Lunchtime Concert: Boris Bizjak, flute, Lana Trotovsek, violin & Richard Crabtree, viola

TUE 17 JAN, 13.05

Franz Anton Hoffmeister Duetto in G major for flute and violin
I. Allegro
II. Adagio
III. Allegretto

Franz Anton Hoffmeister Duo Concertant No.1 in G major for flute and viola
I. Allegro
II. Poco adagio
III. Rondo

Johan Halvorsen Passacaglia for violin and viola on a theme by Handel

Antonín Dvořák Terzetto in C, Op. 74
I. Introduzione; Allegro ma non troppo
II. Larghetto
III. Scherzo; Vivace
IV. Trio; Poco meno mosso
V. Tema con Variazioni


Slovenian flutist Boris Bizjak, based in London, is the prize-winner of many competitions. He won the 1 st and 2 nd prize at the European Flute Competition in Picardy, France as well as a top prize winner in a solo and chamber music category at the Slovenian National competition.
Boris performs in Slovenia, Great Britain, the United States, Japan, China, France, Switzerland, Norway, Spain, Cyprus and Malta. He has performed concertos with the Slovenian Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra on a number of occasions; in 2015 he performed Mozart’s Concerto for Flute and Harp, in 2017 the CPE Bach flute concerto under the baton of Dmitri Sitkovetsky, in 2018 the Brandenburg Concerto and the triple concerto for flute, violin and harpsichord in a minor by J.S.Bach. He has also performed as a soloist with the City of London Ensemble, Euphonia Symphony Orchestra, Solisti Divini, London Brandenburg Soloists and SNG Maribor. As a chamber musician he collaborated with Natalie Clein, Jurij Žislin, Natalija Lomeiko, Fleur Barron, Gareth Lube, Lana Trotovšek, Janis Kelly, Guy Johnston, Simon Lane, Yoko Misumi and Maria Canyigueral . He has performed in St. John’s Smith Square, St. Martin in the Fields, Looe Festival, Purbeck International Chamber Music Festival, Festivals at Sea,
Totnes Early Music Festival, Brighton Festival and Festival Ljubljana. While touring in Japan, he has performed at the Kyoto Bunka Kaikan Hall, Atsuta Hall in Nagoya and Musicasa Hall in Tokyo. He has also led several master
classes in Cyprus, Japan, the UK, Italy and Slovenia.
Bizjak graduated from the Academy of Music in Ljubljana in the class of Fedja Rupel. He also studied in Florence with Marzio Conti, and completed his postgraduate studies in
Paris at the Ecole Normale de Musique de Paris Alfred Cortot in the class of Pierre Yves Artaud, and at the École Nationale de Musique de Danse et d‘Art Dramatique Marcel Dadi with George Alirol.
Boris is a SOMM recordings artist. His latest CD, including the first recordings of chamber works for flute and strings by F.A. Hoffmeister, was praised in the BBC Music and the Gramophone magazines.
As a baroque flutist, he collaborates with harpsichordist Masumi Yamamoto, with whom he performs in UK, Norway, and Japan. He also performed with the Flaugissimo ensemble and the Oxford Bach Soloists, and at the Ljubljana Festival with gambist Domen Marinčič and harpsichordist Tomaž Sevšek Šramel.
Bizjak is also director of an audio and video production Hedone Records, and was the co-founder of the biennial International Chamber Music Festival in Blackheath, London.

