THE 2025 SEASON IN WALNUT CREEK

Oliver Boekhoorn, oboe
Bart de Kater, clarinet
Raaf Hekkema, alto saxophone
Jelte Althuis, bass clarinet
Alban Wesly, bassoon

A sound like no other! Calefax is a pioneering wind group from Amsterdam, famed throughout Europe.  These free-spirited virtuosos have not only invented their own ensemble but transcribe their own wide-ranging repertoire, commission new works, and always thrill their audiences.

A classical ensemble with a pop mentality, Calefax has a uniquely varied repertoire ranging from the year 1100 to the present day, and is open to the influences of world music, jazz and improvisation as a result of countless international tours and collaborations with all kinds of artists from various disciplines, including pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet, violinist Liza Ferschtman as well as many other musicians, vocalists, choreographers and visual artists.

Calefax has released 19 CDs under the renowned German MDG label and its own RIOJA Records label. All the recordings have earned critical acclaim from the international press. The mezzo-soprano Cora Burggraaf can be heard on the CD entitled The Roaring Twenties,while the On the Spot CD features the trumpeter Eric Vloeimans, who transports Calefax into the world of jazz and improvisation. Their latest CD, entitled Romantic Kaleidoscope, was released in October 2015, packaged within the anniversary book Calefax en de Caleidoscoop, written by the radio presenter Lex Bohlmeijer and published by Cossee.

Calefax has won many major music prizes, including the 1997 Philip Morris Arts Prize, the 2001 Kersjes van de Groenekan Prize and the 2005 VSCD Classical Music Award. In 2012 Calefax received the German Junge Ohren Prize for the family musical show The Music Factory, a co-production with the Dutch theatre company Oorkaan.

The group has given concerts in virtually every country in Europe, as well as touring Russia, China, India, Turkey, Japan, South Africa, Brazil and the United States, performing at major venues such as Wigmore Hall, the Oriental Arts Centre (Shanghai) and Lincoln Center. In January 2013 Calefax had the honour of accompanying the former Dutch Queen Beatrix on her final two state visits, to Brunei and Singapore.

The Grammy-nominated Canadian violinist Corey Cerovsek collaborates with such conductors as Zubin Mehta, Charles Dutoit, and Michael Tilson Thomas, performing with such orchestras as Boston, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Detroit.  His recordings have won several awards, and his rich, chocolately tone has filled Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, Wigmore Hall and the Théâtre du Châtelet, and he has appeared on NBC’s Tonight Show, CBS’ Sunday Morning, and PBS’ Musical Encounters.  Cerovsek earned a bachelor’s degree in music and mathematics at age 15; master’s degrees in both soon followed, and he completed his doctoral coursework in music and mathematics at age 18.

https://www.cerovsek.com/

24 year-old French Lucienne Renaudin Vary is a true shooting star of the music world, winning the Opus Klassik award in the Young Artist category in 2021.  She performs with such orchestras as the Tonhalle Zurich, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Brussels Philharmonic, Les Violons du Roy, BBC Concert Orchestra, Warsaw Philharmonic, Prague Philharmonia and Kammerorchester Basel under such conductors as Paavo Järvi and Vladimir Ashkenazy, and in such festivals as the Festival de Pâques (in Aix), Schleswig-Holstein, Musikfest Bremen, Istanbul Music Festival and the Gstaad Menuhin Festival. Vary is equally sought after as a jazz artist and has opened for Wynton Marsalis at Jazz in Marciac in 2018 and 2022.

https://www.warnerclassics.com/artist/lucienne-renaudin-vary

Félicien Brut has swiftly become his generation’s ambassador of the accordion, bringing the instrument to new prominence and helping to create new repertoire dedicated to him in chamber settings and with orchestra.  At age 20 he won the three biggest international accordion competitions: Klingenthal in Germany, Castelfidardo in Italy and the World Accordion Trophy in Samara, Russia. These awards propelled him to the spotlight, which he has never relinquished. His innovative recordings with string quartet have won raves from audiences and critics alike. Brut’s tango collaborations with other top artists are wildly popular, and he presents a weekly radio program on France Musique: “Brut d’accordéon”

https://www.felicienbrut.com/en/963-2/

Hailed by the Los Angeles Times for his “impressive clarity, sense of structure and monster technique,” Belgian pianist Steven Vanhauwaert is a frequent guest at concert halls across the United States, Canada, South America, Europe and Asia. Highlights include appearances at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, the Concertgebouw, the National Center for the Performing Arts in Beijing, and the Shanghai Oriental Arts Center. He collaborates with orchestras throughout the world, and is a frequent guest at festivals such as the Steamboat Springs Festival, the Montana Chamber Music Festival, the Arizona Friends of Chamber Music, the High Desert Chamber Music Festival, and the Ottawa Chamberfest.

https://www.stevenvanhauwaert.com/

“The Leonkoro Quartet possesses an extraordinary stage presence, embracing both full artistic risk and profound sensitivity”

– Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung

The Leonkoro Quartet, founded in Berlin in 2019, is framed by brothers Jonathan and Lukas Schwarz on first violin and cello, while the middle voices are formed by Amelie Wallner on second violin and Mayu Konoe on viola. In Esperanto, Leonkoro means Lionheart, alluding to a children’s book about two brothers, a book that juxtaposes the grave reality of death with a large and heartfelt yearning for comfort and solace – a sentiment that string quartet repertoire addresses in several instances.

