“A fine instinct for great music off the beaten path.” BAYERISCHER RUNDFUNK

 

Originally formed as a one-time project during their studies, a duo developed out of the collaboration of the two musicians, a duo that has meanwhile existed for thirteen years and devoted itself to the in-depth preparation of major chamber music works for violin and piano. Curiosity and artistic flexibility determine both the conceptions of the programs as well as the working method. The two musicians handle the various works with respect and knowledge of the historical context in equal measure, and in this way develop their own approach to the essence of the music. The duo’s repertoire is wide-ranging and extends from the Viennese Classic to premieres of contemporary music. Moreover, both musicians have a great interest in rediscovering forgotten and seldom performed works.

The debut CD with works by Karol Szymanowski, enthusiastically received by the trade press and described as “standard-setting,” was followed in 2019 by a recording of works by George Enescu that was rewarded the Supersonic Award and received a nomination for the International Classical Music Award. The present recording came into being in collaboration with Reinhard Goebel and is the duo’s first on Audax Records.

 

 

Henrike Brüggen, piano

 

Henrike Brüggen has repeatedly been a prizewinner at piano competitions such as the International Steinway Piano Competition, the national “Jugend musiziert” competition, and the International Piano Campus Competition in Paris. She was also a scholarship holder of the Oskar and Vera Ritter Foundation and the German Music Competition, and was accepted into the Bundesauswahl Konzerte Junger Künstler program. She has appeared as a soloist with the Sinfonia Varsovia and the Göttingen Symphony Orchestra and given concerts under the auspices of renowned festivals such as the Schwetzingen Festival and the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Festival. Radio recordings have been made for Deutschland Radio, the North German Radio (NDR) and the Southwest German Radio (SWR).

Henrike Brüggen was born in Stadtoldendorf, Lower Saxony, and began playing piano at the age of six. She studied in Hanover and Detmold with Karl-Heinz Kämmerling, Heidi Köhler, and Anatol Ugorski, graduating in 2007 with a concert diploma. For a number of years, Henrike Brüggen has devoted herself intensively to historical performance practice, which led to collaboration on a regular basis with Reinhard Goebel and to post-graduate studies at the Mozarteum in Salzburg. She has received further artistic impulses from internationally renowned artists and ensembles, including Sándor Falvai, Gyöngyi Keveházi, Thomas Brandis, the Alban Berg Quartet, Hatto Beyerle, and Ulf Schneider.

Henrike Brüggen has held teaching positions at the Colleges of Music and Theater in Hanover and Munich, and has been on the faculty of the Berlin University of the Arts since 2018.

 

 

Marie Radauer-Plank, violin

 

In 2014 Marie Radauer-Plank won second prize at the Bach Competition Leipzig and has been prizewinner at numerous other international competitions, including the Competition of the Cultural Circle of the German Industry, the Gradus Competition Vienna, and the International Louis Spohr Competition Weimar. Her busy concert schedule has thus far taken her throughout Europe, the USA, and Asia. As a soloist, she has performed with the Munich Radio Orchestra, the Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra, the Folkwang Chamber Orchestra, the Orchestra della Accademia Mahler, and the iPalpiti Chamber Orchestra. In the area of chamber music, she has performed with artists such as Julius Berger, Wolfram Christ, Leonid Gorokhov, Lukas Hagen, Tatjana Masurenko, Hagai Shaham, Kian Soltani, and with members of the Berlin Philharmonic.

Marie Radauer-Plank was born in Salzburg and received her first violin lesson at the age of four. She studied in Salzburg, Hanover, and Brussels with Benjamin Schmid, Lukas Hagen, Ulf Schneider, and Augustin Dumay, completing her violin studies in 2014 with a concert diploma. Having a wide range of interests, she additionally studied baroque violin with Reinhard Goebel, with whom she still maintains a close collaboration, and has since then been a welcome guest in ensembles such as the Berlin Baroque Soloists, Concerto Melante, and Ensemble Diderot.

Marie Radauer-Plank received support as a scholarship holder from the French Banque populaire Natixis foundation. She plays on an Italian violin by Dom Nicolo Amati from 1746.