Program Booklet – Musicians from the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra & ANAM

MUSICIANS FROM THE LEIPZIG GEWANDHAUS ORCHESTRA & AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL ACADEMY OF MUSIC (ANAM)

FRIDAY 28–SUNDAY 30 JULY 2023

Photo: Christopher Morrison

MUSICIANS FROM THE LEIPZIG GEWANDHAUS ORCHESTRA & AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL ACADEMY OF MUSIC (ANAM)

THE RELEVANCE OF CULTURAL TRADITION

FRIDAY 28–SUNDAY 30 JULY 2023

UKARIA CULTURAL CENTRE MOUNT BARKER SUMMIT

This festival is proudly presented by UKARIA and supported by the Goethe-Institut.

UKARIA honours our First Nations by fostering a shared sense of respect for this land, and we acknowledge and pay our respects to the Peramangk, traditional custodians of the land on which the Cultural Centre stands.

It is a great pleasure to present this festival together with my colleagues from the Gewandhaus Orchestra and musicians from the Australian National Academy of Music. I can think of no setting more fitting than UKARIA for musicians from the world’s oldest symphony orchestra to come together with talented young Australian instrumentalists, not only to share the stage but to exchange ideas about the significance of cultural tradition. This concept certainly influences how we approach music-making, but, more broadly, discourse on this subject and on ideas surrounding it is pivotal to building understanding and empathy.

As we navigate a world in which isolationist tendencies in society as well as within the global community appear to be ever-increasing, the role of the arts as a platform for cultural exchange and dialogue becomes paramount. This festival is presented within this broader context, as my colleagues and I transplant the cultural tradition of Leipzig to UKARIA so that it may be both delved into and re-invigorated by young musicians who come to it afresh.

The central themes of this weekend are particularly significant to Ulrike Klein AO, who this year celebrates 40 years since moving to Australia and her 80th birthday, and I am especially grateful for her support for this festival. I hope you enjoy the performances, exchanges and conversations this weekend, and that these in turn shine light on the interconnectedness that binds us together, transcending notions of culture, place and tradition.

Tahlia Petrosian Curator and Viola

ARTISTS

MUSICIANS FROM THE LEIPZIG GEWANDHAUS ORCHESTRA

Yun-Jin Cho

Violin

Karl Heinrich Niebuhr

Violin

Tahlia Petrosian Curator and Viola

Axel von Huene Cello

Burak Marlali

Double Bass

Edgar Hesske Clarinet

Axel Benoit Bassoon

Simen Fegran

Horn

MUSICIANS FROM ANAM

Felix Pascoe

Violin

Donica Tran

Violin

Megan Yang

Violin

Harry Swainston

Viola

Daniel You

Viola

Nadia Barrow

Cello

Noah Lawrence Cello

Maria Zhdanovich

Flute

Alex Allan Oboe

Alexandra King

Oboe

Clare Fox

Clarinet

Tasman Compton Bassoon

Kina Lin-Wilmoth

Bassoon / Contrabassoon

Ryan Humphrey

Horn

Nicola Robinson

Horn

Reuben Johnson

Piano

MASTERCLASS (STRINGS)

FRIDAY 28 JULY 2.30PM

Musicians from the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra present a masterclass with students from the Australian National Academy of Music (ANAM), with Peter de Jager (ANAM Associate Faculty).

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750)

Violin Sonata No. 2 in A minor, BWV 1003

II. Fuga

Donica Tran | Violin

Béla Bartók (1881–1945)

Viola Concerto, Sz. 120

Harry Swainston | Viola

Peter de Jager | Piano

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750)

Cello Suite No. 2 in D minor, BWV 1008

IV. Sarabande

Noah Lawrence | Cello

Duration | Approximately two hours without interval.

Note | The bar will not be open for refreshments before or during the event. If you are attending Concert One (7.30pm), the bar will be open from 5.00pm.

I. Grave

I. Moderato

I. Prelude

CONCERT ONE

FRIDAY 28 JULY 7.30PM

‘Musicians from the Gewandhaus Orchestra open the weekend with the music of Franz Schubert. The Gewandhaus Orchestra’s 2022 Deutsche Grammophon recording of Schubert’s late symphonies was widely acclaimed, the unique sound of this orchestra an ideal match for Schubert’s crystalline musical language. Schubert’s Octet is a masterpiece for this ensemble of instruments, which represent a crosssection of the symphony orchestra. It is paired here with his Six Moments Musicaux for solo piano, in a new arrangement for octet by composer Hans Abrahamsen, created especially for this performance.’

