Zebra Trio
Ernst Kovacic, Violin
Steven Dann, Viola
Anssi Karttunen, Cello
The String Trio, a unique and largely
unexplored genre that includes in its
repertoire masterpieces from all periods of
musical history, has found a new champion in
the collaboration between three remarkable
string players. Ernst Kovacic, Steven Dann
and Anssi Karttunen represent a wealth of
experience, commitment and virtuosity, which
brings
something
exceptional
to
this
transparent and highly individual form of
chamber music.
With the versatile, creative and highly adaptable species of the Zebra, the three
musicians have found the perfect animal to represent their identity as a chamber
ensemble, as they explain with a wink: “Despite the fact that no two zebras are alike,
each bearing a completely unique set of stripes, when one puts several zebras together,
their differences combine to create the impression of a single organism. This
amalgamation gives them the ability to make a powerful collective impression on lions,
leopards, hyenas, and...audiences. But perhaps the most important quality zebras
possess is their refusal to be swayed by public opinion. Zebras are the only horse which
has never been domesticated. They are far too stubborn. Would we be bringing all this
new music into the world if we were not a little inclined in this direction?”
Ernst Kovacic, Steven Dann and Anssi Karttunen have each enjoyed close working
relationships with major composers of our time and they wish to share their passion for
contemporary music by combining new and unknown works with the pillars of the
repertoire. The first composers to write for the Zebra Trio were Pablo Ortiz and Michael
Spassov. Since their first concerts in Canada and their European debut in Madrid's Museo
Reina Sofia, they have premiered new trios written for them by Kaija Saariaho, Friedrich
Cerha, Rolf Wallin and Miroslav Srnka. The trio’s 2010/11 concert season included
performances in Austria (Styriarte Graz, Arcana Festival, Konzerthaus Wien) and France
(Musica Strasbourg). In 2011/12, they appeared on both sides of the Atlantic and
recently released their first CD with works by Brahms on Toccata Classics. Composers
currently working on new compositions for the trio include Simon Bainbridge, Luca
Francesconi, Beat Furrer, HK Gruber, Asbjørn Schaathun and Johannes Maria Staud.
Ernst Kovacic, violin
Vienna, with its fruitful tension between tradition and innovation,
informs the musical language of the Austrian violinist Ernst
Kovacic. His interpretations of Bach’s solo works and Mozart’s
violin concerti, as well as his dedication to contemporary music,
secured him a place as one of his generation’s leading soloists
early in his career. Over the years many composers have written
works for him, including Krenek, Holloway, Osborne, Gruber,
Schwertsik, Eröd, Bischof, Haas and Essl. He performed the
world premiere of violin concerti by Beat Furrer and Django Bates with the Vienna
Philharmonic and London Sonfonietta, and Friedrich Cerha’s violin concerto with the
Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra.
www.karstenwitt.com
He performs often as a soloist with prominent orchestras under conductors such as Franz
Wesler-Möst, Roger Norrington, Simon Rattle, Esa Pekka Salonen and Michael Gielen in
Europe, Asia, Australia, Africa and the Americas. As both a violinist and chamber
musician, he has been invited to play at Festivals in Vienna, Berlin, Salzburg, Edinburgh,
and the London Proms. He also regularly conducts chamber orchestras, both with and
without his violin. From 1996 until 1998 he was the artistic director of the Vienna
Chamber Orchestra.
Ensembles with which he regularly works include the Scottish, Irish and English Chamber
Orchestras, the Northern Sinfonia, Britten Sinfonia, Norwegian Chamber Orchestra,
Camerata Roman, St. Pauls Chamber Orchestra, Stuttgarter Chamber Orchestra, as well
as Klangforum Wien, Ensemble Modern, BIT20 Ensemble, Camerata Salzburg, and the
Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie. For the next three years he will be the artistic director of
the Chamber Orchestra Leopoldinum in Wroclaw, Poland. He plays a Guadagnini violin
from 1754.
Steven Dann, viola
Steven Dann’s career covers the gamut of violistic possibilities.
He has been principal viola of some of the world’s leading
orchestras, is a veteran of the string quartet and chamber music
world, has worked extensively as a soloist and recitalist and is a
dedicated teacher. Mr. Dann was born in Vancouver, Canada, in
1953. His foremost teacher was Lorand Fenyves. In addition he
studied with William Primrose, Robert Pikler and Bruno
Giuranna. Mr. Dann also spent six summers studying the string
quartet repertoire with Zoltan Szekely and members of the
Hungarian String Quartet.
Upon graduation he was named Principal Viola of the National Arts Centre Orchestra in
Ottawa, Canada, a position he also held with the Tonhalle Orchestra in Zurich, the Royal
Concertgebouw Orchestra in Amsterdam, the Vancouver Symphony and the Toronto
Symphony Orchestra. He has also been a guest principal of the Boston Symphony
Orchestra under Seiji Ozawa, the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra under Sir
Simon Rattle and, in both performance and recordings, with the Chamber Orchestra of
Europe under Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Paavo Berglund and Pierre Boulez. Other conductors
with whom he has collaborated as a soloist include Sir Andrew Davis, Rudolph Barshai,
Jiri Belohlavek, Sir John Elliott Gardiner, Jukka-Pekka Saraste, Vladimir Ashkenazy and
Oliver Knussen. Since 1990 Mr. Dann has been a member of the Smithsonian Chamber
Players in Washington D.C. and was a founding member of the Axelrod String Quartet.
