Program season 2015 - 2016

• TUESDAY 13 OCTOBER 2015 - AD LIBITUM QUARTET (Romania)
• TUESDAY 10 NOVEMBER 2015 - APOLLON MUSAGÈTE QUARTET (Poland)
• TUESDAY 8 DECEMBER 2015 - JERUSALEM QUARTET (Israel)
• TUESDAY 26 JANUARY 2016 - MOZART PIANO QUARTET(Germany)
• TUESDAY 1 MARCH 2016 - SCHUMANN QUARTET (Germany)
• TUESDAY 5 APRIL 2016 - VAN BAERLE TRIO (Netherlands)

TUESDAY 13 OCTOBER 2015
20.15 p.m.

AD LIBITUM QUARTET (Romania)

PROGRAM

The AD LIBITUM QUARTET is one of Romania’s most remarquable chamber music ensembles. Its fame and artistry has however long ago exceeded the country’s boundaries, making it a very well appreciated ensemble throughout the whole of Europe. With a history of 25 years, the four musicians forming it toured the world in recitals hosted by famous halls – Concertgebouw (Amsterdam), De Doelen (Rotterdam), Salle Cortot (Paris), Konzerthaus (Berlin) etc.
They studied among others with George Sopkin and Wolfgang Laufer (Fine Arts Quartet), Martin Lovett, Sigmund Nissel and Norbert Brainin (Amadeus Quartet), Stefan Metz (Orlando Quartet) and Raphael Hillyer, founder of the Juilliard String Quartet.
In 1997 the Ad Libitum Quartet won the Great Prize as well as the Press Prize and the Recording Prize at the prestigious Evian Competition (France). They made recordings for Naxos and their CD containing Enescu’s two string quartets received a Grammophone nomination. All these triumphs opened the doors to the concert halls of Cortot and Musée d’Orsay in Paris, the Kaisersaal in Munich, the Konzerthaus in Berlin, Diligentia in The Hague, De Doelen in Rotterdam and the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam.
They are also regular guests at various festivals such as the Printemps des Arts de Monte Carlo, Musique d’Été au Château de Lourmarin in the French Luberon, the Internationale Sommerfestspiele Bensheim in the German Auerbach, the Menhuin Festival of Gstaad in Switzerland or the Dutch Orlando Festival.
In 2008 the Ad Libitum Quartet was appointed as Ensemble in Residence in Iasi celebrating their 20th anniversary with a special concert followed by an integral performance of all the string quartets of Ludwig van Beethoven in 2009.
In september the quartet participates in the famous Enescu Festival in Bucharest.
Remarkable is that they spent more than 20 years in harmonious unison and maintained their original composition. However, after 24 years of common rehearsals, successes, applause and sublime music, the synergy of this quartet ended in 2011, by the death of Adrian Berescu.
After just a few months the concerts could be resumed and the Ad Libitum Quartet could continue making music of the highest quality together with Alexandru Tomescu as first violinist.
Homepage: http://www.com-pris.nl/ad_libitum.htm

EXPLANATORY NOTES (Dutch only)

TUESDAY 10 NOVEMBER 2015
20.15 p.m.

APOLLON MUSAGÈTE QUARTET (Poland)

