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Musikč-Durham Artists/Faculty. Piano/Artistic Director Oboe Violin Viola Cello Clarinet Fiona Cross (2008) Voice Guest Artists with Musikč-Durham
Complete list of works performed at Musikč-Durham 2000-2008
All Musikč-Durham Programme Notes by Ron Thorndycraft © Musikč-Durham International Academy 2000-2009: a résumé Brief history.
The Musikč International Academy (based in Switzerland) was founded in the year 2000 by the distinguished concert-pianist and conductor Jean-Bernard Pommier. His concern was to cherish deeper musical values by nurturing them in young student-professionals through study and performance with established artists of international renown who share such ideals. Pommier believes that commercialism, media pressure and other modish ephemera combine to undermine the search for creative truth and musical expression which has always been the concern of great artists, and which Musikč actively fosters. These ideals coincided perfectly with the prevailing ethos (1960s to 1990s)) of Newcastle's chamber orchestra, the Northern Sinfonia, whose musicians had shared with Jean-Bernard Pommier a successful relationship of more than thirty years. JBP's many appearances as soloist, piano-director and conductor, both in the UK and abroad, culminated in three years as Artistic Director and Principal Conductor. As his tenure neared its close, four Northern Sinfonia veterans, David Haslam (solo-principal flute and associate conductor) Annamaria McCool (violin), Ron Thorndycraft (bassoon) and Sonia Thorndycraft (administration 1961-64) planned with JBP to bring the Musikč Summer Academy to the north of England. The World Heritage Site of Durham City became the venue of choice, with Canon David Whittington OBE of Durham Cathedral the natural and ideal choice as Chairman for a new charitable company, Musikč GB. The intention was to develop Musikč as an international musical network independent of agency control, promoting best-practice artistic ideals, presenting music to the highest international standards in venues away from the main centres of musical life, providing opportunities for gifted young artists as well as established performers to appear before a wider public and to provide for that public (away from the major centres) a richer experience of high-quality performance. Musikč, however, is always be keen to collaborate with existing institutions to mutual benefit. Summary of Musikč GB events. 2000. The Musikč International Academy's first appearance in Durham, bringing to the city and county no less than six international artists and an assembly of advanced students for a full week. The artists were Pommier himself, Marco Rizzi (violin), Bruno Pasquier (viola), Gary Hoffman (cello), Maurice Bourgue (oboe) and Ian Partridge (tenor). Musikč also commissioned and performed a new work from composer Martin Harry. Local musicians attended many events and provided a professional orchestra (English Philharmonic) for the final concert in Durham Cathedral. Britten's Serenade for tenor, horn and strings, and Beethoven's Triple Concerto were highlights. Musically and artistically the event proved a great success and was a valuable “trial run” from which many lessons were learned. Such was the enthusiasm all round that it was resolved to repeat the event in 2001. 2001. Because of the financial loss, and with regret, Musikč dispensed with both a singer-professor and an associate composer. However, Musikč was encouraged both by the Arts Council (North) and a magnificent local benefactor and good friend, Peter Millican (now the owner and operator of Kings Place. London, with its magnificent concert hall) who contributed both finance and enthusiasm. Other economies were made and a system of bursaries arranged so that the event could take place over ten days and draw students from further afield. That year (2001) Musikč welcomed as violinist professor Sergei Girschenko of Moscow, and as cello professor Dmitry Yablonsky, the Russian-American cellist and conductor. The students/young artists mostly came from the Conservatoires of Moscow, Paris, Toulouse and New York (Julliard School) as well as from Britain, Spain and the Far East. All were appreciative and complimentary about the quality of the event. There were five international artists, Pommier, Pasquier, Bourgue, Girschenko and Yablonski. 2002. For personal reasons David Haslam and Annamaria McCool withdrew from the organisation of Musikč. With the same team of artists as 2001, Musikč inaugurated an informal series of student concerts in the beautiful surroundings and fine acoustics of St. Oswald’s Church. Plans began to be laid for a permanent Musikč International Academy in association with the University of Durham. for post-grad performance studies. (Eventually, due to Musikč Chairman David Whittington’s move from Durham to London, these plans, having reached an advanced state of preparation, had to be shelved). Notable performances that year were of Tchaikovsky's Piano Trio, Mozart's Piano Quartet in G minor and Sinfonia Concertante for violin and viola. 2003. Pasquier, Girschenko and Yablonsky being unavailable, Musikč-Durham welcomed violinist Olga Martinova of St Petersburg and Rotterdam Conservatoires, viola player Jean Dupouy of L’Orchestre de Paris, and cellist Christoph Richter of Essen Conservatoire. As before, the concert programme involved a community outreach venue (Elvet Church), a performance in the Great Hall of Durham Castle and a final concert in Durham Cathedral itself (Mendelssohn's Octet and Chausson's Concerto for Violin, Piano and String Quartet), with two concerts by the students in St Oswalds Church. 2004. Artists/Professors as for 2003. There were two major developments in 2004. The first was the inspired appointment of Stuart Johnson to take control of administrative detail and the creation of a Musikč-Durham web-site. The second was to present all Musikč’s public concerts in the splendid surroundings (and fine acoustics) of Durham Old Town Hall, a venture with three main advantages: a greater “presence” in the heart of Durham, substantial financial savings, and simpler organizational logistics. The single venue was more understandable to the public and conferred greater significance on the students’ concerts by their being performed in the same hall, under the same conditions and publicized on the same web-site and Town Hall banner as the professors’ concerts. 