1+1=3 Two fine musicians - three concerts

Ilya Kondratiev, piano and Erzhan Kulibaev, violin

Friday 8th, Saturday 9th and Sunday 10th December

Friday, December 8th, 6pm

Erzhan plays mostly solo

Erzhan Kulibaev is a young violinist from Kazakhstan. He studied in Moscow, Madrid and Salzburg and was awarded an Honorary Diploma by Queen Sofia, of Spain. Erzhan won first prize at the Demidovski, Lisbon, Novosibirsk, Hindemith and Buenos-Aires International Violin Competitions. Within the last year, Erzhan won First Prize With Distinction at Manhattan International Music Competition and a Gold Medal at Berliner International Music Competition 2017.

“Dressed elegantly in black, with a Stradivarius in his left hand, the young Kazak violinist, with a strong sound that swirled around each member of the audience, shone with an outstanding technique and convincing and emotional peformance of Tchaikovsky to finish with a standing ovation....” (La Nacion)

 Erzhan plays Stradivarius “Rode” 1722 courtesy of the Maggini Foundation

Bach: Sonata no. 2 in A minor, BWV 1003
Albeniz, 'Asturias'
de Falla, 'Spanish Dance'
Piazzolla, 'Adios Nonino', 'Estudio no.3', 'Triunfal' and 'Muerte del Angel'.
Paganini, Variations on “Nel cor più non mi sento”, 
Tchaikovsky, Sérénade Mélancolique, Op.26 and Valse-Scherzo, Op.34 
Ysaye 3rd Sonata, 'Ballade'.

Saturday December 9th, 5pm 

Ilya plays solo

Recently awarded the Beethoven Medal by the Beethoven Piano Society of Europe
Second visit to Eelswamp

Beethoven: Sonata op.81a ‘Les Adieux’
Chopin: Scherzo no.1 op.20 
Chopin: Scherzo no.3 op.39
Liszt: Fantasy and Fugue BACH
Liszt: Sonata in B minor - first performance at Eelswamp of this remarkable work. The Liszt Sonata is one of the most important musical developments of 19th Century.

Ilya Kondratiev is a graduate of Moscow Conservatory and the Royal College of Music, London. He has won numerous prizes in international competitions, including the Weimar Liszt and the Budapest Liszt Competitions, which should make him eminently qualified to tackle the Liszt sonata on this program, one of the most 'musically' challenging works in the repertoire.

Ilya is a great artist: not only is he a delight to listen to, he is fascinating to watch. His sense of drama is captivating. Ilya brought the house down at Eelswamp in January, 2015, with a jaw-dropping performance of Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsody no. 2 (Tom and Jerry). I am very much looking forward to his return. Don't miss it!

Sunday December 10th, 5pm 

Ilya and Erzhan together: violin and piano

Schubert, Sonata in A major D. 574. 
Stravinsky 'Divertimento' based on his ballet, 'The Fairy's Kiss"
Respighi, Violin Sonata in B minor - This is a real masterpiece, written during the Great War in 1917. It is a work of dark brooding, profound beauty and great power. I wouldn't have thought Respighi had it in him to write something of this quality. Don't miss it.

1,200 baht for one concert, 2000 for two, 3000 for three. Book Now!

Reservations: 1,200 baht for one concert. 2,000 baht for two, 2,900 for all three. Email asiachart@hotmail.com or call 038 069681 office hours. Due to limited number of places payment must be received before the day.

Tickets: No tickets will be issued for concerts. Admission to the music room on the day of the concert will be in accordance with the sequence of receipt of payment (ie, who pays first goes in first and can select their desired seat).

Cancellations and credits: Credit will be allowed for future concerts in the event of cancellation provided that the concert for which the original booking was made breaks even.

Directions to Eelswamp: search for 'Eelswamp' on google maps. Directions can be found at the bottom of this page: http://eelswamp.blogspot.com/2013/11/the-music-room-at-eelswamp.html

Taxi service to Eelswamp: Grabtaxi Just enter "Eelswamp" in the destination box.

