Natsuko Yoshimoto and Imants Larsens

Husband and wife Imants Larsens and Natsuko Yoshimoto perform regularly together as a duo and in various chamber ensembles. In this concert they will take you on an unexpectedly rich and colourful journey; performing exquisite works from the violin and viola repertoire including the wonderful duo by Mozart in G major, the colourful and virtuosic Three Madrigals by Martinu, and the beautiful little duo by Sibelius. 

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Program

1) Mozart Duo No. 1 in G major for violin and viola, K. 423

i. Allegro
ii. Adagio
iii. Rondeau: Allegro 

2) Sibelius Duo for violin and viola (1891-92)

3) Martinu 3 Madrigals (1947)

i. Poco allegro - Poco vivo
ii. Poco andante - Andante moderato
iii. Allegro - Moderato

Natsuko Yoshimoto

Born in Japan, Natsuko began playing the violin at the age of three. She studied at the Yehudi Menuhin School and Royal Northern College of Music in England and the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. She received direct guidance and teaching under Lord Menuhin and Wen Zhou Li. 

She has won many prizes in international competitions including the Wieniawski, Menuhin and Tibor Varga and the Gold Medal in both the prestigious 1994 Shell/London Symphony Orchestra Competition and the Orchestra Ensemble Kanazawa Award and the Iwaki Award for outstanding achievement as a Japanese artist. 

In great demand as a soloist, she has appeared with many world renowned orchestras including the London Symphony Orchestra, Philharmonia (London), Halle Orchestra, Odense Symphony (Denmark), Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, Tokyo Philharmonic, Orchestra Ensemble Kanazawa, Hong Kong Sinfonietta, Melbourne Symphony and Adelaide Symphony Orchestra. 

Natsuko is currently the Concertmaster with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra and frequently appears as guest Concertmaster with other major orchestras in Australia and Asia. She was the leader of the Australian String Quartet and then the Grainger Quartet until the end of 2008. She has performed and collaborated in chamber music ensembles with many illustrious musicians including Pinchas Zukerman, Heinz Holliger, Anthony Marwood, Cristina Ortiz, Jonathan Kelly, Li-Wei Qin and Brett Dean and continues to perform chamber music regularly as a guest artist with various groups and musicians. 

Natsuko is also a passionate teacher and has given masterclasses in many renowned institutions such as Royal Northern College of Music, Shanghai, Beijing Conservatories and Hong Kong Performing Arts and teaches violin and chamber music at the Conservatorium of Music in Queensland and at The University of Queensland. 

She has given many world premieres of works by Australia's most prominent composers and has recorded for Virgin Classics, ABC Classics, Melba Records and Tall Poppies.  

Natsuko currently plays on a Giovanni Battista Guadagnini generously on loan from the South Australia Guadagnini Violin Trust and Ukaria.

Imants Larsens

Born in Switzerland, Australian violinist/violist Imants Larsens began playing the violin at the age of three in Adelaide, studying first with his grandmother Alita Larsens, then with Keith Crellin.

He continued his studies at the Musikhochschule Zentralschweiz in Lucerne under the guidance of his father Gunars Larsens, graduating with Lehrdiplom and Konzertreifediplom degrees with distinction. Whilst in Europe, Imants participated actively in masterclasses with renowned musicians, including Pinchas Zukerman and the Vermeer Quartet.

Imants has won numerous awards and prizes in competitions both in Australia and overseas. He has performed as a soloist with orchestras in France, Switzerland and Australia and has appeared in numerous international festivals. Imants was concertmaster for national and South East Asia tours of Don Giovanni with CoOpera and also toured Europe with the Australian Youth Orchestra and was concertmaster when the AYO performed with the Cat Empire.

Imants moved to Brisbane in 2019 to take up the position of Principal Viola with Queensland Symphony Orchestra, having previously held the position of Associate Principal Viola with Adelaide Symphony Orchestra since 2008. He has performed as guest Principal Viola with the Sydney, Tasmanian, West Australian and Adelaide Symphony Orchestras. Career highlights include performing as a soloist on numerous occasions with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, including Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante with Mark Wigglesworth conducting, as well as performing the Mendelssohn Octet and Tchaikovsky’s Souvenir de Florence with Pinchas Zukerman. 

Imants plays on a 1937 Arthur E Smith viola.