Israelis Shirley Brill and Jonathen Aner merge their talents as clarinetist and pianist, respectively, in their dynamic "Duo Brillaner."At 13 years of age, Jonathan Aner heard Sharon Kam playing the clarinet and immediately fell in love with the sound - so much so, that he wanted give up playing the piano for the clarinet. Fortunately, he didn't do that, but he did encounter another clarinetist some years later: Shirley Brill. The two Israelis ended up becoming a couple, both on and off stage - dubbing themselves "Duo Brillaner" in 1999.

Brill studied at the Jerusalem Music Center, while Aner attended the University of Music and Drama in Hanover, Germany. Brill continued her training at the University of Music in Luebeck, Germany, as well as at the New England Conservatory in Boston.

Fans of the Concerto Discreto series could enjoy the duo's harmonious interaction at a concert on February 1, 2010, in which they played a wide variety from the clarinet repertoire - from Carl Maria von Weber's virtuoso "Grand duo" for clarinet and piano to composer and clarinetist Joerg Widmann's "Fantasy." Widmann himself was slated to be the performer and composer of the evening, but his last-minute cancellation turned out to be a stroke of luck for the audience, who could appreciate the "blind date" with the two Berlin-based musicians - the Duo Brillaner.

PROGRAM

Francis Poulenc (1899-1963)

Sonata for clarinet and piano

-Allegro Tristamente

-Romanza

-Finale: Allegro con fuoco

Philippe Gaubert (1879-1941)

Fantasy for clarinet and piano

Carl Maria von Weber (1786-1826)

Grand Duo Concertant in E-flat Major, op. 48, J 204

-Allegro con fuoco

-Andante con moto

-Rondo-Allegro

Joerg Widmann (1973-)

Fantasy for clarinet

Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)

Sonata No. 1 in F Minor, op. 120

-Allegro appassionato

-Andante un poco adagio

-Allegretto grazioso

-Vivace

Germaine Tailleferre (1892-1983)

Arabesque for clarinet and piano (encore)

Performed by Shirley Brill (clarinet) and Jonathan Aner (piano) on February 1, 2010 at the Arithmeum in Bonn as part of the Concerto Discreto series, sponsored and recorded by Deutsche Welle.

Singer Morgan Crowley and pianist and composer Alexander Bermange performed at this special concert entitled "Christmas on Broadway."Morgan Crowley comes from an Irish-American family of artists. A graduate of the Dublin College of Music, he's at home both on the opera stage and in musicals. In December 2009 he was a welcome guest of Deutsche Welle in its concert series in Bonn for the second time, appearing again with Alexander Bermange, his friend and collaborator. Bermange is a promising young musical composer, and in combination with Crowley, more than just a piano accompanist.

PROGRAM

John Jacob Niles (1892-1980)

Lullay, thou tiny little child

anon.

Greensleeves

Kurt Weill (1900-1950)

This is New

Jerome Kern (1885-1945)

The Way You Look Tonight

Frank Loesser (1910-1969)

Luck Be A Lady Tonight

Alexander S. Bermange (1976-)

Easy as A.P.C.

Alexander S. Bermange (1976-)

Praying for You

Marvin Hamlisch (1944-)

Let There be Time

Benny Andersson (1946-) / Björn Ulvaeus (1945-)

Our Last Summer

Joseph Kosma (1905-1969)

Les feuilles mortes

Irving Berlin (1888-1989)

White Christmas

Morgan Crowley

The Wonder of Christmas

Chopin/O'kun/Crowley

Minute Waltz

George Gershwin (1898-1937)

By Strauss

Richard Rodgers (1902-1979)

My Funny Valentine

Marguerite Monnot (1903-1961)

If You Love Me, Really Love Me

Mel Torme (1925-1999)

The Christmas Song

Stephen Sondheim (1930-)

Losing My Mind

Henry Mancini (1924-1994)

Moon River

Hugh Martin (1914-)

Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas

Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990)

Somewhere, from West Side Story

Franz Xaver Gruber (1787-1863)

Silent Night, Holy Night Performed by Morgan Crowley (tenor) and Alexander Bermange (piano) on December 14, 2009, as part of the Concerto Discreto series, sponsored and recorded by Deutsche Welle.

"The world will surely hear about him…," wrote one enthusiastic critic about Serge Zimmermann from Cologne, Germany. The quote became the title of this Concerto Discreto concert.Born in Cologne in 1991, Zimmermann comes from a family of musicians. His father is the renowned violinist Frank-Peter Zimmermann, and his mother began to teach him the violin when he was five years old. In 2000, he gave his orchestral debut with a Mozart violin concerto.

Five years later, he played his first recital in the German city of Essen; his interpretation of the Bruch Violin Concerto in 2006 garnered him enthusiastic press reviews. One raved, "…even the orchestra joined in the audience's rejoicing."

