Doors open at 6:30 pm, with the performance starting at 7:30pm
The performance will last around 90 minutes, including a 20-minute interval
Table Seating £30 | Patron Table Seating £20
Kristīne Balanas, violin
Latvian violinist Kristīne 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.
In demand for her “savage, bold, dramatic” playing (The Strad), Kristīne’s head-turning transformation from a street musician and rock singer in Latvia to a graduate with honours from the Royal Academy of Music where she studied under György Pauk, and Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler, under Kolja Blacher, marks her as an entirely idiosyncratic presence on stage.
The 23/24 season will see Kristīne debut with the Orquesta Filarmonica de Gran Canaria performing the famed Beethoven Violin Concerto conducted by Trevor Pinnock, the Szczecin Philharmonic under the baton of Ilya Ram performing Korngold Violin Concerto, with the George Enescu Philharmonic performing the Brahms Violin Concerto with Michał Nesterowicz, and a return to the Deutsche Philharmonie Merck performing Brahms Violin Concerto under Ben Palmer’s direction. This season Kristīne will also return to the Risør Chamber Music Festival with Tine Thing Helseth and premiere the new Violin Concerto by famed pianist and composer Mikhail Pletnev under the Maestro’s baton with Concerto Budapest.
Kristīne’s many successes in previous seasons include her debut with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and Andris Poga at the Cadogan Hall, a nationwide tour with Kremerata Baltica, remarkable performances of the Brahms Double Concerto alongside her sister Margarita with Barcelona Symphony Orchestra at the prestigious L’Auditori in Barcelona, appearances with the Saarbrücken Symphony Orchestra under Sebastian Rouland and Orquesta Clasica Santa Cecilia with conductor Lavard Skou Larsen.
In previous seasons, Kristīne has appeared as a soloist with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre de Chambre de Paris (directing from the violin), RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra, Camerata Jerusalem Israel, DSO Berlin, European Union Youth Orchestra, Tatarstan National Symphony Orchestra under Alexander Sladkovsky, and the Sendai Philharmonic, among others.
Kristīne has performed at festivals including Festival Radio France Occitaine Montpellier and Denis Matsuev Festival “Stars on Baikal”. A regular guest soloist on Latvian National Radio Recitals, Kristīne has also performed on BBC Radio 3’s In Tune and BBC One’s The One Show, and given recitals at the Purcell Room, St. John’s Smith Square and Kings Place.
Kristīne performs on a 1787 Antonio Gragnani violin, kindly loaned to her by “The Little Butterfly Foundation”.
Margarita Balanas, cello
Known for her distinguished artistry and mesmerising stage presence, Margarita Balanas has performed for audiences world-wide, being hailed as “powerful, delicate, intense and brilliant” (GLAM Adelaide).
Margarita has swiftly established herself as one of the most thrilling emerging figures in the classical music scene, both as a cellist and conductor.
She has performed at venues including Carnegie Hall, Berliner Philharmonie, Laeiszhalle Hamburg, Royal Festival Hall, Wigmore Hall, Southbank Centre, Foundation Louis Vuitton, Walt Disney Hall and L’Auditori Barcelona.
Margarita is the assistant conductor of Paavo Järvi at the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich in season 23/24. She is the founder and music director of the ANONIMI orchestra and charity, and has conducted the Royal Academy of Music Symphony Orchestra, Glover-Edwards Symphony Orchestra, Baltic Sea Philharmonic and Järvi Academy Orchestra and Sinfonietta.
Recipient of Latvian Grand Music Award, Margarita has performed as a soloist with renowned orchestras including The Munich Philharmonic, Barcelona Symphony Orchestra, Sinfonietta Riga, Saarbrucken Symphony Orchestra, Deutsche Philharmonie Merck, and has participated in acclaimed festivals including Piatigorsky International Cello Festival, International Cello Festival Shanghai, Festival Radio France Occitanie Montpellier.
This season’s highlights include concerto performances with the Deutsche Philharmonie Merck, performances at Dresdner Musikfestspiele, Moritzburg Festival, U.S. and Europe tours with Anne-Sophie Mutter and the Mutter Virtuosi. Margarita will be conducting Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, Orquestra Do Algarve featuring her violinist sister Kristīne Balanas as soloist, Cayman arts Festival Camerata, and ANONIMI orchestra.
Margarita has performed for Classic FM, Scala Radio, BBC Radio 3 In Tune. Her debut album of Saint-Saëns Cello Concerto No.1 and other works with Linn Records has since been featured on some of the most exciting Apple Music playlists such as ‘Classical You Must Hear This Month’, ‘Women in Classical Music’ and ‘The A-List Classical’.
Margarita currently plays the Charles-Adolphe Gand ‘Auguste Tolbecque’ 1849 cello kindly on loan from The Little Butterfly Foundation. Camille Saint-Saëns wrote his cello Concerto No. 1 for Tolbecque who premiered the concerto on this cello in 1873.
