Debut concerts in Baden and in Gstaad
Rachmaninoff Trio with Alexey Botvinov (piano), Stefan Tarara (violin) and myself (cello) at Konzertreihe Marina Korendfeld playing
– Sergej Rachmaninoff, Sonata op.19 for cello & piano, g-minor
– César Franck, Sonata in A-major for violin & piano
– Sergej Rachmaninoff, «Trio élégiaque» No. 1, g-minor
Sun 23 August 2026, 17:00, Gartensaal Villa Boveri, Baden
Sun 13 September 2026, 17:00, St Niklaus chapel, Gstaad
Rachmaninoff Trio
Rachmaninoff Trio: Short Description
”Botvinov plays Rachmaninoff” was acclaimed as “the best classical recording of the month” in Switzerland in 2002.
Pianist Alexey Botvinov was as well the first pianist invited by Villa Senar near Lucerne to play on the great composer’s own grand piano. Botvinov is considered to be one of the best specialist in Rachmaninoff’s music. Botvinov is from Odessa, Ukraine and lives in Zurich.
Violinist Stefan Tarara is a first prize winner of the prestigious international George Enescu violin competition. He is a member of the Stradivari Quartet and teaches at at the Conservatory of Zurich. Tarara lives in Switzerland.
Cellist Anzhe Zuo grew up in China and graduated from Zurich University of Arts. She is a member of Pablo Ziegler – Astor Piazzolla’s long time pianist – Quartet and several chamber music formations. She lives in Zurich.
The three musicians met in summer 2026 through common friends in Zurich and Hong Kong.
Biography Alexey Botvinov
Alexey Botvinov is an exceptional pianist, musical innovator and producer. The most acclaimed Ukrainian pianist, Botvinov is one of the best specialists in Rachmaninoff music. He performed in 48 countries. He is the only pianist in the world who performed Bach‘s masterpiece „Goldberg Variations“ more than 300 times on stage.
For his breathtaking performance of Goldberg-Variations ballet in June 2001 at the Deutsche Oper Berlin the press wrote: “a real firework at the piano” (“Berliner Kurier”). “Le Figaro” wrote about the pianist’s CD of “Goldberg-Variations”: “Superbe!” This recording landed on the 2nd place in Swiss music-charts. The next recording – “Botvinov plays Rachmaninoff” (2002) – was acclaimed as “ the best classical recording of the month” in Switzerland.
In 2018 Botvinov performed eleven times the “Goldberg Variations” ballet in La Scala, Milano, with an extraordinary success among audience and music critics. The Italian press praised Botvinov’s performance as a “perfect interpretation of Bach’s masterpiece”, and as “white magic on piano”.
In 2015 Botvinov together with his wife Elena founded “Odessa Classics”, one of the leading music festivals in Eastern Europe, where he serves as artistic director. Since 2022, “Odessa Classics” has been continuing its journey as a festival in exile. The festival has held editions in various cities of eight countries including Zurich, Tallinn, Thessaloniki, Bonn, Vilnius, Warsaw, Lucerne, Bremen, Ghent, Schloss Elmau, Ottawa totaling over 70 concerts to date.
National Awards: In 2025 Botvinov was awarded the Order of Merit on Ribbon of the Federal Republic of Germany for his exceptional achievements in arts and culture diplomacy. In 2024 he received The Platinum Medal from the French Arts-Science-Lettres Academy in Paris. 2020 Botvinov became a “Knight of the Order of the Star of Italy”, conferred by the President of the Italian Republic, and in the same year received the “Swiss Wilhelm Tell Award-2020” from the Swiss government. In 2015 Botvinov was awarded the title “People’s Artist of Ukraine”, the highest artistic achievement in the Ukraine. (…)
Biography Stefan Tarara
Stefan Tarara was born into a musical family in Heidelberg, Germany and made his stage debut at the age of four. He was named Musician of the Year 2008 and 2010 by German music journal Neue Musikzeitung.
