4th Rolandseck Chamber Music Festival Brings World-Class Musicians to the Rhine 14-23 July 2009

This year internationally successful musicians will be travelling to the Rhine in order to perform at the Chamber Music Festival in the Arp Museum Bahnhof Rolandseck. Hélène Grimaud, Lisa Batiashvili, Sol Gabetta, Christiane Oelze, Elena Bashkirova, Guy Braunstein, Emmanuel Pahud and Paul Meyer are among the artists.

Guy Braunstein, first concertmaster of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, is the festival's artistic director. Chaim Taub, former concertmaster of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, will be in charge of the festival's master class.

Seven concerts will take place during the ten-day long fourth festival season when 34 artists will perform chamber music of the 20th and 21st century.

Hélène Grimaud and Guy Braunstein will open the festival on 14 July. On 20 July the young musicians of the West Eastern Divan Orchestra will present the programme perfected during Chaim Taub's master class. For the first time the soprano Christiane Oelze will be taking part in the festival. On 21 and 23 July she will be singing pieces by Wagner, Berg and Mahler.

Guests visiting the Bahnhof Rolandseck concert hall which seats 200 people can look forward to a most diverse programme. The repertoire of the five standard concerts and two special concerts extends from Mozart and Brahms to Schumann, Rimsky-Korsakov and Dvorak. Particular focus has been placed on orchestral works and operas in partly new chamber musical arrangements. Guy Braunstein adapted both the prelude and Isoldes Liebestod from Richard Wagner's Tristan und Isolde for soprano, violin, viola, violoncello, wind quintet and double bass. Ohad Ben Ari wrote an arrangement on Strawinsky's orchestral suite The Firebird for strings and wind quintet. Yoel Ghamzou concentrated on Mahler's Rückert Lieder for voice and piano. The resultant composition is a nonet.

The revival of the master course tradition is a highlight of this year's festival. The Rolandseck summer courses took place annually from 1982 to 1996 at Bahnhof Rolandseck. During these years they represented a unique combination of both festival and master class. Chaim Taub, former concertmaster of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra and Bernhard Greenhouse, co-founder of the Beaux Arts Trio were the main teachers. Young musicians aged between ten and twenty who were mostly from Israel were being tutored while famous musicians were performing. The courses were concluded by concerts featuring the participants.
Formerly classes were largely dominated by young Israeli musicians, but this year 14 members of Daniel Barenboim's West Eastern Divan Orchestra from Israel, the Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, Iran, Egypt and Turkey will be instructed by 84-year-old Chaim Taub. This enterprise occurred in cooperation with the Barenboim Said Foundation.

Halfway through the festival on 19 July, guests will be invited to enjoy a relaxing boat trip. This almost mandatory cruise will also serve as a venue for Guy Braunstein and Gili Schwarzman's civil wedding ceremony. (Gili Schwarzman is a festival participant and a member of the West Eastern Divan Orchestra).

The following artists will be performing at the 4th Rolandseck Festival:
Maja Avramovic, Guy Braunstein, Lisa Batiashvili, Daishin Kashimoto (violin), Amihai Grosz, Ori Kam (viola), Sol Gabetta, Zvi Plesser, Kyrill Zlotnikov (violoncello), Nabil Shehata (double bass), Elena Bashkirova, Hélène Grimaud, Eric Lesage (piano), Emmanuel Pahud, Gili Schwarzman (flute), Francois Leleux (oboe), Chen Halevi, Paul Meyer (Klarinette), Chezy Nir (horn), Gilbert Audin (bassoon), Christiane Oelze (soprano)

Tickets for the Rolandseck Festival concerts can be purchased at +49(0)2228 942516, the Arp Museum's ticket desk and the ticket agencies of Bonnticket and Koblenzticket.

Prices:
Special concert 14 July 2009: 45 EURO/reduced tickets 30 EURO
Special concert 20 July 2009: 45 EURO/reduced tickets 30 EURO
Single ticket for subscription concerts: 35. EURO/reduced ticket 20 EURO
Subscription for five subscription concerts: 120 EURO
Tickets purchased in connection with a subscription are transferable.
Boat trip: 35 EURO, including snacks and drinks – no reductions

Visit http://www.rolandseck-festival.de for programme information.

Venue:
Arp Museum Bahnhof Rolandseck
Hans-Arp-Allee 1
53424 Remagen -Rolandseck
Germany

Sinfonia Toronto Acclaimed in Germany

Toronto - Sinfonia Toronto's five-city concert tour in the central German state of Hesse drew raves for each concert. The 'Heart of Germany' tour included performances in Kassel, Fulda, Bensheim, Warburg and Flörsheim-am-Main. The Hessischer Rundfunk radio network was a co-sponsor of the tour and recorded the orchestra's performance in Fulda for broadcast on January 9. The tour repertoire included compositions by Elgar, Janacek, Tchaikovsky, Dvorak and Canadian composer Sir Ernest MacMillan. The orchestra's concertmaster Mary-Elizabeth Brown was the featured violin soloist in works by Schubert and Sarasate.