The quartet’s international recognition began in 2021 when, as the youngest ensemble, they claimed the top prize and the coveted Audience Prize at the renowned Borciani String Quartet Competition. Then, in the annus mirabilis of 2022, the Leonkoro Quartet garnered an astounding series of prestigious accolades: first, the highly prestigious Jürgen Ponto Foundation Music Prize, followed by a triumph at the Wigmore Hall String Quartet Competition where they earned both first prize and NINE special awards. Then the quartet seized not only first  prize at the Concours International de Quatuor à Bordeaux but also the Audience Prize. Shortly thereafter, they were invited to join the BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artists program.  2022 was capped by one final honor: the MERITO String Quartet Award.

The Leonkoro has deepened their interpretations by study with members of the Artemis and Alban Berg quartets, as well as pianist Alfred Brendel.

In Autumn 2023, the quartet will release its highly anticipated debut album, featuring Ravel’s String Quartet and Schumann’s 3rd quartet, on the Mirare label.

In the 2023/2024 season, the Leonkoro Quartet is making debuts at the Berlin Philharmonie, the Kölner Philharmonie, the Flagey Brussels, the Concertgebouw Amsterdam and the Konzerthaus Wien, to name a few, and will perform at such renowned festivals as the Rheingau Music Festival, the String Quartet Biennale Paris, and the Heidelberg Fruehling. Furthermore, the quartet continues its residency in Leeds.

Yefim Bronfman’s commanding technique, power and exceptional lyrical gifts are celebrated by critics and audiences alike in all the world’s musical capitals.

Following summer festival appearances in Verbier, Israel, Aspen, Grand Tetons and Sun Valley the 2023-24 season began with a European tour celebrating the 500th anniversary of the Munich Opera and Orchestra with concerts in Lucerne, Bucharest, London, Paris, Linz, Vienna and Munich. A tour with Amsterdam’s Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra takes him to Japan and Korea, followed by return engagements with the N.Y. Philharmonic, Boston, Kansas City, National, Milwaukee, Pittsburgh and San Francisco symphonies. With the Munich Philharmonic he will travel to Spain and Carnegie Hall. An extensive winter/spring recital tour will begin in Ljubljana and include Milan, Berlin, Cleveland, Chicago, Vancouver, Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, La Jolla and culminate in Carnegie Hall in early May.

Mr. Bronfman works regularly with such illustrious conductors as Daniel Barenboim, Herbert Blomstedt, Semyon Bychkov, Riccardo Chailly, Christoph von Dohnányi, Gustavo Dudamel, Charles Dutoit, Daniele Gatti, Valery Gergiev, Alan Gilbert, Vladimir Jurowski, Zubin Mehta, Riccardo Muti, Andris Nelsons, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Sir Simon Rattle, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Jaap Van Zweden, Franz Welser-Möst, and David Zinman. His chamber music partners have included Pinchas Zukerman, Martha Argerich, Anne-Sophie Mutter, Emmanuel Pahud and many others. In 1991 he gave a series of joint recitals with Isaac Stern in Russia, marking Mr. Bronfman’s first public performances there since his emigration to Israel at age 15.

Born in Tashkent in the Soviet Union, Bronfman immigrated to Israel with his family in 1973, where he studied at Tel Aviv University with Arie Vardi. He subsequently studied at Juilliard, Marlboro and Curtis, under Rudolf Firkusny, Leon Fleisher, and Rudolf Serkin. Honors include the Avery Fisher Prize and an honorary doctorate from the Manhattan School of Music.

“Soumm has lush tone, technical aplomb and abundant personality” – Baltimore Sun

French/Russian violinist Alexandra Soumm has performed with such leading orchestras as the Royal, BBC, London, and Hungarian National Philharmonics, as well as the Baltimore, Galicia, RTÉ National, Danish National, Vancouver, Trondheim, NHK, Tokyo Metropolitan, BBC Scottish, Tokyo and Munich Symphonies, with such conductors as Herbert Blomstedt, Neeme Järvi, Osmo Vänska, Leonard Slatkin and Marin Alsop.

She performs regularly with Orchestre National de Bordeaux, Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse, Orchestre de Paris, Orchestre National de Lyon, and Orchestre National de Montpellier, and has performed with the L.A. Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl. She has given recitals at the Louvre, Bozar, and Wigmore Hall. She has also appeared at Verbier and many other festivals.

Born in Moscow, Ms Soumm studied in Vienna with renowned pedagogue Boris Kuschnir, and won the Eurovision Competition in 2004.  Now based in Paris, she co-founded the non-profit organization Esperanz’Arts in 2012, a collaborative of more than 60 artists performing in schools, homeless shelters, prisons and hospitals. In 2013, she was named Godmother of the newly established El Sistema France.

https://www.alexandrasoumm.com/

Pianist Amandine Savary has performed in Amsterdam (Concertgebouw), Tokyo (Suntory Hall), New York (Kaufmann Hall), London (Southbank Centre, Wigmore Hall, King’s Place), Paris (Maison de Radio France, the Louvre, Orsay), Dijon, Montpellier, Osaka, Monaco, Brussels (Flagey, Bozar, Palais Royal) etc.

She performs with such orchestras as London Mozart Players, London Pro Orchestra, Orchestre de Bretagne, Orchestre National de Lille, Orchestre Royal de Chambre de Wallonie, Philharmonia Orchestra, Sinfonia Varsovia, Latvian National Symphonic Orchestra and Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg.

Passionate about chamber music, her partners have included Latvian violinist Vineta Sareika (in the prizewinning Trio Dali), British violinist Jack Liebeck, Alfred Brendel, Augustin Dumay, Lawrence Power and  Paul Neubauer.

Her recordings, including Ravel Chamber music works and Schubert Piano Trios (for Fuga Libera) French melodies for cello & piano (for Sony) and Bach Toccatas (for Muso) have received many awards, including the prestigious Diapason d’Or and Gramophone Magazine’s “Editor’s Choice”.

https://www.amandinesavary.com/