Solo recordings include A Portrait of the Viola, Winter Music for viola and orchestra by
Alexina Louie, Mega4 Meta4 by Christos Hatzis and the Sequenza 6 of Luciano Berio. He
released a CD of the viola music of Brahms in June 2006. Upcoming recording projects
include two more CDs for ATMA and the second disc in a series of the complete piano
chamber music of Brahms and Schumann with the Smithsonian Chamber Players as well
as the complete Haydn baryton trios.
Many composers have written works for Mr. Dann, including Alexina Louie, Peter
Lieberson, R. Murray Shafer, Frederick Schipitsky and Christos Hatzis. Recently, he has
performed concerti by Peter Lieberson, Giya Kancheli, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Alexina
Louie, Christos Hatzis and Mark-Anthony Turnage.
Steven Dann is a regular guest at many international festivals including the National Arts
Centre’s Young Artist Program, the Domaine Forget in Québec and the Banff School of
Fine Arts. He teaches viola and chamber music at the Glenn Gould School in Toronto’s
Royal Conservatory of Music. He lives in Toronto and plays a viola made by Joseph
Gagliano from 1780.
www.karstenwitt.com
Anssi Karttunen, cello
The Finnish cellist Anssi Karttunen is one of the most
reputable and versatile musicians on today’s classical
music scene. Exceedingly active both as a soloist and
chamber musician, his repertoire covers all of the
standard works for cello, as well as myriad forgotten
masterpieces and his own arrangements. He plays on
modern, classical, and baroque cellos, as well as the
violoncello piccolo.
Anssi Karttunen is a passionate advocate for contemporary music. He has performed
over 125 world premieres, collaborating with such composers as Magnus Lindberg, Kaija
Saariaho, Rolf Wallin, Luca Francesconi, and Tan Dun. An astounding 24 concertos have
been written for him. He premiered Magnus Lindberg’s cello concerto with the Orchestre
de Paris, Esa-Pekka Salonen’s Mania with Avanti!, Martin Matalon’s cello concerto with
the Orchestre National de France, and Luca Francesconi’s Rest with the RAI Torino. Kaija
Saariaho wrote the concerto Notes on Light for Karttunen, which he premiered with the
Boston Symphoyn Orchestra, who commissioned the work, in February 2007.
Performances of Notes on Light with the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Swedish
Radio, North German Radio Symphony Orchestra, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra,
Orchestre de Paris, and the New World Symphony followed. In May 2010, Saariaho was
awarded the Royal Philharmonic Society Music Award for the work which Anssi Karttunen
again performed in 2011 at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden to Wayne McGregor’s
highly successful choreography.
Anssi Karttunen has worked with world-renowned orchestras such as the Philadelphia
Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra, BBC Symphony, Orchestre National de France, NHK
Orchestra, Tokyo Metropolitan Orchestra, Southwest German Radio Symphony Orchestra,
Munich Philharmonic, Ensemble Modern, Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, Residentie
Orchestra, Danish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, Oslo Philharmonic, RAI Torino,
Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra, Helsinki Philharmonic, Avanti!, and many more. He
also performs regularly as soloist and chamber musician at Europe’s most important
music festivals, including Edinburgh, Salzburg, Lockenhaus, Spoleto, Berlin, Venice,
Montpellier, Strasbourg, and Helsinki.
His recordings traverse a broad spectrum of musical taste, from Beethoven’s complete
works for cello and piano on period instruments, to 20th century solo pieces, to concertos
performed with the London Sinfonietta and the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra. He
has released recordings of concertos by Lindberg, Saariaho, and Salonen with Sony
Classical. With Deutsche Grammophon, he released a DVD of Tan Dun's The Map for
cello, video, and Orchestra. He also appeared on the first ever contemporary music CDROM, Prisma, featuring the music of Kaija Saariaho. Karttunen is a founding member of
www.petals.org, a non-profit organization for the production and sale of CDs and scores
over the internet. A CD of Magnus Lindberg’s chamber music works with the composer
and the clarinetist Kari Kriikku is about to be released on Ondine.
Born in 1960, Anssi Karttunen studied with Erkki Rautio, William Pleeth, Jacqueline du
Pré, and Tibor de Machula, among others. Between 1994 and 1998 he was the artistic
director of the Avanti! Chamber Orchestra. He directed the Helsinki Biennale in 1995 and
the Suvisoitto Festival in Porvoo, Finland from 1994 until 1997. From 1999 until 2005 he
was principal cellist with the London Sinfonietta. He has also appeared as a conductor
with various ensembles. Anssi Karttunen plays on a Francesco Ruggeri cello.
www.karstenwitt.com