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- Musique de chambre -
Thursday 19 March 2026 | 20h00
Conservatoire de Musique de Genève, Salle Franz Liszt
Quintettes de Chostakovitch et Schubert
 

WINTER SEASON 2025-2026

Shostakovich and Schubert Quintets

Thursday 19 March 2026 · 20h00

Conservatoire de Musique de Genève, Salle Franz Liszt

Place de Neuve 5, 1204 Genève

PROGRAMMEARTISTS AND BIOGRAPHIES

Separated by more than a century, Franz Schubert and Dmitri Shostakovich each found in the quintet one of the most intimate means of expressing their inner truth. Both unite formal rigor with deeply personal confession: in one, the premonition of death; in the other, the struggle to survive in a world ruled by fear.

Schubert’s String Quintet in C major, D. 956, composed in 1828 just weeks before his death, is a work of farewell—vast in scope and radiant in serenity. The addition of a second cello gives the texture an almost choral depth, where every voice breathes and blends into a harmony suspended between light and desolation. The Adagio, with its nearly motionless time, seems to abolish all weight to reach a peace from another world.

A century later, Shostakovich, in his Piano Quintet in G minor, Op. 57, explores a similar tension between gravity and brilliance. The contrapuntal writing, inherited from Bach, becomes a language of truth—a dense dialogue between piano and strings, traversed by lyrical impulses and restrained fury.

In both composers, chamber music becomes a space of absolute sincerity, where beauty is born from the conflict between shadow and light — a shared breath of humanity that transcends time and still speaks to us today.

The artistic directors of the Geneva International String Academy, Sergey Ostrovsky and Noémie Bialobroda, are joined by Eva Kobor, Jonathan Gerstner, Auguste Rahon and Ekaterina Bonyushkina, offering the audience a performance that combines virtuosity, sensitivity, and deep musical complicity.

The Geneva International String Academy (GISA) is proud to see several of its former students honored in 2025 with major international distinctions. Their success reflects the Academy’s high standards and the exceptional quality of the artists it has trained over the past five years.

  • Sarah Strohm - Premier Prix ex æquo (alto), Concours de Genève 2025
    Sélectionnée aux éditions 2021, 2022 et 2023 de GISA
  • Brian Isaacs - Premier Prix ex æquo (alto), Concours de Genève 2025
    Sélectionné aux éditions 2022 et 2023 de GISA
  • Alessandra Yang - Prix spécial du jury « Meilleure performance en Musique de Chambre », Concours de Genève 2025
    Sélectionnée pour l’édition 2025 de GISA
  • Arne Zeller - Premier Prix (violoncelle), Concours de Budapest 2025
    Sélectionné aux éditions 2023 et 2024 de GISA
  • Maxime Grizard - Premier Prix (violoncelle) Radu Lupu 2025
    Sélectionné pour l'édition 2023 de GISA

PROGRAMME

Dmitri Shostakovich (1906 - 1975)

Piano Quintet in G minor, Op. 57 (1940)

I. Allegretto
II. Lento
III. Allegretto
IV. Moderato – Allegretto

Sergey Ostrovsky · violinEva Kobor · violinNoémie Bialobroda · violaAuguste Rahon · celloEkaterina Bonyushkina · piano

— INTERMISSION —

Franz Schubert (1797 - 1828)

String Quintet in C major, D. 956 (1828)

I. Allegro ma non troppo
II. Scherzo
III. Adagio
IV. Allegretto

Sergey Ostrovsky · violinEva Kobor · violinNoémie Bialobroda · violaJonathan Gerstner · celloAuguste Rahon · cello

THE ARTISTS

PROFESSORS AND GUESTS

Sergey OstrovskyViolin · co-founder and artistic director of GISARead the biography ›

Sergey Ostrovsky is a solo violinist, conductor, founder and first violin of the Aviv String Quartet for 27 seasons, founder and Artistic Director of the ‘Ensemble Symphonique de Genève’ and has taught violin at the Haute Ecole de Musique de Genève and Neuchâtel since 2009. He was First Solo Violin of the ‘Orchestre de la Suisse Romande’ from 2007 to 2012. He was also First Solo Violin of the ‘Orquesta de la Communidad Valenciana’ from 2012 to 2015.