– Tahlia Petrosian, Curator

Franz Schubert (1797–1828)

Six Moments Musicaux, D. 780 (arr. Hans Abrahamsen) [30’]

I. Moderato

II. Andantino

III. Allegro moderato

IV. Moderato*

V. Allegro vivace*

VI. Allegretto

* Movements four and five have been newly arranged by Hans Abrahamsen, and will be premiered by musicians from the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra on this Australian tour.

PROGRAM

INTERVAL

Franz Schubert (1797–1828)

Octet in F, D. 803 (60’)

I. Adagio – Allegro – Più allegro

II. Adagio

III. Allegro vivace – Trio – Allegro vivace

IV. Andante – variations. Un poco più mosso – Più lento

V. Menuetto. Allegretto – Trio – Menuetto – Coda

VI. Andante molto – Allegro – Andante molto – Allegro molto

Edgar Hesske | Clarinet

Axel Benoit | Bassoon

Simen Fegran | Horn

Yun-Jin Cho | Violin

Karl Heinrich Niebuhr | Violin

Tahlia Petrosian | Viola

Axel von Huene | Cello

Burak Marlali | Double Bass

Duration | Approximately one hour and fifty minutes, including a twenty-five minute interval.

CONCERT TWO

SATURDAY 29 JULY 2.30PM

‘Johann Sebastian Bach is inextricably tied to the city of Leipzig, where he was Cantor of the St Thomas School from 1723 until his death in 1750, during which time he led performances of his own cantatas each Sunday. Musicians from the Gewandhaus Orchestra continue this tradition to this day, performing Bach cantatas with the St Thomas Choir in the St Thomas Church Leipzig every week.

Mozart’s Serenade in C minor was composed shortly before the composer travelled to Leipzig to perform in the Gewandhaus in 1789. The defiantly dark and mysterious character of this work for wind octet introduces Richard Strauss’ contemplative study, Metamorphosen. Originally for 23 solo strings and performed here in the version for string septet, Strauss, who regularly conducted the Gewandhaus Orchestra in performances of his own operas from 1915 onwards, explores the idea of metamorphosis in this dramatic and moving work, composed in the aftermath of World War II.’

–

Tahlia Petrosian, Curator

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750)

Ricercar a 6 from Musikalisches Opfer, BWV 1079 (8’)

Karl Heinrich Niebuhr | Violin

Megan Yang | Violin

Tahlia Petrosian | Viola

Harry Swainston | Viola

Nadia Barrow | Cello

Axel von Huene | Cello

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791)

Serenade in C minor, K. 388 (25’)

I. Allegro

II. Andante

III. Menuet & Trio

IV. Allegro

PROGRAM

Alexandra King | Oboe

Alex Allan | Oboe

Edgar Hesske | Clarinet

Clare Fox | Clarinet

Ryan Humphrey | Horn

Simen Fegran | Horn

Axel Benoit | Bassoon

Kina Lin-Wilmoth | Bassoon

Richard Strauss (1864–1949)

Metamorphosen (arr. for string septet by Rudolf Leopold) [26’]

Yun-Jin Cho | Violin

Donica Tran | Violin

Tahlia Petrosian | Viola

Daniel You | Viola

Axel von Huene | Cello

Nadia Barrow | Cello

Burak Marlali | Double Bass

Duration | Approximately one hour without interval.

PANEL DISCUSSION: THE RELEVANCE OF CULTURAL TRADITION

SATURDAY 29 JULY 4.30PM

Tahlia Petrosian | Curator / Moderator

Ulrike Klein AO | Founder, UKARIA

Ruth Mackenzie CBE | Artistic Director, Adelaide Festival

Reuben Johnson | Australian National Academy of Music (Piano)

Axel von Huene | Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra (Cello)

Duration | Approximately one hour.

CONCERT THREE

SATURDAY 29 JULY 6.30PM

‘Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy’s celebrated tenure as conductor and music director of the Gewandhaus Orchestra began in 1835. The composer’s Scottish Symphony and Violin Concerto were both premiered in the Gewandhaus and the Gewandhaus Orchestra’s sound identity is indelibly linked with the music of Mendelssohn. The Piano Sextet was composed when Mendelssohn was just fifteen years old, one year before he completed his beloved String Octet.

