In the spirit of celebrating diverse forms of art, Tao Art Gallery will be hosting Tilia-Quartet of Staatskapelle Berlin on Saturday, January 14, 2023 (6:00-7:30 pm). Four young musicians of the Staatskapelle Berlin will perform iconic pieces by Franz Schubert, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, & Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy. Taking its name from the StaatsoperUnter den Linden - Berlin, Tilia being the Latin for Linden Tree, the Tilia Quartet has performed in numerous highly acclaimed concerts in Germany and several international festivals.

Curated by Sanjana Shah, the exhibition will showcase artworks by upcoming contemporary artists Rajesh Wankhade and SmitaKinkale. The show opens as a part of the four-day preview at MGW 2023 - scheduled from January 12-January15, 2023 from 11am to 8pm and will be on display till January 31, 2023 (January 16-January 31, from 11am to 7pm).

Tilia-Quartet of Staatskapelle Berlin - The Tilia Quartet takes its name from its "ancestral home," the StaatsoperUnter den Linden (tilia-Linde). Four musicians from the Staatskapelle Berlin have joined forces to form the string quartet.

In addition to regular appearances in the concert series of the Berlin Staatskapelle and the Berlin Philharmonie, the Tilia Quartet has delivered numerous highly acclaimed concerts in Germany and abroad and has been invited to international festivals. The Deutschlandfunk, for example, stated, "The Tilia Quartet astounds with Verdi's string quartet...so much fullness and such great subtlety," the HusumerNachrichten praised "the excellent playing of the Tilia Quartet." The Neue Merker from Vienna stated, "it is hardly possible to play in an even purer, fresher, more balanced way!"

Wolfgang Hinzpeter - Member of the Staatskapelle ensemble, Founder & Member of The Tilia Quartet, who has collaborated with Anoushka Shankar and Zubin Mehta in the past, says, "We have a very long musical relationship, especially with Zubin Mehta, for more than 20 years with many operas and concerts. His elegant conduct motivates the beautiful sound; his friendly manner and fine humour are overwhelming. A gentleman connoisseur who invited us to his musical table multiple times".

Wolfgang Hinzpeter, a native of Hamburg, studied viola in Hanover with HattoBeyerle and joined the Staatskapelle in 1999 after his first engagement at the Rhine Opera (Duisburg Symphony Orchestra). In addition, he has been a member of the Bayreuth Festival Orchestra since 1998.

Hinzpeter has no plans on collaborating with Indian artists any time soon but says he is always open to taking on what comes. "A few small works have already been written for us. So why not play something experimental by an Indian composer? We are curious and open to everything."

The Orchestra was to make it to India a few years ago until the pandemic happened, and everything got cancelled. Hinzpeter is excited about this maiden concert. He says joyfully, "Three years ago, there were plans with the Staatsoper Berlin for a tour of the State Orchestra to India. The pandemic prevented all this, but it is a dream to inspire the Indian audience for symphonic music, even with a large orchestra. We see ourselves as ambassadors for such a project and our concert as a test of whether classical music also has fans here".

The unique concept of combining art with music is usually done only sometimes. So, it was new for Tao Art Gallery to develop a concept like this. Sanjana Shah, Creative Director, Tao Art Gallery, says that "At Tao we've always believed in the synergy of all the various areas of 'Art' beyond just the traditional Fine Art. It attempts to amalgamate the different sensory experiences that different mediums can bring out for the audience! Since our art show itself is all about perspectives and centered around themes of philosophy, we thought bringing such a renowned classical music group to perform would be a perfect collaboration"

The concert is in collaboration with HIMS Academy, Germany.

About the musicians:

Eva Römisch, born near Stuttgart, came to Berlin to study violin with Uwe-Martin Haiberg and Ulf Wallin. Even before her concert exam, she became a member of the Staatskapelle in 2002.

After attending the Special School of Music in Berlin and the State Conservatory of Music in Bolzano/Italy, violinist Andreas Jentzsch studied in his native city of Berlin with Joachim Scholz and Michael Mücke. He was a prize-winner in the "Musica senza frontiere" competition (1995). He has been a member of the Staatskapelle since 2002.

Details:

Event: Mumbai Gallery Weekend (12th – 15th January 2023)

Performance:

Artist: Tilia-Quartet of Staatskapelle Berlin

Date: Saturday, January 14, 2023

Time: 6:00-7:30 pm

Venue: Tao Art Gallery, Mumbai

Gallery visit timings: 11am to 8pm till January 15, 2023 and 11am to 7pm, January 16-January 31 2023

Images courtesy: Barbara Glücksmann