Violinist Patricia Kopatchinskaja and pianist Joonas Ahonen premiere the latest addition to Márton Illés’ Én-kör (I-Circle) series, Én-kör V, on August 4 at Gstaad Menuhin Festival, Switzerland. The series is a collection of short chamber works that Illés composed for close musicians who inspire him.
It’s the third time that Kopatchinskaja and Illés have created a new work together, and Illés is particularly impressed by her ability to give small musical details a distinctly strong character. With Joonas Ahonen, he values the pleasantly raw power with which he performs and the honest sound of his music-making.
Describing the collaboration with musicians, Illés says:
When the music of a living composer begins to live and breathe under the hands of interpreters with such clarity and intensity, it is not only an existential moment of confirmation and justification for him, but a sudden, ecstatic opening up of completely different possibilities, a potentiated thrust that releases tremendous creative energy and compels him to continue composing.
For more information on the concert, that also features an original composition by Patricia Kopatchinskaja under her pseudonym PatKop, see Gstaad Menuhin Festival.
