Past Concerts 2011 to the present (click the year, below right, to navigate back from the most recent)

RAFAŁ BLECHACZ, piano

Chopin

Nocturne in A-flat, Op. 32 No. 2

Chopin

Three Mazurkas, Op. 50

Chopin

Sonata in B-flat minor, Op. 35

INTERVAL

Chopin

Nocturne in F-sharp minor, Op. 48 No. 2

Chopin

Sonata in B minor, Op. 58

In the almost twenty years since his victory in the 2005 International Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw, Rafał Blechacz has achieved a position as one of the preeminent pianists of our age. His outstanding talent has been appreciated by the audiences of Europe, America, and Asia, and he has regularly performed in the most prestigious concert halls, and - in concertos - with the some of the world’s finest orchestras and conductors. His concert venues include the Royal Festival Hall and Wigmore Hall in London, the Berliner Philharmonie, the Herkulessaal in Munich, the Alte Oper in Frankfurt-am-Main, Liederhalle in Stuttgart, Konzerthaus in Vienna, Tonhalle in Zurich, Victoria Hall in Geneva, Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Salle Pleyel in Paris, Palais des Beaux-Arts in Brussels, Avery Fisher Hall in New York, La Scala in Milan, and Suntory Hall in Tokyo, to name but a few. Conductors with hom he has played include Charles Dutoit, Valery Gergiev, Daniel Harding, Pavo Järvi, Fabio Luisi, Kent Nagano, Andris Nelsons, Trevor Pinnock, Mikhail Pletnev, Antoni Wit, and David Zinman.

Ever since he won the Grand Prix, the Gold Medal, and the Audience Award at the Chopin Competition in 2005, he has consolidated his reputation as an interpreter of Chopin’s works who combines seemingly effortless virtuosity with outstanding interpretative intelligence and vision. His repertory, however, is ever-growing, and in a series of recordings for Deutsche Grammophon (for whom he records exclusively) he has offered equally highly regarded interpretations of Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Liszt, Brahms, Debussy and Szymanowski. Among his numerous prizes and honours is the American Gilmore Artist Award, sometimes called the ‘Nobel Prize for the Piano’, which was bestowed on him in 2014.

QUATUOR MODIGLIANI

Amaury Coeytaux, violin

Loic Rio, violin

Laurent Marfaing, viola

François Kieffer, cello

Beethoven

Quartet in F, Op. 59, No. 1, ‘Rasumovsky’

INTERVAL

Schubert

Quartet in D minor, D. 810, ‘Death and the Maiden’

‘One of the best quartets in the world today’, wrote the Süddeutsche Zeitung of the Quatuor Modigliani; ‘with balance, transparency, symphonic comprehension, and a confident style, …at the very highest level’. Founded in 2003, the Quatuor Modigliani is one of the world’s most sought- after quartets, featuring regularly in prominent international series and on the world’s most prestigious concert halls.

In addition to annual tours in the United States and in Asia, the quartet’s numerous European tours have brought them to such distinguished venues as Wigmore Hall, the Paris Philharmonie and Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, the Berlin Philharmonie, the Vienna Konzerthaus, the Saint-Petersburg Philharmonia and the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg.

A year after their founding, the Quatuor Modigliani won three First Prizes successively at the Eindhoven International Competition (2004), the Vittorio Rimbotti in Florence (2005) and the prestigious Young Concert Artists Auditions in New York (2006). Following studies with the Ysaÿe Quartet and masterclasses with Walter Levin and György Kurtág, the Quatuor Modigliani was invited to work with the Artemis Quartet at the Berlin Universität der Künste [University for the Arts].

The quartet enjoys cultivating close friendships with their chamber-music partners, amongst them artists such as Sabine Meyer, Renaud and Gautier Capuçon, Jean-Frédéric Neuberger, Beatrice Rana, Fazil Say, Augustin Dumay, and Daniel Müller-Schott.

