BBT Ensemble Tour 2012

Archive

BBT Ensemble Tour 2012

In advance of BBT’s 10th anniversary celebrations in 2013Viviane Hagner violin, Lawrence Power viola (as a member of the Leopold String Trio), Christian Poltéra cello and Khatia Buniatishvili piano formed a exclusive ensemble for a BBT showcase tour in May 2012.


Beethoven String Trio in G Op.9/1
Chopin Ballade No.4 in F minor Op.52
Chopin Scherzo No.3 in C sharp minor Op.39
Brahms Piano Quartet No.1 in G minor Op.25

AMSTERDAM Concertgebouw
2 May

LONDON Queen Elizabeth Hall
4 May 7.00pm

Also in London a film and pre-concert interview with Mitsuko Uchida DBE/Marshall Marcus
and
The Front Room at Queen Elizabeth Hall
Aronowitz Ensemble

Beethoven String Trio in G Op.9/1
Brahms Piano Quartet No.1 in G minor Op.25

EINDHOVEN Muziekgebouw
6 May 


Review

Stage personalities live up to their reputation at the Laureates Concert in Eindhoven.
by Marjolijn Sengers

* * * * *  The Borletti-Buitoni Trust makes it possible for young professional musicians to plan their careers for the long term. This takes place in the shape of an award, a big cash prize. In the Netherlands the trust is not that familiar, though various Dutch musicians like harpist Lavinia Meijer, trombone player Jörgen van Rijen and recorder player Erik Bosgraaf have won the award in the past. So yesterday afternoon, like most laureate concerts at the recital hall of the Muziekgebouw, instead of four very young inexperienced musicians, there were four stage personalities who already had a name to live up to.

Such great technical skill, energy and intensity were brought to the stage by violinist Viviane Hagner, violist Lawrence Power, cellist Christian Poltéra and pianist Khatia Buniatishvili. All four of them have their own stories to tell, but in this chamber music repertoire they connected their soloist qualities to a joint cause, putting not their four egos, but the content of the music first. They played without reserve and completely dedicated to the music. It was beautiful to see how they enjoyed the music and each other, how they made eye contact, smiled to each other and stimulated each other to give the very best they had. That led to confident, spirited performances of the dynamic first piano quartet of Brahms and the fresh, also first String trio by Beethoven. Intense and heartfelt were the slow movements, fiery and incredibly agile the fast ones, not at any moment did the attention slacken, nor did the enthusiasm; Long may they stay together, these four young, sympathetic and talented first-rate musicians.


Before the tour began the quartet met in April 2012 at the secluded Italian country home of Ilaria Borletti Buitoni, affording them the rare and precious bonus of three days to rehearse and get to know each other.