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Mozart Sublime

The String Quintets in C major and G minor

Pro Musica Quartet 

with Born Lau, viola

Sunday, 19th November, 5pm

Pro Musica Quartet
Leo Phillips, violin
Born Lau, viola

Tasana Nagavajara, viola

Rueychai Saengow, violin

Iris Regev, cello

Mozart: the two string quintets of 1787

String Quintet in C Major K. 515

String Quintet in G Minor K. 516

Among Mozart's greatest creations are two sets of works paired in C major and Gminor. The second, more well-known, set comprises the Symphonies no. 40 in G minor and no. 41 in C major, The Jupiter. These symphonies were written in 1788. The C major and G minor quintets were written in 1787. They are on the same sublime level as the symphonic counterparts.

It is difficult to do justice with words to these exquisite works, so I shall quote others:

"out of this world works" Gramaphone

"Together, they are typically regarded as Mozart’s finest chamber music. Both works spread out on a grand scale with untold riches of musical art." Earsense.

"No one has ever known as well how to interpret so exquisitely in music the sense of resigned and inconsolable sorrow." Tchaikovsky

"a paramount place in Mozart's magnificent output ... a profoundly dramatic musicality, a feeling of musical colour and a quality of the most refined tone, full of the most subtle nuances" Gramaphone

Born Lau, guest viola for this performance, has been brought to Thailand especially to play the quintets. He is originally from Hong Kong but studied music in the US, including post graduate studies at the Curtis Institute of Music. He was a prizewinner at the 2014 Primrose International Viola Competition and he won the Astral Artists’ 2012 National Auditions and the 2013 Prix Musique de Chambre at the American School in Fontainebleau, France. Born has been praised for his “immaculately refined” playing (The Philadelphia Inquirer), a quality that will, no doubt be efficacious in peforming the Mozart Quintets.

Reservations: 1,000 baht per person.

Email asiachart@hotmail.com for reservations. For more information call 038 069681 during office hours. Due to limited number of places payment must be received before the day.

Directions to Eelswamp: can be found at the bottom of this page:
http://eelswamp.blogspot.com/2013/11/the-music-room-at-eelswamp.html

If you haven't been to Eelswamp before I strongly urge you to find the venue before the day of the concert.

Taxi service to Eelswamp: we recommend Grabtaxi

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Russian Piano Duo from Mexico

Russian Piano Duo from Mexico: Duo Petrof

Friday, 20th October, 6pm

Anatoly Zatin and Vlada Vassilieva, piano

Winners of Nikolai Rubinstein Medal, Moscow

Global Music Awards, Silver Medal for Outstanding Achievement

Bach: Sheep may safely graze, BWV208
Beethoven: Variations on a theme by Count Waldstein WoO67 
Schubert: Fantasy in F minor Op.103 (sublime!!)
Rachmaninov: Barcarola and Scherzo Op.11
Tomás León: “Laura”: Waltz
Mendelssohn: Andante and Allegro Brillante Op.92

Duo Petrof comprise two Russian pianists, Anatoly Zatin and Vlada Vassileva, based in Mexico at the University of Colima. Anatoly is a graduate of St Petersberg Conservatory. His impressive biography can be read at the Duo's website. They're good! Plenty of videos Youtube to attest to their musicianship.


Reservations: 1,000 baht per person.

Email asiachart@hotmail.com for reservations. For more information call 038 069681 during office hours. Due to limited number of places payment must be received before the day.

Directions to Eelswamp: search for 'Eelswamp' on google maps. Directions can be found at the bottom of this page: http://eelswamp.blogspot.com/2013/11/the-music-room-at-eelswamp.html

Taxi service to Eelswamp: Grabtaxi now working. Just enter "Eelswamp" in the destination box.

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Epic Variations, Beethoven and Chopin

Friday, September 29th and Sunday October 1st 
Encore Concert on Monday 2nd, 6pm

Two programs:

"Epic Variations of the 20th Century", 
and
"Early Beethoven and Late Chopin"

Evgeny Starodubtsev, piano
"An accomplished and probing artist" New York Times 
Winner of at least fifteen International Piano Competitions

Friday 29th September, 6pm

"Early Beethoven - Late Chopin"

Beethoven Early works of Beethoven composed in the late 1790s

Variations on the Theme, "Tändeln und scherzen", from Franz Xaver Süssmayr's opera Soliman II WoO76 (1799)

Sonata no. 2 in A major op.2 no.2 (1796)

Chopin Two works from 1844

Three Mazurkas op. 56

Sonata no. 3 in B minor op. 58.

