HORROR STORIES
Tuesday, August 25 at 19 St Catherine’s Church
Irina Zahharenkova (cembalo), Kristiina Maria Kits (violin)
Kristina Kriit (violin), Andres Kaljuste (viola)
Vladimir Reshetko (cello), Marcel Johannes Kits (cello)
Pontus Grans (double bass)
Britt Kõrsmaa (choreography)
Programme:
György Ligeti (1923–2006)
„Continuum“ for cembalo
Sonata for Solo Cello
I Dialogo – Adagio, rubato, cantabile
II Capriccio – Presto con slancio
Tõnis Kaumann (*1971)
„Sherlock“
Drowsy Sherlock
Moaning Visitor
Sherlock Is Boiling Over
In Crime Scene
Sherlock Bethinks
Ajujaht / Battue
Sherlock Is Playing Violin
Krystof Maratka (*1972)
„Melopa“ for cembalo
Alfred Schnittke (1934–1998)
Hymn II for cello and double-bass
John Cage (1912–1992)
„Six melodies“ for violin and cembalo
Bernard Herrmann (1911–1975)
Soundtracks from „Psycho“ (arr. for Strings M. Männi)
Video installations
IRINA ZAHHARENKOVA is one of the most outstanding and unique pianists of her generation. She started with piano lessons with her mother when she was four, studied at the Tallinn Georg Ots Music School (Prof. Mare Ots) and Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre (EAMT, piano: Prof. Lilian Semper; harpsichord: Prof. Maris Valk-Falk), where she got her Master’s degree in 2003 (Prof. L. Semper). Irina continued at the EAMT doctoral studies in 2003–2011. In 2010, she also got her Master’s degree from Helsinki Sibelius Academy in Finland (Prof. Hui-Ying Liu-Tawaststjerna). I. Zahharenkova has taken part in the masterclasses of several well-known pianists (S. Kovachevich, A. Hewitt, A. Schiff, V. Meržanov, H. Dreyfus, P. Hantaï, C. Stembridge, P. Vapavuori etc) and won first prizes in major international piano competitions such as the M. Čiurlionise Competition (Lithuania, 2003), “Prémio Jaén” Competition (Spain, 2004), “Van Vlaanderen” Festival Piano Competition Brügges (Belgium, 2004), Competition in Epinal (France, 2004), “Praha Spring“ Harpsichord Competition (Czech Republic, 2005), G. Enescu Piano Competition (Romenia, 2005), competition in Genf (Switzerland, 2005), Alessandro Casagrande Competition (Italy, 2006), J. S. Bach Competition (Leipzig, 2006), Villa-Lobos Competition (Brazil, 2006) and A. Rubinštein Piano Competition (Israel, 2008). I. Zahharenkova has performed in international festivals in Italy, Germany, Finland, Norway and elsewhere, she is consistently one of the first ones to be invited to the reputed Kuhmo Chamber Music Festival as well as Eivere Piano Festival and Tallinn Chamber Music Festival. She has performed as a soloist with several orchestras including Estonian National Symphony Orchestra, Tallinn Chamber Orchestra, Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande and Orchestre National de Lorraine and she is constantly giving chamber concerts with solo works for piano as well as harpsichord. Two CD’s with her interpretations have been released: J. S. Bach “Goldberg Variations” BWV 988 (2010, Classical Recordings) and D. Scarlatti Sonatas (2012, Classical Records) and also DVD “Keyboard Juggleress” (2009, Estonian Records Production). Irina’s repertoire encompasses a wide range of musical styles from baroque to contemporary. Today she lives and teaches in Finland, Sibelius Academy and at the EAMT. She has also pursued the organ, chemistry, as well as Estonian and Finnish philology for her own interest.
KRISTINA KRIIT has obtained her Master’s degree in Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre (Prof. Mari Tampere-Bezrodny, 2004) and furthered her skills with Prof. Igor Bezrodny, Eduard Schmieder, Pavel Vernikov and Hermann Krebbers. In addition, she has studied in Universität Mozarteum in Salzburg (2001-2002, Prof. Hermann Kienzl). K. Kriit has taken part in several international competitions, from which the most important are the Heino Eller Competition in Tallinn (special prize, 1996) and the Henryk Wieniawski Competition in Poland (Lublin, 1997). K. Kriit is valued as a contemporary music performer and she has performed as a soloist and a chamber musician in almost every country in Europe and Scandinavia. She has twice been a scholar of the reputed Holland Music Sessions. She was one of the founders of Tallinn String Trio (2005). She is a professor in EAMT and a III concert master of the Symphony Orchestra in the Estonian National Opera.