The Quatuor Modigliani's productive collaboration with the Mirare record label has led to fifteen recordings reflecting their vast repertoire (including Schubert, Mozart, Haydn, Mendelssohn, and Bartók among many others), and winning them numerous awards in France and beyond. The quartet also performs and commissions a wide range of contemporary works from composers including Marc-Antony Turnage, Philippe Hersant, Peter Vasks, Kaija Saariaho and Evgeny Kissin. On the occasion of their most recent recording-release, the prestigious British magazine, The Strad, selected the quartet as their cover feature.

Through the support of generous sponsors, the Quatuor Modigliani has the privilege of playing four magnificent and historic Italian instruments: Amaury Coeytaux plays a 1773 violin by Giovanni Battista Guadagnini, Loïc Rio plays a 1780 violin by Giovanni Battista Guadagnini, Laurent Marfaing plays a 1660 viola by Luigi Mariani, and François Kieffer plays a 1706 cello by Matteo Goffriller.

MAGDALENA KOŽENÁ, mezzo-soprano • MITSUKO UCHIDA, piano

Debussy

Chansons de Bilitis, L. 90

Debussy

Ariettes oubliées, L. 60

INTERVAL

Debussy

Cinq poèmes de Charles Baudelaire, L. 64

Messiaen

Poèmes pour Mi (1937)

Born in the Czech city of Brno, Magdalena Kožená is one of the most sought-after singers performing today. As celebrated for her performances in the opera house as in the concert hall, she an exclusive artist with Deutsche Grammophon since 1999 and has since been awarded multiple prizes for her albums including The Gramophone’s Solo Vocal Award, The Gramophone’s Artist of the Year, the Echo Klassik Prize, Record Academy Prize Tokyo, and the Diapason d’or. In 2017, Magdalena forged a long-term relationship with Dutch label Pentatone and her three recordings with the company include Il Giardino dei sospiri with harpsichordist Václav Luks and Collegium 1704; an intimate chamber music album Soirée; and her most recent release, Nostalgia, with the celebrated pianist Yefim Bronfman.

During her illustrious career, Magdalena Kožená has worked with the world’s leading conductors, including Claudio Abbado, Pierre Boulez, Gustavo Dudamel, Bernard Haitink, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Mariss Jansons, Sir Charles Mackerras, Sir Simon Rattle and Sir Roger Norrington. Her list of distinguished recital partners includes the pianists Daniel Barenboim, Malcolm Martineau, András Schiff and Mitsuko Uchida, with whom she has performed at such prestigious venues as Carnegie Hall, Wigmore Hall, Alice Tully Hall, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, and at the Aldeburgh, Edinburgh and Salzburg Festivals. She is also in demand as soloist with the Berlin, Vienna and Czech Philharmonics, the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, the Chamber Orchestra of Europe and the Cleveland, Philadelphia and Royal Concertgebouw Orchestras.

Legendary pianist Dame Mitsuko Uchida brings a deep insight into the music she plays through her own quest for truth and beauty. Renowned for her interpretations of Mozart, Schubert, Schumann and Beethoven, she has also illuminated the music of Berg, Schoenberg, Webern and Boulez for a new generation of listeners. She is an Honorary Fellow of Peterhouse, Cambridge, and her April 2024 recital is her eighth for Camerata Musica Cambridge.

She has enjoyed close relationships over many years with the world’s most renowned orchestras, including the Berlin Philharmonic, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Bavarian Radio Symphony, London Symphony Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra, and – in the US – the Chicago Symphony and The Cleveland Orchestra, with whom she recently celebrated her 100th performance at Severance Hall. Conductors with whom she has worked closely have included Bernard Haitink, Sir Simon Rattle, Riccardo Muti, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Vladimir Jurowski, Andris Nelsons, Gustavo Dudamel, and Mariss Jansons.

Mitsuko Uchida records exclusively for Decca, and her multi-award-winning discography includes the complete Mozart and Schubert piano sonatas. She is the recipient of two Grammy Awards – for Mozart Concertos with the Cleveland Orchestra, and for an album of Lieder with Dorothea Röschmann – and her recording of the Schoenberg Piano Concerto with Pierre Boulez and the Cleveland Orchestra won The Gramophone Award for Best Concerto.

