A Duo to Remember

A chamber concert at the Romanian Cultural Institute  in the Enescu Concerts Series

Thu 06 Mar  

We celebrated the much-awaited coming of spring with a classical music recital featuring two internationally acclaimed musicians, flautist Matei Ioachimescu and pianist Mara Dobresco. We are grateful to our ever-growing public for joining us once again and for their enthusiastic response to the excellent programme presented by the musicians, which included Fauré's Fantaisie op. 79, Enescu's Cantabile and Presto, Bartók's Hungarian Peasant Suite, and Widor's Suite op. 34, alongside the British premiere of Gabriel Mălăncioiu's superb little piece entitled With Resentment / Cu năduf.

Renowned Romanian flautist Matei Ioachimescu is a very active artistically performing solo or as a member of several chamber music ensembles. He is praised for his interpretations of baroque and contemporary music, as well as his crossover recitals. A graduate of the University for Music and Performing Arts in Vienna, he won several competitions and grants (Thyl-Dürr or Yehudi Menuhin Foundation) and his collaborations with some of the most interesting musicians from Europe were unanimously appreciated by the audience in concert halls like Konzerthaus Wien, Ateneul Roman, Conservatorio Santa Cecilia, Budapest Music Center or Suntory Hall. His debut CD, Lumiére, released in 2014 with pianist Catalina Butcaru, is regarded as a benchmark album for the two instruments and was highly praised by critics in Austria and Romania. As a soloist, he presents classical concertos and premieres concertos of contemporary composers. Lately, he has performed throughout Europe in projects such as Legends, Playlist, Paris, or La Vida Loca. This internationally acclaimed program combines classical and contemporary music with world music, jazz, and rock. La Vida Loca is also the title of his newest album, released in 2019 on ViennArt. Matei Ioachimescu is a founding member of the Green Thing Ensemble, a group dedicated to promoting contemporary music. His intense musical activity and the excellent quality of his projects brought him the title of Ambassador of Integration, granted by the Austrian Secretary of State. In 2020, Matei Ioachimescu was appointed Professor at the West University of Timișoara.

The Franco-Romanian pianist Mara Dobresco is praised for her temperament and elegant phrasing. She gives recitals throughout Europe, Argentina, Australia, Japan, and the United States. Her numerous recordings have earned her rave reviews from the specialised press, which often compares her to Argerich and Arrau. Mara Dobresco is regularly invited to perform in recitals and chamber music with the finest musicians of her generation in prestigious venues, as well as at major festivals. Mara Dobresco has carved out a very personal path in the contemporary musical landscape, offering numerous projects that intersect music with theatre, choreography, literature, and photography. Her recent projects allow us to admire her beautiful collaborations with artists such as actor Denis Lavant, director Volodia Serre, choreographer Béatrice Massin, filmmakers Claus Drexel and Radu Mihaileanu, and photographer Éric Sanger Monteros. A passionate interpreter of contemporary repertoire, she regularly collaborates with numerous composers, including Philippe Hersant, Franck Villard, Philippe Leroux, György Kurtág, and Oscar Strasnoy, who has dedicated several of his works to her. A child prodigy who performed with an orchestra at the age of 11, Mara Dobresco has won numerous international competitions. She is also a scholarship holder of the Yamaha, Meyer, Tarazzi, and Nadia and Lili Boulanger Foundations and received guidance and support from Martha Argerich, Dominique Merlet, Jean-Claude Pennetier, and Pierre-Laurent Aimard, with whom she has performed in four-hands concerts. Her latest album, entitled Le Fruit du Silence, was released in September 2022 by the Scala Music label.

Programme:

George Enescu (1881-1955) – Cantabile and Presto

Béla Bartók (1881-1945) – Hungarian Peasant Suite

Gabriel Mălăncioiu (b. 1979) – With Resentment – London premiere

Gabriel Fauré (1845-1924) – Fantasie op.79

Photography by Alex Coman