London Mozart Players & Jürgen Bruns, Lithuanian National Symphony Orchestra & Robertas Šervenikas
Biography London Mozart Players & Jürgen Bruns, Lithuanian National Symphony Orchestra & Robertas Šervenikas
Sebastian Comberti
was born in London and studied in Italy with Amedeo Baldovino and later with Derek Simpson and Sidney Griller at the Royal Academy of Music. He was a founder member of the Bochmann Quartet until 1983 when he became principal cello with the London Mozart Players, a position he continues to hold.
A keen interest in historically informed performance has resulted in participation with a great many of London’s period instrument groups, appearing as principal cello and soloist with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and the Hanover Band.
As a member of several chamber groups, including Trio Goya and Divertimenti Ensemble he has recorded for CRD, EMI, Harmonia Mundi, Hyperion, Meridian, Phoenix and RCA and CPO.
Premier solo recordings include concertos by Geoffrey Hanson and Peter Fribbins and solo works by Kenneth V Jones.
In April 2001 Sebastian founded the Cd label Cello Classics, devoted to recordings of rare repertoire and historical recordings, himself releasing several CDs of sonatas by Boccherini, Stephen Paxton, early 19th Century works with fortepiano, and concertos by Haydn and Zumsteeg with the OAE.
Johan Randvere
As a charismatic and versatile artist Johan Randvere stands out as one of the brightest stars of the Estonian younger generation of pianists. Performing regularly both as a soloist and a chamber musician Randvere has appeared in venues such as New York´s Carnegie Hall and Great Hall of the Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow.
Johan Randvere has given concerts in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Finland, Holland, Italy, Belarus, Russia and the U.S.
As a soloist he has performed with the Latvian National Symphony Orchestra, Tymen Philharmonic Orchestra, Belarus State Radio Symphony Orchestra, Estonian National Symphony Orchestra, Vanemuise Symphony Orchestra, Tallinn Chamber Orchestra, and others under conductors such as Kristiina Poska, Risto Joost, Toomas Vavilov, Grigori Soroka, Jevgeni Shestakof, Jüri Alperten, Erki Pehk, Mihhail Gerts, Sasha Mäkilä, Kaspar Mänd, Jaan Ots and others.
Randvere has gained success in numerous national and international competitions, including I prize at the„Klaviermusik” in Vilnius (2008), I prize and Grand Prix at the Catania Music Competition in Italy (2012), I prize and Grand Prix at the “Andrea Baldi” International Piano Competition in Italy (2014), II prize at the EPTA International Piano Competition in Belgium and II prize at the VIII Estonian Nationial Competition of Pianists (2014), to name only a few.
Johan is a distinguished chamber musician and regularly performs with many outstanding Estonian musicians. The Randvere Piano Trio received the Audience Award and the Special Award of Holland Music Sessions at the contest festival “Con brio” (2010).
Johan began studying the piano at the age 7 at the Võru Music School with Merike Kapp and continued at the Tallinn Music High School with Marja Jürisson and Prof Ivari Ilja, continuing at the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre with Prof Ivari Ilja. From 2012-2015 Randvere also studied at the Milan Giuseppe Verdi Conservatory with Prof Valerio Premuroso. Currently he is working on his PhD in the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre in the class of Prof Ivari Ilja. Johan Randvere is a recipient of the Young Musician Award from Pille Lill Music Fund (2014).
Saša Mirković
who has been called the best Serbian violinist and a charismatic artist by critics, is active as a soloist, chamber and orchestral musician, as well as an educator and concert promoter. Born in 1980 in Čačak, he attended the School of Musical Talent in Ćuprija and then graduated from the Faculty of Music in Belgrade. He was a member and principal violist of the Norwegian Youth Orchestra (Elverum), the German-Scandinavian Orchestra (Berlin) and the World Youth Peace Orchestra (Stockholm). During his studies he won numerous first and special prizes, including special prizes for the performance of contemporary music. The latest in a series of valuable recognitions for his work came in January 2017, when Saša Mirković was declared the winner of the 2016 "Music Classics" Award in the category "Male Soloist of the Year". In the same year, Saša Mirković received the "Aleksandar Pavlovic" Award of the Serbian Association of Composers for the best performance and presentation of contemporary Serbian music.
Peter Fribbins
was born in London. After winning a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music, he studied with Hans Werner Henze in London and Italy, and then at Royal Holloway and Nottingham universities. His works are noted for their expressive and dramatic qualities, as well as their attractive memorable melodic lines, and a style developed from a keen awareness of the European and British musical tradition.
Fribbins’s music is regularly performed, broadcast, and recorded internationally, with CD releases on Resonus, Da Vinci, Guild, Sheva, and First-Hand Records. Major recorded works include the Violin Concerto (Philippe Graffin, Robertas Šervenikas, and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra), the Piano Concerto (Diana Brekalo, Šervenikas, and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra), and the Cello Concerto (Sebastian Comberti, Jürgen Bruns, and the London Mozart Players). ‘Gommecourt’ a symphony with obbligato piano, based on his grandfather’s experiences in the Battle of the Somme in 1916, was recorded by the Lithuanian National Symphony Orchestra with Šervenikas and Johan Randvere.
Much of his chamber music has also been recorded, including three string quartets (two recorded by the Allegri and Chilingirian quartets), two piano trios (recorded by the Angell Trio and the Rosamunde Trio) and several sonatas and other smaller chamber works. Many of his pieces draw upon extramusical subjects, for instance with poetry in the wind quintet ‘In Xanadu’ (after Coleridge), the flute sonata ‘Porphyria’s Lover’ (Robert Browning), the second piano trio ‘Softly in the Dusk’ (D.H. Lawrence), and String Quartet No.1 ‘I Have the Serpent Brought’ (John Donne).
Peter Fribbins is Professor of Music at Middlesex University, Artistic Director of the London Chamber Music Society, based at St John’s Waterloo, and co-director of Fenlandia, an annual series of events that celebrates the culture, history, and environment of the East Anglian fens.
