The ICCF is a remarkable festival featuring concerts and masterclasses by renowned musicians. The festival officially launched at the MIM (Musical Instrument Museum) in Brussels. Artistic Director David Abrahamyan welcomed the audience to a concert that was absolutely stunning. Read more about the festival here.
Robert Schumann's piano quartet in E-flat major, op. 47, was performed by an ad hoc ensemble consisting of Spanish violinist Ignacio Rodriguez, Romanian violist Mihai Cocea, Armenian cellist Mikayel Voskanyan – recently a laureate of the prestigious Classic Cello International Competition in London – and Italian pianist Giuliano Mazzoccante.
From the first note to the last, your breath catches. A work full of poignant sorrow, despair, and restrained fury born of powerlessness—that's how it came across. What emotions this moving performance stirred! If only this performance could be heard again. It deserves to be recorded by these four musicians who shared the concert stage together for the very first time. The listener experienced absolute harmony, a dialogue between the four instruments that melded into one. Such a way of playing touches your soul; you could weep at what this music evokes and how precisely it is brought to life. Yes, Schumann…
César Franck's piano quintet in F minor was performed by the same ad hoc ensemble, strengthened by violinist Yossif Ivanov, who took the first violin part.
Overwhelming, immersive, sweeping, and admittedly somewhat bombastic—this quintet is all that. The musicians made it their own, which made it particularly captivating for listeners who had to keep pace with the countless emotions and almost diabolical energy the work conveys.
An afternoon filled with romantic chamber music, written by remarkably gifted people who have transformed what defined their lives—consciously or not—into music. Music that will continue to enchant, astonish, and amaze.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1VogynSgeHP9mfBIDCNgRN27IrYRoNk0_/view?t=24.020729