In singling out which composers had influenced him, Czech composer Antonín Dvořák recalled mainly German names, including Felix Mendelssohn. He composed his Serenade for Winds, Cello and Double Bass in 1878, having been impressed by a performance of Mozart’s Wind Serenade in Vienna. The work was also undoubtedly influenced by the two serenades of Johannes Brahms, the first of which was composed twenty years before Dvořák’s Serenade and just after Brahms had suffered the humiliation of the first performance in Leipzig of his Piano Concerto No. 1 being jeered off stage.’

– Tahlia Petrosian, Curator

Felix Mendelssohn (1809–1847)

Piano Sextet in D, Op. 110 (30’)

I. Allegro vivace

II. Adagio

III. Menuetto. Agitato

IV. Allegro vivace

Karl Heinrich Niebuhr | Violin

Harry Swainston | Viola

Daniel You | Viola

Nadia Barrow | Cello

Burak Marlali | Double Bass

Reuben Johnson | Piano

Antonín Dvořák (1841–1904)

Serenade for Wind Instruments, Cello and Double Bass in D minor, Op. 44 (25’)

I. Moderato

II. Minuetto

III. Andante con moto

IV. Finale

Alex Allan | Oboe

Alexandra King | Oboe

Edgar Hesske | Clarinet

Clare Fox | Clarinet

Axel Benoit | Bassoon

Tasman Compton | Bassoon

Kina Lin-Wilmoth | Contrabassoon

Simen Fegran | Horn

Ryan Humphrey | Horn

Nicola Robinson | Horn

Noah Lawrence | Cello

Burak Marlali | Double Bass

Duration | Approximately one hour without interval. A post-concert dinner (Weekend Package or separate booking required) will follow at 7.30pm.

MASTERCLASS (WINDS)

SUNDAY 30 JULY 11.00AM

Musicians from the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra present a masterclass with students from the Australian National Academy of Music (ANAM), with Peter de Jager (ANAM Associate Faculty).

Robert Schumann (1810–1856)

Three Romances for Oboe and Piano, Op. 94

I. Nicht schnell

III. Nicht schnell

Alex Allan | Oboe

Peter de Jager | Piano

Otmar Nussio (1902–1990)

Variations su un’ Arietta di Pergolesi

Tasman Compton | Bassoon

Peter de Jager | Piano

Johannes Brahms (1833–1897)

Clarinet Sonata No. 2 in E flat, Op. 120 No. 2

I. Allegro amabile – Andante

II. Allegro molto appassionato

III. Andante con moto – Allegro vivo

Clare Fox | Clarinet

Peter de Jager | Piano

Duration | Approximately ninety minutes without interval.

Note | The bar will not be open for refreshments before or during the event. A pre-concert lunch (Weekend Package or separate booking required) will follow at 12.30pm.

CONCERT FOUR

SUNDAY 30 JULY 2.30PM

‘The first performance anywhere in the world of the complete cycle of Beethoven symphonies took place during the composer’s lifetime in 1825, performed by the Gewandhaus Orchestra. Around 30 years prior, Beethoven had completed his Sextet in E flat for horn duo and string quartet. An early composition in Beethoven’s oeuvre, the Sextet’s virtuosic horn parts foreshadow the prominent role the composer would assign to the instrument in his symphonies.

The horn also features prominently in Kleine Kammermusik, Op. 24 No. 2 for wind quintet, the second in a collection of eight chamber music compositions entitled “Kammermusik” written by Hindemith in the 1920s for various ensembles. The first ever recording of Kleine Kammermusik Op. 24 No. 2 was by the Leipzig Gewandhaus Wind Quintet in 1925, released at the time on two 78-rpm records.

Before succeeding Mendelssohn as music director of the Gewandhaus Orchestra, Danish composer Niels Gade conducted the premiere of Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto with soloist Ferdinand David and the Gewandhaus Orchestra in 1845. Gade’s Octet was composed shortly after Mendelssohn’s death, and it might well be a tribute to his friend and mentor, as Mendelssohn’s influence is instantly recognisable.’

