Maurice Steger, sweet flute
Amandine Beyer, violin
Daniel Rosin, cello
Sebastian Wienand, harpsichord

Francesco Turini
Sonata for two soprano instruments
Intermezzo E tanto tempo hormai
Sonata for two soprano instruments and basso Il Corisino

Francesco Maria Veracini
Sonata in A minor for flute and basso continuo

Johann Sebastian Bach
Toccata for keyboard in D major, BWV 912

Georg Friedrich Händel
Trio sonata for recorder, violin and basso continuo in C minor, HWV 386

Jean-Marie Leclair
Sonata for violin and basso continuo No. 4 in B major, Op. 5

Francesco Geminiani
Sonata for cello and basso continuo No. 3 in C major, Op. 5

Antonio Vivaldi
Concerto for recorder, violin and basso continuo in D major, RV 92

"Interpretation first means being able to read a musical text correctly. It then goes about deciding what to do with it. The groundings for this decision can be information, (historical) sources or performance practices. And finally, it is a matter of finding out what your point of view is, which passages are personal and which are the more "normal" ones, and then managing to combine the two to reach the listener. Just thinking: "I like it this way, so let's do it!" doesn't work!"

A unique and much sought-after performer, flautist and conductor, Maurice Steger fell in love with early music because of the association of rigour, sensitivity and intuition required to perform the masterpieces of his favourite composers: Georg Philipp Telemann, Antonio Vivaldi and Giuseppe Sammartini. According to Steger, only a great deal of study of historical sources allows one to feel free during a performance.
It is only a meticulous, patient and rational work that can prepare the right conditions for emotions to emerge undisturbed in the concert hall and transform each performance into a unique moment.

Maurice Steger was born in Winterthur and is one of Switzerland's finest musicians. The Akademie für Alte Musik in Berlin, The English Concert, La Cetra Barockorchester Basel, the Freiburger Barockorchester, the Venice Baroque Orchestra, and I Barocchisti are some of the baroque ensembles with which he has performed as a soloist. He has played with prominent artists such as Hilary Hahn, Cecilia Bartoli, Igor Oistrakh, Fabio Biondi, Isabelle Faust, Diego Fasolis, Sol Gabetta and Laurence Cummings.

Steger will appear in Lugano with Amandine Beyer, Daniel Rosin and Sebastian Wienand, his partners for the Les Nations project dedicated to the performance of baroque instrumental music.

"'In Switzerland, many influences come together. There are the Swiss Italians, French and Germans, with different languages and ways of thinking. Each part of Switzerland has its own style and taste. And that has had a significant impact on my various ways of thinking. If you compare that to Germany, Switzerland is a much less homogenous place. There are many different places for discussion, which makes things colourful and exciting."