Sunday October 1st, 6pm*

Frederic Rzewski, 36 Variations on the theme, 

"The People United Will Never Be Defeated"

"... One of the most formidable of all twentieth-century works for the piano."

Frederic Rzewski

Provenance: This epic set of variations was written in 1975 by American composer, Frederic Rzewski. It was inspired by a Chilean protest march which was written in 1973 as part of the movement to overthrow Salvadore Allende. But the work was also written upon a request by pianist, Ursula Oppens, for a companion to Beethoven's Diabelli Variations. Gramophone calls the request 'audacious'. The result is spectacular.

Significance: Rzewski's Variations are regarded as one of the most important works of the twentieth century. The set has been grouped with Bach's Goldbergs and Beethoven's Diabelli Variations, holding it out as one of the three major sets of variations for keyboard in musical history. A boxed set of these three works won the Gramophone Recording of the Year award last year.

Igor Levit puts Rzewski with Bach and Beethoven

Sources: The music draws on a wide variety of sources: Beethoven, Chopin, jazz, pop, rock, blues, folk and baroque are a few of the styles and allusions to musical history to be found in the Variations. The structure  of the piece resembles Bach's Goldbergs, with groups of small cycles and a restatement of the main theme at the conclusion of the work (Just as Bach finishes the Goldbergs with a restatement of the Arietta.) Rzewski's variations also resemble Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition, with the recurring, rhapsodic Chilean march theme akin to Mussorgsky's Promenade. 

"Exquisite Structure" : According to musicologist, Deng Liang, the Variations have an "exquisite structure"; a unique and intriguing feature: there are six sets of six variations in the work in which the final variation of each cycle of six is a summary of the previous five. And the final set of six is a recapitulation of the previous 30. Each 'white' bar in the diagram below represents the summary, except for the final six, which summarize the previous 30. The final variation, no.36, makes a triumphal return to the opening theme.

Reproduced with permission of Deng Liang and Accelerando journal.

The casual listener will probably not perceive this ingenious structure. But the effect  will certainly appeal - a fast moving, zippy collection of catchy, recurring, tunes.

"Paramount Difficulty": The Variations require a demanding technical virtuosity of 'paramount difficulty', according to musicologist, David Burge.  

Technically, the work is of paramount difficulty. The widespread arpeggios of variations 16 and 18, the Chopinesque sextuplets of variation 21 (marked, correctly, “uncompromising” by the composer), the fast, exposed triplets in variation 22 and 24, and the long double-note passage at the end of variation 27 demand complete pianistic skills.

You can expect, 'complete pianistic skills in the hands of Evgeny. "The People United" is one of the great epic masterpieces for piano of the 20th century; stirring, dramatic, romantic and audacious. Don't miss this performance!

Hat tip: I came across this piece in July at the suggestion of violinist, Leo Phillips. It's not often that a violinist recommends a piano work. So I was quite intrigued, immediately delighted and very soon captivated. I set about looking for someone to play it this year. I contacted five or six pianists. I asked Evgeny if he knew anyone who could play it. "I can," was his response. We are very fortunate that he has time to come at short notice.  

1200 baht for one concert. 2000 baht for both: Book Now!

*Note the slightly later weekend starting time of 6pm in order to enable Pattaya Players audience and cast to attend.

Encore Concert on Monday 2nd, 6pm

The encore concert will run for about 70 minutes and will feature works from both programs, which probably means the whole of the Rzewski and some movements from Beethoven and Chopin concert. However, we might expect a few surprises. Evgeny's wife, Alexandra Lotova, will accompany him and, on the last two visits, she gave two superb performances. Also, Evgeny has just completed learning the complete Scriabin sonata cycle and we might be able to squeeze one out on Monday.

Encore concert is only 500 baht if you've attended any other of Evgeny's two concerts (otherwise 1,200) and all money will go directly to the struggling musician.

