HISTORY of the DUO
- founded in 1990 at the Percussion Studio of Prof. Dr. h.c.
Siegfried Fink, at the State University of Music, Wuerzburg
(Germany)
- 1990 prize winners of the Chamber Music Competition Wuerzburg
- since 1991 work for distinguished music publishers in Germany,
Austria, Switzerland, the Netherlands, United Kingdom, and the
USA: own compositions, arrangements, editions, professional essays
as well as method and text books
- 1992: the Kostowa-Giesecke-Duo begin to commission new works
for marimba-vibraphone duet: by composers Eugen Thomass (Munich),
Peter Paul Förster (Wuppertal), Peter Horton (Vienna), Tzenko
Minkin (Sofia, capital of Bulgaria), Prof. Dr. Dobri Paliev
(Sofia), Prof. Dr. Ney Rosauro (Santa Maria, Brazil)
- 1992: conducting of master classes for marimba and vibraphone
at the State University of Music in Sofia (capital of Bulgaria).
Concert of the Kostowa-Giesecke-Duo at the chamber music hall of
the State University of Music, Sofia.
- 1993 performances as guests soloists at the Grand Concert Hall
of the Munich Philharmonic im Gasteig, accompanied by the Radio
Orchestra of the Bavarian Broadcasting Corporation under the baton
of Iain Sutherland (Scotland), live-broadcast in the Bavarian
Classical Radio Program
- 1993 production of the compact disc "Kostowa-Giesecke-Duo -
Music for Marimba and Vibraphone - Black & White", in
Munich´s Bavaria Music Studios
- 1994 concert in the chamber music hall of the National Palace
of Culture, Sofia, capital of Bulgaria, together with Theodora
Nestorova and Yavor Dimitroff (both piano)
- 1994 invitation for a concert performance in New York
City´s "Goethe House" (Goetheinstitut) at Manhattan´s
Fifth Avenue, by the music department of the Foreign Office of the
Federal Republic of Germany (AA) in Bonn and the German Consulate
General in New York City
- 1994 the "Deutsche Welle" (German Broadcast) Cologne produces
a special feature on the Kostowa-Giesecke-Duo in the series
"Classic and More"
- 1994 production of the second compact disc, "Contrasting
Elements" in Munich´s Bavaria Music Studios
- from beginning 1995 until beginning 1999 "baby break": because
of caring for the child, almost no duo concerts can take place.
But an array of publications can be written and published during
this period of time:
- The "6-Mallet-Compendium" (method book for the playing with
three mallets per hand, f.e. on marimba and vibraphone) is
published in 1995 in Winterthur/Switzerland
- Kostowa and Giesecke develop a series of music-pedagogical
concepts (odd times; early music education in percussion for
children aged 6-8 years; percussion instruments for senior
citizens; pedagogy of composing, among others)
- The "Compendium of the 4-mallet techniques" (method book for
the playing with two mallets per hand) is published in 1996 in
Frankfurt/Main. There is a separate English edition for the
international market, parallel to the German original edition.
- The Jazz harmony approach "A New Key To Bop Harmony" by M.A.
Giesecke is finished in 1998/99 and presented in lectures at the
State Universities of Music in Wuerzburg and Frankfurt/Main, as
well as during the world congress of the International Association
of Jazz Educators (IAJE) in Los Angeles (USA)
- The text book "Clever üben, sinnvoll proben, erfolgreich
vorspielen" by M.A. Giesecke is published in 1999 in
Frankfurt/Main
- An array of compositions, arrangements and editions by Kostowa
and Giesecke are published in the Netherlands and the USA (for
various percussion ensemble settings, marimba, vibraphone, drum
set, timpani)
- At the beginning of 1999 new duet concerts after the "baby
break", with concerts and functions in Germany and Switzerland.
New press reviews since then:
"Wessela Kostowa and Mark Andreas Giesecke gave proof at the
Church Henau, that even baroque music can convince in these unusual
sound colors."
ST.GALLER TAGBLATT/WILER ZEITUNG/VOLKSFREUND, Switzerland,
February 23, 1999
"An own composition of Mark Andreas Giesecke, which reminded of
Gershwin in his best phases, was greatly applauded. An attractive
melody, hot rhythms and jazz harmony...Encores were demanded by the
audience after a concert, which displayed excellent technical
chops..."
RHEIN-NECKAR-ZEITUNG, Germany, March 5, 1999
"A very special J.S.Bach experience was given by the
Kostowa-Giesecke-Duo...Wessela Kostowa raved with suspended
expressivity in the G Major violin sonata on the vibraphone. Her
interpretation was similar to one on a period baroque violin.
Likewise, Mark Andreas Giesecke´s marimba version of three
movements of the Cello-Suite fully fulfilled the demands of Bach
interpretation. Using wide dynamic and agogic space, he formed the
giant Prelude extremely thrilling, the Sarabande meditative, and
joyous the
Allemande." RHEIN-NECKAR-ZEITUNG, Germany, July 31, 2000.
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