– Tahlia Petrosian, Curator

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827)

Sextet for Horns and String Quartet in E flat, Op. 81b (16’)

I. Allegro con brio

II. Adagio

III. Rondo. Allegro

Nicola Robinson | Horn

Simen Fegran | Horn

Karl Heinrich Niebuhr | Violin

Felix Pascoe | Violin

Harry Swainston | Viola

Noah Lawrence | Cello

Paul Hindemith (1895–1963)

Kleine Kammermusik for Wind Quintet, Op. 24 No. 2 (13’)

I. Lustig. Mässig schnell Viertel (Merry. Moderately fast quarter notes)

II. Walzer: Durchweg sehr leise (Waltz: Consistently very soft)

III. Ruhig und einfach (Calm and simple)

IV. Schnelle Viertel (Fast quarter notes)

V. Sehr lebhaft (Very lively)

Maria Zhdanovich | Flute

Alexandra King | Oboe

Edgar Hesske | Clarinet

Axel Benoit | Bassoon

Ryan Humphrey | Horn

Niels Gade (1817–1890)

String Octet in F, Op. 17 (35’)

I. Allegro molto e con fuoco

II. Andantino quasi allegretto

III. Scherzo. Allegro moderato e tranquillo

IV. Finale. Allegro vivace

Yun-Jin Cho | Violin

Megan Yang | Violin

Felix Pascoe | Violin

Donica Tran | Violin

Tahlia Petrosian | Viola

Daniel You | Viola

Axel von Huene | Cello

Noah Lawrence | Cello

Duration | Approximately one hour without interval.

ARTIST BIOGRAPHIES

Yun-Jin Cho Violin

Yun-Jin Cho started playing violin at the age of six after two years of piano. In 1998, at the age of 15, she came to Germany to study violin. From 2001–2009 she completed violin studies with Ulf Wallin at the Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler in Berlin. She received numerous first prizes and special prizes at national and international music competitions such as the Rodolfo Lipizer International Violin Competition, Robert Canetti Competition, and the Lions Club Musik Competition. As a soloist and chamber musician, she has been a guest at several international music festivals in Germany, Korea, Japan, Turkey, Switzerland, Austria, Sweden, Norway, and Finland. Since 2008 she has played in the Gewandhaus Orchestra Leipzig, as Deputy First Concertmaster, with a oneyear interruption where she played as First Concertmaster in Staatsoper Hamburg. She started her teaching career in 2015 at the Hochschule für Musik und Theatre Mendelssohn-Bartholdy in Leipzig where she has been teaching violin and orchestral studies as well as the Orchestra Academy in the Gewandhaus Orchestra. In 2019 she also started to teach at the BarenboimSaid Academy in Sevilla, Spain. As an enthusiastic chamber musician, she has performed with artists such as AnneSophie Mutter, Leonidas Kavakos, Joshua Bell, Leif Ove Andsnes, Alan Gilbert, Gautier Capuçon, and Friedemann Weigel. In 2019 she was chosen for the member of Gewandhaus Quartet as the first female member in its history.

Karl

Heinrich Niebuhr Violin

Karl Heinrich Niebuhr, born in Leipzig in 1985, studied violin at the local music academy with Klaus Hertel. He received additional impetus from Igor Ozim, Gérard Poulet and Thomas Brandis, among others. He won first prizes at ‘Jugend musiziert’ and at the Ostdeutsche Sparkassenstiftung’s violin competition. He has been a member of the Gewandhaus Orchestra since 2007 and concertmaster of the second violins since 2020. He also plays regularly with ensembles such as the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, the Sinfonia Grange au Lac, the Ensemble Avantgarde and since 2009 in the Bayreuth Festival Orchestra. He gives concerts regularly as a soloist and chamber musician, making radio recordings for Rundfunk BerlinBrandenburg (RBB), Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk (MDR) and Deutschlandradio Kultur, among others.

ARTIST BIOGRAPHIES

Tahlia Petrosian Curator and Viola

Violist Tahlia Petrosian enjoys a multifaceted career as a soloist, chamber musician, director of KLASSIK underground, creative producer and member of the Gewandhaus Orchestra Leipzig.

As a soloist and chamber musician, Tahlia has performed in Wigmore Hall, the Sydney Opera House, the Semperoper Dresden, the Berliner Philharmonie, the Gewandhaus Leipzig, at Tanglewood Music Centre, and directly on 5th Avenue in New York. Her chamber music partners have included Leif Ove Andsnes, Joshua Bell, Gautier Capuçon, Leonidas Kavakos and Nikolaj Szeps-Znaider.

Having studied with Tabea Zimmermann and Wilfried Strehle in Berlin, Tahlia has received awards from the Australia Council, the Australian Music Foundation in London, the Paul Hindemith Gesellschaft in Berlin, the DAAD and the Dame Joan Sutherland Fund in New York. She has been a member of the Gewandhaus Orchestra since 2012 and also performs with the Australian World Orchestra. Tahlia has taught at the Guildhall School of Music in London and at the Australian National Academy of Music in Melbourne.

