print this page 22nd Kuressaare Chamber Music Days August 2 - 6, 2016 Follow as on Facebook! Tuesday, August 2nd 2016 at 7 pm Kuressaare Cultural Centre (Tallinna St 6) OPENING CONCERT Andres Paas (piano) Aleksander Trostjanski (violin) Russia Ilja Hoffman (viola) Russia Rustam Komatshkov (cello) Russia Programme: Franz Schubert - Trio No 1 for violin, viola and cello D471 Zoltan Kodaly - Duo for violin op 7 D minor Johannes Brahms - Piano Quartet No 2 op 26 A major Last summer music critic Ia Remmel named Kuressaare Chamber Music Days as the pearl of Saaremaa, adding that the high quality festival with its long traditions is of priceless value (Sirp, 7.08.15). The tireless artistic director of Kuressaare Chamber Music Days and a recent laureate of Hendrik Krumm Culture Prize, pianist Andres Paas continues the tradition performing at the festival’s opening concert. This year he will perform together with remarkable musicians from Russia: cellist Rustam Komachkov who has won first prizes in several music competitions and is already familiar to the audience of the festival, together with violinist Alexander Trostyanski, laureate of the famous Tchaikovsky music competition, among others. For the first time, viola player Ilja Hoffman will perform in Kuressaare. He is the laurate of various International music competitions, including Yuri Bashmet International Viola Competition. At the opening concert the longest of Brahms`s chamber works to perform Piano Quartet No. 2, Op. 26, as well as chamber music by Schubert and Kodaly will be performed. Wednesday, August 3rd 2016 at 7 pm Kuressaare Castle (Lossihoov 1) VISIONS Quatuor Varese France François Galichet (violin) Julie Gehan-Rodriguez (violin) Sylvain Seailles (viola) Thomas Ravez (cello) Programme: Johann Sebastian Bach - Contrepoints No 1, 3 and 7 from the Art of Fugue Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - String Quartet KV 387 Robert Schumann - String Quartet Op 41 No 3 A major In 2016 a quartet with a very busy concert schedule – Quatuor Varèse – celebrates 10 years of its activity. They represent the best traditions of French quartet music and have been invited to perform in reputable concert halls all over the world. Their concerts are often broadcast by French radio stations. Collaborating frequently with other artists, the ensemble has great enthusiasm towards artistic projects combining music with theatre and even dance. The Quatuor Varèse has received several prizes in many renowned international music competitions, including the Second Prize, in addition to the Special Prize for the best performance of a work by W.A. Mozart at the Mozart International Competition in Salzburg (Austria, 2014), Third Prize at the Franz Schubert and Modern Music competition in Graz (Austria, 2012), the Grand Prix de l’Académie Ravel, Saint-Jean-de-Luz (France, 2011), etc. Music critics have highlighted their way of playing music as elegant and subtle French-style with exceptionally evocative power of the sound. Thursday, August 4th 2016 at 7 pm Kuressaare Cultural Centre (Tallinna St 6) FANTASIES Denes Varjon´s piano recital Denes Varjon Hungary Programme: Leos Janacek - On an Overgrown Path, Book 1 Robert Schumann - Fantasiestücke Op 12 Frederic Chopin - Nocturne in B Flat Minor Op 9 No 1 Frederic Chopin - Polonaise-Phantasy Op 61 This year the tradition of showcasing brilliant pianists in Kuressaare is continued by Hungarian pianist Denes Varjon. His sensational technique, deep musicality, wide range of interest have made Denes Varjon one of the most exciting and highly regarded participants of international musical life. He is a universal musician: soloist, chamber musician, artistic leader of festivals, and piano pedagogue. As a soloist he is a welcome guest at major concert series, from New York’s Carnegie Hall to Vienna’s Konzerthaus and London’s Wigmore Hall. He is frequently invited to work with many of the world’s leading symphony orchestras (Budapest Festival Orchestra, Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra, St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra, Russian National Orchestra, Kremerata Baltica, etc.). He has worked