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Jean Johnson clarinet
Roeland Jagers viola
Elena Fischer-Dieskau piano
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Programme - 14 February 2020
Mozart Kegelstatt Trio KV 498
Julius Rontgen Trio for clarinet, viola & piano in E flat major (1921)
R. Schumann Marchenerzhlungen, opus 132, for clarinet, viola and piano:
Bruch 3 pieces from Eight pieces for clarinet, viola, and piano, Op. 83 (1910)
Francaix Trio (1990)
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Metamorphoses is a new trio (clarinet/viola/piano) made up of world class musicians from the US, the Netherlands and Russia. The trio members have established themselves individually as soloists and chamber musicians in the world’s most prestigious concert halls.
For their debut CD, Metamorphoses presents a varied, cosmopolitan program consisting of repertoire from five different countries. Once upon a time “is a cross-pollination of a wide range of sounds, colors and music styles” just as the group itself is an inspiring exchange between musicians from three different countries and cultures. A musical statement of mutual understanding, behind which we stand wholeheartedly, especially in these times of uncertainty and division in the world.
Mozart’s beautiful Kegelstatt Trio is one of the earliest existing works for the unusual combination of clarinet, viola and piano. Robert Schumann, the composer of Marchenerzhlungen (Fairy Tales) was inspired by Mozart’s work. In these relatively seldom played works, both composers explore the beautiful combination of timbres of the clarinet and the viola, instruments which share a similar range of pitches. From France one can’t leave out the devishly difficult and therefore rarely performed Trio of Jean Francaix.
The opportunity to share their work in this way will allow the trio to continue developing, both as individuals and a group, using feedback from peers, reviewers and audiences. In sharing their skills and passion for underplayed composers such as Rebecca Clarke and works such as the Trio of Jean Francaix via workshops with young people just starting their relationship with classical music, the trio hope to inspire a new generation of musicians to explore a range of works and instrumental combinations.
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British-American clarinettist Jean Johnson is an international collaborator in chamber music and as such has played in some of world’s finest venues notably the Concertgebouw, Carnegie Hall, the Palais des Beaux-Arts, and the Esplanade Singapore. As a soloist, Ms. Johnson has been featured with the Singapore Symphony, the Wuhan Symphony (China), and in Scotland performing concertos by Mozart, Weber, and John McLeod among others. As part of her varied music life Ms. Johnson concertises regularly around the UK performing recitals with her husband, pianist Steven Osborne, and is a member of the critically acclaimed trio ensemble, €ťMetamorphoses€ť. She has collaborated with groups including Hebrides Ensemble, Heath Quartet, Edinburgh Quartet, T’ang Quartet, and the Barony Ensemble. Forthcoming events include recitals around the UK, Netherlands, America and further afield.
Jean Johnson was a student of Michael Sussman at the University of Massachusetts. She attended Indiana University as an Associate Instructor in Clarinet, studying with Eli Eban and Alfred Prinz. As a Fellow at the Aspen Music Festival she studied with Theodore Oien. Ms. Johnson began her career with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra in the posts of Associate and Acting Principal. Jean has released a recording of both Brahms and Rozsa Sonatas on the Avie label with Steven Osborne. According to the New York Times, ”fine recording by the poised clarinetist Jean Johnson. Beautiful renditions of Brahms’s Clarinet Sonatas Nos. 1 and 2 round out this lovely album.”
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Roeland Jagers is the founding violist of the Rubens Quartet, which has won several international prizes, including the Tromp Competition in Eindhoven (2004), the Prague Spring Competition (2005) and Schubert Competition in Graz (2006).
Roeland performs regularly in prestigious concert venues such as the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, the Tonhalle in Zurich, Vienna’s Konzerthaus and Berlin’s Philharmonie. He is also a frequent guest at international festivals such as Mecklenburg Vorpommern and Schleswig Holstein (Germany), Larzac (France), Kuhmo (Finland), El Paso Pro Musica, Sitka Music Festival and Indiana University Summer Music Festival (US).
Roeland studied viola with Gisella Bergman and Ferdinand Erblich. In 2001 he received his Bachelor of Music diploma from the Brabant Conservatory, and continued his studies with Vladimir Mendelssohn at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague, where he received his Master of Music diploma with distinction in 2004. As soloist he has appeared with various ensembles, including the Philips Symphony Orchestra in the Concertgebouw. Some years ago he performed the Solo Sonata of Gyorgy Ligeti, a highlight of the viola repertoire which is considered by many to be unplayable, to great acclaim. As a chamber musician he is, in addition to the Rubens Consort, a member of Metamorphoses, a new trio of world-class musicians (clarinet, viola and piano). Roeland is a regular faculty member of the Summer String Academy at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music.
Roeland plays on a viola made my Giovanni Pistucci, from the collection of the Dutch National Instrument Foundation (NMF), and a bow made by Joseph Henry (1865).
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Described as “a magician of the piano who combines intense drama with delicate lyrism” by the German Newspaper Schwäbische Zeitung, the French-German pianist Elena Fischer-Dieskau provokes high enthusiasm in the audience and the press every time she performs.
Her performance of the Rachmaninov 2nd piano concerto with the Orquestra Sinfônica Brasileira in Rio de Janeiro was critically acclaimed and attended by Nelson Freire, who called her “a great revelation” in the Brazilian press.
In recent seasons, she has appeared at many prominent venues such as the Brahmsgesellschaft in Schleswig Holstein, the Liszt Festival in Chateauroux, Theatro Municipal as well as Cidade das Artes in Rio de Janeiro, Festival Jeunes Talents in Paris, Earthquake Concert Series in Friedrichshafen, Eglise Saint-Matthieu in Colmar, Pianofest in the Hamptons (USA), Institut Hongrois in Paris, the Perth Concert Hall in Scotland, to name a few. The BBC recently featured her in an interview combined with two live performances.
Elena Fischer-Dieskau was chosen by the French movie director Mia Hansen-Love to play the piano in the drama film “All is forgiven”, where she performed works of Schumann and Beethoven on screen.
Born in Berlin, Elena took her first piano lessons at the age of six and started winning first prizes in German competitions shortly after. She is the daughter of two professional cellists and granddaughter of the German baritone Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau.
Ms. Fischer-Dieskau studied with Vladimir Krainev at the Hochschule f. Musik, Theater und Medien Hannover until his death. She then got accepted in the class of Leon Fleisher with a full scholarship tuition to pursue her graduate degree at the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore (USA). After completing her undergraduate studies in Hannover, she obtained her Graduate Performance Diploma at the Peabody Institute in Baltimore. She is a recipient of the PE-Foerderungen Scholarship in Mannheim (Germany), as well as of the Leon Fleisher Scholars Fund.
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