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Schubert Ensemble 29 November

By George on November 7, 2015 in Schubert Ensemble

Having taken over the role of Chair of the Schubert Ensemble Trust this year, this is to help spread the word about the Ensemble’s Wigmore Hall concert on 29 November. This is the second of a two-concert series devoted to chamber works of Robert Schumann and Gabriel Fauré. On 15 July the Ensemble played the Schumann Piano Quintet and the first piano Quintet of Fauré – two great and highly popular works which were received very warmly by the large audience. For me, Schumann’s Piano Quartet is even more special with perhaps one of his greatest slow movements and a finale that somehow brings Mozart’s Jupiter Symphony to mind. The Fauré’s second quintet is also exceptional and the two works make up a superb programme with the Andante Op 25 for violin and piano as a perfect amuse bouche.

Incidentally the Schubert Ensemble’s annual concert for friends which took place on 9 October at Leighton House was a vintage evening with so many close followers present, good wine, the fabulous ambience of the house with Leighton’s paintings there to inspire. Movements of works from Lousie Farrenc, Schumann and Suk were complemented by a complete performance of Brahms’ G minor quartet, another Schubert ensemble ‘special’ with everyone on sizzling form. Keep an eye open for next year’s concert there…..and book early!

I hope to see as many of you as possible at the Wigmore on the 29 November……

Mr Corelli’s Fifty Fiddles Festival

By George on November 5, 2015 in Codarts Rotterdam

The idea for the Fifty Fiddles Festival which took place on 26 and 27 September in De Doelen, Rotterdam came from the earlier collaboration that Codarts organised with jazz violinist Tim Kliphuis joining Gordan Nikolic and the Codarts String Orchestra in concerts that combined string works of Mozart and Vivaldi with jazz improvisations. Some Codarts students (notably Pablo Gonzalez Rodriguez and Chris Kosidis) have gone on to study jazz violin and thus to feed the principle of interrelation between the five music departments of Codarts (classical, jazz, pop, musical theatre and world music).

In discussions with Tim Kliphuis over the past year or more, the Fifty Fiddles Festival sought to bridge the gaps between the various musical genres with a special focus on the violin. A two-day festival with folk fiddlers, jazz violinists, classical violinists and representatives from the many world music traditions would surely be quite a celebration.

In the end, Tim directed an inspiring weekend that had solo and ensemble concerts from Gjermund Larssen (Norwegian folk violin and hardanger fiddle), Frankie Gavin (Irish Folk Fiddle), the Tim Kliphuis Trio (Jazz Violin, Guitar and Bass), Lenneke van Staalen (Indian violin), Yannick Hiwat (electric violin), Hayato Ishibashi (classical violin), Kristie Su (classical violin), the DOT Quartet and with two fine concerts by the Holland Baroque Society (directed by Aisslinn Nosky) in which Codarts students participated in Concerti Grossi of Corelli. These events celebrated the voice and virtuosity of the instrument in amazing style and produced a chance to show the diversity that Codarts seeks to work with. The beautiful eloquence of the the playing of Gjermund Larsen, the energy and brilliance of Frankie Gavin, the reflective grace of Lenneke van Staalen, the originality of Yannick Hiwat, the amazing playing of HBS and Aisslinn Nosky especially in the Concerto Grosso of Veracini, the unaccompanied Bartók of Hayato Ishibashi, and of Paganini by Kristie Su and the freshness of the DOT quartet will not be forgotten easily by those who were there.

Thanks to Neil Wallace, Miriam Duiker, Madelène Roovers of De Doelen, Tamar Brüggemann and all at Holland Baroque Society, Myrte Hoes, Aart Muizer, Karlijn Verschoor, Hans Boerrigter and all at Codarts and of course to Tim Kliphuis himself – what an amazing festival it was! And Mr Corelli would have been proud if not a little astonished………

