Stiftung pro Musica e Cultura:Past

Chesa da Cultura 16 – 23 August 2010

These five musicians, with founder Jean-Paul Brodbeck, recorded their new CD in the Chesa da Cutura Music Hall. They were quite impressed by the atmosphere and recording conditions of the Chesa da Cultura on Lake St. Moritz and its recording studio. Australian Darren Heyne was the recording engineer. 

24 – 31 July 2010

10 cellists from Switzerland, Germany, France, and China gathered in St. Moritz to become acquainted with the rich cello literature and to perform a selection of works under the direction of Albert Roman. The classes comprised a total of three generations ranging between the ages of 13 and 66. At the conclusion they performed works by Albéniz, Bach, Bruckner, Glinka, Goltermann, Handel, Huré, Purcell, and Villa-Lobos, as well as improvisations by the participants. 

3 – 10 July 2010

17 participants from Switzerland, Germany, and Scandinavia collaborated with alphorn specialist Martin Roos. They rehearsed not only in the Chesa da Cultura auditorium but often in the outdoor surroundings as well. As they were echoed back by the mountains, the wistfully romantic sounds of the alphorn transformed nature into an alpine paradise. Martin Roos led the closing concert in the garden of the Chesa da Cultura on Lake St. Moritz and attracted a large audience.

Chesa da Cultura on 22 September 2009

World-renowned lutenist Hopkinson Smith performed works by J.S. Bach, V. Gaultier, Gaspar Sanz, and S. L. Weis in a program titled Celestial Musings and Diabolical Delights. The auditorium was packed with a highly enthusiastic audience.

22 – 29 September 2009

This was the first time that these two world-class artists—acclaimed Italian guitarist and educator Oscar Ghiglia and Hopkinson Smith, an expert in the Renaissance lute—collaborated to give a master class. Active participants as well as auditors were given a unique opportunity to become acquainted with the two most important plucked instruments thanks to these two experts, whose proficiency allowed for a closer look into the special nature of guitar and lute alike. A total of ten musicians from Europe, South America, and the United States traveled to St. Moritz to collaborate for a week with the masters of their respective fields. The closing concert presented 11 different works spanning four centuries. The high level of playing by these distinguished protégés earned enthusiastic applause from the audience in this lovely Engadin setting. 

Chesa da Cultura 20 – 26 November 2008

The four cellists of theTritton Cello Ensemble—a cello quartet consisting of Josep Bassal (Spain), Bongshin Ko (United States), Wolfgang Lehner (Germany) and Albert Roman (Switzerland)—recorded a CD in the Chesa da Cultura featuring original works from three centuries by Corrette, Fitzenhagen, Grützmacher, Goltermann, Labocetta, Matz, Morera, Paque Pahissa, Huguet y Taguell, and Wagenseil. Three masterful instruments made by Antonio Stradivari as well as an Italian cello made by Alessandro Gagliano can be heard on this CD. 

22 - 29 September 2007

Basel native and resident Rudolf Kelterborn ranks among the most prominent and internationally recognized Swiss composers today (his website is www.kelterborn.ch). As part of the seminar week held at the Chesa da Cultura, 14 emerging young artists joined the composer to rehearse five pieces under his direction. Thanks to Kelterborn’s presence at the Chesa da Cultura, an intensive exchange of ideas unfolded between the composer and these young musicians. Conductor and composer David Philip Hefti from Zurich assisted Kelterborn and also conducted the closing concert in the Laudinella Concert Hall in St. Moritz.Rudolf Kelterborn also introduced his works in the concert. 

15 July - 14 August 2006

Two successful tours by the First China Cello Orchestra in the summer of 1999 and 2001 led to the creation of the Swiss China Cello Orchestra, which was formed by 20 young cellists from Chinese, Swiss, and other European music academies. Under the direction of conductor and founder Albert Roman, the SCCO rehearsed and prepared an ambitious program in the Chesa da Cultura. They then performed ten concerts throughout Switzerland, Italy, and China, and the program was recorded on CD in the Chesa da Cultura auditorium. In order to form a cultural bridge between European and Asian culture, one work each by a Swiss composer (Alfred Knüsel) and a Chinese composer (Tan Dun) was premiered alongside well-known works for cello orchestra. The following compositions can be heard on the CD: Nikolai A. Rimsky-Korsakov, Sheherazade (Op. 35); Alfred Knüsel, Drei Analogien; G. Fauré, Elégie (Op. 24); G. Bizet, Carmen; Tan Dun, Secret Land; and Modest Mussorgsky, Pictures at an Exhibition.

20 - 28 September 2005

Klaus Huber, who was born in 1924 in Bern, studied composition with Willy Burkhard (Zurich) and Boris Blacher (Berlin). He had his international breakthrough in 1959 at the IGNM World Music Festival in Rome with his chamber cantata titled The Angel Speaking to the Soul.

This was a highly productive week, transforming the Chesa da Cultura on Lake St. Moritz into a workshop for contemporary music. As part of the proceedings, Huber introduced his work to 12 highly talented young musicians from around the world. Joining him was a team of docents made of four veteran performers of his music: Susanne Huber (flute), Katharina Rikus (voice), Walter Grimmer (cello), and Jean-Jacques Balet (piano). An aura of intense musical and human communication seemed to surround Huber. Could this have been a result of his sense of humor, his ever-youthful soul, the accumulated experience gleaned by this 80-year-old man—or perhaps the eternal quest to find oneself in the unknown? The works that were rehearsed were then presented in the composer’s presence in a closing concert for the audience in this lovely Engadin setting.

