News 02/19 –
Fast/Forward

After performing over fifty concerts since the new year, which you can read about here at the Gwendolyn Masin press section, I'm very inspired, and excited about the season that is now upon us — summer! The festivals that go along with it, as well as a retreat from nonstop touring while I enter the pre-production phase of the year.
What follows is a roundup of the adventures I’ve had since January and notes on what to expect once autumn arrives.

Thank you for your interest and support. I wish you wonderful summer days!

The Shop-Window Concerts

A unique happening: Simon Bucher and I occupied the shop window of Loeb in Berne for three days of concert performances. The mini concerts were live-streamed on my website and those of our hosts and co-sponsors. A short film was also made, which you can view here.
This initiative was free to the public and was done in an effort to follow through on one of my main goals as a musician: to bring music to all people in new, inviting and seemingly effortless ways.

View By Day - Shop Window Concerts

These mini concerts actualised a sincere wish of mine — to make a space and opportunity for the public not to be confronted, but to listen and linger. An intergenerational, lived experience was shared amongst the performers, collaborators, and the audience during the course of these three days.

View By Night - Shop Window Concerts

Audience members were able to experience the concerts in three ways: attending inside the shop window, listening via headphones outside, or watching the live-stream that was available on company websites and social media.

Collaborators for the Shop Window Concerts

Anna-Sofia Bonino, who has studied with me since 2017, joined us in performance on Saturday morning for the "grande finale", a culmination of the completed nine-concert series. Together with other students of mine, we performed Shostakovich's Five Pieces. Baile flamenco dancer Alicia López also joined Simon and I for works by de Falla.

50 Concerts in 5 Months

Concert, radio, and TV performances chased one another at the start of the year. I made three journeys back and forth to the Netherlands in the space of less than ten days and totaled 21 concerts just in January. I landed headlong into tours playing in some beautiful halls with my ORIGIN ensemble through the Netherlands and Italy; gave recital performances with Simon Bucher in Switzerland and Hungary; played interpretations of Bernstein's "West Side Story" with the Melisma Saxophone Quartet; had appearances in Ireland and side-stepped into the world of rock music by way of my arrangement of "Züri West" songs in collaboration with chansonnier Oli Kehrli. The latter were performed in, arguably, the most disputed space in Berne (and the most unlikely place to find classical music): its Reitschule.

ORIGIN Poster in Como, Italy

ORIGIN Ensemble in the Teatro Sociale

We worked hard to get here, and I could not be happier for the members of my ensemble—in most cases, former students of mine—whose commitment, passion and energy inspire me continuously. Seen here: Patrick Moriarty (cello), Martin Moriarty (viola), Ernst Jan Vos (violin). Also present here: Priyanka Ravanelli (violin), Abigail McDonagh (violin).

GAIA 2019

Celebrating its eleventh edition, this year's GAIA Music Festival exceeded expectations with eight concerts, twenty-one artists, Swiss and world premieres of works by Dobrinka Tabakova and Thomas Fortmann, and an audience of over a thousand members. The GAIA community continues to grow, something that makes my heart beat with intense happiness and child-like wonder. Join us in May 2020 when we trace a path through the legacy of Beethoven with some of the most exciting artists we have hosted to date.

Inaugural National Concert Hall International Master Course

Full steam ahead! I am very excited to have a hand in shaping music-making and music education and excellence in Ireland. The Irish are a people who have, in turn, shaped how I feel, think and aspire to be. There is hardly a place I relish returning home to more.

Press Release, National Concert Hall of Ireland:

"We are delighted to announce our inaugural International Master Course, led by Artistic Directors Gwendolyn Masin (violin) and Finghin Collins (piano), from 6th to 11th August 2019.

Over six days, 32 Irish and international participants will have the opportunity to enjoy solo and chamber music coaching from our Artistic Directors together with Kirill Troussov (violin), Maxim Rysanov (viola) and Louise Hopkins (cello)."