NEW CD LA FURIA - MAYKE RADEMAKERS AND MATTHIJS VERSCHOOR
Having tackled Bach's Cello Suites, Dutch cellist Mayke Rademakers and her pianist Matthijs Verschoor concentrated on the cello literature and music of Spanish and South American composers. Mayke and Matthijs have had a life-long fascination with Spanish music, which has long been part of their repertoire.They both worked and studied in Spain, and Mayke spent some time in Buenos Aires, because she wanted to see the tango with her own eyes and 'taste' it. The result is their new CD entitled La Furia (fury, anger, storm), which will be premiered at Amsterdam's Concertgebouw on 27 March.
This CD also celebrates Mayke and Matthijs's ten-year partnership. For ten years the duo has been playing the 'Suite Popular Española' by Manuel de Falla; 'Le Grand tango' by the Argentinian Astor Piazzolla also lends colour to their passionate music.
As Matthijs Verschoor says enthusiastically, "Spanish folk music is the most interesting in the whole of Europe, in part because of the diverse centuries-old cultures - particularly the Moorish, Jewish and Romany influences that make it a unique melting pot of cultures. You can hear it in Spanish folk music. The composers whose music we play strove to preserve traditional folk music. There is a great deal of extremely interesting folk music in the Balkan countries, too, of course, but in Western Europe it is altogether more bourgeois. There is far more character in Spanish folk music and Balkan music." Mayke Rademakers and Matthijs Verschoor will be touring Australia in October this year. They will play in Syndney, Melbourne and Canberra.
The Dutch cellist Mayke Rademakers (violoncello, electric cello) first undertook tuition from Hungarian cellist György Schiffer, and graduated with honours under his guidance. From the age of 16, she was a participant in the masterclasses of André Navarra at the prestigious summer school of the Accademia Chigiana in Siena (Italy), where she won a prize for her promising playing. Her talents impressed Navarra such that she was invited to continue her studies with him in Vienna. This was to last for two years, after which she furthered her musical development with William Pleeth in London and (thanks to a Fulbright grant) in the US with Janos Starker.
Pianist Matthijs Verschoor studied in Amsterdam (MMus Sweelinck Conservatoire)and won several prizes to continue his studies in London and Rome. Among his teachers were Bart Berman, Willem Brons and John Bingham. Matthijs performed throughout Europe as recitalist and soloist with a number of orchestras and broadcast many works from Bach to Messiaen, but also neglected composers like Korngold. Early in his career he started recording for RCA, Etcetera and Erasmus, works by Bach, Scarlatti, Handel, Beethoven, Chopin, Korngold, (the complete sonatas), Rachmaninoff and Scriabin. His playing is unanimously acclaimed by the press, calling him
One of the Chosen (the magazine Luister) and
A superb pianist (Gramophone). At present Mayke Rademakers and Matthijs Verschoor are regarded as one of the leading duos in Europe.
For further information please visit: www.maykerademakers.com.
Email contact@maykerademakers.com