Sergey Ostrovsky won the Grand Prize at the 3rd Melbourne International Chamber Music Competition. He is a laureate of the Bordeaux International String Quartet Competition, 2nd Prize winner of the ‘Schubert and Modernity’ International Competition in Graz (Schubert Prize), as well as a laureate of the ‘Prague Spring’ International Competition and the Rodolfo Lipitzer Prize.

As a soloist, Sergey Ostrovsky plays with prestigious orchestras such as the ‘Orchestre de la Suisse Romande’, the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, the Geneva Chamber Orchestra, the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra, the Amadeus Chamber Orchestra (Poland), the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, the ‘Orquesta de la Communidad Valenciana’, the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, the ‘Luzerner Sinfonieorchester’ and the Israel Chamber Orchestra.

A passionate conductor, Sergey Ostrovsky is regularly invited to conduct in Switzerland, Spain, Russia, Estonia, Ukraine, Armenia, Georgia, Latvia and Israel.

In 2015, Sergey Ostrovsky created a string ensemble, the ‘Solistes de Neuchâtel’, and in 2023 the ‘Ensemble Symphonique de Genève’. Sergey Ostrovsky's role as artistic director of the’ Ensemble Symphonique de Genève’ is multifaceted, both as an ‘artistic manager’ and as a musician ‘involved’ in the performances. From the latter point of view, he will be able to conduct the orchestra from the podium but also conduct the violin as a soloist.

As a chamber musician, Sergey Ostrovsky has played in the world's most prestigious venues, including Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall, the Louvre Auditorium, the ‘Théâtre du Châtelet’, London's Wigmore Hall and the Sydney Opera House. His ‘Aviv String Quartet’ has also made numerous recordings (Hoffmeister, Dohnanyi, Shostakovich, Schubert, Schulhoff, etc.), some of which have received critical acclaim.

Noemie BialobrodaViola · co-founder and artistic director of GISARead the biography ›

Noémie Bialobroda has been the violist of the Aviv Quartet since 2014, leading an active international career with the ensemble. Their performance of Beethoven’s complete string quartets at the Ansermet Studio in Geneva in 2018-2019 was a great success and strengthened their presence in French-speaking Switzerland.

Noémie Bialobroda, passionate about teaching, is since 2025, viola professor at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Lyon. She is also Chamber Music Professor and Chamber Music Coordinator at the Haute École de Musique de Genève. Previously, she taught at the Conservatoire de Lausanne and the Conservatoire de Genève. During the summer, she teaches at the Flaine International Music Academy. Her students have won prizes in prestigious national and international competitions.

In recognition of her contributions to music, Noémie Bialobroda was awarded the Leenaards Foundation cultural grant in the music category in 2024.

As a performer, she is invited to renowned concert seasons and festivals, including Wigmore Hall (London), the IRCAM Manifeste Festival, and the Cité de la Musique (Paris), among others. She performs with artists such as Abdel Rahman El Bacha, Yovan Markovitch, Luis Claret, Boris Garlitsky, François Guye, Philippe Müller, Tedi Papavrami, Jean Sulem, Jean-Pierre Wallez, and the Rosamonde Quartet, giving concerts across Europe, Israel, and the United States.

Dedicated to contemporary music, Noémie has premiered two solo viola pieces at IRCAM: Caprice for Solo Viola and Electronics by Japanese composer Keita Matsumiya (2012) and Drifting by Pierre Stordeur (2013). She is also regularly invited to perform with the Ensemble Modern in Frankfurt and the Contrechamps ensemble in Geneva.

Noémie Bialobroda studied with Nobuko Imai and Miguel Da Silva at the Haute école de Musique de Genève and later at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris, where she completed an Artist Diploma (third cycle) with Professor Jean Sulem.

Noémie Bialobroda is the co-founder and artistic director of the Geneva International String Academy.

Ekaterina BonyushkinaPianist - invitedRead the biography ›

Née à Moscou en 2003, elle commence son parcours musical à l’âge de six ans. Elle se produit régulièrement en tant que soliste et dans diverses formations de musique de chambre depuis 2012.

