A world premiere with Sol Gabetta and Patricia Kopatchinskaja

Sol Gabetta, Violoncello

Patricia Kopatchinskaja, Violin

Gstaad Festival Orchestra

Kristjan Järvi, Artistic Direction

Recorded on 15 August 2015 in the festival tent in Gstaad

A quote by Mark Anthony Turnage:

„Dialogue is a lyrical double concerto for violin and cello soloists accompanied by strings and percussion. The overall feeling is simple and light with rhythms close to folk music. The opening pair of movements are fairly short, the first being an argument between the two soloist while the second is a poignant love duet. The last movement is a set of variations which is more expansive in scope and lasts as long as the first two movements combined. The language is at times tonal with each variation moving in different key areas working up to an emphatic climax and concluding with a very lyrical coda.“

Patricia Kopatchinskaja – Sol Gabetta

Patricia Kopatchinskaja – Sol Gabetta: Two outstanding artists with incredible careers. They could simply stick to the repertoire their instruments offer. But they both love the music way too much: They always aim at discovering new and challenging masterpieces. The two friends have chosen to enlarge the momentarily rather modest repertoire for violin and cello. And what better place could they find to experiment with and uncover new and exciting music? Christoph Müller, the Menuhin Festival’s artistic director, encourages the two exceptional musicians to develop personal projects and re-define their artistic boundaries.

«We’re like sisters»

In 2014 Patricia Kopatchinskaja and Sol Gabetta presented their audience in Saanen with their first premiere: They commissioned the Latvian composer Pēteris Vasks to write them a duet. Two years later, he wrote a cello concerto for Sol Gabetta. Patricia Kopatchinskaja confirms that the two of them understand each other without words. «We’re like sisters, on stage as well as in private. We’ve been playing together for more than ten years and we never had to talk much about our work, we simply connect with each other. Sol’s timbre and her irresistible way of expressing herself keep inspiring me just like they did years ago when we both started out.»

Another premiere and a social media campaign

In the following year they asked the English composer Mark Anthony Turnage to write music not only for cello and violin, but also for an orchestra accompanying them. Turnage immediately sensed the perfect symbiosis between the artists Patricia Kopatchinskaja and Sol Gabetta and created a “Dialogue”, adding a harp and a few drums. Kristian Järvi and the Gstaad Festival Orchestra’s strings joined them in what turned out to be a typical «Menuhin Festival» adventure for these singular artists.

Their latest collaboration is called Take Two II: Sol Gabetta and Patricia Kopatchinskaja launched a competition on social media, searching for the best fresh and novel music. They chose four pieces for cello and violin and premiered them on July 30 2018 in Zweisimmen.

Patricia Kopatchinskaja

Artist Description

Who ever doubted that musical interpretations could be spontaneous and unexpected, should come and enjoy a concert of Patricia Kopatchinskaja. The Moldavian violinist is full of vitality - every part of her body from her fingers to her feet (she often performs barefoot!) sparks with energy. Hence, it should not come as a surprise that she entertains a vivid dialogue between the music of the past and the present: She's a favourite of contemporary composers - they couldn't have found a better ambassador for their cause. In the past, we at the Gstaad Menuhin Festival have often been a witness of her new musical adventures: She introduced us (together with her friend and musical ally Sol Gabetta) to new masterpieces by acclaimed contemporary composers such as Jorge Sánchez Chiong, Mark Anthony Turnage, Pēteris Vasks und Francisco Coll.

Corelli in Moldavia

These days virtually every artist has a personal website. Most often however they're full of bland marketing. Patricia Kopatchinskaja's webpage is wonderfully different. Here you can find texts written by the artist herself sharing her thoughts on her work as well as personal ideas on diverse subjects («Why is one a musician?» or «With Terre des Hommes in Moldavia»)   Patricia Kopatchinskaja comes from Moldavia and maintains a strong connection to her homeland. She shows a particular interest in intercultural exchange: «Ever since the Roman Empire Moldavia with its Black Sea coast has had a close relationship to the Mediterranean and its people. You can picture the great Italian Baroque violinists (Corelli, Tartini) having played like the violinists in the Moldavian countryside nowadays: With an exceptional sense for rhythm and harmony. They're very open to new influences, especially from Arabia. » Patricia Kopatchinskaja embodies just that: The entire world in one single violin.
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Sol Gabetta

Artist Description

You couldn’t have come up with a better name for Sol “The sun” Gabetta. She’s as radiant whenever she takes the stage, as when you meet her backstage. She’s kind and generous with her time. For nearly two decades Sol Gabetta has been a leading presence at Gstaad, having become something like the festival’s ambassador. Every year we are blessed with her new projects, often in form of world premieres.

The Gabetta family’s bear paws

We all heard about her great career, but little is known about how it started. Once at Saanen Sol Gabetta shared with us the following story: «I was three years old and my brother Andrés was eight. My parents gave both of us a violin. But – of course – Andrés played much better, because he was much older. However, one day I was offered cello lessons.» Thanks to the Suzuki-method Sol made very soon great progress. «I immediately sensed that the cello was right for me. It feels more natural than the violin. I’m small and have huge hands. We all have bear paws in our family. I can’t fathom how Andrés manages with his violin.»

Cappella Gabetta – For the Love of Old Music

So the years passed and the each of the siblings found their own way. «After Andrés got his diploma, he met Christophe Coin (the great cellist who specializes in the so-called period performance. He immersed himself in the Baroque Music. And even though I followed his journey with keen interest, I focused on the grand concert repertoire… up until I discovered the old music myself. That was whilst I was working on the first «Progetto Vivaldi» for Sony.»

Sol’s interpretation of Vivaldi, the so-called «Red Priest», was a huge success, so that Sony immediately wanted her to do another record. And Sol Gabetta realized that this would allow her to collaborate with her brother: Thus, the Cappella Gabetta was born! And from then on, the Cappella Gabetta became a regular at the Gstaad Menuhin Festival.

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