Artists & projects

Music with a magical effect: for his new album "Incantation", French violinist Virgil Boutellis-Taft has set out to find compositions in which his instrument can be heard as a sounding sorceress and conjurer.

Kiveli Dörken’s temperament, passion and dedication to music is palpable in every one of her concerts. With her infectious enthusiasm and captivating presence, she values a close contact with her audience, often addressing the listeners first, before sitting down at the piano and pushing the boundaries of sound diversity and artistic expression. The German-Greek pianist is presenting her first own studio album on the Ars Produktion label. It features two works by Josef Suk: the piano cycle “Things Lived and Dreamt”, op. 30, and the Piano Quintet in G Minor, op. 8 – the latter played together with outstanding musician friends.

The Spanish pianist Judith Jáuregui has compiled four works for her new album "The Romantic Soul" for ARS Produktion that reflect the intimate collaboration of Clara and Robert Schumann as composers and performers.

For his second studio album, #GoldbergReflections (Sony), the German violinist Niklas Liepe takes on Bach's Goldberg Variations in a version for violin and orchestra – and explores the continued resonance of this epochal masterpiece in our era with specially commissioned works by 11 contemporary composers.

Founded in 2007, the Linos Piano Trio is increasingly recognised as one of Europe’s most creative and dynamic trios. “Reinventing the repertoire”: it may seem like a tall order, but this is how the Linos Piano Trio describes the philosophy at the heart of its music making. The interest in discovering neglected works was the inspiration behind their debut CD (CAvi music), the premiere recording of the complete Piano Trios by Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach.

Improvisation, speech flow and (re)composition are the key words for the new album by oboist, composer and creative director Cathy Milliken, who - as a Berlin-resident by choice - directed the Berliner Philharmoniker's education programme for several years. The texts performed or sung by the participating artists come from the Cubist-oriented collection "Tender Buttons" by the American writer and art collector Gertrude Stein (1874-1946).

A native of South Korea, Klara Min has performed extensively throughout North and South America, Europe as well as South Korea, in some of the world’s most important concert venues including Wigmore Hall London, Carnegie Hall, Gasteig Munich and Berlin Philharmonie Hall. In the season 2019-2020, she will release the first recording of the series of Schumann (Arabesque, Carnaval, Kreislerianer) on Haenssler Classics.

Compulsion and freedom are the poles between which the life and work of Ludwig van Beethoven can be placed. This is exemplified by his late work, which transcends the boundaries of form, becomes fragile and reaches a level of freedom and radicalism never before seen. Staged Concert for a string quartet, an electric guitar, four performers, a sound designer and two cameras.

The pianist Herbert Schuch has gained a reputation as being among the most interesting musicians of his generation with his strikingly conceived concert programmes and CD recordings. In September 2020, Herbert Schuch will release his CD "Reflecting Beethoven" (CAvi-music), in which he combines works by Beethoven with works by modern composers.

With many of the Beethoven 250 anniversary events sadly cancelled, the great man’s genius can still be celebrated thanks to the many new recordings of his works appearing during 2020. A new cycle of the symphonies is a big event for any orchestra, and the superb Solistes Europeèn Luxembourg and their chief conductor Christoph König have over the past few years been recording all these ground breaking masterpieces.

The new Saarbrücken "Ring" by the Hungarian directors and stage designers Alexandra Szemerédy and Magdolna Parditka should have been premiered in March 2020, but could not take place as planned due to the corona-lockdown. All dates have been postponed. ce.

“MAKEDONISSIMO”, meaning “very Macedonian”, sees Macedonian pianist Simon Trpčeski take a detour from Beethoven and Brahms to celebrate the music of his homeland, Macedonia. Inspired by Trpčeski’s passion for the folk traditions of his homeland, Macedonian composer Pande Shahov (b. 1973), in collaboration with Trpčeski created a six movement cycle he called Pletenki (Plaits).