In 2016, Tahlia created KLASSIK underground, which has been profiled in publications from New York’s Travel + Leisure magazine to the Financial Review and The Japan Times. The concert series drew nationwide media attention when Anne-Sophie Mutter performed a special

KLASSIK underground benefit concert in Leipzig in a gesture of tolerance and openness at the height of the European migrant crisis.

Tahlia is much sought after as a consultant and creative producer for leading orchestras and arts organisations. In 2019, Tahlia took on the role of Creative Producer at leading music agency HarrisonParrott in London, where she worked with HP Chairman Jasper Parrott to develop special projects for institutions including Tate Modern and the BBC, and was the producer for the highly successful ’50 Years in a Day’ concerts at Southbank Centre for the 50th anniversary of HarrisonParrott. Tahlia also directed the national music programs of the Norwegian arts organisation, ‘Talent Norge’, in 2019.

In 2021, Tahlia created the new online concert format, ‘Resonate’, in collaboration with the Goethe-Institut, the Karajan Institute and Symmetrica Creative Technology. Also in 2021, Tahlia conceptualised and produced three concert films based on Dante’s Divina Commedia, featuring musicians of the Gewandhaus Orchestra. These films were presented in German cinema and in Australia by the Italian Cultural Institute.

Tahlia has been a guest speaker at the Karajan Conference Salzburg, the ARTS+ Conference Frankfurt, the Avant Première Music + Media Market Vienna and the national Deutscher Orchestertag in Berlin. At the 2022 Edinburgh International

ARTIST BIOGRAPHIES

Culture Summit at the Scottish Parliament, Tahlia presented on ‘Culture and Education’ together with Andreas Schleicher, Director of Education at the OECD. Tahlia was also a speaker at the 2022 UK/Australia Cultural Leadership Dialogue, again at the Scottish Parliament.

In 2023, Tahlia takes on a new role at the London Symphony Orchestra’s ‘SoundHub’ program, where she mentors the collaboration between LSO musicians and over 70 emerging composers. In May 2023, Tahlia presented the KLASSIK underground ‘Wunderhorn Festival’ in Leipzig, in collaboration with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and the Munich Philharmonic. The Wunderhorn Festival is the subject of a documentary film to be released in late 2023. 2023 also sees KLASSIK underground’s return to the Illuminate Festival Adelaide after its widely acclaimed debut there in 2022.

Born in Sydney, Tahlia initially studied Law in Australia, completing her studies two years early and wining multiple university prizes. Tahlia also studied Law at Humboldt University in Berlin. Her academic work has been published in the Australian Journal of International Law and has been cited in publications and by institutions including the Chicago Journal of International Law, the Washington College of Law and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda. Tahlia speaks French, German and Mandarin.

Axel von Huene Cello

Axel von Huene grew up in Bavaria in the southern part of Germany. He started playing the cello at the age of seven. His professional training began with Prof. Helmar Stiehler in Munich, and ended with Prof. Gustav Rivinius in Saarbrücken. In between, he spent a year in Boston (USA) with Prof. Andrés Diaz at the New England Conservatory and a year in Sydney (Australia) with Prof. Uzi Wiesel. During his training he was promoted by the Yehudi Menuhin Foundation.

He started his orchestral career as Principal Cellist in the European Union Chamber Orchestra, and also in the Mahler Chamber Orchestra under the baton of Daniel Harding. Since 2002 Axel von Huene has been a member of the Gewandhaus Orchestra. He is also Principal Cello in the Baroque ensemble ‘Neues Bachisches Collegium Musicum’. Chamber music plays a big part in his artistic life. Together with Yun-Jin Cho and other colleagues of the Gewandhaus Orchestra, he takes part in the KLASSIK underground series, where they play chamber music concerts in an intimate club atmosphere together with artists like Anne-Sophie Mutter, Leif Ove Andsnes and Nikolaj Szeps-Znaider.

Axel von Huene enjoys teaching his students and when he finds time, working as a lecturer for several German youth orchestras. His latest musical adventure is the Gewandhaus ensemble, ‘Cellists of the Gewandhaus Orchestra’. Since their debut in 2015, the formation has played numerous concerts in Europe.

