news
11 August 2008
Winner New Artist On Our Roster
We welcome 22 year old violinist Hrachya Avanesyan on our roster. He is the winner of the International Carl Nielsen Competition 2008. Born in Armenia and at present living in Brussels, he has studied with Igor Oistrakh, who has schooled him in the sound Russian tradition, based on generations of great violinists. He is now just completing his studies at the Queen Elisabeth College. Avanesyan has performed as soloist with orchestras in various European countries, and he is the winner of a number of prestigious competitions. In Denmark he is already engaged to play concerts with several orchestras, and he has just given his first recital in Copenhagen.
30 July 2008
Niklas Sivelöv Joins Copenhagen Artists
Swedish pianist Niklas Sivelöv is a new artist on our roster. Niklas Sivelöv is undoubtedly one of Scandinavia's best pianists and a very versatile musician. Besides giving concerts all over Europe and in the United States, he is newly appointed professor of the Royal Danish Music Academy. Only 40 years old he has composed a considerable list of works not only for piano but also for many other instruments. He treasures musical traditions and adds his own freshness to the music. Niklas Sivelöv has released several recorings. A recent project is a recording of variations over songs by his fellow countryman Bellman, and he is planning on recording Bach's Wohltemperierte Klavier in the near future. We are pleased to welcome Niklas Sivelöv to Copenhagen Artists.
11 July 2008
New Recording from Daniel Raiskin
The happy and successful collaboration between Staatsorchester Rheinische Philharmonie and chief conductor Daniel Raiskin continues. They have recently released a new recording on the cpo label. The disc presents works by Johannes Brahms. Brahms' Piano Quartet op. 25 is arranged for orchestra by Arnold Schönberg and the Clarinet Sonata, op. 120, 1 is arranged for orchestra by Luciano Berio, soloist is Karl-Heinz Steffens.
26 May 2008
New York Next!
Andreas Brantelid has been invited to participate in the Lincoln Centre Chamber Music Society Two programme, commencing in 2009 and running until the end of the 2012 season.
Activities will include some or all of the following
* Performances in the Alice Tully Hall series
* Rose Studio Concert series
* Meet the Music! family concerts
* national and international tours
* recording and broadcast projects
More information about the society and programme 2 can be found on www.chambermusicsociety.org
Congratulations to Andreas. It is a golden opportunity which he has fully deserved.
14 May 2008
Andreas Brantelid releases his debut CD on EMI
Andreas Brantelid has recorded romantic cello concertos including works by Schumann, Saint-Saëns and Tchaikovsky for EMI's Classics' Debut Series with the Danish National Symphony Orchestra DR with Michael Schønwandt conducting. The Debut Series aim to promote young artists internationally and give them invaluable exposure. Several of the debut artists have signed exclusive contracts with EMI.
Andreas Brantelid is one of the leading Scandinavian cellists of his generation and has already won numerous prestigious prizes, been Danish Radio Artist in Residence 2007 and a "Rising Star" 2008.
25 April 2008
Henschel Quartet at Wigmore Hall
The internationally renowned Henschel Quartet celebrates its much-awaited return to the UK in style with a concert at the Wigmore Hall on Wednesday 23 July at 7.30pm with violist Kazuki Sawa, featuring a recently rediscovered String Quintet in E flat by Max Bruch.
Lasting around 20 minutes, the Quintet was composed in 1918 as a companion to the String Quintet in A minor, when Bruch was a sprightly 80 years of age. It appears never to have been publicly performed; this is therefore the first time an audience has had an opportunity to see this glorious work performed live in concert. The score and parts, copied out by Bruch’s daughter-in-law Gertrude, subsequently vanished only to re-emerge in the hands of a private collector in the 1980s. It was auctioned in 2006 to another private collector and only then became accessible. (the whereabouts of Bruch’s original autograph score remains a mystery).
The Quintet will be published for the first time later this year by Henle Edition (www.henle.de) as an Urtext set of performing parts, as well as a study edition. The concert on 23 July also features Erwin Schulhoff’s First Quartet and Schubert’s G major Quartet.
The Henschel Quartet is also pleased to announce their first recordings for the new NEOS label, starting with a coupling of Quartets by Erwin Schulhoff and Leoš Janáček, followed by a very special Christmas 2009 release featuring soloists from the Toelzer Knabenchor with proceeds going to the world’s largest orphan and abandoned children charity, ‘SOS Children Villages’.
22 April 2008
Kurt Masur presents Simon Gaudenz in Paris
Young conductor Simon Gaudenz recently made a very favourable impression on Mo. Masur during a master class in Munich. Masur was in fact so impressed that he in accordance with Mr. Dutilleux decided to invite Gaudenz to conduct the first half of a concert with Orchestra National de France in Paris on 24 April. The programme is Dutilleux: Shadows of time with soprano Amel Brahim-Djelloul as soloist. Mo. Masur will conduct the second half of the concert himself.
