Sunday, January 22, 2023 - 4:00pm
$15 live-stream, $25 youth, $30 senior/student, $35 general admission
Tickets available through Eventbrite
Calliope is excited to have the opportunity to present this remarkable string quartet, as they take a quick chamber music refresher during their international tour with longtime collaborator, mezzo soprano superstar Joyce DiDonato.
On Saturday night, they will perform with Ms. DiDonato at Zellerbach Hall, and on Sunday afternoon, celebrate Paganini and Schubert with us in an intimate chamber music setting, before heading to the airport en route to the next stop on their tour.
The program for the concert, Angel or Demon, highlights the fiery, wild works of Paganini, (some said he was possessed!) executed by the redoubtable solo violinist Laura Andriani, matched with works by Franz Schubert, who was heard to proclaim of Paganini: "In his adagio, I have heard an angel sing."
With Laura Andriani, violin; Zefira Valova, violin; Archimede de Martini, viola; Ludovico Takeshi Minasi, cello
Your safe enjoyment of this wonderful music is our first priority! All artists, guests, and staff must be fully vaccinated and boosted for Covid 19 in order to attend. We will ask for proof of vaccination at the door. At this time, we are also requiring an N95, KN95, or double mask be worn, properly covering nose and mouth, throughout the performance. Seats limited to 100 in person tickets. Available in person, by live-stream, or on-demand. We guarantee ALL of our performers a minimum fair wage, thanks to generous people like you!
Concert Program
Angel or Demon: celebrating the 225th anniversary of Schubert, and the 240th anniversary of Paganini
Franz Schubert (1797-1828)
String Quartet in D Major No. 7
Allegro - Andante con moto - Menuetto - Presto
Caprices by Paganini, Locatelli, and others, performed by Laura Andriani
Niccolò Paganini (1782-1840)
String Quartet in A minor No. 3
Largo - Allegro - Minuetto Andantino - Andante con variazioni - Finale Presto
Artist Profiles
LAURA ANDRIANI, violin: originally from Italy, Laura studied violin with Elena Guizzardi and Massimo Marin at the Giuseppe Verdi Conservatory of Music in Torino, where she graduated at the age of 17. She also studied with Corrado Romano, Franco Gulli, Adelina Oprean (obtaining the Solisten-Diplom at the Musik-Akademie in Basel, Switzerland) and Salvatore Accardo.
She mastered Chamber Music in England (Britten-Pears School in Aldeburgh and Royal Academy of Music in London) and Italy (Scuola di Musica di Fiesole) with members of the Amadeus Quartet, the Smetana Quartet and the Quartetto Italiano.
At the age of 20, she started being regularly invited to perform in Milano at La Scala with the Orchestra del Teatro, la Filarmonica Della Scala and the Orchestra da Camera Della Scala. She later obtained a position at the Teatro Regio di Torino where she played as a regular member. She has been also a regular member of the Orchestra da Camera Italiana and Sentieri Selvaggi.
After performing as First Violin of the Andriani Quartet, Laura became the first violin of the Alcan Quartet and moved to Quebec in 2003. The Alcan Quartet's activity and discography (including works by Mendelssohn, Glenn Gould, MacMillan, and the Complete Beethoven's Quartets) were highly successful in Canada and internationally.
As a chamber musician, Laura has performed in Europe (Italy, France, Germany, Austria, Spain, Belgium, Holland, England and the Czech Republic), Canada, the United States, China and Korea. She won several first prizes in major Italian competitions (i.e. Mantova, Vittorio Veneto). In 1997, at the 44th International Violin Competition Premio Paganini in Genoa, she won the Special Jury Prize for her performance of the Sequenza VIII by Luciano Berio.
In January 2010, the CD Chant de Terre et de Ciel, (Messiaen's music; ATMA classique) won the Opus of the Year award of the Conseil Québécois de la Musique.
Laura is one of the few current violinists to play with as much ease the repertoire from Baroque to contemporary eras according to historical criteria of interpretation, with appropriate instruments and bows.
In 2016, her work with Sigiswald Kuijken was noteworthy and she perfected with him the original technique chin-off. Since then, she regularly presents herself to the public also as a baroque violinist and she has been presenting the Complete Bach Solos.
