DUO CAELEN – LEKA (Netherlands)
Peter Caelen, piano
Olsi Leka, cello
Pianist Peter Caelen studied at the Conservatories of Maastricht and Amsterdam with Frans van Beveren, Joop Celis and Willem Brons. He continued his studies with Peter Feuchtwanger in London and Thomas Duis in Saarbrücken. Furthermore he has taken part in masterclasses with musicians such as Peter Donohoe, Lazar Berman, Eugen Indjic, Piotr Paleczny and Jan Michiels. Peter Caelen played concerts throughout Europe, amongst others in Amsterdam (Concertgebouw), Rotterdam (De Doelen), Londen, Oxford (Holywell Music Room), Brussels (Main Hall Royal Conservatory), Saarbrücken (Saarbrücker Kammerkonzerte), Koblenz (Rhein Mosel Halle), Rome and Espoo (Sellosali). Furthermore he could also be heard at festivals such as the Mozart Festival, the Klevischer Klaviersommer, the Mendelssohn-Tage, the Feuchtwanger Piano Festival and the Kamarihelmi Festival. As a soloist he performed with several orchestras and as a chamber musician he worked with numerous musicians such as violinists Simone Lamsma, Esther Yoo, Lisanne Soeterbroek, Olsi Leka, Hans van Kerckhoven, the Carducci and Atrium String Quartets, members of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and the Symphonieorchester des Bayrischen Rundfunks and the wind soloists of the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen. Together with violinist Caroline Wagner and horn player René Pagen he forms Trio de Pecare.In 1994 Peter Caelen won a first prize in the Princess Christina Competition in Den Bosch (The Netherlands). In 2001 he was a finalist in the International Johannes Brahms Competition in Pörtschach (Austria) and in 2006 he was awarded a diploma during the World Music Competition Ibla Grand Prize in Italy. The Frits Philips Music Hall in Eindhoven presented him as ‘Zuiderlicht’ in 2005. As a promising young talented musician he was given the opportunity to compose his own concert series. Peter Caelen was to be heard and seen on several occasions on both Dutch and foreign broadcasting networks like Radio 4 and SWR. His cd’s include works by Nordgren, Berg, Schönberg, Beethoven, Brahms, Bach, Wagner, Debussy, Prokofief, Haydn, Schubert en Liszt.
Peter Caelen was invited to give masterclasses in the United Kingdom and Finland. Besides he is a frequent jury member in competitions both in the Netherlands and abroad (a.o. Belfius Classics). Since 2006 Peter Caelen has been Director of the Virenze Concerts near Maastricht (The Netherlands). From the 2014-2015 season he has as well been appointed artistic leader of the foundation Muziek Klassiek Gulpen (The Netherlands).
Olsi Leka started his cello studies at the age of six. At the age of ten, in 1990, he won the first prize at the « Young Cellists » competition (youth division) with congratulations from the jury. Four years later he won the first prize again in the same competition at the senior level. In 1999, he finished his studies with a « Gold Medal » at the «Tirana Secondary Music School» and continued further specialization at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Brussels, Belgium. In 2002 the Royal Conservatory of Brussels awarded him the honor prize « Van de Kerckhove ». He also received a scholarship from the Erasmus Program to complete an exchange with the Musik Hochschule in Cologne, Germany in the cello class of. Maria Kliegel. In 2003, Olsi Leka won the first prize at the « Concours d’Interpretation Musicale » in Brussels followed by the second prize at the « International Competition of Music Interpretation » in Limasol, Cyprus. In 2004 , at the age of 24, he became principal cellist of the National Orchestra of Belgium and guest teacher of cello at the Koninklijk Muziek Conservatorium in Brussel. Olsi Leka gives great importance to barokcello and contemporary music, as essential languages for an completed modern musician. The last months he played R.Schuman , P,I,Tchaikovsky, E.Lalo, J.Brahms cello concertos…Important highpoint was the succesfull interpretation of Henry Dutilleux cello concerto “Tout un monde lointain…” with the presence and the warm congratulations of the compositor himself. The last years, Olsi Leka has given masterclasses and has appeared as soloist or chambrist in most countries of europe and works regularly with the harpist Samia Bousbaïne with Duo Eden. He is one of the promesing cellists of the young generation of cellists in europe.
- Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) : 7 Variations on ‘Bei Männern, welche Liebe fühlen ” from Mozart’s opera Die Zauberflöte WoO 46
- Pietro Locatelli (1695-1764) : Sonata in D major
-Allegro
-Adagio
-Minuetto
- Eric Feldbusch (1922-2007) : Cadence et Allegro
-Interval
- Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) : 12 Variations on ‘Ein Mädchen oder Weibchen’ from Mozart’s opera Die Zauberflöte opus 66
- Henriëtte Bosmans (1895-1952) : Nuit calme
- Astor Piazolla (1921-1992) : Le grand tango
In coproduction with Festival Spectrum.
