Piano

Martina Consonni

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

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

Martina Consonni | Schumann - Papillons Op. 2

Papillons Op. 2

Classeek Showroom performance, 14 September 2023

Flute

Alberto Navarra

Nominated by Emmanuel Pahud, flautist Alberto Navarra joins the Classeek Ambassador Programme for the 2022-23 season.

Born in Mondovì, Italy, he began his musical education with Maurizio Valentini at the Conservatorio di Musica Ghedini in Cuneo, followed by further studies with Andrea Manco and Andrea Oliva at the International Academy of Imola and National Academy of Santa Cecilia in Rome. Awarded with scholarships to continue his studies, in 2019 he joined the Escuela Superior de Música Reina Sofía in Madrid as a student of Jacques Zoon and Salvador Martinez Tos. Here he was also awarded the "más sobresaliente", student of the year, presented by Queen Sofía of Spain.

Alberto has gained notable recognition in the spring of 2022, winning the Carl Nielsen International Flute Competition in Odense, Denmark. Other competition successes include the Severino Gazzelloni International Flute Competition (Italy) in 2021 and Dorel Baicu International Competition (Romania) in 2020.This season, Alberto joins the Berliner Philharmoniker as a member of the prestigious Karajan Akademie, studying and performing alongside world renowned flautists Emmanuel Pahud, Sebastian Jacot and the entire BPO flute section.

Alberto Navarra | Schumann - Fantasiestücke Op. 73

Classeek Showroom performance, May 2023

« Durchaus fantastisch und leidenschaftlich vorzutragen; Im Legenden-Ton »

The title of the first movement of Robert Schumann’s Fantasia in C demands it ‘to be played fantastically and passionately; as if recounting a legend’. Therefore, in telling the story of Schumann and his music, we have no choice but to gracefully oblige:

…Once upon a time, back in the 1830s, there lived a law student in Leipzig. He soon realised that studying law was for him both Crime and Punishment, so he turned to song composition and piano performance instead. Yet the desire to analyse and critique was never far off. Hence, this almost-lawyer founded a music journal, the Neue Zeitschrift für Musik, where for ten years his perceptive writings represented the most progressive musical thinking of the time.

This student, a young Robert Schumann, promoted the work of prolific past composers like Mozart, Beethoven and Weber, as well as contemporary composers such as Chopin and Berlioz. However, his fervent advocacy of their music was not his only preoccupation. He was also entwined in a passionate love affair and, as is so often the case in legends, faced a formidable villain.

Enter Friedrich Wieck, renowned piano professor and father of Clara Wieck, a piano prodigy. From the beginning, Wieck opposed Clara and Schumann’s romantic entanglement, stating that Schumann could not support his daughter financially and was not of a high enough social standing. He forbade Clara from seeing him, threatening disinheritance. Thus began the couple’s separation in 1836, which led to the composition of Schumann’s Fantasia in C.

Often seen as one of Schumann’s greatest works for piano, and privately considered by Schumann as “…perhaps the most impassioned music [he had] ever written,” his Fantasia in C is a testament to the heart-stopping ecstasy and unresolved longing that being in love with Clara provoked. Contained by a loose sonata structure, Schumann nonetheless broke free from this Classical form to create an emblematic piece of the Romantic period. And like

all great romances, Schumann included a special message to his love. The coda of the first movement begins with a melody from the last song in Beethoven’s song cycle An die ferne Geliebte (‘To the distant beloved’). This melody is from the phrase “Take, then, these songs, beloved, which I have sung for you.”

Like all great legends, we cannot finish without returning to the beginning: our law student in Leipzig. For even though Schumann did not continue his studies, he initiated several lawsuits against Friedrich Wieck. His legal complaints against Wieck eventually led to Schumann and Clara’s court-sanctioned marriage on 12 th September 1840.

Regarded as one of the greatest composers of the Romantic era, Robert Schumann’s originality pushed emotional and philosophical boundaries. His music often told stories peppered with motifs and literary references.

After listening to his Fantasia in C, consider exploring his song-cycle Dichterliebe (‘A poet’s love’) to delve further into his tumultuous relationship with Clara Schumann.

Schumann, a legendary composer

Kiana Reid

Kiana joined the Classeek Ambassador Programme in season 2021-22, following her nomination by Sir Andràs Schiff. 

Born in Japan in 1995, Reid studied the piano from the age of six, and at the age of eleven she was awarded the first prize at the PTNA Piano Competition. In 2010, she was accepted by the music school in collaboration with the Faculty of Music at Tokyo University of the Arts, to study with Hirosh Arimori. When she was just seventeen years old, she performed at the Salzburg Music Festival and in 2014 she received a Scholarship funded by YAMAHA and Rohm music foundation. On the competition platform, Reid holds the 1st prize at the Città di Albenga International Piano Competition, the Amigdala International Prize for Piano Interpretation and the 46th Palma d'Oro International Piano Competition, and 5th prize at the 3rd Takamatsu International Piano Competition. 

Kiana Reid | Schumann, Fantasy in C major 

Fantasy in C major

Classeek Showroom performance, June 2022

Shir Semmel

Shir joined the Classeek Ambassador Programme in season 2021-22, following her nomination by Sir András Schiff. 

Hailed as a “wonderful pianist” with “absolute devotion to the music” and “admirable technique” (Globes), pianist Shir Semmel has performed in Europe, the United States, and her native Israel to critical acclaim. A first Prize winner of several competitions, she has participated in international festivals such as the Ravinia’s Steans Music Institute, Music@Menlo, IMS Prussia Cove, IMS Open Chamber Music, the Gstaad Piano Academy at the Menuhin Festival, as well as perfoming in venues such as Carnegie Hall, Steinway Hall, Shriver Hall, Lincoln Center’s Rose Theater and Rose Studio, and many more.

Shir Semmel | Schumann, Davidsbündlertänze Op.6, No.14 'Zart und singend'

Davidsbündlertänze Op. 6

Classeek Showroom performance, May 2022

An excerpt of No.13 'Wild und lustig' from Schumann's Davidsbündlertänze Op. 6, performed by Shir Semmel.

Shir joined the Classeek Ambassador Programme in season 2021-22, following her nomination by Sir Andràs Schiff. Hailed as a “wonderful pianist” with “absolute devotion to the music” and “admirable technique” (Globes), pianist Shir Semmel has performed in Europe, the United States, and her native Israel to critical acclaim. A first Prize winner of several competitions, she has participated in international festivals such as the Ravinia’s Steans Music Institute, Music@Menlo, IMS Prussia Cove, IMS Open Chamber Music, the Gstaad Piano Academy at the Menuhin Festival, as well as perfoming in venues such as Carnegie Hall, Steinway Hall, Shriver Hall, Lincoln Center’s Rose Theater and Rose Studio, and many more.

Shir Semmel | Schumann, Davidsbündlertänze Op. 6, excerpt from No.13 'Wild und lustig'

Shir joined the Classeek Ambassador Programme in season 2021-22, following her nomination by Sir Andràs Schiff. 

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