Two premieres in one concert!

On the one hand, the Young Piano Series is, for the very first time, presenting two young pianists as soloists with orchestra in a single concert. On the other hand, the soloists performing this evening were selected by a jury comprised of our own audience – that is, by you. Pianists from all over Switzerland applied for the chance to appear with an orchestra as part of the Young Piano Series. After long and intense deliberation, the audience jury ultimately made its choice.

Born in Ticino, Leonardo De Nigris impressed the jury with his richly colored and deeply emotional interpretation of Mozart. By giving meaning to every single note, he has the ability to touch the hearts of his listeners and bring a smile to their faces.

You will also hear Leonardo Merlini, who captivated the jury with his powerful, brilliant, and remarkably precise performance of Shostakovich – all the more impressive given his young age.

The two pianists will be accompanied by Ensemble Sinfonietta Bern, whose mission is to provide young emerging musicians in Switzerland with the opportunity to perform with an orchestra. Igor Andreev, co-director of the Young Piano Series, will conduct the ensemble. 

__________

PROGRAM

W.A. Mozart

Piano Concerto in A major KV 414

D.D. Shostakovich

Concerto in C minor for Piano, Trumpet and String Orchestra, op. 35

A. Schnittke

Suite in the Old Style for Chamber Orchestra

Leonardo De Nigris PIANO

Leonardo Merlini PIANO

Erick Venditte TRUMPET

Sinfonietta Bern

Igor Andreev CONDUCTOR

Shortly before the fourth Sunday of Advent, Sinfonietta Bern, together with pianist Kirill Zvegintsov, invites the audience to a special encounter with Johann Sebastian Bach’s The Art of Fugue. A work that occupied the composer until the very end of his life, it stands like a testament at the culmination of his creative output.

On this evening, the piece is placed within an unusual sonic landscape. A Steinway grand piano on one side of the hall and a string quartet on the other form two poles, with the audience seated between them. This setting creates a space for dialogue, in which the fugues are performed alternately by piano and string quartet, while the trumpet highlights individual lines and finally leads into the quiet chorale Before Thy Throne I Now Appear.

The unconventional combination of string quartet, modern piano, and trumpet opens up new perspectives on the work. What is often perceived as austere or hermetic reveals itself here as intimate, vibrant, and emotionally rich. The shifting sound perspectives allow the delicate polyphonic structures to emerge like a language that speaks not only to the intellect, but directly to the heart.

To this day, the work’s unfinished nature continues to fascinate us. The final, fourteenth fugue breaks off abruptly at the very moment when Bach weaves his own name into the contrapuntal fabric, B A C H. Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach later noted on the final manuscript page that his father died while dictating this fugue, a story that, whether legend or truth, still resonates with the quiet mystery surrounding this extraordinary work.

__________

PROGRAM

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)

The Art of Fugue BWV 1080

Ensemble Sinfonietta Bern

Friedemann Amadeus Treiber VIOLIN

Felicia Pașca VIOLIN

María Luisa Sopeña VIOLA

Pierre Deppe CELLO

Erick Venditte TRUMPET

Kirill Zvegintsov PIANO and DIRECTION

Sinfonietta Bern is breaking new ground and reaching out to new audiences – with family concerts in unconventional venues. There will be playing, drumming, whistling, and calling: two Toy Symphonies will be performed, featuring unusual instruments such as toy trumpets, tea trays, ratchets, sleigh bells, and various whistling birds – a delight for children and adults alike!

Between the Toy Symphonies by Edmund Angerer and Carl Reinecke, the mood will shift with the Concerto grosso by Swiss composer Ernest Bloch. This magnificent work for strings and piano was written exactly 100 years ago (in 1925), yet has only recently begun to appear on concert programs. Its hallmark is the rapid alternation between drama, romantic sensuality, and Alpine serenity. The final movement is a virtuosic fugue for strings, bringing together all the elements of the piece and leading into a radiant coda.

The concerts are child-friendly and include a presentation of the toy instruments.

