This week sees the Austrian Ambassador to Malta present a double-concert experience at the Manoel Theatre by award-winning Viennese chamber music ensemble Trio Immersio. In a continuous musical journey, the first concert focuses on masterpieces by genius Viennese composers Beethoven, Schubert and Brahms, while the second travels to Ravel’s early 20th-century Paris, 1980s Vienna and on to the present day, with contemporary theatrical performances at their finest. Times of Malta finds out how the trio’s acclaimed performers are feeling about their upcoming Maltese shows.
Welcome back to Malta! You have performed at many prestigious venues around the world, how are you feeling about returning to the Manoel Theatre?
We are very excited! The Manoel Theatre is not only an incredibly beautiful venue, but also one of the oldest functioning theatres in the world. The tradition and the continuity are truly inspiring, especially in such trying times for the arts as these. The beauty and the power of music is its ability to transfigure, rejuvenate and give some relief. We hope that we can bring this to Malta and share this intimate human experience with the audience.
Your upcoming concerts are being presented by the Austrian Embassy to Malta and the FTZ Community Foundation. How do you feel about being part of the Ambassador’s programme of cultural exchange?
Ambassador Andreas Stadler is a well-known patron of the arts, and in particular, a supporter of young musicians. It is an honour and privilege to be part of the programme and to participate in this wonderful exchange.
As one of Vienna’s leading chamber music ensembles, Trio Immersio has collected a number of awards. What have been the highlights of your experiences so far?
Each meeting with the audience is a unique and inspiring experience. This year, because of the minimal number of live performances, it has been deeply touching to reconnect with the listeners after months of silence.
What can audiences expect from your programme in Malta and how do you hope the concerts will be received?
We have prepared a very special journey through time, which flows through both concert programmes. We start out with the masterpieces of Viennese composers: Beethoven, Schubert and Brahms. We then travel from the high classical period of the 19th century, through the charming freshness of the early romantic period and eventually into the overwhelming world of late romanticism. The second concert moves the geography to the irresistible Paris of the first half of the 20th century, with the seductive music of Ravel. From there on, we move to the pieces of the late 20th century and today, with the blurring of the borders between different art forms and the incredibly exciting world of theatrical performances. We enjoy this journey immensely and hope that the audience will have as much fun and as many discoveries along the way as we have.
Vira Zhuk, violin
Ukrainian violinist Vira Zhuk is a prize winner of numerous international competitions such as the Oistrach International Violin Competition and the Strihardz International Competition, and has performed at prestigious venues such as the Musikverein Wien, Konzerhaus Wien, ORF RadioKulturhaus, Auditorio Nacional de Musica in Madrid, Danish Royal Opera, Süreyya Opera in Istanbul and many others.
Vira’s musical development has been influenced by artistic impulses with Mauricio Fuks, Alfred Brendel and Menahem Pressler. In the last seasons Vira performed in Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Chile, Netherlands, Denmark, Poland, France, Ukraine, Germany, Spain, Austria, Georgia and Turkey.
Vira was invited as a jury member of Shenzhen International String Competition in China, as a violin instructor at Vienna Workshop and gave master classes at Tarapaca Musica Festival in Chile, Clasclas Festival in Spain and Morelia Music Festival in Mexico.
Mariam Vardzelashvili, piano
Mariam Vardzelashvili is a Vienna-based Georgian pianist. She played her debut as a soloist with the National Radio and TV orchestra at the age of eight, and has since enjoyed numerous successful recitals and orchestral collaborations.
She has performed in more than 20 countries, on five continents, both as a soloist and a chamber musician, in prestigious venues such as the Musikverein Wien, Flagey in Brussels, Danish National Opera, Kyiv Philharmonie, CRR Concer Salonu in Istanbul, Konzerthaus Wien, Teatru Manoel in Malta, Grand Hall of the Tbilisi State Conservatoire and participated in Morelia Festival in Mexico, Istanbul Festival in Turkey, Durtal Festival in France, the Tarapaca Musica Fest in Chile and the GolfStream Festival in Kyiv.
Mariam’s studies began at the age of six in her native Tbilisi, where she attended two of the country’s main music education institutions: The Zakaria Paliashvili music school for specially gifted children and the Vano Sarajishvili State Conservatoire.
