MCO Apprentices Lunchtime Recital - 25/02/22

MONTEVERDI APPRENTICES

LUNCHTIME RECITAL 1pm, Friday 25 February 2022 St Martin-in-the-Fields

TODAY’S LUNCHTIME RECITAL Our current cohort of instrumental apprentices, auditioned in autumn 2019, are having an extended period of activities because of the necessary hiatus in 2020 and 2021. So far they have rehearsed and performed with John Eliot Gardiner and the Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique (ORR) in all nine of Beethoven’s symphonies in 2020, and in Berlioz’s oratorio L’enfance du Christ last December. Alongside the major orchestral projects that are at the heart of the Apprentices Programme, they have taken part in chamber music workshops and mentoring that have helped prepare them not just for work with the ORR but for recitals of their own.

Performers

Xenia Gogu violin Hatty Haynes violin Gabi Jones violin William McGahon violin Oscar Holch viola George White viola Víctor García cello Eglantine Latil cello Miguel Pliego García double bass

Programme

Puccini - Crisantemi Schubert - String Quartet in E-flat, D87 I. Allegro moderato II. Scherzo - Trio III. Adagio IV. Allegro Rossini - Duetto in D major Turina - La Oración del Torero

Mentors

Peter Hanson leader, ORR Robin Michael principal cello, ORR

This week’s workshops have focussed on 19th century Romantic style, where possible using sets of parts edited by the 19th century violinist Ferdinand David and his contemporaries, to bring the players closer to historic approaches to bowing and phrasing. Schubert’s ‘Household’ quartet was written when Schubert was just 16 and first played by members of his own family: the composer himself on the viola, with his brothers as the violinists and his father as the cellist. We can imagine Schubert’s playing driving forward the impudent little Scherzo (with its contrasting, musette-style trio) and the scurrying accompaniment of the final movement.

During this week the Apprentices have also worked on some rarer repertoire: Puccini’s only piece for string quartet was composed in 1890 as a memorial to his friend, the Duke of Aosta (Crisantemi, meaning chrysanthemums, are commonly used at funerals in Italy); and Joaquín Turina’s 1925 evocation of the bull fighter’s prayer was inspired by the sight of an incense-filled chapel visited by toreadors before they faced death in the arena. Rossini’s highly unusual and witty duet for cello and double bass was commissioned by an amateur cellist to be played at a soirée in London alongside the great virtuoso bassist Domenico Dragonetti.

We will meet again next month to explore chamber music by Beethoven and Mendelssohn – we hope to see you here on 25 March!

Peter Hanson

THE MONTEVERDI APPRENTICES An overview by John Eliot Gardiner The Monteverdi Apprentices Programme was set up in 2007, the first of its kind in the UK, its aim being to nurture exceptional musical talent and an aptitude for ensemble performance. We felt there was a pressing need to create a safe environment and opportunity for gifted young musicians to dip their toes in the waters of professional music-making while still exploring their own potential - just plunging into the professional world straight out of college can be a daunting prospect at the best of times. Even for the most talented and technically secure musicians the experience can be chilling.

In such a fiercely competitive market it can lead to initial disappointment or frustration.

The Apprentices Programme follows the age-old apprenticeship principle of learning a craft on the job from older hands. Our aim is to round out their musical education and to help equip them for future challenges by giving them the opportunity to work alongside some of the best and most experienced musicians in the business.

At the start of the year each Apprentice is assigned a mentor, who provide a range of invaluable practical advice that the Apprentices might not have received in college or conservatoire: tips as to how to pace themselves through six hours of intensive rehearsals in one day, or how to conserve their voices for the evening concert after the fatigue of air travel. Every activity during their apprenticeship year is in fact geared towards building their confidence and development as musicians as well as to help weld them into a free-standing vocal consort or instrumental ensemble.

By the end of the year a Monteverdi Apprentice should be able to gauge his or her individual worth as a singer or instrumentalist with greater objectivity. They will have been given a taste of the life of a professional musician and be in a better position to weigh up if this is genuinely the path they wish to pursue either as a soloist, an ensemble musician, or both.

Current Monteverdi Apprentices performing with the ORR in Berlioz’s L’enfance du Christ, December 2021

Originally from Seville, Víctor García studied at the Escuela Superior de Música Reina Sofía, where in 2013 he was awarded with the Natalia Shakhovskaya Prize for the most outstanding student in his class.

