Love Beyond Death Benjamin Beck & Marie Rosa Günter

• Robert Schumann (1810 - 1856): 3 Fantasiestücke, Op. 73:
• 1 Schumann: 3 Fantasiestücke, Op. 73: I. Zart und mit Ausdruck (Tender and with expression) 03:14
• 2 Schumann: 3 Fantasiestücke, Op. 73: II. Lebhaft, leicht (Lively, light) 03:16
• 3 Schumann: 3 Fantasiestücke, Op. 73: III. Rasch und mit Feuer (Quick and with fire) 04:21
• Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872 - 1958): Romance for Viola and Piano:
• 4 Williams: Romance for Viola and Piano 05:45
• Sergei Prokofiev (1891 - 1953): Romeo and Juliet, Op. 64:
• 5 Prokofiev: Romeo and Juliet, Op. 64: The Montagues and Capulets 02:20
• 6 Prokofiev: Romeo and Juliet, Op. 64: Young Juliet 03:10
• 7 Prokofiev: Romeo and Juliet, Op. 64: Dance of the Knights 05:36
• 8 Prokofiev: Romeo and Juliet, Op. 64: Juliet's death 10:01
• Benjamin Britten (1913 - 1976): Lachrymae for Viola and Piano, Op. 48:
• 9 Britten: Lachrymae for Viola and Piano, Op. 48 13:08
• François-Hugues Leclair (b. 1962): De l’aube claire jusqu’à la fin du jour, Op. 39:
• 10 Leclair: De l’aube claire jusqu’à la fin du jour, Op. 39 07:27
• Total Runtime 58:18

Info for Love Beyond Death

The first album recording of the duo Benjamin Beck (viola) and Marie Rosa Günter (piano), released by GENUIN, extends beyond all horizons – namely, from a perspective that links this world with the hereafter and that asks about the possibilities of eternal love. Beck's velvety yet pithy viola tone coaxes out the nuances that make the thoughtful compositions of Robert Schumann, Ralph Vaughan-William, Sergei Prokofiev and Benjamin Britten so appealing. And with music from three centuries, this album is by no means monotonous since it is about artistic realizations of borderline human experiences. Among these, a composition by Francois-Hugues Leclair, which is available on this album as a world premiere recording and is dedicated to Benjamin Beck, is of particular importance.

Benjamin Beck, viola
Marie Rosa Günter, piano

Benjamin Beck
pursues a highly diverse musical career, appearing not only as an internationally performing soloist and chamber musician but also serving as a professor at the Conservatoire Royal de Bruxelles. Moreover, he will take up the principal viola position in the Vienna Philharmonic from July 2023.

He is also actively involved as an arranger. The latter he has been able to express impressively with an arrangement of Janáček’s Das schlaue Füchslein for viola, piano, and actor as well as Wagner’s opera Lohengrin for string sextet (premiered at the Villa Wahnfried).

Concert tours have taken the young musician to numerous venues, including the Berlin Philharmonie, the Elbphilharmonie, and Tokyo’s Yamaha Hall. He has performed alongside musicians such as Midori, Diemut Poppen, and Christian Tetzlaff.

At 16, Benjamin Beck won first and special prizes at the Llanes International String Competition, after which he graduated from the Karajan Academy, where he gained valuable experience.

Benjamin Beck received his musical training from Kim Kashkashian at the New England Conservatory in Boston and Jean Sulem at the Conservatoire de Paris, among others. He graduated with honors from both degree programs.

Marie Rosa Günter
was born in 1991 in Braunschweig. After several years of piano training with Wolfgang Zill, she enrolled in the early study program of the Institute for Early Promotion of Musical Talent at the Hanover University of Music, Drama, and Media, where she was a pupil of Matti Raekallio and Jelena Levit.

She has been studying in the class of Bernd Goetzke since 2010, and is currently pursuing a master’s degree.

It is certainly no accident that the young pianist has chosen the Goldberg Variations for her solo debut CD – the music of Johann Sebastian Bach has occupied a central place in Marie Rosa Günter’s repertoire since the very beginning. Her involvement with Bach has been underscored by her participation in the Köthen and Leipzig Bach Festivals, as well as an invitation to the Würzburg Bach Festival. And in 2005 she won both first prize and the special prize for the competition’s highest score at the 4th National Bach Competition for Young Pianists in Köthen. Other notable awards in her musical career up to now have included 1st prize at the Steinway International Piano Competition in Hamburg, several national first prizes at the “Jugend musiziert” competition, a special prize from the German Foundation for Musical Life, and the Classical Music Prize from the city of Münster and WDR. Marie Rosa Günter also won first prize, as well as a Grotrian-Steinweg special prize, at the International Grotrian-Steinweg Piano Competition.

As a finalist at this year’s German Music Competition, the pianist was awarded a scholarship and performed in the 60th installment of Germany’s National Concert of Young Musicians.

Marie Rosa Günter also has an intensive commitment to chamber music, joining cellist Stanislas Kim as prizewinner of the 8th International Swedish Duo Competition in 2014. The duo’s debut CD featuring works by Bach, Beethoven, and Franck was released the same year, a live recording from Bremen’s Sendesaal.

Booklet for Love Beyond Death