Johannes Mundry's review of the Kassel concert in the Hessich Niedersachsische Allgemeine summed up Sinfonia Toronto's performance by saying, "What was heard was truly rewarding, as quality of this calibre has not been heard here for a long time; the quality of this standing ensemble's performance was impressively high."

Mikolaus Frey headlined his Fuldaer Zeitung review "Musical Ambassadors with a Penchant for Ecstasy," and wrote, "To start with the audience heard the Serenade in E-Major Opus 20 by Elgar. This piece was performed by an ensemble from Prague in the Furstensaal a few days ago. But how different the work sounded this time: the three movements unfolded their themes with a wealth of lyrical expression, filling the hall with full string sound and still maintaining the clarity of the structure." He spoke of Nurhan Arman's "spirited yet sensitive leadership" and included a second headline, "Conductor makes magic."

Burkard Battran of the Neue Westfalische News said that "Sinfonia Toronto is a real success, satisfying even the most demanding musical connoisseurs."

Peter Ernst in the Westfallen Blatt commented on Tchaikowsky's Souvenir de Florence, "Conductor Nurhan Arman directed and guided his musicians through the idiosyncratic and challenging score with almost boundless energy. The interpretation we heard was the result of intensive rehearsals paying attention to inner details and it was sensitive, committed and well conceived."

Karin Pfeifer of the Bergstraser Anzeiger commented on the performance of Tchaikovsky's Serenade in Benshiem that "this compelling interpretation formed a final high point of this evening."

In the Rhein Main Presse Daniel Honsack wrote "Lightly and intensely, the orchestra played with great consistency. Silvery soft passages whirled through the church, the musicians thoroughly delighted in sweet sections. The characters of individual phrases were vividly conveyed - such as the sparkling Presto, a lyrical Adagio or the demanding and dramatic intensely interpreted final Andante."

The 'Heart of Germany' tour was supported by an International Touring Assistance in Music Pilot Project Program grant from the Canada Council, a National and International Touring Pilot Program grant from the Ontario Arts Council, the Hessischer Rundfunk radio network, Lufthansa, the Deutsch-Kanadische Gesellschaft, the Canadian Embassy in Berlin and Kasseler Bank.

During the 2008-2009 season Sinfonia Toronto is celebrating its 10th anniversary. The orchestra presents a seven-concert Masterpiece Series in Toronto's Grace Church on-the-Hill each season and a number of community/outreach performances. Marquis Records has just issued Sinfonia Toronto's new CD, Flanders Fields Reflections.

For the full texts of 'Heart of Germany' concert reviews or additional information on the tour dates, locations and programs please refer to www.sinfoniatoronto.com or contact the orchestra as above.

Next Toronto performance of Sinfonia Toronto is this Friday, December 12, 8 p.m. at Grace Church on-the-Hill, the concert will be under the baton of guest conductor Rista Savic. Clarinet virtuoso Darko Brlek will appear as soloist.

Sinfonia Toronto to Tour Germany

SINFONIA TORONTO TO TOUR GERMANY

Toronto - Sinfonia Toronto will take off for Germany next month for a five-city concert tour in the central German state of Hesse. The 'Heart of Germany' tour includes performances in Kassel, Fulda, Bensheim, Warburg and Florsheim. The Hessischer Rundfunk radio network is a co-sponsor of the tour and will record the orchestra's performance in Fulda for broadcast.

Sinfonia Toronto's Music Director Nurhan Arman comments, "it will be a great honour to showcase Canadian music and culture in one of Europe's most historic and culturally significant regions." The tour repertoire includes compositions by Elgar, Janacek, Tchaikovsky, Dvorak and Canadian composer Sir Ernest MacMillan. The orchestra's concertmaster Mary-Elizabeth Brown will be the featured violin soloist in works by Schubert and Sarasate.

The 'Heart of Germany' tour is supported by an International Touring Assistance in Music Pilot Project Program grant from the Canada Council, the Hessischer Rundfunk radio network, Lufthansa, Deutsch-Kanadische Gesellschaft e.V., the Canadian Embassy in Berlin and the Kasseler Bank.

During the 2008-2009 Sinfonia Toronto will celebrate its 10th Anniversary concert season. The orchestra presents a seven-concert Masterpiece Series in Toronto's Grace Church on-the-Hill each season and a number of community/outreach performances. Marquis Records has just issued Sinfonia Toronto's new CD, Flanders Fields Reflections.

Before leaving for Germany the orchestra will perform in Sarnia on November 5 and will present the 'Violin Magic' concert in Toronto on November 14.

For further information on 'Heart of Germany' concert dates, locations and programs please refer to www.sinfoniatoronto.com or contact the orchestra by phone at 416-499-0403.