Violin

Dmitry Smirnov

Nominated by Sonia Simmenauer, violinist Dmitry Smirnov joined us in concert in November 2023 as part of the Ambassador Programme.

Dmitry Smirnov | Eugène Ysaÿe – Sonate à George Enescu (From op. 27 "Six sonata for violin")

Sonate à George Enescu (From op. 27 "Six sonata for violin")

Classeek Showroom performance, 2 November 2023

Dmitry Smirnov | Improvisation inspired by Angelo Poliziano (Lyra da Bracchio)

Nr. 11 Berceuse Nr. 2 "Sonntag, den 19. Juli 1910" (Hommage an Jeney)

Nr. 18 Träumend hing die Blume (Hommage an Schumann)

Dmitry Smirnov | György Kurtág – Kafka Fragmente, Op. 24 for soprano and violin

Kafka Fragments, Op. 24 for soprano and violin (Selected songs)

Dmitry Smirnov | Netty Simons – Circle of Attitudes for violin solo and dancer

Circle of Attitudes

Dmitry Smirnov | Eugène Ysaÿe – ‌Sonate à Joseph Szigeti "Six sonata for violin solo"

Sonate à Joseph Szigeti "Six sonata for violin solo"

Nominated by Sir András Schiff, Israeli pianist Tom Borrow joined us for his debut recital on the Classeek Ambassador Programme in June 2023. 

The Chorale et Variations from Dutilleux’s only piano sonata is packed full of references to a range of Soviet and French impressionist composers. Dedicated to and premiered by Dutilleux’s wife Geneviève Joy in 1948, it is one of the composer’s first mature works.

Tom Borrow | Dutilleux: Chorale & Variations 

Chorale & Variations

Classeek Showroom Performance, June 2023

Classeek announces an outstanding selection of up-and-coming artists joining the Ambassador Programme, for the 2023-2024 season, cementing its position as one of the best opportunities for young classical musicians today to accelerate their career on an international platform. 

The Classeek Ambassador Programme was founded in 2017, and aims to support young musicians in the ever changing landscape of the classical music industry today. The programme aims to open up doors for musicians in an alternative way to the traditional competition and word of mouth format, where well respected figures in the industry can recommend young musicians for the Ambassador Programme. These figures include G

autier Capuçon (cello), Renaud Capucon (violin), Emmanuel Pahud (flute), Sir András Schiff and Michel Bérof (piano), Miguel da Silva (violin)

 Classeek also enjoys links with prestigious institutions such as 

Conservatoire de Lausanne, International Classical Music Awards, Bucharest Symphony Orchestra 

The Ambassador Programme offers the young artists an opportunity to perform in an internationally streamed high quality concert, allowing industry professionals and audiences to tune in and follow their debut concerts remotely. The concert is combined with a cocktail evening, where the artists have the chance to network and pitch their projects to a selected crowd.  

The one year programme is entirely tailor made and crafted into a real acceleration model providing support and advice to help the young musicians jumpstart their career. It includes professional photoshoots, video interviews to showcase their musical career so far and to further present themselves, career and media coaching, opportunities to teach at masterclasses, concert opportunities and meet and play with the other young artists on the programme. This unique programme is an invaluable opportunity to enhance the careers of young artists and sharpen the music industry skills they need to build for a career in music.

 (Japan), piano / Ambassador: Sir Andràs Schiff 

 / America / Ambassador: Steven Issserlis

Classeek announces Ambassador Programme artists for the 2023-2024 season

We are delighted to announce 10 very promising open application instrumentalist finalists for the Ambassador Programme 2023-2024. Like last year, we were extremely impressed with the high standard of the applicants and thank everyone sincerely for the time and effort that has gone into applying. 

Here are the 10 finalists of our Ambassador Programme (instrumentalists) open application, for season 2022-23:

Next week we will be announcing the final instrumental artist and composer joining our Ambassador Programme from our open application, along with all nominated artists. Stay tuned for the final result! 

Open Application Finalists 

Ambassador Programme 2023-2024

Ambassador Programme open application jury

Selecting this year's applicants

Applications for the Classeek Ambassador Programme 2023-24 are now open!

The Classeek Ambassador Programme is a one-year career enhancement programme for promising young classical artists, ready for a career at the highest level. 

