Lavyn Ensemble
Lavyn Ensemble explores the chamber music repertoire written for violin and cello. They combine grand 20th century works by composers like Kodály and Ravel with recent, lesser known compositions as well as arrangements of medieval, baroque and folk music. Violinist Melanie Gruwez and cellist Yunah Proost, met in their native Belgium during their studies at the Royal Conservatoire of Antwerp and have shared many performance settings together over the past 10 years. They premiered their new programme When the Puppets are Dancing last March in London. When the Puppets are Dancing is a dynamic concert program that evokes the playfulness of puppet theatre, featuring works by Maurice Ravel, Lera Auerbach, Nicola Matteis, Jörg Widmann and more.
Their previous concert program, called Folk 2.0, was built around the timeless duo for cello and violin by Zoltán Kodály, combining it with other folk inspired music by composers such as Béla Bartók and György Ligeti.
Duo Randulín
Duo Randulin was born in the Engadin, during a long hike through the Alps, when Francesco and Yunah decided to name their duo after the elegant swallow they saw dancing along the mountainside, inspired by the birds’ graceful, soaring movements. Their goal is to share this sense of joy through music, inviting the audience into a world of shifting moods—just as the birds rise and fall with the changing winds. They perform a selection of works that move between vibrant Brazilian rhythms and European elegance. Radamés Gnattali and Celso Machado, central figures in classical Brazilian music, capture the fiery pulse of their folk traditions in genres such as Samba and Choro. Likewise, Villa-Lobos celebrates the richness of his homeland’s musical heritage. Next to that, the delicate romanticism of Burgmüller’s cello and guitar miniatures and some movements from Bach’s first Cello Suite, bring clarity and light in the eternal dance between Romanza e Fuoco.
About That Magic Circle
“The wise are the point at the center of the compass, but love knows that in the rest of the circle, humans are lost.” This is from a poem by the great Persian mystic Hafez, from which the sextet About that magic circle takes its name. A diverse musical ensemble (kamancheh, tar, viola da gamba, violin, double bass, percussion) founded by Mostafa Taleb in 2018, the group draws inspiration from the four elements (earth, water, air/wind, fire) and their influence on the human body and behavior, with a significant reference to Persian literature. To these four elements, the breath (the soul) is added, completing the nature of men and women.