ANDRES KALJUSTE is a conductor and viola player, who’s path as a musician and instrument studies began in Aivo Riikjärve’s violin class. The graduation from Tallinn Music High School was followed by studies in the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre, Royal College of Music in Stockholm and Hochschule für Musik “Hanns Eisler” Berlin. His teachers have been Urmas Vulp, Nina Balabina, Oleg Balabine and Prof. Ulf Wallin. After violin studies A. Kaljuste was the member of the Academy of Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin, which was followed by a career as a freelance musician in London’s orchestras Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra and in Finland as a guest concertmaster in Oulu Sinfonia. Between 2014-2017 A. Kaljuste was a guest concertmaster of the viola group of Helsinki Philharmonic and at the same time he obtained his orchestral conducting Master’s degree at the Sibelius Academy (Prof. Atso Almila and Hannu Lintu). During the 2016/17 season A. Kaljuste debuted as a conductor in front of several orchestras including Estonian National Symphony Orchestra, Helsinki Philharmonic, Tampere Philharmonic, Odense Symphony Orchestra, Oulu Sinfonia and during the last season he debuted in front of Avanti! Chamber Orchestra. He also stepped in at very short notice to conduct Lahti Sinfonia in a programme of Vaughan Williams, Barber and Dutilleux. In the coming season there will be debuts with the Aarhus Symphony Orchestra and Tallinn Chamber Orchestra, among others. A. Kaljuste has worked as a violin and viola teacher at the Stockholm Lilla Akademien, as an orchestra conductor and as a tutor of instrumental ensembles. He has also given master classes in England, France, Russia and China. As a soloist he has played with ENSO, Verona Philharmonic, Tallinn Chamber Orchestra, Vanemuine Symphony Orchestra, Pärnu City Orchestra, Pori Sinfonieta and Belgrade Strings. In 2010, A. Kaljuste made his debut at the Berlin’s Konzerthaus, performing the Brahms Violin Concerto under Kristiina Poska.
VLADIMIR RESHETKO has studied in St. Petersburg and he continued his education in Amsterdam and Berlin. V. Reshetko has been the prizewinner of International Heran Cello Competition (1999). He has been awarded 1st prize and special prize for the best interpretation of a work by F. Schubert in International Chamber Music Competition “Franz Schubert and the Modern Music” (2009), 1st prize in C. Hennen Chamber Music Competition (2009) and 1st prize in Pergamenschikow Prize for Chamber Music (2011). He is a co-founder and a member of Anima Quartet. In the recent seasons, he premiered Ana Sokolovic’s “Commedia dell’arte III” dedicated to Anima Quartet. All 3 parts were released by SWR Alassic Archive in 2016. In September 2017 V. Reshetko became a concertmaster of the cello group of Vaasa City Orchestra. He has toured across many countries and performed alongside eminent musicians. He has performed as a soloist with conductors Vasily Petrenko and Ravil Martynov in front of the St. Petersburg State Academic Orchestra. V. Reshetko has formed a wide solo, chamber and an orchestra repertoire, including works of contemporary, classical and baroque styles. His recent solo debut in Finland and premiere of A. Kraft’s Cello Concerto was highly appreciated: “Vladimir Reshetko gave a powerfully moving musical performance. His deeply felt phrasing, the rich and lyrical timbre of the cello, as well as his masterful virtuosity delivered a fresh performance in Kraft’s Cello Concerto. The audience thanked the soloist with enthusiastic ovations.” – Pohjalainen 30.03.2019, Vaasa.
PONTUS GRANS started playing the double bass in Lohja with Peter Grans and studied in the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki with Lasse Lagercrantz and Panu Pärssinen. Studies continued in Switzerland (Duncan McTier) and he has taken part in numerous masterclasses. Since autumn 2017, P. Grans has been the concertmaster of the double bass group of the Vaasa City Orchestra having previously worked in the Oulu Symphony Orchestra. In addition, he has been invited to take part of the performances of Helsinki City Orchestra and he plays regularly with the Wegelius Chamber String Orchestra. P. Grans represented Finland in the European Union Youth Orchestra in the years 2009-10. He is an active chamber musician and has performed Einojuhani Rautavaara’s and Eduard Tubin’s concertos as a soloist. P. Grans commissioned and premiered Lars Karlsson’s work Sonata da camera for double bass and piano in the summer of 2017.
BRITT KÕRSMAA began dancing already as a child, starting in the second grade, when she entered Ants Tael dance school to study ballroom dancing and has later been active in many different styles, including show dance, step dance, jazz, broadway jazz, street jazz, contemporary jazz, house, ballet, contemporary dance, etc. She has studied choreography at ETA Studio and Prodance, Tallinn University in the field of contemporary dance, and has thoroughly practiced yoga and pilates. In 2006-2008, B. Kõrsmaa danced in the biggest musicals in Estonia: Fame, Phantom and Anything Goes. B. Kõrsmaa has worked as a dance trainer in several different dance studios and is active as both a dancer and a choreographer.