This year, there will be two spaces open to applicants from around the world, looking to pursue an international career in the classical music industry. We will have one space for instrumentalists, and for the first time, we will also have one space open to composers. 

 page to find out more about the programme, entry requirements and how to apply.

Entry onto the scheme for the remaining artists of the programme is via nomination by one of Classeek’s internationally renowned Artist Ambassadors. This year, ambassador nominations will be presented by Sir András Schiff, Steven Isserlis, Renaud Capuçon, and Sonia Simmenauer.

Classeek Ambassador Programme 2023-24

Applications now open!

Together with the Bucharest Symphony Orchestra and its Principal Conductor John Axelrod, we are happy to announce our new artistic partnership, offering opportunities for professional engagements and recordings sessions to both past and present artists of the Classeek Ambassador Programme. 

To begin the partnership, Classeek Ambassador Programme alumnus 

, performing Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue. The concert takes place on December 30 at the Sala Palatului, and will recorded and rebroadcast on 1st January on Romanian TV Station Antena 3 CNN. 

 will perform the Brahms Violin Concerto, on 22nd March at the Romanian Athenaeum, followed by a recording period together with the orchestra and John Axelrod. Later in the season, on 16th July, 

 will perform Beethoven's Emperor Concerto at the BMI International Competition for Conductors, alongside the competition winner. 

“I have been involved in education and career development for young professional musicians for over two decades, following the influence of my mentor, Leonard Bernstein. With Classeek and the BSO, that commitment continues at the highest artistic level making marvellously musical memories to last a lifetime.”

Both Classeek and BSO are excited to begin this collaboration, in providing new opportunities and supporting artists' careers further. More information in the BSO press release, 

Classeek partners with Bucharest Symphony Orchestra

Presenting new opportunities to Classeek artists

Viola

Paul Zientara

Paul Zientara talks with Michel Le Naour about his education, experiences, inspirations  and collaborations.

Paul Zientara Interview

with Michel Le Naour

Following last week's announcement of the finalists of our Ambassador Programme open application, we are excited to announce the final artist on our programme this season as violinist Alexey Stychkin!

Alexey, our first ever open application winner, joins eight other exceptional young artists who were nominated on the Ambassador Programme this season. Each musician will have the opportunity to perform a concert, broadcast live and in high definition from the stunning setting of Classeek’s private recital hall in Aubonne, Switzerland, and will receive opportunities for career enhancement, throughout the one-year programme.

Nominated by Sir András Schiff, 21-year-old pianist Avery Gagliano recently made her Carnegie Hall debut and released her debut album “Reflections” on the Steinway & Sons label. She gained international acclaim as the First Prize and Best Concerto Prize winner of the 10th National Chopin Piano Competition and was the only American semifinalist at the 18th International Chopin Competition in 2021.

Nominated by Renaud Capuçon, 22-year-old Paul Zientara began studying the viola at the age of seven at the Music school of Yerres in Yves Pruvot's class. In 2015, he joined the CRR (Regional Conservatory) of Paris in Françoise Gnéri's class. He regularly participates in international academies and masterclasses including the Kronberg Academy Festival

Nominated by Gautier Capuçon,  20-year-old cellist Jeein You was born in South Korea in 2002 and began studying cello at five. When she was seven she joined the Korea National University Of Arts Preschool under her tutor Chung Myung-Wha. Her ambassador Capuçon says, “Jeein is such a talented cellist and a very sensitive musician with an incredible ability to carry her emotions through music."

Nominated by Sir András Schiff, pianist Julia Hamos performs a programme of Bach, Bartók and Schumann. A graduate of the Royal Academy of Music in London, Hamos currently studies with Sir András Schiff at the Barenboim-Said Akademie in Berlin and at the Kronberg Academy. In 2021 she worked with Daniel Barenboim in a succession of filmed masterclasses on Beethoven's solo piano and string sonatas.

Nominated by Sonia Simmenauer, violinist Bilal Alnemr began to study violin at the age of eight, at the Solhi-AL-WADI Conservatory. In 2007, he won the first prize in the national competition for young Syrian talents. His mentor Sonia Simmenauer says, “I was stricken when I met with Bilal the first time and his seriousness about being a musician. I admire his courage and dedication to music.”

