The third concert of the stars Sol Gabetta, Baïba Skride, Vilde Frang, Ula Ulijona, Bertrand Chamayou and Frank Braley at the Solsberg Festival in 2012 is dedicated to Ravel, Fauré and Dvorák.
The Solsberg Festival was founded in 2006 by Argentinian cellist Sol Gabetta who is now its Artistic Director. In an exceptional site – the Baroque church St. Martin in Rheinfelden and the Olsberg's cloister – the festival gathers once a year some of the best contemporary talents in the world in a friendly atmosphere with exceptional concerts.
In 2012, the 7th edition of the festival welcomes choice musicians alongside Sol Gabetta: violinists Baïba Skride (1st prize at the Queen Elisabeth Competition in 2001) and Vilde Frang (who made her debuts at the Lucerne Festival under Bernard Haitink's baton), violist Ula Ulijona (1st prize at the Primrose International Viola Competition and soloist of the Kremerata Baltica Chamber Orchestra of Baltic countries). They are joined by pianists Bertrand Chamayou (who was awarded in 2012 a Victoire de la Musique classique in the category Instrumental Soloist of the Year) and Frank Braley (Premier Grand Prix and Prix du Public at the Queen Elisabeth Competition in 1991 aged only 22).
Baïba Skride and Frank Braley open this concert with Ravel's Sonata for Violin and Piano No. 2, "a delightful mixture of French Impressionist textures with whiffs of jazz" (Center for Jazz Arts). The concert continues with the rendition of one of the most famous chamber works composed by Gabriel Fauré, his Piano Quartet No. 1 in C Minor, Op. 15. Finally musicians perform the Quintet for Piano and Strings No. 2 in A Major, Op. 81, one of the most beautiful quintets composed by Dvorák.