P. I. Tchaikovsky – Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No. 1 in B-flat minor, Op. 23

S. Rachmaninov – Concerto for piano and orchestra No. 2, C minor, op.18

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Jan Miłosz Zarzycki

Jan Miłosz Zarzycki is Managing and Artistic Director of the Witold Lutosławski Chamber Philharmonic in Łomża. He is also a Professor at the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music in Warsaw. He is a prize winner of international competitions in Italy, Spain and Hungary. He studied conducting with Marek Pijarowski at the Music Academy in Wrocław, gaining a diploma with distinction in 1994. He continued his studies in Vienna and Berlin, under the guidance of such famous conductors as Seiji Ozawa, Kurt Masur and Claudio Abbado. Before taking up conducting, he had graduated in violin performance from the Music Academy in Katowice (in 1990) and won several awards at violin competitions. He also finished Post-graduate Studies for Artists and Culture Animators at the Department of Management of Warsaw University. In 1988 he became Music Director of the Jeunesses Musicales Student Chamber Orchestra at the Music Academy in Katowice, and in 1992-1993 he worked closely with the State Opera in Wrocław. He was one of the two First Prize winners at the First Witold Lutosławski National Conductors’ Competition in Białystok in 1994, receiving also three special awards (including the Award from the Orchestra). Having won Third Prize at the 7th Arturo Toscanini International Conductors’ Competition in Parma in 1997, he was invited to conduct the Arturo Toscanini Symphony Orchestra of Emilia Romagna on a tour of Italy. He has worked with the National Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra in Katowice, Sinfonia Varsovia, the Warsaw Chamber Opera. In 1999 he was nominated the lecturer and a member of Conducting Faculty at Fryderyk Chopin University of Music in Warsaw. From this time on, he has also been conducting International Youth Music Workshop in Szczecin (as its artistic director and conductor). In 2004 he won the competition for the post of the head and artistic manager of Łomża Chamber Orchestra. He has conducted most of Poland’s symphony orchestras. Foreign tours have taken him to Germany, France, Austria, Holland, the Czech Republic, Russia, Italy, Ukraine, Macedonia, the United States, Portugal, Mexico, Norway, Belgium, Lithuania and Belarus. So far, he has recorded 12 albums, one of which won a nomination for the Fryderyk Award of the Polish recording industry. His honours include a Special Award from the Minister of Culture and National Heritage in recognition of the invaluable contribution to Polish musical culture (2008) and a diploma for his outstanding achievements in the preservation of Chopin’s legacy (2011 and 2013). Furthermore, in 2013 he was honoured with Gloria Artis Medal and Podlaskie Voivodeship Marshal’s Award for extraordinary achievements in the field of artistic creation, popularisation and preservation of culture. In 2014 by the decision of the Polish president, Jan Miłosz Zarzycki has become the Professor of Musical Arts.

Andrea Azzolini

„Audiences are always captured by his ability to make music, by his freedom and his fearlessness.“ “ He is a pianist who never ceases to surprise; his freedom and imagination keeps the listener waiting for something new “ The Italian pianist Andrea Azzolini is recognised by the music world as a distinctive and exuberant young talent. His performances have been described as „far from being academic and dry; rather, he is brimming with youthful vitality, warmth and temperament“. In the 2014/2015 season, he was awarded the Premier Prix and Outstanding Artistic Performance prize at the 10th International Piano Competition „Albert Roussel“ and the Grand Prix at the „Music and Earth“ international competition in Sofia. These awards in July 2015 led to the release of a CD containing music by Beethoven and Liszt. He has performed in major Italian cities and abroad, in Austria, Switzerland, Russia, Bulgaria, England and Holland. He has performed in the Wiener Saal in Salzburg, in the Rachmaninov Hall, Moscow, with the Kammerorchester (ZKO) in Zurich and in Sofia with the „National Academy Symphony Orchestra“. He has won the first prize in the “A.Salieri”, “Premio Arte e Musica”, “Val Tidone” and “Città di Firenze” international piano competitions. Andrea Azzolini began studying piano at the age of seven. He graduated from the “F. E. dall’ Abaco” Conservatory in Verona, having studied under Laura Palmieri, a pupil of Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli. At thirteen he debuted with the Conservatory of Padua Youth Orchestra with Haydn’s Concerto in D major. He continued his studies at the Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow, under the tutelage of Natalia Trull. During these years he came into contact with important personalities of the music world, including Dmitry Bashkirov, Gary Graffman, Pavel Gililov, Leonid Margarius, Vanessa Latarche. Their praise of his talent was unanimous. Next season he will give recitals in Paris, Brussels, Sofia and Munich and will perform with orchestras in concertos by Beethoven, Poulenc, Schumann and Chopin. In 2015 Azzolini will become an artistic director of the „Bartolomeo Cristofori Piano Festival“ in Padua.