Nominated by Sonia Simmenauer, 22-year-old Gigashvili is a frequent soloist and chamber musician working with various orchestras and taking part in festivals and masterclasses all over the world. He has always been passionate about music and was trained by famous Georgian pianist and teacher Revaz Tavadze where he continued his formal musical training at the Paliashvili Central Music School for Gifted Children. 

Nominated by Emmanuel Pahud, 24-year-old flautist Alberto Navarra began his studies under Maurizio Valentini at the Ghedini Conservatory in Cuneo. His ambassador Emmanuel Pahud says, “Alberto Navarra is a leading talent of his generation.” Alberto is also a laureate of the Severino Gazzelloni International Flute Competition and the Carl Nielsen Flute Competition.

Nominated by Sir András Schiff, 21-year-old pianist Tom Borrow began playing the piano at the age of 5 and has performed as a soloist with many native orchestras of his country, including the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra and the Israel Symphony Orchestra.

Welcomed onto the programme via the open application, Russian-Greek violinist Alexey Stychkin, born in Moscow in 2000, comes from a family with deep musical and artistic roots. He began his musical studies at the age of five and continued on to study with Marc Bouchkov at the Liege Royal Conservatory. Alexey is currently studying his masters degree at the Hochschule fur Musik und Tanz in Cologne with Mihaela Martin, and this season  holds an academy position in the first violin section of the Staatskapelle Berlin. 

Each artist on the programme will perform at the Classeek concert hall during the season, in a variety of solo, duo and chamber recitals. Find out more about our 

Ambassador Programme Artists 2022-23

Latest news

This season we have 8 wonderful emerging artists nominated onto the Classeek Ambassador programme, by our ambassadors, including pianists Avery Gagliano, Julia Hamos, Giorgi Gigashvili and Tom Borrow, flautist Alberto Navarra, violinist Bilal Alnemr, violist Paul Zientara, and cellist Jeein You. 

This year for the first time, we also opened up the programme to applicants all over the world, to fill our last space on the programme. Having received applications from very high level musicians and a diverse range of instruments and applicants, the process has been difficult. We are thankful to all artists who applied this year as we have been amazed to discover so much talent through the application process.

We are delighted to announce the 13 finalists of our Ambassador Programme open application, for season 2022-23

Following the next round of the application process, we will be announcing the final artist of our Ambassador Programme, next week. 

Open application finalists

Ambassador Programme 2022-23

Piano

Avery Gagliano

Avery joined the Classeek Ambassador Programme in season 2022-23, following her nomination by Sir András Schiff. 

Having recently made her Carnegie Hall debut and released her debut album “Reflections” on the Steinway & Sons label, 21-year-old pianist Avery Gagliano captures audiences with her sensitivity, emotional depth, and musical expression. She gained international attention as the First Prize and Best Concerto Prize winner of the 2020 National Chopin Piano Competition, and as the only American semifinalist at the 18th International Chopin Competition in 2021. 

Avery Gagliano | Szymanowski, Variations in B flat minor, Op. 3

Variations in B flat minor, Op. 3

Classeek Showroom performance, September 2022

Bilal Alnemr

Syrian violinist Bilal Alnemr kickstarts his time on the Classeek Ambassador Programme with a selection of sonatas by Schumann, Fauré and 20th-century Syrian composer Solhi al-Wadi. 

Opening the programme is Schumann’s Violin Sonata No. 1 in A minor, a piece written at the tail end of Schumann’s life, long after his other chamber works. Unlike these, the sonata is set in three movements as opposed to the usual four, with the central Allegretto combining the stylings of both a slow and scherzo movement. The surging main theme shows off the rich sonorities of the violin, particularly in the first movement where the low registers of both violin and piano are exploited. The second movement is faster paced, with short phrases, more frequent tempo changes and barlines hidden with syncopations and overlapping phrases. The perpetually moving finale sees the melody passed back and forth between the two instruments, before a dramatic final flourish. 

While Schumann’s sonata was one of his later successes, Fauré’s First Violin Sonata marked a turning point in his career, with fame coming rather late to the French composer. The sonata quickly made its way into the programmes of some of Europe’s top performers, including Ysaÿe, Enescu and Saint-Saëns, who was Fauré’s former piano teacher and a notable fan of his work. It was Saint-Saëns who introduced Fauré to the French mezzo-soprano Pauline Viardot and her daughter Marianne, with whom Fauré quickly fell in love. The violin sonata was dedicated to her brother, Paul Viardot, who gave the premiere of the piece with Fauré himself on the piano. 

