Bach - Beethoven Cello Fest - 9th - 12 May

Complete Beethoven Cello Sonatas
Bach Cello Suites 

and

a Solo Piano Recital

Four programs by two talented French musicians

visiting Thailand at my invitation
First performance of Complete Beethoven Cello Sonatas in Thailand

Performing all five Beethoven Cello Sonats from their newly recorded CD

"They deliver us a crystal-clear version of the Beethoven's sonatas, full of liveliness, in a burning range of colors. 
Here is a beautiful discovery to make, to get off the commercial beaten track and realize that Beethoven's language is always to be renewed." 

Jean Lacroix, Belgian musical critic at Revue Générale

Alexandre Vay, cello

Co-soloist, Munich Radio Orchestra

Alexandre studied cello at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Lyon where he graduated with first prize. He was selected to be part of the European Union's Youth Orchestra in 2006, which was directed by Vladimir Ashkenazy. Alexandre then obtained a masters degree at Karlsruhe University. Alexandre was mentored by several famous cellists, including Janos Starker and Gary Hoffman. He has collaborated with Dimitri Papodpoulos for many years and together, they won third prize in the prestigious Max Reger Chamber Music Competition. 

and 

Dimitri Papodopoulos, piano, 

Professeur de Piano, Conservatoire de Musique de Genève

Dimitri was born in Princeton, New Jersey, to a Greek father and Syrian mother but grew up in France. His father was a mathematician and Dimitri started his academic career following his father's footsteps with a degree in mathematics. He then moved to music, graduating with first prize from Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse in Lyon.

Dimitri has won many prizes on the competition circuit: 1st prize Saint-nom-la-Bretèche, 1st prize Vulaines-sur Seine, 1st prize Lagny-sur-Marne, 2nd prize Incontro Internazionale Giovanni Pianisti Roma and in Germany,1st Steinway Forderpreis 2010 Dusseldorf.

Most recently Dimitri was appointed Professeur de Piano at the Geneva Conservatory after a highly competitive application process. His appointment commences in September.

Friday 9th and Sunday 11th May Complete Beethoven Cello Sonatas  All five sonatas, Mozart and Handel Variations and The Ghost Trio Beethoven around the time of  composing the 5th Cello Sonata in 1815 Discover Beethoven's masterpieces for the cello!  The cello sonatas comprise one of Beethoven's greatest collections of chamber music. They span all of his creative periods: early, middle and late period. They contain quirky structures (nos. 1 and 2), sweeping melodies (no. 3), jaunty melodrama (no. 4) and one of the finest, devastatingly profound, slow movements written by Beethoven in any of his works (no.5).  I went to Manchester in March, last year, to listen to a program at the Royal Northern College of Music of all of the Beethoven string sonatas. I was infatuated with the violin sonatas at the time. The cello sonatas were an added bonus to the program but I wasn't drawn by them. However, on returning home, all I could listen to was the cello sonatas - so rich and satisfying they are. As many of you know, I scour the world looking for great musicians. One such musician is Dimtri. I met him after a superb piano recital in a modest church in Paris in 2010. I've kept in touch with him since then. When he casually let slip that he had just recorded all of the Beethoven Cello Sonatas with Alexandre, early last year, I resolved to bring them here. I have since heard their recording of the five sonatas and they are first class. If you don't know the cello sonatas I hope I have persuaded you. Now is your chance to take one of the great journeys of chamber music. Don't miss this. Mark your diary! Complete Beethoven Cello Sonatas Program 1: 6pm, Friday, 9th May, 2014 Beethoven early and middle period Cello Sonata no. 1 opus.5 no.1 Cello Sonata no. 2 opus 5 no.2 Cello Sonata no. 3 opus 69 Variations on a Theme from Mozart's Magic Flute, 'Ein Mädchen oder Weibchen', Op.66 Beethoven's Variations on a Theme from Mozart's Magic Flute  are based on a much loved Aria by Papageno Beethoven Cello Sonatas and Trio Program 2: Sunday, 5pm, 11th May Cello Sonata no. 4 opus 102 no.1 Cello sonata no. 5 opus 102 no.2 Handel Variations, "See the Conquering Hero" WoO 45 Beethoven's Piano Trio opus 70, no. 1, "The Ghost" joined by Tasana Nagavajara, violin    Tickets: one program 1,200 baht; both programs 2,000 baht

