The Romanian Cultural Institute in London opens its 2011 Programme with classical music. You are invited to enjoy the works of some great composers who found an inextinguishable reservoir of sounds and themes in the folk music of their countries. The concert is jointly organised by the Grieg and Enescu Societies and presents three musicians of remarkable virtuosity: Ronan Magill - piano, Tudor Andrei - violin, and John Paul Ekins - piano.
Programme: G. Enescu: Sonata "Torso" in A minor (Tudor Andrei & John Paul Ekins); E. Grieg: Violin Sonata No 2 in G major, Op. 13 (Tudor Andrei & John Paul Ekins); Lyric Pieces, Op. 54 (Ronan Magill); Selection form Folk Dances, Op. 72 (Ronan Magill); Wedding at Troldhaugen, Op. 65, No. 6 (Ronan Magill) B. Bartok: Romanian Dances (Tudor Andrei & John Paul Ekins) D. Lipatti: Nocturne (Ronan Magill) Fr. Poulenc: "Pastourelle" (Ronan Magill)
The British pianist Ronan Magill has come to international attention in recent years for his critically acclaimed performances of the great masterworks of the Romantic and modern piano repertoire, both for solo piano and orchestra. Born in Sheffield in 1954, the special qualities in his playing were noticed, first by Yehudi Menuhin, who invited Ronan at the age of nine, to be a founder pupil at his now world famous school for young musicians; and then at the age of fifteen by Benjamin Britten, who greatly helped Ronan Magill develop his special interpretative talents while later becoming a student at the Royal College of Music in London. His Wigmore Hall debut in July 1974 was followed by a tour of Scandinavia and then, in October 1974 his South Bank debut with the Brahms 2nd Piano Concerto. After these acclaimed debuts, he moved to Paris on the advice of Benjamin Britten to study with Yvonne Lefebure at the Conservatoire European, returning briefly to London in January 1975 when he won 1st prize in the ''Greater London Arts Association'' Young Musicians award which led to recitals and Concertos for BBC Television, including a performance of Rachmaninoff's 3rd Piano Concerto with the London Philharmonic Orchestra. Ronan Magill has won two International Piano Competitions: in 1985, the first 'Milosz Magin International Piano Competition for Polish Music', which led to a triumphant tour of Poland in 1986; and in 1994, the third British Contemporary Piano Competition, leading to appearances throughout the UK, including the 1995 Huddersfield International Contemporary Music Festival, where he performed with the English Northern Philharmonia conducted by Paul Daniel. In 1999, Ronan Magill performed Mozart's Piano Concerto K.595 at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, and gave his debut in Germany. In December 2000, Ronan Magill made his New York debut at the Weill Recital Hall, Carnegie Hall. In 2001, his work with Benjamin Britten was the subject of a programme on BBC Radio 3. In 2005, he made his debut in Japan and was invited back to tour the following year performing recitals in Tokyo and Kyoto. Ronan Magill made his US concerto debut in Aprill 2010 performing Rachmaninov's 3rd Piano Concerto.
First Prize winner of the International Competition held at the Niccolo Paganini Academy of Music in Genoa, Italy, the Romanian violinist Tudor Andrei is rapidly gaining a reputation as yet another bright talent emerging from Romania. He has been a winner of the Violin Romanian Olympics in two editions, as well as gaining many other national awards. In 1999 he toured Switzerland and Italy, and in 2005 Germany. He was invited to appear on various TV and Radio shows in Romania, including TVR1, the Romanian equivalent of the BBC 1 TV Channel, as well as an in depth interview on "Musicians of today, musicians of tomorrow", on Romanian Radio Cultural Channel. Tudor has already performed a large number of concerts in important halls in Romania. After his arrival in Britain, September 2005, Tudor performed in venues such as Duke's Hall, Royal Academy of Music, Romanian Cultural Institute, University Women's Club, St. James's Church, St. John's Smith Square, William Goodenough Trust, St. John the Divine-Richmond. In December 2006 he had his debut at St. Martin's in the Fields, followed by invitations to play at the White Hall and Foreign Press Club. He has also performed at events organized by European Commission & the European Parliament, for World Poetry Day, the 50th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome, performance broadcasted by BBC and RAI, as well as an exciting Recital in a capsule of the London Eye to celebrate Europe Day, filmed by a team from the European Broadcasting Service. In March 2009 he had his debut at the Romanian Atheneum and in May 2010 he played the Beethoven violin concerto with the Mihail Jora Philharmonic. In June 2010 he has performed a triple violin concerto for violins and orchestra, first audition, with the Azalea Ensemble of the Royal Academy of Music, work dedicated to the 3 players. Tudor Andrei has graduated in 2010 the Royal Academy of Music, where he studied violin under the guidance of Remus Azoitei. Currently, Tudor continues his studies in Vienna under the guidance of Professor Josef Hell. He plays an Italian violin made by Giovanni Cavani, aprox. 1890's kindly loaned from Mr. Cristian Sima.
Increasingly in demand as a recitalist, concerto soloist and chamber musician, John Paul Ekins has given performances throughout the UK and Northern Ireland, and overseas in the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, Poland, Romania, Spain and Switzerland, and his playing has been broadcast on the BBC and on Romanian national television and radio. In 2009 he graduated from the Royal College of Music and, in the same year, he was awarded the James Anthony Horne Scholarship by the Guildhall School of Music and Drama to begin postgraduate study with Charles Owen on the Artist in Performance course. He was the recipient of a Music Education Award from the Musicians Benevolent Fund, and receives generous support from the Concordia Foundation and The Keyboard Charitable Trust. John Paul Ekins has performed at a number of prestigious venues in the UK and abroad, including Bucharest's Athenaeum, Zurich's Tonhalle, Prague's Martinu Hall, London's Wigmore Hall, Fairfield Hall, Steinway Hall, Purcell Room, and St. Martin-in-the-Fields, Birmingham's Symphony Hall, Oxford's Holywell Music Room, Bath's Pump Room, Bristol's Colston Hall and Belfast's Ulster Hall. International Competition successes include 2nd Prizes in the Amy Brant International Piano Competition, the San Sebastian International Piano Competition, and the Oxford International Piano Competition. He has recently been awarded a Jellinek Award in the Guildford Symhpony Orchestra Young Artists Competition. Along with this, in past years he has been named the Kingston, Woking and Croydon Festivals' Young Musician of the Year, and the Richmond Festival's Pianist of the Year, receiving an award from Hanna & Sons Pianos Ltd. in the process. He recently won the Adjudicator's Prize at the Ruislip and Northwood Music Festival, consisting of a scholarship from the pianist Andrzej Pikul to attend his Summer Academy of Music in Krakow, Poland. He was then invited back to give recitals in Katowice and Zakopane.
When: Fri 21 January 2011, 7pm;
Where: Romanian Cultural Institute London
Admission is free, but places are limited. Early booking is well recommended.
Please reserve your seats at T: 020 7752 0134, E: office@icr-london.co.uk.
Latecomers will be admitted at the interval.
