Cellomania! With Cello Virtuoso Mime Yamahiro Brinkmann

NZ Barok is thrilled to be joined by virtuoso baroque cellist Mime Yamahiro Brinkmann for a feast of cello concertos!

Programme

Vivaldi – Concerto for strings in C major RV 117

Vivaldi – Cello concerto in G major RV 413

Leo – Concerto for four violins and strings in D major

Leo – Cello concerto No. 4 in A major L.50

C.P.E. Bach – Cello concerto in A major Wq 172

NZ Barok thanks Dame Jenny Gibbs, Perpetual Guardian – Stout Trust and Friends of NZ Barok for their support of Cellomania.

Mime Yamahiro Brinkmann

“Her phrasing sounds as natural as breathing…”  The Strad.

Virtuoso baroque cellist, soloist and chamber musician, Mime performs three varied baroque cello concertos with NZ Barok. The Vivaldi and Leo concertos showcase the 18^th century splendour of Venice and Naples while the CPE Bach brings the expressive turbulence of the German empfindsamer Stil or “sensitive style”. This will be a firecracker of a concert, combining powerful music and impressive performance.

After gaining her performance diploma on the modern cello at the Toho Gakuen School of Music in Tokyo, Mime received a scholarship from the Netherlands Art Council (Nuffic) and continued her studies specialising in historical performance on the cello and viola da gamba at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague, the Netherlands where she graduated with a soloist diploma. During her study, Mime was a prize winner at the ‘Concorso Internazionale Romano Romanini per strumenti ad arco’ (in Brescia, Italy; chaired by Gustav Leonhardt) and became the first cellist to win the soloist prize at the Concours Musica Antiqua Brugge (Belgium).

Mime is also known for her active involvement in the theatre world. She has created numerous unique programs that combine music, literature, dance, circus, light design, and pantomime. One of her successful children’s shows, “Hum hum Hume,” has been performed 21 times at the Drottningholm Royal Palace Theatre, a UNESCO World Heritage site, and has entertained more than 2000 children. She has appeared on Swedish public television programmes such as “Mimes Dröm” and “Kulturstudion,” expanding her range of activities. In 2022, Mime was awarded a 10-year Art scholarship from the Swedish Arts Council, which will be supporting her creative activities until 2031. In 2023, she received the “Bo Bringborn Music Award” which is given to individual creative artists. Since 2003, Mime has been based in Sweden and has served as a cello teacher at the Royal College of Music since 2005. She conducts masterclasses at music schools and festivals worldwide and enjoys working with young musicians.

Photos of Mime by Mats Bäcker

NZ Barok

Comprising leading baroque specialists from all over New Zealand, NZ Barok performs using instruments and playing styles of the period, breathing fresh life and vitality into baroque and classical masterpieces and lesser-known musical treasures from the 18th century.

“A committed, passionate and cohesive sound of great quality, vitality and sensibility – a sound-fest ‘par excellence’!” Rainer Buhmann New Zealand Opera News, August 2023

“… authentic, classy and spirited performances… I certainly look forward to any future opportunities to hear NZ Barok.” – Tony Ryan, RNZ Concert

“NZ Barok are a revelation… the distinctive sound of their authentic instruments in perfect balance.” – Theatre Review