ARTIST BIOGRAPHIES

Burak Marlali

Double Bass

Burak Marlali was born in 1980 in Ankara, Turkey and started his studies at the Ankara State Conservatory with Tahir Sümer. He went on to study at the Royal Northern College of Music in England with Corin Long and Jiří Hudec where he obtained his bachelor and soloist diploma in 2004. Right after his studies, he won his first orchestral position in the Halle Orchestra in Manchester. He continued his studies with Božo Paradžik at the Musikhochschule Freiburg and participated from 2007–09 in the Akademie des Symphonieorchesters des Bayerischen Rundfunks. He won numerous prizes, including the Gustav Scheck Preis in Freiburg, Germany, the Eugene Cruft Prize for Double Bass of the Royal Northern College of Music, and prizes at the Brno Double Bass Competition, Czech Republic, the British Council’s Young Musician of the Year in Turkey (first prize), and the 47th Neerpelt European Music Festival in Belgium (first prize summa cum laude).

His chamber music partners are amongst Argerich, Barenboim, Uchida, Schiff and the Armida Quartett. He guest leads various orchestras, such as the London Symphony Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Bamberger Symphoniker, Münchner Philharmoniker, Deutsches

Sinfonieorchester, the Deutsche Oper Berlin, WDR Sinfonieorchester and worked with conductors such as Abbado, Barenboim, Berglund, Blomstedt, Boulez, Chailly, Davis, Dudamel, Eschenbach,

Harding, Gatti, Gilbert, Haitink, Mäkelä, Mehta, Muti, Nelsons, Nézet-Séguin, Jansons, Järvi, Pappano, Petrenko, Rattle, Salonen, Thielemann and Welser-Möst. In addition, he has played with the Berliner Philharmoniker, Dresden Staatskapelle and Concertgebouw Amsterdam. Additionally he was a member of Lucerne Festival Orchestra under Claudio Abbado. Burak Marlali is solo bassist with the Gewandhaus Orchestra. Previously he was solo bassist of the Mahler Chamber Orchestra and Staatskapelle Berlin. He taught at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam from 2020 until 2022 and from Wintersemester 2022–23

Burak Marlali is the new Professor at the Hochschule für Musik Carl Maria von Weber in Dresden and from October 2022–23 also starting as the new Professor at the Universität der Kunst Berlin.

ARTIST BIOGRAPHIES

Edgar Hesske Clarinet

Edgar Hesske was born in 1986 in Wernigerode, Germany. In 2002 he became a pre-college student at the University of Music and Theatre Leipzig, and from 2005 until 2012 he studied at this institution with Prof. Wolfgang Mäder and received his diploma with distinctions. Furthermore, he took part in masterclasses with Sabine Meyer, Charles Neidich, Jörg Widmann and Karl Leister. He regularly appears as a soloist with orchestras such as the Leipziger Sinfonieorchester, Akademisches Orchestra Leipzig among others.

As a chamber musician, Edgar has played at prestigious festivals like the Rheingau Festival and the Schleswig-Holstein Musikfestival as well as at the Semperoper Dresden and the Stuttgarter Schloss. As a frequent guest in the KLASSIK underground series in Leipzig, he shared the stage with artists such as Nikolaj SzepsZnaider, Jean-Yves Thibaudet and Omer Meir-Wellber.

Having a passion for teaching, he has given masterclasses at the Royal College and the Guildhall School of Music in London, and was a faculty member of the Norddeutsche Klarinettentage Bremen as well as at the University of Music and Theatre Leipzig. In 2008 he joined the Orchestra of the Musikalische Komödie Leipzig as associate principal clarinetist, and in 2012 he was appointed Principal E-flat Clarinettist of the Gewandhaus Orchestra Leipzig.

Axel Benoit Bassoon

The French bassoonist Axel Benoit, one of the most sought-after artists of his generation, has been Principal Bassoon at the Gewandhaus Orchestra, Leipzig since 2020. Before occupying his current position, Axel Benoit was, at 21 years old, Principal Bassoon of the Bern Symphony Orchestra (2013–16), and later on Principal Bassoon of the Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne (2016–20).

He has been regularly invited as Principal Bassoon in other prestigious orchestras such as the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, the Tonhalle-Orchestra Zürich, the Lucerne Festival Strings, the Zürich Opera House, the Kammerorchester Basel, the Philharmonisches Staatsorchester Hamburg, the Musikkollegium Winterthur, and the European Philharmonic of Switzerland.

Born in 1992, he started taking lessons of piano at the age of six and bassoon at the age of nine, with Professors Jean-Luc André and Hervé Issartel. After graduating from the Conservatoire à Rayonnement Régional du Grand Avignon (CRR) with distinction in both instruments, he was admitted to the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Lyon (CNSM) in the class of Professor Carlo Colombo in 2010. In 2012, he joined the Zürich Opera as academist. In the meantime, he obtained a soloist Masters degree at the University of Arts in Zürich (ZhdK) in the class of Giorgio Mandolesi.

