Chamber music Compositions by Gabriele Proy (Austria)
I. Adagio, II. Adagio, III. Adagio, IV. Andante
Tribute to Susanna Proy (nee Zairis)
“My quintet for piano ‘Lavandula vera’ is a tribute to my Greek grandmother. She grew up in Constantinople, then lived in Thessaloniki with her Austrian husband and children, where she taught crafts, before being forced to emigrate to Austria, (then part of the Third Reich) during the second world war. Her impressive embroidery work still adorns tables in my family on festive occasions. The fragrance of oregano, thyme and lavender and her busy hands that never seemed to rest are engraved in all our memories.
My quintet for piano tells of the south – of the glaring light and the shade of the olive trees, of fragrant herbs and the sweetest syrup, of hospitality and life as a widow, of hoping for peace and of emigration.”
The piano quintet “Lavandula vera” by Gabriele Proy was commissioned by the Austrian Cultural Forum Paris and the Austrian Federal Ministry of European and International Affairs for the European Capital of Culture “Marseille-Provence 2013” and celebrated a very successful world premiere on 7 September 2013 at the inauguration of the new music university Conservatoire Darius Milhaud in Aix-en-Provence, France.
As a bridge between the two European capitals of culture “Marseille-Provence 2013” and “Košice 2013”, the quintet for piano was successfully performed for the first time in Slovakia on 10 December 2013 by the soloists of the International Danube Philharmonic in Košice, Slovakia.
Concert performances and radio broadcasts of the composition “Lavandula vera” (selection):
01 22 2015 German Premiere of “Lavandula vera”, Composer’s Concert featuring Gabriele Proy, Russell Ryan (piano), Édua Zádory (violin), Orsolya Pálfi (violin), Péter Kóczán (viola), Ana Topalovic (violincello), Presentation by Wilhelm Matejka, Konzerthaus Berlin, Germany
01 20 2015 Austrian Premiere of “Lavandula vera”, Composer’s Concert featuring Gabriele Proy, Russell Ryan (piano), Édua Zádory (violin), Orsolya Pálfi (violin), Péter Kóczán (viola), Ana Topalovic (violincello), Brick-5, Vienna, Austria
12 10 2013 Slovakian Premiere of “Lavandula vera”, Solists of the International Danube Philharmonic, Veronika Trisko (piano), Elena Denisova (violin), Mirek Krivánek (violin), Gejza Jurth (viola), Ján Bogdan (violoncello), European Capital of Culture Košice 2013, Košice, Slovakia
09 07 2013 World Premiere of “Lavandula vera”, Austrian Commission in Composition for the European Capital of Culture Marseille-Provence-2013, Mozarte Quintet Salzburg, inauguration of the new music university Conservatoire Darius Milhaud, Aix-en-Provence, France
Lavandula vera
Quintet for Piano (2013)I. Adagio, II. Adagio, III. Adagio, IV. Andante
Tribute to Susanna Proy (nee Zairis)
“My quintet for piano ‘Lavandula vera’ is a tribute to my Greek grandmother. She grew up in Constantinople, then lived in Thessaloniki with her Austrian husband and children, where she taught crafts, before being forced to emigrate to Austria, (then part of the Third Reich) during the second world war. Her impressive embroidery work still adorns tables in my family on festive occasions. The fragrance of oregano, thyme and lavender and her busy hands that never seemed to rest are engraved in all our memories.
My quintet for piano tells of the south – of the glaring light and the shade of the olive trees, of fragrant herbs and the sweetest syrup, of hospitality and life as a widow, of hoping for peace and of emigration.”
The piano quintet “Lavandula vera” by Gabriele Proy was commissioned by the Austrian Cultural Forum Paris and the Austrian Federal Ministry of European and International Affairs for the European Capital of Culture “Marseille-Provence 2013” and celebrated a very successful world premiere on 7 September 2013 at the inauguration of the new music university Conservatoire Darius Milhaud in Aix-en-Provence, France.
As a bridge between the two European capitals of culture “Marseille-Provence 2013” and “Košice 2013”, the quintet for piano was successfully performed for the first time in Slovakia on 10 December 2013 by the soloists of the International Danube Philharmonic in Košice, Slovakia.
Concert performances and radio broadcasts of the composition “Lavandula vera” (selection):
01 22 2015 German Premiere of “Lavandula vera”, Composer’s Concert featuring Gabriele Proy, Russell Ryan (piano), Édua Zádory (violin), Orsolya Pálfi (violin), Péter Kóczán (viola), Ana Topalovic (violincello), Presentation by Wilhelm Matejka, Konzerthaus Berlin, Germany
01 20 2015 Austrian Premiere of “Lavandula vera”, Composer’s Concert featuring Gabriele Proy, Russell Ryan (piano), Édua Zádory (violin), Orsolya Pálfi (violin), Péter Kóczán (viola), Ana Topalovic (violincello), Brick-5, Vienna, Austria
12 10 2013 Slovakian Premiere of “Lavandula vera”, Solists of the International Danube Philharmonic, Veronika Trisko (piano), Elena Denisova (violin), Mirek Krivánek (violin), Gejza Jurth (viola), Ján Bogdan (violoncello), European Capital of Culture Košice 2013, Košice, Slovakia
09 07 2013 World Premiere of “Lavandula vera”, Austrian Commission in Composition for the European Capital of Culture Marseille-Provence-2013, Mozarte Quintet Salzburg, inauguration of the new music university Conservatoire Darius Milhaud, Aix-en-Provence, France
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