She has played with Les Idées Heureuses, Caprice, Arion, Les Boreades, Tafelmusik, Il Gardellino and Il Pomo d’Oro.
She has been Instructor in Baroque Violin and Ensembles at the Early Music Department at McGill University and Guest Professor at the Université de Montréal.
One of her latest research highlights concerns the historical performance of Paganini. The recording of the 24 Caprices was released last November by the label Passacaille.
ZEFIRA VALOVA, violin: The Bulgarian violinist Zefira Valova is among the leading early music specialists. Equally enjoying the work as a soloist, leader, concertmaster or chamber musician, she devotes energy also to enlighten the early music repertoire in her native country.
She led Il Pomo d'oro Orchestra in recitals of Franco Fagioli and Jakub Józef Orliński. In 2022 she toured around Europe and the USA with the program “EDEN” with the mezzo Joyce DiDonato.
Among her recent CD releases are Violin Concertos (Benda, Graun, Sirmen, St-Georges) with Il Pomo d'oro for Aparte and Sonatas by Shubert with Aapo Hakkinen. She conducted Deutsche Gramophon's albums of Franco Fagioli with Vinci and Handel.
She is a guest concertmaster and soloist of Helsinki Baroque Orchestra with musical director Aapo Häkkinen. She has been concertmaster of the European Union Baroque Orchestra having worked with Mortensen, Koopman, Onofri among others. Zefira Valova is the founder of the Sofia Baroque Arts Festival and in 2017 she received the prize “Musician of the year” for “artistic activity” by the Bulgarian National Radio and The Golden Quill in 2021. She led the Sofia Philharmonic Orchestra in programs with 18thcentury concerto repertoire between 2016 – 2019.
ARCHIMEDE DE MARTINI, viola: Born in Milan in a family of musicians, Archimede de Martini studied violin and viola at the Claudio Abbado Civic School of Music with Carlo Feige. Always a lover of the baroque and classical repertoire and chamber music in general, he followed the violin and chamber music courses held by Enrico Onofri, Giovanni Antonini, Ottavio Dantone and Krysia Osostowicz. He is a member of the Accademia dell'Annunciata, an orchestra on period instruments. With them they recorded and performed with Giuliano Carmignola and Mario Brunello in Italy and Europe. He also collaborates with orchestras such as Il Giardino Armonico, Collegio Ghislieri and Il Pomo d 'Oro with which he has done various recordings and concerts held in the most important European and American concert venues.
LUDOVICO TAKESHI MINASI, cello: Ludovico Takeshi Minasi was born in Rome in 1984. He began his musical education at Santa Cecilia Conservatory of Rome with Mario Centurione and Francesco Strano and studied with Luigi Piovano. Since the beginning of his studies, he has developed a strong interest in early music, and has been taught this specialty by Gaetano Nasillo at the Accademia Internazionale della Musica of Milan and by Bruno Cocset at the ESMUC (Barcelona). In 2004 he was awarded at the Van Wassenaer Concours (Den Haag). As a first cellist, he has performed with such renowned ensembles as “Il Complesso Barocco” (Alan Curtis), “Concerto Italiano” (Rinaldo Alessandrini), “Orchestra del Teatro Alla Scala” (Milan), “Il Pomo d’Oro”, ”and others.
His recent release of sonatas for 3 cellos by Ermenegildo del Cinque received high acclaim from critics (Gramophone, Diapason). He collaborated and played under the conduction of musicians like Enrico Onofri, Dimitry Sinkovsky, Luca Pianca, Boris Begelman. He has recorded for Naive,Virgin,Erato, Sony, Decca, Rai 3 and Amadeus.
As a member of camera “Cafebaum Banda Barocca” he has won several international competitions and he has performed at major festivals in Europe: Ravenna Festival, London Handel Festival, Festival di Ambronnay, Goettingen Handel Festspielen.
In 2015 he founded with Boris Begelman and Alexandra Koreneva “Arsenale Sonoro” and their recordings (Telemann sonatas and Scarlatti sonatas recorded for Sony Deutsche Harmonia Mundi) received enthusiastic answers from the international press.