Evgeny Starodubtsev is a graduate of piano and composition from Moscow Conservatory. His long list of wins at international piano competitions (at least 15 first prizes) began in 2004 with first prize at the International Piano Competition "Compositores de Espa'a", in Madrid. Since then, the list of first prizes is too extensive to list (never mind second and third prizes!). Here are a few from the last two years:

First Prize, Pietro Argento Competition, Italy, July 2016

First Prize, 10th Sigismund Thalberg International Piano Competition, May 2016
First Prize, 24th Ennio Porrino International Piano Competition, Italy November 2015
First Prize, Palma d'Oro Competition, July 2015
First Prize, Nuova Coppa Pianisti Prize, 2015

And many other prizes in competitions in Spain, Mexico, Canada, Greece, Lithuania, Poland, France, Kazakhstan, Armenia and Serbia amongst other countries.

Evgeny has performed at top venues such as the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam and the Konzerthaus in Berlin. In addition to being a champion prize fighter, according to Andrey Gugnin, Evgeny is a very fine composer and has composed many symphonic works.

This will be Evgeny's third visit to Eelswamp. He thrilled our audience last year with two fantastic programs and will likely do the same this year. 


Reservations: 1,200 baht for one concert. 2,000 baht for both. Email asiachart@hotmail.com or call 038 069681 office hours. Due to limited number of places payment must be received before the day.

Directions to Eelswamp: search for 'Eelswamp' on google maps. Directions can be found at the bottom of this page: http://eelswamp.blogspot.com/2013/11/the-music-room-at-eelswamp.html

Taxi service to Eelswamp: Grabtaxi now working. Just enter "Eelswamp" in the destination box.

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Lord of the Strings plays King of the Violin

A rare opportunity to hear a world-class violinist 

play one of the most challenging pieces in the repertoire

Saturday 24th June, 5pm 

One performance only! Book now.

Graf Mourja, violin

playing a Giovanni Grancino violin, Milan,1707

Gold Medal 'Violin Masters' Competition, Monte Carlo, 2010

Russian President's Award (Yeltsin)

Honoured Artist of Russia, 2004

Eugène Ysaÿe

Six Sonatas for Unaccompanied Violin, Op. 27 (1924)

Each sonata is dedicated to a famous contemporary violinist, indicated below in brackets:

Sonata No. 1 (Joseph Szigeti) a homage to Bach 

Sonata No. 2  ' The Obsession' (Jacques Thibaud) alluding to Bach and the Dies Irae theme

Sonata No. 3 'Ballade' (Georges Enescu) One movement and one of the most exciting pieces written for solo violin

Sonata No. 4 (Fritz Kreisler) Another tribute to Bach, with Allemande, Sarabande and Finale presto

Sonata No. 5 (Mathieu Crickboom) opens with the astoundingly beautiful Aurore (dawn) movement.

Sonata No. 6 (Manuel Quiroga) Another one movement showpiece in Habanera style.

Eugène Ysaÿe (1858 - 1933) was a Belgian violinist, composer and conductor. He was regarded in his time as "the King of the Violin". His Six Sonatas op. 27 form one of the three most challenging compositions for solo violin in the repertoire; the other two being the Bach Sonatas and Partitas and the Paganini Caprices. Graf thrilled the audience last year with his performance of the 24 Caprices of Paganini. But the jaw-dropping encore, one of the Ysaye sonatas, brought the audience to their feet. 

Saturday 24th June, 5pm 

One performance only! Book now.

Graf Mourja is one of the top violinists of his generation, having won the prestigious Gold Medal in the Violin Masters Competition, Monte Carlo. His career began in the early nineties with a string of prizes at major international competitions, such as the Paganini Competition in Genoa, the Vianna da Motta in Lisbon, the Jacques Thibaud in Paris and the Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow. Most recently, in 2010, Graf won the Gold Medal at the Violin Masters Competition in Monte Carlo. Graf also received the President's Award from Boris Yeltsin and is an Honoured Artist of Russia. 

Graf has recorded on top CD labels such as Harmonia Mundi and Melodia as well as recording for  Alpha, Integral, Hanssler-Verlag, Naxos, Chant du Monde and Classical Records. He has collaborated with pianists such as Barry Douglas and Denis Matsuev, amongst many others.

Graf plays a 1707 violin by Giovanni Grancino.

Reservations: 1,000 baht per person.

Email asiachart@hotmail.com for reservations. For more information call 038 069681 during office hours. Due to limited number of places payment must be received before the day.