__________

PROGRAMM

Edmund Angerer (1740-1794)

Children Symphony - Berchtoldsgaden Musick (ca 1760-70) 11'

Ernest Bloch (1880-1959)

Concerto grosso No. 1 for string orchestra with obbligato piano (1925) 24'

Carl Reinecke (1824-1910)

Children-Symphony op.239 (1897) 13'

Direction:

Kirill Zvegintsov, Igor Andreev and

Students of conducting of the Bern Academy of Arts

With one of Mozart’s most famous masterpieces, the Serenade No. 13 for string orchestra, known as Eine kleine Nachtmusik, the Sinfonietta Bern, under the direction of Igor Andreev, presents itself in this lively program.

At the heart of the program are the two triple concertos by Bohuslav Martinů, often referred to as the “Bohemian Mozart.” The Concertino and the Concerto for piano trio and string orchestra share an unusual and almost absurd origin story: In 1933, when Martinů was supposed to submit the score for his commissioned Concerto for piano trio and string orchestra, he could no longer find it. Within just a few days, he composed the Concertino as a substitute. The original Concerto was only rediscovered after Martinů’s death in 1963, buried among a stack of manuscripts, and subsequently premiered. His witty and energetic music showcases Martinů’s mastery of polyphony and his rich harmonic language at the highest level.

The program concludes with Felix Mendelssohn’s 10th String Symphony. Its opening Adagio unfolds like the dramatic prelude to an opera scene, before the Allegro bursts forth with Mendelssohn’s characteristic brilliance of sound and love for shimmering movement.

__________

PROGRAM

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)

Serenade for Strings in G major KV 525 "Eine kleine Nachtmusik" (1787) 17'

Bohuslav Jan Martinů (1890-1959)

Concertino for Piano Trio and String Orchestra, H.232 (1933) 18'

— Pause —

Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (1809-1847)

Sinfonia for String Orchestra No. 10 in B minor (1823) 12'

Bohuslav Jan Martinů (1890-1959)

Concerto for Piano Trio and Strings, H.231 (1933) 24'

Swiss Piano Trio | soloists

Igor Andreev | conductor

We have once again put together an atmospheric programme full of Christmas spirit for our Bernese audience!

The winners of our annual open call for woodwind instruments, a student from the conducting class at Bern University of the Arts, the collaboration with the Förderkreis der Kammermusik Schweiz as well as challenging and at the same time easily fascinating music are the focus of the concert.



__________

PROGRAM

Francis Poulenc (1899-1963)

MOUVEMENTS PERPÉTUELS  (1918/1925) 

CONDUCTOR: Maria Berlad

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)

CONCERTO FOR BASSOON AND ORCHESTER KV 191 (1774) 

SOLIST: Jeremy Bager | bassoon

CONDUCTOR: Kirill Zvegintsov

Claude Debussy (1862-1918)

PETITE SUITE L.65 (1886/89)

Version for Windquintet by Gordon Davies 

ensemble fokus: 

Sarah-Maria Schmid | flute, Adèle Bagein | oboe, 

Cássio Braga da Costa | clarinet, Alexander Rauch | bassoon, Pauline Zahno | horn

Carl Maria von Weber (1786-1826)

QUINTET FOR CLARINET AND STRINGS OP. 34 (1811/15)

4. mov - Rondo 

SOLIST: Andrei Riazantsev | clarinet

Igor Strawinski  (1882-1971)

CONCERTO FÜR CHAMBER ORCHESTRA “DUMBARTON OAKS” (1938)

CONDUCTOR: Igor Andreev

As part of their first joint project, the ensembles Sinfonietta Bern and WorkshOpera Bern are tackling three operas at once: Kurt Weill's "The 7 Deadly Sins", Gian Carlo Menotti's "The Telephone" and the world premiere of Ricardo Acosta's "El perro perdido". These will be presented one after the other, a concept that ties in with the Italian tradition of trilogies such as "Il Trittico" by Giacomo Puccini.

Here, different languages and musical styles meet and merge into a fascinating synthesis of the arts. This artistic combination encourages reflection on connections, similarities and differences and at the same time offers a colorful and captivating entertainment experience for artists and audience alike.

