Duo Biao 2008

Award-winning electro-pop duo from Australia, containing members of the Sleepy Jackson and Pnau.
Best known for their hit single "Walking on a Dream," Australia's larger-than-life electro-glam-pop duo Empire of the Sun feature the Sleepy Jackson's Luke Steele and Pnau's Nick Littlemore. Steele had previously worked with Pnau on "With You Forever," a track from the band's 2007 self-titled third album, and the pair enjoyed collaborating so much that they started their own project, drawing inspiration from the likes of Phoenix and Daft Punk. In fall 2008, Empire of the Sun released their debut album, Walking on a Dream, which the musicians described as "a spiritual road movie." Featuring songs co-written by Pnau's other half, Peter Mayes, the album went platinum in Australia and the title track became a hit single across the globe…

Brazilian-Canadian Violinist Vladimir Rufino and Brazilian-Canadian violist Fabiola Amorim have been performing together as a duo as well as with orchestras and chamber ensembles in Brazil, United States and Canada since 2005. Their love for chamber music has brought their art to stages in Canada, USA, France, Italy and Brazil.

Formed in 2019, award-winning violin and cello duo GAIA have rapidly won plaudits for their pioneering programming and bold and daring performances.Their debut album release features three works specially written for the duo, and also bears testimony to their championing of works by underrepresented and overlooked voices from classical music’s past.

Originally written for oboe (unique composition for this instrument), the "Drei Romanzen", Op. 94 were composed in late 1849 when Schumann seemed to be inspired by old legends.

Following their Navona Records debut in 2019, Duo Sequenza returns with YES… IT’S STILL A THING!, a new program geared towards building new audiences for today’s classical music and promoting the work of living composers. Comprised of flutist Debra Silvert and classical guitarist Paul Bowman, Duo Sequenza brings an enchanting and harmonious quality that showcase the complementary capabilities of their respective instruments. From emotive and introspective works to scenic vistas painted in sound, the duo once again proves their musical chops and adaptability across a wide array of compositional styles.

This carefully selected programme by the multi award-winning Mare Duo presents some of the best original music written for mandolin and guitar, showing both instruments as equal chamber music partners in works both challenging and beautiful. The Duos surprising range and variety of timbre can be heard from Funk Pearsons highly atmospheric Mountain Moor, and the intercultural sketches by Thomas Allen LeVines, to Guido Santórsola's lyrical Sonata No. 6. Ernst Krenek's Suite is a late masterpiece that embraces virtuosity, intimacy and quirky wit, with a dramatic mini-opera as its finale, while Monk Feldman depicts an elusive ocean landscape in The Pale Blue Northern Sky.

Air and breath form an elemental bridge between the accordion and the recorder, two instruments with no shared repertoire. In their first joint album, Inventions en folie, Marion Fermé and Ambre Vuillermoz highlight this connection through an exploration of the marriage of sounds and flexibility of phrasing, in a diverse musical program drawn from the European Baroque repertoire.

With their new CD "Hymne à l'amour" the Duo Minerva shows once again how exciting and multifaceted classical music can sound. The arrangements made with great artistry, their virtuosity and their exceptionally emotional musical style breathe fresh life into often heard works. With a lot of playfulness, the well-rehearsed duo moves between a wide variety of genres and combines classical masterpieces with contemporary avant-garde, folk music and a pinch of the yet unheard of on the subject of love - completely in Duo Minerva style.

For this programme, Duo Diversitas has selected or created sophisticated arrangements that embody virtuosity and musical expression. In focusing on great composers of the 18th and 19th centuries, Marisa Minder and Evgeniya Spalinger are able to explore the artistic refinement, lyrical grace and technical sophistication of the music in this unique formation. The one original work for flute and guitar is Hans Haug’s Capriccio, a modern classic that alludes to Baroque procedure but within the context of exciting contemporary harmonies.

This selection of pieces for mandolin and guitar represents the rich variety of music from Israel. Styles range from the diaspora of Babylonian Jewry through European klezmer traditions, and Balkan Ladino songs, to contemporary influences from America. Paul Ben-Haim and Marc Lavry pioneered the use of music originating in the Jewish East, and Jan Freidlin continues the tradition, employing Oriental dance figures in his music. Oren Lok’s Ahava is an homage to love, while Ittai Rosenbaum’s Duet offers a vibrant and jazzy conclusion to this wide-ranging conspectus.