International Akaroa Summer Festival

International Akaroa Summer Festival 14 to 30 January 2011

The University of Canterbury's College of Arts has announced details of the 2011 International Akaroa Summer Festival, which will be held in the seaside town between 14 and 30 January.

The last festival attracted over 2,400 guests, 1000 of whom stayed in Akaroa to the benefit of local businesses.

For the 2011 Festival, the College of Arts has secured internationally renowned artists such as Mathias Tacke from Chicago, Matias de Oliveira Pinto from Berlin, Ekaterina Derzhavina from Moscow and Edith Salzmann, Michael Endres, Anthony Ferner, Stephen Larsen, Serenity Thurlow, Helen Webby and Dame Malvina Major.

"We are looking forward to having everyone in Akaroa for 10 days of intensive rehearsing, teaching and performing and we welcome New Zealand's highly talented music students and, of course, our audience," says festival director Wolfgang Kraemer.

The festival will include masterclasses and rehearsals that will be open to the public.

"We would like to encourage everyone to spend some time attending instrumental lessons or listening to a musical masterpiece taking shape in rehearsals. Akaroa has proven to be a wonderful host town for our festival and we are looking forward to January's events."

International Artists Profiles

Mathias Tacke, violin

Mathias Tacke, violin, was the second violinist of the acclaimed Vermeer Quartet from 1992 until 2007 and prior to that a member of the Ensemble Modern Frankfurt, one of the most important professional groups specializing in contemporary music. In this capacity he gave countless first performances, including works by most of today's leading composers. With the Vermeer Quartet he gave performances in practically all of the most prestigious festivals, including Tanglewood, Taos, Ravinia, South Bank, Berlin, to name only a few. He appears internationally as a soloist and chamber player, performing a wide range of repertoire from the Baroque to the music of our time. A native of Germany, he studied with Ernst Mayer-Schierning in Detmold, Germany, with Emanuel Hurwitz and David Takeno in London, and with Sandor Vegh in Prussia Cove, Cornwall.

He has made numerous recordings for such labels as Sony, ECM, Harmonia Mundi, Naxos, and Cedille. Three of the Vermeer Quartet recordings have been nominated for the Grammy Award. Mr. Tacke is Professor of Violin and Chamber Music at Northern Illinois University and Guest Lecturer for String Chamber Music at Northwestern University.

Matias de Oliveira Pinto, cellist, conductor, arranger and composer

Born in Sao Paulo, Brazil, the cellist, conductor, arranger and composer Matias de Oliveira Pinto is one of the most remarkable teachers in Berlin, where he has lived since 1980. At the age of 18 he won a competition held in Brazil to be admitted at the Herbert von Karajan Foundation. In Berlin, he took part at the Berlin Philharmonic Academy and had classes with Eberhard Finke, principal soloist of the Philharmonic. In Europe, he studied at the Berlin Musikhochschule and at the Franz Liszt Academy, in Budapest . He also had master classes with Aldo Parisot, William Pleeth, Paul Tortelier and Antonio Menezes.

A very well-established teacher and soloist, he has given classes of cello and chamber music in many countries, such as Germany, France, Brazil, USA, Japan and Korea. Since 1991 he has been giving classes at the Musikhochshule in Berlin. In 2005 he was appointed Professor at this important institution. He is also chair of the cello Department at the Musik Hochschule in Munster.

He has recorded for many labels in Europe, such as Academy, Kreuzberg Records, Bella Musica and Hungaraton Classics. He has founded and directed specialized editions for cello literature, such as Edition Margaux and Neu Musik. In 2007 he founded the Cello Colors Label.

Matias de Oliveira Pinto is the director of the Modern Arts Sextet and the BICE (Berlin Improvising Composers Ensemble). At the Julius Stern Institut, a music school related to the Berlin Musik Hochschule, he gives classes to young talents, organizing European tours with a group of 12 brilliant cellists. Since 2006, he has been the Artistic Director of Celloherbst Festival, in Germany.

Ekaterina Derzhavina, piano

Acclaimed in Europe as one of the finest pianists of her generation, Ekaterina Derzhavina graduated from the Gnessins Music Academy in Moscow.

She won third place in the All-Russia Competition (1989) and first place in the International Bach Competition in Saarbrücken (1992). She has since performed widely throughout Russia, Europe, Canada and USA. Her 1999 recording of Bach's Goldberg Variations created a sensation in the French press, which received in 1999 "Choc du Monde de la Musique"(Paris).

Her last CD with the piano works by Nikolai Medtner received Diapason d'or in January 2009. Since 2003 she has been teaching at the Tchaikovsky Moscow Conservatory.

Michael Endres, piano

Outstanding German pianist Michael Endres has an extensive prize-winning discography and performs worldwide as soloist and chamber music partner.

He has a distinguished career as Professor for piano from the Cologne Hochschule für Musik (1993-2003) and Germany's leading college "Hanns Eisler" in Berlin (2003-2009). His 27 CDs cover complete Mozart, Schubert and Carl Maria v. Weber's sonatas, plus Ravel's complete works for piano.

Endres accompanied the legendary baritone Hermann Prey for many years. His chamber music partners include Berlin Philharmonic soloists, Artemis Quartet, Fine Arts Quartet among others and he performs in festivals such as Newport USA, Beethoven Festival Bonn, Salzburg Festival etc.

In 2009 he joined the faculty at the University of Canterbury as Professor for Piano.

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