FANNY DAVIES ENSEMBLE

FANNY DAVIES Ensemble (formerly Marie Soldat Ensemble) is an international ensemble specialising in 19th century repertoire with historical criteria and, if possible, on period instruments. Founded in 2018 by Laura Granero, it has recently been awarded winner of the International Van Wassenaer Competition (Utrecht Early Music Festival) in its cello-fortepiano version with Javier López Escalona. They won three prizes, including a concert-tour for the season 2023-2024. The ensemble regularly collaborates with musicians-researchers such as Aldo Mata, Javier López Escalona, Johannes Gebauer, Kai Köpp, Clive Brown and Leila Schayegh. They have performed in Holland, Belgium (Servais Society), France (Salle Cortot, Festival de Royaumont, Festival La Chaise Dieu, AMIA Alsace in Strasbourg), Switzerland (Zürich Kirche St Peter) and Spain (Festival Clásicos en Verano, Aeterna Música). They pay tribute to Fanny Davies (1861-1934), one of the most acclaimed pianists of the turn of the century. A pupil of Clara Schumann, she was the pianist who was considered to play most like her teacher, to the extent that it was written of her interpretations that “through them, one sees the specter of Clara”. She formed duo with Pablo Casals, who invited her to play as a soloist with his orchestra in Barcelona. A convinced feminist, Davies was also president of the Society for Women Musicians. The ensemble is particularly commited to giving visibility to composers who are nowadays forgotten, whether for geographical, social or gender reasons. They have carried out several projects featuring music by women composers (Clara Schumann, Fanny Mendelssohn) and collaborate with Javier López-Escalona’s project “El violoncello andaluz”.