FOUR CENTURIES | Berlin Montréal TO

Berlin Phil oboist Christoph Hartmann makes Canada debut - Montreal cellist Noémie Raymond plays a beloved work - Nurhan Arman conducts

Friday, January 23, 2026, 7:30 pm, Trinity-St. Paul's Centre, 427 Bloor St. West

FOUR CENTURIES | Berlin Montréal TO

Berlin Philharmonic oboist Christoph Hartmann makes his Canadian debut, stellar Montreal cellist Noémie Raymond plays a beloved concerto, and we spotlight two great Toronto composers

SINFONIA TORONTO / NURHAN ARMAN Conductor

CHRISTOPH HARTMANN Oboist / NOÉMIE RAYMOND Cellist

Program

MOZART Divertimento K 136

NORBERT PALEJ Oboe Concerto world premiere

BACH Oboe Concerto in D Minor

DAVID JAEGER Fantasia ‘Conjure You' world premiere

SAINT-SAENS Cello Concerto No.1 in A minor Op.33

PERFORMER BIOGRAPHIES

Oboist Christoph Hartmann - “Live your dreams!” this is the belief of the Berlin Philharmonic oboist Christoph Hartmann. The native-born Bavarian devotes himself with enthusiasm, dedication and joy to things that inspire him, and continues to realize one dream after the other.

The parents who brought up Christoph Hartmann in Landsberg am Lech knew how to support his hobbies - music making, running and cycling. That he would choose the oboe as a professional career was pure coincidence, and was largely due to the local music school wanting to establish an oboe class. He only tried the instrument once but it was enough to become his passion. Shortly after he studied with Georg Fischer at the Conservatory Augsburg he continued his studies with Prof. Günther Passin in Munich. Before he finished his studies Christoph Hartmann had already worked as a Solo-oboist in 1991 with the Stuttgart Philharmonic. Within the next year he progressed to the prestigious Berlin Philharmonic.

From that time on Christoph Hartmann enjoyed a fulfilled life as a musician, playing in orchestral and chamber music concerts, teaching at the Herbert-von-Karajan-Academy, travelling outside of the orchestral fields as a soloist, conducting master classes and researching repertoire for his instrument, in archives and libraries.

At the point where most of his colleagues would finish their day, Christoph Hartmann's second life begins: sport. He regularly runs marathons, is a co-partner of the bike shop “Bikeline” in Berlin-Friedenau and has also developed his own bicycle brand: Pasculli. This brings us back to the beginning, the manuscripts of the Italian Oboe virtuoso Antonio Pasculli. These were found by Christoph Hartmann in an Italian library and prompted him to bring the forgotten music to blossom. The Operatic phrases of Antonio Pasculli, featured on the CD “Fantasia Italiana” has had tremendous success and has been received with both critical and public acclaim. This CD had been released by EMI as a world premiere.

Following his distinctive love for chamber music, Christoph Hartmann has invited since 1999 music colleagues to his hometown to participate in the small but exclusive festival, Landsberger Sommermusiken, which he founded. The concept of making music on a professional level but in a relaxed atmosphere is so convincing that musicians have returned for the past ten years to this festival. Out of this grew a regular ensemble, namely the ‘Ensemble Berlin, which now tours internationally and can be heard playing with Christoph Hartmann on his CD ‘Bella Napoli'. With the Ensemble Berlin there came out more recordings, like the CD "Virtuoso", "Le tombeau de Couperin" and "Clair de Lune"

Cellist Noémie Raymond - Destined to “leave her mark on posterity through her immense sensitivity and immeasurable talent” (Journal des Citoyens), cellist Noémie Raymond-Friset enjoys a diversified international career that has led her to perform as a chamber musician and soloist with renowned orchestras. From London's Royal Albert Hall to the Festival Internacional de Musica de Camara in Lima, her “passionate, hypersensitive and refined” playing has taken her to four continents, including performances with violinists Midori Goto and Pinchas Zukerman.

Recognized as one of the “30 Hot Canadian Classical Musicians under 30” by CBC, Noémie is also an accomplished and experienced educator. Holder of a Doctorate in performance and literature from the prestigious Eastman School of Music, she is a cello and chamber music mentor for the Heifetz International Music Institute's junior program and teaches at the Festival del Lago in Mexico.

She has won several prizes in national and international competitions. She has also distinguished herself as a scholarship recipient on several occasions and as a laureate of the Canada Council for the Arts Musical Instrument Bank competition.

Noémie plays the beautiful Matteo Goffriller “Ex-Curtis” cello (1700) generously on loan to her by Canimex Inc. of Drummondville, Québec.

Sinfonia Toronto , now in its 27th season, has toured twice in Europe, in the US, South America and China, receiving glowing reviews. It has released six CD's, including a JUNO Award winner, and performs in many Ontario cities. Its extensive repertoire includes all the major string orchestra works of the 18th through 21st centuries, and it has premiered many new works. Under the baton of Nurhan Arman the orchestra's performances present outstanding international guest artists and prominent Canadian musicians.

Maestro Nurhan Arman has conducted throughout Europe, Asia, South America, Canada and the US, returning regularly to many orchestras in Europe. Among the orchestras Maestro Arman has conducted are the Moscow Philharmonic, Deutsches Kammerorchester Frankfurt, Filarmonica Italiana, St. Petersburg State Hermitage Orchestra, Orchestre Regional d'Ile de France, Hungarian Symphony, Arpeggione Kammerorchester, Milano Classica and Belgrade Philharmonic.