Years
2019 2018
Stefan Velkov Guitar Recital
2018-04-19

19 April 2018

Odeion

19:30

Bulgarian-born Stefan Velkov was introduced to music since earliest childhood. His official training in music theory, piano and guitar started at the age of seven.

Stefan received his first music degree as a guitar and light music performer from the Bulgarian State Conservatoire (later renamed to Bulgarian Academy of Music). At this stage (the late seventies of the 20th century) the guitar in Bulgaria was still regarded mostly as a light-music instrument. That is why it was included as a study subject only within the Light Music Department of the Conservatoire. The interest and the knowledge of the classical guitar was still at its infancy, but its popularity was growing fast. This made it necessary for the Bulgarian Ministry of Culture to make a historic decision: for the first time in Bulgarian music history, a decision was made to send a young Bulgarian guitarist to Germany to receive a proper music degree in classical guitar and to return to Bulgaria and introduce classical guitar as a subject at the Bulgarian Academy of Music.

After competing with all the most talented guitarists of the country, Stefan won the competition which enabled him to receive a master's degree in classical guitar from the Berliner Hochschule fur Musik Hanns Eisler. He completed his studies in guitar, piano and composition with a special reward of the Hochshule as one of the five best students. During his studies he also won the competition for the best guitar composition.

During his studies abroad (1981 - 1988) Stefan met and had masterclasses with most of the best guitar professors and guitar maestros of our time: Maria-Livia Sao Marcos (Switzerland/ Brazil), Costas Cotsiolis (Greece), Dieter Kreidler (Germany) and Leo Brouwer (Cuba).

In 1986 he was appointed as the first classical guitar lecturer at the Bulgarian Academy of Music and chairperson of the guitar festivals and competitions. This was the time when his own active concert career began. Stefan's repertoire includes most of the great masterpieces ever written for this instrument, but he became more and more known for his own compositions for guitar which, according to critics, outshine the best known masterpieces created for classical guitar.

Stefan’s arrival in SA (1991), coincided with the search of the Free State Musicon for a qualified guitar lecturer in order to introduce the subject classical guitar as part of its music training programme. He was offered the position of senior guitar lecturer at the Musicon which he holds until present day. During this time he also taught at the University of the Free State (1992 - 1999).

Stefan has given concerts in Bulgaria, Poland, Germany, Czech Republic, England and South Africa.

PROGRAMME

  • Velkov: Summer Dream
    From the golden heritage of the classical guitar:
    • Villa-Lobos: Prelude
  • Two Magnificent Arpeggios
    • Giuliani
    • Brower
  • Two Romantic Pieces:
    • Velkov: Serenade
    • Velkov: Adagio (The Magic Of Love)
  • Velkov: Bulgarian Suite for Guitar
    • I Bulgarian folk dance
    • II Bulgarian folk-singing
    • III Bulgarian folk dance in 7/8
    • IV Bulgarian folk-song
    • V Bulgarian folk dance in 9/8
  • Velkov: Tango
  • Velkov: Two Modern Dances
  • Velkov: The Wild Horse

ADMISSION

  • R120 (adults)
  • *R80 (pensioners)
  • *R70 (UFS staff)
  • *R50 (students, learners and block bookings of 10+)

Tickets available at Computicket or online at http://online.computicket.com/web/

*Please note that tickets for pensioners, students, learners and UFS staff can only be purchased at a Computicket outlet (Shoprite Checkers) or at the doors since a valid card or ID has to be presented to qualify for the above mentioned discount.

ENQUIRIES
Ninette Pretorius (tel. 051 401 2504)


Back
Between Art Violinists & Beer Fiddlers

24 October 2019

Odeion

19:30

An interesting concert with seventeenth century repertoire juxtaposing musicians of different social classes…with a touch of humour!

In this concert Antoinette Lohmann (Baroque violin and clog fiddle) and Jörn Boysen (harpsichord, box guitar and citer) will perform. The diverse early seventeenth century music of the church, royal court, local and the freelance musicians will be illuminated, thereby showing the origin of our well-known music repertoire.

