A Musical Labyrinth
Cēsis Concert Hall, Latvia
Program
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, A Musical Joke (Divertimento for two horns and string quartet), K.522
Pietro Locatelli - Concerto No. 12 in D major: Il Laberinto Armonico, facilus aditus, difficilis exitus,
Op. 3/12, with Kristine Balanas, soloist
-intermission-
Nino Rota, Concerto for Strings (1964-65)
Mozart, Clarinet Concerto in A Major, K.622, with Wenzel Fuchs, soloist
Karajan Academy graduates, with young stars of Latvia,
conducted by Stanley Dodds (Berlin Philharmonic)
Kristine Balanas
A musician of “eye-popping virtuosity” (The Times), Latvian violinist Kristine Balanas is a 3rd prize
laureate of the 66th International ARD Music Competition, 2018 Young Artist of the Year in the
Grand Music Awards of her home country, and recipient of the Fundacion Excelentia Young
Talent Award from Her Majesty Queen Sofia of Spain. Soloist with some of the world’s leading
orchestras (London Philharmonic Orchestra, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre de
Chambre de Paris, countless others), with frequent guest appearances at the Berliner
Philharmonie, Southbank Centre, and Carnegie Hall, her artistic life extends beyond the musical
page to exclusive collaborations with the Italian luxury lingerie brand La Perla and her own
conceptual video productions of virtuosic classical music works released through her YouTube
channel. Her head-turning transformation from a street musician and Rock-n-Roll singer in Latvia
to a graduate with honors of the Royal Academy of Music where she studied under György Pauk,
and Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler, under Kolja Blacher, in demand for her “savage, bold,
dramatic” (The Strad) playing, marks her as an entirely idiosyncratic presence on the stage.
Stanley Dodds
Stanley Dodds is the Principal Conductor of the Berlin Symphony Orchestra with ten sold-out
concerts each season in the Berliner Philharmonie, including the annual New Year's Day concert
with Beethoven's ninth symphony. Stanley gave his debut with the Vancouver Symphony
Orchestra in February 2020. Past guest conductor appearances include the Hamburger
Symphoniker, Sendai Philharmonic, Neubrandenburger Philharmonie, Istanbul State Symphony
Orchestra, Beijing Symphony Orchestra, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Tasmanian Symphony
Orchestra, Canberra Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestre Philharmonique Luxembourg, Jena
Philharmonic, Orchestra I Pomeriggi Musicale Milano, ensembles of the Berliner Philharmoniker,
the Karajan-Academy Orchestra and the Scharoun Ensemble Berlin. He appears at major
Festivals in Salzburg and Baden-Baden, at the Musikfest and MaerzMusik in Berlin, Musica Viva
in Munich and the Summer Festival in Mecklenburg Western Pomerania.
Wenzel Fuchs
Wenzel Fuchs was born in Innsbruck, Austria, where he began his study of the clarinet with
Professor Walter Kafer at the local conservatory. He continued his studies with Professor Peter
Schmidl at Vienna University of Music and the Performing Arts, taking his degree with high
honours. He also won awards from the Austrian Ministry of Science and Art the Jugend Musiziert
competitions. During his studies he deputized regularly in all Viennese orchestras, including the
Vienna State Opera Orchestra and the Vienna Philharmonic. At the age of 19 he become the solo
clarinetist in the orchestra of Vienna Volksoper, followed five years later by a similar appointment
in the Vienna RSO. Since 1993 he has been the solo clarinetist of the Berlin Philharmonic; he also
teaches at the orchestra’s Karajan Academy. He has held a professorship at the Hanns Eisler
University of Music (2008-13) and has been a visiting professor at the Geidai University in Tokyo.
In 2015 he became a professor at the Mozateum University in Salzburg. Besides his many
master-classes in Japan, Europe and the United States, he appears throughout the world as a
soloist with such orchestras as the Tokyo Philharmonic, the China National SO, the Korean SO,
the Berlin Symphony and the Berlin Philharmonic.
Karajan Academy
Former students of the Orchestra Academy can be found everywhere, whether in the Royal
Concertgebouw Orchestra, the London Symphony Orchestra, the Vienna and Munich
Philharmonic orchestras - and of course the Berliner Philharmoniker. "Learn from the pros" is the
motto of the Academy. Founded in 1972 by Herbert von Karajan and funded by private donors,
highly talented young musicians are taught by members of the Berliner Philharmoniker and are
prepared for the life of professional orchestral musicians. A commitment that bears abundant fruit:
About a quarter of the members of the Berliner Philharmoniker today are former students of the
Academy.