Cellist Lluís Claret and Pianist Sandra Murray – March 6, 2024 LiveEvents February 28, 2024 638 Bourgie Hall presents Lluís Claret & Sandra Murray Andorran cellist Lluís Claret, grand prize-winner of the Rostropovich and Pablo Casals competitions, has enchanted audiences the world over with his splendidly lyrical phrasing. For his first appearance at Bourgie Hall, he will be accompanied by accomplished Quebec pianist Sandra Murray in a program of 19th- and 20th- century works. Artists Lluís Claret, cello Born in 1951 in Andorra la Vella to exiled Andorran parents, Claret began his musical studies at the age of nine. In 1964 he moved to Barcelona, Spain, where he won major distinctions at the Conservatory of the Liceu, and began working with Enric Casals. He continued his studies in France, Italy, and in the United States, with masters such as Maurice Gendron and Radu Aldulescu. Claret has said that his personal meetings with György Sebök, Eva Janzer, and Bernard Greenhouse were also implemental in the development of his artistic personality. Claret’s professional career was launched into the international spotlight after he took first prizes at the Pablo Casals International Cello Competition in 1976 and the Rostropovich Cello Competition in 1977. Chamber music, pedagogy, and a great interest in contemporary music are all essential elements of Claret’s musical focus. His previous teaching posts include the “Victoria dels Angels” Music School at Sant Cugat in Barcelona, and the Toulouse Conservatory in France. He currently teaches at the Conservatori Superior de Música del Liceu in Barcelona, and has presented masterclasses in France, Portugal, Belgium, Italy, the U.S., Japan, and Korea. Also, together with Bernard Greenhouse he conducted seminars at the Abbey of Fontfroide in Narbonne, France. A consummate performer, Claret has been on stage in the principal capitals of Europe, America, and Asia. Under the baton of Vaclav Neumann, Mstislav Rostropovitch, Pierre Boulez, Karl Münchinger, Dimitri Kitaienko, Sakari Oramo, George Malcolm, and many others, Claret has performed with orchestras such as the Washington National Symphony, Moscow Philharmonic, Hungarian Philharmonic, Czech Philharmonic, English Chamber Orchestra, and the French National Orchestra. He has also performed with notable orchestras in Tokyo, Seoul, Düsseldorf, Stuttgart, Bamberg, Moscow, Madrid, and Barcelona. In 1980, he founded the Barcelona Trio, which performed for nearly 15 years. He regularly plays with pianists Josep-Maria Colom and Benedicte Palko and has collaborated often with prestigious musicians such as Henri Dutilleux, Witold Lutoslawski, Krzysztof Penderecki, Joan Guinjoan, Iannis Xenakis, and Pierre Boulez. A regularly invited jury member for international competitions, Claret has served on the juries of the Rostropovitch Competition in Paris, France, Paulo Cello Competition in Helsinki, Finland, the International Pablo Casals Competition in Kronberg, Germany, and the Adam Cello Competition in Auckland, New Zealand. Sandra Murray, piano Sandra Murray has a full and varied career, having studied with Julian Martin at Baltimore’s Peabody Institute and at the Conservatoire de Musique de Chicoutimi under Carlos Feliciati. She has a Master’s degree in vocal accompaniment from McGill University and has completed a master class in chamber music at the Jerusalem Music Center with cellist Yo Yo Ma, pianists Emanuel Ax and Yefim Bronfman, and violinist Isaac Stern. Sandra Murray has given numerous recitals with world-renowned artists such as Stéphane Tétreault, Louis-Philippe Marsolais, Pavel Gomziakov, Yossef Ivanov, Radovan Vlatković and Javier Bonet, including international collaborations in Scotland, Israel, Switzerland, Italy and the Czech Republic. Sandra Murray is a founding member of Orford Six Pianos, with whom she has recorded two albums. She has played at most of the top festivals across this country, including the Festival international de Lanaudière, Ottawa’s Music and Beyond, Festival of the Sound in Parry Sound (Ontario), the Orford Music Festival, the Lachine Festival, Montréal Nouvelle Musique, Festival Domaine Forget, Festival des Hautes-Laurentides and the OSM’s Virée Classique. The Ouellet-Murray Duo, formed with pianist Claire Ouellet, participated in a tour of the East Coast for Jeunesses musicales du Canada, has been invited to perform alongside a number of orchestras and has completed two albums, including one of Stravinski’s Rites of Spring, which received rave reviews from the French magazine Diapason. Busy in the summertime, she also works at Domaine Forget and at the Orford Music Academy as a collaborative pianist. Over the years, she has worked with Janos Starker, Patrice Fontanarosa, Charles Niedich, James Campbell, Laurence Lesser, Michel Strauss, Brian Manker, Andrew Wan, Jonathan Crow, Richard Aaron, Natasha Brofsky and Lluis Claret. Sandra has been a faculty member and accompanist at the Conservatoire de Musique de Montréal since 1998. Program T. DUBOIS Cello Sonata DEBUSSY Cello Sonata CASALS Five pieces Wednesday, March 6, 2024 at 7:30pm To purchase your tickets visit: www.mbam.qc.ca/en/bourgie-hall/
Sandra Murray has a full and varied career, having studied with Julian Martin at Baltimore’s Peabody Institute and at the Conservatoire de Musique de Chicoutimi under Carlos Feliciati. She has a Master’s degree in vocal accompaniment from McGill University and has completed a master class in chamber music at the Jerusalem Music Center with cellist Yo Yo Ma, pianists Emanuel Ax and Yefim Bronfman, and violinist Isaac Stern. Sandra Murray has given numerous recitals with world-renowned artists such as Stéphane Tétreault, Louis-Philippe Marsolais, Pavel Gomziakov, Yossef Ivanov, Radovan Vlatković and Javier Bonet, including international collaborations in Scotland, Israel, Switzerland, Italy and the Czech Republic. Sandra Murray is a founding member of Orford Six Pianos, with whom she has recorded two albums. She has played at most of the top festivals across this country, including the Festival international de Lanaudière, Ottawa’s Music and Beyond, Festival of the Sound in Parry Sound (Ontario), the Orford Music Festival, the Lachine Festival, Montréal Nouvelle Musique, Festival Domaine Forget, Festival des Hautes-Laurentides and the OSM’s Virée Classique. The Ouellet-Murray Duo, formed with pianist Claire Ouellet, participated in a tour of the East Coast for Jeunesses musicales du Canada, has been invited to perform alongside a number of orchestras and has completed two albums, including one of Stravinski’s Rites of Spring, which received rave reviews from the French magazine Diapason. Busy in the summertime, she also works at Domaine Forget and at the Orford Music Academy as a collaborative pianist. Over the years, she has worked with Janos Starker, Patrice Fontanarosa, Charles Niedich, James Campbell, Laurence Lesser, Michel Strauss, Brian Manker, Andrew Wan, Jonathan Crow, Richard Aaron, Natasha Brofsky and Lluis Claret. Sandra has been a faculty member and accompanist at the Conservatoire de Musique de Montréal since 1998.
