Accademia delle Arti del Disegno Salone delle Adunanze via Orsanmichele 4 Florence
free entrance subject to seating capacity
In collaboration with the Accademia delle Arti del Disegno
Program
Trio in A minor for Piano, Cello and Viola, Op. 114, Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
I. Allegro
II. Adagio
III. Andante grazioso
IV. Allegro
Trio in A minor for Piano, Cello, and Clarinet, Op. 114 Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
I. Allegro
II. Adagio
III. Andante grazioso
IV. Allegro
Program Notes :
In the rich tapestry of music, three distinct types of composers emerge, each leaving an indelible mark on the symphony of creativity.
Firstly, there are those whose fingers are trained on the keyboard (Liszt, Schumann, etc.), and their compositions showcase the instrument's prominence. Their music unfolds like a captivating story, with the piano taking center stage, weaving a narrative that resonates with the soul.
Then, we encounter virtuosos who, unbound by piano training, become maestros of their chosen instruments. These performers seamlessly transition into composers, creating harmonies that spring forth from their very beings. Among these luminaries stands Nicolo Paganini, a virtuoso on the violin whose compositions echo through the annals of musical history.
Lastly, there exists a rare breed – the performer-friend-composer. These visionary artists forge deep bonds with performers, crafting compositions tailored to the nuances of their chosen instruments. A beautiful example of this unique connection is found in the trio of Joseph Joachim, Richard Muhlfeld, and Johannes Brahms.
In the summer of 1853, Brahms met Joseph Joachim, a virtuoso violinist and violist, at the Lower Rhine Music Festival. Their friendship blossomed, inspiring Brahms to compose masterpieces like the revered Violin Concerto in D, Op. 77 (1878), dedicated to his cherished friend.
Fast forward to January 1891, where Brahms, captivated by the melodies of clarinetist Richard Muhlfeld, forged yet another profound connection. This friendship blossomed into collaborative artistry, yielding chamber music that showcased the enchanting blend of clarinet and viola. The Clarinet Trio, born in the summer of that year, saw its grand premieres in November, a testament to the harmonious blend of Brahms' genius and Muhlfeld's virtuosity.
In the tapestry of time, these alliances between composer and performer resonate as symphonies of friendship and artistic synergy.
Guest Artists:
Inès (Tzu-yi) Ho, clarinetist
Inès studied in Paris, France, with Jerôme Voisin, principal clarinet of the Orchestre Symphonique de Radio France. She performed at the Lugano Music Festival in Switzerland with Ulrich Koella, piano (Hochschule für Musik in Zurich). She was invited as opening and closing soloist at the Angoulême Festival, the Festival de Provence, the Paris Contemporary Music Festival, and the City of Carcassonne, France. The Billancourt library invited her to record Les ruines Circulaires by modern composer Tristan Murail. In 2017, the cellist Yo-Yo Ma selected her to be the principal clarinet of the YMCG Symphony Orchestra among 3,000 musicians worldwide to tour Asia in the same year. The following year, she cofounded in Taipei the Debussy Music and Arts Center, dedicated to popularising and promoting classical music; since then, she has been performing 30 lecture concerts in France, the US, and Taiwan. She also held a podcast on Classical Music (古典不古典 'Classical not so classical') whose audience toped n°1 on Spotify and iTunes in Taiwan for almost two years.
Cellist Yo-Yo Ma: "When Tzu-yi plays, something always penetrates my heart; I think this is art, this is love.”
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Mathieu Beaudouin, violist
Mathieu began his musical studies at 11 in Chartres in 2000, France, with Sophie Cerf, a violist performing in historical instrument ensembles. At 15, he performed Bach Ciaccona in front of Pierre-Henri Xuereb (Paris Conservatory), his next teacher, who stated never having seen such a musical performance of this piece at such a young age. In 2006 he got a scholarship to study in Russia with teachers from the Tchaikovsky Conservatory. In 2009, he won a third prize performing the Bartok viola concerto at the National Violist Competition in 2009 in Reims. He then continued studying viola with Jean-Philippe Vasseur, Laurent Bruni, and Agathe Blondel, and chamber music with Elizabeth Balmas and the Debussy quartet. At the age of 22, shoulder problems made him temporarily moved away from a violist career to study Chinese and Trans-Himalayan history, philology and linguistics (he is now a specialist of Sino-Tibetan linguistics and philology, with positions held in Paris, the US and Japan). He continues to produce himself in chamber music.
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Ella Jarrige, cello
Graduated with a Master's degree in cello from the Musikhochschule in Munich in 2014, Ella Jarrige is very active in numerous musical projects in France and Germany. She has had the privilege of receiving instruction from cellists such as Anner Bylsma, Wolfgang Boettcher, Maximilian Hornung, Sebastian Klinger, and Jakob Spahn. She collaborates with prestigious orchestras: Ensemble Resonanz, Hamburger Symphoniker, BR Symphony Orchestra, Philharmoniker Hamburg and is invited to play in many symphony or chamber orchestras in France such as Orchestre d'Auvergne, Orchestre National d'Île de France, and Orchestre de Bretagne. Passionate about chamber music, she performs very regularly with her trio, the Trio Contour in Berlin, or as a guest at various festivals such as Festival Debussy and Opera Barga. Ella is also part of the contemporary music ensemble Tempus Konnex based in Leipzig. She is very committed to bringing contemporary music and the work of female composers to life. The popularization of classical music and its accessibility to the widest audience are also very important to her.
Jacques Comby, pianist
Jacques Comby was born and studied in Bordeaux. In 2009, he unanimously joined the CNSM (Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique) of Lyon, where he worked with Jean-Claude Pennetier, François-René Duchâble, Denis Pascal, and Florent Boffard, and met Aldo Ciccolini at the Académie de la Chaise Dieu. He won competitions in Brest, Lyon, and Aix-en-Provence in 2011, then joined the class of Denis Pascal and Varduhi Yeritsian at the CNSM of Paris, where he obtained his master's degree with the jury's congratulations in 2015, followed by his CA (Certificat d'Aptitude) in 2018. He has performed at the Singer-Polignac Foundation and the Hôtel de Soubise in Paris, at the Henry le Bœuf Hall in Brussels, with the Sécession Orchestra, and with musicians from the Orchestre de Paris at the Philharmonie. In the summer of 2021, he performed in Berlioz's Lelio with the Cercle de l'Harmonie at the Berlioz Festival. During the 2021-2022 season, he participated in cine-concert tours with the Sinfonia Pop Orchestra, the National Orchestra of Montpellier, the Nice Orchestra, and the Strasbourg Philharmonic Orchestra. He is engaged for Sivan Eldar's opera, Like Flesh, within the Montpellier Orchestra conducted by Maxime Pascal. He is interested in contemporary music: he met composers Gyorgy Kurtag and Bruno Mantovani, performed with the ensemble Regards, and premiered Alain Gaussin's Ogive for clarinet and piano with Jean-Jacques Godron. With singer Maya Villanueva, he participated in the creation of Vincent Trollet's Les Lotophages. In 2022, he performed with the Octuor de France for concerts in Brittany and on the island of Elba. In 2023, he performed with Jean-Marc Fessard at the Château de Fontainebleau in July, at the Gustav Mahler Library with the ensemble Regards in Paris, and at the Théâtre Saint-Louis in Pau.
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