To complete this evening’s programme, Alnemr tips his hat to a fellow Syrian musician, Solhi al-Wadi. Having been born in Iraq, al-Wadi moved to London to study at the Royal Academy of Music in London. He spent the rest of his life in Syria, where he was a significant champion of opera and music in the country. He campaigned for the opening of various musical institutes and the Damascus Opera House, and also helped form the Syrian National Symphony Orchestra.

Bilal Alnemr, violin | Giuseppe Mentuccia, piano

Sonata in A minor, Op. 105 

Sonata No.1 in A major

Violin Sonata No.2

Duo Recital

Nominated onto the Classeek Ambassador Programme by esteemed French violinist Renaud Capuçon, Paul Zientara performs a trio of lyrical viola works alongside pianist Arthur Hinnewinkel. They open the recital with Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet, one of the best loved works in the orchestral repertoire, which has undergone many arrangements for every imaginable instrumentation. Extracts of the ballet are heard here for viola and piano, adapted by renowned Soviet violist Vadim Borisovsky. The drama and heightened intensity of the large-scale production are stripped back to expose the raw emotion of Prokofiev’s writing and storytelling. 

To follow, Brahms’ Viola Sonata No. 2, a mellow, intimate work with a contrasting, impassioned central movement. Originally written for the clarinet, the sonata was written at a time when the combination of clarinet and piano was rarely heard, but Brahms enjoyed experimenting with the rich variety in the clarinet’s sound and tonal colours. The altered arrangement for viola also exploits the rich colours and timbres of the instrument, before ending on a sweet, tranquil note that brings us to a calm, contented conclusion. 

To complete this expressive programme is Enescu’s Concertstück, a piece written at the turn of the 20th century as a commission from Fauré for a work for the annual viola concours at the Paris Conservatoire. It is, by its very nature, a show piece, exhibiting the full potential of the instrument and its player – but is rigorously demanding of both. Its composer Enescu was a virtuoso string player himself, still remembered as one of the greatest musicians in Romanian history. His cultural heritage manifests throughout the piece with a bold, rhapsodic style, with influences and elements of Romanian folk music. 

Paul Zientara, viola | Arthur Hinnewinkel, piano

Extracts from Romeo and Juliet (arr. for viola and piano)

Viola Sonata No.2 in E flat major, Op.120

Concertstück for viola and piano

Julia Hamos

Nominated onto the Classeek Ambassador Programme by international superstar Sir András Schiff, pianist Julia Hamos brings a programme of works showcasing her boldness as an artist and the breadth of her technical capabilities. She begins with the fourth of Bach’s much-loved ‘French’Suites, a set of pieces initially compiled for Bach’s wife, possibly as a wedding present. These highly stylised Baroque dance movements are split into seven short movements, designed for home music-making for Bach and his students.

Hamos then cycles forward a few centuries to another set of dances, this time based on avariety of asymmetric rhythms common in Bulgarian folk music. Bartók wrote six books of Mikrokosmos, bringing together 153 pieces of music predominantly designed as teaching materials. These Six Dances in Bulgarian Rhythm are taken from the final book, which hasenjoyed a life beyond the practice room in the concert hall, thanks to its joyful, drivingenergy, playful motifs and grand flourishes. It’s not only the complex rhythms that makethese pieces difficult for the performer – it’s also the use of ‘biomodalism’, a widelyembraced technique at the time, in which two keys are used at the same time to create anunusual tonality. 

Hamos brings us finally to another set of piano pieces inspired by a composer’s great love. Like Bach’s French Suites, Schumann penned Davidsbündlertänze in tribute to ClaraWeick, with whom he was deeply in love at the time of writing. The set of 18 piano pieces for the piano are based on a mazurka by Clara, and the work in its entirety is a very personal tribute to her, containing, as Schumann later put it, ‘many wedding thoughts’. Davidsbündlertänze is full of vibrant characterisations and is named after the composer’s music society. The Davidbündler was a partly real, partly imaginary group of artists created by Schumann in his writings – a group organised to discuss and defend the cause of contemporary music. The two predominant members, Florestan and Eusebius, appear in much of Schumann’s work at this time but are explicitly portrayed in the Davidsbündlertänze. This selection ofintimate character pieces are shown to be musical dialogues between these two figures– symbolising the extroverted and introverted sides of Schumann’s personality respectively.