Gergiev Festival

By George on October 14, 2015 in Codarts Rotterdam

This year’s Gergiev Festival on 10 to 12 September in Rotterdam was made all the more interesting by the inclusion of a performance of Rachmaninov’s 2nd Symphony played by students from Codarts Rotterdam and KC Den Haag and conducted by Valery Gergiev himself. This was another vintage collaboration between the two conservatoires which produced a most impressive reading of the symphony. There were some beautiful wind and brass solos but perhaps the stars of the show were the first violins who brought such intensity to the work. The festival was given over almost entirely to works of Rachmaninov with fine playing from the Rotterdam Philharmonic in the 3rd Symphony and Paganini Variations (soloist, Behzod Abduraimov) and from the Orchestra of the Mariinsky Theatre in the 1st Symphony and Symphonic Dances. The RPhO finished with amazing performances of the four piano concerti with Alexei Volodin (No 1), Dmitry Masleev (No 2), Alexander Gavrylyuk (No 3) and Sergei Babayan (No 4) – a true feast. Thanks go to Valery Gergiev for including the students in this amazing festival.

Kammermusik

By George on October 14, 2015 in Kammermusik

After a silence of some weeks in this blog, it is time to catch up with the many things that have been happening over the summer. When I last wrote we were off to the Kammermusik Summer Workshop in Santa Fe. This was a great week in beautiful New Mexico, playing Mozart Quartets and other works, teaching and coaching, conducting Brahms’ A major Serenade and exploring old and new chamber music works. Thanks to Will Buss and Janet Yaker Murray (Keith Bowen did not make this workshop but was very much instrumental in the planning of it), Kammermusik is an extremely well organised week characterised by high levels of commitment and mutual appreciation of the work going on. A good development this year was the daily concert in the late-afternoon in which everyone shared what they had been working on. The result was much focussing of minds, a high workload and excellent productivity.

Jane and I enjoyed working with colleague coaches Stephen Redfield, Crawford Best and Douglas Dunston and with the many fine players on the course. A post-Kammermusik highlight was being guided up nearby Lake Peak by Crawford Best – a thrilling walk to over 12,000 feet with stunning views of New Mexico and beyond from the top. Two days in Taos completed our trip – unforgettable!

End of an era

By George on July 1, 2015 in Codarts Rotterdam

After a hectic June with concerts to play (including a most enjoyable return to the Adrian Boult Hall on 13 June for chamber music with Naoko Senda, Robin Ireland, Jane Salmon and Guy Murgatroyd), exams and end-of-term activities at Codarts Rotterdam, we came to a close today with the Graduation Ceremony for Classical Music. It was a great year and some wonderful musicians have graduated including Ineke Hellingman who played a wonderful Rachmaninov First Piano Concerto this week, Kristie Su whose violin playing goes from strength to strength, violinist Hayato Ishibashi completing his masters and playing with great authority, Kathelijne Wagner who will go to her first opera appointment in Germany, outstanding composer Meriç Artaç, percussionists Renato Dias Peneda, Antonio Gutiérrez Rubio and Yves Popov, bass clarinetist Mayuko Takeda, choral conductor Maarten van der Bijl, organist Anna Karpenko, violinist Titia Bouwman and many more.

This moment brings me to the end of an era that began when I was asked to lead the Classical Music Academy in Codarts Rotterdam in January 2011. Always intended as an interim appointment, I am delighted to be handing over to Okke Westdorp on 1 September. Okke is a former principal horn of the Hague Philharmonic and brings much experience and energy to the job. I will work with Okke through the autumn to ensure a smooth handover and will continue to do some projects for Codarts. With a Rachmaninov 2nd Symphony being played in a collaborative performance with KC Den Hague with Valery Gergiev conducting on 11 September and with the Fifty Fiddles Festival co-promoted by Codarts and de Doelen under the direction of violinist, Tim Kliphuis on 26 and 27 September, there will be plenty to do in the autumn.

For now, Jane and I will be heading for Santa Fe at the end of July for the Kammermusik Workshops and another chance to play some great chamber music in a beautiful place.