with numerous conductors, such as Sir Georg Solti, Ivan Fischer, Adam Fischer, Heinz Holliger, Zoltan Kocsis, among others. Widely considered as one of the greatest chamber musicians, he works regularly with pre-eminent partners such as Steven Isserlis, Tabea Zimmermann, Andras Schiff , Heinz Holliger, Miklos Perenyi, Joshua Bell et al. He has released numerous solo and chamber music CDs, as well as all five Beethoven piano concertos. In collaboration with the Hungarian Institute Thursday, August 4th 2016 at 10 pm Kuressaare Castle (Lossihoov 1) CASTLE MUSIC Vocal Ensemble Gallicantus United Kingdom Mark Chambers (kontratenor) Nicholas Todd (tenor) Christopher Watson (tenor) Gabriel Crouch (bariton, direktor) William Gaunt (bass) Programme: Tallis. Sheppard. Byrd. Whyte. "Everything Gallicantus touches seems to turn to gold" (Adrian Horsewood, Early Music Today) Dedicated to renaissance music, the membership of this English early music group boasts a wealth of experience in consort singing. The singers of Gallicantus are sought-after musicians also performing with numerous other leading ensembles. Recent concert highlights have seen the group perform in concert halls and early music festivals in the UK, Holland, Germany, Poland, Italy, Belgium, and in the USA where they held a residency at Princeton University in 2014. Gallicantus regularly releases benchmark programmes on CD on the Signum label. These albums have been highly acclaimed by music critics and brought them several prizes. The group’s fourth CD – the remarkable Lagrime di San Pietro by Lassus, has cemented Gallicantus as one of Europe’s foremost early music ensembles, earning a second consecutive ‘Editor’s Choice’ selection from Gramophone, as well as nomination for a coveted Gramophone Award in 2014. Friday, August 5th 2016 at 9 pm Kuressaare Cultural Centre (Tallinna St 6) EXOTIC PROMENADES Tango performance "Noches de Tango" Argentina-Spain Maria Antonieta Tuozzo & Ezequiel Herrera (dancers) Martín Alvarado (vocal) Claudio Constantini (bandoneon) Hernan Hock (guitar) Tango performance "Noches de Tango" is a show that contains all the expressions of Argentine tango, taking the audience to a journey to the Belle Epoque era in Buenos Aires of the 30’s and Tango Cabaret of Paris, and back to nowadays. Some of the most acclaimed tango dancers Maria Antonieta Tuozzo and Ezequiel Herrera will perform together with singer Martín Alvarado from Buenos Aires, and Spanish virtuoso musicians Claudio Constantini (bandoneon) and Hernán Hock (guitar). Their repertoire comprises of new tango and jazz. The choreography exclusively created for this show is very sensual. It expresses everything that is human and based on experience. The most important is not only the great technique of the dancers but their expressiveness. Everything is connected – amorous glances meet, hands and legs interweave and each movement is accompanied by passionate tango rhythm... In collaboration with the Spanish Embassy Saturday, August 6th 2016 at 7 pm Kuressaare Cultural Centre (Tallinna St 6) FINALE: "Cinema!" Glasperlenspiel Sinfonietta Soloist: Maano Männi, Leena Laas, Johannes Põlda (violins) Programme: Pachelbel. Bach. Mozart. Barber. Tormis. Shostakovitsh. Herrmann.Piazzolla. Dreznin. Sumera. This year’s festival finale features film music. Maano Männi: "Who doesn’t like to watch films. But how much do we actually pay attention to the music in the films? In fact, it is the music that has the most important role in conveying different moods and sound effects. At the concert "Cinema!" you will hear popular works from famous composers as well as original film music – quiet, loud, comic, horrible, heroic... Also cinema will be shown at the concert!" The final concert will be given by the string ensemble Glasperlenspiel Sinfonietta which is already known to the audience in Kuressaare. It debuted in 2012 in the South-American tour. Since then they have performed in numerous Estonian music festivals, in the United Kingdom, Israel, Greece, Italy, Iran, etc. The violin soloist and artistic director of the orchestra is Maano Männi, who is also the concertmaster of Vaasa City Orchestra.