A music event out of this world

with Chamber Orchestra ‘Capriccio Fridericiana’ and soloists Wolfgang Heitz (trumpet) and Laden Ince (soprano) in Bellapais

by Heidi Trautmann

Strings… eight violins, two violas, two cellos and one bass, they spoke with one voice, they spoke soft, they whispered, they lured us, the audience, to follow them, and we followed them with all our heart and feelings. The first piece by Leopold Mozart (1719 -1787) a concerto in D major for Clarion and trumpet was delightful and the clear voice of the trumpet played by Wolfgang Heitz, filled the ancient space of the beautiful Bellapais Krypt.

The Krypt was full to the last seat and I realized that the musical guests from Karlsruhe had captured the entire attention of the audience, many music students had come also, they were sort of sitting at the edge of their chairs bending forward to meet the music that came from the stage. (Please find my introductory article and presentation of the chamber music group on my website including the complete programme.)

‘Capriccio’, first part of the group’s name means ‘playing lively music on a sudden whim’  which is precisely what led to the formation of the chamber orchestra in 1989. The second part of the name reflects its ties with the University of Karlsruhe (now KIT), of which many of its members have graduated from. The group plays without conductor: at rehearsals and concerts Hubert Heitz directs from the first violinist’s desk. The orchestra’s repertoire ranges from baroque to contemporary music - as numerous concerts in southern Germany, France and Switzerland testify. The ‘Capriccio Fridericiana’ also plays in performances of oratorios on a regular basis.

Violins : Hubert Heitz,            Alexander Voigt, Thomas Bach, Diana Colceriu, Wolfgang Heitz, Christina Knötzele, Katrin Kűmmel, Andrea Hummel;  

Violas: Antje Finkbeiner-Nahl and Jörg Stum pp;

Cellos: Gisela Heitz, Stephan Schirmeyer;  Bass: Joachim Heinrichs.

The second piece took us to Edvard Grieg’s country Norway with his Norwegian Melodies, op 53 and Norwegian Tunes, op. 63 and we were left enchanted in wide forests, fjords and still waters, its mysteries so well conveyed.

During the break I had the pleasure to meet the German Ambassador Dr. Gabriela Guellil at whose residence we, a group of artist women, have been guests and so was the soprano Laden Ince, the soprano who we were expecting to hear in the second part of the concert with Bach’s Cantata Nr. 51, BWV 51. It was my first time to hear her sing Bach and it was with showers of excitement that I realized how right her voice was for Bach, she has understood Bach and when I looked around I saw the same excitement in all faces. Our young friends –Ipek Zorba, Erol Emmioglu, Miriam Marancos - piano students with Rauf Kasimov were sitting close to us and they were equally thrilled,  being taught to listen to what the composer had wanted to tell us with his music.

The orchestra sensitively supported Laden Ince’s voice, and also did Wolfgang Heitz with his trumpet in the finale (Alleluja); it was as if the two partners – the orchestra from Karlsruhe and the soprano from Cyprus – have been playing together many times.

The last piece of the concert on the programme was Mozart’s ‘Kleine Nachtmusik’ and I saw many nod their heads in time to the music, music we grew up with, but so very beautifully played. Standing ovations persuaded the orchestra to give us an encore with Shostakovich’s waltz jazz suite No. 1, and, as a last present they made us Solveig’s Song by Edvard Grieg with Laden Ince interpreting these mysterious tunes so beautifully.

It was for us a very special treat to have the opportunity to enjoy the professionalism of this group here in Cyprus, together with lovely Laden Ince, an event sponsored and organized by Kaleidoskop Tourizm and Piano Association. They have been staying in North Cyprus for over a week and they were shown not only the famous treasures of antiquity but the nature in spring’s full process of exploding and last not least the orchid, especially the  ‘Ophrys kotschyi’ which for Mr and Mrs Heitz were a main purpose to come to Cyprus at this time of the year.

(The article is published in Cyprus Observer on Saturday March 8, Issue 108)

Introduction

Hubert Heitz studied the violin with Prof. Jörg-Wolfgang Jahn in Karlsruhe and with Prof. Max Rostal in Berne. Later he studied chamber music with Prof. Albert Dietrich, with the Bartholdy Quartet and with Paolo Borciani of the Quartetto Italiano. In addition to extensive teaching – for years he was Prof. Jahn’s assistant; today he is a free-lance musician and teacher of violin and viola – he is to be heard both as solist and in chamber ensembles: formerly the Heitz Quartet (Karlsruhe) and the Nova Quartet (Basle), these days as violinist of the Orpheus Trio (Karlsruhe) and the Gerlis Ensemble (Karlsruhe/Zurich) and in recitals for violin and piano; he also directs the Collegium Musicum of the KIT (Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, formerly University of Karlsruhe). He has built up a reputation at home and abroad through his many solo and ensemble performances.

Wolfgang  Heitz was born in Karlsruhe in 1981. He showed an interest in music from earliest childhood. At the age of 5 he began to play the violin; since 1993 he has been playing percussion in the Collegium Musicum of the KIT, where he took up the trumpet in 1996, teaching himself to play it. In 2002 he began appearing in performances by music students, leading to regular solo performances with the chamber orchestra of the Church of the Resurrection in Karlsruhe-Rűppurr. Wolfgang Heitz performs in baroque cantatas and oratorios and since 2008 in the Durlach Singalong on a regular basis. He also performs with Karl-Heinz Halder, trumpeter with the Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra , whom he got to know through his professional work as a sound mixer. Since 2010 he has been a member of the Rűppurr Brasspur.