OBERTON STRING OCTET (Austria, Latvia, Slovenia, Ukraine, Italy, Russia, Hungary)
Jevgēnijs Čepoveckis, violin
Veronika Brecelj, violin
Andrij Uhrak, violin
Alberto Stiffoni, violin
Serhij Žuravlov, viola
Hanga Fehér, viola
Floris Fortin, cello
Dorottya Standi, cello
Programme:
Franz Schubert (1797–1828), Sonata in B-flat major, D 960 (2nd movement, arr. for string octet)
Felix Mendelssohn (1809–1847), String Octet in E-flat major, op. 20.
Johan Svendsen (1840–1911), Octet in A major, op. 3
Since their inception in 2015, the Oberton string octet has performed widely throughout Europe and garnered recognition awards from music critics. Highlights include their debut at the Musikverein Graz, a performance at the Vienna Film Festival in Yekaterinburg (Russia), concert in Vienna Hofburg on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the Republic of Austria (in the presence of President Alexander Van der Bellen), several concerts at the Steirisches Kammermusikfestival as the ensemble in residence, as well as appearances at the Sounding Jerusalem Festival. Other noteworthy activities were participations at the 22nd Music Night of Sarajevo Festival, the Euro Chamber Festival in Gdansk (Poland), the opening of the Carinthian Summer in Ossiach (Austria), the Jeunesse concert series in Vienna etc. The octet also continues to perform various concerts at their training base of the University of Music and Performing Arts Graz where many of the performances were recorded and broadcast by the Austrian television ORF. The musicians also create the Oberton + project, in which they performed concerts with soloists such as Markus Schirmer, Erich Oskar Huetter and Jevgēnijs Čepoveckis as a chamber orchestra.
Made up of eight young musicians from all over the world, the ensemble finds great joy in the challenges and possibilities that come with being one of the more unusual formations for a chamber music ensemble. From standard works of the genre’s repertoire to distinctive arrangements, rarely performed works and world premieres, the ensemble continues to diversify the endless possibilities that eight string instruments have to offer. As a culturally diverse ensemble, the young musicians are united by common goals: to produce the highest level of concerts on local and international stages, as well as to promote the concept of unity through music.
The ensemble often plays at charity events and is active in the field of youth music education. It regularly attends primary and secondary schools to arouse interest in classical music in the young population.
The popularity of the Oberton String Quartet can be seen on social media – the ensemble has thousands of followers on Facebook, and its performance of Piazzolla’s Libertango recorded a quarter of a million views on YouTube.
Jevgēnijs Čepoveckis was born in 1995 in Riga (Latvia) and received his first violin lessons at the age of four. From 2008 until 2010 Jevgēnijs studied at the Conservatory of Vienna Private University and since 2010 at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Graz in the class of Prof. Boris Kuschnir, where he has recently completed his Bachelor studies with recognition. He is a prizewinner of several awards at national and international competitions. As a sought-after soloist, he has performed throughout Europe and Russia with various orchestras. As a passionate chamber musician, Jevgēnijs regularly performs at prominent festivals, such as the Styriarte Festival, Carinthian Summer festival, Festival St. Gallen, Arsonore, and Tiroler Festspiele; with renowned soloists such as Benjamin Schmid, Nils Mönkemeyer, Markus Schirmer, Danjulo Ishizaka, Barnabás Kelemen, Torleif Thedeen, Thomas Selditz, and Clemens Hagen. In 2018 Jevgēnijs was selected as the Vienna Konzerthaus’s Great Talent young artist in residence. He performs on a 1645 Nicolo Amati “Ex Christian Ferras” violin.
Veronika Brecelj was born in Slovenia in 1994 and began taking violin lessons at the age of four. She completed her Bachelor’s degree at the University of Arts Berlin under Tomasz Tomaszewski, and went on to continue her studies at the University of Performing Arts Graz with Boris Kuschnir. In 2019 she finished master studies with top honours in the class of Silvia Marcovici. Veronika has participated in several international competitions and has won numerous prizes. First prize wins include Paolo Spincich Competition, Antonio Salieri Competiton, and Svirel Competition among many others. Veronika has given numerous recitals around Europe. She performed as a soloist with orchestras such as the Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra, the RTV Slovenia Symphony Orchestra, and the Orchestra of the Conservatory of Music Ljubljana. She also regularly records for Radio Slovenia. Veronica was a member of the European Union Youth Orchestra and also substitutes in the Slovenian National Opera Orchestra and in the Orchestra Filarmonica della Fenice in Venice. In addition to her career as a soloist, Veronika is also actively devoted to playing chamber music.
Born in 1993, violinist Andrij Uhrak received his first musical training in his home country of Ukraine. From 2011 until 2013 he studied at the Lviv University of Music. Since then he has been in the class of Vesna Stankovic at the University of Music and Performing Arts Graz. Andrii has won several prizes at numerous competitions in Ukraine and has participated in many festivals, concerts and music academies in Austria, Germany, Poland, Slovenia, Ukraine, Switzerland and Bosnia & Herzegovina.