JAN LISIECKI, piano

Chopin

Prélude in D-flat, Op. 28 No. 15

Chopin

Prélude in A-flat, B. 86

Bach

Prelude in C, BWV 846, from The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I

Rachmaninov

Prelude in D minor, Op. 23 No. 3

Szymanowski

Preludes nos. 1-3 from Nine Preludes, Op. 1

Messiaen

Préludes nos. 1-3 from Préludes pour piano (1928-29)

Chopin

Prélude in C-sharp minor, Op. 45

Rachmaninov

Prélude in C-sharp minor, Op. 3 No. 2

Górecki

Preludes Nos. 1 and 4 from Four Preludes, Op. 1

Bach

Prelude No. 2 in C minor, BWV 847, from The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I

Rachmaninov

Prelude in G minor, Op. 23 No. 5

INTERVAL

Chopin

Twenty-Four Préludes, Op. 28

Jan Lisiecki's dazzling, sold-out, debut concert for Camerata Musica in early 2023 was one of the most talked-about concerts of the season. He repeated this all-Chopin programme on a European tour that was consistently greeted by five-star reviews, ecstatic audiences, and sold-out performances in all of Europe's major capitals, as well as Milan's La Scala and Hamburg's vast new concert hall, the Elbphilharmonie.

Described by the BBC Music Magazine as ‘perhaps the most “complete” pianist of his age’, Lisiecki has become one of the most sought-after pianists performing today. Still in his twenties, the Canadian performs over a hundred yearly concerts worldwide, and has worked closely with conductors such as Antonio Pappano, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Daniel Harding, and the late Claudio Abbado.

Recent return invitations include Boston Symphony Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra, Filarmonica della Scala, Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, and Orpheus Chamber Orchestra for performances at Carnegie Hall and Elbphilharmonie Hamburg. Lisiecki recently performed a Beethoven Lieder cycle with baritone, Matthias Goerne, at the Salzburg Festival, and has appeared with the New York Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony, Staatskapelle Dresden, Orchestre de Paris, Bavarian Radio Symphony and London Symphony Orchestra.

At the age of fifteen, Lisiecki signed an exclusive contract with Deutsche Grammophon. The label launched its celebrations of the Beethoven Year 2020 with the release of a live recording of all five Beethoven concertos from the Konzerthaus Berlin, with Lisiecki leading the Academy of St Martin in the Fields from the piano. His Beethoven Lieder cycle with Matthias Goerne, released shortly after, was awarded the Diapason d’Or. Lisiecki’s eighth recording for Deutsche Grammophon, a double album of Frédéric Chopin's Complete Nocturnes, appeared in August 2021 and immediately topped the classical charts in North America and Europe. His recordings have been awarded with the JUNO and ECHO Klassik.

At eighteen, Lisiecki became both the youngest ever recipient of Gramophone’s Young Artist Award and received the Leonard Bernstein Award. He was named UNICEF Ambassador to Canada in 2012.

JAMES EHNES, violin • ANDREW ARMSTRONG, piano

Bach

Partita in D minor for solo violin, BWV 1004

INTERVAL

Shostakovich

Sonata in G, Op. 134

James Ehnes has established himself as one of the most sought-after violinists on the international stage. Gifted with a rare combination of stunning virtuosity, serene lyricism and an unfaltering musicality, Ehnes is a favourite guest of many of the world’s most respected conductors including Vladimir Ashkenazy, Sir Andrew Davis, Denève, Sir Mark Elder, Ivan Fischer, Edward Gardner, Paavo Järvi, and Donald Runnicles. Ehnes’s long list of orchestral collaborations includes, amongst others, the Boston, Chicago, London, NHK and Vienna Symphony Orchestras, the Los Angeles, New York, Munich and Czech Philharmonic Orchestras, and the Cleveland, Philadelphia, Philharmonia and DSO Berlin orchestras.

