Live recordings by the Concertzender.
Brambilla and Troullos: the lyrical bassoon and the seraphic harp.
This episode of Concertzender Live will feature three recorded live concerts: The Firgunensemble performs Glazunov and Swerts, harpist Romberta Brambilla and bassoonist Mavroudes Troullos performs Saint-Saëns and Andrès and the sublime Trio Alba with works of Édouard Lalo and Klaus Dorfegger.
Mavroudes Troullos
Praised by Crescendo Magazine as ‘a musician with great sensitivity‘ and described by News Times London as ‘a highly trained and skilled bassoonist’, Mavroudes Troullos is distinguished by his mature and expressive playing, alongside his technical mastery.
Mavroudes Troullos is one of the most prominent bassoonists of his generation. In 2019 he won first prize at the ‘Grand Prize Virtuoso International Music Competition’ 3 times, in Paris, London and Amsterdam. He won second prize at the ‘North International Music Competition’ in Sweden in 2018, the ‘Horlait-Dapsens Prize 2018’ in Belgium. and in 2018 he was named ‘Ambassador of the Royal Conservatory of Brussels’.
In addition to his performances, Mavroudes Troullos has been teaching bassoon and chamber music at the Municipal Academy of Music, Word, and Dance in Sint-Pieters Woluwe Brussels since 2018. He is also a doctoral researcher in the arts at the LUCA School of Arts. Many renowned composers, including Philippe Hersant, have dedicated works to him.
Born in Nicosia, Cyprus, in 1992 into a family of musicians, Troullos began playing the bassoon at the age of thirteen. At just eighteen, he performed his first solo concert with the virtuosic bassoon concerto by C.M. von Weber. He later pursued studies in Athens, Leipzig, and Brussels.
Mavroudes Troullos’ recital partner is Roberta Brambilla, harp.
Roberta Brambilla
Roberta Brambilla, born in 1992 in Cagliari, Italy, began her harp studies at the age of eight in her hometown. She graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in 2011 from the Conservatory ‘G. Verdi’ in Turin, where she earned her Master’s degree in harp with the highest distinction. Roberta Brambilla has won several harp competitions and has collaborated with various orchestras across Europe as a soloist and orchestral member. Since 2014, she has been a regular guest with the Belgian National Orchestra and the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra.
The Firgun Ensemble
The Firgun Ensemble consists of Jeroen Vrancken (clarinet) – previously Emile Sauvagie- , Ludovic Bataillie (violin), Ciska Vandelanotte (violin), Audinga Musteikyté – previously Jasmien Van Hauthem (viola) – and Karin Broeckhove Ibarra (cello).
They specialize in the repertoire written for clarinet and string quartet. The ensemble originated in the spring of 2017 from students, but also friends, of the Royal Conservatories of Antwerp and Brussels. After intensive coaching, including from Gilles Millet (Danel Quartet), Amy Norrington (Oxalys), Tony Nys (Malibran Quartet), Erik Schumann (Schumann Quartet), Wouter Vossen (Storioni Trio), and Nicola Boud, they are currently specializing at the Nederlandse Strijkkwartet Academie (NSKA) in Amsterdam and the Orpheus Institute in Ghent.
The Firgun Ensemble has won multiple international awards. In January 2018, they won first prize at the Dutch Storioni Willem Twee Competition, along with the audience prize. As a tribute to this achievement, they were invited by NPO Radio 4 to make their radio debut from the Spiegelzaal of the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam.
Meanwhile, they have become a highly regarded presence on numerous international stages. They have already performed at prestigious events such as the Grachtenfestival in Amsterdam, the Arte Amanti Festival, and the NJO Muziekzomer. They have given recitals at venues including Muziekgebouw Eindhoven, De Toonzaal in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, Podium Klassiek Eindhoven, De Singel in Antwerp, and the Muziekinstrumentenmuseum in Brussels. Additionally, they have been featured on Musiq’3 and NPO Radio 4. The Firgun Ensemble is affiliated with the Dutch organization Kunst in de Kamer.
‘Firgun’ is an untranslatable word from Hebrew, meaning something along the lines of: ‘To feel joy in another person’s good fortune.’
Trio Alba
The musical trio known as Trio Alba, heard since 2009, can be described as embodying youthful freshness, passion on stage, and playing quality rooted in deep knowledge of sound design and chamber music.
The trio was founded by German violinist Livia Sellin, Chinese-Austrian pianist Chengcheng Zhao, and Italian-Austrian cellist Philipp Comploi. They studied chamber music with Prof Chia Chou at the Graz Music Conservatory.
The trio holds a significant position in the international chamber music scene.
During its concert tours, the ensemble is supported by the Austrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as it was selected for the ‘New Austrian Sound of Music’ programme in 2016.
Trio Alba recorded 4 CDs with German classical music label ‘Musikproduktion Dabringhaus und Grimm’ (MDG): Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy’s piano trios, Trio Fantasy and Ballad for Piano Quartet (with violist Wen Xiao Zheng) by Austrian composer Joseph Marx, as well as the Piano Trio in E-flat major and the ‘Notturno’ by Franz Schubert. In the summer of 2022, the newest CD was released, featuring piano trios by Bedřich Smetana and Dmitri Shostakovich. In addition to receiving enthusiastic international reviews, the trio has been awarded the Pasticcio Prize from the Austrian classical music broadcaster Ö1 twice for their recordings.
Playlist
- Alexander Glazunov (1865-1936)
Rêverie Orientale, op. 14
Firgun Ensemble
- Piet Swerts (°1960)
Clarinet quintet: Serenata, Notturno, Scherzo, Elegia, Finale Rondo
Firgun ensemble
- Camille Saint-Saëns (1835-1921)
Aria ‘Mon cœur s’ouvre à ta voix’, from opera Samson and Delila
Roberta Brambilla, harp, and Mavroudes Troullos, bassoon
- Bernard Andrès (°1941)
Chants d’Arrière Saison
Roberta Brambilla, harp, and Mavroudes Troullos, bassoon
- Pietro Mascagni (1863-1945)
Intermezzo from opera Cavalleria Rusticana
Roberta Brambilla, harp, and Mavroudes Troullos, bassoon
- Luc Callens (°1965)
Tableau Sentimental for bassoon solo
Mavroudes Troullos, bassoon
- Ernest Bloch (1880-1959)
Suite From Jewish Life: Prayer, Supplication, Jewish Song
Roberta Brambilla, harp, and Mavroudes Troullos, bassoon
- Édouard Lalo (1823-1892)
Trio No. 1 in c-flat, op. 7 : Allegro moderato, Romance, Andante, Scherzo-Allegretto and Finale-Allegro.
Trio Alba
- Klaus Dorfegger (°1960)
Short Stories II: Fascinatie met nummers, Getijden?
Trio Alba
Pictured above: Mavroudes Troullos
Recording technician of all 3 concerts: Leo August De Bock
