THE VIRTUOSO CELLO

" Magdalena Sas "

The Chamber Music Society of Colombo, with generous support from its Premier Sponsor Fairway Holdings, presents “The Virtuoso Cello”, a concert featuring the gifted Polish cellist Magdalena Sas.

The concert goes on the boards at the Lionel Wendt Theatre, on Wednesday, 25 May 2016 at 7:30pm. 

Ms. Sas a highly accomplished and prize winning young cellist, will perform Joseph Haydn’s First Cello Concerto. In addition she will also perform Vivaldi’s double Concerto for Violin and Cello in B Flat Minor, together with the Chamber Music Society’s Associate Concertmaster Ursula Nelius. 

Ms Sas has performed widely in central Europe. In 2011/12 together with the Vistula String Quartet she was a member of the renowned European Chamber Music Academy in Austria. She was later selected to join the Hulencourt Soloists Chamber Orchestra to work under Guy Braunstein, the former concertmaster of the Berliner Philharmoniker. She currently holds a visiting teacher position for cello, chamber music and string ensembles at the Mehli Mehta Music Foundation (MMMF) in Mumbai. The MMMF was named after the father of famous Indian conductor Zubin Mehta who remains personally involved in all aspects of the Foundation. Her performance at the upcoming "The Virtuoso Cello" concert, will be her debut with the CMSC, and she appears courtesy of the Mehli Mehta Music Foundation.

Haydn’s First concerto, an early work that predates his second concerto by 20 years, nevertheless displays his mastery of form. The work was presumed lost until its serendipitous discovery in the National Museum in Prague in 1961.  

Vivaldi’s double concerto for violin and cello is one of the 40 odd concertos he wrote for two instruments. “His innovations in the concerto genre include: regular use of ritornello form (tutti theme alternating with solo episodes) in the fast outer movements, sensitive, passionate slow movements, virtuosic demands for soloists, new and strong effects such as orchestral unison. The Concerto in B-flat Major for Violin, Cello, and Strings, RV 547 demonstrates all of these characteristics”. Michael (brother to Joseph) Haydn’s Symphony no. 25 in G major is a somewhat of a musical curiosity attributed to Mozart until it was authenticated in 1907 by Lothar Perger.

The evening’s concluding item will be a performance of Mozart’s First Symphony in E flat, K. 16. A robust work which belies the fact that the composer was just 8 years old when he created it.This completes the evening’s aural fest of Baroque and Viennese classics.

Fairway Holdings, take pride in driving themselves towards exceptional performance and innovation. It is this ethos that fuelled their passion towards excellence in all their creations, Fairway, Fairmount SkyGardens ,Elements ,Urban Homes Fairway Koswatta and Fairway Galle.Likewise, the Chamber Music Society of Colombo has brought a much-needed professional musical experience to the Sri Lankan audiences. Therefore, Fairway Holdings take great pleasure in supporting the high artistic standards set by the Chamber Music Society by being its Premier Sponsor.