Critically acclaimed violinist Tianwa Yang has twice been the winner of the prestigious Opus Klassik Instrumentalist of the Year Award (Violin) – in 2022 for Prokofiev’s Violin Concertos Nos. 1 and 2 (Naxos 8.574107), and in 2015 for Ysaÿe’s Six Sonatas for Solo Violin, Op. 27 (Naxos 8.572995). In 2014 she received the Best Up-and-Coming Artist Award and the annual prize of the German Record Critics’ Award Association for her recording of Mendelssohn’s Violin Concertos (Naxos 8.572662) and her multiple volumes of Sarasate’s complete works for violin.

She has performed worldwide with major orchestras including the Seattle, Detroit, Baltimore, Malmö, Singapore, New Zealand, WDR Cologne, MDR Leipzig and Frankfurt Radio symphonies, in addition to the Gürzenich Orchester Köln and Bayerisches Staatsorchester, and the London, Helsinki and Hong Kong philharmonics.

Her constantly expanding discography for Naxos includes Brahms’ Violin Concerto / Double Concerto (8.573772), Wolfgang Rihm’s Music for Violin and Orchestra (Vol. 1: 8.573812, Vol. 2: 8.573667) and Complete Works for Violin and Piano (8.572730), Lalo’s Symphonie espagnole alongside Manén’s Concierto español (8.573067), Piazzolla’s Las cuatro estaciones porteñas (8.572271) and Vivaldi/Piazzolla’s Acht Jahreszeiten (‘Eight Seasons’) (8.551228), performed with her own ensemble.

She performs on a Guarneri del Gesù violin (1730) on kind loan from the Rin Collection in Singapore.

www.tianwayang.com

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Cornelius Meister, born in Hanover in 1980, became principal conductor and artistic director of the ORF Radio Symphony Orchestra Vienna in September 2010.

With the RSO Vienna he has held regular concerts in the Vienna Musikverein and the Vienna Konzerthaus. Extensive tours have taken him to Japan and throughout Europe, including to Salzburg Festival. Together with the RSO Vienna, he has been present on European radio, European television, on albums and in the internet.

From 2005 to 2012, Cornelius Meister was general director of music in Heidelberg. During this time he was awarded the ‘Prize for the Best Concert Programme’ by the German Federation of Music Publishers and the ‘Young Ears’ Prize and the Prize of the German Music Council for conveying music to children and adolescents in 2007 and 2010.

In concerts, Cornelius Meister also conducts Het Concertgebouworkest Amsterdam, the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra Manchester, the Washington Symphony, the Indianapolis Symphony, the Baltimore Symphony, the Orchestra dell’Accademia di Santa Cecilia Rome, Sveriges Radios Symfoniorkester Stockholm, the Danish National Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestre de l’Opéra national de Paris, the Ensemble intercontemporain Paris, the Deutsches Symphonie Orchester Berlin in the Berlin Philharmonic Hall, the Radio Symphony Orchestra Berlin, the NDR Symphony Orchestra Hamburg and the Symphony Orchestra of Bavarian Radio.

At the age of 21, Cornelius Meister held his début at Hamburg State Opera, followed by débuts at the Bavarian State Opera in Munich, the New National Opera Tokyo, the San Francisco Opera, the German Opera in Berlin, the Theater an der Wien, the Latvian National Opera in Riga (Der Ring des Nibelungen), the Royal Opera in Copenhagen, the Semper Opera in Dresden, Zurich Opera and Vienna State Opera.

Cornelius Meister studied piano and conducting with Konrad Meister, Martin Brauss and Eiji Oue in Hanover and with Dennis Russel Davies, Jorge Rotter and Karl Kamper at Salzburg Mozarteum. He also plays the cello and the French horn. As a pianist, he has held concerts in Europe and the USA and is a prizewinner of the German Music Competition and the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival.

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Anne-Sophie Mutter, perhaps one of the best known of established current violinists, began learning the piano at five but took up the violin shortly afterwards, studying with Erna Honigberger (once a pupil of Carl Flesch). Mutter later continued her studies with Aida Stucki at the Winterthur Conservatory.