3 March 2008
Henschel Quartet
The members of the internationally renowned Henschel Quartet are delighted to announce they have been invited by Queen Sofia of Spain to perform at the Royal Court in Madrid on March 13th 2008. The Palace is the largest in Western Europe with a staggering 2,800 rooms, and only the world’s very finest ensembles are asked to perform there. The specially invited audience will include representatives from each of Spain’s 70 universities, distinguished officers from the Spanish Military, and members of the Royal household.
Queen Sofia, who is a keen supporter of music and the arts in general, has personally chosen the programme: Haydn’s Seven Last Words of Christ on the Cross (a sequence of inspired slow movements commissioned in 1786 by the Canon of Cádiz, with texts spoken on this occasion by acclaimed Spanish singer Anna Maria Sanchez), and Schubert’s sublime G major Quartet D887. The concert will be given on a famous set of Stradivarius instruments owned by the Royal family, all with real wooden inlays and featuring identical patterning on the viola and cello.
The Henschel Quartet then celebrates its much-awaited return to the UK in style with a concert at the Wigmore Hall on Wednesday 23 July at 7.30pm, featuring the world premiere of a newly discovered String Quintet in F by Max Bruch, with violist Kazuki Sawa. Cast in four movements and lasting around 20 minutes, this major find, currently in the hands of a private collector, will be published by Henle Edition later this year as a study score and set of performing parts (www.henle.de). The concert also features Erwin Schulhoff’s First Quartet and Schubert Quartet in G major, D887.
The Quartet is also pleased to announce their first recordings for the new NEOS label, starting with a coupling of Quartets by Erwin Schulhoff and Leoš Janáček , followed by an album featuring the music of Manfred Trojahn then a special Christmas 2009 release featuring members of the Toelzer Knabenchor.
3 March 2008
Ulla Miilmann Featured Artist of the Month in Miyazawa's News Mail
Flutist Ulla Miilmann was born in 1972 in Denmark. She received her Bachelor of Music degree at North Carolina School of the Arts in 1992. During her college years, Ms. Miilmann was already selected as representative of Denmark at the European broadcasting Unions "Concerts for Young Soloist." Ms. Miilmann is a prize Winner in several Competitions, including the prestigious "Flute-Talk" in Chicago, and the
Danish All Music Competition, winning the Gold Medal.
Ms. Miilmann is a frequent choice for honors and awards, for her outstanding artistic ability as well as her devotion for the betterment of her community. The honorable "Jacob Gade Award" and the "Newspaper Critics Artist Prize" come to mind. In 1994, at an astonishing age of 22, Ms. Miilmann became the principal Flutist of the Danish National Radio Symphony Orchestra. Since then she has appeared as soloist with all the
major orchestras in Copenhagen as well as on tour to Taiwan where Danish music was the main theme of the tour. She has worked as a chamber musician in all of Scandinavia with many respected ensembles and musicians; The Danish National Radio Symfoni Orchestra Woodwind Quintet, Pianist Katrine Gislinge, Cembalist Lars Ulrik Mortensen and Violinist Gidon Kremer, among others.
Ulla Miilmann received a Grammy Nomination in February 2007 in the Category "Best Instrumental Soloist Performance with Orchestra" for the recording of the Ole Schmidt Concerto for flute and orchestra.
We had the opportunity to ask Ulla a few questions. Take a look at her thoughts on preparation for major performances, her biggest influences on her playing as well as advice for upcoming flutists
1. Who were/are your biggest influences on your flute playing?
As a child, I experienced a tune or sound inside of me that I could not express in words. At times it was an overwhelming sensation, begging to be let free. When I was eight, I heard the flute for the first time and knew immediately that this was the instrument that should portray the sound coming from within me. It was like a pre-destined feeling, almost forced upon me and intimidating, yet I also felt a strong connection knowing that this was the medium through which I needed to communicate.
Classical music attracted me and I knew that a lifetime of learning was awaiting me. Instead of seeking specific flutists for musical guidance, I sought out all instrumentalists and singers to help me communicate the tune I was hearing in my heart. Just hearing the tune inside me was not enough – it needed a language. It needed to learn how to behave and how to phrase a love poem, but also to express the darker sides of human nature.
