Jonathan Aner

Teodora Gheorghiu's second album for Aparte is 'Art Nouveau': the core is Richard Strauss' Op. 22 and 67, framed by a selection of songs from different cultural groups, linguistically and aesthetically. Gheorghiu's homage to 18th-century soprano Anna de Amicis included mostly premiere recordings of arias by Mozart, Gluck, Borghi, Cafaro and Myslivecek and was named Disc of the Month by International Record Review, by Opera magazine, and was BBC Radio Three’s Disc of the Week.

Teodora Gheorghiu's second album for Aparte is 'Art Nouveau': the core is Richard Strauss' Op. 22 and 67, framed by a selection of songs from different cultural groups, linguistically and aesthetically. Gheorghiu's homage to 18th-century soprano Anna de Amicis included mostly premiere recordings of arias by Mozart, Gluck, Borghi, Cafaro and Myslivecek and was named Disc of the Month by International Record Review, by Opera magazine, and was BBC Radio Three’s Disc of the Week.

The starting point for this album was a concert of Weinberg's Sonata, in which Shirley Brill was deeply moved by the overwhelming emotional power. Being Jewish herself, she was deeply moved by the rich folkloric klezmer elements that are so intensely expressed in this sonata. This experience sparked her passion for exploring the integration of national feelings into classical music, with a particular focus on Germany and Poland.

Teodora Gheorghiu's second album for Aparte is 'Art Nouveau': the core is Richard Strauss' Op. 22 and 67, framed by a selection of songs from different cultural groups, linguistically and aesthetically. Gheorghiu's homage to 18th-century soprano Anna de Amicis included mostly premiere recordings of arias by Mozart, Gluck, Borghi, Cafaro and Myslivecek and was named Disc of the Month by International Record Review, by Opera magazine, and was BBC Radio Three’s Disc of the Week.

Ten years ago, in 2006, three musicians got together to play Mendelssohn. The trio eventually started looking for an appropriate name, and they eventually found their “patron” in Oberon, one of the characters in Shakespeare’s play A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The King of the Elves embodies the pleasure anyone can find in metamorphosis, in games and creativity, and that remains this musical trio’s creed until today – the will to remain flexible at all times, avoiding any sort of routine in music-making and programming. “We ‘compose’ our programmes with great care”, affirms cellist Antoaneta Emanuilova.

“Until it all completely dissolves”: in conversation with the Oberon Trio An interview by Friederike Westerhaus “Duality” is the title of your new album. In your trio lineup, are you confronted with duality on a basic level?Jonathan Aner: All the time! A piano trio combines two different instrumental families: this is already something “dual”. We even ask ourselves how the piano can form a unity with string instruments at all! But piano trio repertoire shows that it is possible. The combination is almost magical. Antoaneta Emanuilova: However, when I think of the three of us and our personalities, I find that we do not form a duality. We are three strong, proactive personalities: in our trio each one of us is autonomous, and we make music as equals.Henja Semmler: Perhaps a sort of duality is nevertheless at work in the very fact that the trio forms a unity, on the one hand, but is made up of three different personalities on the other. Of course we find it important to work together until we become homogeneous.

“Until it all completely dissolves”: in conversation with the Oberon Trio An interview by Friederike Westerhaus “Duality” is the title of your new album. In your trio lineup, are you confronted with duality on a basic level?

Shirley Brill and Jonathan Aner have performed together as the Brillaner Duo since 1999, giving concerts in Europe (Berlin Philharmonie, Zurich Tonhalle), the USA (Carnegie Hall), Asia (Shanghai Oriental Art Center), Australia and Israel. They regularly appear as guests at the music festivals of Schleswig-Holstein, Mecklenburg- West Pomerania, Rheingau, Heidelberg, the Festival de Radio France et Montpellier and the Jerusalem International Chamber Music Festival.