10th Bach Chamber Music Festival Concert by Helene Schmitt (baroque violin), Raphael Cottin (dance, France)
Place: |
Museum of Riga's History and Navigation |
Main location: |
4 Palasta iela
tel. 6721 13 58 |
Programme: J. S. Bach
Hélène Schmitt mostly performs on European stages but also recently in Japan where she has done a solo recital tour in Spring 2008. Her musical choices, her discographiy and her personnal inclinations are very much European orientated.
She mostly plays the repertoire for solo violin of the 17th, 18th and beginning of 19th Century and the international critics are always very enthousiastic about her recordings and concerts. She is supported by the French label ALPHA for which she has done so far 7 recordings. Amongst them the famous Sonatas and Partitas for violin solo of J.S. Bach. She shows a special interest for the Italian and German music and culture.
She has won three International Prices : Bruggen soloists section in 1993, Van Wassenaar (Holland) in 1994, and Schmelzerpreis in Melk (Austria) in 1996.
She has also recently been invited to take part of the Jury of the prestigious International Competition Festival van Vlaanderen in Bruggen.
She has lived in Germany for 10 years after having studied the modern violin in Paris and baroque violin in Basel.
Her recordings are regularly plaid on the European radio channels (France-Musique, Radio Classique, WDR3 or Deurschland Radio) which also regularly braodcast programmes and portraits of this great artist. The National German radio Deutschland Funk has recently co-produced with ALPHA her recording Johann Heinrich Schmelzer : Sonatas for violin and basso continuo.
Over the years she has built very strong relationships with numerous musical partners such as German haprsichordist Jörg-Andreas Bötticher, Itlalian cellist Gaetano Nasillo and lute and guitar player Eric Bellocq with whom she has done recordings and performed many concerts. She is invited to perform in prestigious festivals and concert series : Oude Muziek Utrecht, Innsbrucker Festwochen Innsbruck, Festival of Saintes, Festival Bach of Lausanne, Bachfest Salzburg, Les Grandes Journées de Versailles, Ambronay, Cologne, Festival van Vlaanderen Bruggen, Brussels Philharmonie, Folle Journée Nantes, Concerts Parisiens, Arsenal de Metz, Festival Radio France in Montpellier etc.
In addition to her concerts activities, she is currently working with the very talented dancer and choregrapher Raphaël Cottin on a special show « Sei solo » performed for the first time in Paris in December 08.
Her new CD has just been released : Nicola MATTEIS – Ayrs for the violin (ALPHA - 2009)
