Concert information
Musikfest Berlin
Info
Two Australian composers, one Late Night: just a few days after making his conducting debut with the Berliner Philharmoniker, our Composer in Residence Brett Dean returns to the viola. He is joined by soloists from the orchestra and pianist Benjamin Hochman for a performance of his Imaginary Ballet – a suite brimming with vitality and dance-like energy. We also hear the world premiere of Cathy Milliken’s new work In Play. Like Brett Dean, Milliken comes from Brisbane, The evening concludes with the Piano Quartet of Brett Dean’s favourite composer Robert Schumann, a work that begins in a dream-like mood and builds to passionate intensity.
Artists
Noah Bendix-Balgley violin
Brett Dean viola
Ludwig Quandt cello
Benjamin Hochman piano
Programme
Cathy Milliken
In Play In Play (dedicated to Marjorie Veronica Milliken, premiere)
Brett Dean
Imaginary Ballet
Robert Schumann
Piano Quartet in E flat major, op. 47
Additional information
Duration ca. 1 hour
Dates and tickets
Main Auditorium
25 €
Background
Biography
Brett Dean
Brett Dean studied at the Queensland Conservatorium in his home city of Brisbane before moving to Germany in 1984. He spent the next 14 years as a violist with the Berliner Philharmoniker. During the 1990s, he became increasingly active as a composer, eventually leaving the orchestra in 2000 to pursue composition full-time. His music is now performed internationally by leading orchestras and ensembles.
In the 2026/27 season, Dean is Composer in Residence with the Berliner Philharmoniker. His music will feature throughout the season, while Dean himself will work with the musicians of the Karajan Academy, perform as a violist with members of the Berliner Philharmoniker, and conduct his former orchestra for the first time.
Noah Bendix-Balgley
Originally from North Carolina, Noah Bendix-Balgley was concertmaster of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra from 2011 to 2015 before joining the Berliner Philharmoniker in the same position. Alongside his orchestral work, he appears internationally as a soloist, including with the Berliner Philharmoniker.
A committed chamber musician, he performs in several ensembles, including a trio with pianist Robert Levin and cellist Peter Wiley, and Philharmonix, a genre-crossing septet bringing together members of the Berliner and Vienna Philharmonic orchestras. Bendix-Balgley is also closely involved with traditional klezmer music. He has performed with groups including Brave Old World, taught at workshops across Europe and the United States, and composed the klezmer violin concerto Fidl-Fantazye, performed at the Philharmonie Berlin in April 2023.
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