- 4 February 2021
- Etichete ICR ICR Londra Rebecca Chan Alexandru-Mihai Bota Brian O'Kane Trio Schubert
The prestigious long-running Enescu Series will feature the Schubert Trio: Rebecca Chan (violin), Alexandru-Mihai Bota (viola) and Brian O’Kane (cello), in an extraordinary concert preceded by a conversation between composer, author and Schubert scholar Professor Emeritus of Music Brian Newbould and Alexandru-Mihai (Sascha) Bota, on 4 February 2021.
The string trio’s programme will include the first-ever historical informed performance of Schubert’s outstanding "Trio D471" (1816), in B flat major, completed by Brian Newbould in 2000, George Enescu’s gorgeous "Trio Aubade" and "Three Voice Fantasia" by Henry Purcell. A real treat for the international public as well is the Romanian "Hora", the mesmeric traditional piece dating from the 17th century.
Rebecca Chan was born in Melbourne and has studied violin with Alice Waten at the Australian National Academy of Music and Sydney Conservatorium and with William Hennessy at Melbourne University, where she also completed her degrees in Medicine and Arts. She has played as soloist with few of Australian major orchestras, including the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Adelaide, Tasmanian and Canberra Symphony Orchestras, Orchestra Victoria, Melbourne Chamber Orchestra and the Australian Chamber Orchestra. As a chamber musician, Rebecca has toured around Australia, Europe and Asia and played in numerous festivals around the world. She is a member of the Australia Piano Quartet and the Hamer Quartet (winners of the first prize, the audience prize and Musica Viva award in the 2009 Asia Pacific Chamber Music Competition). Rebecca is 1st Violin and Associate Leader of the Philharmonia Orchestra.
Alexandru-Mihai (Sascha) Bota was born in Timișoara in a family of musicians. Playing both modern and baroque viola, his career as a chamber musician, soloist and orchestral player has taken him all around the world. He has recently relocated to London after spending 5 years in Sydney as a member of the Australian Chamber Orchestra. He won a full scholarship to study with Gérard Caussé at the Escuela Superior de Música Reina Sofía in Madrid and then continued his studies with Thomas Riebl at the Mozarteum University of Salzburg, completing his master’s degree in Solo Viola cum laudae in 2008. Since relocating to London, Sascha has been playing as guest principal with a number of orchestras, including the Aurora Orchestra, Britten Sinfonia, London Mozart Players, Academy of Ancient Music, English Chamber Orchestra and Philharmonia Orchestra as well as chamber music with the principals of LSO and St. Martin-in-the-Fields orchestra. Sascha is a member of the Navarra String Quartet and has joined the Britten Sinfonia as member on the position of Sub-Principal Viola.
Brian O’Kane is quickly establishing himself as one of the finest Irish musicians of his generation and is in increasing demand as both a soloist and chamber musician. He came to prominence by taking first prize at the Windsor Festival International String Competition and is also a former prize-winner of the Royal Overseas League Competition, a former winner of the Accenture Bursary Award and Camerata Ireland Young Musician Award. In 2008, Brian performed with Camerata Ireland in Dublin’s National Concert Hall under Barry Douglas and with the Philharmonia Orchestra at Highgrove before the Prince of Wales. He appeared again with the Philharmonia Orchestra under Vladimir Ashkenazy at the 2009 Windsor Festival. Brian has recently been awarded the National Concert Hall of Ireland’s ‘Rising Star’ award. An award winning graduate of both the Royal Academy of Music and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, Brian‘s biggest influences have come from Louise Hopkins and at the International Musicians Seminars, Prussia Cove from studies with Ralph Kirshbaum, Gabor Takacs-Nagy and Steven Isserlis. Brian currently plays on a Grancino cello made in Milan in 1698, generously on loan from the Cruft – Grancino Trust which is administered by the Royal Society of Musicians.
Schubert String Trio will soon be releasing the first existing recording of both complete Schubert trios among three Fantasias for the Viols by Henry Purcell, produced by Andrew Keener.
When: Thursday 4 February 2021, 19.00.
Where: Live stream on RCI London’s Facebook page and Youtube channel
The concert has been recorded on 29 January 2021 in RCI London's Library (1 Belgrave Square).