Saturday 10th May, 5pm Alexandre plays Bach Cello Suites Bach around the time of composing the Cello Suites - he was around 35 years old! Suite No. 2 in D minor, BWV 1008 Suite No. 3 in C major, BWV 1009 Suite No. 6 in D major, BWV 1012 Bach wrote six suites for unaccompanied cello. According to one critic, Bach's six suites for the solo cello are among the most iconic works of music ever composed. They have been played by the world's greatest cellists, on disc and on film, at the fall of the Berlin Wall and at the memorial services for everyone from the victims of 9/11 to the funeral of Sen. Edward Kennedy. And they're on the "desert island" selections of nearly all classical-music lovers. They were immortalized by the cello icon of the 20th century, Pablo Casals, who 'rediscovered the suites' and who said of them, "How could anybody think of Bach as 'cold' when these [cello] suites seem to shine with the most glittering kind of poetry." And Mischa Maisky, one of the greatest cellists of today, said that the cello suites are, "...like a great diamond, with so many different cuts that reflect light in so many different ways.”  Come and enjoy these masterpieces in the comfort and excellent acoustics of Eelswamp. Tickets: 1,200 baht per person

Monday 12th May, 6pm Dimitri - solo piano recital Piano Recital by Dimitri Papodopoulos Chopin: Two Nocturnes op.62 Schumann: Carnaval Chopin: First Scherzo Beethoven: Waldstein Sonata Chopin at the time of writing the Nocturnes Op.62 Chopin's Nocturnes Opus 62 are the last two nocturnes of the 19 nocturnes composed by Chopin. They are also of finest of this genre. Number 1 is, according to the Chopin Society,  A work of pure luxuriance; the main theme is profusely adorned with difficult chain trills. In his book on Chopin, Camille Bourniquel writes, “The last Nocturnes complete the redemption of the genre and its final liberations-they possess a unique freedom.” The second of op. 62 is one of my favourites and I have requested Dimitri to play this piece. It begins with a melody described by musicologist, Ernest Hutcheson, as "warm and luscious like the G string of a violin.”  Schuman: 'master of the short melodic gem' Robert Schumann's Carnaval, opus 9, comprises twenty short pieces, described by James Pegolotti as, "so different yet so appealing". He remarked upon Schumann's gift for "the short melodic gem". Each of the pieces provides a musical portrait. The final, rousing, march is, in Pegoletti's words, "Schumann's imagination at its peak."  Chopin at the time of writing the first Scherzo. Chopin's Scherzo no. 1 is a youthful work, written when the composer was twenty years old. It starts with powerful chords and furious virtuosity which breaks away to a Polish Christmas carol, returning to the main theme and a dazzling coda. Beethoven at the time of composing the Waldstein Sonata Beethoven's Waldstein sonata is a middle period sonata and one of his greatest piano works. I heard Dimitri play this work in Paris a few years ago and it was a superb performance. Come and hear him at this Monday evening recital at Eelswamp. Tickets: 1,200 per performance

Discounts for multiple programs

2,000 baht for both Beethoven sessions

All four events: 3,600 baht: 
1. Friday, 9th May: Complete Beethoven Cello Sontatas, part 1

2. Saturday, 10th May: Three Bach Cello Suites

3. Sunday, 11th May: Complete Beethoven Cello Sonatas, part 2

4. Monday, 12th May: Solo Piano Recital: Chopin, Schumann, Beethoven

Reservation: Email asiachart@hotmail.com or call 038 069681 office hours. Due to limited number of places payment must be received before the day.