Alberto Stiffoni was born in Treviso (Italy) and received his first violin lessons at the age of four. He is currently a student at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Graz in the class of Andrej Bielov, as well as at the Robert Schumann Hochschule Düsseldorf in the class of Noè Inui. Alberto has received further musical impulses in masterclasses with Marco Rizzi, Krzysztof Wegrzyn, Pavel Vernikov, and Igor Ozim. He has won several competitions in Italy and abroad such as special prize at the Odessa International Violin Competition in 2018. As a soloist, Alberto has performed the Beethoven’s Triple Concerto with the Südwestdeutsche Philharmonie in Konstanz in October 2017. In September 2017, the Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della RAI selected Alberto to participate in various projects with them.
Serhii Zhuravlov was born in Russia in 1994 and began violin lessons at the age of five at the N9 Music School in Kharkiv, Ukraine. Winning his first competition at the age of eight, Serhii went on to take part in many competitions in Russia and Ukraine. At the age of twelve, he performed works by Bach, Vivaldi, Spohr and Wieniawski as soloist with the Kharkiv Philharmonic Orchestra. In 2009 he continued his studies at the Music College of Kharkiv with Juriy Podlesniy. In 2013 Serhii completed his studies with recognition and successfully auditioned to study viola at the University of Music and Performing Arts Graz in the class of Matthias Maurer, and Christian Euler. Serhii has performed widely throughout Europe, including concerts in Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Slovenia, Croatia, Italy and Hungary. In 2017 he participated in the 13th annual Masterclasses in Schaffhausen, Switzerland, receiving tuition from Valeriy Sokolov, Werner Bärtschi, and Ivan Klánský.
Hanga Fehér was born in 1997 in Miskolc (Hungary) and began playing the violin at the age of seven. From 2011, Hanga studied violin at the Bartók Béla Conservatory in Budapest, graduating in 2015, and continue her studies of viola at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Graz. She also took part in several competitions, winning the second prize at the Koncz János Violin Competition. As a violinist and violist, Hanga has attended master classes by many eminent mentors. She also performed in France on tour with the Egressy Béni Symphony Orchestra, as well as having participated in various projects with the Bayerische Junge Philharmonie in 2015. Hanga is currently in the class of Gertrud Weinmeister at the Vienna Private University of Arts.
Floris Fortin was born in Graz in 1995. He completed his matriculation in 2015 at the music highschool Dreihackengasse in Graz and received his first cello lessons with Herlinde Schwarz at the Johann-Joseph-Fux Conservatory, after which he moved to the pre-study class of Andrea Molnar at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Graz. Since 2014 Floris has been studying in the class of Prof. Julian Arp. As well as winning first prizes on multiple occasions at the Austrian national Prima la Musica competition, Floris has gained orchestral experience as a member of the Musikgymnasium Graz Orchestra, the Vienna Jeunesse Orchestra as well as the Recreation Grosses Orchester Graz. Apart from his artistic studies in Graz, Floris regularly takes part in international masterclasses with renowned teachers such as Rudolf Leopold, Reinhard Latzko, Franz Bartolomey, Christoph Richter, Christian Poltéra, and many others.
Dorottya Standi was born in 1993 in Hungary, where she won the main Hungarian national cello competition as well as chamber music competition at a young age. As a participant of several international competitions, Dorottya won the second prize at the International David Popper competition as well as the second prize at the Classic Pure Vienna International Music Competition. As a soloist, she has performed with the Zalaegerszeg, and Savaria Symphony Orchestras, playing concerts in Finland and Poland. Dorottya received her first cello lessons at the age of nine with Euniké Balassa and later with Antal Pálkövi. Since 2012, Dorottya has been studying in the class of Rudolf Leopold at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Graz, where she completed her Bachelor studies in 2017 with distinction and is currently enrolled in a Master’s degree programme. Dorottya has received artistic impulses from musicians such as Heinrich Schiff, Dmitri Ferschtman, Reinhard Latzko, Claudio Bohorquez, Franz Bartolomey, Eberhard Feltz, Patrick Demenga, and Marko Ylönen.
Admission free. Free tickets can be picked up the last hour before the concert at the entrance to the National Gallery. The number of seats is limited, so we advise you to arrive a little earlier.
Due to safety measures to contain the spread of COVID-19 infections, all visitors must wear protective facemasks, disinfect their hands regularly, and observe a safety distance of at least 1.5 m. According to the NIJZ regulation, the collection of personal data of all visitors is mandatory, the data must be kept for 30 days. Entry to the event is only possible with a ticket, visitors are asked to enter the venue individually, hostesses will accompany them to a vacant seat. To ensure safety, we kindly ask all visitors to strictly follow the instructions. If you suspect that you have come in contact with the coronavirus or are showing typical signs of the disease, do not attend the event. Let’s take care of ourselves and our loved ones.
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