After receiving a music talent award, Mariam continued her education in the US. She moved back to Europe for postgraduate studies in Paris and Vienna in solo and chamber music fields.
Her international music education gave Mariam keys to the repertoire that spans over 300 years of music of different styles.
Irene Kok, cello
Irene Kok is an international prize winning Dutch cellist. With a specialisation and interest in both early music and folk music, Irene has a broad playing field reaching from the most important concert halls in the world to small chamber music series and jazz clubs.
Irene received her education at the Amsterdam Conservatory and the University of Music and Applied Arts of Vienna under Prof. Reinhard Latzko.
She made her solo debut with the Dutch Northern Orchestra in 2019 with the first cello concerto of Shostakovich, under the baton of Damian Iorio and will be taking the stage with Tchaikovsky – rococo variations, Vivaldi and Brahms double concerto this season.
Irene is the founding member of Chimaera Trio (clarinet, piano, cello), which recently released debut CD in the Avrotros Classical Presents series, an initiative of the Dutch National Radio/TV.
Irene plays on a Capicchioni cello from Cremona, courtesy of the Dutch Musical Instruments Foundation.
© 2020 Trio Immersio. All rights reserved
Trio Immersio – the definition of refined female power in classical music
Concert activities have brought this young ensemble to 20 countries on four continents, including tours of Japan, the US, Canada, Mexico and Tunisia.
In 2021 Trio Immersio will expand its geography with tours of South Africa and China. Major highlights of the coming season include a debut at the Berlin Konzerthaus, the recording of an all-Schubert CD, a residency at the Iceberg Institute in Vienna (US-Austria) and a performance of the Beethoven Triple Concerto.
Trio Immersio has been distinguished with a number of awards and prizes including the Brivio Sforza Award of Le Dimore del Quarteto as one of the best ensembles of 2019, the prestigious New Sound of Austrian Music award of the Austrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, given to select musicians to bear the honour of representing the musical culture and traditions of Austria all over the globe. Trio Immersio is also the winner of Bank of Austria Prix d’Arts in 2016.
Trio Immersio has performed at prestigious venues such as the Musikverein Wien, Wiener Konzerthaus, RadioKulturhaus Wien, Flagey in Brussels, Royal Danish Opera, Teatru Manoel in Malta, Theatre Sorano in Dakar, CRR Konser Salonu in Istanbul, Schönberg Centre, Ancient Amphitheater in Bodrum, Kyiv Philharmonie, Tbilisi State Conservatoire and has been a guest of the Carthage festival in Tunisia, the 30th Morelia Festival in Mexico, the 45th International Istanbul Music Festival and the Austrian Spring in Poland.
The intimate bond that Trio Immersio has with the musical culture of Vienna is particularly expressed in their interpretation of works by J. Haydn, L. Van Beethoven and F. Schubert.
Trio Immersio promotes chamber music as a lifestyle and believes in full immersion into the sound world of vivid emotions, colours and ideas. The trio’s particular authenticity and sincerity has earned them a special connection with audiences in Europe, North America, Asia and Africa.
For more information on the Trio Immersio, visit www.trioimmersio.com, www.instagram.com/trioimmersio, www.facebook.com/TrioImmersio or www.youtube.com/c/TrioImmersio/videos
Trio Immersio is presented by the Austrian Embassy to Malta in collaboration with FTZ Community Foundation. Performances will take place at the Manoel Theatre on Sunday, December 6. Programme One at 11.30am includes Beethoven’s Ghost Trio op.70 N1 D Major, F. Schubert’s Notturno in E-flat major and J. Brahms’ Trio op.101 N3 in C Minor.
Programme Two at 3pm includes the Maltese premiere of Ekatherine Chabashvili’s Walk in Silence, written for Trio Immersio, Ravel’s Trio in a minor, Furrer’s Retour an dich, Piazzolla’s Spring and Summer from Four Seasons of Buenos-Aires. Each programme is approximately 60 minutes long. Tickets are €20 per concert or €30 for both programmes, available from www.teatrumanoel.com.mt. Each concert can be enjoyed individually or as a set of two.