ARTIST BIOGRAPHIES

At 19 years old, in 2011, Axel Benoit won the 1st prize at the International Double Reed Society competition in Tempe (USA) and has since participated in many festivals such as Verbier and Zermatt, in the most famous international orchestras, such as the Verbier Festival Orchestra, the Verbier Festival Chamber Orchestra, the Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester and the Gustav Mahler Academy.

He regularly gives concerts in the most prestigious halls in the world, such as the Berliner Philharmonie, the Royal Albert Hall, Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, Philharmonie de Paris, the KKL in Lucerne under the direction of famous conductors such as Herbert Blomstedt, Andris Nelsons, Bernard Haitink and Valery Gergiev.

Axel Benoit is invited as soloist and professor at the most renowned international bassoon festivals in China, and gives recitals and masterclasses at prestigious high schools of music such as the international Shanghai Conservatory of Music.

He is a member of the ‘Ensemble Confoederatio’ wind quintet in Switzerland, the ‘Universal Bassoon Ensemble’ in China and leader of the ‘Assemblage’ bassoon quartet in Japan. Since 2021 he is Professor at the international Tibor Varga Academy in Sion (Switzerland) and gives masterclasses there every summer. From 2022, he started as

mentor for the Mendelssohn Orchestra Academy in Leipzig.

Axel Benoit taught at the Escuola Superior de Música e Artes do Espetáculo (ESMAE) in Porto (Portugal) from 2018–20, and regularly performs as soloist and professor abroad: Japan, China, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Germany, and France.

He is a Püchner artist and plays on a ‘Superior’ model instrument.

ARTIST BIOGRAPHIES

Simen Fegran Horn

German/Norwegian born horn player

Simen Fegran enjoys an active career as an orchestral and chamber musician. He was appointed second horn of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra in 2019 with which he regularly performs at Europe’s leading music festivals as well as in Asia and North America.

Simen received his first horn lessons at the age of six with Johannes Theodor Wiemes. Parallel to his final years of public school, at age fifteen he was accepted in the Institute for the Early Advancement of the Musically Highly Gifted (IFF) at the University of Music in Hannover, where he was given advanced training in music theory and conducting, while receiving horn lessons with Markus Maskuniitty.

In 2011, Simen took up his studies with Michael Höltzel in Rostock and later continued under the guidance of Thomas Hauschild in Leipzig. He gathered early orchestral experience as a member of the Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra and also held a temporary contract with the Hannover State Opera.

Being an enthusiastic chamber musician and looking to flex his creativity beyond the stage, Simen co-founded the Alma Mahler Kammerorchester in 2017, a chamber orchestra bringing together young professional musicians from all of Europe, where he remained a board member for three years.

Simen is a regular guest musician with some of Europe’s leading orchestras, including the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, the Staatskapelle Dresden, the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen and the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra.

ARTIST BIOGRAPHIES

Australian National Academy of Music

‘ANAM is an extraordinary institution: intense, demanding, challenging and immensely rewarding to be involved with. The musicians are totally engaged and committed.’

– Simone Young AM, Conductor

The Australian National Academy of Music (ANAM) is dedicated to training the most exceptional young classical musicians from Australia and New Zealand. It is the only professional performance training institute of its kind in Australia, and one of few in the world.

ANAM musicians fly between the stage and the studio; performing in over 180 events each year and receiving more than 60 hours of one-on-one training and hundreds of hours of coaching from an esteemed Faculty and impressive list of national and international guest artists. From taking meditation classes, singing Bach chorales, laying down a concerto, or building a buzz around their forthcoming gig, to learning how to work a scale, work a fugue, work a room, or work towards securing a vibrant future for classical music. They find themselves sitting crosslegged on the floor with a class of local third graders one day, to performing with the world’s finest artists on stages all across the country the next.

With an outstanding track record of success, ANAM alumni work in orchestras and chamber ensembles around the world, performing as soloists, contributing to educating the next generation of musicians, and winning major national and international awards.

ANAM aims to inspire these future music leaders and encourages audiences to share the experience.

