News
Stellenbosch Festival 2008
4 - 11 July
Daniel spent 9 wonderful days as a faculty member, for the 3rd year running of the Stellenbosch International Chamber Music Festival. Set in beautiful Stellenbosch, not far from Cape Town and surrounded by the gorgeous winelands, the festival offers nightly concerts in the excellent Endler Hall as well as chamber music coaching too round 200 students. Daniel had his work cut out with repertoire including Stravinsky's l'Histoire du Soldat, the Chausson Concerto, Strauss' Metamorphosen for 23 solo strings, with faculty members and students, the Enesco Octet and to cap it the Brahms Double Concerto with cellist Peter Martens and the Festival Symphony Orchestra conducted by Jonas Alber. The festival, the brainchild of South African pianist Nina Schumann has a wonderful atmosphere and is real highlight of the season!
See photos of Stellenbosch '08
Trecastagni Festival 2008
July
Daniel spent a week at the Trecastagni International Music Festival in Sicily, his 10th successive visit. The festival with concerts on the atmospheric Largo Abate Ferrara in the small town of Trecastagni on the foothills of the Etna in Catania province celebrated its 10th anniversary this year, and has gone from strength to strength under the direction of Carmelo Pappalardo and his wife Alessandra. This year Daniel brought with him violinist/violist Ben Roskams, cellist Evelien Prakke and pianist Irina Botan, and one of the concerts suitably was an 'Italian Journey': Wolff's Italian Serenade, a selection from Berio's violin duos, the Verdi Quartet and Tchaikowsky's Souvenir de Florence. Other concerts included a piano recital by Irina Botan, the Mendelssohn Octet with Sicilan friends Francesco and Alessandro Sica, Francesco Toro and Irish violinist Heloise Geoghegan, and Daniel playing the Vivaldi Four Seasons on July the 31st.
See pictures of the Trecastagni Festival 2008
Stift Festival 2008
9 - 16 August
The Stiftfestival 2008 took place in Oldenzaal and Weerselo in the eastern Netherlands in the 2nd week of August. The festival offered 15 concerts in the space of 8 days in the beautiful and historic Stiftskerk in Weerselo, Koetshuis in Oldenzaal and Hofkerk, also in Oldenzaal. The festival founded by Daniel in 2005 combines the elements of an international chamber music festival with those of a summerschool. Over 50 students from as far afield as China, Japan, the US and throughout Europe worked intensively with a leading faculty. This year the festival was delighted to welcome back the violin legend Ivry Gitlis, who created magic in the Stiftskerk on the 12th and the 14th, performing the Bach Double Concerto, Tchaikowsky's piano trio, and pieces by Kreisler, Paradis and Massenet, as well as teaching a week long masterclass for 12 international students. The faculty also included artists such as Michael Collins (clarinet), Henk Neven (baritone), violinists Priya Mitchell, Ronald Hoogeveen and David Frühwirth, violists Joel Waterman, Francien Schatborn and Patrick Jüdt, celists Alexander Baillie, Thomas Carroll, Jan Bastiaan Neven, Peter Martens and Evelien Prakke, Leon Bosch (doublebass) and pianists Frank van de Laar. Irina Botan, Daria van den Bercken and Natalia Riabova.
See a few photos of the festival
You can find much more about the festival on: www.stiftfestival.com
Brodsky and Amsterdam Chamber Ensemble get together at the Cadogan
12th March 2008
The next concert in the Brodsky's ongoing residency at the Cadogan Hall sees them performing with 4 of Daniel's friends from the Amsterdam Chamber Ensemble. Armand de Beauregard, Benjaman Roskams, Xandi van Dijk and Jan Bastiaan Neven will travel to London to take part in a performance of Mendelssohn's magnificent Octet on March 28. The program will also include Beethoven's first String Quartet, with the touching slow movement depicting the parting of Romeo and Juliette) and the great quartet no. 8 by Sjostakowitch, written after the composer saw the ravaged city of Dresden, and dedicated to all victims of fascism and war. Surely one of the most affecting pieces in the repertoire...
