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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
Spencer Myer – piano recital

31 May 2012
Odeion
19:30

Spencer Myer, exceptional American pianist and gold medalist of the 2008 New Orleans International Piano Competition needs no introduction and the OSM grabbed the chance to have him here again in 2012. This will be the last time in a very long time that Spencer will be touring South Africa.

Spencer Myer’s orchestral, recital and chamber music performances have been heard throughout North America, Canada , Europe, Africa and Asia. He has been soloist with The Cleveland Orchestra, Louisiana and Dayton Philharmonic Orchestras, the Baton Rouge, Bozeman, Indianapolis, Knoxville, New Haven, Phoenix, Richmond (IN), Santa Fe, Southeast Iowa, Tucson and Wyoming Symphony Orchestras, and Beijing’s China National Symphony Orchestra, collaborating with, among others, conductors Nicholas Cleobury, Neal Gittleman, Jacques Lacombe, Jahja Ling, Maurice Peress, Matthew Savery, Klauspeter Seibel, Arjan Tien and Victor Yampolsky. In May 2005 his recital/orchestral tour of South Africa included a performance of the five piano concerti of Beethoven with the Chamber Orchestra of South Africa. Many of his performances have been broadcast on WQXR (New York City), WHYY (Philadelphia), WCLV (Cleveland) and WFMT (Chicago).

In 2004 Spencer Myer captured First Prize in the 10th UNISA International Piano Competition. He is also a laureate in the 2007 William Kapell, 2005 Cleveland, 2005 Busoni (where he was also awarded the Audience Prize) and 2004 Montréal International Piano Competitions. Spencer is winner of the 2006 Christel DeHaan Classical Fellowship from the American Pianists Association. He is a graduate of the Juilliard School, where he studied with Julian Martin. Other teachers include Peter Takács, Joseph Schwartz and Christina Dahl. He also studied with Jerome Lowenthal and, later, Vocal Accompanying with Warren Jones and Marilyn Horne. During the course of his undergraduate studies at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, he was the recipient of numerous awards from that institution. His Doctor of Musical Arts degree was conferred by Stony Brook University in 2005. Spencer Myer can be heard on the Dimension Records label. His debut CD for Harmonia Mundi USA was released in the fall of 2007.

Programme:
Haydn – Sonata in G major
Debussy – Préludes, Book I
Liszt – From Années de pèlerinage, Deurzième année: Italie – Sonetto 47 del Petrarca, 104 del Petrarca, 123 del Petrarca
Albéniz – Iberia, Book IV (Málaga, Jerez, Eirtaña)
Moskowski – Caprice Espagnol, Op. 37

Admission:
R120 (adults), R80 (pensioners, students and learners)
R50 (block booking of 10+)
Tickets available at Computicket.

Enquiries:
Ninette Pretorius (tel. 051 401 2504)
 

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