PROGRAM

“If Apollo had played the violin instead of the lyre, this is exactly how it would have sounded.” (Süddeutsche Zeitung, November 2010).
Winner of first prize and several other awards at the International Music Competition of the ARD in 2008, the APOLLON MUSAGÈTE QUARTET soon became a frequent feature of the European musical scene, captivating public and press alike with their thrilling performances. The quartet made their debut in 2010 at Berlin’s Philharmonie. During the same season, they were nominated for the ‘Rising Stars’ cycle by both Vienna Konzerthaus and Musikverein, and had resounding successes at leading concert halls including the Megaron in Athens, Philharmonie Cologne, Cité de la Musique Paris, Palais des Beaux Arts Brussels, Konserthuset Stockholm and Concertgebouw Amsterdam as well as in Luxembourg, Vienna and Barcelona. The Quartet were named BBC New Generation Artists in 2012/13 followed by extensive touring of the UK and recordings for BBC. Just recently the Quartet was announced recipient of the Borletti-Buitoni Trust Award 2014.
Highlights for the 2013/14 season include re-invitations to London’s Wigmore Hall, New York’s Carnegie Hall, Leipzig’s Gewandhaus, Paris’ Louvre and Zurich’s Tonhalle. Recent engagements have included the Lucerne Festival and the opening concert at the Krzysztof Penderecki European Music Centre in the Polish town of Lusławice.
The Apollon Musagète collaborate regularly with former members of the Alban Berg Quartet as well as renowned musicians such as Angelika Kirchschlager and Martin Fröst. The Quartet have taken part in chamber music cycles including "Les Grand Interprètes" in Geneva, Esterhazy String Quartet Festival, La Folle Journée de Nantes and the Alte Oper Frankfurt. They have also appeared in several symphonic cycles.
The Quartet place great importance in collaborations with living composers. In addition to the traditional repertoire for string quartet, the Apollon Musagète Quartet have had a number of works dedicated to them, often on the theme of their spiritual mentor – Apollo – and often include the quartet’s original compositions, Multitude for String Quartet and A Multitude of Shades, in their programmes.
Their debut CD was released in 2010 on Oehms Classics and received the 'CD of the Month' award by Radio Stephansdom Vienna and the 'Pasticcio Prize' of the ORF. The quartet have also recorded Martinů’s concerto for string quartet in collaboration with the BBC Symphony Orchestra as well as works by Lutosławski, Penderecki and Górecki for Decca Classics, receiving glowing reviews from the press. The Apollon Musagète Quartet have also worked intensively with singer Tori Amos, taking part in her new CD 'Night of Hunters', awarded the 2012 ECHO Klassik award.
Homepage: www.apollon-musagete.com

EXPLANATORY NOTES (Dutch only)

TUESDAY 8 DECEMBER 2015
20.15 p.m.

JERUSALEM QUARTET (Israel)

PROGRAMMA

The JERUSALEM QUARTET continue to be both regular and popular visitors to major venues throughout the world. With a growing reputation in North America, where they have played in venues throughout New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Cleveland and Washington, the 2011/12 season sees them embark on two extended tours in concert halls throughout the US and Canada. The Jerusalem Quartet also tour the UK this season, in a programme of Schumann, together with pianist Alexander Melnikov, celebrating the release of their new CD on Harmonia Mundi. Their European concerts include appearances at venues such as the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, the Herkulessaal in Munich, London's Wigmore Hall and the Cité de la Musique in Paris. Further performances take them to venues in cities including Brussels, Antwerp, Gent, Lucerne, Dortmund, Perugia, Genoa, Siena and Le Mans.
During the past season, the Jerusalem Quartet concentrated on Brahms’s chamber music with special residencies at the Auditorium du Louvre, Paris, the Hamburger Ostertöne Festival, the Schubertiade and at De Doelen, Rotterdam. Throughout the 2009/10 season the Jerusalem Quartet performed their “Mozart Plus” project at the Wigmore Hall - focusing on String Quartets and Quintets by Mozart - together with violist Lawrence Power. The Quartet toured this programme in cities across Europe including Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Munich and Zurich.
The Jerusalem Quartet record exclusively for Harmonia Mundi and their discs have been awarded with numerous prizes. Their recording of Haydn’s String Quartets won the chamber category of the 2010 BBC Music Magazine Awards and the Diapason d’Or Arte, while their release of Schubert’s Death and the Maiden Quartet received an ECHO Klassik Award in 2009 and was featured as Editor’s Choice in the July 2008 edition of Gramophone Magazine. The Quartet’s latest recording of Mozart’s String Quartets, released in March 2011, was immediately selected as Chamber Music Choice in BBC Music Magazine the same month. Their next release, a recording of Schumann’s Piano Quartet and Quintet with Alexander Melnikov, will be released in spring 2012.
In 2003 the Quartet were recipients of the first Borletti-Buitoni Trust Award. They were also part of the first ever BBC New Generation Artists scheme from 1999 to 2001. 2011/12 season only.
Homepage: www.jerusalem-quartet.com