See Daniel and Paul talking about this concert, and the next Brodsky concert at the Cadogan on May 28. Cadogan Hall
Amsterdam Chamber Ensemble at the Beurs van Berlage
12th March 2008
Two days after their collaboration with the Brodskys the Amsterdam Chamber Ensemble is back at home at the Beurs van Berlage in Amsterdam for their third subscription concert this season. The program includes an old favorite of the ensemble, Schönberg's gloriously romantic Verklärte Nacht as well as one of the greatest of all chamber works for strings, the G minor quintet by Mozart. Also on the program, two lesser known gems: Richard Strauss' Sextet from Capriccio and the tender Langzamer Satz by the young Anton Webern.
ACE recorded the Schönberg and Strauss in 2003. You can find more details here.
ACE's last concert of the season at the Beurs van Berlage will be on 25 April. The program will include Chausson's amazing Concerto for violin, piano and string quartet, and Bartok's Contrasts. More information and booking details here.
Messiaen/Bartok CD presentation and Good Friday concert in Porto
11th March 2008
On Good Friday 21 March a special concert will be given at the Teatro Nacional S. João in Porto. On the program two masterworks of 20th century chamber music, Bartok's Contrasts (written for Josef Szigeti, Benny Goodman and Bartok himself at the piano) and the deeply affecting Quatuor pour le Fin du Temps by Messiean.
During the concert the CD that Daniel made with colleagues Carlos Alves, Caio Pagano, Paulo Alvarez and Catherine Strynx for the Numerica label will also be presented. The same prpgram will we given in Castelo Branco 3 days earlier, on the 18th of March.
Perth and Brisbane Festivals
5th March 2008
Daniel has just got back from a 2 week trip to Australia with the Brodsky's . They performed 2 concerts at the wonderful Perth International Arts Festival, playing a quartet program at the Perth Concert Hall, and a mixed program featuring guitarist Craig Ogden and other guests, at the Music Box, an exiting outdoor venue on the riverfront. While in Perth, the quartet and Craig also travelled down to Albany on the south coast for a concert in the intimate Town Hall. They were also taken out by their wonderful hosts, to see the spectacular cliffs and dolphins down below, and Daniel was exited finally to see some kangaroos..
After a week at the Perth Festival the Quartet flew to Brisbane, were they headlined 'Restrung' a new festival bringing together various leading Australian Contemporary music groups, as well as the Brodsky's , aiming to bring down borders and widen horizons.. The Quartet performed the Schubert Quintet with Australian composer and cellist Ian Grandage as well as performing together with excellent Australian groups such as Topology and 'Wood'. The Brisbane Powerhouse, a former power station turned into a terrific and exciting riverside arts centre (complete with 2 great restaurants) seems to be the place to be under the directorship of Andrew Ross, who together with Ian Grandage and Robert Davidson was the driving force behind the innovative and exciting 'Restrung' festival.
- Review in 'the West Australian' (PDF)
- Review in 'the Australian' of the Perth concert (PDF)
- Review in 'the Australian' of the Brisbane festival
- See Daniel's photos of the Australia trip
Daniel wraps up the Johann Strauss Gala tour '08
1st March 2008
January and February have seen Daniel directing the Johann Strauss Gala throughout the UK as well as in Ireland. The program included such gems as Sphärenklänge by Josef Strauss and Tales from the Vienna Woods by his famous brother Johann. Daniel also performed Kreisler's Prealudium and Allegro, with the Gala playing in halls like the Barbican, Birmingham Symphony Hall, the Bridgewater Hall, Liverpool Philharmonic Hall, the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, Edinburgh Festival Theatre, St. Davids Hall Cardiff, De Montfort Hall Leicester and the National Concert Hall in Dublin. The Strauss Gala has 2 orchestras, the the London based Southern led by Charles Sewart, who also conducted some of the performances, and the Northern, working out of Manchester, led by Steven Wilkie. The gala was choreographed by Christopher Hampson, and Daniel took over as music director from Christopher Warren-Green in 2006.
ACE presents it's new season at the Beurs van Berlage in Amsterdam
13th March 2008
The ACE proudly presents its new season at the Beurs van Berlage. This is possibly the most exciting season so far, with some very special guests. The opening concert on October 31 is built around the wonderfully sensitive and evocative music of Kurtag, with Daniel performing with the young French soprano the stunning Kafka Fragments. The program also includes ravishing songs by R. Strauss and works by Schubert and Brahms. The 2nd concert on 12 December is a celebration of the violin, with besides the magnificent String Quintet op 111 by Brahms a colorful collection of pieces for 2, 3 and 4 violins, including a Carmen Phantasy and Don Giovanni Phantasy for 4 violins and bass. We fondly pay hommage to Daniel's father, composer David Rowland (1939 -2007), with a performance of his Gemini for 2 violins and piano, and the special guest this night is the legendary violinist Ivry Gitlis. the 3rd concert features the renowned Brodsky Quartet, that Daniel joined as first violin last summer, with a Russian program including quartets by Sjostakowitch, Stravinsky and Tchaikowsky. This is followed by a violin recital by Daniel and Bernd Brackman and the final concert features Daniel with the ACE Camerata performing the spectacular combination of Vivaldi's sparkling Four Seasons and Piazzolla's stunning Quatro Estaciones Portenas. All in all a very exciting series that we commend warmly!
