Opening Concert • Mustjala festival 2023

Sunday, June 25. 2023 at 12 a.m. Mustjala day care center
OPENING CONCERT

Paula Šumane – violin (Latvia)
Irina Zahharenkova – piano
Aare Tammesalu – cello

 Program:
Johann Sebastian Bach – Prelude from Partita in E major for violin solo, BWV 1006
Ludwig van Beethoven – Piano trio Op. 1 No. 1 in E flat major
Lauri Jõeleht – Piano sonata (2023, PREMIERE)
Arno Babajanyan – Piano trio in F sharp minor

Paula Šūmane is a Latvian concert violinist and laureate of numerous international violin competitions and the Grand Music Award of Latvia. She has performed as a soloist, chamber musician and improviser in 25 countries, and is frequently invited to give violin masterclasses. Paula has collaborated as a soloist with various symphony and chamber orchestras – Latvian National Symphony Orchestra, Lithuanian State Symphony Orchestra, Sinfonietta Riga, Liepaja Symphony Orchestra, Latvian National Opera Orchestra, Lisbon Metropolitan Orchestra, Baden-Baden Philharmonic Orchestra, Hofer Symphoniker, Klaipeda State Music Theatre Orchestra etc. The violinist regularly performs as a member of the Baltia string trio, which was nominated for the Grand Music Award of Latvia in the category “Concert of the Year”. Paula Šūmane graduated with distinction from the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris and Kunstuniversität Graz, obtaining a Master`s degree.

Paula is deeply grateful to all the teachers who have shaped her musical skills – violin professors Yair Kless (Austria), Boris Garlitsky (France), Uldis Viesturs Sprūdžs, Ojārs Kalniņš, Haviva Dimenšteine, Ludmila Girska, Gaļina Akuļiča and Anete Zvaigzne (Latvia), as well as chamber music professors Itamar Golan (France), Chia Chou (Austria), and contemporary music professor and composer Georg Friedrich Haas (Austria).

Irina Zahharenkova is one of the most outstanding keyboard performers from Estonia today.

 She has won first prizes from major international piano competitions as the International Johann Sebastian Bach Competition (Leipzig, Germany – 2006), Alessandro Casagrande International Piano Competition (Terni, Italy – 2006), International Competition George Enescu (Bucharest, Romania – 2005), and Jaén International Piano Contest (Jaén, Spain – 2004). In 2008 she became prize-winner in Artur Rubinstein International Piano Master Competition in Tel Aviv, Israel. Irina has also been a laureate in Prague Spring competition in Czech Republic (2005) – as a harpsichordist and in Festival van Vlaanderen competition in Bruges, Belgium (2004) – as fortepianist. She was a winner of 2007 Borletti-Buitoni Trust Fellowship Award.

Irina Zahharenkova obtained her Master of Music degree in Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre with Prof. Lilian Semper and in Sibelius Academy in Finland with Prof. Hui-Ying Líu-Tawaststjerna. In addition to piano she explored early keyboards, studying harpsichord with prof. Maris Valk-Falk and fortepiano with Prof. Pekka Vapaavuori.

She has attended masterclasses of Sir András Schiff, Stephen Kovacevich, Angela Hewitt, Malcolm Bilson, Pierre Hantaï and others.

 

Performing frequently in solo piano and harpsichord recitals in Europe and Asia, Irina Zahharenkova has played among others in Klavier-Festival Ruhr and Mendelssohn Festival in Germany, Spoleto Festival, Serate Musicali di Milano and Accademia Chigiana Festival in Italy, Kuhmo Chamber Music Festival, Naantali Festival, Mikkeli Summer Festival in Finland, Prades Pablo Casals Festival in France, Enescu Festival in Romania, Bergen International Festival in Norway and many others.

 

As soloist she has appeared with BBC Ulster Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Orchestre National de Lorraine, Israel Philarmonic Orchestra, Sinfonietta Riga, Pilsen Philharmonic Orchestra, Symphony Orchestra of North Carolina, Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, Prague Chamber Orchestra, Estonian National Symphony Orchestra, Sinfonia Finlandia and others, played with such conductors as Olari Elts, Robert Trevino, Daniel Raiskin, Juha Kangas, Risto Joost, Dmitri Alexeev, Leif Segerstam, Patrick Gallois.

 

As an active chamber musician Irina Zahharenkova has played among others with Elina Vähälä, Arto Noras, Klaus Mäkelä, Harri Mäki, Réka Szilvay, Jaakko Luoma, Jaakko Kuusisto, Martti Rousi, Minna Pensola, Antti Tikkanen, Sergey Malov, Daniel Müller-Schott, Vladimir Mendelssohn, Patrick Gallois, Sascha Sitkovetsky, Nicolas Dautricourt, Daniel Rowland, Jacques Zoon, Ilya Gringolts, Harmut Rohde, Nicholas Daniel, Radovan Vlatkovic, Ivan Monghetti.

 

Her repertoire encompasses a wide range of musical styles from baroque to contemporary.

Cellist Aare Tammesalu performing classical and contemporary music. He acquired a Master´s degree at the Estonian Academy of Music and has enriched his university experiences by taking lessons from Prof. Mikhail Homitser in Moscow State Conservatory. He has performed in many European countries (Vale of Glamorgan Festival, Autunno Musicale, Emilia Romagna Festival etc), United States, Canada, Japan, Iran and in prestigues concert halls in Russia (The Grand Hall of the Moscow Conservatory, St.Petersburg Philharmonia). In 2012, Aare Tammesalu was awarded the Hendrik Krumm Culture Prize, in 2019 the Annual Prize of the Estonian Music Council. He is artistic director of the Palace Music Concert Series in Tallinn and Mustjala Festival in Saaremaa island (Estonia).


The Mustjala Festival with its long traditions invites music fans to Saaremaa – a place with breathtaking virgin nature that is perfect for holidaying and enjoying art. The classical music festival has been taking place since 1995. Performers include recognised Estonian musicians and brilliant guests from abroad. Concerts take place in churches, the picturesque Tagaranna fishing village, Loona and Pidula manors, Ninase holiday village; sometimes, also at unexpected venues – an artillery gun position that was constructed by the Soviet soldiers in 1939 for coastal defense on Ninase Peninsula, etc. The art director of the festival is Aare Tammesalu.

Supporters:
Estonian Ministry of Culture
Estonian Cultural Endowment

Saaremaa Municipality

Estonian Folk Culture Centre
Vöimalus Fondation