Years
2019 2018
Maria Kliegel & Albie van Schalkwyk
2018-09-28

CELLO RECITAL

28 September 2018

Odeion

19:30


WORLD-RENOWNED GERMAN VIRTUOSO CELLIST!

“She has at her disposal all the necessary attributes: a fantastically light, yet not perfectionistically moribund technique, entrancing intensity, glamorous and nonetheless endearing charisma.”- Der Tagesspiegel / Berlin

After studying with Janos Starker at Indiana University in Bloomington (USA), Maria Kliegel won, amongst others, the First Grand Prix of the Concours Rostropowitsch Paris (1981). Mstislav Rostropowitsch thereupon engaged the services of his prize winner as a soloist with the Orchestre National de France for several tours through France and invited her to his orchestra in Washington D.C. He became one of her most important mentors.

Maria Kliegel – La Cellissima – since then an artist in demand throughout the world - started an unusually successful record career on the Naxos label in 1991 alongside her stage triumphs. In this way, her recording of Dvorak's and Elgar's cello concerts with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra London has been maintaining its success as a bestseller for many years now. Frequent honours followed, including two Grammy nominations. In the meantime, Maria Kliegel leads the market in cello literature with some one million CDs sold throughout the world.

In her multimedia book and DVD project Schott Masterclass – Cello: Mit Technik und Fantasie zum künstlerischen Ausdruck about cello techniques and “famous – infamous” passages (played and analysed) published in 2006, she pursues completely new paths. This was the starting point for the production of the English version Cello – Masterclass Using Technique and Imagination to achieve Artistic Expression, released on the Naxos label in 2010.

Contemporary composers like to dedicate their works to the cellist. Wilhelm Kaiser Lindemann, for example, composed on her request Hommage á Nelson Mandela for cello and percussion. After the première of this work in Cape Town (1997), President Mandela reacted profoundly emotionally by inviting the artist to a private concert in his residence.

Since 1986 she has been professor at the Cologne Academy of Music and in 2001 established with Ida Bieler (violin) and Nina Tichman (piano) the Xyrion Trio, which undertook the artistic supervision of the Andernach Music Festival at Namedy Castle in 2007.

Maria Kliegel plays a cello made by Carlo Tononi, Venice ca. 1730.

Albie van Schalkwyk is not only a solo performer in his own right, but is also one of the leading chamber musicians and vocal accompanists in South Africa. In his distinguished career, he won both the UNISA Overseas Scholarship and first prize in the SABC Piano Competition. Besides performing as a piano soloist and with orchestras, he has given masterclasses for singers and accompanists and served as music producer and official accompanist for the SABC. In 2009 he was appointed Associate Professor in Piano and Chamber Music at the College of Music, University of Cape Town. In the same year, the South African Academy of Arts and Science awarded him the Huberte Rupert Prize for his contribution to ensemble playing and teaching. He has also been a member of several well-known SA ensembles, notably the Songmakers Guild which gives younger performers opportunities to appear in song recitals.

PROGRAMME

  • Respighi – Adagio con variazioni
  • Beethoven – Sonata for violoncello and piano No. 4 in C major, Op. 102, No. 1
  • Debussy – Sonata in D minor (1915)
  • Chopin – Sonata for violoncello and piano in G minor, Op. 65

ADMISSION

  • R140 (adults)
  • *R100 (pensioners)
  • *R80 (UFS staff)
  • *R60 (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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Stefan Velkov Guitar Recital

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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