August 15, 2008
Sumptuous conclusion for organ and sopranos
Wednesday, August 20, 2008, St. Matthew’s Cathedral
Last appointment with the 42nd edition of AsiagoFestival, Wednesday, Aug. 20 (9 p.m.) at the Cathedral of St. Matthew in Asiago, which will feature three German artists: organist Anton Guggemos, soprano Cecilia Tabellion and mezzo-soprano Gabi Steck, engaged in a program of sacred music of extraordinary refinement. Particularly significant, in terms of more than just music, will be the presence in Asiago of Guggemos, who was a pupil of the unforgettable Fiorella Benetti Brazzale to whom the Associazione Amici della Musica di Asiago, which organizes the Festival, is named, just as it is decidedly not coincidental that the concerts of this new and exciting season of music on the Plateau will end at the Ruffatti organ around which – in the 1960s – Fiorella Benetti Brazzale gathered exceptional performers to give life to the first editions of the Festival. Organ that the asiaghese community strongly wanted to restore in 2007, providing also for enlargements and modernizations, then inaugurating it with
an extraordinary appointment with the French composer and organist Jean Guillou, guest of AsiagoFestival in October last year.
AsiagoFestival concludes by emphasizing once again its main peculiarities: continuity under the sign of tradition but also new protagonists and new music: ingredients that make it an artistic and human experience increasingly appreciated by the public, able – well beyond the established clichés – to choose quality proposals, as evidenced by the series of “all out” recorded by the concerts of the Asiago festival.
Also this year, in fact, the eight appointments of AsiagoFestival have proposed the listening of masterpieces “classic” and a lot of contemporary music, as well as two world premieres of two works commissioned by the Festival itself and dedicated to the City of Asiago: “Duetto” for two violins by Kzysztof Meyer and “O lilium con- vallium” for two cellos and male chorus spatialized by Gio- vanni Bonato. All this, always entrusted to the artistic sensibility of excellent performers, as can only be demanded by an ar- tistic director of such great and established international renown as Julius
Berger.
ASIAGOFESTIVAL was organized by the Cultural Association “Friends of Music of Asiago” – “Fiorella Benetti Brazzale”, in collaboration with the Parish of St. Matthew, with the contribution and collaboration of the City of Asiago, Department of Tourism and Culture.
Special thanks go to Banca Popolare di Vicenza, Burro delle Alpi – Alpilatte, Gran Moravia, Bassan Bernardo e Figli, and Rigoni di Asiago for their support, which was instrumental in the staging of the season, as well as other private firms who, by helping the event, show sensitivity to the activities that enrich our guests’ stay and cultural experiences on the plateau.
THE PROTAGONISTS OF THE AUGUST 20 CONCERT
ANTON GUGGEMOS, organ
He was born in 1946 in Steingaden in lower Bavaria. He lives in Wildsteig, a picturesque mountain vil- lage near the Wieskirche basilica in the province of Weilheim- Schongau. He received his first organ lessons during Gymnasium from the then Kapell- meister of Freising Cathedral Prof. Max Eham. After graduating from high school he was urged to academic study by Munich cathedral organist Franz Lehrndorfer. He continued his studies in Salzburg with Elisabeth Ullmann and Lionell Rogg. He took master classes with Gaston Litaize, Nicolas Danby and Fiorella Benetti Brazzale. In 1973 he was called by Prelate Alfons Satzger as titular organist at the Wieskirche, the jewel of the Rokokò. In 1978 he founded the festival “Abendkonzerte in der Wieskirche,” which annually enlivens the musical life of the region with internationally renowned soloists, choirs and “ensembles.” His intense concert activity takes him to many European countries: Italy, France, Switzerland, Holland, Austria, Czechia and Hungary. He carries out intense activity in Germany in renowned musical institutions and accompanies important instrumental performers and singers on the organ. He has a marked sensitivity for Baroque music, and his artistic activity is documented by numerous recordings, most of them made on the organ of the Wies Basilica.
CECILIA TABELLION, soprano
Originally from Saarland, she began her early basic musical and instrumental training in transverse flute, choirs and orchestras. After finishing her studies and graduating in Social Pedago- gia in Benediktbeuren, she embarked on singing studies at the academy of su- perior studies, in addition to early music, sacred music and opera. His name becomes known at numerous concerts of sacred music particularly in southern Germany. He gives frequent concerts with members of the “Munchner Philharmonie,” and distinguishes himself in works such as Honegger’s “King David” or Bach cantatas. He makes many CD and radio recordings with sacred music and opera. He can be heard as a soloist on the CD “Facetten romantischer Chormusik” by the “Philarmonischen Munchen” choir. Beside her concert activity she is engaged in ‘teaching at the “Musikzentrum” in Penzberg. On stage she has performed di- verse roles such as Queen of the Night, Adele, Constance, Susanna, Pamina, etc. With pia- nist Alexander Schelnin since 1999, she has formed a duo beloved by audiences and critics in numerous concerts of Lieder and opera arias.
GABI STECK, mezzo-soprano
Born in 1964 in Schongau, Lower Bavaria, she began the study of music under Anton Guggemos in the Wieskirche, and continued her sacred music studies in Regensburg between 1984 and 1987. He completed the study of singing in Regen- sburg and Saarbrucken. Since 1992, alongside her work in various vocal “ensembles,” she has been engaged in the Munich Cathedral as choir director and training of young male and female voices. She has often sung for the soundtrack of numerous film works with composer Enjott Schneider (Herbstmilch, Schlafes Bru- der, Schwabenkinder); she also lent her voice to Princess Lilalu in the “Augsburger Puppenkiste” show of the same name.
PROGRAM
Jean Joseph Mouret (1682-1738) “Rondeau” in D major from “Sinfonies de Fanfares” for organ
Domenico Scarlatti (1685-1757) “Salve Regina” Marian antiphon for two sopranos and organ
Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741) “Adagio” in D major, for organ
Benedikt Biechteler (1689-1759) “Ave Regina Coelorum” – Hymn for mezzo-soprano, flute and organ
Franz Liszt (1811-1886) “Ave Maria” on the theme of Arcadelt, for organ
Joseph Gabriel Rheinberger (1839-1901) “Ave Maria” for two sopranos and organ
Leon Boellmann (1862-1897) “Preiere a Notre Dame,” for organ
Pietro Terziani (1765-1831) “Salve Regina” for soprano and organ
Theodore Salome (1834-1896) “Grand Choeur” in A major, for organ
Camille Saint Saens (1834-1896) “Ave Maria” for two sopranos and organ
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) “Sub tuum praesidium” for two sopranos and or- gano
Jean Baptiste Senaillé (1687-1730) “Sonata” in D minor, for organ
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) “Wir eilen mit schwachen, doch emsigen Schrit- ten” duet for two sopranos and organ from Cantata No.78
Wilhelm Friedrich Ernst Bach (1759-1845) “Toccata” in C major, for organ
TAMBURINO CONCERT
Wednesday, Aug. 20, 9 p.m. – ASIAGO – St. Matthew Cathedral
organ: Anton Guggemos
soprano: Cecilia Tabellion
mezzo soprano: Gabi Steck
music by: Mouret, Scarlatti, Vivaldi, Biechteler, Liszt, Rheinberger, Boellmann, Terziani, Salome, Saint-Saens, Mozart, Senaille, Bach
Free admission, allowed only as long as seats last, but no later than the beginning of the concert.
Info: www.asiagofestival.it