Violinist Lana Trotovsek has won admiration for her expressive playing and unique musicality. The Washington Post has described her as ‘Radiant’ and praised her ‘clean, refined tone with musical sense of phrasing and impeccable intonation’. The Strad Magazine has mentioned her ‘true feel of live intuitive performance’.
She has captivated audiences with her ‘warm sound and formidable technique’ La Vanguardia and her talent of bringing ‘freshness, depth and insight’ Broad Street Review to her interpretations.
Lana Trotovšek was a student of Ruggiero Ricci. Since her solo debut with the Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra under Valery Gergiev in 2012, Lana Trotovsek appeared with some of the world’s finest orchestras. In 2014, she toured with the Moscow Soloists and Yuri Bashmet, 2016 she performed Prokofiev’s Violin Concerto No.1 with the London Symphony Orchestra under Gianandrea Noseda, the Tchaikovsky violin concerto with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra under Raphael Payare in 2019 and the Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante with Maxim Rysanov and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra under Vasily Petrenko in 2022. Her recent schedule took her to Bangkok to perform the Wieniewski Violin Concerto with the Thailand Philharmonic Orchestra under Alphonso Scarano as well as the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto in Teatro Massimo Bellini in Sicily. She has performed Deirdre Gribbin’s Violin Concerto “Venus Blazing” with the Ulster Orchestra in Belfast broadcast by the BBC 3 radio, a premiere of Hugo Wolf Violin Concerto in Congress Centre Villach in Austria, Mendelssohn violin concerto with the RTS Symphony Orchestra in the Shanghai Oriental Arts Centre as well as in Klagenfurt Konzerthaus with Carinthian Symphony Orchestra, and an evening recital in Wigmore Hall, which has been described as “remarkable” by the Strad magazine. Lana has collaborated with Tan Dun and Orchestra Teatro Verdi, the Shanghai and Slovenian Philharmonic, as well as Uros Lajovic and the Sarajevo Philharmonic Orchestra, the RTV Slovenia under George Pehlivanian, the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra, and the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, where she was described as “an emerging voice to watch” by Philadelphia Inquirer. Lana performed double violin concertos with Sergey Krylov and the Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra on a number of occasions including the Al Bustan Festival in Lebanon in 2018. In summer 2017 she was touring with John Malkovich and I Solisti Aquilani, performing Bach’s A minor violin concerto in festivals Emilia Romagna, Ljubljana, and Mittelfest.
In 2020, for the 250th Anniversary of L. van Beethoven, Trotovsek give performance of the complete sonatas for violin and piano at the Festival Ljubljana with pianist Maria Canyigueral. Lana and Maria have been collaborating since 2016 and have been performing in the UK, Spain, France, Belgium, Slovenia and Japan. In 2021 they released the complete Beethoven Violin sonatas under ZKP RTV Slovenija label. Recently they have recorded the complete recital works for violin by Sergei Prokofiev released by SOMM recordings in two volumes. The presentation of the CDs took place in Auditori Barcelona and Conway Hall, London.
Since 2006 Lana has been a member of the Greenwich Trio whose member originally included cellist Stjepan Hauser. They were guided by the legendry Beaux Arts Trio cellist Bernard Greenhouse and pianist Menahem Pressler as well as Stephen Kovachevich. Now with cellist Heather Tuach, Yoko Misumi and Lana Trotovšek are about to release three volumes of Brahms piano trios under Linn records, Outhere music label. The release of the CDs took place in Kings Place, London.
Lana has been a gust at renowned international festivals including Rheingau, Aix en Provence, Shanghai International Arts Festival, Festival Internacional de Santander, Dubrovnik, Bad Kissingen, St Magnus International, Aldeburgh and the Ljubljana Festival.
Her discography includes chamber music and concerto releases by Linn records (Outhere music), SOMM recordings, Toccata Classics, Meridian records, Hedone records, Signum records, Champs Hill records and RTV ZKP. In 2016 she was awarded the Global Music Awards gold medal for her CD Franck, Granados, Škerjanc, Finzi with pianist Maria Canyigueral.
Lana Trotovšek is the recipient of the 2021 Prešeren Fund Award of the Republic of Slovenia, which she received for her achievements in the past three years. She lives in London and is a Professor at the Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance. She maintains close ties to her home country where she performs regularly and is a visiting Professor at the Academy of Music in Ljubljana. She plays a 1750 Pietro Antonio dalla Costa violin.


Richard Crabtree is a musician, performer and mentor. He is a solo commercially-recorded artist, and as a teacher, his students become fully equipped to pursue music professionally should they wish to do so.
Richard studied violin and viola with his own mentor, Nicholas Roth, at Trinity College of Music (now Trinity Laban). Immediately after graduating, Richard began his career with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and the London Mozart Players. As principal violist and soloist, he also performed with the London Soloists Ensemble, Wessex Sinfonia, Clifton Virtuosi, English National Baroque and the Emerald Ensemble. He gave his debut solo recital on Radio 3 in 1989 and has since broadcast on Radios 3 & 4, and Classic FM. He has also recorded solo TV documentary soundtracks with all the major channels.
Richard has consistently promoted contemporary viola music. He has given premiere performances of concerti, suites and incidental works by Leonard Salzedo, Ellis Pehkonen, Chris Toon, Chari Numerov, John Marsh, Sarah Class, Martin Pring, Charles Matthews and William Godfree.
This commitment to increasing the diversity of the viola repertoire has taken Richard across Europe and beyond. The Turkmenistan Ministry of Culture invited him to perform at the televised Makhtumkuli Festival, and Richard unwittingly acquired the distinction of being the first British musician to perform there since the fall of the Soviet Union.
In 2012 Richard stood in for Atar Arad at the Jewish festival of music, ‘Violins of Hope’, in North Carolina. It was a humbling experience that he will never forget. Violins played by Jews in the death camps had been restored, and the music of gifted musicians murdered in those camps was brought to life by Jewish virtuosi of today. Richard had the rare and moving experience of performing alongside both world class musicians and inspirational Holocaust survivors.
For the last four decades, Richard's teaching has been an enduring and evolving passion. His violin and viola students regularly gain places with National Youth Orchestras, win competitions in the UK and abroad, and secure scholarships to prestigious UK schools. His postgraduate students achieve principal positions with international orchestras.
An early adopter of all things technical, Richard pioneered online lessons well before Covid struck. It has enabled him to give lessons across four continents and even to teach underprivileged children in South America.
In person, Richard has given masterclasses and solo performances throughout Europe and in the USA, China, Korea, and, of course, Turkmenistan.
In 2011, Richard became a published author: the Crabbers Scale Manual for Violin, Viola and Cello uses a unique system of letters and numbers with the specific intention of helping the most nervous student gain confidence when learning scales.


Old Royal Naval College Chapel
Admission FREE, no booking required