idw – Informationsdienst Wissenschaft
Nachrichten, Termine, Experten
Nachrichten, Termine, Experten
idw - Informationsdienst
Wissenschaft
Inaugural concert with Mechthild Karkow after she had joined the HfK as Professor for Baroque Violin on October 30th, 6 pm at the Sendesaal in Bremen.
With a play of words not easily transferrable into other languages, Ludwig van Beethoven once expressed his admiration for Johann Sebastian Bach thus: “He should not have been named `Bach´ (German for creek), but `Ocean´ for his endless and inexhaustible riches of tonal combinations and harmonies!” Yet Beethoven was fully equal to Bach in his inventiveness as a composer. Violinist Mechthild Karkow wishes to demonstrate these qualities in her inaugural concert for Baroque violin after she had joined the HfK as Professor for Baroque Violin.
She will present Baroque rhetoric and Viennese classicism by performing two precedent setting master works: J.S. Bach: Partita for Violin Solo No.2 in D minor; and Ludwig von Beethoven: Violin Sonata No. 10 (his final violin sonata). Tobias Koch will accompany the violinist at the fortepiano.
For her, it goes without saying that delving into historical sources and playing instruments as well as bows and using techniques and posture for playing that are appropriate to the repertoire “enriches a stylistically differentiated and lively interpretation.” She therefore performs the solo works by Bach on a Baroque violin ascribed to Jakob Stainer (1619 – 1683). When performing Beethoven, she uses a violin in classical tuning by the same maker to give the audience the opportunity to make an authentic comparison between the sounds of the periods in musical history. In the end, Mechthild Karkow always strifes to create that magical moment when historical instruments, the language of composers and the ideals relating to the sound of the given era align to facilitate an experience of timeless affects and emotions as the essence of early music for present-day audiences. A spark of something intangible is always at play then. One can not put the whole experience into writing—one has to be there in person for it.
Why does Mechthild Karkow deem herself fortunate to have received the call to become the Professor for Baroque Violin and Baroque Viola at the HfK Bremen starting in the winter semester 2020/21? “To take over the chair from Professor Thomas Albert is obviously an honour for myself as tending to early music has a long tradition in Bremen and the education here is highly regarded internationally. There are also many inspiring colleagues here. These are ideal conditions for my passion to teach. On top of that, the HfK has offered intriguing opportunities to shape and develop the teaching. I therefore was promoted to Vice Principal for Studies and Teaching within a year of my arrival in Bremen.”
What are the main interests of Mechthild Karkow at her work as an academic teacher? “This is what I want to achieve at the HfK: Continuing the engagement with the music of the 17th and 18 centuries in a spirited fashion while also looking forward into the 19th century as far as into the Romantic period and creating substantial connections between topical areas and disciplines. I put great emphasis on connecting historical performance practices with musicological research and musical theory. These efforts aim to further explore the area of Baroque music that is not defined by musical notes, the art of improvisation and ornamentation.”
What are some of the fundamental aspects of the HfK Mechthild Karkow has come to appreciate specifically? “The University just has an ideal size to quickly make contacts. There is a familial atmosphere that fosters an open and enriching exchange within the Music Department and also the Department for Arts and Design. These opportunities give rise to wonderful projects. There also is an enthusiastic spirit of creativity at our course for early music—a great curiosity for themes that have hardly been researched yet and new formats of staging and performance yet to be developed.”
Biographies
Mechthild Karkow
The Baroque violinist Mechthild Karkow is one of the most versatile specialists in her field with a practice of performing on historical instruments. Her repertoire spans from the end of the 16th to the early 20th century and includes contemporary compositions for Baroque violin, Baroque viola and viola d’amore.
Mechthild Karkow participates at highly regarded festivals and has performed at concerts as a soloist, a concertmaster and as a chamber musician with different ensembles internationally. Among numerous engagements, she has shared stages with musicians such as Christoph Coin, Andrea Marcon and Marieke Spaans and has appeared as a soloist and artistic director of the Freiburger Barockorchester.
As an artist, Mechthild Karkow prioritises passing along her experience and substantial knowledge of playing the violin. She began her pedagogical work as a Professor for Baroque Violin and Baroque Viola at the University of Music and Theatre “Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy” Leipzig in 2013 and taught at the Frankfurt University of Music and Performing Arts at the same time. She was appointed Professor for Baroque Violin and Baroque Viola at the HfK at the beginning of the winter semester 2020/21. Beyond her work at the University she also teaches international master courses, presentations and workshops.
Tobias Koch
As an artist, Tobias Koch has gathered valuable inspirations when taking master classes at the music academies in Düsseldorf and Graz with David Levine, Roberto Szidon and Walter Kamper. Tobias Koch has been recognised with the Förderpreis Musik awarded by Düsseldorf as the state capital of North Rhine-Westfalia to support music scholarship and he teaches at the local Robert Schumann Hochschule as well as at the Berlin University of the Arts. Koch also teaches master courses worldwide, including at the academies in Verbier and Montepulciano. Additionally, he forged close relationships to makers of instruments, conservators and numerous museums for instruments. Koch himself owns an extensive collection of historical keyboard instruments.
His wide ranging activities as a musician include a wealth of productions for radio and television; publications on performance practice, rhetoric and musical aesthetic; editions of sheet music and much else. Koch has recorded more than 40 CDs with works ranging from Mozart to Brahms that have been recognised with many awards and prizes. Not least among them are the complete works for piano by Ludwig van Beethoven.
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Nicht Bach! Meer sollte er heissen!
Sendesaal Bremen, Bürgermeister-Spitta-Allee 45
October 30, 6 pm
Mechthild Karkow – Baroque violin and classical violin
Tobias Koch – fortepiano
Program
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750): Partita Nr. 2 d-Moll for Violin solo, BWV 1004
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827): Sonata for Pianoforte and Violin Nr. 10 in G-Dur, Op. 96
Tickets have to b ordered by phone under 0421-33005767 or directly at the website of the Sendesaal (https://sendesaal-bremen.de/).
Mechthild Karkow and her Baroque violin. She will play the instrument to interpret the Partita Nr. 2 ...
(Photo: Klemens Karkow)
Mechthild Karkow will give her inaugural concert as professor of baroque violin at the Bremen Univer ...
(Photo: Laurenz A. Reinitzer)
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Music / theatre
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