Stefan Tarara plays as well with the Stradivari Quartet.
In 2015 he released together with his piano partner Lora Vakova-Tarara the CD “The Sound of the 20s” with works by Bloch, Ravel and Enescu.
He won first prizes at various international competitions including the 2014 George Enescu Competition, the Boris Goldstein 2015 in Berne, the R. Lipizer 2011 in Italy, the Valsesia Musica 2006, the H. Wieniawski & K. Lipiński 2005 and the Henry Marteau in 2005.
He has appeared as soloist with many orchestras: SWR Radio Orchestra, Münchner Rundfunkorchester, RTV Symphony Orchestra Ljubljana, Israel Chamber Orchestra, RTV Prague, Philharmonic Orchestra Bucharest, Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra, and China National Symphony Orchestra, among others. He has performed on concert stages such as: Philharmonie Berlin, Tonhalle Zurich, Salle Pleyel in Paris, Liederhalle Stuttgart, Frauenkirche Dresden and the Museum of Art in Tel Aviv, and at music festivals, including the Schleswig-Holstein Musikfestival, Salzburger Festspiele, the Verbier Festival, Prague Spring, Bach Festival Leipzig and Heidelberger Frühling.
Tarara regularly offers master classes in Germany, Poland and Switzerland. Since the beginning of 2014, he was Assistant to Prof. Zakhar Bron in Interlaken, Switzerland. Between 2010 and 2015 he was the first concertmaster of the Mannheim Philharmonic Orchestra; from 2012 he was the concertmaster and soloist of the Hulencourt Soloists Chamber Orchestra, and of Zurich Chamberphilharmonics.
Biography Anzhe Zuo
Cellist Anzhe Zuo was born in China and has lived in Zurich since 2015. She performs regularly in Europe and Asia. She has performed as a soloist in the music theaters Sogar Theater in Zurich and Gare du Nord für Neue Musik in Basel.
She joined Pablo Ziegler Quartet in May 2024. In 2023 she had first met Ziegler, Astor Piazzolla’s pianist and winner of the 2018 Grammy for Best Latin Jazz Album. Anzhe is as well a member of the Zurich Chamber Philharmonic and Musique de Lumières.
As a cellist, she won 1st prize at the International Music Competition Vienna in 2022 and 2nd prize at the VIII Stockholm International Music Competition in 2021. The Zangger-Weber Foundation supported her in 2017. In 2010 she won 2nd prize at the “Aegean Cup” cello competition in Beijing. Thanks to this achievement, she was appointed as a cello soloist for the music production of the new national film project “Chen Shaomei – the great spirit of Chinese fine arts”. In 2016, she was nominated as a jury member for the international cello competition “New Stars”.
Anzhe Zuo started playing the piano every day at the age of 4 and later also the cello. At the Zurich University of the Arts ZHdK, she obtained master’s degrees in cello performance and music education as well as further training in composition. Thomas Grossenbacher, Martin Zeller,
Patrick Demenga, Steven Isserlis, Arto Noras, Antonio Meneses, Frans Helmerson and Yibing Chu were important instructors and sources of inspiration at music academies, festivals and master classes. After her master’s studies, she completed further training in composition with Till Löffler.
Anzhe Zuo plays a Guersan school cello built in Paris around 1760.
Programme summer/autumn 2026
Sergei Rachmaninoff – Cello Sonata in G minor, Op. 19 (36 min)
César Franck – Violin Sonata in A major, FWV 8, CFF 123 (30 min)
Sergei Rachmaninoff – Trio élégiaque No. 1 in G minor (15 min)
Media on debut concert in Gstaad
Anzeiger von Saanen, 15. September 2016
Grosse Gefühle in musikalischer Reinheit
Mit einem Debütkonzert in Gstaad führte das erst kürzlich gegründete «Rachmaninoff Trio» in eine Welt voller Gefühle und Leidenschaft. In der St.-Niklaus-Kapelle begeisterten Anzhe Zuo, Cello, Stefan Tarara, Violine, und Alexey Botvinov, Klavier, ein kleines, ebenso anspruchsvolles als dankbares Publikum.
