The grand finale of the Classical Bridge International Music Festival brings together Maestro Mikhail Pletnev and the Rachmaninoff International Orchestra, joined by violinist Daniel Lozakovich, cellist Gautier Capuçon, and pianist Hélène Mercier, performing Beethoven’s Triple Concerto.

The programme also includes works by Beethoven and Rachmaninoff, including The Rock, as well as Pletnev’s Rachmaniana.

• Date & Venue: 12 June 2026, 7:30 PM – Seoul Arts Center Concert Hall

French pianist David Fray deepens his exploration of Baroque repertoire with Baroque Encores, to be released November 14, 2025. The album showcases Fray’s signature clarity, lyrical phrasing, and elegant energy across a selection of encore works.

Featured in Strings Magazine and The Violin Channel
Cellist Edgar Moreau was recently highlighted as a “Talent to Watch” by The Violin Channel and gave an in-depth interview to Strings Magazine about his musical journey.

“These recordings embody the highest level of expressive depth, imagination, and conviction. I try to remember what Pablo Casals once said: ‘Don’t focus on the trees but make us dream of the forest.’”

Strings Magazine Interview: https://stringsmagazine.com/edgar-moreau-transmission-sums-up-values-that-have-sustained-the-cellist/
The Violin Channel Feature: https://theviolinchannel.com/vc-artist-edgar-moreau-cellist/

The Mannheimer Philharmoniker continue their FinestClassics series with an evening exploring the evolution of film music. Violinist Jack Liebeck and pianist Olga Zado join the orchestra for a program that journeys through iconic cinematic scores, highlighting expressive power and emotional depth.
📍 November 17, 2025 • 8PM
📍 Barockschloss, Aula der Universität, Mannheim, Germany

The Classical Bridge Festival returned to Paris this year for three evenings of chamber music, featuring a mix of classical repertoire from different eras and styles. Musicians from around the world came together to celebrate creativity, collaboration, and the joy of music.

www.classicalbridge.org/concerts-paris

Sky, sea, and light permeate this program in changing constellations, with which Finnish conductor Dalia Stasevska makes her debut with the Berlin Philharmonic. Jean Sibelius transports the listener to the legendary world of Finland with the dark, dramatic sounds of his tone poem “Pohjola’s Daughter,” while Kaija Saariaho depicts the constellation of the same name in her mystical composition “Orion.” Highlights of the evening include Edvard Grieg’s Piano Concerto, which evokes Norwegian folk music, and Claude Debussy’s impressionistic tone poem “La Mer,” with its infinite nuances of color. The soloist is pianist Jean-Fréderic Neuburger.

Augustin Dumay spoke to The Violin Channel about five recordings that have been instrumental in his musical development:

“The 5 recordings I have chosen here have been amongst what I would think have been the most instrumental in my musical development … for me these interpretations represent the highest level of expressive intensity, imagination and conviction. When I do listen to them though, it often highlights how many lukewarm and pseudo-politically correct performances we hear today on the concert stage …. often almost like ‘sound photocopies’ of Bärenreiter editions – with some superb exceptions of course. With anything I play or listen to, and hopefully you’ll hear here, I try to remember what Pablo Casals famously said ‘… Don’t focus on the trees but make us dream of the forest.’” READ THE ARTICLE

Some pianists are capable of setting their instrument ablaze from the very first note; you immediately notice that they are absolutely serious about it and are giving their all, literally “burning” for the music they play. Such an exceptional phenomenon was on display at the piano festival “Le Piano Symphonique,” which ended on January 18 in Lucerne: Ilya Shmukler is his name—a name worth remembering. Continue reading

In May 2024 at Lotte Concert Hall and Seoul Arts Center, the festival launches successfully with fifteen invited guests, officially sponsored by Hyundai Motor Company.

The festival rotates in France, USA and South Korea, and the next edition will be in Paris 2025.

Mikhail Pletnev’s new ensemble is already finely honed

Judging by this debut recording, [the RIO] is already a finely honed ensemble. The playing doesn’t yet boast the razor-sharp precision of articulation that perhaps can only be achieved by a long-established orchestra. But this is a relatively minor disadvantage when measured against the commitment of the performance as a whole… Pletnev has opted to create his own arrangement of Tchaikovsky’s work. This preserves the narrative chronological sequence of music as it unfolds throughout the ballet. [The Bizet/Shchedrin Carmen Suite] has drive, rhythmic exuberance and expressive intensity.

– June 2024 BBC Music Magazine

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