Les Violons du Roy with MILOŠ
MILOŠ
Les Violons du Roy
David Belkovski
MILOŠ is one of the world’s most celebrated classical guitarists. His career began its meteoric rise in 2011, with the release of his international best-selling Deutsche Grammophon debut album ‘Mediterraneo’. Since then, he has earned legions of fans, awards, and acclaim around the world through his extensive touring, six chart topping recordings and television appearances.
Now exclusive to SONY Classical, MILOŠ is committed to expanding the repertoire for the classical guitar. His new album, simply entitled ‘Baroque’ comes out in October 2023 and presents a carefully curated selection of baroque works especially transcribed and arranged for the guitar, both solo and in collaboration with Jonathan Cohen and his ensemble Arcangelo. Equally passionate about new music, MILOŠ’ latest release ‘The Moon and the Forest’ features two world premiere concerti, by Howard Shore and Joby Talbot.
Over the past decade, the instrument’s popularity has exploded thanks to MILOŠ’ pioneering approach. Aspiring guitarists can even learn from him through Schott’s ‘Play Guitar with Miloš’ series. In 2016 BBC Music Magazine included him in their list of ‘Six of the Best Classical Guitarists of the past century’.
MILOŠ has appeared as a soloist with some of the world’s greatest orchestras: London and LA Philharmonics, Atlanta Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, Chicago Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra, Orquesta Nacional de España, Santa Cecilia Rome and NHK Tokyo. His first sold-out solo recital in the round of the Royal Albert Hall was lauded by the critics and caused worldwide sensation. He returned to the hall post-pandemic in June 2022 to a full capacity audience.
Other recent and forthcoming highlights include debuts with the Frankfurt Radio Symphony and Alain Altinoglu for the annual Europe Open Air concert, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Korean National Symphony; return performances with the Atlanta and Detroit Symphonies, Orchestre Métropolitain in Montreal, Hallé Orchestra, Graz and London Philharmonics; extensive tours across the UK, US and Australia, as well as recitals in Munich, London, Hong Kong and the Verbier, Caramoor, Gstaad and Schleswig Holstein Music Festivals.
A passionate advocate for music education, MILOŠ is an active patron of numerous charities supporting young musicians in the UK and abroad. He recently launched the “Miloš Karadaglić Foundation” – based in Porto Montenegro, this philanthropic organization aims to act as a regional hub of influence by empowering artistic excellence though various educational opportunities, partnerships and close mentorship.
Born in Montenegro in 1983, MILOŠ moved to London to study at the Royal Academy of Music at the age of 17. He continues to live and work in London, while keeping close ties to his homeland. He performs on a 2017 Greg Smallman guitar.
Les Violons du Roy takes its name from the celebrated court orchestra of the French kings. It was founded in 1984 by Bernard Labadie, now styled founding conductor, and continues under music director Jonathan Cohen to explore the nearly boundless repertoire of music for chamber orchestra in performances matched as closely as possible to the period of each work’s composition. Its minimum fifteen-member complement plays modern instruments, albeit with period bows for Baroque and Classical music, and its interpretations are deeply informed by the latest research on seventeenth- and eighteenth-century performance practice. The repertoire of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries receives similar attention and figures regularly on the orchestra’s programs.
Les Violons du Roy has been a focal point of Québec City’s musical life since it was founded in 1984, and in 1997 it reached out to enrich the cultural landscape of Montréal as well. In 2007, the orchestra moved into its permanent home base in Québec City’s Palais Montcalm while continuing to build on the worldwide reputation it has acquired in countless concerts and recordings carried by medici.tv, Radio-Canada, CBC, and NPR along with regular appearances on the festival circuit. Les Violons du Roy has performed dozens of times throughout Canada as well as in Germany, the U.K., Austria, Belgium, Brazil, China, Colombia, Ecuador, South Korea, Spain, the United States, France, Israel, Morocco, Mexico, Norway, the Netherlands, Slovenia, and Switzerland, in collaboration with such world-renowned soloists as Magdalena Kožená, David Daniels, Vivica Genaux, Alexandre Tharaud, Ian Bostridge, Emmanuel Pahud, Stephanie Blythe, Marc-André Hamelin, Philippe Jaroussky, Anthony Marwood, Isabelle Faust, Julia Lezhneva and Anthony Roth Costanzo, and Avi Avital. The orchestra has performed at the Berlin Philharmonie and iconic venues in London, Paris, and Brussels, with two performances on invitation at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam.
