The night of April 16 was especially full of lightness on the campus of Hadat-Baabda. The reason? A unique duo formed by Julian Steckel on cello and Paul Rivinius on piano was performing that night at Our Lady of Seeds Chapel. In the competitive world of chamber music, these two musicians are not unknown. At the matter fact, it is quite the opposite!
37-year-old Steckel is widely praised as one of the leading cellists of our time. His list of prizes is impressive and includes the first prize of the prestigious ARD International Music Competition, the Oehms Classic Award, and the prize of the Münchner Kammerorchester. The good genes apparently run in the family since his parents and siblings are also professional musicians.
German artist Paul Rivinius, for his part, received his first piano lessons at the age of five! No wonder he also won the ARD Competition with his group “the Trio Clemente,” resulting in guest appearances in Carnegie Hall, New York, and Wigmore Hall, London, among others.
For their first visit to Lebanon, the two long-time friends prepared us the perfect program: two sonatas of Beethoven, one for cello and piano of Poulenc, and a last one of Cesar Frank. We need hardly add that the audience was thrilled by the beauty of the performance.