Viola

Sào Soulez Larivière

Piano

Martina Consonni

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

Fratres

Violin Sonata No. 1, Op. 78

Märchenbilder, Op. 113

Viola Recital

Cello

Madelyn Kowalski

Madelyn Kowalski, cello (USA) / Ambassador: Steven Issserlis

Soft yellow, blue and purple pastels paint scenes of reunion: A setting sun; A shore; A German Shepherd offering a balloon to a seagull that dives down to a dolphin. Painted by American cellist Madelyn Kowalski, these watercolour scenes demonstrate the same themes and artistic sensibility as composer Thomas Adès in 

 - each movement depicting a scene. We may ask ourselves how Kowalski will translate paintbrush to bow. In 

, we see. It begins with the stillness of water then transitions to an expanse of swirling motifs, as colours slowly muddy together. 

Equally dedicated to storytelling through music is American pianist Anna Han - described as “prodigiously gifted” by the Washington Post, with a vivid “display of imagination and taste…far beyond her years”. Together, Han and Kowalski will interpret Fauré’s 

Romance for Cello and Piano in A Major, Op. 69

. Muted in its melodic style, the compositional restraint allows an intensity of feeling to simmer near the surface. 

Such compositional restraint sometimes translates into lexical restraint. After the success of his 

, Fauré was encouraged to write another duo for cello and piano by his publisher, Hamelle. Fauré agreed and created “Piece for Violoncello”. Expecting more evocative imagery, Hamelle insisted he change the title. It became “Papillon” (butterfly). However, this did not necessarily emerge from deep artistic reflection. Reportedly, Fauré declared: “Butterfly or dung fly – call it whatever you want”. Comprising a single movement, this work nonetheless became a staple of Romantic repertoire. 

No dung flies are apparent in Kaija Saariaho’s 

 (Seven Butterflies). As a metaphor for the ephemeral, this work – one of Saariaho’s best – involves several extended techniques for the cello, such as harmonics, variable bow pressure, and sul ponticello. It demands technical dexterity and a mastery of different emotional worlds: “Sweet, light and free” in the first movement, “Calm, with sadness” in the third and “Always a little nervous, timeless” in the sixth. 

These emotional worlds are deliberately stirred in Camille Saint- Saëns’

 Sonata for Cello and Piano No.2 in F Major, Op. 123

. His third movement, he wrote, is “a romance that will delight cellists…the Adagio will bring tears to sensitive souls”. However, not all have heavy emotional weight: the second movement is a Scherzo with eight variations (including a fugue). The ending Rondo engages piano and cello in playful imitative games, “[waking up] anyone who’s slept through the rest of the piece.”  

Madelyn Kowalski, cello | Anna Han, piano

Lieux retrouvés (I. Les eaux)

Papillon, Op. 77

Sept Papillons (Papillon I, III, VI)

Sonata for Cello and Piano No. 2 in F Major, Op. 123

Cello & Piano Recital

Violin

Clarissa Bevilacqua

Clarissa Bevilacqua, violin (Italy-USA) / Open Application

Solitude is a philosophical musing that many have pondered on. For violinist Clarissa Bevilacqua, it has marked her career. At nine years old, alone before a crowd of 10,000, she enchanted the audience with her inspired musicality. At seventeen, presenting in front of the Concours Musical International de Montréal jury, Bevilacqua was the only candidate who chose to play solo - without accompaniment - during the first round. And last year, Bevilacqua released her debut album, Dream Catcher, featuring Augusta Read Thomas’ complete works for solo violin. 

The individual voice of a violin and violinist is explored in this programme that spans three centuries. Meticulously chosen by Bevilacqua, each piece demonstrates the development of violin expression throughout various musical periods, the common theme being each composer’s distinctive contribution to the solo violin repertoire. 

Dream Catcher opens the concert in an ethereal, foggy daze. As this bewitching story unfurls, we may be left wanting to remain in an abstract haze. This is exactly when the second work, Sidestep Reel, composed by Wynton Marsalis, steps in. We are thrust into a contemporary work that slides into the world of folk and jazz with its Afro-Celtic dance style.

These modern opening acts are then tempered by the tradition of Viennese art music. Paul Hindemith and Fritz Kreisler’s characteristic flavours and idiomatic writing are showcased with virtuosic flair, proving that a similar ‘nurture’ can create extremely distinct but equally compelling styles. 

The last set of compositions juxtapose past and present. Bach’s Violin Partita No.3 is one of six for solo violin and, almost exactly two hundred years later, inspired Ysaÿe’s own. Beginning with the same initial notes as Bach’s Partita No.3, Ysaÿe’s Sonata No.2 pays homage, before meandering into a unique composition that fluctuates between incredibly technical passages and deep, sensitive, song-like melodies.