Since Les Violons du Roy’s first trip to Washington, D.C., in 1995, its U.S. travels have been enriched with numerous and regular stops in New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles. Its ten appearances at Carnegie Hall include five with La Chapelle de Québec featuring the Messiah, the Christmas Oratorio, and the St. John Passion under Bernard Labadie, founder and music director of the choir, and another featuring Dido and Aeneas under Richard Egarr. Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles has hosted the orchestra three times, once with La Chapelle de Québec in the Messiah, again under Bernard Labadie. Les Violons du Roy is represented by Opus 3 Artists and Askonas Holt.
The thirty-six recordings released thus far by Les Violons du Roy have been met with widespread critical acclaim. The twelve released on the Dorian label include Mozart’s Requiem with La Chapelle de Québec (Juno Award 2002) and of Handel’s Apollo e Dafne with soprano Karina Gauvin (Juno Award 2000). Since 2004, a dozen more have appeared through a partnership between Les Violons du Roy and Quebec’s ATMA label, including Water Music (Félix Award 2008), and Piazzolla (Juno Award 2006). Further recordings on Erato, Naïve, Hyperion, Analekta, and Decca Gold include Vivica Genaux, Truls Mørk, Marie-Nicole Lemieux, Alexandre Tharaud, Marc-André Hamelin, Valérie Milot, Anthony Roth Costanzo (Grammy Award 2019 nomination) and Charles Richard-Hamelin (Juno Award 2020 nomination).
Born in Skopje, Macedonia, David Belkovski’s journey as a musician has taken him from early ventures into Balkan folk music to the vibrant beginnings of a career as conductor, soloist, and continuist. Performing regularly on harpsichord, fortepiano, and modern piano, David has been awarded first prize in several international and national competitions, including the 2019 Sfzp International Fortepiano Competition, earning him praise for his artistry on both historical and modern keyboards.
Quickly establishing himself as one of early music’s most exciting young directors, David has conducted notable orchestras from behind the harpsichord. David holds the position of Assistant Conductor of Philarmonia Baroque Orchestra, making his opera conducting debut with the ensemble in 2022. In early 2024, David conducted the New World Symphony in the renowned orchestra’s first exploration of period instruments. David will join Festival d’Aix-en-Provence in the summer of 2024 as Assistant Conductor with Ensemble Pygmalion and Raphaël Pichon for a world premier of Rameau’s Samson.
Along with international prize-winning violinist Rachell Ellen Wong, David founded Twelfth Night, a period-instrument ensemble based in New York City. Twelfth Night makes their Carnegie Hall debut in May, 2024, performing an electrifying operatic showcase with Julie Roset and Xenia Puskarz Thomas.
In addition to performing, David’s compositions include commissions by Juilliard415. As an instructor, David coaches vocalists at The Juilliard School and teaches courses and workshops on subjects ranging from continuo performance to historical pedagogy. David is the recipient of the Robert A. and Patricia S. Levinson
Program
Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741)
Sinfonia, excerpt from Olimpiade, RV 725
Allegro – Andante – Allegro – Allegro Molto
Alessandro Marcello (1673-1747)
Excerpt from Oboe Concerto in D minor S. Z799
1. Adagio
Luigi Boccherini (1743-1805)
Excerpt from Guitar Quintet No. 4 in D major, G. 448
1. Fandago
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Excerpt from Violin Partita No. 2 in D minor, BWV 1004
1. Chaconne
Francesco Geminiani (1687-1762)
Concerto Grosso Op. 5 No. 12 in D minor, H. 143 “La Follia” (after Corelli)
–Intermission–
Jean-Philippe Rameau (1683-1764)
Excerpt from Les Boréades
Acte IV, Scène IV : Entrée pour les Muses, les Zéphyres, les Saisons,les Heures et les Arts
George Frideric Handel (1685-1759)
Minuet in G minor
Silvius Leopold Weiss (1687-1750)
Passacaglia, Weiss SW 18.6
Henry Purcell (1659-1695)
Suite from The Fairy Queen, Z. 629
Act I – Prelude
Hornpipe
Rondeau
Excerpt from Timon of Athens, Z. 632
Masque. Curtain tune on a Ground
Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741)
Concerto for lute, 2 violins and continuo in D major, F. XII/15, RV 93
1. Allegro
2. Largo
3. Allegro
ANTONIO VIVALDI
Born in Venice, Italy, March 4, 1678; died in Vienna, Austria, July 27/28, 1741
Sinfonia, from L’Olimpiade, RV 725 (1734)
L’Olimpiade (The Olympiad) was premièred in Venice in 1734. The dynamic thrusts, racing passagework, leaps and contrasts of the outer sections of its Sinfonia capture the physical energy of the ancient Olympic Games. They provide the backdrop for Vivaldi’s successful opera portraying a highly strung quartet of lovers. Showing his gift for word-painting rather than word-setting, Vivaldi’s ability to paint a scene through his melodic or rhythmic writing and through musical texture was unmatched.