Chesa da Cultura on 20 August 2005

“The world is permeated with sounds and vibrations. Our own bodies pulse and vibrate….” Alexander Lauterwasser gave a day-long seminar in which he presented the special method he has developed to make sounds visible in water: his so-called WATER-SOUND-IMAGES. Vessels of various shapes were filled with water and made to vibrate through music. An impressive display showed how the water vitally responds to the flow of sounds with wave structures and conjured an abundance of forms and images. The light reflections of the water were projected onto a screen, becoming visible as a combined audio-visual entity. The seminar was held in the auditorium and piqued a great deal of interest.

Chesa da Cultura from 6 February to 6 March 2005

The preview took place on 2 May 2005 with the artist present. Jürgen Möbius ranks among those artists who have remained faithful to possibilities of the context in which they create. He has steadfastly defied the bias against painting that has developed in recent decades as the result of a cyclical misperception. His work is persuasive without pandering to fashion. Möbius derives the calm of his creative work through the transparent and sensitive use of material and form. Over and over he addresses ideas and motifs in a kind of spiraling loop, only to bring them to life anew on a higher level as image form. The works of this exhibition, “Quiet Zone/Insights,” illustrate the artist’s creative process by which he continually scrutinizes the same visual motif, whether incorporating it into new contexts or investigating it as a sign by itself, with minimal changes. Möbius still sees artworks as the expression of a status quo within an artistic evolution: a never-ending examination of solutions.

Throughout the entire period of the exhibition Möbius resided at the Chesa da Cultura and therefore was able to give viewers a personal introduction to his oeuvre. 

1 – 7 July 2002

Landscape architect, painter, and art teacher Johannes Matthiessen collaborated with 15 participants from Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Croatia, the United States, and Australia to design a stone garden after the Japanese model on the grounds of the Chesa da Cultura. They created two constructions out of rounded granite shapes; these were connected to each other by a fine gravel path. The large granite pieces were sought out at various places in the surrounding area and transported to the two designated spots. They were arranged to serve as stone benches which are heated by the sun’s rays. One has a concave, the other a convex surface, thus expressing the Asian concept of “yin and yang.” A selection of newly planted larches and Swiss pines rounds out the picture of this naturally grown garden of the Chesa da Cultura on Lake St. Moritz. 

Theater Basel on 29 April 2002, Conductor: Pierre Boulez

In honor of Marguerite Staehelin, who died on 30 April 2000 in Basel at the age of 93, the Foundation Pro Musica e Cultura presented a concert with conductor and composer Pierre Boulez to honor this great patron from Basel. The musicians, all of whom live in Basel, included Michael Arbenz (piano), Nikita Cardinaux (bass clarinet), Jean-Claude Forestier (percussion), Markus Forrer (clarinet), Michael Hartmann (flute), and Albert Roman (cello). Under the direction of Pierre Boulez they performed a contemporary program: Douze Notations and Dérive I by Pierre Boulez, Triple Duo and Figment II Remembering Mr. Ives by Elliott Carter, Tantôt libre, tantôt recherchée by Jacques Wildberger, Sevenminute Play by Rudolf Kelterborn, and the Trio in F minor by Arthur Honegger. The large audience—above all the many friends from Basel who fondly remembered Marguerite Staehelin and her life’s passion for new music—listened attentively to the pieces that sounded so impressive as led by Maestro Boulez. There was much applause, after which tthe obviously moved and delighted audience, headed homeward. 

19 - 30 September 2001

On 24 October 2001 Sofia Gubaidulina turned 70. To mark the important anniversary year, Artistic Director Albert Roman arranged to invite this internationally celebrated composer to St. Moritz. For a period of 12 days Gubaidulina introduced a dozen young musicians to her work. She conveyed an intensely vivid understanding of the world of sounds and ideas which her music explores, thus allowing these young artists to become familiar with her musical language and inspiring all of the participants to perform at their best level. During the evenings there was time to reflect on profound themes and also to get to know the composer personally. Gubaidulina led the rehearsals and also worked with all of the chamber music groups. The final concert included eight of her works. Two regular performers of Gubaidulina’s music, Professor Vladimir Tonkha (cello) and Elsbeth Moser (accordion), assisted the composer. Several of her works have been dedicated to and premiered by these two artists, who enjoy a longstanding friendship with Gubaidulina. 

23 July – 8 August 1999

At the end of the annual workshops Albert Roman gives at the leading music academies in China, he invited his students to join together for an optional event of music making. The abundance of music ensembles that are comprised only of cellists proved especially inspiring for these young cellists. From this ad hoc music making, the idea arose of founding a cello orchestra drawing from the most talented music students in China: namely, the FIRST CHINA CELLO ORCHESTRA.

In collaboration with cello teachers at their respective music academies, 20 participants were selected following an audition. The FIRST CHINA CELLO ORCHESTRA truly represented a cultural novelty. At the Chesa da Cultura they rehearsed, recorded a CD, and undertook a concert tour throughout Switzerland and the People’s Republic of China. These emerging young talents from China got to know both Switzerland and its culture and their own fellow citizens from distant provinces in China, whose language and customs they were often encountering for the first time. This cultural bridge thus fostered a better understanding of each other. The concerts took place in Scuol /Schuls, St. Moritz, Interlaken, Lucerne, and Basel, as well as in in the Chinese cities of Hangzhou, Shanghai, Tianjin, and Beijing. The programs consisted of works by I. Alberti, J.S. Bach, L. Bernstein, A. Bruckner, D. Funck, G. E. Goltemann, J. Klengel, A. Krein, S. Rachmaninov, and and F. Schubert.