On Saturday, May 14, in the Chamber Hall of the National Auditorium in Madrid, Paganini’s ‘The Impossible Work’ will be heard exclusively by the Paganini Ensemble Vienna, the only group that has been able to record, in all of history, the 15 works of the Italian composer for string quartet and guitar.
Mario Hossen is considered one of the best performers of Nicolò Paganini’s work, and is the founder of the Paginini Ensemble Vienna. The quartet, which surprises for its composition with guitar, will play in the Chamber Hall of the National Auditorium, which allows a privileged closeness to a performance that, in its time, was so impossible that many considered it diabolical.
Paganini has gone down in history for his technical virtuosity and the complex melodies that surprised all those attending his recitals. In addition to being an interpreter, Paganini stood out as a composer, creating works that were practically impossible to execute and that only he could perform perfectly.
The name Niccolo Paganini is indisputably linked to the concepts of extraordinary virtuosity and intensity of the violin. Paganini was a man with such a legendary stage presence that ladies in the audience used to faint during his performances. Not surprisingly, the concept of the ‘devil’s fiddler’ comes to mind in connection with Paganini. However, Paganini was much more than this: not only was his mastery of the guitar equal to his mastery of the violin, but he also composed an extensive and extraordinary body of chamber music: 250 compositions in various instrumental combinations: solos, duets and trios. …, as well as the quartets for violin, guitar, viola and violoncello. While he presented his compositions for violin and orchestra to a larger audience, his works for solo violin and for guitar quartets, which were played exclusively in private concerts.
Other musicians and composers knew of Paganini’s compositions, and even the great Rossini, himself a composer of numerous operas, once breathed a sigh of relief and said that it was fortunate for Italian composers that Paganini did not compose operas, for with his talent, he would outshine to all the other composers. Paganini Ensemble Vienna is committed to these rarely performed compositions by the Italian composer. Indeed, Paganini’s chamber music is exceptionally demanding of the musicians who perform it. These are not pieces composed for soloists and accompanists, on the contrary, they demand the maximum of each instrument, be it violin, guitar, viola or cello. Such is the difficulty of Paganini’s works that Paganini Ensemble Vienna is the only quartet that has been able to completely record Paganini’s work for string quartet and guitar. 15 compositions by the hand of Mario Hossen, Marta Potulska, Liliana Kehayova and Alexander Swete sound as if Paganini himself were delighting us with his live virtuosity. Paganini Ensemble Vienna has set itself a lofty goal in presenting this rarely played program that offers a unique insight into Paganini’s extensive oeuvre for violin, guitar, viola and cello. These works offer not only technical virtuosity and moments of tremendous passion, but also passages that express great tenderness, suffering and joy. Indeed, these emotional elements are essential to understanding the music of Nicolo Paganini, who once said: “We must feel strongly to make others feel.”
In addition to the presence of Mario Hossen, the violinist Marta Potulska stands out, who has a long career and worldwide recognition and has been awarded in numerous contests and competitions, including the Johannes Brahms Competition in Austria (2007), the International Bled Competition and Festival in Slovenia (2011), among others. Besides her career as a teacher, she is mostly active as a chamber musician and has performed at massive festivals like Salzburger Festspiele, Styriarte, Eggenberger Schlosskonzerte, St. Gallen Festival, Park City Music Festival in Las Vegas. She has performed in some of the world’s leading concert halls and is currently a member of renowned orchestras such as the Vienna Chamber Orchestra, Wien International Soloists Ensemble and the Vienna Burgtheater Ensemble.
In addition, there will be cellist Liliana Kehayova, professor of cello at the New University of Bulgaria, and General Secretary of the International Music Academy Orpheus in Vienna. Throughout his career he has been a soloist with numerous orchestras such as the Sofia Philharmonic Orchestra, has participated in major festivals and recitals such as the International Sommer Academy Prag-Wien-Budapest and has performed in prestigious concert halls such as the Palau de la Música Catalana, the Musikverein and the Konzerthaus in Vienna or the Smetana Hall in the Czech Republic. Kehayova has won numerous prizes as a chamber soloist, including the Vienna Conservatory Competition “Fidelio”, and the “Concertino Prague”.
The Paganini Ensemble concert is a unique opportunity to experience intense emotions, without a doubt. The first season of concerts by the company Hispania Conciertos offers us a proposal that enriches the music scene and contributes to the Spanish public enjoying a greater musical offer, providing excellent artists and renowned orchestras from all over the world with more presence in the national territory and also to emerging national performers and composers.
MADRID. SATURDAY MAY 14. 7:30 p.m. NATIONAL AUDITORIUM OF MADRID. Chamber room. Príncipe de Vergara, 146. Tickets: €30, €49 and €15 for students.
2