LOTTE BRENNER
Der Klaviervirtuose Sergei Rachmaninoff komponierte ein wahres Feuerwerk für Klavier, so auch in der Cello-Sonate G-Moll, op.19, weshalb sie etwa als «Klavierkonzert mit wunderschöner Cellomelodie» bezeichnet wird. Jedoch wurde nicht nur der hervorragende Pianist Alexey Botvinov von Rachmaninoff virtuos herausgefordert, sondern ebenso die Cellistin Anzhe Zuo, die mit wunderbar warmem Celloklang in technischer Akrobatik äusserst ausdrucksvoll und gefühlsbetont spielte. Zarte Gefühle und Leidenschaft wechseln sich ab.
César Francks Violinsonate in A-Dur besticht durch eine wunderschöne, wiegende Geigenmelodie, in die sich auch das Klavier empfindsam einbringt. Der Geiger Stefan Tarara spielte sie temperamentvoll, doch auch mit innig empfundenen Klangbildern. Er selber bekannte sich zu seinem Lieblingssatz, in dem das schlichte Hauptthema kanonisch verarbeitet wird. Franck hat die Sonate dem belgischen Geiger Eugène Ysaye zugeeignet. Wie Tarara berichtete, komponierte sie der 64-jährige Meister für den 27-Jährigen zur Hochzeit. Da Franck selber auch in die Braut verliebt gewesen sei, schlich sich eine leise Wehmut in das Stück.
Ein Wechselbad der Gefühle
In «Rachmaninoffs Trio élégiaque», g-Moll, op.9, zeigte sich das ganze Trio nochmals in musikalisch reinster Form. Obschon Rachmaninoff das Werk im jugendlichen Alter von 18 Jahren komponierte, ist es melancholisch, traurig durchwirkt.
Als überschwänglicher Gegensatz wurde das Konzert mit einem rassigen argentinischen Tango beendet. Astor Piazzollas «Libertango», in der jazzigen Bearbeitung des Pianisten Pablo Ziegler für das Trio arrangiert, wurde mit entfesselter Spielfreude interpretiert und vom Publikum beschwingt aufgenommen.
Die Kollekte des Konzerts ging einesteils an die Ausführenden, der Rest an Projekte in der Ukraine.
DIE AUSFÜHRENDEN
Der ukrainische Pianist Alexey Botvinov gilt als wohl grösster Kenner Sergei Rachmaninoffs und wurde deshalb eingeladen, in der Luzerner Villa Senar den berühmten Flügel des russischen Komponisten zu bespielen. Bereits 2002 hatte die Schweizer Fachpresse «Botvinov spielt Rachmaninoff» als «Klassische Einspielung des Monats» ausgezeichnet. Gemeinsam mit Daniel Hope, dem Intendanten des Gstaad Menuhin Festivals, hat der Pianist vier CDs aufgenommen. Botvinov stammt aus Odessa, Ukraine, und lebt in Zürich.
Der Violinist Stefan Tarara ist Preisträger der «International George Enescu Violin Competition». Er war 2008 als Musiker des Jahres nominiert, ist Mitglied des Stradivari-Quartetts und Lehrkraft am Konservatorium in Zürich.
Die chinesisch-schweizerische Cellistin Anzhe Zuo hat ihr Studium an der Zürcher Hochschule der Künste abgeschlossen. Ausserdem ist sie Mitglied des «Pablo Ziegler Quartet» (Pablo Ziegler war langjähriger Pianist von Astor Piazzolla). Sie trat als Solistin in den Musiktheatern Sogar in Zürich und Gare du Nord – Bahnhof für Neue Musik in Basel auf. / BRE