24.05.2017

C. Bechstein supports a fund-raising concert organized by Musicians4UnitedEurope

Renowned cellist Alban Gerhardt founded Musicians4UnitedEurope a few weeks ago. The association organized a concert entitled Buntes Europa (“Colorful Europe”) that was staged at Berlin’s Radialsystem V cultural center. This was the first in a series of concerts by European musicians to manifest their love for Europe and raise funds for the grassroots Pulse of Europe organization.

Twenty exceptionally talented soloists and a newly founded string orchestra performed excerpts from works by European and international composers on the stage of Radialsystem V. Sarah Willis, horn player with the Berliner Philharmoniker, was the presenter at this concert which was broadcast live on Facebook.

Several noted pianists participated in the pro-Europe event: playing a C. Bechstein D 282 concert grand, Annika Treutler and Alice Sara Ott performed a four-hand work by Antonín Dvorak, the Slavonic Dance in G Minor; Francesco Piemontesi played excerpts from Années de Pèlerinage by Franz Liszt; Tamara Stefanovich and Pierre-Laurent Aimard performed an austere piece by Vassos Nicolaou, a Cypriot composer who recently issued a new work entitled Frames. The C. Bechstein grand piano was also played by Pavlin Nechev (in duo with bassist Edicson Ruiz), Lauma Skride (in duo with violinist Franziska Hölscher) and Ohad Ben-Ari (together with a chamber music formation). The somber Requiem for Piano and Three Cellos by Austro-Hungarian composer and cellist David Popper broadened the diversity of the works performed at this exceptional concert.

Among the talented musicians who participated in the event were also Daishin Kashimoto (First Concert Master of the Berliner Philharmoniker), Claudio Bohórquez (cello), Guy Braunstein (violin), Wenzel Fuchs (clarinet), and Michael Barenboim (Daniel’s son, who performed several Romances by Beethoven).

Towards the end of the concert, Joachim Gauck, former president of Germany, expressed his joy and confidence in a short speech, stating: “We not only have good reasons to support Europe, we also have strong feelings about it.” As the Musicians4UnitedEurope string orchestra concluded this memorable concert performing the final movement of Tchaikovsky’s Serenade for Strings, the audience was fired with enthusiasm and gave the formation a standing ovation.

More information on Pulse of Europe: http://pulseofeurope.eu/

Photos @ Thomas Rosenthal/Radialsystem