2005. Viola soloist and chamber musician Vladimir Stopichev, Professor at St Petersburg Conservatoire, joined the Musikč team in place of Jean Dupouy. Having proved a success, Durham Town Hall was again the venue for all five Musikč public concerts, and it was pleasing to note the foundation of a small but regular (and enthusiastic) following for the Musikč concerts. Musikč-Durham co-founder David Haslam made a welcome guest appearance with JBP in Poulenc's Flute Sonata. JBP's unforgetable performance of the César Franck Piano Quintet made a stupendous climax to the final concert, almost “lifting the roof” of Durham Old Town Hall. 2006. At short notice the distinguished French violin soloist Olivier Charlier replaced the indisposed Olga Martinova and proved a magnificent acquisition. Regrettably, Arts Council (North) withdrew Musikč-Durham’s funding for 2006, an unexpected blow that caused immediate financial problems that would ultimately force Musikč-Durham to end.. The loss of such a world-class musical presence in the World Heritage City of Durham (the only promotion of such high quality in the north independent of Tyneside’s The Sage) is a dispiriting matter. It sends a bleak message of artistic centralisation within our region together with an apparent lack of awareness by funding bodies of the cultural value of highest-quality artistic endeavour and international cultural exchange. 2007. Musikč-Durham was delighted to welcome back both Bruno Pasquier and Olga Martinova. Durham University's acquisition of a splendid Steinway “D” concert grand piano softened the blow of Durham Town hall's unavailability due to refurbishment. The concerts therefore moved to the more intimate surroundings of the University Music Dept., Palace Green. Due to financial stringency Musikč reduced to just five advanced student/young professionals, one per professor. A new format had to be planned in which all ten musicians (professors and young artists working together) prepared and performed four concerts in ten days. This provided an opportunity to exploit the String Sextet and keyboard duet repertoire, but without neglecting the usual Piano Trio, Quartet and Quintet repertoire and the repertoire employing oboe. This included memorable performances of Chausson's Concerto for Violin, Piano and String Quartet and Martinu's Quartet for Oboe and Piano Trio. These unusual concerts attracted enthusiastic audiences, a good reward for ingenious programme-planning and intense rehearsal! 2008. Musikč-Durham received the honour of a full-scale Civic Reception at Durham Old Town Hall. Only three concerts were given that year, which was one of unprecedented problems. After eight years with Musikč, Maurice Bourgue was unavailable due to engagements in Japan. In his place, JBP recruited the distinguished Russian clarinettist Andrei Kazakov, enabling Musikč-Durham to develop its repertoire to include the great clarinet quintets of Brahms and Mozart. A new format replaced the five separate “young musicians” with a “young” string quartet eager to obtain experience by studying and performing with established artists. The ensemble chosen was the Razumovsky Quartet from Vienna. Barely a month before the course, Andrei Kazakov was denied a visa, Bruno Pasquier was obliged to cancel, and our German-Bulgarian “young pianist” withdrew. Only a day before Musikč-Durham, the Razumovsky Quartet's violist (Russian by birth) was unjustifiably denied his visa too. Fine Ukrainian violist Vladislav Turkot of the Chagall String Quartet flew in and brilliantly doubled as both Musikč professor and “young quartet” player! English clarinettist Fiona Cross was the late replacement for Kazakov, and the London-based pianist Jakob Rothoff (Musikč accompanist for 2007) took over as second pianist (the piano-duet feature of 2007 having delighted the audience). The three concerts came to a climax with a memorable and truly stupendous performance of the Brahms G minor Piano Quartet. London, October 2008. JBP and the Musikč professors (including Maurice Bourgue) gave three performances at the opening festival of the new Kings Place concert hall, conceived, built, owned and operated by Musikč's chief sponsor, Newcastle property developer Peter Millican. 2009. 10th Anniversary Year. Jean-Bernard Pommier performed all 32 Beethoven Sonatas at Kings Place concert hall, London, with resounding success, while Maurice Bourgue presented all Beethoven's wind-instrument music at the same venue. Musikč's popular “young artist” the Catalan pianist Laia Masramon (now a mature young artist with a developing career as a soloist after a record seven appearances at Musikč-Durham) featured in Beethoven's Quintet for Piano and Wind Instruments. Due to dwindling financial support this was almost certainly the last Musikč-Durham Summer Academy, the performances in 2009 having been shared between Durham and London. Just two concerts in Durham, but three at London's Kings Place due to the return to Musikč of Maurice Bourgue. Musikč welcomed the Merchant String Quartet of London, all members of the BBC Symphony Orchestra, as the Musikč “young quartet”. (Appropriately enough, its cellist Michael Atkinson hails from Teesside). The major works studied and performed were the piano quintets of Elgar and Dvorak, while Musikč and the Merchant Quartet joined forces for Borodin's String Sextet. Musikč performed piano quartets by Mozart and Fauré, Schubert's Adagio in Eb (Notturno), and Britten's Phantasy Quartet (with Maurice Bourgue). Bourgue performed Dorati's Nocturne and Capriccio with the Merchant Quartet and Poulenc's Oboe Sonata with JBP. A resounding novelty was three of Bruch's Eight Pieces for clarinet, viola and piano in a version for cello, viola and piano, memorably played by Boris Baraz, Bruno Pasquier and JBP. Although its future is currently uncertain, Musikč GB will continue in existence (it is too happy and effective a team to be lost!) and will explore further possibilities. But only a new source of funding could enable its return to Durham and no such deus ex machina is expected any day soon. Any news will appear on the Musikč website, www.musike.co.uk © Ron Thorndycraft 2009
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