The Cavatina Duo (Spanish flutist Eugenia Moliner and the Bosnian guitarist Denis Azabagic) perform Sonata in E major for flute and basso continuo (BWV 1035) by Johann Sebastian Bach. Recorded during the XVth Gliwice Guitar Festival (2013) in Poland.

Cavatina Duo plays Flute Sonata in E major, BWV 1035 by Johann Sebastian Bach

Flute Sonata in E major, BWV 1035 by Johann Sebastian Bach

Written in the 1740s, the piece is dedicated to the well-known and prolific Potsdam flautist Michael Gabriel Fredersdorf (1708-1758), a close friend of Frederick the Great (German: Friedrich; 24 January 1712 – 17 August 1786), the King of Prussia from 1740 until 1786.

The Sonata, scored for flute or recorder (blockflöte in German; essentially “wooden flute” or recorder) and basso continuo. However, the basso continuo can be provided by a variety of instruments (it is played by the guitar here). It is in four movements:

  1. Adagio ma non tanto
  2. Allegro
  3. Siciliano
  4. Allegro assai

Cavatino Duo

Cavatina Duo plays Flute Sonata in E major, BWV 1035 by Johann Sebastian Bach
Cavatina Duo

The Cavatina Duo – Eugenia Moliner, flute (Spain) and Denis Azabagic, guitar (Bosnia) – has become one of the most impressive combinations of its kind in the world. Critics are raving:

“Style, sympathy, and technical aplomb . . . it’s doubtful that the Cavatina’s sophisticated and artistic playing could be surpassed.” -Fanfare

Dedicated soloists and chamber musicians, the Cavatina Duo breaks convention with their combination of instruments. Add to that their daring choices of varied and versatile repertoire and the result is new sounds, colors, and musical phrasings, which in return awakens a high level of emotion and audience response. A Cavatina Duo concert is a musical experience you don’t want to miss.

The Cavatina Duo has captivated audiences with their electrifying performances in such major venues and festivals as Ravinia’s Raising Stars series (Chicago), Da Camera Society (Los Angeles), Aix-en-Provence Summer Festival (France), the National Concert Hall of Taipei (Taiwan), National Center for the Performing Arts in Beijing (China), National Flute Convention Gala Concert (USA), the Harris Theater (Chicago), Kolkata International Guitar Festival (India), Foundation Principe Felipe and Palau de la Musica (Spain), among many others.

Radio and television stations in Europe and North America such as WFMT and NPR have broadcast the duo’s performances. They have been the subjects of interviews in international magazines such as Chamber Music America, TodoFlauta (Spain), FluteTalk (USA), Classical Guitar (UK), Guitarra Magazine (web), Soundboard (USA) and Flute-the British Flute Society. They are the first guitar and flute duo to be featured on the covers of both Classical Guitar Magazine (UK) and the cover of FluteTalk (USA).

Cavatina Duo has performed with orchestras and string quartets in Europe, USA, India, South Korea, and Mexico including the Chicago Sinfonietta, Traverse Symphony, Sarajevo Philharmonic, Daejeon Philharmonic and the Youth Orchestra of Monterrey, Mexico. In 2010 Cavatina Duo gave the world premiere of another work commissioned by them from Alan Thomas, “Concerto for Flute, Guitar, and Orchestra,” with the Camerata Serbica at the Guitar Art Festival in Belgrade.

Eugenia Moliner has been acclaimed as “brilliant” by the British Flute Society magazine. She has performed with principal musicians from the Chicago Symphony, Rotterdam Philharmonic and Toronto Symphony orchestras as well with many chamber ensembles, including the Chicago Chamber Musicians, Civitas Ensemble, Chinese Fine Arts Musicians. This season she will collaborate with the Aspen String Trio. Her discography includes seven CDs.

A prize-winner in twenty-four international competitions, Denis Azabagic has been described as a “virtuoso with flawless technique” by Soundboard Magazine. He has appeared as soloist with orchestras such as the Chicago and Madrid Symphonies, among many others. Azabagic has collaborated with the Chicago Chamber Musicians, the Civitas Ensemble and the Cuarteto Casals. His discography includes twelve CDs, two DVDs and a manual.

Denis Azabagic and Eugenia Moliner are Artists-Faculty at the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University.

The duo has compiled a substantial number of recordings on the Spanish and North American labels Opera Tres, Cedille, Bridge and Orobroy Records.

For “The Balkan Project” (Cedille 2010) Cavatina Duo commissioned new works for flute and guitar; they selected nine composers and chose music from the Balkans, reflecting Azabagic’s heritage.

Their following release was “Cavatina Duo Plays Astor Piazzolla” (Bridge 2010). This time they commissioned Grammy winner Sérgio Assad and his daughter Clarice, a rising star in the music world, to arrange/compose many works originally written for other combination of instruments or, as in the case of the Flute Etudes, creating the guitar part as well. Mr. Assad, having worked with Piazzolla himself, was the perfect match for this project.

For their recently released CD “Cavatina at the Opera” (Bridge 2015), Eugenia and Denis commissioned long-time friend, composer and collaborator Alan Thomas to arrange/recompose for their combination some of the most beautiful and best-known fantasies and variations written for flute and ones written for guitar, making this an important addition to the flute and guitar repertoire.

Denis and Eugenia are constantly researching for new musical ideas and projects, and this has brought them to their new endeavor, Sephardic Journey, which consists of new commissions of works based on Sephardic melodies from five leading composers. The world premiere will be held at the Ravinia Festival with the renowned Avalon Quartet in March 2016 and the CD will be released on Cedille Records.

(as of December 2015 – source)

Sources

M. Özgür Nevres

Published by M. Özgür Nevres

I am Özgür Nevres, a software engineer, a former road racing cyclist, and also an amateur musician. I opened andantemoderato.com to share my favorite music. I also take care of stray cats & dogs. This website's all income goes directly to our furry friends. Please consider supporting me on Patreon, so I can help more animals!

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