ArtLink Festival: CONCERT – Victor Julien-Laferrière, cello, France, and Uki Ovaskainen, piano

Winner of the 1st prize (as well as the two special prizes) at the Prague Spring International Competition 2012, Victor Julien-Laferrière is born in 1990 and completed his studies in Paris Conservatory (CNSM, 2004-2008).

Since 2009, he studies at the Vienna University with Heinrich Schiff. From 2005 to 2011, he took part in the International Music Academy-Switzerland of Seiji Ozawa.

He has performed with Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France under Peter Oudjian as part of the Prague Spring Festival, and also with the Hermitage State Orchestra at the St Petersburg Olympus Festival as well as with the Pilsen Radio Philharmonic, the South Bohemian Philharmonic, the Czech Chamber Philharmonic Pardubice, the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, etc.

In chamber music, he is the guest of the KKL Luzern, Théâtre des Champs Elysées, Auditorium du Louvre in Paris, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Festival, Festival de Pâques d’Aix en Provence, Tonhalle Zürich, Gstaad Sommets Musicaux, Al Bustan Festival, Lugano Ticino Musica, Prague EuroArt Festival, and has been invited to play at the Kuhmo Festival (Finland), Berne, Autunno Musicale Caserta (Italy), Besançon, Deauville festivals, Nantes Folle Journée, in the Cité de la Musique and the Salle Gaveau in Paris, the Auditorium in Dijon.

His first recording will be released end of 2016 with the pianist Adam Laloum (Mirare): Debussy, Franck, Brahms.

He also took part in many radio and TV shows, for France Musique, the BBC in London and MezzoTV. He played with such musicians like Augustin Dumay, Renaud Capuçon, Christian Ivaldi, Alain Planès, Vladimir Mendelssohn.

In 2009, he founded the piano Trio Les Esprits together with Adam Laloum and Mi-Sa Yang; they recorded a CD with works by Beethoven and Schumann and played lately the Beethoven Triple Concerto in Salle Gaveau and a trio recital in the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées.

Uki Ovaskainen is active as a soloist and chamber musician with concerts in all Scandinavia, Finland, Germany, Austria, Israel, Spain, Russia, Serbia and Croatia. From 2001 he works as an accompanist for strings at the Belgrade Faculty of Music.

Uki Ovaskainen was born in Espoo, Finland in 1975. He plays the piano since he was five, and the first time performed with an orchestra at the age of eleven. From 1989 to 1996 he studied with Hui-Ying Liu-Tawaststjerna at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki and from 1996 to 1999 with Professor Jose Ribera at the Royal Danish Academy of Music in Copenhagen, where he graduated with the highest degrees. He has participated in masterclasses with Pnina Salzman, Charles Rosen, Andras Schiff, Yahli Wagman, Emanuel Krasowsky and Matti Raekallio. From 2003 to 2005 he was on postgraduate studies with prof. Ribera in the soloist class in Copenhagen, which he finished with a recital in October 2005.

From October 2006 he was on postgraduate studies with prof. Matti Raekallio in the soloist class of Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hannover.

Vuk Ovaskainen was born in Belgrade in 2001 and started playing the cello at the age of seven.

Vuk is the laureate of the international competitions “Petar Konjović”, “Dušan Protić”, and the “Mozart” competition in the Quinto Vicentino, in Italy, as well as the State level competition in Serbia. He won the Second prizes at the International “Heran” violoncello competition in the Czech Republic and in Liezen, in Austria. At the festival of young talents in Sremski Karlovci in 2011, he was selected the Most Talented Cellist in Serbia.

Vuk played several recitals in Serbia, two at the Academy of Sciences and Arts, two at the Artget Gallery of Belgrade Cultural Centre, and also performed at the Cello Fest and at the Chopin Fest in Belgrade.

Vuk Ovaskainen is the member of the ArtLink Chamber Ensemble and has also played several times as a soloist with the orchestra within the ArtLink – Société Générale Young Talents’ Music Cycle.

Vuk is a second-year student at „Dr Vojislav Vučković“ School of Music, in the class of professor Danijela Militinović. He also studies with professors Boža Saramandić, and Judit Niederholzer-Josifoska. Vuk participated at master classes by cellist Jan Vogler, as well as Alexander Baillie and Louise Hopkins in the UK.

In 2016 Vuk has been invited to “Colluvio” chamber music program and tour in Austria, Germany and the Balkans.

Members of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts Dejan Despić and Ivan Jevtić have composed music for Vuk.

J. S. Bach:  Suite no. 5 in C minor
I     Prelude
II    Allemande
III   Courante
IV   Sarabande
V    Gavotte I – Gavotte II
VI   Gigue

J. Brahms: Sonata no. 1, E minor op. 38
Allegro non troppo,
Allegretto quasi Menuetto,
Allegro

J. Brahms: Trio op. 114
Allegro
Adagio
Andante grazioso
Allegro

Ognjen Popović, clarinette
Vuk Ovaskainen, cello
Uki Ovaskainen, piano