SHARON KAM is one of the world’s leading clarinet soloists and has been working with renowned orchestras in the United States, Europe, and Japan for over 20 years.
Mozart’s clarinet masterpieces have been an object of artistic focus for Ms. Kam since the beginning of her career. At the age of 16, she performed the Mozart Clarinet Concerto in her orchestral debut with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra and Zubin Mehta. A short time later, she performed the Clarinet Quintet with the Guarneri String Quartet in Carnegie Hall, New York.
As part of Mozart’s 250th birthday celebrations at the National Theatre in Prague, her interpretation of the Mozart concerto was televised live in 33 countries and is available on DVD. In the same year, she was able to realize her longtime dream of recording the Concerto and the Clarinet Quintet using the basset clarinet. Contributing to the widely praised disk were eminent string players Isabelle van Keulen, Ulrike-Anima Mathé, Volker Jacobsen and Gustav Rivinus, as well as the Haydn Philharmonie.
Homepage: www.sharonkam.com

EXPLANATORY NOTES (Dutch only)

TUESDAY 26 JANUARY 2016
20.15 p.m.

MOZART PIANO QUARTET (Germany)
with Rick Stotijn – double bass

PROGRAM

The wonderful and unique repertoire of the piano quartet genre assumes new significance with the MOZART PIANO QUARTET. Stylistic differentiation, chamber-musical close reading and probing of the score, and instrumental symphonic grandeur are the distinguishing features of its interpretations. This personal enigma and the ensemble’s passionate method of approach in all the stylistic currents form the foundation of the success of the Mozart Piano Quartet, which for years has numbered among the world’s leading piano quartets.
The Mozart Piano Quartet was founded in 2000 and unites in its members Paul Rivinius (piano), Mark Gothoni (violin), Hartmut Rohde (viola), and Peter Hörr (violoncello) four international soloists and prizewinners of numerous international competitions including the ARD Competition in Munich, German Music Competition, Scheveningen International Competition, and Naumburg Competition in New York. In addition, they teach as professors at the University of the Arts in Berlin, Leipzig College of Music and Theater, and Royal Academy of Music in London.
The ensemble regularly receives invitations for festival and concert performances in Germany, England, Italy, Switzerland, Mexico, Canada, Australia, and the United States. The list of festivals includes the Mahler Festival, Festival de Inverno de Campos do Jordão, Bonn Beethoven Festival, Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival, Melbourne Festival, Casals Festival in Puerto Rico, and International Barossa Music Festival in Australia.
In North and South America the Mozart Piano Quartet gained its firm place in the concert scene already within a few years. The ensemble regularly travels for concerts to New York (Lincoln Center and Frick Collection), Washington (Library of Congress), Los Angeles, Chicago, Montreal, Philadelphia, Boston, and Baltimore as well as to Mexico, Peru, Colombia, and Brazil.
The four musicians enthusiastically lend their support to the younger generation and in the United States and Germany perform special concerts in schools or present master classes at the leading universities.
In April 2008 the ensemble’s debut at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam was followed by an extended tour through the Netherlands.
During its tenth anniversary year in the 2010/11 season, the MPQ guested in cities such as Berlin (Konzerthaus), Basel, St. Gallen, Zurich (Tonhalle), Madrid, Barcelona, Stuttgart (Liederhalle), and Bremen (Glocke) and accepted invitations for concert tours in Brazil, Mexico, Holland, and the United States.
Since 2004 the Mozart Piano Quartet has recorded exclusively with Dabringhaus & Grimm (MDG). This label has released the ensemble’s fascinating recordings of Ludwig van Beethoven’s Quartet op. 16 and the Eroica in the arrangement for piano quartet by Ferdinand Ries, the quartets of Strauss and Dvorák, and the premiere recordings of the piano quartets of Mélanie Bonis and Saint-Saëns, which have been highly acclaimed in the international press and honored with prizes such as "Best Chamber America" and "Editor’s Choice" in Gramophone. Numerous radio live recordings and productions from Australia, Brazil, Italy, Spain, the United States, and Germany document the extraordinary artistic rank of the Mozart Piano Quartet.
One special program offering in the ensemble’s repertoire is formed by its own arrangement of Schönberg’s Verklärte Nacht for piano quartet; it was premiered at the Schönberg Center in Vienna in October 2009 and welcomed by the Schönberg family.
In 2015/16 the ensemble can be heard in such concert places as Munic Herkulessaal, Rotterdam De Doolen, Berlin, Utrecht, Landshut, Stuttgart Liederhalle and others. Looking forward into 16/17 the MPQ will undertake extended tours to the USA/ Mexiko and South Amerika besides it´s concerts in Europe. In collaboration with german radio stations extraordinary arrangements of outstanding Mozart chamber music pieces out of his time will be recorded. A special engagement will be a chamber concert in Wroclaw (Breslau) Poland. The city will host the world as the cultural capital city in 2016.
Homepage: www.m-p-q.de

