Solitude Concerts in the Barn – young musicians perform chamber music

On Sunday, September 13, 2009 at 11am this year’s third concert in the series Solitude-Konzerte in der Scheune – Junge Interpreten spielen Kammermusik [Solitude Concerts in the Barn – young musicians perform chamber music] will take place. From the Staatliche Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst Stuttgart Axel Haase (violin), Sonja Kraus (violoncello) and Julia Barthruff (piano) perform works by Ludwig van Beethoven, Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy and Dmitri Schostakowitsch. In cooperation with the Rudolf Eberle Foundation.

Axel Haase (*1988) started to play the violin at the age of seven. Already at the age of twelve he was a junior student in the class of Dan Talpan at the Hochschule für Musik Würzburg. Five years later he took classes with Anke Dill in Stuttgart, first as a junior student and since one year as a regular student. Axel Haase gained experience in orchestras such as the Bundesjugendorchester, at the summer academy in Detmold with instructor Kurt Masur and as concertmaster of the Stuttgart university orchestra. He attended master classes led by such outstanding musicians as Valery Gradow, Shmuel Ashkenasi and Igor Ozim. Due to his great interest in chamber music he attended courses with the Carmina quartet, the Vogler quartet and with Christian Sikorski, Florian Wiek and Adrian Cox. Axel Haase has received numerous awards, among others the third prize in the international competition in San Bartolomeo al Mare (Italy) and several national prizes from the competition »Jugend musiziert«. He is a fellow in the Konrad-Adenauer-Foundation.

Sonja Kraus (*1990) started to play at the age of four on a self-made »Stradi-Kraus« violin and received violoncello lessons three years later. From 2004 to 2008 she was a junior student with Susanne Müller-Hornbach at the Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst Frankfurt/Main. Since 2008 she has been studying with Conradin Brotbeck in Stuttgart. Until 2002 Sonja Kraus had been a fellow of the Wetterau region several times. She has gained experience in orchestras such as the Jugend-Sinfonie-Orchester of the State of Hessen (from 2001 until 2004) and in the Bundesjugendorchester, where she took over the voice leading in 2007. With this orchestra and under such distinguished conductors as Gerd Albrecht and Gustavo Dudamel she went on tours to Japan, Venezuela and Eastern Europe, among others. Since 2007 she is a member of the Johann Strauß orchestra in Wiesbaden. Master classes with Josef Schwab and Alban Gerhardt complete her musical training. Sonja Kraus has been granted several prizes on regional and national level from »Jugend musiziert«. In 2007 she received the audience award of the Deutscher Musikwettbewerb für Amateure in the Alte Oper Frankfurt together with her piano partner Felix Sheng. She also won the Pirazzi competition for strings at the Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst Frankfurt.

Julia Barthruff (*1980) received her first piano lessons at the age of six, among others with Barbara Barthruff. After her A-levels, she studied at the Musikhochschule Saarbrücken with Kristin Merscher, whose junior student she had been. In 2002, she changed to Kaya Han and Angelika Merkle in Karlsruhe, where she graduated with honors. Since 2006 she has been studying chamber music (Master) with Florian Wiek at the Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst Stuttgart. Julia Barthruff was a member of the Bundesjungendorchester. She has received several awards, among others from the national competition »Jugend musiziert« and the second prize in the international »J. Mirabent i Migrans« chamber music competition in Sitges/Barcelona. Besides her studies, Julia Barthruff regularly performs in concerts and takes lessons. She frequently works as an instructor for various courses.

Admission: 15 euros / 10 euros reduced (advance booking fee not included)
Tickets available at SKS Russ (Tel. 0711 – 1635321), Kulturgemeinschaft Stuttgart e. V. (Tel. 0711 – 2247715) and at the door.