Ambarabà: Works by Saint-Saëns, Henze & Others sixty1strings

• Camille Saint-Saëns (1835 - 1921): The Carnival of the Animals, R. 125:
• 1 The Carnival of the Animals, R. 125: VII. Aquarium (Arr. for Mandolin, Guitar & Harp) 03:08
• Hans Werner Henze (1926 - 2012): Carillon, Récitatif, Masque:
• 2 Carillon, Récitatif, Masque: I. Carillon 06:27
• 3 Carillon, Récitatif, Masque: II. Récitatif 02:27
• 4 Carillon, Récitatif, Masque: III. Masque 01:42
• Boris Mikheev (b. 1937): 7 Character Pieces (Excerpts):
• 5 7 Character Pieces (Excerpts): No. 3, Song 01:55
• 6 7 Character Pieces (Excerpts): No. 4, Improvisation 02:06
• 7 7 Character Pieces (Excerpts): No. 5, Dancing 02:17
• Alberto Ginastera (1916 - 1983): Danzas argentinas, Op. 2 (Arr. for Mandolin, Guitar & Harp):
• 8 Danzas argentinas, Op. 2 (Arr. for Mandolin, Guitar & Harp): No. 1, Danza del viejo boyero 01:29
• 9 Danzas argentinas, Op. 2 (Arr. for Mandolin, Guitar & Harp): No. 2, Danza de la moza donosa 03:26
• 10 Danzas argentinas, Op. 2 (Arr. for Mandolin, Guitar & Harp): No. 3, Danza del gaucho matrero 03:54
• Claude Debussy (1862 - 1918): Danse sacrée et danse profane, L. 103 (Arr. for Mandolin, Harp & Guitar):
• 11 Danse sacrée et danse profane, L. 103 (Arr. for Mandolin, Harp & Guitar): I. Danse sacrée 05:04
• 12 Danse sacrée et danse profane, L. 103 (Arr. for Mandolin, Harp & Guitar): II. Danse profane 05:42
• Joaquín Rodrigo (1901 - 1999):
• 13 Un tiempo fue Itálica famosa 08:52
• Alberto Iglesias (b. 1955):
• 14 Hable con ella (Arr. for Mandolin, Harp & Guitar) 05:37
• Maurice Ravel (1875 - 1937): Ma mére l`oye, M. 60:
• 15 Ma mére l`oye, M. 60: III. Laideronnette, impératrice des pagodes (Arr. for Mandolin, Harp & Guitar) 03:44
• Walter Fähndrich (b. 1944):
• 16 Ambarabà (Arr. for Mandolin, Harp & Guitar) 08:05
• Total Runtime 01:05:55

Info for Ambarabà: Works by Saint-Saëns, Henze & Others

The trio sixty1strings is indeed a unique ensemble! On their GENUIN CD Ambarabà, the three young musicians Ekaterina Solovey (mandolin), Negin Habibi (guitar), and Konstanze Kuß (harp), explore a whole cosmos of sound that ranges from baroque structures to folkloristic and impressionistic spheres. The program includes the only original work for the instrumentation by Hans-Werner Henze and transcriptions of Debussy, Ginastera, Rodrigo, and Micheev. The works, however, receive no new attire; instead, they allow let their original garments to shine in an entirely new and special way. The album thereby pays homage to the beauty of the three instruments, which we rediscover in an excitingly evocative manner.

sixty1strings

Ekaterina Solovey
was born in Sverdlovsk, Russia (now Yekaterinburg) in 1985 and comes from a family of musicians. While studying the domra, a Russian folk instrument, at the Urals Mussorgsky State Conservatoire, in 2005 she participated in the European Guitar and Mandolin Youth Orchestra, and decided to major in mandolin performance only, which she studied at the same time as the domra. In 2010 she transferred to the Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln and earned a master’s degree under Caterina Lichtenberg in February 2013, graduating summa cum laude.

Ekaterina Solovey had already won numerous international competitions before and during her studies, most recently a First Prize at the Folk Modern Artist in Nessebar/Bulgaria festival competition (2011) and the WDR 3 Open Auditions. Concert tours have taken her to, among others, Russia, Spain, Israel, Austria, Italy and the US, where she impressed audiences as a soloist and chamber musician.

She also frequently performs with renowned orchestras, among them the Gürzenich Orchestra Cologne, the Düsseldorfer Symphoniker and the Beethoven Orchestra Bonn, under conductors such as Kent Nagano. Chamber music plays a special role in Solovey’s artistic work. In 2010 she founded the Milchkaffee-Trio (two mandolins and guitar) and since 2015 has been a member of the unique trio sixty1strings featuring the unusual combination of mandolin, guitar and harp.

Negin Habibi
was born in Tehran in 1982 and comes from a family of writers and literary translators. Growingup in several countries (Iran, France, Belarus, Germany),she came into contact with different cultures at an early age. So far, her musical career too has been marked by great diversity and openness. She began her training in classical guitar at the age of twelve while also playing electric guitar in rock bands.

In 2001 she began studying music at the University of Music and Theatre “Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy” in Leipzig and in 2005 completed her studies with top marks under Frank Bungarten at the Hannover University of Music, Drama and Media. In 2008 she completed her performance degree at the Lucerne School of Music, also summa cum laude.

During her studies, she attended numerous master classes with renowned musicians such as Stephen Stubbs, Fareed Haque and Markus Stockhausen. Since 2007, Negin Habibi has been a scholarship holder of several foundations and associations such as Live Music Now of the Yehudi Menuhin Association, the Edelhof Ricklingen Foundation and Klassik in der Klinik e.V.

She made her concert debut in 2004 with the Concierto de Aranjuez by Joaquín Rodrigo and is now in high demand as a soloist and chamber musician and pursues a busy concert schedule both at home and abroad. Concert tours have taken her to the US, the Netherlands, Belgium, Ireland, Austria and Bhutan. Since 2014, she has been studying baroque guitar with Israel Golani (Amsterdam) and is involved in both Early and New Music projects. In 2013 she co-founded the unique trio sixty1strings.

Konstanze Kuss
was born into a music dynasty and is the third generation of harp players in her family. She received her first harp lessons at the age of five and since that time has regularly participated in national competitions. She has been a multiple award winner in the categories Harp solo, Harp chamber music, Recorder solo and New Music Ensemble.

She studied at the University of Music, Drama and Media Hannover with Ruth Konhäuser, Anne-Sophie Bertrand and Birgit Bachhuber. During this time she became a member of the First German Harp Ensemble as well as Amabilees (film music with flute, harp and bass) and began to focus on different period instruments and to perform with various formations and ensembles, such as the Eranos Ensemble for Early Music and the Hofkapelle München. In contrast to these, she has also taken part in crossover rock/pop projects and gained experience in the field of experimental music, including electric harp.

In 2008 she received a scholarship from the RichardWagner-Verband e.V. After earning her diploma in music performance in 2009, she filled in temporarily with various orchestras such as the Bielefelder Philharmoniker, the Theater für Niedersachen, and the Orchester Lüneburg, and participated in several productions of the Tecklenburg Open Air Theater and the Allee-Theater in Hamburg.

She currently performs in Germany and abroad as a soloist as well as with various duo partners and ensembles, including the Studiogruppe Baltruweit. Concert engagements have taken her to the US, Poland, Spain, Russia, Austria, Belgium and the Netherlands. She also performs in studio recordings and is featured in recordings and live performances for radio and television. Konstanze Kuß is a founding member of the trio sixty1strings.

Booklet for Ambarabà: Works by Saint-Saëns, Henze & Others