Count Keyserlingk, the Russian ambassador of Saxony in 1742, would often travel to Leipzig where he became friends with Bach. He asked the composer to create a harpsichord song that would make him less anxious and more tolerant of sleepless nights, a song that would be joyful and tender at the same time, a song to keep him company and distract him from his sad thoughts. Young Goldberg, a student of Bach, was meant to perform the piece during the night, in a room next to the master’s bedroom. Bach accepted the proposal and wrote a series of variations called “Goldberg Variations” that were tremendously successful, acclaimed by the “client” as well as the “performer”, so much so that Bach received a golden cup with 100 Louis gold coins. The succeeding songs take various forms and are filled with fantasy, including canonical variations, free-form variations, humorous ones, Adagio movements, German folk songs, melodies and musical games in the purest Bach style.
Daniel Rowland, a charismatic violinist with a wide repertoire, from Vivaldi to contemporary music, is the founder and artistic director of Stift International Music Festival. Since 2012, Daniel is also the violinist of the acclaimed London Conchord Ensemble, and at the moment he is also a guest concertmaster with the BBCSO, Scottish Chamber Orchestra and Mahler Chamber Orchestra.
Justus Grimm took up the cello at the age of five, initially studying under his father’s guidance. He soon went to study in Saarbrücken and in Cologne, winning First Prizes at the Maria Canals International Music Competition and the German National Competition. Together with flutist Christina Fassbender they form the ‘Trio Wiek’, and since 2008 Justus has also embraced the quartet repertoire with the Malibran Quartet and has been holding a professorship at the Conservatory of Antwerp.
Răzvan Popovici started studying viola in Bucharest with his father, Mugur Popovici. He studied in Salzburg, Paris, Freiburg, and now he has concerts all around the world as a member of the Ensamble Raro. He initiated and is the director of the Chiemgauer Musikfrühlinging Festival (DEU), of the series of chamber music concerts Pèlerinages (München), and of the SoNoRo Festival in Bucharest, Romania, making it a successful cultural European platform.
This year, SoNoRo Festival celebrates its 12th year of existence, having become a national and international cultural landmark. Through its special programmes and various concert halls and a blend of different musical genres and exceptional performances, SoNoRo is a modern and innovative festival that proves to the widest audience that chamber music represents a fascinating communication medium in contemporary society, which is accessible but, most of all, necessary. Each year, the festival attracts an audience of over 10.000 people. Right after the first edition of the festival, the Sonoro Association managed to include the festival in a worldwide festival network. Among the impressive musical partnerships it has initiated, SoNoRo has collaborated with the Sibiu International Theatre Festival, with TIFF Festival in Cluj-Napoca and Chiemgauer Musikfrühling (Germany) and it will continue its collaboration with Kobe International Music Festival (Japan), Emiglia Romagna Festival (Italy), Elverum Festspiele (Norway), Gmunden Festival (Austria), Music at Plush (UK), Tartini Festival in Piran (Slovenia), creating programmes in partnership with some of these events, which are then showcased to audiences in both countries, presenting Romanian artists abroad and enabling other internationally acclaimed artists to make their debut in Romania. This year’s edition of the festival will be held between October 27 - November 14, 2017 under the heading “Hide and Seek” in Bucharest, Brașov, Timișoara and Cluj-Napoca. This year, over 25 musicians will take part in the festival, among which we have to mention the famous pianists Diana Ketler (UK) and Nino Gvetadze (Netherlands), renowned violinists Mihaela Martin (Romania), Philippe Graffin (France) and Alina Pogostkina (Germany), cellists who won prizes at major festival and who have stepped on some of the most famous stages in the world: Giovanni Sollima (Italy), Frans Helmerson (Sweden) and clarinet player Thorsten Johanns (Germany). Among the unconventional spaces and concert halls chosen for this year’s festival are: Cotroceni Palace, Romanian Athenaeum, Cercul Militar Palace, the National Museum of Art of Romania, St. Joseph Cathedral, Hanul Garboveni, the Auditorium of the Bucharest University of Economic Studies and a few surprise venues.