ALESSANDRO MARCELLO
Born in Venice, August 24, 1673; died in Venice, June 19, 1747
Adagio, from Oboe Concerto in D minor (c1717)
This frequently performed oboe concerto first came to notice through its transcription for harpsichord by Bach. The original is found in an anthology of concertos by various composers published by Jeanne Roger in Amsterdam in 1717, with the author clearly named ‘Alexandro’. A C minor version of this D minor concerto simply names the composer as ‘Marcello.’ A decade earlier, Alessandro’s younger brother Benedetto, the most prolific composer of this noble, highly educated Venetian family, wrote a violin concerto (Op. 1 No. 2) in 1708 which contains close thematic resemblances to the later oboe concerto. Italian Baroque specialist Michael Talbot believes that the identity of the composer is still not resolved. Whether Alessandro or Benedetto, they still wrote a beautifully ornate slow middle movement (which some performers decorate with ornamentation borrowed from Bach’s borrowing).
LUIGI BOCCHERINI
Born in Lucca, Italy, February 19, 1743; died in Madrid, Spain, May 28, 1805
Fandango, from Guitar Quintet No. 4 in D, G. 448 (1798)
“I never see a smile upon Boccherini's face. He is all earnestness and tragedy," wrote 18th century English scholar, Thomas Twining. Clearly, Boccherini was not Twining's cup of tea, and he hadn’t come across this lively Fandango. It comes from a set of six Quintets for two violins, viola and two cellos, from 1788 – a movement that Boccherini was to re-work and return to its origins in 1798 as the finale of his Guitar Quintet in D, G. 448. The exuberant Fandango contains a handwritten note from Boccherini that “the melody was played by old Basilio on the guitar.”
JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH
Born in Eisenach, Germany, March 21, 1685; died in Leipzig, Germany, July 28, 1750
Chaconne, from Partita in D minor for violin, BWV 1004 (1720)
Bach wrote this magnificent Chaconne as the crowning movement of his D minor Partita for solo violin, the second of a collection of six Partitas and Sonatas, representing the culmination of Baroque polyphonic writing for a string instrument. The Chaconne presents a formidable array of technically challenging variations, over an underlying four-bar repeating bass pattern that is varied melodically and harmonically.
GEORGE FRIDERIC HANDEL
Born in Halle, Germany, February 23, 1685; died in London, England, April 14, 1759
Concerto Grosso in A minor, Op. 6 No. 4, HWV 322 (1739)
On October 29, 1739, the London Daily Post carried the following announcement: "This day are published proposals for printing by subscription with His Majesty's royal license and protection 12 Grand Concertos in seven parts, for four violins, a tenor and a violoncello, with a thoroughbass for harpsichord. Composed by Mr. Handel. Price to subscribers, two guineas. Ready to be delivered by April next. Subscriptions are to be taken by the author in his house in Brook Street, Hanover Square, and by Mr. Walsh." Even as the announcement was printed, Handel was putting the finishing touches to the new collection, his Opus 6. These concertos are stamped with his own distinctive voice and were designed to compete with Corelli’s Op. 6 collection which, for 25 years, had been a cornerstone of the repertoire for music clubs, concert rooms, and the concert societies that met in the taverns in London and the provinces. Handel’s concertos continue to hold an important place in British concert life to this day.
FRANCESCO GEMINIANI
Born in Lucca, Italy, c December 3, 1687; died in Dublin, Ireland, September 17, 1762
Concerto Grosso in D minor (pub. 1729), after Corelli's Sonata, Op. 5 No. 12, ‘La Folia’
Corelli’s Op. 6 concertos (1714) and Op. 5 violin sonatas (publ. 1700) were what 18th century British essayist Roger North called ‘the bread of life.’ They were much performed and imitated throughout Europe. But there was another side to Corelli: “a conceited fellow half madd” in the words of one observer, whose “eyes will sometimes turn as red as fire . . .” This is the side that is reflected in the last of Corelli’s Op. 5 sonatas: a dynamic, driving set of 24 variations on a well-established dance theme known as La folia. In his orchestral adaptation of these variations, Geminiani mostly keeps Corelli’s virtuoso solo violin line, augmenting the texture and underlining contrasts.
