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

NOTOS QUARTETT

Sindri Lederer, violin

Andrea Burger, viola

Philip Graham, cello

Antonia Köster, piano

Brahms

Piano Quartet no. 2 in A, Op. 26

INTERVAL

Brahms

Piano Quartet no. 1 in G minor, Op. 25

Described by the distinguished American music critic, Robert Markow, as ‘one of the finest chamber music performances I have heard anywhere’, the Berlin-based Notos Quartett has established itself in little more than a decade as one of Europe’s foremost chamber ensembles. Founded in 2007, the quartet has won a series of first-prizes in major competitions and, in 2017, the ECHO Klassik award – Germany’s most prestigious prize for classical music – in the category for the Newcomer of the Year, a prize that until then had only been given to ensembles on the rarest of occasions. Among their recent distinctions has been the award of the €25,000 Würth Prize for 2022, an award whose previous recipients include such celebrated musicians as the conductors Claudio Abbado and Gustavo Dudamel, the cellist Sol Gabetta, and the Artemis Quartet.

The Notos Quartett’s mission is to perform well-known masterpieces, to reveal lost and forgotten treasures, and to champion new compositions for the genre of the piano quartet. This was evident on the ensemble’s debut album, titled ‘Hungarian Treasures’, released by Sony Classical-RCA in 2017. It includes the world-premiere recording of Béla Bartók’s Piano Quartet, a rediscovery for which the ensemble received international acclaim. Their second recording, again released by SONY Classical, was dedicated entirely to Brahms, with the celebrated Piano Quartet in G minor (which they perform this evening) and an arrangement of the Symphony no. 3 by Andreas Nikolai Tarkmann, created especially for the Notos Quartett.

The Notos Quartett came to the attention of a much wider public in 2018 when, in protest against the ECHO prize committee’s decision to honour, in their popular music category, a recording that included antisemitic and sexist language, they returned their ECHO award. This triggered a protest movement in which many renowned artists, among them Igor Levit and Daniel Barenboim, followed by returning their own ECHO prizes. The Notos Quartett regularly appears in the leading concert halls of the world, among them Wigmore Hall London, the Philharmonie Berlin, the Konzerthaus Vienna, the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, the BOZAR Brussels, the Tonhalle Zurich and the Teatro la Fenice in Venice, as well as at major festivals including Rheingau, Schwetzingen, Würzburg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lockenhaus, Usedom and Radio France.

The support of the Merito String Instruments Trust enables the string-players of the Notos Quartett to play on instruments by the greatest Italian masters. Their strings are provided by the renowned manufacturer Pirastro GmbH.

ANGELA HEWITT, piano

Mozart

Sonata in D, K. 576

Beethoven

Sonata in D, Op. 10 No. 3

Mozart

Sonata in C minor, K. 457

Beethoven

Sonata in C minor, Op. 111

One of the world’s leading pianists, Angela Hewitt appears in recital and with major orchestras throughout Europe, the Americas and Asia. Her interpretations of Bach have established her as one of the composer’s foremost interpreters of our time.

Angela Hewitt’s award-winning cycle for Hyperion Records of all the major keyboard works of Bach has been described as ‘one of the record glories of our age’ (The Sunday Times). Her much-awaited recording of Bach’s Art of Fugue appeared in 2014, and immediately hit the charts in the UK and USA. Her discography also includes albums of Couperin, Rameau, Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin, Schumann, Liszt, Fauré, Debussy, Chabrier, Ravel, and Granados. With conductor Hannu Lintu she has recorded two albums of Mozart Piano Concertos (the most recent one with the National Arts Centre Orchestra won a Juno Award in Canada), the Schumann Piano Concerto with the DSO Berlin, and Messiaen’s Turangalila Symphony with the Finnish Radio Symphony. New releases include her first disc of Scarlatti Sonatas, and her sixth volume of Beethoven Sonatas (including ‘Les Adieux’). In 2016, Angela Hewitt was inducted into Gramophone Magazine’s ‘Hall of Fame’ thanks to her popularity with music lovers around the world. Her second recording of Bach’s Goldberg Variations was released in September 2016. Named ‘Artist of the Year’ at the 2006 Gramophone Awards, she was awarded an OBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours in the same year. In 2015 Angela was promoted to a Companion of the Order of Canada. She is a member of the Royal Society of Canada, has seven honorary doctorates, and is an Honorary Fellow of Peterhouse.

Photograph: © Lorenzo Dogana

SAMUEL HASSELHORN, baritone • HELMUT DEUTSCH, piano

Schubert

Die schöne Müllerin, D. 795

The distinguished German baritone Samuel Hasselhorn first came to prominence when he was a prize-winner in the 2015 Kohn Foundation International Song Competition at Wigmore Hall, and shot to international fame when he won the 2017 Das Lied International Song Competition in Heidelberg, with a jury chaired by the great baritone Thomas Quasthoff. Since then, Samuel Hasselhorn has gone on to win first prize in the 2018 Jungen Opernstars [Young Opera Stars] competition of German South West Radio, adding to a portfolio of awards that already included prizes from the Hugo Wolf Competition, Young Concert Artists Auditions New York, Nadia and the Lili Boulanger Competition Paris, and Bundeswettbewerb Gesang Berlin.