It was J.S. Bach who wrote “Sei Solo” on the manuscript of his Six Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin. It is widely accepted that instead of writing “You are alone”, he meant to write Sei Soli, meaning “Six Solos”. But perhaps not. Bach may also have been taken by the exploration of solitude for the instrument and instrumentalist. With her violin and the musings of six great composers, Clarissa Bevilacqua adds her own exceptional interpretation.  

Dream Catcher

Fiddle Dance Suite - 1. Sidestep Reel

Violin Sonata, Op. 31, No. 2 - IV. Fünf Variationen über das Lied “Komm, lieber Mai” v. Mozart

Recitativo and Scherzo, Op. 6

Violin Partita No. 3 in E Major, BWV 1006

Violin Sonata No. 2, Op. 27 “Jacques Thibaud”

Violin Recital

Dmitry Smirnov

Dmitry Smirnov, violin (Russia) / Ambassador: Sonia Simmenauer

Joined by Laurie Hamiche (soprano) and Loréna Sajous (dance)

Dmitry Smirnov: A Confluence of Distinct Concepts

 has a bright and sharp resonance, not unlike the steel strings of a modern violin. 

, on the other hand, has a softer and warmer tone - like the gut strings of a Baroque violin. Dmitry Smirnov was first introduced to a modern violin as a child, revealing a shining virtuosic technicity. It was only later, at the age of 20, that he started exploring the Baroque violin. Its warmer tone opened a new pathway for expression, resulting in a softer sound that could lullaby each note through a tender simplicity. Described as “one of the most unconventional minds among young violinists” by the Strebi-Erni Foundation, Smirnov aspires to end the separation between modern playing and historically informed playing (HIP), by applying a HIP approach to any repertoire. Like Smirnov’s experimental infusion of Bach’s D minor Partita and Bartók’s Solo Sonata, this concert will shuttle between the modern and the historical. 

We begin with the dulcet tones of the lyra da bracchio, a Renaissance stringed instrument that was used by Italian musicians at court to accompany readings of lyrical poetry. Shaped similarly to a violin, it has two additional strings off the fingerboard that act as drones, providing a full-bodied resonance that can support a musical tale. Tales such as those created by Angelo Poliziano, a notable humanist of Renaissance Florence, through his studies of classical texts. Poliziano’s works include Fabula di Orfeo, a drama set to music in a manner not unlike that of Dmitry Smirnov, melding the Ancient Greek legend of Orpheus with the vibrant “rebirth” movement of the Renaissance. Through the somewhat lost art of improvisation, Smirnov will challenge our perception of new and old with an inimitable display of an experimental mind rooted in ancient traditions. 

This patronage to past masters was shared by Eugène Ysaÿe, a Belgian virtuosic violinist. He remains one of the technical and artistic standards for the modern violin today, almost 100 years after his death. Despite his nearly unparalleled technique, tone, and articulation that pushed the boundaries of innovation, he remained close to the musical past. Upon hearing Hungarian virtuoso Joseph Szigeti perform Bach’s partitas and sonatas for solo violin, Ysaÿe raced to compose a set of violin works that celebrated the evolution of musical techniques and expressions of his time. And so, his Six Sonatas for Solo Violin was born. With each sonata dedicated to a great violinist of the era, this set of works is a masterful extravagance that challenges the most capable musicians to push beyond mere technicity and reveal all the hope, despair, and passion felt as humans. Smirnov will not only display his musical mastery through three of these sonatas (dedicated to Joseph Szigeti, George Enescu, and Manuel Quiroga) but will also open the door a little wider into who he is. 

Compared to Eugène Ysaÿe, Netty Simons remains something of an enigma. Born in 1913, she was an American composer, pianist, and teacher. Her piece “Circle of Attitudes” for solo violin and dancer, will be performed by Smirnov and the dancer Loréna Sajous as a Swiss première. There are five movements to this work: Bereavement, Awareness, Fear, Dauntlessness, and Abandonment. We may know less about Simons but it is clear that, as in the case of Ysaÿe, the human condition remains important. 

As this concert comes to a close, we may question if it is only the bright fizz of the modern violin and the warm indulgence of the Baroque violin that we should seek to connect. During Kurtág’s brief exile in the late 1950s, he met an art psychologist named Marianne Stein. It was a period of personal and creative crisis for Kurtág. Stein taught him something that technique could not: “[she taught] me to take my time and, as it were, to forgive myself. It made me freer.” This liberation was influenced by the works of literary figures including Friedrich Hölderlin, Samuel Beckett, and Franz Kafka. Shifting between realism and the fantastic, Kafka explored vulnerability and our state of alienation in his novels, notebooks, diaries, and letters. From these texts, Kurtág collected random fragments over several decades that ultimately became the impetus for the Kafka Fragments, an intimate duet between vocalist and violinist that shares glimpses into an inner world. 

It appears that there is a constant bipolarity at play: between modern playing and historically informed playing, ancient and reborn, improvisation and composition, technique and emotions, realism and the fantastic. This concert by Dmitry Smirnov is an opportunity to see how these opposing ideas can exist together. 

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