Lucy Akehurst’s 70th

By George on June 10, 2015 in Royal Birmingham Conservatoire

Because our daughter Lizzie has been learning the violin with Lucy Akehurst since she was three, it was great to be able to take part in Lucy’s 70th Birthday Concert in the Adrian Boult Hall last Sunday. Lucy has been teaching young violinists in Birmingham for many years and has run the Young Strings Project at Birmingham Conservatoire for more than twenty years. Small wonder then that around 100 current and former pupils of Lucy made it this concert with supporting cellists, bassists and few wind players including one lone oboe. Stars included Alessandro Ruisi who played a beautiful Gershwin Prelude, Amy Galluzzo who played two Paganini Caprices with great panache, and Roberto Ruisi, Philip Edwards, Edward Pether, Caroline Pether, Sarah Thornett and Dewi Tudor Jones. But the real star was the massed young violinists (around 60 of them) who played the first movement of the Bach Double from memory. tring playing is alive and well in Birmingham and it was nice to hear Lucy resolving to continue teaching long into the future.

Piccolo heaven

By George on May 20, 2015 in Codarts Rotterdam

I spent a most pleasurable 90 minutes last night in the small recital hall at Codarts Rotterdam listening to seven young flute players in the class of Juliette Hurel, Julie Moulin and Wim Steinmann all playing piccolo solos. The small audience of flute players, friends and partners of flute players and family of flute players witnessed a remarkable show. In turn, André Portela, Constance Sannier, Federico Dalprá, Bénédicte Zeitoun, Maxime Naël, Violeta Gil García and Wendy Vo Cong Tri with accompanists Annette Rogers, piano and Constance sannier, harpsichord, performed their solos by Bach, Telemann, Dorff, Rachmaninov, John Cox and Kohler with poised musicianship, most from memory and well-founded techniques. The piccolo sang and dazzled in equal proportion and the time flew by.

The teaching of Rotterdam Philharmonic piccolo player, Wim Steinmann, is surely to commended here but I also thought that to have a flute class that nurtures the related instrument in such a way is rare. Juliette Hurel and Julie Moulin were both there to support this event. This is a class to be proud of!

Image result for wim steinmann

Wim Steinmann, flautist, piccolo player and conductor

The Big Day

By George on April 28, 2015 in Codarts Rotterdam

28 March was an amazing day for Codarts, its students and for Rotterdam. Our 1000-student conservatoire in collaboration with De Doelen took over the whole of De Doelen complex for the day and put on 86 performances of extraordinary diversity. Why take on such a venture? The reason is to demonstrate what Codarts believes in being an arts organisation that is committed to excellence in diversity, to reaching out to as many sectors of society as possible and to attracting the most diverse audiences. Consequently Circus shows went along with Jazz (Trying LIndy Hop), World Music (Trying Tango, Trying Flamenco), Dance events (Tiger, Trance and Stonehenge), Classical Music (Dance with Bach and Gran Partita) and Musical Theatre (Musical in Concert). Collaborations included dance with organ (Tanz Toccata), Turkish and Classical instruments playing together and Amadigi Remixed, Handel’s magnificent opera retold with Pop and Classical musicians working together. Student pitches enabled students to promote their own work (Challenging Spaces, Please don’t bring lemons) and a Young Talent Orchestra (mainly ages 14 to 19) gave a good account of Beethoven’s First Symphony.

For De Doelen, the Big Day was an important part of its policy to widen its audience base, to work with education organisations and especially with Codarts Rotterdam and to continue to dedelop its creative thinking for the future. For Codarts, the whole organisation improved its communications and its ability to work together across all departments.

So, with application numbers for Codarts sharply rising and with the increasing level that goes with this, Codarts will continue to think in this broad and creative way. Yes, we stand for the highest of standards but also for the bravest of artsitic intentions. That’s why young performing artists want to come to Codarts. Let’s see what we can achieve next time – in the Big Day 2017!

Chamber Music in Rotterdam

By George on March 4, 2015 in Codarts Rotterdam

March has begun with some really interesting chamber music in Rotterdam in the form of a visit to Codarts by the Schubert Ensemble of London on Monday 2nd and a concert by the Rotterdam Chamber Music Society in the Bergsingelkerk on Wednsday 4th. Both concerts featured experienced professionals playing with talented students in very engaging performances.

