"Martina Consonni is full of life and “Italianita,” her musicality is most engaging."

Praised for her innate musicality and overwhelming sensitivity combined with a remarkable instrumental technique and brilliance of sound, Martina Consonni has established herself as one of the most promising young pianists of her generation.She made her debut at the age of ten with the Bacau Philharmonic Orchestra, and has since then been in international demand as both soloist and chamber musician. 

She has performed in prestigious venues such as Konzerthaus and Philharmonie in Berlin, Wigmore Hall and Royal Albert Hall in London, Teatro La Fenice in Venice, Teatro Carlo Felice in Genoa, Teatro alla Scala in Milan, Teatro Cittadella in Lugano, Museo del Violino in Cremona, Debussy Museum in Paris, Sala Ateneu in Bacau, St. Stephen Church in New York, Parco della Musica in Rome, Auditorium Manzoni in Bologna, Forum Casals in Kronberg, Filharmonia Narodowa in Warsaw.She is a regular guest at international festivals including Rheingau Musik Festival, Kronberg Academy Festival, Heidelberger Klavierwoche, Debussy Festival Paris, MiTo Settembre Musica, Bologna Festival, Amiata Piano Festival, Gravedona Chamber Music Festival, Lerici Music Festival, Chamber Music Connects the World, Trame Sonore, Perugia Musica Classica, Società dei Concerti Milan, Musica con Le Ali.

Her love for chamber music, enriched by a strong natural aptitude, has led her to share the stage with great instrumentalists, including Steven Isserlis, Tabea Zimmermann, Enrico Dindo, Enrico Bronzi, Francesca Dego, Adrian Brendel, Francesco Dillon, Diyang Mei. 

Piano

Martina Consonni

Viola

Sào Soulez Larivière

Nominated by the International Classical Music Awards (ICMA) jury, violist Sào Soulez Larivière joined us in concert in March 2024 as part of the Ambassador Programme. He was joined by fellow Ambassador Programme artist Martina Consonni.

Sào Soulez Larivière and Martina Consonni | R. Schumann: Märchenbilder, Op. 113

Märchenbilder, Op. 113

Classeek Showroom performance, 27 March 2024

Sào Soulez Larivière and Martina Consonni | A. Pärt: Fratres

Fratres

Martina Consonni talks about how she came to meet Sir András Schiff, her experiences with the Kronberg Academy, aspirations for her career, and her thoughts on teaching.

Martina Consonni Interview

with Benjamin Woodroffe

Nominated by Sir András Schiff, Italian pianist Martina Consonni joined us in concert in September 2023 as part of the Ambassador Programme. 

Martina Consonni | Mendelssohn - Rondo capriccioso in E minor, Op. 14

Rondo capriccioso in E minor, Op. 14

Classeek Showroom performance, 14 September 2023

Martina Consonni | Haydn - Piano Sonata in C major, HobXVI50

Piano Sonata in C major, HobXVI50

Martina Consonni | Chopin - Etude Op. 10 No. 5 (encore)

Etude Op. 10 No. 5

Martina Consonni | Schumann - Papillons Op. 2

Papillons Op. 2

Saò Soulez Larivière, viola  / Nominated in collaboration with the ICMA

Wherever my viola takes me, I will be happy to be by its side.

Larivière: Playing ensemble and in ensemble 

Hand-in-bow with his instrument, Franco-Dutch violist Sào Soulez Larivière will share his love of chamber music that blossomed through childhood play with his sister and violinist, Cosima. His open and sensitive musicality was especially drawn to the role of the viola in ensemble playing, “As a violist, you use your ears more than your voice, so to speak!” Although the siblings still frequently perform together, this programme will be presented with Italian pianist Martina Consonni, another artist of Classeek’s Ambassador Programme.

 (‘brother’ in Latin) by Arvo Pärt. It is an exploration of 

 - the rich complexity of pealing bells, unfurled through inversions and variations of a chord progression. Simultaneously, its unfolding patterns and sequences reveal Pärt’s underlying uncertainty: 

“Tintinnabulation is an area I sometimes wander into when I am searching for answers…In my dark hours, I have the certain feeling that everything outside this one thing has no meaning. The complex and many-faceted only confuses me, and I must search for unity. What is it, this one thing, and how do I find my way to it?” 

