The young Belgian ensemble Scherzi Musicali is a must! Founder Nicolas Achten is one of the rare singers who, in keeping with 17th-century practices, accompanies himself on the lute, theorbo, harp and harpsichord. Augmented with a basso continuo group – the expertise of his teacher Christina Pluhar left its mark – he knows how to re-invigorate the Italian vocal repertoire from the first half of the 17th century with sparkling enthusiasm. The secular arias and duets of Giovanni Felice Sances express the deepest pains of unrequited love or the naughty cooing of erotic romping. An upbeat to Valentine’s night!

Performers
Céline Vieslet, soprano | Reinoud Van Mechelen, tenor | Eriko Semba, viol & lirone | Simon Linné, theorbo | Nicolas Achten baritone, harp, harpsichord & artistic direction

13 February, 2011 14:00 -- AMUZ

Passionate glances, blind infatuation and languishing, broken hearts: the French baroque songs by composers such as Marc-Antoine Charpentier and Michel Lambert deal with love in all its facets! Even though the Valentine week may be past, AMUZ prolongs the mood. You will hear some of the most amorous airs for voice and basso continuo, augmented now and then with two violins. The young French tenor Cyril Auvity is the ideal singer for this repertoire. With his marvellous countertenor voice and his extraordinary expressiveness he has been creating a furore on the early music scene: William Christie, Christophe Rousset, Hervé Niquet, Paul Mc Creesh, Gabriel Garrido, Jordi Savall and Emmanuele Haïm are all very eager to work with him.

Performers
Cyril Auvity, tenor | Léonor de Recondo, violin | Birgit Goris, violin | Elisa Joglar, violoncello | André Henrich, theorbo | Isabelle Sauveur, harpsichord

20 February, 2011 14:00 -- AMUZ

The merry Septet in e-flat for clarinet, horn, violin, viola, cello and double bass was during Beethoven’s life his most popular work and was consequently often adapted for other combinations of instruments. The work, written at the threshold of the 19th century, sparkles with energy, humour and cheerfulness. For the performers it is technically very exacting, but in the hands of the EDDING quartet and outstanding players of wind instruments such as Nicola Boud, Julien Desbordes and Nicolas Chedmail there are no insurmountable obstacles. Besides, they play a Beethoven work for exactly the same occupation: the “Stor Septett” (literally: “Great Septet) in B by Franz Berwald (1796-1868). This Swedish composer wrote a wonderful piece with his septet. The combination of both composers stands for a perfect evening in the company of this group of virtuoso musicians.

Performers
Nicola Boud, clarinet | Julien Desbordes, bassoon | Nicolas Chedmail, horn | Baptiste Lopez, violin | Paul De Clerck, viola | Ageet Zweistra, violoncello | James Munro, double bass

Programme
Franz Berwald, Stor Septett in Bes | Ludwig van Beethoven: Septet in Es, opus 20

 

* August 2010, the EDDING Quartet had decided to put an end to a joint career as a string quartet, but after a split-up of a few months, they got back together in a slightly different line-up. With this custom program, two members of the renewed EDDING quartet, Baptiste Lopez and Ageet Zweistra, present a group that will stay connected to their quartet in the future.

26 February, 2011 20:00 -- AMUZ

The story of Jan Vermeulen’s rise to the status of peerless Belgian Schubert specialist has the makings of a fairy tale. On the occasion of a recital the fortepiano player was asked to take a look in the attic of the castle Vilain XIIII in Leut, where a keyboard instrument had been discovered with the inscription ‘Nannette Streicher’. Just imagine Vermeulen’s amazement when he discovered, under a layer of dust and amid heaps of abandoned medical instruments (for the castle had served as a hospital), an original Nannette Streicher from 1826. The restoration of this instrument led after highly acclaimed concerts to the recording of Schubert’s complete keyboard music. Wildly enthusiastic reactions followed in the international music press. Today Vermeulen and his Nannette prove their mettle at AMUZ: a highlight!

in collaboration with De Roma

Performers
Jan Vermeulen, fortepiano

Programme
Franz Schubert: Sonate in a, D 537 – Zwölf Deutsche Tänze, D 790 – Sonate in Bes, D 960

27 February, 2011 14:00 -- AMUZ

Even in times of political unrest, diplomatic insecurity and changing European alliances music continued to play a constant and crucial role at the court of Hapsburg. The imperial family of the Holy Roman empire cherished music, especially the Italophile Leopold I (1640- 1705), who was also a composer in his own right. His vast empire enclosed diverse cultures that all of them contributed their characteristic elements to the staple repertoire. This advantage, and also the presence of many Italian composers serving at the court, created a versatile musical heritage that even now sounds lively and fresh. Le Jardin Secret is a young international ensemble that made quite an impact in 2007 at the early music festival in York. At AMUZ the group brings music of, among others, Francesco Cavalli, Antonio Sartorio, Johann Heinrich Schmelzer and Leopold I.

Performers
Elisabeth Dobbin, soprano | Marian Minnen, violoncello | Romina Lischka, viol | Sofie Vanden Eynde, theorbo & baroque guitar | David Blunden, harpsichord

06 March, 2011 14:00 -- AMUZ

When in 1913 Stravinsky’s Le Sacre du Printemps created a great upheaval at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, this liberated the way for a generation of new composers who hankered after artistic renewal. Under the impulse of Jean Cocteau the group les Six emerged, with members such as Darius Milhaud, Arthur Honegger and Francis Poulenc. ‘For those who grew up during the Wagnerian disaster and started writing amid the ruins of Debussyism, imitating Debussy would no doubt be the lowest form of necrophagous perversion. For lately we also have the circus, the music hall, the fairground parades and the American orchestras.’ Saori and Yutaka Oya present music by les Six, inspired by Parisian ballrooms, Brazilian rhythms and everyday sounds. The apotheosis will be Stravinsky’s own version for four hands of Le Sacre.

Performers
Saori Oya & Yutaka Oya, piano

Programme
Darius Milhaud: Le Boeuf sur le Toit, op.58 | Louis Durey: Neiges | Georges Auric: 5 Bagatelles | Arthur Honegger: Pacific 231 | Francis Poulenc: Sonate | Igor Stravinsky: Le Sacre du Printemps

13 March, 2011 14:00 -- AMUZ