RattleOzsuka_1000

Sacha Rattle (clarinet) & Zeynep Özsuca (piano)

St Margaret's Church, Twickenham, TW1 1RL (Opp. St Margarets Station)
This concert is now CANCELLED.

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Hindemith:
Clarinet Sonata
Stanford:
Three Intermezzi, Op. 13
Bernstein:
Sonata for Clarinet and Piano
Schumann:
Adagio and Allegro, Op. 70
Berg:
Four Pieces for Clarinet and Piano, Op. 5
Brahms:
Sonata in F minor, Op. 120 No. 1

Zeynep and Sacha first met in 2005 in Oberlin Conservatory, studying the Mozart Kegelstatt Trio with Professor Roger Chase. Since then, they have been performing together regularly, both as a duo and in larger ensemble formations.

They both moved to Berlin Germany to study respectively, and here they founded their chamber ensemble ‘Berlin Counterpoint’, with whom they have had numerous performances and in 2014, released their debut album.

As a duo, they have performed on a wide range of stages, including prominent venues such as Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival, Würzburg Festival, Queen Elizabeth Hall London, Teatro Villamarta Jerez, Fundation Juan March Madrid and the Berlin Philharmonie.

They have also worked in some smaller, more intimate situations, such as the Vortex jazz club in London, and Klasik Keyifler festival in Cappadocia, Turkey, doing education work with young musicians, as well as recitals. Regarding education, the duo has also been involved with the El Sistema organisation in Venezuela, as well as an off shoot in Istanbul called Music for Peace, and some education work around Germany.

The duo have worked closely with a few living composers, most notably having works dedicated to them respectively by Kamran Ince and Mark Mellits.

In 2014, Sacha and Zeynep got married in Potsdam, Germany, and are now happily living together in London.

The Turkish pianist Zeynep Özsuca has performed worldwide as a soloist, chamber musician and accompanist. Born in Ankara in 1984, she began piano lessons at the age of four and continued her studies at Ankara Conservatory of Hacettepe University. After winning Istanbul Symphony’s Young Soloists Competition in 2001, Zeynep moved to the United States to complete a Bachelor’s degree in Piano Performance at the Oberlin Conservatory under Prof. Peter Takács. She then majored in accompaniment and vocal coaching at the Hochschule für Musik ‘Hanns Eisler’, Berlin with Prof. Alexander Vitlin and graduated with an MA in 2013. Zeynep currently lives in London and pursues her career as concert pianist and repetiteur.

Zeynep has worked with conductors such as Gustavo Dudamel, Simon Halsey, Sir Simon Rattle and Sir Antonio Pappano, and acted as rehearsal pianist for singers Magdalena Kožená, Rolando Villazón, Gerald Finley, Annette Dasch, Michael Schade to name a few. She has been working as a repetiteur and orchestra member in renowned opera houses and festivals like Staatsoper Berlin, Aix-en-Provence Music Festival, Royal Opera House Covent Garden and Glyndebourne Festival Opera. As a chamber musician, she has performed on prestigious stages including the Berlin Philharmonie, Palau de la Musica Valencia, Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival, Queen Elizabeth Hall as well as live radio broadcasts on Deutschlandfunk, Deutschlandradio, RBB Kulturradio (Germany), RNE (Spain) and BBC 3 (UK). She also regularly appears in concert with her wind and piano sextet Berlin Counterpoint.

Since his highly praised 2009 solo debut at Berlin’s Philharmonie, Sacha Rattle has become an established soloist. Noted for his immense sensitivity, warm character and unique sound, his career has developed rapidly with performances throughout Europe, including festival appearances at the Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival, Spannungen, Heimbach, Musikfest Stuttgart, Bremen Musikfest, Gidon Kremer’s Kammermusikfest, Lockenhaus and Italy’s AnimaMundi Festival. Sacha has also appeared at many prestigious concert halls,such as the Philharmonie (Berlin), Cadogan Hall (London), Palau de la Musica (Valencia), Herbst Theater (San Francisco), Laeiszhalle (Hamburg), and the Sociedad Filarmónica (Bilbao). In 2011, he made his Asian debut as soloist with the Taiwan National Symphony Orchestra in the National Concert Hall, Taipei, performing works by Copland and Debussy.

Sacha is also a much sought-after chamber musician, having collaborated with artists such as Mitsuko Uchida, Lars Vogt, Isabelle Faust, Katia and Marielle Labèque, François Leleux, Guy Braunstein, Pascal Moragues, Chi-chi Nwanoku and Claudio Bohorquez. He is a founding member of the ensemble “Berlin Counterpoint”, a wind and piano sextet that has been enjoying great success world-wide, releasing their debut CD in 2014 under the ‘Genuin’ label.

Wanting to spread his love for chamber music, Sacha helped to create the organization “Classical Revolution Berlin”, an offspring of the Classical Revolution in San Francisco that is devoted to bringing chamber music to unusual locations such as bars, clubs and cafes.

Born in London in 1983, Sacha began studying the clarinet at the age of 9 at the Birmingham Conservatoire. In 2005 he received his Performance Diploma at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music under Professor Richard Hawkins. Interested in the German school of clarinet playing, Sacha then moved to Berlin to study with Karl-Heinz Steffens at Hochschule für Musik ‘Hanns Eisler’, Berlin. In 2010, he completed his studies with Wenzel Fuchs and Ralf Forster. In addition, he has been influenced heavily by his work with historical clarinet performers Antony Pay and Lorenzo Coppola.

In 2015, Sacha moved to London as a member of the Southbank Sinfonia.