At thirteen she was invited by Herbert von Karajan to perform with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, thus starting a fruitful collaboration; their first recording together was Mozart’s Violin Concertos Nos. 3 and 5 in 1978. Since then Mutter has become one of the most recorded of post-war violinists, with over eighty discs to her name. Whilst much of this has been of standard repertory, she has championed a number of more recent works, some written for her, including Henri Dutilleux’s Sur le même accord, Krzysztof Penderecki’s Violin Concerto No. 2 and Wolfgang Rihm’s Gesungene Zeit. In August 2007 Mutter gave the première of Sofia Gubaidulina’s Violin Concerto No. 2 ‘In tempus praesens’ and Witold Lutosławski orchestrated his Partita for her.

Mutter plays two Stradivarius violins (the ‘Emiliani’ of 1703, and the ‘Lord Dunn-Raven’ of 1710) as well as a Regazzi instrument of 2005. Having made a number of experiments in her youth she plays without a shoulder rest and wears the same design of sleeveless dress by John Galliano for most of her performances, finding this most comfortable. Like several other artists before her, Mutter has strong humanitarian interests, especially in alleviating medical and social problems, and often gives benefit concerts.

In her recordings Mutter is a strong-willed and passionate player, with a notable depth and sensuousness of sound. This results in strong, muscular performances of classical repertoire such as Mozart’s K. 218 Concerto (1981) (although the no-compromise post-Romantic sound world may strike some listeners as stylistically anachronistic), and a carefully considered 1988 Tchaikovsky Concerto (which testifies to the deep artistic sympathies shared with Karajan) in a steady, but full-blooded interpretation. Mutter’s playing of such established repertoire is thought of by many as beyond reproach, but one should not ignore her outstanding performances of more recent music. Her Penderecki Violin Concerto No. 2 (1997) is captivating in its white-hot intensity from the very first note, whilst Stravinsky’s Concerto (1988)—often played in a rather laconic manner—is articulated with an almost desperate passion. Arguably, Lutosławski’s Partita, especially in this 1988 version orchestrated especially for Mutter, is rather saccharine (Lutosławski’s stark, ascetic structures working better perhaps with the percussive tones of the piano); but Rihm’s Gesungene Zeit (1992) is performed with an excellent sense of architecture and direction, whilst Berg’s seminal Concerto (also 1992) has great poignancy. In all this music Mutter’s playing has much more to it than a pretty and pleasing tone: there is a sense of profound understanding, and a deeply-felt emotional connection, running through the playing—which is technically superlative. A lighter work, perhaps showing Mutter’s less serious side, is Previn’s Tango, Song and Dance (2003) which she ‘dances’ beautifully with the composer (her then husband) at the piano.

Mutter’s place in the glittering pantheon of players is assured, but it is her contribution to and advocacy of twentieth-century music that is perhaps her most extraordinary achievement.

© Naxos Rights International Ltd. — David Milsom (A–Z of String Players, Naxos 8.558081-84)

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Frank Dupree, winner of the International Classical Music Award and the Opus Klassik, stands as one of the most versatile pianists and conductors of the new generation. Known for his infectious energy and unbridled enthusiasm, Dupree captivates audiences not only as a soloist, sharing the stage with renowned orchestras worldwide, but also as a play/direct artist, conductor, and the leader of his own jazz ensemble, the Frank Dupree Trio. Dupree’s recordings of Nikolai Kapustin’s piano concertos have attracted much international attention (New York Times: “One of the most entertaining and put-on-repeat recordings [of the] year”). As of 2023, Frank Dupree has been the Artistic Partner of the Württemberg Chamber Orchestra Heilbronn performing several projects each season as conductor and soloist.

