded several albums, including one as a soloist with the London Symphony Orchestra on the CHANDOS label. His recordings have been nominated for JUNO Awards and ADISQ prizes. Sylvestre has collaborated with many distinguished conductors, including Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Jacques Lacombe, Christian Schulz, Richard Bradshaw, Simon Streatfeild, Fabien Gabel, Rolf Bertsch, Boris Brott, and Alain Trudel, to name a few. His recent tours in China, South Africa, South America, Australia, and Europe have been met with great success. During his tours, Mr. Sylvestre also gives masterclasses, notably within the Paris conservatories in collaboration with students of the École Normale de Musique de Paris Alfred Cortot, as well as in South Africa.

Just back from Prague and Vienna, where he performed last October, Mr. Sylvestre is currently in Montreal for a few weeks before resuming his European tour. He will appear at the prestigious Warsaw Philharmonic in Poland on January 22, 2026, and in Paris at the Musée Jacquemart-André on February 1, 2026. Montreal audiences will have the chance to hear him again with the Orchestre classique de Montréal at the Centre Pierre-Péladeau on March 12, 2026. www.jeanphilippesylvestre.com

About Serhiy Salov

Born in Donetsk, Ukraine, Serhiy Salov made his debut at age 11 with the National Orchestra of Ukraine before pursuing studies in Germany at the Hochschule für Musik Freiburg and at London’s Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Winner of numerous international competitions — including First Prize at the Montreal International Musical Competition (2004) — he has performed with conductors such as Kent Nagano, Leonard Slatkin, Maxim Vengerov, and Yannick Nézet-Séguin, appearing with major orchestras in Montreal, Berlin, Tokyo, Paris, and London. Acclaimed for his imaginative artistry and daring transcriptions of orchestral works — including The Rite of Spring and Petrushka — Salov has released several recordings on the Analekta label. His albums Autour de Chostakovitch and Printemps sacré des Slaves were both lauded by critics and received Prix Opus distinctions.

About GFN Productions

GFN Productions is a Quebec-based music producer and promoter, presenting over 75 concerts each year across Canada. The company has worked with a diverse range of artists, but specializes in the production of large-scale symphonic concerts and orchestral recordings. GFN’s projects have included collaborations with a number of international stars, including Andrea Bocelli, Ute Lemper, and Patrick Watson. In recent years, GFN Productions has become the largest promoter of live-to-projection “cine-concerts” in Canada.

Since 2018, GFN Productions has partnered with the FILMharmonic Orchestra to present popular films and franchises in concert. The company is also the manager of the FILMharmonic, which is based in Montreal, but performs regularly nationwide. Since the beginning of their partnership, GFN has produced four albums under the label GFN Classics, five concert films, and a documentary short titled Passé recomposé. As a full-service producer, GFN Productions is also an artist manager, and offers a range of services including tour support, orchestral contracting, and music recording. The company was founded in 2018 by Gabriel Felcarek, Francis Choiniere, and Nicholas Choinière. Having founded the company at the age of 21, they are among Canada’s youngest major independent promoters.