Biographies of the ANAM musicians performing in this festival are available at ukaria.com/Gewandhaus-ANAM-2023

COMING UP

JEROEN BERWAERTS AND KONSTANTIN SHAMRAY

SUNDAY 3 SEPTEMBER | 2.30PM

ENSEMBLE LIAISON WITH CAMPBELL DIAMOND

SUNDAY 10 SEPTEMBER | 2.30PM

ILYA GRINGOLTS WITH AURA GO

SUNDAY 24 SEPTEMBER | 2.30PM

DIANA DOHERTY, JOSHUA BATTY, TODD GIBSON-CORNISH AND LOUISA BREEN

SUNDAY 8 OCTOBER | 2.30PM

VISION STRING QUARTET

SATURDAY 14 OCTOBER | 7.30PM

Tickets are available at www.ukaria.com/events

SPRING–SUMMER 2023 SEASON

Our Spring–Sumer 2023 Season is now on sale. To ensure you receive all our latest news, make sure you’re signed up to the UKARIA mailing list. Go to the home page and scroll to the bottom at www.ukaria.com

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THANK YOU

We recognise and thank everyone who supports UKARIA.

Founder

Ulrike Klein AO

Visionaries ($100,000+)*

The Estate of John Lane Koch

Lang Foundation

David McKee AO and Pam McKee

Didy McLaurin

Patrons ($50,000+)*

Daniel and Susan Hains

Klein Family Foundation

Joan Lyons

Guardians ($25,000+)*

James and Carol Banman

Amanda Harkness and Karen Barrett

David and Lisa Brookes

Hugh MacLachlan and Fiona MacLachlan OAM

Peter ∞ and Pamela McKee

Gustav Meincke

Mary Louise Simpson OAM

Ambassadors ($10,000+)*

John and Sue Arthurson

David ∞ and Charlotte Bright

Colin ∞ and Robyn Cowan

Bryan Dahlsen

Ross and Sue Dillon

Carrillo and Ziyin Gantner

Andrew and Hiroko Gwinnett

Briar and Tony Jones

Rob Brookman AM and Verity Laughton

Delysia Lawson

Sam Saunders and Alexandra McCarthy

Pauline Menz ∞

Josephine Prosser

Roger and Helen Salkeld

Mary Vallentine AO

Anonymous (1)

Supporters ($5,000+)*

Aldridge Family Endowment

Alison Beare

Tim Orton and Barb Dennis

Rick and Jan Frolich

Fran Gerard AM

Michael and Janet Hayes

Julie and Dudley Hill

Tim and Vicki Jordan

Andrew and Renata Kaldor Family Foundation

Rod and Léonie Matheson

Janet McLachlan

George and Judy Potter

Carolyn and The Hon Christopher Pyne

Nicholas and Annemarie Pyne

Petrea and Mick Roche

Jill Russell

In memory of Joan Scott

In memory of Mrs Chris Steele Scott OAM

Sharron and Tom Stubbs

Sibby Sutherland

Janet Worth

Anonymous (2)

THANK YOU

Friends ($1,000+)*

Valerian Adamek

Susanna and Luke Anderson

Neil Armfield AO

Fran Baum AO

John and Kaye Cameron

Alan and Diane Colton

Dianne Davidson AM

Mark de Raad

Katherine Fennell

In memory of Cynthia Gerner

John Kaye and Pat Grant

Peter and Lyndsey Hawkins

In memory of Elizabeth Jamieson

Helen Karapandzic

Geoffrey and Jill Knights

Andrew Henderson and James Lake

Stephen and Brigitte Lane

Matt Winefield and Brian Lew

Fred and Susan Mann

Geoff and Sorayya Martin

Esther Ruberl

Linda Sampson

Sidney Myer Fund

Grant Lang and John Taberner

Anita Robinson and Michael Tingay

Guila Tiver

Caroline Treloar

Robert and Chris Waltham

Elizabeth Wheeler

Jeff and Fran Whitford

Graham and Ruth Zanker

Anonymous (9)

Confirmed Bequests

Alison Beare

David Cornish

Mary Vallentine AO

How to Donate

Online www.ukaria.com/donate

Phone (08) 8227 1277

Donations of $2 or more are tax deductible and the UKARIA Foundation is able to receive distributions from private and public ancillary funds.

* Cumulative donations from 1 July 2019

∞ Indicates patron is deceased

UKARIA Cultural Centre

119 Williams Road Mount Barker Summit SA 5251 Australia

UKARIA Head Office & Postal 911, Level 9, 147 Pirie Street Adelaide SA 5000 Australia

P +61 8 8227 1277

E info@ukaria.com www.ukaria.com

Photo: Iona Dutz