Duo Kiasma: music as soft power

A cello and an accordion make an unusual pair on paper. Duo Kiasma, Pierre Fontenelle on cello and Frin Wolter on accordion, have taken that pairing from European stages to concert halls in Taipei and Shanghai. On Thursday 8 October they bring it to the Salle Ellipse at the Luxembourg Learning Centre for a lunchtime of music and conversation.

The theme is cultural soft power: how an artistic career can open doors between countries, told by two musicians who have spent years touring Asia. Maxime Bender, director of the Trifolion in Echternach, joins them as a guest, three days before the duo release their album Polaris on 11 October. Sonja Kmec, adjunct professor of history at the university, moderates.

According to the university, the duo won First Prize at the International Accordé’Opale Competition and have played the Philharmonie Luxembourg and the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel.

It runs from 12:00 to 14:00 and entry is free. Register through the university’s Eventbrite page.

If lunchtime in Belval does not suit, the duo also play a matinée in Echternach on Sunday 11 October, the day the album comes out.