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Wanderlust and more….

Hello music friends!

It has been quite some time since our last blog post and there is lots to tell you. We are well into the 17/18 season and look forward to connecting with many of you at some of our concerts this season. Please sign up to get our newsletter to find out where, when and what we are performing this season. (see on right to sign up).  Before we get too far into the season though, we would like to catch you up on a few exciting projects, collaborations and concerts we had throughout last spring and summer.

Spring 2017 Douro Musical Cruise with CBC host, Julie Nesrallah

We spent a fantastic couple of weeks  playing concerts with soprano, Julie Nesrallah aboard a ship where we cruised  the scenic and beautiful Douro river in Portugal. We ended up in Madrid where we played a concerto for piano four hands by Kozeluch with the Orquesta Clásica Santa Cecilia.

Here we are with George Zukerman, the ship’s captain, Julie and violinist, Jack Glatzer

 

 

 

Summer festivals in France and Macedonia

We were invited by the Zodiac Trio to their summer festival, which is held in Valdeblore (near Nice) France. What a fabulous time we had meeting old and new friends and what a perfect setting for a summer music festival. It was magical!

 

 

 

 

 

With cellist, Arie Barnes

 

We then went on to the Ohrid Summer Music Festival in Macedonia and were very honored to be a part of this long-standing event. The location is also spectacular (on Lake Ohrid) and the atmosphere was especially unique with all the frescoes in the St. Sophia Church where we performed!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sept 2017- World premiere of Marcel’s Concerto for piano four hands and orchestra

We were very excited about the first performance of Marcel’s new concerto for piano four hands , which we performed on Sept 22 at the opening concert of White Rock Concerts and very enthusiastically received by the audience. It was written in celebration of Canada’s 150th birthday and commissioned by White Rock Concerts. The work reflects some typical Canadian sounds, images and scenery. Here are Marcel’s notes on the work :

Wanderlust is about the wanderer/hiker – as an individual or group – embarking on an adventure with nature and its wonders. The joyous anticipation is followed by various ups-and-downs, in the literal, as well as the symbolic sense. It is not unlike my own life’s journey that eventually brought me from Germany to Canada. In this particular contest – and as a homage to my heritage – I made use of some musical references to Schubert that I considered suitable.

Flow is about nature itself – water, fluidity, in various forms and manifestations…including the stillness in its frozen, icy state that shapes so much of the Canadian landscape.

The Last Spike refers to an important historical event that eventually completed the railway across Canada, thus being a symbol of national unity. Even today, the train whistles resonating in the mountains convey some of the magic and excitement that this once-new form of transportation evoked. Motion, generated by steam and steel, translates into the patterns of the concluding movement.

Click here to view a short excerpt: https://vimeo.com/239272875

Soundcloud, Facebook and Twitter and more…

Hope everyone has had a great start to the New Year!

We are looking forward to 2015 -filled with many exciting concerts and projects. After a busy fall and a little ‘down’ time over Christmas(and some time on the beach…see photo) ,  we spent the last couple of weeks preparing for the next concerts and also managed to upload some more sound files etc . To have a listen to some duo selections and some of Marcel’s compositions for two pianos you can visit https://soundcloud.com/bergmannduo

We also are now on Twitter https://twitter.com/Bergmannduo

and always welcome any new fans on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/bergmannpianoduo?ref=hl

…oh yes…let’s not forget Youtube https://www.youtube.com/user/bergmannduo

We promise to keep you posted on our upcoming concerts and projects…stay tuned!

E and M 

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Grande Prairie, Slave Lake & Spruce Grove

We were super lucky with the weather especially with our travels up north to Grande Prairie and Slave Lake. The audiences in these communities were so eager to see and hear the 2 pianos – both concerts were the first classical concerts to be presented on the series. Not any pressure there! There was such an excitement in the air that it was almost overwhelming. Our audience in GP was probably the youngest – we were told the average age in GP is around 32. It was great to see so many young people and enthusiastic piano students out. We were happy to hear a couple of local students play before our performance in Slave Lake and were very warmly welcomed by the community. Some of our dear friends came out to hear us in Spruce Grove- it was so nice to catch up with them. Now on to Athabasca and then Fort McMurray tomorrow night. Homeward bound after that!

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Always great seeing old friends – Spruce Grove

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Grande Prairie – concert space

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Back stage in Slave Lake

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Horizon Stage – ready to go

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Lots of mud in GP

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Horizon Stage - Spruce Grove

Horizon Stage – Spruce Grove

Driving in Alberta - broken windshield.

Driving in Alberta – broken windshield.

Red Deer Symphony – premiere of Marcel’s new concerto

RDSO1What a crazy week in Calgary! We had so much fun playing with our great colleagues of the Red Deer Symphony over the past week. Last night was the big event – Poulenc concerto and Marcel’s new piece. We were so happy the musicians enjoyed playing the piece(and we very much enjoyed playing with them!) and it was an absolute thrill to see the audience’s response to it.

Bragg Creek and Calgary

On Saturday evening we played a concert in Bragg Creek – had a wonderful time re-connecting with so many great friends! We particularly enjoyed playing again at the community hall there as it brought back a whole bunch of wonderful memories of playing with colleagues on various occasions years ago. The next day we were invited over to our friends place – they are building  a spectacular home(with concert hall!). Later on we went to Michael Lipnicki Fine Pianos to rehearse once again on the fabulous BechsteinIMG_3551 IMG_3557 IMG_3565 IMG_3568 IMG_3571 IMG_3572 and Fazioli!

Medicine Hat and Brooks

We had a wonderful time performing the last couple of nights! First in my hometown of Medicine Hat at the beautiful Esplanade. We had 2 concerts – one school show for 700 students followed by a masterclass and then the full concert in the evening for a very enthusiastic audience! What great venue to play in! So many friends and family were in attendance – and was great to catch up with so many of them after the concert.

Last night we were in Brooks at the Griffin Park Theatre – lovely space and super turn out as well!

Here a couple of pics from the last couple of days.IMG_3531 IMG_3529 IMG_3534

Medicine Hat Esplanade

IMG_3521After an afternoon of rehearsing we bump into ourselves ‘hanging’ in Medicine Hat at the Esplanade where we will be playing on Wednesday Oct. 22- first concert of the tour.

Had a great tour launch event yesterday afternoon at Michael Lipnicki Fine Pianos on their beautiful instruments – a Bluthner and Fazioli 9′ concert grands. Great turn out and super to see our former colleagues, students and friends!

 

Music Writing

Hi everyone!

We are super busy getting ready for upcoming tour- lots of last minute things to do (like parts for Marcel’s new concerto, which we are premiering on Nov. 1…tons of work!)

More soon!

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