Wilfried Strehle & Friends

Line-up

• Wilfried Strehle, viola
• Rena Tsuzuki, piano
• Dylan Blackmore, violin

Programme

Schumann – Arabesque, Op. 18

for solo piano

Coates – First Meeting

for viola and piano

Beach – Romance, Op. 23

for viola and piano

Mozart – Kegelstatt Trio K. 498

for violin, viola and piano

Mozart – Piano Quartet K. 478

for violin, viola, cello and piano

Dylan Blackmore made his debut with an orchestra in 2006 at the Berlin Philharmonie, the Oslo Konzerthaus and the Royal Coronation Hall in Stockholm. He was a guest lecturer and concertmaster at the Summer Academy of the Junge Münchner Philharmonie.

He also took part in the International Masterclasses in Bad Kissingen and served as a jury member at the international competition in honour of Karol Lipiński and Henryk Wieniawski in Lublin, Poland. As a soloist, Blackmore has performed with, amongst others, the Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg, the Berlin Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra, the Brandenburg Philharmonic Orchestra in Frankfurt (Oder), the Hof Symphony Orchestra, the Leipzig Chamber Philharmonic, the Pleven Philharmonic Orchestra, the Klassische Philharmonie Bonn, the Cologne Youth Philharmonic, the Eurasia Chamber Orchestra and the Geringas Chamber Orchestra.

He received scholarships from the Pro Musica Viva Maria Strecker-Daelen Foundation in Mainz and from the Friedrich Ebert Foundation in Bonn. In addition to his numerous appearances as a soloist and chamber musician, Dylan Blackmore held leading positions as concertmaster and soloist in internationally renowned orchestras from 2005 to 2013.

Dylan Blackmore studied at the Würzburg University of Music under Prof. Grigori Zhislin and at the Cologne University of Music under Prof. Viktor Tretiakov.

Wilfried Strehle began his career in 1971, following his training with Tibor Varga in Stuttgart and Detmold, straight away with the Berlin Philharmonic, where he served as principal violist from 1984 to 2013.

Alongside his orchestral work, he has a deep passion for chamber music: he co-founded the Brandis Quartet in 1976 and has performed with the Cyprien Katsaris Clavichord Quintet, the Berlin Philharmonic Sextet, the Berlin Philharmonic Octet, the Philharmonic Virtuosi and the Philharmonic Camerata. He is currently a member of the Vienna-Berlin Philharmonic Friends. The Trio Berlin, which he founded, was awarded the European Chamber Music Prize.

Prof. Wilfried Strehle taught at the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra Academy and is a visiting professor at the Berlin University of the Arts. He regularly gives masterclasses at the Mozarteum Summer Academy in Salzburg, in Eastern Europe, Italy and Spain, at the universities of Tokyo, Seoul, Moscow and Yale (USA), and for the Blackmore International Music Academy in Berlin and Vienna. Prof. Strehle is the founder and artistic director of the Blackmore International Music Academy.

Rena Tsuzuki studied at Meiwa High School in Nagoya and at the Toho Gakuen School of Music in Tokyo. After graduating in 2009, she moved to Europe to study piano and chamber music at the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music in Poland. She has performed with the Polish National Chamber Orchestra Kraków and the Janáček Philharmonic Orchestra. Her awards include the Prize for Outstanding Duo Performance at the Pitina Piano Competition, the ANA Prize, the Excellent Performer Award at the Japan Ensemble Competition, and the Zen Ongaku Publishing Company Prize. Concert engagements have taken her throughout Poland and Ireland. In Morocco, she made guest appearances at concerts organised by the Moroccan Red Crescent. Tsuzuki now lives in Japan, where she performs regularly and teaches young musicians. She performs alongside Prof. Wilfried Strehle, the former principal violist of the Berlin Philharmonic, and is also in high demand as an ensemble musician for a wide variety of concerts and recordings. In addition, she is committed to introducing children to classical music: she plays in cafés and nurseries, where she organises live concerts.