The Schubert Ensemble’s planned concert on Monday changed radically through mishap after Simon Blendis’ unfortunate broken arm on Sunday (all best wishes to him for a speedy recovery). Consequently some hours of rapid rethinking resulted in a lunchtime concert in which the Schubert Ensemble (Douglas Paterson, Jane Salmon, Peter Buckoke and William Howard) were joined by violinist Hayato Ishibashi, Master student of Igor and Vesna Gruppman, in performances of movements from the Hummel Quintet Op 87 and Schubert’s Trout. After a fine Chopin Scherzo No 2 from William Howard played at barely any notice, Hayato’s own Codarts Virtuoso Trio with Eva Otero (cello) and Justyna Jarzab (piano) played the first movement of Brahms’ B major trio. This was an inspiring concert for everyone followed by an afternoon of masterclasses and student ensemble play-throughs.

The Rotterdam Chamber Music Society followed the same principle of combining experience with youth. A double wind quintet led by Julien Hervé (clarinet), Karel Schoofs (oboe) and Martin van de Merwe (horn), all from the Rotterdam Philharmonic played with excellent students from Codarts Rotterdam, KC Den Haag and the Paris Conservatoire in a really impressive account of works by Florent Schmitt, Malcolm Forsyth and Mozart. Julien Hervé and Clément Bonnay (bassoon) began the concert with a brilliant rendition of the Poulenc Duo.

The interesting point here is that teaching does a very great deal but there is also a case for learning by osmosis from role models. What better way to develop than just simply to play with outstanding and experienced players? We should do this more often…….

Chamber Music activity will continue with the Grote Kamermuziekprijs at 20.15 on 17 March in the Juriaanse Zaal of De Doelen, Rotterdam. Run in partnership with KC Den Haag and sponsored by the Vrienden van Codarts, the final will feature ensembles from both conservatoires in what promises to be a very exciting evening. The finalists comprise the Lip Stick Marimba Duo, Babylon Quartet and Les Cinq Wind Quintet.

January in Codarts

By George on January 27, 2015 in Codarts Rotterdam

2015 began very actively with Codarts’ collaboration with Ensemble Klang and KC Den Haag in Klang, Dans, Bang, Dans in De Doelen, Rotterdam on 12 January and the Muziekgebouw Amsterdam on 15 January. Performing Julia Wolfe’s Lick, David Lang’s men and Michael Gordon’s Trance was an inspiring experience for all involved. The project was masterminded by Neil Wallace of De Doelen who brought off the four-way collaboration in a really inventive way. Not many performances begin in one venue (De Doelen) and finish in another (the Schouwburg) with performers and audience crossing the square from one venue to the other. For the instrumentalists in the 27-strong ensmeble it was great to perform with Codarts Dans in the Michael Gordon work with choreography from Hongaar Lóránd Zachar – an amazing display of driving energy and inventiveness.

Codarts Classical now follows up on the with our Snapshot Concert in De Doelen on Friday (30 January) at 12.30 with Friederike Bassek playing Miguel Del Aguila’s Broken Rondo for English Horn and Orchestra and Sara Guitierrez and Federico Mosquera Martinez (pianos) performing Poulenc’s Concerto for Two Pianos. Admission is free.

Gordan Nikolic will follow with his annual String Orchestra concert on 6 Febuary at 20.00 (Energiehuis, Dordrecht), 7 February at 20.00 (Zeeuwse Concertzaal, Middelburg) and 8 February at 20.15 (Juriaanse Zaal, De Doelen, Rotterdam) with Bénédicte Zeitoun (piccolo) performing Vivaldi’s Concerto in C, RV443 and the orchestra playing Mozart’s Divertimento K136 and Bartok’s Divertimento.

But before this, Codarts will hold its Open Day on Saturday 31 January from 10.00 to 16.00. All departments will be represented and for Classical Music there will be presentations and performances involving strings, woodwind, brass, percussion, singing, piano, organ (in the Laurenskerk). There will be a chance to hear the Snapshot Concert again at 15.00 in the Muzikzaal in the Kruisplein building.

For all these events, you can visit the Codarts website. I hope that you can come to one or more of these events if you are in the area. Otherwise, do write to make contact.

Thanks for your interest

Please feel free to contact me for any further information

george@georgecaird.co.uk

+44 797 4150356

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