Helger Groschopp and Adele Bitter are Berliners making a welcome return to play for the Amigos de Música. They will give two recitals on Tuesday 10th and Thursday 12th September.
Adele Bitter first studied in Berlin, and later at the Frankfurt Conservatory. Periods of study in the USA followed.
As principal cellist of the Badische Staatskapelle Karlsruhe she was able to expand her opera repertoire. She was appointed assistant principal cellist with the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, of which she remains a member while continuing her presence as a soloist and chamber musician. As a member of the Adamello Quartett, a classical repertoire is combined with contemporary examples (Dutilleux, Glanert, Nono, Reimann, Scelsi, etc.). She studied baroque cello with Christophe Coin at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis.
Her album with pieces for Violoncello solo by different composers who share the experience of exile and show the musical possibilities of “melting cultures” was released in February 2022. The complete recordings of the works for Cello and Piano by Polish-French Jewish composer Simon Laks (an Auschwitz survivor), with Holger Groschopp was released during 2022.
Holger Groschopp pursued his piano studies in his hometown of Berlin with Georg Sava. In addition he studied composition with Isang Yun and song interpretation with Aribert Reimann and Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau. His extensive solo career has taken him to most European countries, the Middle and Far East and North and Central America. He has performed as soloist at major European festivals (Berlin, Salzburg, Montepulciano etc.) and played chamber music with many prominent musicians.
Holger Groschopp is considered an expert in Contemporary Music and worked intensively with composers such as Isang Yun, Pierre Boulez, Aribert Reimann, Hans Werner Henze, Heinz Holliger and others. He has had a close collaboration with Claudio Abbado, Sir Simon Rattle, the Berlin Philharmonic, the DSO Berlin and the Mahler Chamber Orchestra.
His nine CD’s released on the Capriccio label with transcriptions by Ferruccio Busoni were given highest acclaim by a range of international critics, including highest recommendation in BBC Music Magazine and the US magazine Fanfare.
The complete recordings of the works for Cello and Piano by Polish-French Jewish composer Simon Laks (an Auschwitz survivor), with Adele Bitter was released during 2022.
PROGRAMME
Tuesday, September 10, 2024
Robert Schumann: Drei Fantasiestücke (Three Fantasy Pieces) op. 73 (1849)
(1810–1856) 1. Zart und mit Ausdruck (Tender and with expression)
- Lebhaft, leicht (Lively, light)
- Rasch und mit Feuer (Quick and with fire)
Camille Saint-Saëns: Sonata No. 2 F major op. 123 (1905)
(1835–1921) 1. Maestoso, largamente
- Scherzo con Variazioni (Allegro animato)
- Romanza (Poco adagio)
- Allegro non troppo, grazioso
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Mélanie (’Mel’) Bonis: Sonata F major op. 67 (1904)
(1858–1937) 1. Moderato quasi Andante – Allegretto
- Très lent
- Final. Moderato molto
Simon Laks: Les Filles du Forgeron (The Blacksmith’s Daughters)
(1901–1983) (Suite from the incidental music for Peretz Hirshbein’s yiddish comedy, 1964)
- Ouverture
- Berceuse
- Interlude
- Valse
- Final (Chanson et Danse)
–– Portuguese Premiere ––
Thursday, September 12, 2024
Johann Sebastian Bach: Chromatic Fantasia and Fugue D minor BWV 903
(1685–1750) (arranged for cello and piano by Ferruccio Busoni, 1915)
Ludwig van Beethoven: Sonata No. 5 D major op. 102/2 (1815)
(1770–1827) 1. Allegro con brio
- Adago con molto sentimento d’affetto
- Allegro fugato
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Bohuslav Martinů: Variations on a Theme by Rossini (1942)
(1890–1959)
Johannes Brahms: Sonata No. 2 F major op. 99 (1886)
(1833–1897) 1. Allegro vivace
- Adagio affettuoso
- Allegro passionato
- Allegro molto
Concerts begin at 7.00 pm sharp.
Doors open at 6.00 pm and wine and canapés are served from 6.15 and in the interval.
Entry donation is €30 per person for Amigos’ guests and non-members.