Ruth Bruckner, Recorder
Yu-Wei Hu, Traverso
Kunihiro Mimura, Viola da Gamba
Marie van Rhijn, Harpsichord
The Ensemble Les Nations Réunies is formed by four students and graduates of the Historical Performance Department at the Royal Collage of Music London. They specialize in an authentic and historically informed, yet lively and stirring interpretation of the music of the baroque period. The aim is to present a variety of 17th and 18th century music, showcasing the different styles of the main centres of cultural life in Europe. Les Nations Réunies’ programmes combine works written and performed in London, Paris, Rome, Leipzig, and many other cities, by composers such as Handel, Couperin, Corelli, Bach and Quantz.
The name of the ensemble originates from a combination of the titles of two works by the eminent French composer Francois Couperin: Les Gouts-Réunis and Les Nations, which stand for the united tastes and the variety of nations. The combination Les Nations Réunies stands for the ensemble‘s attempts to show the variety of tastes in different nations in the Baroque period, but can also be associated with the fact that all members of the ensemble come from different countries and bring together their individual experience and knowledge.
The ensemble Les Nations Réunies is Winner of the International Early Music Competition in Middelburg/The Netherlands 2011.
Ruth Bruckner – Recorder
Ruth began studying the Recorder at the Young Student Class of the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna. After graduating from the High School for Young Music Students, she passed the entrance examination to the Recorder Diploma Programme with Hans Maria Kneihs. Supported by the Federal Chancellery for Arts and Culture Austria, Ruth studied the Recorder in Paris at the Conservatoire Erik Satie with Sébastien Marq in Spring and Summer Term 2007. At this time she was Resident at the prestigious Cité Internationale des Arts Paris, where she also performed solo recitals. After returning to Vienna, Ruth pursued her study at the University of Music and Performing Arts and additionally started to study the Viola da Gamba with Pierre Pitzl at the Conservatory of Music Vienna. In the framework of the Erasmus Exchange Programme, she studied at the Royal College of Music in London in Autumn Term 2010 with Ashley Solomon for the Recorder and Richard Boothby for the Viola da Gamba. Furthermore, she took part in various masterclasses by Jordi Savall, Gerd Lünenburger, Han Tol, a.o.
Ruth has been awarded various prizes at International Competitions. At the 10th International Music Competition in Osaka/Japan in October 2009 she won the 1. Prize for Early Music, the Journalist Prize and the Hyogo-Governor-Award.
In 2009, Ruth was awarded the Scholarship for Music and performing Arts, donated by the Ministry of Culture and Education in Austria, and in 2010 received an award for artistic excellence from the International Tokyo Foundation.
Ruth has performed in Europe and Japan as a solist and as a member of chamber music groups and orchestras, which include Les Nations Réunies, Collegium musicum Wien, Gesti Musicali and Wiener Akademie.
Yu-Wei Hu - Traverso
Yu-Wei Hu began the flute at the age of six. She was soon accepted by the Talented-Musician Programme and was awarded YAMAHA scholarship in 1996.
From 2000, Yu-Wei studied in Music Department in National Taiwan Normal University and won Third prize in the Wind Concerto Competition in Music Departmentin 2003. She was awarded Bachelor of Fine Arts and Master of Fine Arts in 2004 and 2006 respectively. Besides several recital performances and orchestral concerts, she also performed in many master classes with international flautists, such as Yossi Arnheim, Vicens Prats, Amy Porter and Trevor Wye in Taipei.
Supported by Taiwan Government Scholarship for Studying Abroad 2008-10 and a Kit & John Gander Award 2008-9, Yu-Wei studied baroque flute with Lisa Beznosiuk and modern flute with Sue Thomas and Daniel Pailthrope in Integrated Master of Music programme at Royal College of Music. Her baroque chamber group Ensemble de Trianon won Richard III Prize in RCM early music competition 2010. Yu-Wei was also nominated the McKenna Prize for Baroque Music 2009/2010, and was awarded Master of Music in Advanced Performance with distinction in July 2010.
Yu-Wei played baroque flute in Parry Room recitals, Durrington Room chamber concerts and Handel Festival Concert series at St Martin in the Fields in London. She also played in Yorke Trust Baroque Opera Orchestra in Norfolk in 2009, as well as in Woodmansterne Collection Orchestra and Sinfonia Verdi in St. Albans Cathedral in 2010. Yu-Wei has also appeared in RCM Baroque Orchestra 2010, under the baton of Sir Roger Norrington. In the same year she received a bursary to play in Dartington Baroque Orchestra. Yu-Wei performed with International Baroque Players in Octorber 2010. She will also be playing in Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment Young Musician Scheme 2011.
Her Flaugiussimo duo with Swedish guitarist Johan Lofving performed many duo recitals in UK. Their recent venues includes Royal College of Music, St Mary Abbot Church, St Stephen Church, Cadogen Hall, Victoria & Albert Museum, London Guitar Festival 2009 in Kings Place and Pump Rooms in Bath.
Kunihiro Mimura - Viola da Gamba
Kunihiro Mimura, from Nagano/ Japan, received
piano lessons since his early childhood and studied piano at the Tokai University
in Kanagawa. During his studies of the piano he was also taught playing the
Viola da Gamba and specialised in playing this instrument. After achieving
his Piano Diploma in Kanagawa in 1998, Kunihiro Mimura came to Vienna to study
piano with Paul Gulda and Viola da Gamba with José Vasquez at the University
of Music Vienna.
As a soloist and member of the Orpheon Consort he has been giving concerts
in France, Italy Spain and other countries.
Marie van Rhijn – Harpsichord
Marie van Rhijn started to study at the Conservatoire à Rayonnement Départemental (C.R.D.) in Calais where she got in 2007 the Diplôme d’Etudes Musicales (D.E.M.). In the same year, the British Council of Northern Ireland awarded her the scholarship „Charles de Gaulle“ to poursuit her studies at the Museum of Music in Finchcoks, Kent, UK. In 2008, she studied with Ilton Wjuniski and recieved the diplome D.E.M. for harpsichord from the Conservatoire National de Région (C.N.R.) in Paris. She took part in masterclasses at the Académie de Villecroze 2008.
She is studying the harpsichord at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris (C.N.S.M.D.P.) with Olivier Baumont and Blandine Rannou, as well as musicology at the University Sorbonne. She was awarded by Fonds Tarrazzi in march 2009. Since Autumn 2010 she is studiying as an Exchange Student at the Royal College of Music London. She performs regularly as soloist and in chamber music groups in France and the UK.