About this Event
Magisterra Soloists: South American Getaway
Four strings. Three countries. One unforgettable evening.
Chamber music reaches its highest form when four musicians listen so intently to one another that the music seems to breathe as one. That's the experience waiting for you on June 18th, when Magisterra Soloists closes its ninth season at Museum London with South American Getaway — an evening of vivid, deeply crafted music from Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay.
Join us for a carefully curated journey through some of the most distinctive and underrepresented voices in the classical string repertoire, featuring Artistic Director Annette-Barbara Vogel (violin), Vladimir Rufino (violin), Fabiola Amorim (viola), and Kayami Satomi (cello).
The Program
The evening opens with the Sonata in D Major "O Burrico de Pau" by Antônio Carlos Gomes (1836–1896), the last work by one of Brazil's most celebrated composers. A four-movement gem in the late Romantic style, it builds to a remarkable finale — a musical portrait of a wooden donkey, complete with braying strings that are both technically dazzling and quietly hilarious.
Duo Armorial No. 2 by Beetholven Cunha (1944–2023) was composed expressly for tonight's performers, violinist Vladimir Rufino and violist Fabiola Amorim. It draws on the musical traditions of Northeastern Brazil — the festive Nau Catarineta, the deeply expressive seresta, and the vibrant rhythms of the baião, all filtered through the language of classical chamber music.
Miguel del Águila's Presto II — hailed by The New York Times as "brilliant and witty" and by the Los Angeles Times as "sonically dazzling" — is a tour de force of perpetual motion. The Uruguayan-American composer propels the music forward in an insistent 7/8 time, using adventurous string techniques that culminate in a theatrical, exuberant finish.
André Mehmari's Valsa-Variação sobre Tico-Tico no Fubá was commissioned for Annette-Barbara Vogel and Magisterra Soloists — a world-class violinist performing a piece written for her, in the city where she lives and teaches.
Alberto Ginastera's String Quartet No. 1, Op. 20 (1948), is the evening's centrepiece — one of the 20th century's great quartets. Raw, elemental, and fierce, its four movements range from violent rhythmic propulsion to pure poetic stillness.
The concert closes with Burt Bacharach's South American Getaway, arranged for string quartet — a witty, rhythmically inventive piece from the composer's Academy Award-winning score to Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. It's the perfect send-off: warm, playful, and impossible not to love.
The Musicians
Annette-Barbara Vogel, one of Germany's most acclaimed violinists, has performed in more than 35 countries on six continents. Gramophone Magazine has praised her perfect intonation, and Classical CD Review has called her "the most ideal exponent a composer could hope for." She is also the founder and Artistic Director of Magisterra Soloists and the driving force behind every program the ensemble performs.
Joining her are three musicians of remarkable pedigree: Vladimir Rufino (violin), whose doctoral research and recordings have established him as a leading champion of Brazilian music in North America; Fabiola Amorim (viola), whose doctoral thesis on Brazilian nationalism in viola music has become a reference for researchers worldwide; and Kayami Satomi (cello), a prizewinner in major Brazilian competitions who has performed under conductors including Kurt Masur and Christoph Eschenbach.
Together, they bring an extraordinary depth of connection to this repertoire — not as outsiders exploring an exotic tradition, but as musicians for whom this music is personal.
About the Series
Magisterra at the Museum has been one of Southwestern Ontario's most treasured concert series for nine seasons — festival-quality chamber music, in an intimate setting, with artists who perform at the highest international level.
Thursday, June 18 · 7:00 PM
Museum London · 421 Ridout St. N, London, Ontario
Tickets available above or at the door.
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Museum London, 421 Ridout Street North, London, Canada
CAD 11.98 to CAD 38.61
