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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
Hrachya Avanesyan violin recital with Pieter Jacobs (piano)
1 October 2015

Odeion

19:30

 

Avanesyan is considered one of the most inspiring artists of his generation.  Born in Armenia in 1986, he moved to Belgium with his family at the age of 16.  From 2003 to 2008 he studied at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels in the class of Igor Oistrakh, son and pupil of legendary David Oistrakh.  In April 2006, as a young teenager, he won the first prize at the Yehudi Menuhin Competition.  From 2007 he studied at the Queen Elisabeth College of Music (Belgium) with Augustin Dumay.  In 2008 his talent was recognized once more in the musical world, when he won the prestigious Carl Nielsen Competition in Denmark.

 

During recent years Avanesyan has made acclaimed debuts with orchestras such as Belgian National Orchestra (Brussels), London Chamber Orchestra (London), Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra, National Orchestra of Lille, Orchestre Royal de Chambre de Wallonie, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Gulbenkian Orchestra, Lisbon Metropolitan Orchestra, Odense Symphony, South Jutland Symphony, Liège Philharmonic, Belgrade Philharmonic, Orchestra Sinfonia Varsovia and the Danish National Symphony Orchestra (Copenhagen). 

 

Avanesyan has given concerts in prestigious venues like the Wigmore Hall, Salle Gaveau and Théatre des Champs Elysées (Paris), Santury Hall (Tokyo), Moscow Kremlin's Grand Hall, Danish Radio Concert Hall (Copenhagen), National Auditorium (Madrid) and the Palais des Beaux-Art (Brussels).  Highlights have been appearances in David's Hall, Cardiff with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, where he shared the stage with Joshua Bell and Maxim Vengerov; in Wigmore Hall where he debuted with the American pianist Ashley Wass and numerous recitals at the Montpellier Festival, Menton Festival and Strasbourg Music Festival in memory of Yehudi Menuhin. 

 

In 2010 to 2011 Avanesyan toured extensively in Scandinavia with pianist Marianna Shirinyan and appeared with the Staatsorchester Rheinische Philharmonie, Arthur Rubinstein Philharmonic Orchestra, debut appearance with the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra and a recital tour (Japan).  In 2012 he appeared with Aarhus Symphony Orchestra and Copenhagen Philharmonic for the first time.

 

His first CD with Vieuxtemps Violin Concerto No. 2 was released in 2010.  His first solo CD with music by Dvorak was released in 2011 with Sinfonia Varsovia and Augustin Dumay.  Hrachya plays on the violin of Antonio Stradivarius "Piatti" from 1717.

 

He will be accompanied by Pieter Jacobs, a graduate of the University of Pretoria, who then furthered his studies at Yale in the United States, where he pursued his performing career with considerable success as a soloist and chamber musician in Boston, Cambridge and New Haven before returning to South Africa to perform and teach at the University of Pretoria.  Pieter is regarded as one of SA’s foremost pianists and chamber musicians.

 

PROGRAMME

Mozart - Rondo in C major KV.373

Beethoven - Sonata No. 9 "Kreutzer"

Ravel - Sonata in G major

Brahms - Sonata No. 1 in G major

 

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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