RICK STOTIJN received his first lessons at the age of eight, studied at the Conservatory in Amsterdam with his father Peter Stotijn where he graduated with the highest distinction. Later on he studied with Bozo Paradzik at the Hochschule in Freiburg. Rick won several first prizes at a.o the Princess Christina Competition, the Young Musical Talent Foundation and in 2013 the Netherlands Music Prize, which is the highest Dutch Music Award for young and talented musicians. Many solo appearances at home and abroad were soon to follow including a Carte Blanche series in the small hall of the Concert gebouw Amsterdam. Rick Stotijn performs regularly as soloist with Orchestra’s such as the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Amsterdam Sinfonietta, Rotterdam Chamber Orchestra and the Arnhem Philharmonic Orchestra. Moreover he is very much in demand for chamber music concerts, performing with Janine Jansen, Jurgen Kussmaul, Gidon Kremer, Christianne Stotijn, Liza Ferschtman, Robert Holl, Mischa Maisky, Bram van Sambeek, Julius Drake, Candida Thompson, Cecilia Bernardini and many others.
Rick is a regular guest at festivals such as the Lucerne Festival, Delft Chamber Music Festival and the International Chamber Music Festival of Janine Jansen in Utrecht.
His first Bottesini CD, which came out in 2012, received raving reviews:
- Rick Stotijn is a first rate virtuoso, a real master of his instrument
- Stotijn let his bass sing, his technique is pheno­menal
- A disc not to be missed, the best Bottesini cd ever?!
- This disc stands on a class of it’s own.
Future seasons will present trio concerts with his sister Christianne Stotijn and pianist Joseph Breinl throughout Europe and USA, concerts with Janine Jansen to the major capitals in Europe, and a Japan tour with Luzern Festival Orchestra and Claudio Abbado.
Rick is currently principal double bass player with the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra and the Rundfunk Sinfonie Orchester Berlin. As guest principal Rick played regularly in the London Symphony Orchestra, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Orchestra Mozart and the Mahler Chamber Orchestra. Rick is teacher at the Conservatory of Amsterdam.
He performs on a Raffaele & Antonio Gagliano double bass, generously loaned by by the National Musical Instrument Foundation.
Homepage: www.rickstotijn.com

EXPLANATORY NOTES (Dutch only)

TUESDAY 1 MARCH 2016
20.15 p.m.

SCHUMANN KWARTET (Germany)

