Helena Basilova & Franz von Chossy
Young Masters: Double concert Classical and Improvisation
FRI 19 MAR 2010 20.00, Pianolab Goethe Institute, Amsterdam (NL)
Helena Basilova – Solo Piano, works by Bach, Chopin, Ravel and others
Franz von Chossy – Solo Piano Improvisations
This concert gives an interpretation to the vision of the Pianolab, to investigate the bridges and overlaps between composed and improvised music. At the same time we give space to two young and highly talented musicians, who are at the beginning of their career. We are curious to see how they span the bridge between composition and improvisation.
Helena Basilova: “Franz and I met at the Amsterdam Conservatory and because of our love for both classical and jazz music we decided to join forces and start a project together. I will play works by Bach, Chopin and Ravel among others to which Franz will respond with his own compositions, often inspired by the works I play.”
As her surname probably indicates, Helena Basilova is not originally Dutch. She was born in Moscow and came to the Netherlands at the age of seven. She is fast becoming one of the most interesting Dutch pianists. Until 2005 Helena was a student of David Kuyken with whom she graduated successfully at the Conservatory of Amsterdam. During her master studies 2005-2008 she took lessons from Hakon Austbo and studied at the Royal College of Music in London. Helena gave concerts in places like Vredenburg, the Concertgebouw, the Oosterpoort and made recordings for Dutch radio like Spiegelzaal live.
In 2007 Helena appeared in the VPRO television programme ‘Free Sounds’ where she performed Skrjabin’s ninth sonata. In March 2008 Helena gave eleven solo recitals as part of the series ‘Het Debuut’, a series that gives young talent the opportunity to present themselves on the major Dutch stages. In the same year she was a finalist at the Vriendenkrans competition. Since then the young pianist has played many times abroad, including last season in Spain, Iceland, New York, Curaçao and Aruba.
Pianist and composer Franz von Chossy was born in Munich, Germany and began playing the piano at the age of six. He moved to the Netherlands in 1999 to study with Rob Madna, Karel Boehlee and Rob van Bavel at the “Conservatorium van Amsterdam”.
In 2002 he was a regular pianist in “Flogiston” and “De Nationale Wetenschaps Quiz”, both tv shows of the VPRO. In 04 the CD he recorded with the Yaniv Nachum Quartet was proclaimed “Best Modern Jazz Album of the Year” by allaboutjazz.com. In 2003 he moved to New York to study with Fred Hersch, Kenny Werner, Kenny Barron, Dave Liebman, John Taylor and Gary Dial at the “Manhattan School of Music”. There he also studied Film Composition with Edward Green. The “Franz von Chossy Trio” won the “Sena Prize for Best Group” at the “Dutch Jazz Competition” in 2006. The jury chose the Franz von Chossy Trio because of their ‘original, dynamic and virtuoso (inter)play’. Franz also received the “Norma Prize for Best Soloist” for his “subtle, spacious and personal playing”. Currently living in Amsterdam, he can be heard in various jazz, classical and cross-over projects, touring Europe, the United States, Asia, North Africa and the Middle East and performing with musicians such as Roy Hargrove, Dick Oats, Minu Cinelu, Jasper Blom and Benjamin Herman. Together with singer Maria Neckam, bassist Thomas Morgen and drummer Dan Weiss, he still performs regularly in New York.
