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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)


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Antonio Pompa-Baldi - piano recital

Wednesday, 22 August
Odeion
19:30

Born and raised in Foggia (Italy), Antonio Pompa-Baldi first went to the U.S.A. in 1999 to participate in the Cleveland International Piano Competition. He won the first prize, and, while fulfilling all the engagements that came with it, he and his wife, Italian pianist Emanuela Friscioni, decided to make Cleveland their home. A top prize winner at the 1998 Marguerite Long-Jacques Thibaud Competition of Paris, Antonio also won a silver medal at the 2001 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, as well as the Award for the Best Performance of a New Work.

Antonio has toured extensively in four continents, bringing his assured touch on the keyboard to some of the world's major concert venues including Cleveland's Severance Hall, Milan's Sala Verdi, Naples' Teatro Diana, New York's Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall, Boston's Symphony Hall and Paris' Salle Cortot, Salle Gaveau, Salle Pleyel, Theatre des Champs-Elysees and Théâtre du Châtelet. After a triumphant debut in Beijing (China), he was named Honorary Guest Professor of that Institution. Pompa-Baldi also made orchestral and solo appearances at Carnegie Hall, as well as with the Houston Symphony, Berliner Symphoniker in Tokyo (Japan), Colorado Symphony, North Carolina, Peoria, and Duluth Symphony Orchestras, Rochester Philharmonic, Jacksonville Symphony, Auckland Philharmonia (New Zealand), Kansas City Symphony, Toledo Symphony, Cleveland Pops, National Orchestra of Santo Domingo, Symphony of the Americas (Ft. Lauderdale), Canton Symphony, and Orchestra di Toscana (France). He also performed recitals in cities such as Seoul, Paris (Chopin Festival), Chicago, Ravinia, Houston (Texas Music Festival), Portland (OR), Sacramento, Fort Worth (Cliburn Series), Salt Lake City (Assembly Hall), Duszniki Zdroj, Poland (Chopin Festival) and Toledo (Spain). He has collaborated with leading conductors including Hans Graf, James Conlon, Miguel Harth-Bedoya, Keith Lockhart, Christopher Seaman, Fabio Mechetti, Daniel Hege, Louis Lane, Pascal Rophe', Grant Llewellyn and Stefan Sanderling.

Antonio's recordings include an all-Brahms disc (Azica), a live and unedited recital from his award-winning Cliburn Competition performances (Harmonia Mundi) and since 2002, he has recorded for Centaur Records. He serves as Distinguished Professor of Piano at the Cleveland Institute of Music, and gives master classes around the world. He is often invited to judge international piano competitions.

Programme:
Czerny- Variations "La Ricordanza"
Hummel - Sonata No. 5, Op.81, in F-sharp minor
Rachmaninoff - Variations on a theme of Corelli
Brahms - Variations on a theme of Paganini

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

Enquiries:
Ninette Pretorius (tel. 051 401 2504)

 

 

 

 

 

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