PROGRAM

"The SCHUMANN QUARTET impresses with almost effortless, world-class virtuosity. Together, they create a very special force, and they inspire each other as well as the audience. I am convinced that this ensemble's future is bright, and that they will continue to delight their audiences," writes Harald Eggebrecht, the music critic of the Süddeutsche Zeitung, about the Schumann Quartet. The ensemble, consisting of the brothers Erik, Ken and Mark Schumann along with Estonian violist Liisa Randalu, has impressed audiences worldwide ever since winning the renowned Concours de Bordeaux in May 2003. Critics have praised their “high emotional intelligence” and “supreme technical accomplishment,” declaring: “the future belongs to them.” Founded 2007 in Cologne and in its current formation since 2012, the Schumann Quartet attracted much attention early on. The ensemble is prize winner of international competitions such as the Premio Paolo Borciani in Italy and the Osaka International Music Competition in Japan, and winner of the Schubert and Modern Music Competition in Graz, Austria in 2012 and of the Premier Prix de Quatuor à Bordeaux in 2013. Among the ensemble’s formative experiences were their studies with the Alban Berg Quartet in Cologne and with Günther Pichler at the Escuela Superior de Reina Sofia in Madrid. Chamber music instruction by the Cherubini Quartet’s Harald Schoneweg was an important source of inspiration during the quartet’s early days, as was the artistic collaboration with Eberhard Feltz. Among the ensemble’s chamber music partners are renowned artists such as Menahem Pressler, Henri Sigfridsson, Sabine Meyer, Nils Mönkemeyer, Diemut Poppen, Nicolas Altstaedt and David Orlowsky. An encounter of a different kind with Hyung-ki Joo of the duo Igudesman & Joo inspired the quartet to take to the stage this season with a humoresque programme. Beginning with the 2009/10 season, the Schumann Quartet has been artist in residence at the “Erstklassik” concert series at the Robert Schumann-Saal in Düsseldorf. The Schumann Quartet has made numerous live recordings with broadcasters such as WDR, SWR and Radio France; their debut recording with works by Beethoven, Bartók and Brahms was released in April 2013 to great critical acclaim. A second recording is set to appear in November of 2014. The Schumann Quartet is supported by the Villa Musica Rheinland-Palatinate Foundation and by the Irene Steels-Wilsing Foundation. In February 2014, the Jürgen Ponto Foundation awarded its Music Prize for String Quartet, worth € 60,000, to the Schumann Quartet. During the upcoming season, the ensemble will appear at renowned music festivals and give debut performances at London’s Wigmore Hall and at Vienna’s Musikverein.
www.schumannquartett.de

EXPLANATORY NOTES (Dutch only)

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TUESDAY 5 APRIL 2016
20.15 p.m.

VAN BAERLE TRIO (Netherlands)

PROGRAM

The VAN BAERLE TRIO was founded in 2004 by pianist Hannes Minnaar, violinist Maria Milstein and cellist Gideon den Herder. The name of the trio refers to the street where it all started: the Van Baerle street in Amsterdam. The three musicians met there during their studies at the Conservatory of Amsterdam, at a stone's throw from the Concertgebouw, which they consider as their musical home.
After winning the Vriendenkrans Competition in 2011 in the Concertgebouw and performing there numerous times since, the Van Baerle Trio was nominated by the famous hall for "ECHO Rising Stars 2013/14", a tour which brought the trio to major concert venues across Europe, such as Vienna's Musikverein, the Barbican in London, Cité de la Musique in Paris, L'Auditori in Barcelona and the Philharmonie in Cologne.
Before starting this European tour, the Van Baerle Trio already established its international reputation, having been awarded top prizes at the ARD Competition in Munich in 2013 and at the Lyon International Chamber Music Competition in 2011, receiving the Audience prize at both contests as well. In the Netherlands, the trio was awarded the Kersjes Prize, a bursary which supports an outstanding young Dutch ensemble each year.
The Van Baerle Trio was formed under the guidance of Dmitri Ferschtman and received lessons from Ferenc Rados and Claus-Christian Schuster, among others. The encounter with Menahem Pressler in 2008 was a great inspiration to the three musicians, who played for him on several occasions since. Eager to share their experience with the next generation of musicians, the members of the trio have been invited to teach at the Amsterdam Conservatory starting from 2014.
The Van Baerle Trio tours extensively throughout Europe and is a regular guest on radio and television, both in Holland and abroad. Among its appearances at France Musique was the radio programme "Génération...Jeunes Interprètes" of Gaëlle Le Gallic. Upcoming performances of the trio include the Bergen Festival, Rheingau Festival and Philharmonie Essen.
The first CD of the Van Baerle Trio with works by Saint-Saëns, Loevendie and Ravel was released in 2012 with Etcetera Records (KTC 1438). The recording received an Edison Award in 2013 and was praised in the national and international press: "extremely talented trio" (NRC Handelsblad), "highly expressive unit, worth discovering" (The Observer), "precise and well-balanced ensemble" (Classica).
Homepage: www.vanbaerletrio.com