‘Ensemble Raro & Gilles Apap’

Ensemble Raro was founded in 2004, and originally consisted of a quartet with a piano. In 2011, four new members joined including the young Russian-German violin prodigy Alina Pogostkina. What drives them to make music? They enjoy playing together, and love improvising and innovating during multidisciplinary events, where they share the stage with other artists. They might collaborate with actors for a literary evening, or other musicians for an ad-hoc ensemble working with a composer, or as is the case here, a themed concert, with compositions that require different combinations of musicians. This time they’re throwing a Romanian-inspired party, with several works by Enescu and some of Bartók’s dances, as well as references to Hungarian and gypsy music by Brahms.