En avril 2014, à l’âge de 10 ans, elle remporte le premier prix du 2e Concours international de musique pour la jeunesse « CRESCENDO.GENEVE » à Genève. Quelques semaines plus tard, elle donne son premier récital de piano à Zürich. Au cours des années suivantes, elle a remporté des prix lors de nombreux concours internationaux, notamment le concours « Jeune Chopin » en Valais, le Geneva International Junior Piano Competition, le Concours d’interprétation Musicale de Lausanne et le Grand Piano Competition de Moscou.

Ekaterina s’est produite avec divers orchestres, « Musica Viva Chamber Orchestra », Ulyanovsk Symphony Orchestra, Ural Symphony Youth Orchestra, Svetlanov State Symphony Orchestra. Son répertoire comprend des concertos pour piano de Tchaïkovski (n° 1), Brahms (n° 1 et 2), Beethoven (n° 3, 4 et 5), Rachmaninov (n° 3), Saint-Saëns (n° 2), Schumann et d’autres.

Ekaterina a été invitée dans de nombreux festivals internationaux : « Herbst in der Helferei », où elle s’est produite en tant que soliste, avec l’orchestre du festival et en duo avec Gilad Karni (2015), le festival de Yuri Bashmet “Elba, Isola Musicale d’Europa” (2017), où elle a également reçu le “Prix de l’année-2019”, le Festival de Boris Berezovsky au Tatarstan, Elabuga (2021), le Festival “Jeune Chopin” à Cannes (2021), le Festival international A. Scriabine à Moscou (2022), « Aisa and friends » à Belgrade (2022), Puplinge Classique (2023) et « Primeurs musicales » à Genève (2024).

En juillet 2024, Ekaterina est invitée à participer à l’Académie pour solistes émergents du Verbier Festival, où elle assiste aux masterclasses de piano solo et de musique de chambre de J. Achucarro, K. Gerstein, N. Namoradze, A. Keller et G. Takács-Nagy. Elle y a reçu le prix de la Fondation Tabor. En 2025 elle a fait ses débuts dans la programmation principale du festival, avec un récital retransmis en direct sur Medici.tv.

La même année, elle a également été étudiante de la Fondation Theo et Petra Lieven à Vienne, participant à une série de masterclasses et de concerts.

Outre Verbier, elle a travaillé à plusieurs reprises avec le professeur Hamish Milne, Esther Yellin, Rena Shereshevskaya, Janina Fialkowska, Zlata Chochieva et Philippe Cassard.

Depuis 2014, Ekaterina étudie le piano à l’« Moscow Special Music School of Gnessin » avec Evgeny Talisman et Boris Berezovsky. Elle poursuit désormais ses études auprès de Nelson Goerner dans le cadre du Master Soliste à la Haute école de musique de Genève, où elle vient d’obtenir son Bachelor.

YOUNG ARTISTS

Eva KoborViolinRead the biography ›

GISA Ambassador: Contact Eva Kobor

Born in Nice, France, in 2001, she studied at the Sivom Cap D’Ail School of Music with Nathalie Girod, the Académie Rainier III of Monaco with Louis Denis Ott, and since 2017, in Budapest with Eszter Perényi, Terez Pichner, and Barnabás Kelemen at the Liszt Ferenc Academy.

She has won first prizes at competitions like Vatelot-Rampal and Flame in France, and the Zathureczky Ede National Competition and Tibor Varga Competition in Hungary. Additionally, she received the Prince of Monaco Special Music Prize, artistic scholarships “Fischer Annie,” and the title "Artist of the Month" from the Budafok Municipality, as well as the Hubay Prize in 2024.

She has performed as a soloist with the Monte-Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra, Cannes National Orchestra, Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra, MAV, Hungarian Radio, Budafok Dohnányi, and the Szeged Symphony Orchestra, and the Camerata UNAB Orchestra from Chile…


Since 2024, she has been an academist at the Budapest Festival Orchestra under the direction of Ivan Fischer.