It is necessary to have a vocabulary that is able to express every human sentiment. This technical side of vocabulary and language was, and still is sought in literature, music theory and history, and of course music itself. So a great deal of my flute playing is a reflection of my ability to embrace my inner dynamics and transform these emotions into a universal language. My inspiration is an idea, a vision to be able to connect with mankind in musical moments. A mere vision is not enough, though. Hard work and respect for the different performance practices of all periods of music is required. Only then does the vision have a chance to become real and tangible.
2. How do you prepare in advance, mentally and physically, for solo recitals and/or solo performances with major orchestras?
When I have to perform recitals or solo performances, preparation is the key word. I do not want anything unexpected to happen; therefore I know the score and parts of all the other players involved. I know all too well from experience playing a somewhat unknown piece at a concert with an orchestra and suddenly hearing things I never noticed at the rehearsal. It gives an unpleasant feeling of unease and distraction, taking the attention away from music making. Knowing the other players’ parts intimately also creates a playful communication; hopefully to the delight of the players involved as well as the audience.
Another important part for me in preparation is remembering why I am doing this. All too often worries of not being good enough, people judging harshly and so on, takes control. I realized how this self-condemnation was actually condemning the audience also, reducing them to insensitive hard and calloused people. It is important to remember that the audience is made up of our friends, hoping to meet other friends in us, the performers. To me, this thought creates a space of musical being in which I can feel free.
3. What does a typical day look like for you?
A regular day for me is really like most other people. I am a mother of two children, ages 8 and 11, who I have raised on my own since their birth. They are sent to school in the morning leaving me a couple of hours before I go to work at the Danish National Radio Symphony Orchestra. In these hours I usually practice or catch up on paperwork. At the Radio Orchestra, we work from 10 a.m. to 2.30 p.m., having concerts two to three times a week. When I get off work, I have to go grocery shopping. From there I go home and do house chores. While I cook supper I usually practice at the same time. It’s really quite a circus with me in the kitchen swinging both the flute and the spoon while the children of the neighborhood run around the house like crazy dogs! Then I have to do homework with the kids and be a listening parent. They are put to bed at 8.30 p.m., giving me time to read books of different interests. I am especially interested in original baroque and classical performance practices. My aim is to build a bridge between the “specialist” and the “well-rounded” musician in historical musical performance. My evenings may also include concerts with the orchestra or chamber music recitals.
4. How did you come to choose Miyazawa as your flute of choice?
I discovered my Miyazawa flute in quite an extraordinary way. I was teaching at a flute convention in Denmark when the president of Miyazawa showed up with the Miyazawa distributor from Denmark, Poul Marno Sorensen. They were showing many different wonderful flutes. I asked if they had a heavier flute and the president presented me with a platinum flute. From the first breath of air I knew, “This is THE flute!” Unfortunately, there were pre-existing plans to take this flute to a few other places, so there was a chance that I might not ever see it again.
The president promised me that he would remember my interest, and I anxiously waited for the tour to be completed. When Poul Marno called me saying that the flute was in his office waiting for me, I could not believe my luck!! I knew this was the sound I had waited for my whole life, so I was willing to do whatever it took to buy it. I had to sell my car and other things to be able to purchase this very expensive flute. But I have never regretted any of it. It was my dream come true!
I also play on a silver Miyazawa flute with the Brögger System that I bought last year, which is also an excellent instrument. I use it as a supplement because I also love the sound of silver with its brilliant crystal sound.
5. If you had one piece of advice to give an upcoming flutist, what would you tell them?
If I could give an upcoming flutist one piece of advice, it would be to remember not only to become a flutist or an instrumentalist, but most importantly, to become a musician. There has always been a tendency to celebrate the technically accomplished instrumentalist. It is as though technical supremacy is the overall goal for a performance, neglecting to remember that technique must only serve as a tool for true musicianship. My advice is to always stay humble, to always remember to serve the music and not the ego. Only then can we hope that music can reach a divine inspiration for the benefit of the musicians as well as the audience.
Copenhagen Artists represents Ulla Miilmann world wide.
For more information, please visit: www.ullamiilmann.com
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14 February 2008
Daniel Raiskin & The Strad
Influential music magazine "The Strad" has chosen the recent CD recording of Wieniawski, Szymanowski and Lutoslawski Violin Concertos by Benjamin Schmid and Daniel Raiskin as THE STRAD SELECTION of the month February 2008!
"...Indeed , such is the supreme confidence and radiant intensity of this performance taht it sounds for all the world like one of the Heifetz's West Cosat recordings from the 1950s. ... and not just from the soloist but also from the Wroclaw orchestra (complete with gloriously refulgent horns) and conductor Daniel Raiskin."
Conductor Daniel Raiskin has renewed his contract with Staatsorchester Rheinische Philharmonie as chief conductor and musical director for another 5 years. His successful relationship with the orchestra in Koblenz is prolonged till 2013.
