With their unusual combination of cello and guitar, Lena Kravets and Tobias Kassung captivated their audience at the concert in the Humboldt Hall. The duo presented their new programme, which centred on the theme of ‘Dreams and Tango’. Dreamy nocturnes and adagios were enchantingly combined with the exuberant music of metropolitan nightlife.
Romantic nocturnes and adagios by Burgmüller, Glinka and Beethoven perfectly captured the intimate, dreamy sound of the cello and guitar. Kassung’s own new piece added a fresh dimension to the ‘dream’: the dream of peace, which is so very much in the news at the moment. In three musical scenes, Kassung’s work transported the audience into the world of Arabic music, full of colour, power, hope and longing. Raffaele Bellafronte’s tango brought the exuberance of life to life. And the programme culminated in the “Quatre rêves” by the Parisian composer Mathias Duplessy, who has set the exuberant nightlife of the French capital to rousing music in his four musical dreams. Music that was deeply moving and simply a joy to listen to!
As part of the #henze2026 programme, the duo also performed a selection of works for solo guitar and solo cello by Hans Werner Henze. The movements were impressively interwoven.
The duo Kravets-Kassung live at kammerkonzerte.koeln in Humboldt-Hall, Cologne 2026:
Pictures of the concert:
Programme:
Frédéric Burgmüller (1806-1874)
Deux Nocturnes
Michail I. Glinka (1804-1857)
(Arr.: Tobias Kassung)
Ich erinnere mich des zauberhaften Augenblicks
Ernest Bloch (1880-1959)
(Arr.: Tobias Kassung)
Prayer (No. 1 „From Jewish Life”)
Tobias Kassung (*1977)
Ein Traum vom Frieden (Uraufführung)
Sonate in drei Szenen für Violoncello und Gitarre, op. 20
1. Heimat – 2. Vertreibung – 3. Hoffnung
Raffaele Bellafronte (*1961)
„Tango” aus Suite No. 1 for cello and guitar (1994)
- intervall -
Hans Werner Henze (1926-2012)
aus der Serenade für Cello Solo (1949): Poco allegretto – Vivace
abwechselnd mit:
„Ariel” aus der Royal Winter Music I für Gitarre Solo (1976)
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
(Arr: Tobias Kassung)
Adagio cantabile (aus der Klaviersonate Nr. 8 op. 13)
Mathias Duplessy (*1972)
Sonate pour violoncelle et guitare en quatre rêves
1. Rêve fou – verrückter Traum
2. Rêve heureux – glücklicher Traum
3. Rêve melancolique – melancholischer Traum
4. Rêve exalté – erhabener Traum
