Violinists & Mimes Star at Teatro della Pergola Concerts

 

Mimes Bodecker & Neander, who will perform along with the musicins at the February 26 Amici della Musica concert

February 25 & 26, 2023: AMICI DELLA MUSICA chamber concerts.  

Organized by the Amici della Musica, two out-of-the-ordinary concerts will be hosted in Florence this weekend on Saturday, February 25 at 4 pm and Sunday, February 26 at 9 pm in Teatro della Pergola.

Saturday’s show will be led by Kolja Blacher, one of the most well-known violinists of modern music. Joined by five others — Christoph Streuli (violin), Cristoph Von Der Nahmer (violin), Kyoungmin Park (viola), Claudio Bohórquez (cello) and Sunwook Kim (piano) – the sextet is set to perform Concerto in D major op. 21, by Chaussen, and the Quintet in F minor with piano op. 34, by Brahms.

Blacher, head of the sextet, plays with some of the most renowned orchestras in the world, such as Berliner Philharmoniker, Münchner Philharmoniker and NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester, just to name a few. Awarded the Diapason d’Or for many of his recordings, he has also been an orchestra director for several distinguished international ensembles.

The “Musica &…” series will be showcased on Sunday at the Saloncino of Teatro della Pergola. With its purpose to mix music and other art forms such as poetry, performance and literary storytelling, the show will feature an interpretation of Schönberg’s Verklärte Nacht’s dramatic piece with the help and participation of mimes Bodecker and Neander.

Pantomimes Bodecker and Neander create their own shows and are considered special talents of their generation. The duo has been featured in the press in over 35 countries and has managed to gain the public’s attention, too. Before creating their own company, they used to travel the world performing alongside Marcel Marceau.

Joining lead violinist Viviane Hagner in “Musica &…” are Stephen Waarts (violin), Karolina Errera (viola) Anna Maria Wünsch (viola), Mikayel Hakhnazaryan (cello) and Eckart Runge (cello). The sextet will be playing strings in D minor, op. 70 “Souvenir de Florence” by Tchaikovsky.

Hagner, who made her international concert debut at age 12, has performed with the Boston Symphony, Chicago Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra and New York Philharmonic – along with many others – and made an appearance at Carnegie Hall in her 2011-2012 season with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra. Hagner is the artistic director and founder of the Krzyżowa Music Festival, an event that encourages young musicians to learn more about the music world and gives them the chance to play with internationally known artists.

To learn more about this weekend’s concerts, visit the Amici della Musica website at https://amicimusicafirenze.it. (Parker Hurley)