Location: http://eelswamp.blogspot.com/2013/11/the-music-room-at-eelswamp.html 

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Two grand works for keyboard: Goldbergs and Rachmaninoff Second Sonata

Only a few seat remaining

Eri Nakagawa, piano

plays two of the greatest works for keyboard:

Bach's Goldberg Variations

and

Rachmaninoff's Second Piano Sonata

at Eelswamp, 

Sunday 20th April, 5pm

Pianist, Eri Nakagawa, is a member of the piano faculty of College of Music, Mahidol University. She has been a faculty member since 1995.  Prior to her appointment at Mahidol she was Assistant Professor of Music Performance at Ball State University, Indiana, USA.  She received the 1992 Ball State New Faculty Creative Arts Award. She has frequently performed in recitals and as a soloist with orchestras. She has made several superb performances of both works on this program.

Bach's Goldberg Variations are among the composer's most substantial works for keyboard and, indeed, among the most famous works for keyboard in the entire classical keyboard/piano literature.

The work comprises a theme and 30 variations, quite probably written in two distinct parts at different periods of the composer's life. This theory is supported by the unusual inclusion of an Overture in the middle of the work. The second section contains the slow variation, Variation no. 25, the 'the soul' of the work, otherwise referred to by famous harpsichordist, Wanda Landowska, as 'The Black Pearl' with its haunting, introspective melody. 

The work culminates in a mighty crescendo spanning the penultimate last four variations. These four variations (Variations 26 - 29) display remarkable technical ingenuity, including a canon in 9ths (that is, the same theme played at the interval of one octave and one note), a variation with butterfly-like trills in the outer voices and the colossal Variation no.29, which requires the piano performer to play the left hand between the splayed fingers of the right hand. These climactic four variations give way to a rousing march-like theme, the Quodlibet, which is based on a medley of drinking songs, one of which is a lament to reluctant vegetarianism:

"Cabbage and turnips have driven me away, 

had my mother cooked meat, 

I'd have been happy to stay"

The work then fades away with its lullaby aria.

The Goldberg variations have been recorded by more than 130 harpsichordists and pianists but were immortalized by Glenn Gould's 1981 recording. Watch this recording and you will see that the Goldberg Variations are not only sublime music, they are also an acrobatic feat: superb to hear and watch!

Rachmaninoff's Second Sonata stands out in the piano literature as the last great romantic piano sonata. Written 160 years after Bach's death, the style of the sonata is in stark contrast to the Goldbergs. But it is similarly virtuosic, extending the technical parameters of the day, just as the Goldbergs did.

The sonata comprises three movements: two tempestuous movements seamlessly flanking a dreamy, but briefly stormy, slow movement. This sonata was a favourite of Horowitz who popularized it and edited his own version of the work, as did Van Cliburn. David Dubal, Horowitz's biographer, called the third movement, one of Rachmaninoff's 'most electrifying' works.


Tickets: 1,000 baht baht per person, limited to 30. Children six years and above will be admitted provided they can sit still.

Reservation: Email asiachart@hotmail.com or call 038 069681 office hours. Due to limited number of places payment must be received before the day.

Location: http://eelswamp.blogspot.com/2013/11/the-music-room-at-eelswamp.html 

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Lermontov Quartet Plays Mozart

Featuring two of the finest Mozart String Quartets

 

played by 

 

The Lermontov Quartet

Jonathon Glonek, violin
Lecturer in Violin Studies, Chulalongkorn University

Inga Causa, violin
Principal Second Violinist of the Thailand Philharmonic Orchestra

Colin Wrubleski, viola
Principal Viola of the Thailand Philharmonic Orchestra
 Marcin Szawelski, cello

cellist, Thailand Philharmonic Orchestra

Sunday 23rd March at 5pm

Program

Quartet No. 3 In G Major K 156

Quartet No. 4 In C Major K 157

Quartet No. 14 In G Major K 387

Quartet No. 23 In F Major K 590

The Quartet in G Major, K387 is the first of six quartets dedicated to Haydn. Mozart wrote this quartet when he was 26 years old and had just arrived in Vienna. It is one of the works which inspired Haydn's famous remark, "Before God and as an honest man, I tell you that your son is the greatest composer known to me either in person or by name."