He finished his Bachelor’s degree at the Universität der Künste Berlin, studying under Professor Jens Peter Maintz, followed by a Master’s degree in Performance under his guidance. He continued his education with a Master of Arts in Historically-Informed Performance Practice at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, which he finished in 2020.

VÍCTOR GARCÍA Cello

Xenia Gogu was born in Moldova and is currently living in the Netherlands, where she holds a violin position with the Noord Nederlands Orkest. Her interest in historically informed performance practice brought her into studying a Master’s degree in Early Music in Bremen. She obtained her Bachelor’s degree at the Hanns Eisler Hochschule für Musik in Berlin and completed her Master’s degree in Hamburg.

XENIA GOGU

As a chamber musician she is a member of Musethica and participated in festivals in Spain, France and Sweden. She is also a founder member of Impulsia Ensemble and has played in numerous chamber orchestras, such as Mahler Chamber Orchestra and Kammerakademie Potsdam.

Violin

Hatty Haynes is a prize-winning violinist enjoying a varied musical life performing as a recitalist, chamber musician and orchestral player across the UK. She gained a 1st class Bachelor of Music from the Royal Academy of Music where she was awarded the prestigious J&A Beare bow prize on graduating, and a Master’s degree from the Guildhall School of Music & Drama.

HATTY HAYNES Violin

Hatty has interests ranging from historical performance to contemporary music which has led her to play with ensembles including La Serenissima, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, London Mozart Players, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, the Gildas Quartet, 12 ensemble, London Sinfonietta and the London Symphony Orchestra.

British-German violist Oscar Holch enjoys a busy and varied career in both the UK and Europe. As a chamber musician, he has appeared at festivals including the BBC Proms, Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival and Fundación MonteLeón. He records regularly for Decca alongside Jess Gillam, has appeared on BBC Radio 3 and recently recorded two albums for the contemporary music label Another Timbre.

Viola

He performs with leading period ensembles in Europe such as the Balthasar Neumann Ensemble under Thomas Hengelbrock and with conductors Philippe Herreweghe and David Stern. After studying in London at RAM and GSMD – where he held a fellowship – he will continue his studies at the HfMDK in Frankfurt from April 2022.

GABI JONES

Violinist Gabi Jones enjoys a diverse career as a historical and modern violinist, performing regularly with ensembles such as the Academy of Ancient Music, Florilegium, Opera Settecento, and Solomon’s Knot. She is a founding member of historical ensembles The Linley Quartet and Liturina and leads Wond’rous Machine and the Waterperry Opera Festival Orchestra. Gabi studied for ten years at Chetham’s School of Music, before graduating from Trinity College, Cambridge in 2016. Following a master’s degree at the Royal College of Music, she pursued an artist diploma in historical performance, and was awarded the Constant and Kit Lambert fellowship for 2019-20 at the Royal College, during which time she led and directed various projects. Her Jacob Kloz violin is generously loaned by the Cherubim Trust.

OSCAR HOLCH

Violin

After graduating with a Bachelor’s degree in modern cello and a Master’s degree in baroque cello at the Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln, Eglantine Latil expanded her knowledge of historical performance through participation in the Academy of Freiburger Barockorchester (Guido Larisch), the Jeune Orchestre Européen Hector Berlioz (Robin Michael), and the Jeune Orchestre de l’Abbaye aux Dames (Hervé Niquet, Clive Brown, David Watkin etc.)

EGLANTINE LATIL Cello

Recently she has started working with Early Music groups such as Les Siècles (François-Xavier Roth), Insula Orchestra (Laurence Equilbey), Les Musiciens du Louvre (Marc Minkowski/Romain Dumas.), Concerto Köln (Kent Nagano), Kölner Akademie (Michael Willens), Cölner Barockorchester and Alia Mens.

William McGahon is a violinist enjoying a varied musical career as a historical performer, chamber-musician, recitalist and orchestral player performing in the UK and across Europe. In 2019, William graduated from the Royal Northern College of Music gaining a 1st class Honours degree, studying with Julia Hanson.

