The genius of Mozart served by an ensemble of stellar musicians
In this recital presented in our Enescu Soirees Online series, the genius of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is brilliantly served by an ensemble of stellar classical musicians made up of acclaimed Romanian-French pianist Mara Dobresco and the famous Monnaie Wind Quintet - Jean-Noël Melleret (horn), Dirk Noyen (bassoon), Luk Nielandt (oboe), Ivo Labeurt (clarinet). Don't miss a memorable rendition of Mozart's Quintet for Piano and Winds, K. 452.
The Franco-Romanian pianist MARA DOBRESCO was quickly noticed by the public and the critics for her playing full of temperament, the finesse and the elegance of her phrasing. Her numerous recordings have earned her rave reviews from the specialty press, which do not hesitate to compare her to Argerich or Arrau. She has given recitals in France, Romania, Spain, Italy, Germany, Austria Bulgaria, Russia, Argentina, Australia, Japan, and made her US debut in Chicago and New York. At the same time, she made recordings for Radio France, Radio Suisse Romande and Radio and Romanian National Television. In France, she is often invited to play in recital or in chamber music with the best musicians of her generation at the Théâtre Mogador, Cité de la Musique, Théâtre de Châtelet, Musée d'Orsay, Salle Cortot, Grand Théâtre de Provence, Festival d'Aix en Provence, Chopin Birthday at the Tarmac de Châteauroux and Salle Pleyel, Nohant Festival, Chopin Festival at the Orangerie de Bagatelle, “Piano en Saintonge” Festival, Jacquemart-André Museum, “Classique au Vert” Festival, “ Chartres en plein chant ”, L'Embarcadère in Lyon, Herbert Museum in Grenoble, Contemporary Art Museum in Strasbourg. Mara Dobresco is invited to perform at the very prestigious International Festival “George Enesco” in Bucharest, at Radio France, at the Théâtre de la Monnaie, and at the Bozar in Brussels, as well as within the framework of several festivals including: “Cordes sur Ciel ”,“ Summer Notes at La Seyne sur Mer ”, and at the Romanian Radio Amphitheater. Mara Dobresco is also interested in the dramaturgy of musical gesture and participates in numerous projects based on the intersection between theater, literature and music. She is also a fervent performer of the contemporary repertoire and regularly collaborates with many composers such as Philipe Hersant, Franck Villard, Philipe Leroux or Gyorgy Kurtag or Oscar Strasnoy. Mara Dobresco receives advice from Martha Argerich, Dominique Merlet, Jean-Claude Pennetier and Pierre-Laurent Aimard. Winner of numerous international competitions Mara Dobresco is also a grant holder from the Yamaha, Meyer, Tarazzi and Nadia and Lili Boulanger Foundations.
“The beauty of Mara Dobresco's playing immediately seduces with a very neat approach, a touch of ideal flexibility and a dreamy sound… striking a balance between the whimsical ardor of Argerich and the depth of Arrau.” - Classica
In addition to performing in operas and symphonic concerts, the soloists of the MONNAIE ORCHESTRA regularly come together to play chamber music. This mainly takes place during the now well established ‘Musical Encounters’ series at La Monnaie on Friday lunchtimes. As a result of these occasional contacts, but also as a result of the performance of Mozart’s Concertante Symphony for four wind instruments and orchestra, there was a growing desire to explore the repertoire for woodwind quintet in a more organized and intensive manner. The careers of the five members of the quintet have run virtually in parallel.
After winning several prizes in international competitions such as Tenuto, the Trompconcours and the competition of Toulon, they gained several years later much sought after positions of principal play in the orchestra at La Monnaie. In addition they also built up solid reputations as soloists and can be heard on a range of solo and chamber music CDs. They also pass this variety of painstakingly accumulated experience on to their students at the various Flemish Conservatories and in the Lemmens Institute in Leuven.