Festival and Academy Program December 2020
Introduction In Plato’s work Politeia we encounter the term μουσική (mousiki). Although it resembles the word music, the real meaning is actually ‘to give form’. Music in ancient Greece was perceived to have through its rhythms, harmonies and melodies not just an aesthetic, but a moral power and therefore played a great role in the education system. Pursuing our modern day μουσική, the Euphonia Kulturverein aims to gather musicians that are starting their international careers and collectively work towards a series of performances. This allows young musicians to not only take part in knowledge exchanging sessions, but immediately gain valuable performance experience.
The world renowned French pianist and conductor Jean-Bernard Pommier has experienced firsthand how valuable an academy environment is to young musicians. Due to personal connections, he was able to profit from direct exposure to artists like Pablo Casals, Mieczyslaw Horszowski, Roberto Casadesus and others from an extremely young age. After becoming a laureate at age seventeen of the Tchaikovsky competition, he benefited from direct involvement with Eugene Istomin, Rudolf Serkin, Alexander Schneider, Isaac Stern, Pinchas Zukerman and conductors such as Herbert von Karajan and Sergiu Celibidache. Although in his case these contacts materialised through happenstance and were not formally organised, Pommier immediately recognised the need for a young performing artist to be involved with and guided by great artists. He now takes this role upon himself by sharing the stage with young musicians and preserving the artistic tradition that he forms a part of. The project has its origins in the south of France in 2019, where Pommier organised within his festival Piano Prestige the first additional Academy program. The same participants have returned every three months for an Academy session, which allows for a longer apprenticeship and sufficient time between each session to develop new repertoire. The Academy normally consists of piano solo and chamber music sessions for ensembles ranging from duos to quintets. All participants form together the Ensemble International Musikè, which was founded over a decade ago. We are proud to present the fifth edition of this project, taking place in Austria for the first time, and opening the doors for young professionals in Austria to benefit from the vast amount of knowledge and experience of maestro Pommier in addition to the numerous performance opportunities.
Festival Program (tbc)
Academy Sessions 14.-18.12.2020
Academy Concerts 17.-19.2020 17. & 18.12.2020
18.12.2020 – Cocktail / Special event Mozart program Ensemble International Musikè Jean-Bernard Pommier, conductor & piano
19.12.2020 – Orchestra Concert Location: Ankersaal Ensemble International Musikè Jean-Bernard Pommier, conductor Ineke Hellingman, piano
Stravinsky - Apollon musagète Hindemith - Die 4 Temperamente
© OLEG MELNYK
About the Euphonia Kulturverein The Euphonia Kulturverein was created in 2018 by Greek violinist Angelina Georgiadi and Dutch pianist Ineke Hellingman to support young professional musicians. The ancient Greek word ‘Euphonia’ means ‘well sounding’ and is also used for a certain bird species that imitates the singing of other birds. Hector Berlioz described in his ‘Soirées d’orchestre’ his vision of a musical utopia, named Euphonia: a city in Germany where all inhabitants are involved with music, whether as performers or as instrument manufacturers that collectively form the most impressive choir that ever existed.
To live up to its meaning, the Euphonia Kulturverein hosts a series of interdisciplinary concerts, the Euphonia Art Nights, where young artists of different disciplines combine their crafts. The first program featuring string sextets of Schoenberg and Zemlinsky with poetry readings of Richard Dehmel and visual art of Simone Carneiro took place in the Ankersaal last year and was met with high acclaim.
Angelina Georgiadi is concert master of the Orpheus Kammerorchester Wien. Originally from Thessaloniki, she has studied at the prestigious Gnessin Academy in Moscow, Bruckeruniversität Linz and the MUK in Vienna in the class of Lidia Baich. Currently based in Vienna, she is performing throughout Europe and can be heard regularly in various festivals.
Ineke Hellingman is a Dutch concert pianist based in Vienna. She is currently enrolled at the Ecole normale de musique in Paris in the class of Jean-Bernard Pommier to pursue the prestigious Diplôme Supérieur Concertiste. Recent highlights include performances and recordings of Rachmaninoff’s piano concerti with the Sofia Philharmonic. Ineke was the first Dutch pianist to ever be invited by the Armenian National Philharmonic.
Contact Details For any questions or remarks, please send an email to: [email protected]