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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
Koornhof-Hecht Duo

with celebrated SA violinist, Piet Koornhof, and American pianist, Thomas Hecht

 

7 May 2015

Odeion

19:30

 

“…major talent...”

— The New York Times

 

"Koornhof is an utterly brilliant performer”

— The Cape Times

 

“…fantastic...full mastery…”

— Gazzetta del Sud

 

Violinist Piet Koornhof has performed extensively as recitalist and chamber musician, and as soloist with orchestras in Southern Africa, Europe, North America, Russia, Singapore and New Zealand. His overseas performances include recitals with American pianist Thomas Hecht at the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music (Singapore) and at the Echos Festival (Italy).

 

In 1994 he was the first South African to undertake an extensive recital tour of Russia, with pianist Vladimir Yurigin-Klevke. In 1998 he gave masterclasses and performed at Victoria University of Wellington (New Zealand). In 1999 he performed at the Palaces of St. Petersburg International Chamber Music Festival as a member of the Potch Trio, and appeared as soloist with the Moscow Chamber Orchestra.

 

Piet's most recent CD-recordings (Delos), are the complete JS Bach trio-sonatas for flute, violin and piano with Raffaele Trevisani and Paola Girardi, and the Hendrik Hofmeyr Double CSoncerto for flute, violin and string orchestra with Trevisani and the Moscow Chamber Orchestra led by Constantine Orbelian. His chamber music CD-recordings as founder and violinist of the South African Chamber Music Society for Koch Discover International have garnered high international acclaim. His CD-recording of piano trios of Babadjanian and Vasks as a member of the celebrated Potch Trio was released in South Africa in 2005. A CD of unusual short lyrical pieces for violin and piano with Truida van der Walt, “Remembrances”, became available in 2007. 

 

Piet made his concert debut at the age of nine while he was a pupil of Alan Solomon.  He was awarded scholarships by amongst others the South African Music Rights Organisation, Anglo American Corporation, the Aspen Music School and the Juilliard School where he studied with Dorothy DeLay. He also took part in masterclasses by Itzhak Perlman, Pinchas Zukerman and Segiu Luca.

 

Piet has been teaching violin, viola, chamber music and methodology of violin at the School of Music of the North West University (Potchefstroom) since 1986. He holds a doctorate in music performance from the same institution where he is associate professor.  His masters thesis about the teaching strategy of renowned violin teacher, Dorothy DeLay, provided the material for his article in Strad magazine (August 2001).

 

American pianist Thomas Hecht was invited to Singapore in 2003 as the conservatory's Founding Head of Piano Studies. Over the span of nearly three decades he has concertized internationally as concerto soloist, recitalist, chamber musician and as a member of the acclaimed duo-piano team Hecht & Shapiro - winners of the Munich International Two Piano Competition and USA National Duo Piano Competition. He was the former Head of Piano Studies and Artist-In-Residence at the School of Music at Victoria University (New Zealand) and prior to that served for many years as Professor of Piano and Artist-In-Residence at the Cleveland Institute of Music (USA).  He has performed with leading orchestras such as the New York Philharmonic, Cleveland Orchestra, Baltimore Symphony, Stuttgart Symphony Orchestra, Johannesburg Festival Orchestra, Singapore Symphony Orchestra, Artsakh Symphony Orchestra and the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra. 

 

Career highlights include performances at the Lincoln Center (New York), Berlin Philharmonic Hall, the Kennedy Center (Washington) and solo recitals in Korea, Japan, China, Taiwan, Vietnam, Thailand, Italy, Serbia, Montenegro, Germany and throughout all the major centres of Australia and New Zealand. Hecht is a graduate of the Oberlin Conservatory where he won first prize in the concerto competition and the Kaufmann Award for excellence in chamber music.  Later he was accepted for graduate studies at the Peabody Institute as a student of Leon Fleisher.

 

Hecht enjoys a well-deserved reputation as one of the leading teachers of his generation, having produced a multitude of first prize winners in solo and two piano competitions throughout the United States, Europe and Australasia.   Throughout his career he has represented the USA, New Zealand and Singapore on jury panels of the Gina Bachauer, Geneva, Isangyun, Ibiza and Paralympic International Piano Competitions in addition to the national piano competitions of Japan, Thailand, Australia and South Africa.  He is a Steinway Artist and records for the Azica, Elysium and Atoll labels.

 

PROGRAMME

Arvo Pärt: Fratres

Giya Kancheli: Time…and again

Balys Dvarionas: Various compositions

 

ADMISSION

R130 (adults)

R90 (pensioners)

R70 (UFS staff)

R50 (students and learners)

R50 (group bookings of 10+)

Tickets available at Computicket.

 

ENQUIRIES

Ninette Pretorius (tel. 051 – 401 2504)

 

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