Auguste RAHONCelloRead the biography ›

Originally from Reims, Auguste Rahon began his cello studies at the age of five at the municipal music school of La Loupe in Eure-et-Loir before entering the Conservatoire à rayonnement départemental de Chartres in 2009, then the Conservatoire à rayonnement départemental du Puy-en-Velay. In 2012, he enters the class of Augustin Lefebvre at the Conservatoire à rayonnement régional de Lyon where he obtains in 2015 his Diploma of musical studies with honors.

Since 2016, he has been studying with Denis Severin at the Haute École de Musique de Genève until the bachelor’s degree, and then joined David Pia’s class for a master’s degree in interpretation, with a concert orientation. He also worked in masterclasses and summer courses with David Harlé, Philippe Bary, Marcel Bardon, Raphaël Pidoux, Frédéric Dutheil, the Penderecki quartet, Edgar Gredler, Denis Severin, Rafael Rosenfeld, Truels Svane, Wen-Sin Yang, David Pia, Thomas Grossenbacher, Wolfgang Emmanuel Schmidt, Ophélie Gaillard, Danjulo Ishizaka, Yi-Bing Chu, Roel Dieltens, Gary Hoffman or François Guye... 

Auguste Rahon joined the Académie de l’Opéra national de Paris in September 2022.

Jonathan GerstnerCelloRead the biography ›

Swiss cellist Jonathan Gerstner was born on the shores of Lake Geneva in 2003. He began playing the cello at the age of five with Aude Pivôt, continued his path with Martin Reetz at the Lausanne Conservatoire and from 2020 studied with Patrick Demenga at the Haute Ecole de Musique de Lausanne (HEMU). Since 2022, he has been studying with Reinhard Latzko in Austria at the Vienna University of Music and Performing Arts (mdw). From 2025 he also studies with Julia Hagen and in 2026 wins the first prize of the 1st Heinrich Schiff Competition there. Further valuable input came from Jens Peter Maintz, Peter Bruns, Thomas Grossenbacher, Valentin Erben, Troels Svane, Marc Coppey and Pieter Wispelwey among others.

Jonathan has been part of the 2024 Verbier Festival Orchestra (VFO), playing under the direction of conductors like Sir Simon Rattle, Antonio Pappano and Klaus Mäkelä.

Highly passionate about chamber music, he has studied with teachers such as Vincent Coq in Lausanne and currently Johannes Meissl and Stefan Mendl in Vienna, as well as receiving invaluable advice from Eckart Runge, Hatto Beyerle, Avedis Kouyoumdjian, Patrick Jüdt and Dirk Mommertz within the European Chamber Music Academy (ECMA). In 2025, as part of the Cuore Piano Trio, he won the first prize along with a special prize at the 10th International Johannes Brahms Chamber Music Competition in Gdańsk.

In recent years Jonathan performed on stage with artists such as Sergey Ostrovsky, Marko Ylönen, Jean-Sélim Abdelmoula, Patrick Demenga, Philippe Graffin and Reinhard Latzko. As a soloist and chamber musician, he has appeared on all four of Switzerland’s national classical radio stations, and performed at international festivals and concert venues including the Geneva International String Academy, Musikverein Wien, Prague Spring Festival, Cello Biënnale Amsterdam, Lavaux Classic, K&M Festival Stavanger, Loisiarte, Beethovenhaus Baden and the Musikfestwoche Meiringen.

THE CONCERTS

FRIDAY 10 OCTOBER

Société de Lecture

Mozart and Mendelssohn Quintets

View the concert ›

SUNDAY 30 NOVEMBER

Chez Mme et M Wuarin

Recital - Bach, Hindemith, Prokofiev, Brahms

View the concert ›

FRIDAY 16 JANUARY

Société de Lecture

Trios Beethoven, Schubert and Weinberg

View the concert ›

SUNDAY 8 FEBRUARY

Chez Mme et M Wuarin

Recital - Beethoven, Brahms, Schumann

View the concert ›

THURSDAY 19 MARCH

Conservatoire de Musique de Genève, Salle Franz Liszt

Shostakovich and Schubert Quintets

This concert

SUNDAY 26 APRIL

Chez Mme et M Wuarin

Recital - Debussy, Bartók, Franck, Glazunov, Prokofiev

View the concert ›

Discover the season ›

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