© O/Modernt
O/Modernt New Generation Orchestra combines the forces of O/Modernt Chamber Orchestra and New Generation scheme that was launched by Hugo Ticciati and O/Modernt (Swedish for ‘Un/Modern’) in 2017. In this special formation, the members of O/Modernt Chamber Orchestra are sharing the stage with a group of talented young musicians from Stockholm who have been offered a unique opportunity to perform in concert with top-level professional players from all over Europe. The orchestra performs innovative and adventurous programmes in the spirit of O/Modernt, combining old and new in totally unexpected ways. Regular soloist collaborations include world-class artists such as Evelyn Glennie, Steven Isserlis, Anne Sofie von Otter and Nils Landgren, as well as jazz artists, rappers and choreographers. O/Modernt New Generation scheme fellows regularly perform at the annual Festival O/Modernt in Stockholm and often complement O/Modernt Chamber Orchestra on tour. Over the last decade, they have performed in Wigmore Hall and Kings Place in London, Wiener Musikverein and Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ in Amsterdam, and return to Young Euro Classic to make their fourth appearance at the festival.
Konzerthaus, Berlin
© Kaupo Kikkas
The musical world of the Swedish violinist Hugo Ticciati is characterized by infinite curiosity. The 41-year-old, brother of the chief conductor of Berlin’s DSO, Robin Ticciati, includes literature, philosophy, spirituality and meditation in his programmes, just like dance and kinetic painting. He performs the classical violin concertos, but also delves into contemporary music with verve. Ticciati has works by Takemitsu, Shchedrin, Glass and Lera Auerbach in his repertoire and has also given works by Albert Schnelzer, Sergey Yevtushenko, Erkki-Sven Tüür and Judith Weir their world premieres recently. He is a passionate chamber musician, working with the percussionist Evelyn Glennie, pianists Angela Hewitt and Olli Mustonen and the trombonist Nils Landgren, for example. In addition, Hugo Ticciati is the artistic director of the O/Modernt Kammarorkester, which is in residence at Stockholm’s concert hall Musikaliska. Recently he has been invited to work with the Swedish and Australian Chamber orchestras as well as Stuttgarter Kammerorchester.
© John Márrquez
Mezzo-soprano Luciana Mancini is a perfect fit for the international, border-busting profile of O/Modernt. Born in Sweden, but of Chilean descent, with both parents being musicians, her upbringing was embraced by classical music and folk music from around the world, which naturally led Luciana into exploring several colours of vocal expression from a very early age, having widened her artistic career to diverse genres, adapting to the different styles with great care and fascination. She received bachelor degrees in classical singing and Early Music performance practice at the Royal Conservatory of Den Haag in Holland. She joined the Opera Studio while working on her Master thesis on Italian monodies of the 1600´s, receiving her Masters degree from the Early Music department in 2009. In Berlin, the singer has appeared several times at the Berlin State Opera, thus in Sasha Waltz’ production of Gluck’s Orfeo and in Cavalieri’s Rappresentazione di Anima e Corpo under René Jacobs. Luciana Mancini also enjoys an intense collaboration with Christina Pluhar and her ensemble L’Arpeggiatia, in whose programmes Los Imposibles, Via Crucis and All’improviso she has appeared in numerous European cities.
© Mariya Nesterovska
Marcelo Nisinman brings the Argentine colour to this O/Modernt programme. Born in Buenos Aires in 1970, he studied bandoneon and composition in his hometown, then studying with Detlev Müller-Siemens in Basel, where he still lives today. As a bandoneonist, he has performed with artists such as Martha Argerich, Gidon Kremer, Gary Burton and Fernando Suarez Paz, but also with the WDR Big Band and the Philadelphia Orchestra. He has composed numerous works for bandoneon and orchestra in which he mixes traditional tango with elements of contemporary composition, for example in Dark Blue Tango and the two compositions Hombre Tango and 4 am Tango. In addition, he has combined the bandoneon with a string quartet and in a trio with electric guitar and double bass. The broad spectrum of Nisinman’s output is reflected in his discography, which features duos for bandoneon and double bass (Al Principio), solo pieces (Cumparsitos), stage music (Desvios Tango Theater Music) and his arrangement of Piazzolla’s María de Buenos Aires.
© Michael Brus
For the cellist Julian Arp, participating in the O/Modernt concert in Berlin is almost a home game. He studied at the Hanns Eisler Academy of Music in Berlin with Boris Pergamenschikow. He continued his studies with David Geringas and Eberhard Feltz, graduating in 2008. Since his soloist debut as a 16-year-old at the Schwetzingen Festival in 1997, Arp has appeared as a soloist and chamber musician at festivals including the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival, the Rheingau Music Festival, Beethovenfest Bonn, Beauvais, Montreux, SoNoRo Bucharest, Stellenbosch, Stift Festival, the Oxford Chamber Music Festival and IMS Prussia Cove. The Duo Arp/Frantz has released three CDs. Contemporary composers, including Samir Odeh-Tamimi, Sven-Ingo Koch, Sarah Nemtsov and Violeta Dinescu have written pieces for him. He is a co-founder of the festival Zeitkunst which is dedicated to chamber music and contemporary literature and has been a guest at the Centre Pompidou, Radialsystem Berlin, Israel, England and Rio de Janeiro.
© Katarzyna Borek
Leandro Mancini-Olivos is a Swedish-Chilean drummer and percussionist based in London. Growing up in a family of popular and classical musicians, Leandro was exposed to diverse music from all corners of the world and has developed a wide spectrum of musical genres. Performing and recording on sessions that span from modern jazz to baroque and from Welsh folk to West African rhythms, Leandro has been invited to appear at some of Europe’s most prestigious venues and festivals. In 2004 Leandro began his freelance career in Santiago as a sideman for local and international artists such as Miguel Botafogo aka Don Vilanova. In 2009 he moved to the UK, where he studied Music Performance in Drums at the London Centre of Contemporary Music. Since 2010 he has performed, recorded and toured the UK extensively with several established artists and groups, mainly from the London scene. Most recently Leandro was invited to collaborate with Owen Shiers on the ambitious song project Cynefin and Cherise Adams-Burnett.
“Vos flores rosarum” (arr. Johannes Marmén)
“Alma mia“ (arr. Johannes Marmén)
“Summer Dreams“ for Violin, Mezzosoprano und String Orchestra (2020, German Premiere)
“Gaia’s Tango“ for Cello, Bandoneon and Strings (2021, German Premiere)
“Sin Piel“ (2000, arr. Sverre Indris Joner)
“Nani Nani” Sephardic Lullaby
“Verano Porteño“ (1965) and “Invierno Porteño“ (1969) from “Estaciones Portenas" (arr. Leonid Desyatnikov)
“Yo soy María“ from “María de Buenos Aires“ (1968, arr. Sverre Joner)
PROGRAMME
Just a glance at the solo instruments arouses curiosity: bandoneon, percussion and marimba join the action this time when the creative violinist Hugo Ticciati and his chamber ensemble O/Modernt return to Young Euro Classic. That, however, does not mean that we should fear limitations in time or epoch – on the contrary! Entitled “Un/Sung Heroines”, the programme ranges from Hildegard von Bingen, that medieval Wonder Woman, to the Mexican composer María Grever and the Argentine “tanguera” Eladia Blázquez. Nor is there a shortage of male presence: Astor Piazzolla, whose anniversary is celebrated in 2021, is not just represented by his homage to María de Buenos Aires, but also by the Summer and Winter from his Four Seasons. One thing is certain: there is no end to the surprises Hugo Ticciati can conjure from the depths of his violin case!