JEAN-PHILIPPE RAMEAU
Born in Dijon, France, bap. September 25, 1683; died in Paris, September 12, 1764
Four Dances from the opera Les Boréades, RCT 31 (1763)
In 18th century France, Rameau was renowned as a music theoretician and opera composer, with a reputation, too, as an organist. Remarkably, Rameau was 50 before his first stage work, Hippolyte et Aricie (1733), was publicly performed, beginning a new, hugely successful era in French opera. Nineteen operas later came Abaris, ou Les Boréades (The Descendants of Boreas). It was the last of his operas, rehearsed in both Paris and Versailles, but never staged, likely, at least in part, because French tastes had changed by the time of Rameau’s 80th year. The dances come from Act 4 Scene 4 of Rameau’s five-act opéra-tragédie.
GEORGE FRIDERIC HANDEL
Born in Halle, Germany, February 23, 1685; died in London, England, April 14, 1759
Minuet from the Suite in B-flat, HWV 434 (publ. 1727)
When Handel settled in London in 1712, his first five years were taken up with opera and choral music for court and ceremonial occasions. He then turned to keyboard music, taking out a Royal Privilege in June 1720. This, in an age before copyright protection, gave him publishing rights to his own music for 14 years. His first volume of eight Suites in 1720 is prefaced with the words: “I have been obliged to publish some of the following lessons because surreptitious and incorrect copies of them have got abroad…” He published a second volume of nine Suites around 1727, beginning with the B-flat Suite which includes the gently graceful Minuet to be played today.
SILVIUS LEOPOLD WEISS
Born in Breslau, Silesia [now Wrocław], ?Oct 12, 1686; died in Dresden, October 16, 1750
Passacaglia in D, Weiss SW 18.6
A virtuoso lutenist with a catalog of almost 600 pieces, Silvius Weiss belonged to a family of court lutenists working in southwest Germany. After traveling widely, Weiss became the highest paid instrumentalist at the Dresden Hofkapelle, with permission to tour. In 1739 he traveled to Leipzig where he performed with Bach and his Collegium Musicum. His music is arranged into lute suites or sonaten. Like Bach’s Chaconne, the Weiss Passacaglia, is a sequence of polished, inventive variations over a ground bass – music designed to showcase the composer’s virtuosity.
HENRY PURCELL
Born in Westminster, London, England, September 10, 1659; died in Westminster, London, November 21, 1695
Suite from The Fairy Queen, Act 1, Z. 629 (1692)
Curtain tune on a Ground from The History of Timon of Ath ens, The Man-Hater, Z. 632 (1695)
As a member of the Chapel Royal, Henry Purcell produced the main part of his catalog for the four monarchs he served: anthems, birthday odes, welcome songs and coronation music. Music for the Restoration theater filled the last five years of a productive life and resulted in incidental music for about 50 plays. His stage works, including The Fairy Queen, include much spoken word, with its songs falling as self-contained separate numbers between the dialogue. The instrumental numbers are also frequently self-contained, with an overture or ‘curtain tune’ opening the production, ‘Act Tunes’ coming between the acts, and a ‘First Music’ and ‘Second Music’ as musical interludes elsewhere. Today’s selections from the Act 1 music to The Fairy Queen includes a lively, running Prelude, a vigorous Hornpipe, and a gently calming Rondeau.
The Curtain Tune to the Masque of Cupid and Bacchus was performed within a renamed 1695 revival of Timon of Athens. It is one of just two pieces that Purcell added to the main incidental music, believed to be by James Paisible. The Curtain Tune’s lively, foot-tapping variations on a ground were, therefore, written just three months before Purcell’s death.
ANTONIO VIVALDI
Born in Venice, Italy, March 4, 1678; died in Vienna, Austria, July 27/28, 1741
Concerto in D, for lute, 2 violins and continuo, RV 93 (1730-1)
Vivaldi remained associated with the Ospedale della Pietà in Venice much of his life. When traveling, which he did frequently, he continued to fill the school’s voracious demand for new music with a contract for two new concertos per month, by mail when necessary. More than 140 concertos were paid for by this means between 1723 and 1729. The Lute Concerto in D, RV 93 was written shortly after then, while Vivaldi was traveling with his father in Central Europe. It is one of three known works dedicated to Count Johann Joseph von Wrtby (1669-1734) whose home was in Prague. Scholars believe that Wrtby played the soprano lute, rather than the classic renaissance lute. This higher instrument was favored in Italy in Vivaldi’s time and was often referred to by composers of the day as the mandola, mandolino, or leutino.
— Program notes copyright © 2024 Keith Horner. Comments welcomed: khnotes@sympatico.ca