Blog Archives

With his striking musicality, instinctive stylistic certainty and musical maturity, this young German cellist is taking the international music scene by storm. Don’t miss his Canadian debut with pianist, Benjamin Engeli.

“Hornung seems to come from another planet” –Die Zeit

SCHUMANN: 5 Stücke im Volkston, Op.102
BEETHOVEN: Sonata for Cello and Piano in A major, Op. 69
JANÁČEK: Pohádka (Fairytale) for Cello and Piano
STRAUSS: Sonata for Cello and Piano in F major, Op. 6

Series Sponsor: The Late Edwina & Paul Heller

Supported By:

The members of the Apollon Musagète Quartet were selected by BBC Radio 3 as 2012-13 New Generation Artists, and by the Vienna Konzerthaus and Musikverein as 2010-11 Rising Stars. In January 2014, the ensemble won a prestigious Borletti-Buitoni Trust Award. Hear this marvelous Polish quartet in its Canadian debut.

“Clever programming and stylish interpretation – it is no surprise that the four young Polish members of the Apollon Musagète have risen to the very top of their profession.” — Münchner Merkur

BEETHOVEN: String Quartet in D major Op. 18 No. 3
WEBERN: Langsamer Satz
SCHUBERT: String Quartet in G major D. 887

Series Sponsor: The Late Edwina & Paul Heller

Concert Sponsor: Maryke Gilmore

Supported By:

After an early musical education that included piano, violin and cello, Raphaël Sévère took up the clarinet at the age of 8. By the time he was 12, he had won 5 international competitions.  Another Canadian debut not to be missed!

“In every register of the clarinet his is a sound of rare beauty and dazzling virtuosity in service of the music” — La Nouvelle République.

BORODIN: Sonata in B Minor (adapted for clarinet & piano by Raphaël Sévère)
LUTOSŁAWSKI: Dance Preludes
DEBUSSY: Première Rhapsodie
BERG: Four Pieces for clarinet and piano, Op. 5
BERNSTEIN: Sonata for clarinet and piano (1941-42)

Series Sponsor: The Late Edwina & Paul Heller

Supported By:

Born in Nizhny Novgorod, Igor Levit moved to Germany with his family at the age of 8. He completed his piano studies at the Hanover Academy of Music at the age of 22 with the highest academic and performance scores in the history of the institute. As the youngest participant in the 2005 Arthur Rubinstein International Piano Competition, Igor won the Silver Medal, the Prize for Best Performance of Chamber Music, the ‘Audience Favourite’ Prize and the Prize for Best Performance of Contemporary Music.

“Russian-German pianist Igor Levit made a hypnotic North American debut, playing the last three piano sonatas of Beethoven with the wisdom of a pianist twice his age.” — Alex Ross, The New Yorker

J.S. BACH: Partita No. 4 BWV 828
SCHUBERT: Moments Musicaux D. 780
BEETHOVEN: Sonata in D minor, Op. 31 No.2 (Tempest)
PROKOFIEV: Sonata No. 7, Op. 83

Series Sponsor: The Late Edwina & Paul Heller

Concert Sponsor: The John C. Kerr Family Foundation

Supported By:

Uzbek-born pianist Roman Rabinovich’s playing has been described as compelling, dynamic and highly sensitive. Since winning the 2008 Rubinstein International Piano Competition, he has performed throughout the United States and Europe to great critical acclaim. This performance marks Roman’s Canadian debut.

“He is an artist of the highest caliber; a pianist with complete technical command, a prodigious memory and a highly individual personality at the piano.” —Palm Beach Arts Paper

HAYDN: Sonata in B-flat Major Hob.XVI:41
SCHUMANN: Kreisleriana, Op. 16
WEBERN: Variations, Op. 27
BEETHOVEN: Sonata in A Major, Op. 101
SMETANA: Four Czech Dances from Book II

Series Sponsor: The Late Edwina & Paul Heller

Supported By:

By the age of 17, Caroline Goulding had played with the Cleveland Orchestra, Detroit Symphony and Buffalo Philharmonic, made a television appearance on NBC’s The TODAY Show, and received a Grammy nomination for her first recording. This performance will be Caroline’s Vancouver debut.

“Playing of fantastic style and flair, with an extraordinary virtuosity that always serves the character of the music. A violinist you must hear!” — Peter Oundjian, Music Director, Toronto Symphony Orchestra

J.S. BACH: Sonata in A major, BWV 1015
BEETHOVEN: Sonata in C minor, Op. 30 No. 2
DEBUSSY: Sonata in G minor
BARTÓK: Rhapsody No. 1, Sz. 87

Series Sponsor: The Late Edwina & Paul Heller

Concert sponsor: Robert & Denise

Suppported By:

In 2011, at the age of 18, Beatrice Rana won the Montreal International Piano Competition, making her the youngest winner ever. She stood head and shoulders above all the other contestants and now Rana’s star is rising in the international music world: she has aroused admiration from concert presenters, conductors, critics and audiences alike.

“From the moment she sat down at the piano during the first round of the competition, Rana sent chills through the room.” – La Scena Musicale

Program

Schumann
Abegg Variations
Symphonic Etudes Op. 13

Chopin
24 Preludes, Op. 28

Links

Learn more about Beatrice Rana

Biography

Though she is barely 20 years old, Beatrice is already a guest of prestigious concert series and festivals throughout the world, such as Zurich’s Tonhalle, London’s Wigmore Hall, La Roque d’Anthéron international piano festival, Radio-France Festival in Montpellier, Lanaudière Festival in Montreal, the Vancouver Recital Society, Domaine Forget in Quebec, La Folle Journée Festival in Nantes, Busoni Festival in Bolzano, Milan’s Società dei Concerti. As a soloist she has been invited to perform with the Orchestra Internazionale d’Italia, the Kuala Lumpur Philharmonic Orchestra, the Aarhus Symfoniorkester, the Südwestdeutsche Philharmonie Konstanz, the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, the Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestre de Pau Pays de Bearn in France, Fabien Gabel’s Quebec Symphony Orchestra  and Yannick Nézet-Seguin’s Orchestre Métropolitain de Montréal.

In June 2011, at only 18, Beatrice Rana won First Prize at the Montreal International Music Competition and thus became one of its youngest winner ever. Beatrice Rana also won all the other special prizes. A recipient of an impressive number of first prizes in national and international piano competitions, such as “Muzio Clementi” Competition, “International Piano Competition of the Republic of San Marino” and “Bang&Olufsen PianoRAMA Competition”, Beatrice was selected in 2010 among 60 participants as one of the six pianists allowed to take part in the  “Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli Prize” where she has attended a prestigious masterclass with Arie Vardi and performed a recital. She now studies with Arie Verdi in Hannover.

Born to a family of musicians in 1993, Beatrice Rana made her debuts as a soloist with orchestra at the age of 9, performing Bach Concerto in F minor. Beatrice began her musical studies at four and achieved her Piano Degree at the age of sixteen with top marks, laude and honorable mention under the guidance of Benedetto Lupo at the Nino Rota Conservatory of Music in Monopoli, where she also studied composition with Marco della Sciucca. During her studies, she was awarded at the age of twelve the prestigious scholarship of the Italian Ministry of Education, University and Research for her great and very precocious musical talent. At the same time she attended masterclasses in Italy, France and United States with artists such as M. Beroff, A. Ciccolini, A. Jasinski, F. J. Thioillier, E. Virsaladze.

This performance is sponsored by the John C. Kerr Family Foundation.