Alongside his concerto work, James Ehnes maintains a busy recital schedule. He performs regularly at the Wigmore Hall, Carnegie Hall, Symphony Center Chicago, Amsterdam Concertgebouw, Ravinia, Montreux, Chaise-Dieu, the White Nights Festival in St Petersburg, Verbier Festival, among others. As part of the 2020 celebrations for the 250th anniversary of Beethoven’s birth, Ehnes performed the complete cycle of Beethoven Sonatas at the Wigmore Hall. As a chamber musician, he has collaborated with leading artists including Leif Ove Andsnes, Gautier Capuçon, Louis Lortie, Yo-Yo Ma, and Yuja Wang.

Ehnes has an extensive discography and has won many awards for his recordings, including two Grammy Awards. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, a Member of the Order of Canada, and recipient of a Royal Philharmonic Society Award. James Ehnes plays the ‘Marsick’ Stradivarius of 1715.

Praised by critics for his passionate expression and dazzling technique, pianist Andrew Armstrong has delighted audiences in venues as diverse as Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, the Grand Hall of the Moscow Conservatory, and Warsaw’s National Philharmonic. His orchestral engagements across the globe have seen him perform an extensive repertoire with such conductors as Peter Oundjian, Itzhak Perlman, Günther Herbig, Stefan Sanderling, Jean-Marie Zeitouni, and Stanislaw Skrowaczewski, and has appeared in solo recitals in chamber-music concerts with the Elias, Alexander, American, and Manhattan String Quartets.

He has issued highly praised recordings of Chopin, Liszt, Debussy, among others and has released several award-winning recordings with his long-time recital partner James Ehnes — most recently of the Beethoven’s Violin Sonatas, to stellar reviews.

BELCEA QUARTET

Corina Belcea, violin

Suyeon Kang, violin

Krzysztof Chorzelski, viola

Antoine Lederlin, cello

Beethoven

Quartet no. 4 in C minor, Op. 18 No. 4

Bartók

Quartet no. 1 in A minor, Sz. 40

INTERVAL

Beethoven

Quartet no. 12 in E-flat, Op. 127

The Belcea Quartet has established itself in the last quarter-century as one of the world’s most celebrated chamber-music ensembles. Founded in 1994 and mentored by members of the Alban Berg and Amadeus Quartets, the ensemble brings together musicians of very different artistic provenance: the Romanian violinist Corina Belcea, the Polish violist Krzysztof Chorzelski, and their French colleagues, violinist Axel Schacher and cellist Antoine Lederlin. This diversity is reflected in the Belcea Quartet’s repertoire. Its performances of world-premieres of new works go hand-in-hand with its profound connection with the great works of the Classical and Romantic periods.

Since 2010, the quartet has been Artist-in-Residence at the Vienna Konzerthaus (an honour shared with the equally celebrated Artemis Quartet), and since 2017 they have combined this Vienna appointment with the position of Quartet Artist-in-Residence in Berlin’s premier chamber-music venue, the Pierre Boulez Saal.

The Belcea Quartet has an extensive and prize-winning discography. During its long-term association with EMI Classics, the quartet has recorded the complete Britten and Bartók quartets as well as works by Schubert, Brahms, Mozart, Debussy, Ravel and Dutilleux, amongst others. In 2012 and 2013, the quartet recorded the complete Beethoven quartets live to great critical acclaim, including a Gramophone Award. This was followed in 2015 by the quartet’s highly acclaimed recording of works by Webern, Berg and Schoenberg. 2016 saw the release of the quartet’s recording of the complete Brahms String Quartets and the Piano Quintet (with the Austrian pianist Till Fellner), a CD acclaimed by the press and awarded a Diapason d’Or Award. Shostakovich’s String Quartet no. 3 and his Piano Quintet (with Piotr Anderszewski) followed in 2018, with works by Janáček and Ligeti in 2019.

The Belcea Quartet’s performances of the complete Beethoven string quartets at Vienna’s Konzerthaus in 2012 were broadcast by Mezzo TV and were released – on DVD and Blue Ray disk – by the label Euroarts in the autumn of 2014.

The musicians have created the Belcea Quartet Trust, whose main aims are to support and inspire young string quartets through a series of intensive coaching sessions, as well as to support the commissioning of new works from today’s leading composers to be premiered by the quartet in the future.