Tickets will shortly go on sale via the Amsterdam's Uit Bureau and the Beurs van Berlage.
Video of Ivry Gitlis at Stiftfestival
12th March 2008
We recently came across this video. It was filmed on August 27, during last year's Stiftfestival. It shows the amazing Ivry Gitlis performing part of the Menselssohn Octet in the Stiftskerk, 2 days after his 85th birthday. The other players are other teachers and students of the festival: Elissa Cassini, Benjamin Roskams, Daniel, Joel Waterman, Maria Sofia Fonseca, Jan Bastiaan Neven and Valter Maraffa. We find this rather inspiring...
- Watch the video (YouTube)
Stift International Music Festival (SIMF)
From 19 till 25 August the 3rd edition of the Stift International Music Festival took place in Weerselo and Oldenzaal in the eastern Netherlands. The festival, founded by Daniel in 2005 aims to be both a chamber music festival and a summerschool. This year over 50 participants from the Netherlands, Germany, Portugal, Canada, Poland and France studied with an international faculty, who also performed nightly concerts in the beautiful Stiftskerk in Weerselo and the Koetshuis and Hofkerk in Oldenzaal.
Special guest this year was the legendary virtuoso Ivry Gitlis, who taught an intensive masterclass to 12 highly talented young violinists. Some of the festival highlights were performances of Franck and Elgar Piano Quintets, the Korngold String Sextet and “Gemini” for two violins and piano by David Rowland. On the 22nd August Ivry Gitlis was joined by Daniel, Francien, Evelien and Frank for a performance of the Schumann Piano Quintet. That night he also taught 2 highly talented young violinists, Emmy Storms and Eva van Haaften in a public Masterclass, and rounded of an unforgettable evening with a moving performance of Kreisler’s Liebesleid. 2 days later Gitlis was back on stage in the intimate Stiftskerk for a performance of the Mendelssohn Octet with fellow teachers and students. The final day of the festival happily coincided with Ivry Gitlis’ 85th Birthday.
At an afternoon concert in the Hofkerk, with it’s excellent acoustics, a number of students and teachers performed and the winners of this years Kolibri and encouragement prizes were announced. After that the Festival Orchestra, consisting of students as young as 15 and several teachers gave a performance of the Tchaikowsky Serenade, and as an encore performed ‘Happy Birthday Ivry’, specially composed for the occasion. All in all it was an intense, inspiring, jam-packed week that will not easily be forgotten by many of those present. Preparations are on the way for next years festival which, beside bringing Ivry Gitlis back to Oldenzaal, plans to offer more concerts and masterclasses by some other leading, inspiring international musicians. Further details will be announced here and on the SIMF site.
Link: Find information and application details for the Stift International Music Festival
Daniel joins Brodsky String Quartet as new first violin
7th August 2007
Daniel is joining the Brodsky String Quartet as their new first violin. This from the official press release:
"The Brodsky Quartet are delighted to announce that Daniel Rowland has been appointed as their First Violinist."
The appointment follows an exhaustive search taking over a year. The combination of musical and personal qualities that are needed to make a perfect fit with the other players are difficult to find. Indeed on their website the Brodsky.s describe the relationship as being "more like a marriage between four." In Daniel they're confident that they've met their ideal partner.
From the opening bars of the Brahms A minor at our first meeting we knew Daniel was speaking our language. He's a fantastic player who, above all, moves us with every nuance. We're tremendously excited to be embarking on this musical journey together.
Ian Belton, Paul Cassidy and Jacqueline Thomas
I remember first being thrilled by the Brodsky Quartet's exciting dynamic and colourful performances as a student, and from the first note I played with Ian, Paul and Jacky I felt a very special chemistry. I'm delighted and excited to be joining, and look forward to many years as a "Brodsky"!