French Suite No.4

Six Dances in Bulgarian Rhythm from Mikrokosmos

Davidsbundlertänze Op.6

Piano Recital

Personally nominated to the Classeek Ambassador Programme by Sir András Schiff, pianist Avery Gagliano joins us with a recital spanning nearly 200 years and encompassing a broad range of musical styles and influences. She opens with one of the more delicate of Bach’s ‘French’ Suites, which first appeared in a music book he compiled for his second wife, possibly as a wedding present. Written in B minor, a key often reserved for some of Bach’s most impressive – and melancholic – works, the suite brings together musical influences from across Europe, making the ‘French’ moniker somewhat misleading. Following the form of a Baroque dance suite, these were designed to challenge Bach’s students as he was developing his reputation as one of Europe’s leading music teachers. 

Chopin sits at the heart of this programme, with a set of three grand, rhythmic mazurkas, thick with melodic invention and expressive range. Written during one of his summers in Nohant in France with the writer George Sand, the three mazurkas showcase the very best of Chopin’s contrapuntal writing, with contrasting lines interwoven to create a vibrant range of textures.

This gives way to Chopin’s Barcarolle in F sharp major, a piece written a few years later towards the end of the composer’s life. Although it is a lyrical work, full of sweeping romantic phrases, it’s also incredibly demanding of the pianist, requiring large interval reaches in the left hand and balanced, even passages in the right. There is a childlike simplicity and dreaminess to the playfulness of each phrase, while still being peppered with the folk-inspired harmonic language you’d expect of a barcarolle, a traditional folk song sung by Venetian gondoliers. 

Szymanowski brings us into the 20th century with his set of 10 Variations in B flat minor, dedicated to his friend and one of the world’s greatest ever pianists, Arthur Rubinstein. They follow on from Chopin’s Barcarolle with a similarly romantic style, in a hat tip to the 19th-century ideals of form construction. However, there’s a uniquely modern flavour added throughout, with moments of heavy chromaticism and dissonance thanks to Szymanowski’s bold harmonic language. 

French Suite No. 3 in B minor, BWV 814 

Mazurkas, Op. 50

Barcarolle in F sharp major, Op. 60

Flute

Alberto Navarra

Nominated to the Classeek programme by world-class flautist Emmanuel Pahud, Alberto Navarra brings a vibrant programme of chamber music to his first rehearsal on the scheme. He is joined by cello and piano for Weber’s Trio in G minor, one of the composer’s most substantial chamber pieces. With lively writing for all three instruments and plenty of melodic invention, there are opportunities for each of the musicians to dazzle audiences with their virtuosity. A melancholic, contemplative Allegro moderato gives way to a spirited waltz, before we end with a final movement referred to as Schäfers Klage (Shepherd’s Complaint or Shepherd’s Lament, an allusion to Goethe’s 1802 poem of the same name). 

We then move on to three works for flute and piano, starting with a piece originally written for clarinet and piano: Schumann’s Fantasiestücke. These have been a staple of the chamber repertoire, transcribed for various instrumentations. The three pieces are almost character studies, with sudden contrasting shifts in mood, moving from inward-looking darkness to light, extroverted buoyancy. The first piece is rather dreamy, with directions for the players to approach ‘tenderly, with expression’. The second piece moves to the major version of the key, in a much more playful, energetic temperament. The final movement stays in this new major key, but with a frenzied energy, pushing the players to their limits for a triumphant ending.

Navarra then moves us on to two prominent pieces within the 20th-century flute repertoire: Poulenc’s Sonata and Frank Martin’s Ballade, both of which have enjoyed further success in well-known orchestrated versions. The Poulenc is almost elegiac in its poignant main theme, infused with the composer’s trademark wit and playfulness. Martin is less well known as a composer, but his Ballade is an essential piece in any flautist’s arsenal. In his early life, he was influenced by French composers, particularly Fauré, before he went on to study with Schoenberg in the 1930s, which inevitably introduced new approaches to composition. The blend of these vastly different styles became Martin’s trademark, which you can hear in his Ballade – a piece with no real tonal centre but plenty of lyricism. 

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