Astoria Concerts Programme 2026 - 2027

To open the 2026–2027 season, Concerts Astoria joins forces with the Festival Mozart (Waterloo International Chamber Music Festival), reviving a beautiful tradition initiated in 1998.

Gathering a distinguished roster of international artists, this festive program brings melodies, songs, and dances into a vibrant dialogue that stretches from the English Renaissance to 20th-century Spain : a journey through the centuries where poetry, lyricism, and virtuosity intertwine.

• Alissa Margulis, violin
• Roland Glassl, viola
• Matis Griso, cello
• Nozomi Kanda, flute
• Mavroudos Troullos, bassoon
• Bertrand Giraud, piano
• Lily Maisky, piano

The eminent French clarinettist Jean-Marc Fessard, joined by his longtime duo partner Olivier Dauriat, travels from Paris to present a carefully curated programme. They pair two Romantic masterpieces of the repertoire, by Schumann and Saint-Saëns, with rare works drawn from their ambitious recording project dedicated to the competition pieces of the renowned Paris Conservatory.

Jean-Marc Fessard, clarinet
Olivier Dauriat, piano

• Camille Saint-Saëns: Clarinet Sonata, Op. 167 in E-flat major
• Robert Schumann: Fantasiestücke, Op. 73 for clarinet and piano
• Charles-Marie Widor: Introduction et Rondo, Op. 72 for clarinet and piano
• André Messager: Solo de Concours for clarinet and piano
• Claude Debussy: Première Rapsodie, L. 116 for clarinet and piano
• Joseph Jongen: Récitatif et Airs de Ballet, Op. 33 for clarinet and piano

This concert celebrates the cello in all its rich lyrical eloquence and expressive depth. Cellist Natania Hoffman and pianist Monika Dars bring monumental Romantic pages by Beethoven, Schumann, and Grieg into an inspired dialogue with the singular, suspended, and deeply evocative world of Lithuanian composer Anatolijus Šenderovas's Four Miniatures.

Natania Hoffman, cello

Monika Dars, piano

• Anatolijus Šenderovas: 4 Miniatures for cello and piano
• Robert Schumann: Adagio and Allegro, Op. 70 for cello and piano
• Ludwig van Beethoven: Cello Sonata No. 4 in C major, Op. 102 No. 1
• Edvard Grieg: Cello Sonata in A minor, Op. 36

Bringing together two masterful post-Romantic works, Daniel Rubenstein (violin) and Muhiddin Dürrüoğlu (piano) invite listeners to discover the remarkable and overlooked First Violin Sonata of Robert Fuchs. A close friend of Brahms and a central figure in the musical life of fin-de-siècle Vienna, Fuchs helped pave the way for a young Richard Strauss, whose Sonata in E-flat major answers the nobility and lyrical depth of his predecessor with youthful brilliance.

Violin Sonata No. 1 in F-sharp minor, Op. 20 by Robert Fuchs and a Violin Sonata in E-flat major, Op. 18 by Richard Strauss.