This quartet has been called 'amazing' by Juilliard professor, Misha Amory and has often been cited as the precursor of the Jupiter Symphony.

The Lermontov Quartet is playing this quartet at my request. It must be good!

Mozart's last Quartet, no. 23, K590, was the last of three quartets commissioned by the King of Prussia, described as "the culmination of his skill in the idiom". It was written in 1790, a year before Mozart's death and is among his finest works.

JONATHON GLONEK

First touring internationally at the age of 12, Jonathon studied with Alita Larsens, Alexander Treger and Tibor Varga He has since developed as a solo performing artist and has presented many challenging and serious programs to audiences throughout Europe, The United States, Southeast Asia and in Australia. A dedicated scholar and academic, he authored his first book Scales for the Violinist at the age of 26 and is also Lecturer in Violin Studies at the historic Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok; one of the oldest universities in SE Asia. Mr Glonek performed Brahms, Tchaikowsky, Mendelssohn and Bach Concertos in Thailand and abroad along with the complete unaccompanied works of Bach and Paganini.

INGA CAUSA

Inga Causa commenced her musical education in Latvia at age six later studying at the Riga Special Music School; Emils Darzins Institute. For 11 years Inga studied legendary violin pedagogues , Professor Izrail Abramiss and later with Professor Juris Shvolkovskis. Graduating with Merit in 1990 she received a Master Degree in Violin Performance, Pedagogy and Chamber Music. Since the age of 18 Inga has worked professionally with the Latvian National Opera orchestra, the Latvian National Symphonic orchestra, “Rigas Kamermuziki” and “ Rigas Philharmonic”. A chamber music enthusiast, she has also served as first violin of the string quartet “Difference”. Arriving in Thailand in 2003 she established as successful class of violin and ensemble students. In 2005 she was appointed as principal second violinist of the Thailand Philharmonic Orchestra.

COLIN WRUBLESKI

Canadian-born violist and violinist Colin R. Wrubleski is in his second season as principal viola of the Thailand Philharmonic Orchestra. Concurrently he is a violin and viola instructor for Mahidol University's Music Campus for the General Public (MCGP), Siam Paragon branch. In Thailand he has also worked as a string instrument instructor for Sararas Ektra School, Bangkok. Prior to moving to Thailand, he spent many years as an ESL instructor in Korea, where he also played in a variety of amateur, semi-professional, and collegiate ensembles, as well as in the Seoul-based Majestic String Quartet. In his native Canada, he earned a Bachelor of Music degree in performance (violin) from the University of Regina and a Licentiate in Music (viola) from the Glenn Gould Professional School at the Royal Conservatory of Music Toronto. His primary teachers included Dr. Howard Leyton-Brown, Rennie Regehr, Martin Beaver [Tokyo String Quartet], and Andrew Dawes [ex-Orford String Quartet).

MARCIN SZAWELSKI

Marcin Tomasz Szawelski, a native of Gdansk, Poland, started his musical education at age of 7 with Andrzej Filar. He graduated with Master of Arts diploma from Stanislaw Moniuszko Academy of Music in Gdansk, Poland (2005), where he studied cello performance, chamber music and music pedagogy. Currently Marcin T. Szawelski is a cello and chamber music instructor at the College of Music, Mahidol University in Thailand. He is a member of Thailand Philharmonic Orchestra (TPO) and Mahidol University Baroque Orchestra. With those ensembles he gave more than 200 concerts in recent years.

Tickets: 1,200 baht. Tickets limited to 30 per event. Don't delay: All previous events at Eelswamp have sold out within a few days of announcement.

Reservation: Email asiachart@hotmail.com or call 038 069681 office hours. Due to limited number of places payment must be received before the day. If you are unable to attend we will make our best effort to sell your place but cannot offer a refund.

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

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