Duo-Rezital Schubert - Schumann - Barber / Geschwister Toth

Duo Recital

Manoush Ruken Toth - Piano

Anouk Minou Toth - Cello

Franz Schubert, Arpeggione Sonata in A minor for Cello and Piano, D821

Robert Schumann, Fantasiestücke, Op. 73

Samuel Barber, Sonata for Cello and Piano in C minor, Op. 6

The Toth sisters have already gained widespread recognition as young musicians. They have been honored with numerous international awards and have been performing concerts together for many years alongside their careers as soloists.

This year, Manoush Toth represented Switzerland at the Eurovision Young Classics in Yerevan, among other events; she performed as a featured artist at the András Schiff Piano Festival in Ernen; and last year she gave numerous concerts in Vienna, including as a scholarship recipient of the Lieven Foundation.

Anouk has performed concerts from Brazil to Hamburg to Vienna, and tours around the world with, among others, the renowned LGT Young Soloists.

Franz Schubert’s Arpeggione Sonata D821 was, as the name suggests, originally written for the arpeggione, an instrument that has since fallen into obscurity. The arpeggione was a guitar-like instrument with frets, though it had six strings and was held between the knees and played with a bow.

The sonata was composed in the spring of 1824 during a creative phase rich in chamber music, at the same time as his famous quartet “Death and the Maiden.” In addition to Schubert’s characteristic abundance of beautiful and incredibly moving melodies, the sonata captivates with its virtuosity and even childlike exuberance and joy of playing.

In Robert Schumann’s Three Fantasy Pieces, Op. 73, the cello becomes a human voice: at times intimate and yearning, at times light and playful, and at other times full of passionate fire—three musical moments that follow one another like the thoughts and feelings of a single, turbulent heart.

The cycle was composed during his later creative period, when he favored the short chamber music form of 3- to 5-movement cycles. Some interpret this as a personal retreat into an idyll away from the revolutionary turmoil of 1848–49. One could also say, however, that in their simple, folksy expression, they reflected the spirit of the times—the desire to create accessible art.

Samuel Barber ranks among the most significant American composers of the early 20th century. In Europe, his works are still performed relatively rarely today. In contrast to the experimental trends of the 1920s, Barber remained committed to traditional harmonies and forms. As a trained baritone and lover of Italian music, he was shaped by a keen sensitivity to the human voice, which is reflected in the lyrical lines of his music.

The Cello Sonata, Op. 6, was composed in 1932, toward the end of Barber’s studies. In form, it is clearly modeled after Brahms’s cello sonatas. Intimate, heartwarming melodies meet heroic passion and rhythmic sophistication—music of great expressiveness and immediate emotional impact.

Reservations (limited seating):

triototh@gmail.com

Information:

https://www.toth-music.com

Donations – suggested amount: 35.-

Location:

French Church, le CAP! (Parish Hall), 1st floor, Salle Nicolas Manuel