Martina Frezzotti

Born in Italy in 1986, Martina Frezzotti began piano studies at the age of six. At age 17, she became one of the last pupils of the legendary Russian pianist Lazar Berman at the International Piano Academy in Imola, Italy. After graduating in Italy with Laude and distinction, she studied at the Rimsky-Korsakov State Conservatory in St. Petersburg, Russia, staging for one year under the guide of Professor Nina Seregina, a former student of Dmitri Bashkirov. In April 2008, she was admitted to Moscow P.I. Tchaikovsky State Conservatory, becoming a student of pianist Elisso Virsaladze, under whose guide she completed with honors her PhD in 2012. She is the first Italian student ever to have obtained the highest postgraduate degree at Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory. In March 2012 Ms. Frezzotti made her debut solo recital at Weill Recital Hall in Carnegie Hall with great success of critic. Ms. Frezzotti widely performed as soloist in all the major cities of Italy, Germany, Austria, Spain, France, Slovenia, Croatia, Poland, Greece, Belgium, Malta, Russia, Ukraine, Japan, USA, in such halls as the Warsaw Philarmonic, Wiener Saal of Salzburg Festspiele, the Kiev National Philarmonia, Osaka Kawai Hall, various Halls of the Moscow State Conservatory, Memorial House of Sviatoslav Richter, the Pushkin State Museum of Arts of Moscow; she performed for the major Italian Institute of Culture in Europe, as well in Maribor, European Capital of Culture 2012 with the High Patronage of the President of the Italian Republic; also for such Music Associations as Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Società dei Concerti of Milan, Music Donors of Italy and many others. Martina has taken part in National and International Competitions receiving a lot of first prizes and obtaining various important scholarships. In 2004 she also obtained a Grand Prix at the Italian National Music Competition organized in Milan by Società Umanitaria, adjudicated by Marcello Abbado. She obtained diplomas of Finalist and Semifinalist in many major international competitions, like Prokofiev International Competition (St. Petersburg 2013), Brest International Competition (Brest, 2013), Horowitz International Piano Competition (Kiev, 2012), International Competition “Compositores d’España” (Madrid, 2007). She has been one of the 4 Italian competitiors at XVII Chopin International Piano Competition in Warsaw (2015). She received the award of Golden Medal at the 2nd Vienna Internation Music Competition in 2020. She took part in several International Masterclasses and Summer Festivals, including Berlin Piano Festival, Mozarteum Summer Academy (with Professors Sergio Perticaroli and Dmitri Bashkirov), Como Lake Academy (with Professor William Grant Naborè), also with other famous teachers Vladimir Krainev, Vera Gornostaeva, Boris Berman, Natalya Trull, Leonid Margarius, Boris Petrushansky. Martina Frezzotti is Principal Piano Professor at the „G.Tartini“ State Conservatory in Trieste, and former Principal Piano Professor at the “N. Rota” State Conservatory in Monopoli. Thanks to her debut CD released by Brilliant Classics – Piano Classics, a monography of solo piano works by Fanny Hensel-Mendelssohn, she obtained a five star critic on Musica magazine (Zecchini), a four star rating among the Selection of the Month on BBC Music Magazine and many other very encouraging critics. The next CD for the same label will present another female composer.