 (“Rain Sonata”), the final movement of Brahms’ 

 No.1, Op. 78 quotes melodic motifs from his own art song 

 (“Rainsong”). A romantic sonata, viola and piano intertwine to paint literary and musical allusions to rain. Amidst this shower, the text of 

 spills over: “Pour rain, pour down/Wake again in me those dreams/That I dreamt in childhood…” 

Fairytales make many childhood dreams, as in Schumann’s 

 (“Fairytale Pictures”). A series of four meticulously crafted miniatures, 

 dives into different moods, comparing and contrasting to create small artistic gems. Tonally centred around D, we begin with a wandering tenderness in the minor. With a buoyant dotted figure, the second movement 

 propels us into an active curiosity. We return to D minor for a virtuosic whirlwind in the third movement, before settling into a final movement that leaves us with childlike yearning. 

Sào Soulez Larivière, viola | Martina Consonni, piano

Violin Sonata No. 1, Op. 78

Viola Recital

Tomoki Park

"It is with great pleasure that I can introduce two excellent pianists to you: Martina Consonni and Tomoki Park. Martina Consonni is full of life and “Italianita,” her musicality is most engaging. Tomoki Park is a brilliant mind, intellectual in the best sense but full of emotions. He is very interested in new music and plays it with understanding and enthusiasm. Please receive them with open hearts."

Martina Consonni is a ‘rare talent,’ renowned classical pianist and conductor, Sir Andràs Schiff enthuses. Cellist Gautier Capuçon also testifies to her sensitivity and creativity – her exceptional skill echoing Therese Bartolozzi, a brilliant pianist of the 18th century to whom Haydn’s Piano Sonata in C major, Hob:XVI:50, is dedicated.

Written around 1794, Haydn was concluding his second (and last) visit to London. His trips to the vibrant city famously inspired him to write several symphonies, yet he also reveled in the large English pianos of the day. With an extended keyboard that gave the instrument ‘extra’ notes, Haydn wrote his Sonata in C major with this luxury in mind. A witty flair that has come to be synonymous with Haydn accompanies this sophisticated keyboard writing.

Not many of us are blessed with witty flair in adolescence, remarks Romantic writer Jean Paul in his novel Flegeljahre (The Awkward Age). The last scene of the book, a masked ball, was the inspiration for Schumann’s piano suite Papillons, and was subject to many annotations by the composer as he devoured the pages. 

Meaning “butterflies”, Papillons refers to the many slips of paper on which Schumann wrote his notes whilst reading Flegeljahre. As in Jean Paul’s novel, Papillons spins us through several dance-like movements with rapid mood changes and intense encounters.

A similar intensity is captured in Mendelssohn’s Rondo Capriccioso in E minor, albeit not immediately: first, we are lulled by a lyrical adagio reminiscent of his Lieder ohne Worte. This then gives way to a sparkling scherzo as the tension continues to mount. A virtuosic race begins and we are compelled to hang onto every note until the finish line. 

Reworked in 1830 for piano virtuoso Delphine von Schauroth, Mendelssohn’s Rondo Capriccioso in E minor is a brilliant demonstration of his lyrical tenderness, coupled with his powerful exigence.

J.S. Bach’s collection of four duets, published in 1739, contains his usual dedication “[to] music lovers to refresh their spirits”. This time, however, he saw fit to add an additional phrase: “and especially for connoisseurs of such work”. An intellectual and technical feat, these duets are not written for two instruments but rather two voices – not unlike his two-part inventions. Stretching the limits of contrapuntal art, it is especially a connoisseur, as Bach rightly concedes, that can appreciate the purity of this two-voice counterpoint. Having performed at celebrated venues such as Berliner Philharmonie and Wigmore Hall, Tomoki Park is both a connoisseur and master of such complexity.

Park is not the only one to share a sensitivity to detail and structure. American composer Katherine Balch draws parallels between her music and botany, citing, “The veins in a leaf form patterns that are self-similar but not quite symmetrical, which is what I try to do in my music…”. This is what we can anticipate in her new work Obstenmelodie, along with incredible layers of texture that have come to characterise her music.

Just as texture marks Balch’s compositions, Schubert’s are often characterized by their unfinished nature. Like his eighth symphony – the Piano Sonata in C major, D. 840 “Reliquie” – contains only two fully completed movements. With vivid harmonic language, Beethovenian grandeur, and perceptive, intimate writing, this sonata is one of the most significant of Schubert’s unfinished works. 

Among Bach’s most significant finished works are the Canon Per Tonos and Musical Offering Ricercare 6, which conclude this recital. Canons can take all shapes and sizes, a feature that Bach exploited. With the theme given by Frederick the Great, Bach manipulated the music so that it goes up a step (tone) with each repetition. He explained in the inscription to this piece, that “as the modulation rises, so may the King’s glory”.

However, this was not the end of Bach’s – dare we say it – invention. Taking counterpoint several levels higher, his Ricercar 6 is a six-voice fugue that presents a lengthy theme dedicated to Frederick the Great.

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