__________

PROGRAM

Gian Carlo Menotti (1911-2007)

The Telephone ou L‘Amour à trois

Opera buffa in one act

Kurt Weill (1900-1950)

The Seven Deadly Sins / Die sieben Todsünden / Les Sept péchés capitaux

Ballet with Singing / Ballett mit Gesang / Ballet chanté

Text by Bertolt Brecht / Version for 15 players by HK Gruber and Christian Muthspiel

Ricardo Acosta (*1993)

El Perro Perdido (The Lost Dog)

Chamber opera in one scene

_________

Julia Frischknecht SOPRANO Luigi Chiaramonte TENOR Nuno Santos TENOR Arion Rudari BARITON

Leo Bachmann BASS Selina Sigrist DANCE

Igor Andreev CONDUCTOR Flurin Rüedlinger CONDUCTOR Ricardo Acosta CONDUCTOR

For our Bernese and Biel audience we have once again put together an atmospheric program full of Christmas spirit, which this time revolves around the composers and siblings Franz Joseph and Johann Michael Haydn: The program includes the Berne and Biel premiere of three orchestral pieces from the latter's "Mythological Operetta". 

The festive mood is also reflected in the promotion of young talents: the winner of our Open Call for young Swiss cellists will perform a cello concerto by Haydn at the concert in Bern, while the juror of the open call, Miriam Prandi, will give us the pleasure of enjoying her interpretation of the same concerto in Biel the day after.

__________

PROGRAM

Franz Joseph Haydn (1732-1809)

Overture to "Acide e Galatea" (1763)

Cello Concerto no. 1 in C major (1765)

Johann Michael Haydn (1737-1806)

Three orchestral pieces from the "Mythological

Operetta" (1769) *

Miriam Prandi | cello

As well as the winners of the Open Call 2023

Samuel Niederhauser | cello

Michał Balas | cello

Igor Andreev | conductor

Gauthier Dupertuis | conductor

* Premieres in Bern and Biel

The varied concert evening takes the audience on a musical journey from the thoughtful and enchanting world in the minor key to a life-affirming finale in the major key.

Sinfonietta Bern invites the audience to experience the works of Mendelssohn, Sibelius, Martin, Françaix and Mozart in one breath. The focus of the program is the pavane «Couleur Du Temps», an iconic piece by the Swiss composer Frank Martin.

Under the direction of Igor Andreev, winner of the Frank Martin Society Prize at the Concours de Genève 2014 and versatile musician based in Bern, the young musicians of the ensemble dream, cheer and enjoy the free flight of their musical imagination, which all listeners will be carried away.

__________

PROGRAM

FELIX MENDELSSOHN BARTHOLDY

symphonia nr. 10 h-moll (1823)

JEAN SIBELIUS 

impromptu op. 5 (1894)

FRANK MARTIN 

pavane “couleur du temps” (1920)

JEAN FRANÇAIX 

symphonie d’archets (1948)

WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART

serenade “eine kleine nachtmusik” (1787)

More infos: info@sinfoniettabern.ch

                     info@museum-franzgertsch.ch

ONLY MOZART!

For our audience, we offer a program full of Christmas spirit, all about the composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The young violinist Chiara Sannicandro, winner of the Open Call of the Sinfonietta Bern, will interpret the Violin Concerto No. 5, which Mozart finished in 1775 just before Christmas. Ricardo Acosta will make his debut with the Sinfonietta Bern conducting Mozart's Symphony No. 15. The pre-Christmas concert will end with the famous serenade “Eine kleine Nachtmusik” conducted by Igor Andreev.

__________

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791):

Symphony No. 15 in G major | KV 124
Ricardo Acosta, Conductor

***

Violin Concerto No. 5 in A major | KV 219
Chiara Sannicandro, Violin
Flurin Rüedlinger, Conductor

***
Serenade in G major | KV 525 | Eine kleine Nachtmusik
Igor Andreev, Conductor