PROGRAM

Franz Schubert (1797-1828)

Sonata in A Minor for violin and piano, D. 385

Anton Webern (1883–1945)

Four Pieces for violin and piano, op. 7

Robert Schumann (1810–1856)

Sonata No. 1 in A Minor for violin and piano, op. 105

Cesar Franck (1822–1890)

Sonata in A Major for violin and piano

Pablo de Sarasate (1844–1908)

Zapateado in A Major for violin and piano (encore)

Performed by Serge Zimmermann (violin) and Nicholas Rimmer (piano) at the Arithmeum in Bonn on November 23, 2009 as part of the Concerto Discreto concert series, sponsored and recorded by Deutsche Welle.

Lucia Huang and German Sebastian Euler play music for two pianos at this Concerto Discreto concert.Music for two pianos, with its beauty and sparkling, rich variety, impressed audiences at this concert entitled "Magic Hands."

The Duo d'Accord - Taiwan-born Lucia Huang and German Sebastian Euler - played works spanning three centuries, from Franz Schubert to Max Reger and contemporary composer John Corigliano.

PROGRAM

Franz Schubert (1797-1828)Piano Sonata in C Major, D. 812, (Grand Duo)- Allegro moderato- Andante- Scherzo. Allegro vivace- Finale. Allegro vivace

Max Reger (1873–1916)Three Waltzes from op. 22- Allegro- Moderato (quasi Andantino)- Allegro vivace

Max Reger (1873-1916)

Three Burlesques from op. 58

- Äußerst lebhaft

- Äußerst schnell und flüchtig

- So lebhaft und übermütig als nur möglich

John Corigliano (1938-)

Gazebo Dances

- Overture

- Waltz

- Adagio

- Tarantella

Performed on October 19, 2009 at the Arithmeum in Bonn as part of the Concerto Discreto series, sponsored and recorded by Deutsche Welle.

Kuzma Bodrov, a celebrated young pianist and composer from Russia, presents a striking mix of works for piano and violin by mostly Russian composers, including himself. Bodrov is joined by violinist Nikita Borisoglebsky.PROGRAM

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)

Sonata No.1 in B Minor for violin and piano, BWV 1014

· Adagio

· Allegro

· Andante

· Allegro

Pjotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893)

Meditation, op. 42, No.1

Sergei Prokofiev (1891-1953)

Five Melodies for violin and piano, op. 35

· Andante

· Lento, ma non troppo

· Animato, ma non allegro

· Allegretto leggero e scherzando

· Andante non troppo

Kuzma Bodrov (1980-)

Cypress for piano solo (2008), world premiere

Johann Sebastian Bach

Chaconne from the Partita in D Minor for violin solo, BWV 1004

Kuzma Bodrov

Rhine Sonata (2009) for violin and piano, world premiere

Igor Stravinsky

Duo Concertante

· Cantilene

· Eglogue I

· Eglogue II

· Gigue

· Dithyrambe

Johann Sebastian Bach

Sonata No. 3 in E Major for Violin and Piano, BWV 1016: 3rd movement, Adagio non tanto (encore)

Kuzma Bodrov, piano

Nikita Borisoglebsky, violin

Performed on March 16, 2009, as part of the Concerto Discreto concert series, sponsored by Deutsche Welle.

Three young, prize-winning musicians from Finland, Czech Republic and Portugal present a colorful and diverse program with music by 19th and 20th century composers from across Europe.PROGRAM

Jean Sibelius: Five Esquisses, Op. 14

Einojuhani Rautavaara: Passionale

David Popper: Polonaise de Concert, Op. 14

Alexandre Delgado: Lavara

Antonin Dvorak: Waldesruh, Op. 68

David Popper: Elfentanz, Op. 39

Bohuslav Martinu: Sonata No. 3 for Cello and Piano

Johannes Brahms: Clarinet Trio, Op. 114

Roope Grondahl, Piano

Petr Spacek, Cello

Joao Pedro Lopes Santos, Clarinet

Performed on March 16, 2009, as part of the Concerto Discreto concert series, sponsored by Deutsche Welle.

Violinist Carolin Widmann juxtaposes seemingly dissimilar works in this unique concert -- Bach's Baroque partita and Boulez' modern electronic experimentation -- but shows both composers achieve a similar spatial effect.PROGRAM

Pierre Boulez: Anthemes I for solo violin

JS Bach: Partita for solo violin, Nr. 2 in D Minor BWV 1004

Allemande

Courante

Sarabande

Gigue

Chaconne

Pierre Boulez: Anthemes II for violin and live electronics

Carolin Widmann, violin

Michael Acker, electronics

Gregorio Karman, electronics

Performed on Feb. 9, 2009, as part of the Concerto Discreto concert series, sponsored by Deutsche Welle.

Improvisation is a fundamental element of Baroque music -- and of jazz. Acclaimed flautist Nadja Schubert expertly alternates between both genres in this Christmas concert.

The Mahler Chamber Orchestra (MCO), founded in 1997 by Claudio Abbado, performed Mozart's Quintet in E-flat Major, Villa-Lobos' Fantasia Concertante and Poulenc's Trio for Oboe, Bassoon and Piano.

Composer and percussionist Mohamed Basha teamed up with four saxophonists and a bassist for an evening of Egyptian-European musical fusion. The group performed popular film music as well as Basha's own compositions.