ENSEMBLES
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One of David’s major passions is music built through small ensembles, called chamber music. He maintains a very regular concert agenda, particularly with the two projects that follow…
MADE IN TRIO
Chamber Music Ensemble created in 2013 between the Hochschule für Musik Basel, Haute École de Musique de Genève and the Hochschule für Musik Luzern (Switzerland), under the tutelage of François Benda, Michel Bellavance, Sarah Rumer and Claudio Martinez Mehner. They accomplished a specialization in chamber music in Switzerland under the guidance of professor Anton Kernjak.
They were awarded the 1st prizes in 2015 at the “Marianne und Curt Dienemann-Stiftung Competition” in Luzern, Switzerland, in 2017 at the “International Chamber Music Competition” in Chieri, Italy, and in 2019 at the “Opus 130 - Chamber Music Competition" in Joliette, Canada. Also distinguished with a special prize at the “Orpheus Chamber Music Competition” in 2015, Switzerland, in 2019 with the public prize at the
“Internacional Chamber Music Competition” of Illzach, France and they were finalist at the prestigious 2016 “Concert Artists Guild Competition” in New York, United States of America.
The repertoire is mostly based on works from the XX and XXI centuries, by composers like Bruno Mantovani, Guillaume Connesson, among many others. But despite being an atypical chamber formation, it is a multi-faceted group to different periods and styles, acquiring a vast repertoire, including works from the classical period such as C. P. Emmanuel Bach (original for quartet with flute, pianoforte, viola and basso continuo) and works from the romantic period, especially by French composers like Saint-Saëns and Claude Debussy. However, one of the trio's main objectives is also to expand its musical catalog through pieces by young composers, as well as creation of transcriptions such as the Nino Rota Trio (originally for flute, violin and piano) and the Frank Martin Trio (original for violin, cello and piano), and also the integration of traits of popular and folkloric compositions.
They were regular artists at the association “Amici della Musica” of Trapani and Alcamo (Italy), at the KlangBasel and Zeiträume Festivals (Switzerland), performed at the “Festival da Primavera” in Viseu and in the chamber music series in Viana do Castelo (Portugal), at “La Chapelle Historique du Bon Pasteur” in Montreal (Canada), among many others. In 2018 they made a tour in Canada with concerts in the provinces of Ontario and Québec and they will relaunched it in 2025 with more concerts, including masterclasses.
Rute Fernandes - Flute • David Dias da Silva - Clarinet • Sinforosa Petralia - Piano
PHILON TRIO
Chamber music ensemble for clarinet, viola and piano, created at the Musik Akademie der Stadt Basel, Switzerland, in 2011. They studied with Rainer Schmidt, Claudio Martínez Mehner and Anton Kernjak in Basel and with Eberhard Feltz in Berlin, teacher of the Hanns Eisler Music School.
Starting with the famous pieces for this setting by Mozart, Schumann, Bruch, Francaix and Kurtág, the ensemble kept building and extending their repertoire with rarely played pieces, contemporary language works, but above all with a focus on creating transcriptions of original compositions for other formations, such as Beethoven´s Trio op. 11 (original for clarinet, cello and piano), the two songs op. 91 by Johannes Brahms (original for viola, voice and piano), the Dumka Trio by Rebecca Clarke (original for violin, viola and piano), the five pieces by Dimitri Shostakovich (original for two violins and piano), among many others.
David Dias da Silva - Clarinet • Adam Newman - Viola • Camilla Köhnken - Piano
They were semi-finalist in 2015 at the "International Chamber Music Competition" of Illzach, France and at the "Salieri-Zinetti Chamber Music Competition" in Verona, Italy. In the same year they were invited to the ProQuartet masterclasses in Paris with the composer and clarinetist Jörg Widmann.
During the fall of 2017 they took part in a residency at Canada’s Banff Center for Arts and Creativity, where they created and produced their first album, released by label Analekta music, with the Eight Pieces Op. 83 by Max Bruch. Their second album will soon be released, this time by the label Calle440, with works by Rebecca Clarke and Gordon Jacob. The group’s name has its etymological roots in friendship, and its primary goal is to achieve the utmost sensitivity to sound and approach music with the greatest respect, as befitting the highest form of connection between human beings.