In our performance we always try to tell the listener a story. Joy and despair, feelings of love and rejection, music can express it all and this is what we are aiming for.
We work in great detail on preparing exciting and colourful interpretations of pieces, but also we love to experiment with space and acoustic of the venue, as well as incorporating elements of instrumental theatre. Mixing the music of composers we love with our own compositions and improvisations makes every concert a unique experience. During our concerts we love to communicate with each other and with the audience as well, trying to „break the wall” and take them on a journey with us.
Being able to play different instruments, we enjoy combining them within a program, this enhances our repertoire and enriches the pallet of sounds we can use. Apart of classical music, we also love different styles like jazz, tango, folk music, incorporating them can give to our programs unexpected twist. Semion has a great experience in electronic music and he loves to use ambient textures and synthesized sounds in his compositions for the Duo.
Here are a few of our concert-programs. The presented repertoires last approximately 60 minutes. We would be happy to provide repertoire proposals for longer concerts as well, and we are open to creating new concepts that fit the theme of your festival.
For more programmes feel free to contact us.
Great Dionysia
Semion Gurevich – baroque violin
Agnieszka Skorupa – harpsichord
Duration – about 60 minutes
Program
Friedrich Wilhelm Marpurg – Suita No. 5 in G Major, I. La Nymphe Marine Rondeau, Arr. for violin and harpsichord – Duo Agion
Georg Friedrich Händel – Acis and Galatea HWV 49, from the collection Sonatas or Chamber Aires by G. F. Händel, vol. 2, part 4, for violin and basso continuo
Aria Wou’d you gain the tender Creature
Michel Corrette – Sonata in A Major Op. 25 No. 3 Le Jardin des Hespérides
Semion Gurevich – Fantasia Narcissus and Echo on themes from Händels Sonata in D Major
Georg Friedrich Händel – Sonata in D Major HWV 371
Jean-Philippe Rameau – Les Cyclopes (for harpsichord solo)
Michel Corrette – Sonata in e minor op. 25 No. 4 Les Amusemens d’Apollon chez le Roi Admète
Idea
We invite you to ancient Greece, where we will celebrate the Great Dionysia. The Great Dionysia were festivals of wine, joy, sorrow, love, and ecstasy. In this lightly dramatized program, you will encounter various ancient Greek characters – nymphs, Apollo, Cyclopes, Narcissus, and Echo. Baroque composers often drew inspiration from ancient Greek themes, whether it be Handel in his operas, Marpurg in his harpsichord suites, or Michel Corrette in his sonatas.
At the beginning, we will be greeted by a sea nymph. She will try to invite a young man passing nearby. Will he follow her? Yes, and… the serenade of love will resound.
Next, the nymphs Hesperides will revel in bliss and dance in their garden. Afterward, we will hear an improvised fantasy about Narcissus and Echo, incorporating motifs from an upcoming Handel sonata. The nymph Echo was in love with Narcissus, but all she could do to express her feelings was to repeat his words. The improvisation is built around this idea.
Finally, we encounter the Cyclops. According to myth, Apollo was held captive as a shepherd-slave at the court of Admetus for nine years as punishment for killing the Cyclops. The last piece represents Apollo’s time with Admetus.
The performance includes elements of instrumental theater, improvisation, and composition with electronic music.
Sandro Botticelli – Primavera (fragment)“Straight on the Drum of the Ear”: English music between Purcell and Handel
Semion Gurevich – violin & viola
Agnieszka Skorupa – harpsichord
Duration – about 60 minutes
Program
Henry Purcell (?) – Ground in c ZD 221
Francesco Geminiani – Violin Solo in C IFG 25
Georg Friedrich Händel – Sonata for harpsichord and viola in C Major IGH 543
Henry Purcell – Prelude in g minor for violin solo ZN 773
Georg Friedrich Händel – Sonata in g minor for violin and basso continuo, HWV 364a
Duo Agion – Ground in A
William Croft – Sonata in A major for violin and basso continuo
Semion Gurevich – Prelude in e
Georg Friedrich Händel – Suite in e minor for harpsichord HWV 438
Henry Purcell – Prelude in a minor for harpsichord Z 652
Richard Jones – Sonata in a minor for violin and basso continuo op. 2 No. 4
David Teniers – Archduke Leopold Wilhelm in his gallery in Brussels, c. 1647–1651Description
After the turbulent political events following the death of Queen Elizabeth I (1533-1603), courtly musical life in England went into a crisis that was only to be restored with the Restoration of the Stuart monarchy in 1660. It was during this time that the composer Henry Purcell (1659-1695) was active and became a pillar of English music. Given the French connections of King Charles II, it was no surprise that French music from the court of Louis XIV exerted such an influence on Purcell and his contemporaries. After the death of Charles II and Purcell, however, the next generation of composers (including William Croft [1678-1727]) came increasingly under the influence of the trendy Italianate style. Beginning in the early decades of the 18th century, many Italian composers, singers, and instrumentalists moved to England and changed the musical landscape of the country. Among these was Francesco Geminiani (1687-1762) who moved to London in the early 1710s and led a successful career as a virtuoso violinist. But the most successful composer of Italianate music in London was undoubtedly the Halle-born composer Georg Friedrich Händel (1685-1759) who assumed the Anglicized name of George Frideric Handel. Handel had studied in Rome and had mastered the Italian style by imitating the music of Arcangelo Corelli and Alessandro Scarlatti. When he moved to England in 1710, he was fluent in both French and Italian styles and could therefore cater to the cosmopolitan taste of the London public. Handel’s success was such that his English contemporaries (such as Richard Jones [1680-1744]) tried to copy his formula for success, albeit often with significantly less success as Handel himself.
Gottfried van Swieten: His Musical Connection Between Berlin and Vienna
Semion Gurevich – classical violin
Agnieszka Skorupa – fortepiano
Duration: about 60 minutes
Program
Franz Benda – Sonata F-Dur IFB 63
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach – Sonata c-Moll Wq 78
Joseph Haydn – Sonata G-Dur Hob. XV/32
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – Sonata in C Major K. 296
Idea
Info coming soon
Beethoven’s Echoes – Violin Sonatas by Beethoven, Ries and Schubert
Semion Gurevich – violin
Agnieszka Skorupa – fortepiano
Duration: about 60 minutes
Program
Ludwig van Beethoven – Sonata D-Dur op. 12 nr 1 (1799)
Ferdinand Ries – Sonata in c-sharp minor op. 71 (1812)
Franz Schubert – Sonata in g minor D 408 (1816)
Idea
Info coming soon
