Baiba Skride The remarkable Latvian violinist, Baiba Skride, not yet in her mid-twenties, is rapidly earning a reputation as one of today’s most promising young artists. As the Suddeutsche Zeitung noted of her Munich Philharmonic debut with Mikko Frank in April 2004, “Miracles do not appear from nowhere. A talent needs strength, growth and a structured learning process….she impressed not only with her brilliant playing technique, but also with the profound earnestness of her musical interpretation.” In a career in which she advocates continued study, carefully selected engagements and supportive guidance, Baiba Skride is gradually reaching the enviable position of an international career. First-prize winner of the 2001 Brussels Queen Elisabeth Competition, Baiba Skride was born into a musical Latvian family in Riga in 1981. She took first lessons in Riga aged four and, in 1995, transferred as a young student to the Conservatory of Music and Theatre in Rostock, where she has studied since then with Professor Petru Munteanu. She has also attended master classes with Ruggiero Ricci and Lewis Kaplan. Prior to her success in Brussels, Baiba Skride had already been awarded the first prize at such international competitions as Kloster Schöntal (Germany) in 1995, Jeunesse Musicales in Bucharest (Romania) in 1997 and the Lipizer Competition in Gorizia (Italy) in 2000. Baiba Skride’s 2004/05 season continues with debuts and re-invitations including a return to the Helsinki Philharmonic/Luke Dollman, the CPE Bach Orchestra/Hartmut Haenchen and other engagements with Tampere Philharmonic/John Storgårds, Malmö Symphony/Christoph Koenig, a return to the UK as soloist with the Copenhagen Philharmonic Orchestra and to Japan, with the Seoul Philharmonic and Tokyo Symphony where she will work again with Mikko Frank. In the USA she makes her debuts with the Detroit Symphony/Neeme Järvi and Cincinnati Symphonies/Paavo Järvi. In Summer 2004 her debut CDs for Sony were released in the form of her debut solo and concerto CD. Highlights of Baiba Skride’s season 2003/2004 have included debut appearances with the Munich Philharmonic under Mikko Franck, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra under Marin Alsop, the Orchestra Regionale della Toscana under Lü Jia and the Dresden Philharmonic under Paavo Berglund, as well as a tour of Germany with the Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach Orchestra under Hartmut Haenchen. In February 2004 she gave a stunning West Coast debut with the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra under Jeffrey Kahane. Baiba returns to Tokyo for a recital and a concert at the Tokyo Opera City Concert Hall, both under the auspices of the Nippon Music Foundation. In Summer 2004, Baiba Skride gives her concerto début at the Salzburg Festival with the Mozarteum Orchestra under Hubert Soudant. Other festival appearances include the Delft (Holland) and Kuhmo (Finland) chamber music festivals. Baiba Skride has also performed with the Orchestre National de Belgique under Lorin Maazel, and also with Mikko Frank, the Deutsche Sinfonie-Orchester Berlin, with the Gewandhaus Orchester Leipzig under Herbert Blomstedt at the Hong Kong Arts Festival, the Radio Symphony Orchestra Frankfurt, Het Residentie Orkest Den Haag, Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich, Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg, and Orchestre Philharmonique de Liège. She made her UK debut with the Philharmonia Orchestra under Paul Daniel. She has worked with the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra under Hans Graf, the Russian National Orchestra under Paavo Berglund. In her native Latvia she has been a regular guest of the Latvian National Orchestra most recently under Olari Elts. She made her USA concerto debut in 2002/03 with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra with Gilbert Varga. Baiba Skride has a wonderful recital partner in her sister, Lauma Skride, and 2004/05 sees them make their recital debut in the US performing in Washington DC’s Kennedy Center. They have given recitals in Paris, Beijing and Tokyo as well as Rheingau Music Festival, Kissinger Sommer, at the Festival de Montpellier and the Palais des Beaux Arts, the Lockenhaus, Delft and Oslo Chamber Music Festivals. In summer 2004 she gave recital débuts at the Kuhmo Chamber Music Festival and the Bath International Festival next season. She returns to Rheingau Musik Festival and Delft International Chamber Music Festival. In addition to duo recitals, she also regularly appears in trio concerts with her sisters Linda Skride (Viola) and Lauma Skride (piano). Baiba Skride plays the Stradivarius "Huggins" violin (1708), which is generously on loan to her from the Nippon Music Foundation. Jérôme Ducros Jérôme Ducros was awarded a Premier Prix avec félicitations by unanimous decision of the jury at the CNSM de Paris in 1993, and in 1994 won second prize and the special prize for the best performance of the set piece (Incises by Pierre Boulez, premiered in the final round) at the first Umberto Micheli International Piano Competition, organised by Maurizio Pollini with Luciano Berio as president of the jury. Since then his concert career has blossomed. He has given recitals at the Festival de Radio France et de Montpellier, the Orangerie de Sceaux, La Roque d'Anthéron, the Théâtre du Châtelet, the Auditorium du Louvre, Radio France (where he is a regular guest), as well as in London, Geneva, Rome, Berlin, New York, Tokyo, South Africa, and at the Amsterdam Concertgebouw. He has been heard as a soloist with such ensembles as the Johannesburg Philharmonic Orchestra, Philharmonie de Chambre de Paris, Orchestre National de Lyon, and Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne, under conductors including Emmanuel Krivine, Marc Minkowski, Christopher Hogwood, and Sergiu Comissiona. As an enthusiastic chamber musician, he has played alongside Augustin Dumay, Michel Portal, Michel Dalberto, Paul Meyer, Gérard Caussé, Tabea Zimmermann, Jean-Guihen Queyras, Renaud and Gautier Capuçon, the Quintette Moraguès, the Quatuor Parisii, and Jérôme Pernoo with whom he has formed a duo since 1995. In 1999 he met the American soprano Dawn Upshaw, with whom he has given recitals at the Salzburg Mozarteum, the Wigmore Hall in London, the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, Lincoln Center in New York, and the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées in Paris; the last-named concert was recorded by Erato. In the 2003-04 season, after a tour of Japan, he made notable appearances with the Orchestre National de Lille, Ensemble Orchestral de Paris, Orchestre Français des Jeunes, and the Rotterdam Philharmonic, with such conductors as Alain Altinoglu, Paul Meyer, James Judd, and Emmanuel Krivine. Among the works he frequently performs in recital is his transcription for two hands of Schubert's Fantasy for piano duet, which has been enthusiastically acclaimed by public and press. This is included in a CD of fantasies by Schubert (Ligia Digital) which won a Diapason d'Or de l'Année in 2001. The score of this tran¬scription was published by Billaudot in September 2004. Program Schubert
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Sonatina in D major for violin and piano, D.384 Ravel
- Violin Sonata in G Prokofiev
- Violin Sonata No.1 F minor Op.80 Ravel - Tzigane, Rhapsodie de concert for violin and piano |