In the 2024–2025 season, Frank Dupree will give his solo debut with the London Symphony Orchestra / Sir Antonio Pappano (Kapustin Piano Concerto No. 4), Frankfurt Radio Orchestra / Patrick Hahn (Gershwin Piano Concerto in F), Göteborgs Symfoniker / Santtu-Matias Rouvali (Kapustin Piano Concerto No. 5). Re-invitations will take Frank Dupree to the SWR Symphony Orchestra, Stuttgarter Philharmoniker, Dortmunder Philharmoniker (play/direct), Munich Symphony, Robert Schumann Philharmonie Chemnitz, Göttinger Symphony Orchestra and Sinfonieorchester Liechtenstein. In chamber music Dupree will perform at Alte Oper Frankfurt, Tonhalle Zurich, Konzerthaus Wien, Brucknerhaus Linz and Concertgebouw Amsterdam.

Highlights of Frank Dupree’s career include performances with the Philharmonia Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra, BBC Concert Orchestra, Royal Northern Sinfonia, NDR Radiophilharmonie, Essener Philharmoniker, Deutsche Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz, Staatskapelle Weimar, Sinfonieorchester Wuppertal, Orchestre national d’Île-de-France, Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg, Orchestre Philharmonique Royal de Liège, Bern Symphony Orchestra, Trondheim Symfoniorkester, Malmö SymfoniOrkester, Malmö Operaorkester, Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra and the Sinfónica Nacional de México.

Dupree has performed at the Verbier Festival, Lucerne Festival, Beethovenfest Bonn, Heidelberger Frühling, Kurt Weill Fest, Kissinger Sommer, Festspiele Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Vaduz Classic and Oranjewoud Festival, as well as at renowned concert halls such as the New York Lincoln Center, Royal Albert Hall, Wigmore Hall, Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, Philharmonie de Paris, Konzerthaus Berlin, Philharmonie Essen and Dortmund, and Festspielhaus Baden-Baden.

Frank Dupree is a passionate chamber musician who effortlessly crosses genre boundaries, and the same can be said for his Frank Dupree Trio: together with Jakob Krupp (double bass) and Obi Jenne (drums) Dupree explores the fascinating intersection between jazz and classical music. In addition, Frank Dupree continues to develop innovative and unique programmes catered towards a number of exciting chamber collaborations, with particularly flourishing artistic relationships with his fellow rising stars; such as Kian Soltani, Vivi Vassileva, Timothy Ridout, Simon Höfele, Noa Wildschut and Pablo Barragán.

Frank Dupree’s current CD productions focus predominantly on the works of Ukrainian-born composer Nikolai Kapustin (1937–2020). In November 2024 Capriccio will release Kapustin Piano Concertos No. 2 & No. 6 with the SWR Symphony Orchestra & SWR Big Band. Kapustin interpretations of Piano Concerto No. 4 (Württemberg Chamber Orchestra Heilbronn / Case Scaglione) and Piano Concerto No. 5 (Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin / Dominik Beykirch) have earned him both the International Classical Music Award and the Diapason d’Or. Gramophone Magazine recognised Dupree’s ‘flamboyant brilliance’; WDR further praised his rendition of Piano Concerto No. 5 as ‘fantastic,’ noting that the performance perfectly captures ‘the drive and pure joy […] of this music.’ Dupree’s avid interest in contemporary music is reflected in his world premieres, both recorded and on stage, and close collaborations with composers such as Wolfgang Rihm, HK Gruber, Péter Eötvös, Christian Jost and Daniel Bjarnason.

Born in 1991 in Rastatt, Germany, Dupree began taking piano and percussion lessons at an early age. He later studied piano under Professor Sontraud Speidel and conducting with Professors Péter Eötvös and Hans Zender at the University of Music Karlsruhe. In 2012, he was awarded first prize at the International Hans von Bülow Competition in Meiningen for his dual-role performance as pianist and conductor interpreting Beethoven. In 2014, Dupree was the sole prizewinner at Deutscher Musikwettbewerb and also received scholarships from the Deutsche Stiftung Musikleben and the Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes. He gained valuable insights from master classes with Emanuel Ax, Menahem Pressler, Ferenc Rados, and Gábor Takács-Nagy and has been assistant in projects to Sir Simon Rattle and Mario Venzago. Frank Dupree is a Steinway Artist.

Source: IMG Artists London, June 2024

ICMA Award Winner Frank Dupree: « I enjoy and need variety » (Pizzicato)

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