Antoinette Lohmann studied the violin, viola and baroque violin at the Sweelinck Conservatorium (Amsterdam). She has always been active in varied musical areas and her wide-ranging experience includes tango, salon music, folk music and contemporary music. Antoinette has performed and recorded with many orchestras and ensembles all over the world. Currently her repertoire extends from the early 17th to the 21st century, but always performed on period instruments. She is fascinated by unusual instruments, such as the viola d'amore, violino piccolo and tenor violin, and enjoys exploring their repertoire. She has recorded the complete sonatas for piano and violin by Joseph Martin Kraus and Margarethe Danzi, bassoon quartets by Franz Danzi and Krommer, chamber music by Belle van Zuylen and 17th-century Dutch music. Antoinette teaches principal study Baroque violin, viola and historical documentation at the Utrecht Conservatorium and the Conservatorium (Amsterdam).

Conductor and composer Jörn Boysen was born in Lübeck (Germany). After his studies at the Musikhochschule Lübeck, he went to the Netherlands where he studied harpsichord with Tini Mathot and Ton Koopman at the Royal Conservatory (The Hague). As founder and director of Musica Poetica he regularly performs in the Netherlands, France and Russia as guest conductor, soloist or continuo player. Boysen conducted productions of the O.T. Opera Rotterdam, the Utrechtse Spelen and Opéra Mosset. In addition, Boysen has composed various orchestral, chamber and vocal works and music for harpsichord. Boysen’s works have been commissioned and performed by Musica Poetica, De Nederlandse Bachvereniging, Baroque Chamber Orchestra of Colorado (USA), Pratum Integrum (RU), Berlin Philharmonics (D) and the Residentie Orchestra in The Hague (NL), amongst others. Apart from his work as a performer, Boysen works as a repetitor at the Utrecht Conservatory and artistic director of concert organisation Musica Antica da Camera (The Hague).

Furor Musicus (with Antoinette and Jörn) was founded by Antoinette in 2008. The ensemble is primarily devoted to performing and recording little-known 17th- and 18th-century repertoire on period instruments and carrying out the necessary historical research. The name Furor Musicus derives from the term Furor Poeticus, a Latin expression often used to refer to poetic inspiration in ancient Greek and Roman literature. The word ‘furor’ refers to a state of intense excitement, in some cases even bordering on madness. The term Furor Poeticus refers to the capacity to be inspired and inspire others.

PROGRAMME
A non-canonic programme…

  • La Orlandina - Symfonia per un violino ò cornetto e basso se piace from Affetti Musicali, opera prima
  • The church musician…
    Johann Erasmus Kindermann: Sonata Prima from Canzoni. Sonatae, una, duabus, tribus & quator violis, Pars Posterior
  • A court musician who became a monk…
    Johann Marianus Baal: Sonata for violin and continuo - Opus Primum (1677)
  • Re-establishing culture…
    Anonymous: Sonata from the music collection of Prince Bishop Karl Liechtenstein
  • Artful fiddling: Scordatura (differently tuned violin strings)…
    Nicolaes Goor: Sonata in scordatura
  • Attempt to get invited for a position at the court in Vienna…
    Ignazio Albertini: Sonata VII from XII sonata a Violino Solo (ca. 1685)
    Anonymous: Sonata (another one) from the music collection of Prince Bishop Karl Liechtenstein
  • Music for having fun at home…
    Anonymous: Feltstuck van den Comoran in Ungarn from ‘t Uitnemend Kabinet
  • A farmer fiddler versus a real violin player…
    Johann Fischer: Suite - Unterschied zwischen einem rechten Violinist und gemeinen Bauern - Fiedler (Difference between a real violinist and a simple farmer fiddler) from Musicalische Fürsten-Lust (1706)

ADMISSION

  • R150 (adults)
  • *R80 (pensioners)
  • *R80 (UFS staff)
  • *R60 (students, learners and block bookings of 10+)

Tickets available at Computicket or online at http://online.computicket.com/web/

*Please note that tickets for pensioners, students, learners and UFS staff can only be purchased at a Computicket outlet (Shoprite Checkers) or at the doors since a valid card or ID has to be presented to qualify for the above mentioned discount.

ENQUIRIES
Ninette Pretorius (tel. 051 401 2504)

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