WILLIAM MCGAHON

William has been lucky enough to perform recently with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Les Musiciens du Louvre, Sinfonia Cymru and The Multi-Story Orchestra. William was recently appointed as an EEEMERGING+ Academist 2022, and looks forward to upcoming tours with English Touring Opera and The Old Street Band across the UK.

Violin

Born in 1996, Miguel Pliego García obtained a Bachelor’s degree at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama under Luis Cabrera and Rinat Ibragimov after living in Madrid, where he combined his musical education with a degree in Architecture at the ETSAM. He is currently studying a Master’s degree with Professor Wies de Boevé at the Zurich University of the Arts.

MIGUEL PLIEGO GARCÍA Double bass

He has been invited to perform in orchestras such as the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra, Euskadiko Orkestra, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Musikkollegium Winterthur and the European Union Youth Orchestra. Furthermore, his passion for modern music has brought him to take jazz courses at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam and the Berklee College of Music, for which he was awarded with a full scholarship.

George White studied with Garfield Jackson at the Royal Academy of Music, where he participated in masterclasses with Tatjana Masurenko, Hartmut Rohde and Garth Knox. In 2013 he gained a place in the class of Thomas Riebl at the International Musicians Seminar at Prussia Cove, and was also a participant at the Casalmaggiore International Festival.

The same year, he received the Marjory Bunty Lempfert Award and graduated from the RAM with 1st class honours.

GEORGE WHITE Viola

George has toured with the European Union Youth Orchestra and with the Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra. He has since freelanced with numerous UK orchestras, including the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra, Bournemouth Symphony, Army of Generals and La Folia.

SUPPORT OUR APPRENTICES The core philosophy of this successful artists’ development programme is that our Apprentices take part in paid performances as part of the Monteverdi ensembles, and gain hands-on experience of the reality of life as a professional freelance musician alongside some of world’s best singers and instrumentalists.

The work of our three ensembles – the Monteverdi Choir, English Baroque Soloists and Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique – is therefore at the heart of our Apprentices Programme, and without them we would not be able to offer the performing and touring opportunities that sets this young artists’ programme apart from other schemes.

We receive no public subsidy and – alongside income from performance fees – are reliant on the generous support of individuals, trusts and foundations to continue our legacy of providing top-quality training for the most promising young musicians.

By supporting the Monteverdi Choir & Orchestras, you are also supporting our Apprentices.

We are grateful for the generous donations we receive from individuals, organisations and Trusts & Foundations.

To discuss how you might play a part in ensuring that the scheme remains available to the next generation of singers and instrumentalists, please contact Tom Hansell: phone +44 (0)20 3197 9818 email tom@monteverdi.org.uk

UPCOMING CONCERTS

by MONTEVERDI CHOIR & ORCHESTRAS at St Martin-in-the-Fields To see a full list of our international tour dates, and to find out more about MCO, please visit our website: www.monteverdi.co.uk Below you can see our upcoming concerts at our London home, St Martin-in-the-Fields, as we continue our creative partnership with the historic church: Monteverdi Apprentices ‘Crypt Lates’ recital Doors at 7pm, Friday 25 March 2022 - tickets £12, £18, £25 Join the Monteverdi Apprentices for an evening of exquisite Romantic chamber music in the intimate and atmospheric setting of St Martin-in-the-Fields’s vaulted Crypt. Audience members will be seated at tables of four, and will be able to purchase food and drinks from a mouth-watering tapas menu, before the recital begins at 8pm. The music will end at around 9.30pm, with the bar remaining open until 11pm.

Mozart & Haydn: Symphonies and Violin Concertos 7.30pm, Saturday 23 April 2022 - tickets £25, £38, £50, £60 John Eliot Gardiner leads the English Baroque Soloists in a programme of symphonic works by Mozart and Haydn, featuring award-winning violinist Isabelle Faust Bach, Schütz & Schein: The Music of Consolation 7.30pm, Thursday 16 June 2022 - tickets £25, £38, £50, £60 The Monteverdi Choir and English Baroque Soloists, under the baton of John Eliot Gardiner, perform funerary choral music by J.S. Bach and two of his German forebears: Schütz and Schein.

Book tickets at: www.stmartin-in-the-fields.org

MONTEVERDI CHOIR & ORCHESTRAS www.monteverdi.co.uk +44 (0)20 7719 0120 info@monteverdi.org.uk

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