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Concert cycles

Gidon KREMER (violin) and Marta ARGERICH (piano)

  

Gidon Kremer

To the City and the World

Wednesday, 2006 November 29th, 7 PM

Latvian National Opera

 

Gidon KREMER (violin) and Marta ARGERICH (piano)

 

Program: Schumann, Bartok

 

Martha Argerich was born in Buenos Aires (Argentina). She began her first piano lessons at the age of five with Vincenzo SCARAMUZZA. Considered a child prodigy, she soon performs in public. In 1955, she moved to Europe and continued her studies in London, Vienna and in Switzerland with SEIDLHOFER, GULDA, MAGALOFF, Mrs LIPATTI et Stefan ASKENASE.In 1957, she won the Bolzano and Geneva Piano Competitions, and in 1965 the Warsaw International Chopin Competition. Since then, she has been one of the most prominent pianists in the world both in popularity and ability.

Martha Argerich has been rated highly for her performance of the virtuoso piano literature of the XIX and XX centuries. Her large repertoire includes Bach and Bartok, Beethoven and Messiaen, as well as Chopin, Schumann, Liszt, Debussy, Ravel, Franck, Prokofiev, Stravinski, Shostakovitch, Tchaikovski.

Though she is permanently invited by the most prestigious orchestras, conductors and music festivals in Europe, Japan and America, chamber music takes a significant part of her musical life. She regularly plays and records with pianists Nelson FREIRE and Alexandre RABINOVITCH, cellist Mischa MAISKY and violonist Gidon KREMER : "This harmony within a group of people gives me a strong and peaceful feeling".

Martha Argerich has recorded for EMI, Sony, Philips, Teldec and DGG and many of her performances were broadcasted on television worldwide. She has received many awards for her EMI recordings : « Grammy Award » for Bartok and Prokofiev Concertos, « Gramophon – Artist of the Year », « Best Piano Concerto Recording of the Year » for Chopin concertos, « Choc » of the Monde de la Musique for her Amsterdam’s recital, « Künstler des Jahres Deutscher Schallplatten Kritik », “Grammy Award” for Prokofiev’s Cinderella with Mikael Pletnev… This year her recordings are nominated by Grammy Awards : “M. Argerich and Friends/Live from Lugano” (EMI) for the Best Classical Album and Best Chamber Music Performance and Beethoven Concertos 2 & 3 with the Mahler Chamber Orchestra under Claudio Abbado (Deutsche Grammophon) for the Best Instrumental Soloist Performance.

Since 1998 she is the Artistic Director of the Beppu Festival in Japan; in 1999 she creates the International Piano Competition and Festival Martha Argerich in Buenos Aires, and in June 2002 the Progetto Martha Argerich in Lugano.

Martha Argerich has received numerous distinctions :

- « Officier de l’Ordre des Arts et Lettres » in 1996 and « Commandeur de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres » in 2004 by the French Government

- « Académicienne de Santa Cecilia » in Rome in 1997

- « Musician of the Year » by « Musical America » in 2001

- "The Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette" by the Japanese Emperor and the prestigious « Praemium Imperiale » by the Japan Art Associationin 2005.

 

Of all the world’s leading violinists, Gidon Kremer has perhaps had the most unconventional career. Born in Riga, Latvia, he began studying at the age of four with his father and grandfather, who were both distinguished string players. At the age of seven, he entered Riga Music school. At sixteen he was awarded the first Prize of the Latvian Republic and two years later he began his studies with David Oistrakh at the Moscow Conservatory. He went on to win prestigious awards including the 1967 Queen Elizabeth Competition and the first prize in both Paganini and Tchaikovsky International Competitions.

This success launched Gidon Kremer’s distinguished career, in the course of which he has established a world-wide reputation as one of the most original and compelling artists of his generation. He has appeared on virtually every major concert stage with the most celebrated orchestras of Europe and America. Also he has collaborated with today’s foremost conductors, including Leonard Bernstein, Herbert von Karajan, Christoph Eschenbach, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Lorin Maazel, Riccardo Muti, Zubin Mehta, James Levine, Valery Gergiev, Claudio Abbado and Sir Neville Marriner among others.

Gidon Kremer’s repertoire is unusually extensive, encompassing all of the standard classical and romantic violin works, as well as music by twentieth- century masters such as Henze, Berg and Stockhausen. He also championed the works of living Russian and Eastern European composers and has performed many important new compositions; several of them dedicated to him. He has become associated with such diverse composers as Alfred Schnittke, Arvo Pärt, Giya Kancheli, Sofia Gubaidulina, Valentin Silvestrov, Luigi Nono, Aribert Reimann, Peteris Vasks, John Adams and Astor Piazzolla, bringing their music to audiences in a way that respects tradition yet remains contemporary. It would be fair to say that no other soloist of his international stature has done as much for contemporary composers in the past 30 years.

An exceptionally prolific recording artist, Gidon Kremer has made more than 100 albums, many of which brought him prestigious international awards and prizes in recognition of his exceptional interpretative powers. These include the „Grand prix du Disque“, „Deutscher Schallplattenpreis“, the „Ernst-von-Siemens Musikpreis“, the „Bundesverdienstkreuz“, the „Premio dell‘ Accademia Musicale Chigiana“, the „Triumph Prize 2000” (Moscow) and in 2001 the „Unesco Prize”. In February 2002 he and the Kremerata Baltica were awarded with the Grammy for the Nonesuch recording “After Mozart” in the category “Best small Ensemble Performance”. The same recording received in the fall of 2002 an ECHO prize in Germany.

In 1981 Mr. Kremer founded Lockenhaus, an intimate chamber music festival that continues to take place every summer in Austria. For two years in 1997-1998, Mr. Kremer took over artistic leadership of the Gstaad Festival from its founder, Sir Yehudi Menuhin. In 1997, he also founded the Kremerata Baltica chamber orchestra to foster outstanding young musicians from the three Baltic States. Since then, Mr. Kremer has been touring extensively with the orchestra appearing at world’s most prestigious festivals and concert halls. He has also recorded a number of CDs with the orchestra for Teldec and Nonesuch, first releases featuring music by Peteris Vasks and Astor Piazzolla, the latest recording being now released at Nonesuch „Happy Birthday”. Since April 2002 Gidon Kremer is the artistic leader of the new festival in Basel (Switzerland) - „les muséiques”.

Gidon Kremer plays a Guanerius del Gesù, „ex-David“, dated from 1730. He is also the author of three books, published in German, which reflect his artistic pursuits.

 


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29.11.2006  19:00
Latvian National Opera

Gidon KREMER (violin) and Marta ARGERICH (piano)
The legendary duo!

 

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