On April 22, CBC Radio 2’s In Concert with host Bill Richardson will present the gold medalists of two of the world’s foremost international music competitions: the Banff International String Quartet Competition and the Honens International Piano Competition.
The Cecilia String Quartet, who won the BISQ competition in 2010, and Russian pianist Georgy Tchaidze, the 2009 Honens winner, were invited to perform in the Virtuosi concert series in Winnipeg, which was also part of a collaborative tour organized by BISQ and Honens. CBC Music approached members of the Cecilia String Quartet to tell us what it was like to be on the road with 21-year-old Tchaidze. You can find out the gossip below.
CBC recorded the concert in Winnipeg’s Eckhardt-Gramatté Hall on March 10, which included music by Haydn, Janáček and Dvořák.
Cecilia String Quartet dishes on rehearsing, and sharing dressing rooms
"Our collaboration with extraordinary pianist Georgy Tchaidze began in September 2011. As Sarah, our second violinist, says, 'We were extremely lucky that our musical blind date worked out.' We had no idea whether we would work well or sound good with Georgy when the Honens International Piano Competition and the Banff International String Quartet Competition put us together. But when he showed up for our very first rehearsal in Toronto, we felt so fortunate to find a mature and sensitive musician as well as an extremely tactful and kind person.
"The process of getting to know each other's playing and personalities began slowly, but it sped up to warp speed in March 2012 when we went on tour. If you ever want to get to know someone fast, just go on tour with them.
"Poor Georgy! He went from his peaceful solo engagements to flying and driving around with the four of us. We travelled together, ate together, rehearsed together, sometimes we even shared dressing rooms; about which Georgy was a perfect gentleman. (There was that time we locked him in the bathroom until we were finished changing but he seems to have forgiven us.)
"In general our group is pretty tame, but every string quartet has a distinct culture, worked out by the endless time spent together. Georgy was subjected to the beast that is the Cecilia Quartet at very close range.
"There were a lot of loud conversations about business, hair, dresses, Beethoven, sometimes even the meaning of life. All in language which must sound like code to non-Cecilia members. We tried to fold him into the mix whether he wanted to be included or not. I think it only took two days and he was joking along with us. We all shared our love of food and film, eating a lot of sushi and watching The Artist. The whole experience was a riot.
"Thank you Georgy for putting up with us. We love you!"
Watch the video below, which shows the collaboration between the Cecilia String Quartet and Tchaidze:
Related links:
Letter from Berlin: Honens Quarter-Final update
CBC 75th anniversary concert featuring the Cecilia String Quartet
Calgary Opera celebrates 40 years of nurturing Canadian talent