Daniel Rowland
The Brodsky Quartet have achieved world renown for their interpretations of the classical repertory, whilst at the same time commissioning many new works and entering into innovative collaborations with artists as diverse as Elvis Costello, Anne Sofie von Otter, Björk, Barbara Bonney, Maria João Pires. The Quartet recently announced their residency at Cadogan Hall, which will include at least five concerts each season, together with other joint projects from time to time with other musicians. The opening concert of their residency will take place on Thursday 20th September and will include: Turina's Oracion del Torero; Brahms' Quartet in A minor, Op.51, No.2 and Beethoven's String Quartet Op.132. The quartet have their own record label, Brodsky Records, and will take advantage of the hall's superb acoustic for future recordings.
- Read about Daniel and the Brodskys in the August edition of Gig magazine
- Read Daniel's interview with music website tokafi.com, about the Brodskys and more
Tchaikowsky Concerto tour with JON
7th August 2007
Daniel is in the midst of a tour with the Youth Orchestra Holland conducted by his friend Jurjen Hempel. Daniel is playing the Tchaikowsky in several cities in Germany and Poland, including Wroclaw and Krakow, followed by concets in Holland. the big date is the 9th of August at the Amsterdam Concertgebouw. It's a tour with lots of memories for Daniel: He performed the same piece while still a member of the JON, at the Concertgebouw on August 9th 1992!
9th visit to Trecastagni Festival
3rd August 2007
Daniel has just returned from his 9th consecutive visit to the Trecastagni International Music Festival. The festival concerts are given on the Piazza Abate Ferrara, were the audience gets more numerous each year! This time Daniel performed a recital with pianist Bernd Brackman (Mozart, Prokofiev and Brahms, encores by Dvorak and Kreisler, and the favorite piece of this audience... Thais!! The 2nd night was dedicated to chamber music (with Goetz Hartmann and others) and because of a last minute cancellation he also performed the Tchaikowsky Concerto, with piano. Daniel was rather flattered to be named the "Guru of the Violin" and the "Polar star of classical music" by the local press! Preparations are now in full swing for the 10th edition which will also involve a Masterclass... watch this space!
Tickets on sale for Stift Festival concerts
1st August 2007
Please visit the Festival webesite to book tickets for the 7 evening concerts between 19 and 25 August, featuring the great Ivry Gitlis and wonderful musicians such as Ronald Hoogeveen, David Fruhwirth, Frank van de Laar, Jan Bastian Neven and Patricia de la Vega. Special attention is given to the anniversaries of two favorites, Elgar and Korngold, and there's an evening of violin virtuosity, titled 'Violissimo!'. Also book tickets for the final concert featuring the Tchaikowsky Serenade, with Daniel directing. And much more.
Radius
31st July
Radius, the contemporary music group led by Daniel, will be performing at the Southbank Centre in London, 19th-21st September, as part of the London Design Festival. Tickets are on sale now at the Southbank Box Office.
Ivry Gitlis Masterclass at Stift Festival
10th June 2007
The Stift International Music Festival is very proud to announce that the legendary violinist Ivry Gitlis will be joining the festival faculty. Ivry Gitlis is considered one of the greatest violinists of the 20th century, a unique musician with an unparalleled tonal range, diabolical virtuosity and a much loved personality.
Maestro Gitlis will spend 5 days, from 20 till 24 August working intensively with a group of no more than 8 highly talented violinists. All participants in the Festival are invited to attend the classes and in addition Mr Gitlis will be giving 2 masterclasses for all participants in the Festival who have reached an appropriate level.
The masterclasses in the beautiful Stiftskerk will have there own piano accompanists and will be open to the public. Mr Gitlis has also agreed to perform in a number of evening concerts. Applications are invited! For more information, please visit the Stift Festival website (www.stiftfestival.com).
ACME's 07-08 season at the Beurs van Berlage
15th May 2007
For the 11th season the Amsterdam Chamber Music Ensemble (ACME) is presenting a series of 4 concerts at the lovely recital hall of the Beurs van Berlage in Amsterdam. The programe next year includes such beauties as the Mozart G minor quintet, Schoenberg's Verklärte Nacht and the Chausson Concerto, as well as a violin-piano recital featuring the 2nd Bartok Sonata with Daniel and Bernd Brackman.Bookings via www.aub.nl/.
See the full programme of ACME at the Beurs on this site