Women Empowerment: SOPHIE & KATHARINA

Katharina Gross & Fie Schouten (c) Melanja Palitta

Katharina Gross – cello & Fie Schouten – bass clarinet perform a Graz premiere in the Women Empowerment series in the presence of the Korean composer Seung-Won Oh.

Jan Van de Putte (*1959): The Gift (2022) for cello and bass clarinet

Frederik Neyrinck (*1985): Echo de Cleves A (2020) for cello solo

Theo Loevendie (*1930): Aulos (1972) for one or more instruments

Frederik Neyrinck (*1985): Echo de Cleves B (2020)
for clarinet solo

Seung-Won Oh (b. 1969): Modular 3 for Two (2022) for cello and bass clarinet

Cellist Katharina Gross was selected by the Mondriaan Fund and the Performing Arts Fund NL 2020 for an artist residency at the Van Doesburg House in Paris, where she spent four months in the summer of 2020 working on new musical projects, including Transformation, a new work by Aurélio Edler-Copes to be premiered during the Gaudeamus Muziekweek in Utrecht in September 2022, and her own music theatre performance Sehnsucht, premiered during the Cello Biennale Amsterdam 2020.

Katharina Gross also works intensively with the Dutch composer Jan van de Putte. At the November Music Festival she premiered his solo work Vorsicht, Katharina! which was also released on CD by concertello records, supported by the Sena Performers Music Production Fund. Jan van de Putte also wrote No Movement for Katharina, which she performed as soloist with the orkest de ereprijs, and Aanraken (Touching) for cello and piano. www.katharinagross.at

Fie Schouten, born in Amsterdam and living there ever since, can be heard in many different formations on stages and festivals worldwide. She plays all clarinets, with a preference for the lower instruments. Fie Schouten has been collaborating with composers since her student days. Over 100 works have been composed and performed for her and her ensembles. Fie Schouten and Tobias Klein are the initiators and artistic directors of the Basklarinet Festijn, which has taken place four times so far. She is the initiator and curator (together with composer Aspasia Nasopoulou) of the contemporary chamber music series Nieuwe Noten Amsterdam at the Plein Theatre. Fie is also a lecturer in bass clarinet at the Prins Claus Conservatorium in Groningen. Besides bass clarinet, she also teaches basset horn, double bass clarinet, contemporary music and methodology. She directs the Conservatory’s contemporary music ensemble and regularly invites composers to work with the students. www.fieschouten.nl

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