Monday at Last with with Strings and Wind

In Monday at Last, violinist Cecilia Zilliacus and cellist Kati Raitinen welcome guest performers and present both newer and older works. At this concert, we meet French flute player Joséphine Olech, solo flute player with the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, and Robert Ek, clarinettist with the ensemble Norrbotten NEO, which specialises in contemporary music.

Together, they present the shimmering, dramatic contemporary sounds of music by Fausto Romitelli, Rouzbeh Rafie and Britta Byström. Byström’s piece for solo violin does not only present notes on the instrument – it is performed with a choreography by Joakim Stephenson! We also hear Villa-Lobo’s masterful Assobio a Játo (The Jet Whistle), which involves the very top register of the flute.

In contrast, we hear Marin Marais’ atmospheric variations on La Folia, a well-known, 500-year-old melody. We also get to hear two of Haydn’s vivid and charming ”London” trios”, the one in G major and the one in C major. This group of trios – there are four in all – were incredibly popular among the skilled amateur flute players of the eighteenth century.