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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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Melodies from Paris

Description: Melodies from Paris Tags: Melodies from ParisSongs from the Parisian belle époque with French lyrical soprano Laetitia Grimaldi Spitzer & Ammiel Bushakevitz (piano)

6 May 2016

Odeion

19:30

 

The French soprano Laetitia Grimaldi and pianist Ammiel Bushakevitz offer a program of Romantic French songs, presented in the style of a Parisian salon concert from the belle époque. From the heights of Marcel Proust to the decadence of the Moulin Rouge, the belle époque (circa 1871-1914) was a time when culture flourished more than ever in Paris. The salons of Paris became places where poets, painters and composers would meet to share their art.

 

Laetitia Grimaldi performs worldwide since her Carnegie Hall debut in 2013. After beginning her vocal studies with Teresa Berganza, she continued her studies in New York City, first at the Manhattan School of Music, followed by a Masters degree from the Juilliard School. During her studies at the Juilliard School, Laetitia was awarded first prize in the Kate Neal Kinley Memorial Fellowship International Competition. She is also a top prizewinner in the Concours Léopold Bellan (Paris, 2013). She has received mentorship with some of the world's leading artists, including Dame Emma Kirkby, Illeana Cotrubas, Alfred Brendel, Teresa Berganza, Sir Thomas Allen, Masaaki Suzuki and Matthias Goerne, amongst others.

 

Ammiel Bushakevitz has performed in over thirty countries across Europe, North America, Africa and Asia. He has received top prizes at numerous competitions including the International Schubert Competition, the International Johannes Brahms Competition, the Concours Léopold Bellan in Paris and the 2013 Wigmore Hall International Song Competition (London). After graduating from the University of Pretoria, he studied at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater “Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy” (Leipzig, Germany) and furthered his studies at the Conservatoire Nationale Supérieur de Musique (Paris). He has a special love for song accompaniment and has received mentorship from notable singers including Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Elly Ameling, Thomas Hampson, Matthias Goerne and Teresa Berganza.  Ammiel is an alumnus of the Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst, an honorary member of the Richard Wagner Society of South Africa and an Edison Fellow of the British Library.

 

PROGRAMME:

Henri Duparc:  L'Invitation au voyage; Soupir, Chanson triste

Franz Liszt:  Jeux d'eaux à la villa d'Este

Gabriel Fauré:  Le secret; Clair de lune; Romance sans paroles, Op. 17 No. 3

Jean-Philippe Rameau:  Rigaudon, from Dardanus (trans. Godowsky)

Reynaldo Hahn:  À Chloris; Quand je fut pris au pavillon

Charles Gounod:  Le premier jour de mai; Venise; Viens! Les gazons sont verts

Georges Bizet:  Chansons-mélodies: Extase

Joseph Cantaloube:  Baïlèro, from Chants d'Auvergne

Charles-Valentin Alkan:  Recueil de chants, Op. 38 No. 1

Léo Delibes: Chant de l'almée; Les filles de Cadix

 

ADMISSION:

R130 (adults)

*R90 (pensioners, students and learners)

*R70 (UFS staff)

*R50 (group bookings of 10+)

Tickets available at Computicket.

*Please note that tickets for pensioners, students, learners and UFS staff can only be purchased at a Computicket outlet (Shoprite Checkers shops) or at the door 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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