Nota Bene [Austria]

Violinist Eva Steinschaden and pianist Alexander Vavtar founded the Duo :nota bene:. in 1996.

The two musicians, who both graduated from the Mozarteum University and are teachers of their instruments, have concentrated primarily on music of the Viennese Classical school, focusing also on the modern period and particularly on contemporary music.

In 1999, the Duo was the only Austrian ensemble to be accepted into the master class of the Trio di Trieste. Since then, they have worked with the world-famous musicians of the Trio di Trieste at the Scuola Superiore di Musica da Camera del Trio di Trieste in Duino/Italy.

To date, they have recorded six CDs, all under the Viennese Extraplatte label, and including works by Joseph Haydn, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Franz Xaver Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Granados, Ravel, Webern, Schnittke, Bresgen, Lutosławski, Penderecki, Kurtág, Pärt, Vereno, Nussbichler and Kardeis.

Over the years, the Duo :nota bene: has premièred many works by distinguished composers such as Friedrich Cerha, Cesar Bresgen, Gerhard Wimberger, Charles Camilleri, Helmut Neumann, Laurence Traiger, Klemens Vereno, Ludwig Nussbichler, Helmut Schmidinger, Gerald Resch and Christian David Kardeis.

They have also performed as a duo with orchestras including the Sinfonia Varsovia, Poznań Philharmonic, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra/Bulgaria and Leopold Mozart Chamber Orchestra Salzburg.

In collaboration with the Austrian writer Ludwig Laher, cellist Detlef Mielke and Salzburg tenors Peter Sonn and Maximilian Kiener, they compiled special programmes to mark jubilee years: Mozart 2006, Haydn 2007 and Mahler 2010/2011

The two musicians have for many years maintained a close artistic partnership with the Schauspielhaus Salzburg, the largest “free theatre” in Austria. Their collaboration has produced many programmes blending music and text with subtlety and humour.

The two musicians have frequently provided music to accompany readings by the Austrian writers Karl-Markus Gauss and Ludwig Laher, at home and abroad.

Since its inception, the Duo :nota bene: has given some 500 concerts in more than 40 countries on all continents, and has received invitations from distinguished organisations including the Salzburg Festival (for the opening celebrations), International Mozarteum Foundation/Salzburg, Start Festival/Salzburg, Aspekte/Salzburg, Mittersill Composers’ Forum/Austria, Austrian Jeunesse Musicale, Brucknerhaus/Linz, Vienna Schubert Society, Austrian Music Society/Vienna, Mozart Society/Wiesbaden, Deutsches Theater/Berlin, Dôme des Invalides/Paris, Intrasonus Festival in Mestre/Italy, Teatro Giuseppe Verdi in Trieste/Italy, Tartini Festival in Piran/Slovenia, Schubertiade held by Radio Suisse Romande/Switzerland, Little Maarnach Festival/Luxembourg, Corsham Music Festival/England, Hugh Lane Gallery Dublin/Ireland, Cork Orchestral Society/Ireland, Spikeri Concert Hall in Riga/Latvia, Royal Castle in Warsaw/Poland, International Festival Rousse/Bulgaria, Austrian Music Festival/Bulgaria, Sala Bulgaria in Sofia/Bulgaria, Ateneul Român in Bucharest/Romania, Bosnia International Music Festival in Sarajevo/Bosnia and Herzegovina, Teatru Manoel in Valletta/Malta, St. James Cavalier Centre for Creativity in Valletta/Malta, International Festival in Symi/Greece, Austrian Cultural Forum New York/USA, Austrian Cultural Forum Washington/USA, Octobre Musical Carthage/Tunisia, Festival Culturel International d’Assilah/Morocco, Mozart Society in Kagoshima/Japan, Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts/China, Shanghai Concert Hall/China, Oriental Arts Centre in Shanghai/China, Expo Shanghai 2010/China, Shanghai Symphony Orchestra/China, Zhongshan Hall in Taipei/Taiwan, Madras Musical Association/India, Poona Music Society/India, IOEF-Festival Jakarta/Indonesia, Festival Cultural de Zacatecas in Zacatecas/Mexico, Festival Internacional de Puebla in Puebla/Mexico and Festival Joven es Acción in Querétaro/Mexico.