In concert and recital Samuel Hasselhorn has appeared at Ravinia Music Festival, Marlboro Festival, Carnegie Hall, Notre Dame de Paris, Gewandhaus Leipzig, Musikverein Vienna, Philharmonie Gasteig Munich, Schubertiade Vilabertran and with Malcolm Martineau at the Bath Music Festival; opera highlights include Kaiser Overall in Viktor Ullmann’s Der Kaiser von Atlantis and as Masetto in Don Giovanni for the Opéra de Lyon, and his debut at Leipzig Opera. Hasselhorn was a member of the Vienna State Opera for two seasons. His first CD, Nachtblicke, with Lieder by Schubert, Pfitzner, and Reimann was released to critical acclaim in 2014.

Born in Austria, Helmut Deutsch is internationally renowned as a chamber musician and accompanist. He began his accompanying career with Irmgard Seefried and has since accompanied singers including Juliane Banse, Barbara Bonney, Grace Bumbry, Ileana Cotrubas, Diana Damrau, Brigitte Fassbaender, Angelika Kirchschlager, Genia Kühmeier, Christiane Oelze, Rita Streich, Ruth Ziesa and Olaf Bär, Matthias Goerne, Dietrich Henschel, Thomas Moser, Christoph Pregardien, Thomas Quasthoff, Andreas Schmidt, Bo Skovhus, Michael Volle and Bernd Weikl. Helmut Deutsch made his Royal Opera debut in 2014, accompanying his regular recital partner Jonas Kaufmann in a main-stage recital of Winterreise. Deutsch appears frequently as a guest performer at music centres and festivals around the world.

His wide discography includes many award-winning recordings. He taught at the Vienna University of Music from 1967 to 1979 and was Professor at the Munich Hochschule für Musik 1986–2011. He continues to give regular masterclasses in Europe and Japan.

JAN LISIECKI, piano

Chopin

Étude in C, Op. 10 No. 1

Chopin

Nocturne in C minor, Op. Posth.

Chopin

Étude in A minor, Op. 10 No. 2

Chopin

Nocturne in E, Op. 62 No. 2

Chopin

Étude in E, Op. 10 No. 3

Chopin

Étude in C-sharp minor, Op. 10 No. 4

Chopin

Nocturne in C-sharp minor, Op. 27 No. 1

Chopin

Nocturne in D-flat, Op. 27 No. 2

Chopin

Étude in G-flat, Op. 10 No. 5

Chopin

Étude in E-flat minor, Op. 10 No. 6

Chopin

Nocturne in E-flat, Op. 9 No. 2

Chopin

Nocturne in C minor, Op. 48 No. 1

INTERVAL

Chopin

Nocturne in G minor, Op. 15 No. 3

Chopin

Étude in C, Op. 10 No. 7

Chopin

Nocturne in F, Op. 15 No. 1

Chopin

Étude in F, Op. 10 No. 8

Chopin

Étude in F minor, Op. 10 No. 9

Chopin

Nocturne in B-flat minor, Op. 9 No. 1

Chopin

Étude in A-flat, Op. 10 No. 10

Chopin

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

Chopin

Étude in E-flat, Op. 10 No. 11

Chopin

Nocturne in C-sharp minor, Op. Posth.

Chopin

Étude in C minor, Op. 10 No. 12 'Revolutionary'

Described by the BBC Music Magazine as ‘perhaps the most “complete” pianist of his age’, Jan Lisiecki’s interpretations and technique speak to a maturity beyond his age. 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.

TRIO WANDERER

Vincent Coq, piano

Jean-Marc Phillips-Varjabédian, violin

Raphaël Pidoux, cello

Schubert

Trio no. 2 in E-flat, D. 929

Shostakovich

Trio no. 2 in E minor, Op. 67

Acclaimed for its extraordinarily sensitive style, almost telepathic understanding of each other and technical mastery, the Paris-based Trio Wanderer is one of the world’s foremost chamber ensembles. Called a ‘Wandering Star’ by the Strad Magazine, the Trio has performed on the most prestigious music stages of the world: Berlin’s Philharmonie, Paris’ Théâtre des Champs Elysées, the Vienna Musikverein, London’s Wigmore Hall, Milan’s Teatro alla Scala, Barcelona’s Palau de la Musica, Washington’s Library of Congress, Rio de Janeiro’s Teatro Municipal, Tokyo’s Kioi Hall, Zürich’s Tonhalle and Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw. They have also performed at major festivals such as Edinburgh, Montreux, and Salzburg.

They have collaborated on numerous occasions with artists such as Yehudi Menuhin, Christopher Hogwood, James Loughran, François-Xavier Roth, José Areán, Charles Dutoit and James Conlon, and they have been accompanied, in triple or double concertos, some of the world’s most famous orchestras.

Their recordings have been awarded numerous major prizes including Choc du Monde de la Musique, Critic’s Choice and Editor Choice of Gramophone, CD of the Month’ by the BBC Music Magazine, Diapason d’Or of the Year, Midem International Classical Music Award. The New York Times declared their interpretation of Mendelssohn’s Piano Trios the new reference-point for these works, and their Schubert Trout Quintet and Hummel Quintet recording have been included in Forbes’s Top 100 Quality Music Library. In 2016, their recording of Schubert Trio no. 2 in E-flat (which they play in the concert for Camerata Musica Cambridge) was chosen as best version on record by BBC Radio 3’s ‘Building a Library – CD Review’ .

In 2015, Trio Wanderer’s members were honoured with the rank of Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters of the French Republic (Chevalier dans l’ordre des Arts et Lettres).