26,30.10.2,12,17.8.7, Internationally acclaimed Austrian violinist Ernst Kovacic will lead the classical music ensemble giving several Bermuda Festival performances under the title, Celebrity Chamber Music Concerts.

Mr. Kovacic will be joined by Pascal Moragues (clarinet), David Owen Norris (piano), Judith Busbridge (viola), Clemens Linder (violin), Vicci Wardman (viola), Keith Harvey (cello) and Raphael Wallfisch (cello). They are all distinguished musicians in their own right, who have also earned impressive international reputations.

The first concert takes place tonight in City Hall theatre, beginning at 8 p.m. At lunchtime tomorrow Mr. Kovacic will give a recital in the Bermuda National Gallery, and on Wednesday the group will present their second programme at City Hall.

Tonight's programme will include works by Mahler, Mozart, Richard Strauss and Brahms. Tomorrow, Mr. Kovacic will perform a fantasia by Telemann, a partita by Bach, Four Pieces by Gruber, Good News from the Ziller Valley by Pirchner, and a sonata by Ysaye.

Wednesday night's programme includes Schubert's Sonatina for violin and piano, Brahms' Clarinet Quintet, and Schonberg's Verkla prte Nacht.

As the ensemble's name implies, its musicians are not only highly qualified but also have performed with leading orchestras and chamber groups, and as solo concert artists, worldwide.

Ernst Kovacic 's repertory is prodigious and includes all of the major works for violin of the Baroque, Classical and Romantic periods. He also has a special commitment to twentieth century music, and composers have written pieces especially for him. In addition to his many appearances with the world's leading orchestras, the violinist was Artistic Director of the Vienna Chamber Orchestra from 1996-98.

Hailed as "one of the best clarinettists ... worldwide'' by leading conductor-pianist Daniel Barenboim, Pascal Moragues became principal clarinet of the Orchestre de Paris when he was only 18. He also won top clarinet and chamber music prizes at the famed Paris Conservatoire.

In addition to performing with eminent musicians and chamber music groups throughout his career, he has his own, world-famous Moragues Wind Quintet.

Several of his many recordings have won prizes, and his 1987 recording of the Brahms Quintet with the Talich Quartet, made at age 24, is still regarded as one of his finest. Local audiences will hear Mr. Moragues play this work during Wednesday's concert.

Pianist David Owen Norris, last heard here playing ragtime, has an impeccable classical background. His success as the first Gilmore artist -- awarded by an American Foundation following a long search amongst the world's finest pianists -- led to a busy international solo career. He is also a recording artist, and appears on television as a presenter and interviewer.

Mr. Norris is currently Visiting Professor of Vocal Accompaniment at the Royal College of Music, and last year took up a research fellowship at the University of Southampton, England.

Violist Judith Burbridge is a graduate of the University of Birmingham, and also studied in Austria. For five years she was principal viola in the Camerata Academica.

Kovacic to head ensemble In addition to her active concert schedule and membership in the Dante and Touchwood quartets, Miss Burbridge is currently principal viola in the London Mozart Players, and co-principal in the Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields Orchestra.

Fellow viola player Vicci Wardman hails from Leeds, England, and began playing at age seven. She studied at Chetham's School of Music and the Royal Northern College of Music, where she won many awards.

Now established as one of the best violists of her generation, Miss Wardman has performed with chamber music ensembles worldwide. She regularly gives master classes, and enjoys a considerable reputation as a teacher. She gives classes at the Royal Northern College of Music as well as privately. A founder-member of the Sorrell Quartet, Miss Wardman currently performs with various well-known chamber music groups as guest principal viola.

Austrian violinist Clemens Linder is at the beginning of his career, and has been studying with Mr. Kovacic since 1993. He has won several prizes, including the Vienna Symphony Orchestra's Anton Bruckner Verein prize. In 1996 he gained his diploma with distinction. He has taken master classes, and also performed with Austria's leading orchestras, including the Vienna Symphony.

Cellist Keith Harvey studied at the Royal Academy of Music, and at age 20 was the youngest person ever to become principal cello of the London Philharmonic Orchestra.

He appeared many times as concerto soloist under such legendary conductors as Sir Adrian Boult and Hans Schmitt-Isserstedt. Following the first broadcast performance of Britten's Cello Suite, he went on to perform a major part of the cello repertoire for the British Broadcasting Corporation.

A recording artist, Dr. Harvey's playing has also been featured in a number of successful films, including `The French Lieutenant's Woman,' for which he won an Emmy.

Presently an honorary Doctor of Essex University, the cellist has a great interest in the instrument's history. He collaborated on a six-disc anthology entitled `The Recorded Cello,' and has provided material for several programmes about past artists.

Dr. Harvey plays a 1733 Domenico Montagnana cello.

Fellow cellist Raphael Wallfisch is also no stranger to Bermuda, having appeared here in 1997.

Born to a cellist mother and pianist father, Mr. Wallfisch was exposed to classical music from birth. An early interest in theatre and acting was successfully changed to a love of the cello, thanks to expert guidance from fine teachers.

Mr. Wallfisch studied with the great Russian cellist, Gregor Piatigorsky, which also gave him the opportunity to play with many great musicians, including Jascha Heifetz.

Today, Mr. Wallfisch is in demand worldwide, and in addition to performing also gives master classes and tutorials. He is a professor at the Winterthur Konservatorium in Switzerland, and teaches at London's Guildhall School of Music and Drama. His recordings are highly regarded.

For further information and tickets on the performances detailed above, contact the Bermuda Festival box office next to the ferry terminal building on Front Street between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., or telephone 292-8572.

Notable attraction: Violinist Ernst Kovacic THEATRE THR REVIEW REV