Directions to Eelswamp: search for 'Eelswamp' on google maps. Directions can be found at the bottom of this page: http://eelswamp.blogspot.com/2013/11/the-music-room-at-eelswamp.html

Taxi service to Eelswamp: Grabtaxi now working. Just enter "Eelswamp" in the destination box.

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Mostly French

Bach, Ravel, Debussy Chopin

Friday 2nd and Sunday 4th June

Hélène Tysman

Laureate of the 16th International Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw

First Prize in the European Darmstadt Chopin Piano Competition

"...powerful and compelling performances that are fueled by confidence and volatile energy...Tysman will appeal to an audience that likes pianists with virtuosic technique and a big heart, both of which this pianist has in abundance." AllMusic

 “dazzling” BBC News Magazine

“extraordinary interpretation” Le Figaro

Friday, 2nd June, 6pm

Bach and Ravel

Bach
Chromatic Fantasy and Fugue
Prelude and Fugue in E Major Book 1
Partita no. 1
Italian Concerto

Ravel

Gaspard de La Nuit (selections)

Pavane pour une infante défunte
Menuet Antique
Menuet sur Haydn
La Valse

Sunday, 4th June, 5pm

Debussy and Chopin

Debussy Preludes
 La Cathédrale engloutie
 Des Pas sur la Neige
 La Jeune fille aux cheveux de lin
 Ondine
 La Terrasse des audiences du clair de lune
 Feux d’artifice
Ce qu’a vu le vent d’ouest

Chopin Four Ballades
Nocturne op. 9 no. 3

Hélène Tysman: is a French pianist. She graduated from the Paris Conservatory, where she studied with one of the most respected contemporary French pianists, Pierre-Laurent Aimard. She has won prizes in numerous international competitions, most notably, the Chopin Competition in Warsaw. She has recorded two CDs of Chopin for Oems Classics. Hélène performs throughout Europe and the US, most recently at Steinway Hall in New York and the new Philharmonic Hall in Paris. I met Hélène in 2008 at the Hong Kong Piano Competition where she gave outstanding performances and won a prize. You can read more about her here.

Reservations: 1,200 baht for one concert. 2,000 baht for both. Email asiachart@hotmail.com or call 038 069681 office hours. Due to limited number of places payment must be received before the day. Book now!

Directions to Eelswamp: search for 'Eelswamp' on google maps. Directions can be found at the bottom of this page: http://eelswamp.blogspot.com/2013/11/the-music-room-at-eelswamp.html

Taxi service to Eelswamp: Grabtaxi now working. Just enter "Eelswamp" in the destination box.

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Pro Musica Quartet

Sunday 14th May, 5pm

Pro Musica Quartet

Leo Phillips, violin

Tasana Nagavajara, viola

Rueychai Saengow, violin 

Iris Regev, cello

Sunday 14th May, 5pm

Haydn String Quartet no. 62 in C major op. 76 no. 3, "The Emperor".

The six quartets of opus 76 form the last works for quartet by Papa Haydn, the father of the string quartet and the sonata form, as we know it. All six are mature and substantial works. 
Number 3 is called the 'Emperor' after the second movement, the theme of which is the melody of the German national anthem. 

Tchaikovsky, String Quartet no. 3 in E flat minor, op. 30

This work was written in 1876, when the composer was 36 years old, around the same time as the First Piano Concerto. It was written as a tribute to Tchaikovsky's friend, the Czech violinist, Ferdinand Laub, whom Tchaikovsky called, 'the best violinist of our time' and who had died in 1875. Both the opening and the slow movements are elegies to the great violinist. The final movement is bright and lively. Tchaikovsky is rumoured to have said, "At first I didn't like the final movement. But now I think it's quite good."

Both works were selected by Tasana as part of Pro Musica's tribute to his Majesty, King Bhumipol.


Reservations: 1,000 baht per person.

Email asiachart@hotmail.com for reservations. For more information call 038 069681 during office hours. Due to limited number of places payment must be received before the day.

Directions to Eelswamp: can be found at the bottom of this page:
http://eelswamp.blogspot.com/2013/11/the-music-room-at-eelswamp.html

If you haven't been to Eelswamp before I strongly urge you to find the venue before the day of the concert.

Taxi service to Eelswamp: we recommend Grabtaxi

A member of 

Official media partner