Program for Februari 2022

Februari 17, 2022 /Thursday/  

18.30 hours      Hall “M-Ro G.Atanasov”

                     Conductor: Jan Milos Zarzicki (Poland)                        

   Soloist:Karolina Nowotczyńska (Poland)violin

                                                                                                                                             

 Program:

L.van Beethoven – Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 61

F.Mendelssohn – Symphony № 4 “Italian” in A major, Op.90

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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.

 

Karolina Nowotczyńska

Since 2019, Karolina Nowotczyńska have been a director of Elbląg Chamber Orchestra. She graduated at Academy of Music in Gdańsk. She was also a student of prof. Igor Petrushevski in Richard Wagner Conservatory Winna. In 2021 she got the tittle of doctor of art.

Karolina Nowotczyńska took part in many courses with: Robert Szreder, Maestro Maxim Vengerow, prof. Pavel Vernikov, prof. Konstanty Andrzej Kulka, prof. Igor Petrushevski, prof. Wanda Wiłkomirska, prof. Marco Rizzi, prof. Igor Volochin, prof. Petru Munteanu, prof. Stadler, prof. Vaiman, prof. Z. Bron, prof. Robert Kabara.

As a soloist she performed in many countries in Europe, Asia and North America, and performed with many polish philharmonies, as well as Lviv Philpharmony, or Vogtland Philharmonie Reichenbach. She won many violin competitions and got a lot of awards. The most important are: I prize and Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Sience and Technology Award at 17th Osaka International Music Competition, 2016, II prize at International Violin Competition “Concours Bravo!” in Namur, Belgium 2013, IV prize at International Music Competition “Premio Citta’ di Padova – Virtuosite Price” in Italy 2014, and I prize at Classic Pure Vienna Competition 2018.

As an unique violin teacher, Karolina Nowotczyńska was invited to Teheran and Tabriz (Iran) to give masterclasses for two Institutes of Music.

Moreover, Karolina Nowotczyńska has big orchestral experience. Except for leading chamber orchestra, she took part in many orchestral accademies. In July 2017 she was invited to Encuentro de Musica Santander in Spain, where she lead the Sypmhony Orchestra.

She released 2 albums: One with pianist Łukasz Chrzęszczyk with Witold Lutosławski and Krzysztof Penderecki pieces for violin and piano, second album is the first in the world album with a version of Mozart Sinfonia Concertante played by violin and cello.

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Februari 24, 2022 /Thursday/  

18.30 hours      Hall “M-Ro G.Atanasov”

                                                                                 Conductor:Grigor Palikarov                                                                          

       

 

 Soloist: Georgi Cherkin  – piano

 

Program:

A. Dvorak – Carnival Overture, Op.92

J. Brahms – Variations on a Theme of Paganini, Op.35

P. Tchaikovsky – “Seasons” orchestrations by G. Cherkin op.37

 

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Grigor Palikarov         

Grigor Palikarov (born in 1971 in Plovdiv) graduated the National School of Music and Dance Art “Dobrin Petkov” – Plovdiv with the specialty of piano with excellent grades and golden badge award in 1990 and then he graduated the Music Academy “Prof. Pancho Vladigerov” in Sofia with Master’s degrees in four majors: Opera and Symphony Conducting under Acad. V. Kazandzhiev and Prov. Iv. Vulpe; Composition under Prof. D. Tapkov, Piano – under Prof. Kr. Taskov and Choir Conducting under Prof. St. Kralev. He specialized in Composition within two summer courses in Austria with Prof. Erich Urbaner from Vienna University of Musical and Performing Arts.

His debut at the opera stage was when he was still a student (at the age of 22) and conducted Rigoletto in the opera theatres in Pleven and Stara Zagora.

His professional career as a conductor began in the Symphonic Orchestra of the Bulgarian Army Ensemble (1995 – 1997) and from 1997 to 1999 he was Chief Conductor of the Ensemble. In the meantime, he also took the position of conductor and chief artistic director of the renowned Youth Philharmonic “Pioneer” (1998 – 2003). His debut at the National Opera and Ballet Theatre – Sofia was in 1998 when he conducted a Gala Concerto of Gena Dimitrova by her personal request. Since 2001 he was appointed fulltime conductor of the opera and currently his repertoire includes more than 55 opera and ballet works. Since season 2005-2006 Grigor Palikarov is also the Chief Artistic Director and Conductor of the Symphonic-Opera Society at the National Music Academy “Prof. Pancho Vladigerov” – Sofia.

At present, Grigor Palikarov is a frequent visiting conductor of a number of orchestras and opera theatres among which are: Symphonic Orchestra of the Bulgarian National Radio, Classic FM Orchestra – Sofia, of which he is also a permanent conductor since season 2008-2009, Sofia Philharmonic, Festival Orchestra – Sofia, the national Operas in Plovdiv, Burgas, Varna, Ruse and Stara Zagora, the Pleven Philharmonic, etc. A special place among his multiple conducting performances is occupied by the numerous studio records of various works with the Symphonic Orchestra of the Bulgarian National Radio, along with his participations in prestigious national and international music festivals such as Sofia Music Weeks, March Music Days, Laureate Days “Katya Popova” – Pleven, Austrian Music Weeks, New Bulgarian Music, Winter Music Evenings – Pazardzhik, Opera and Ballet Festival – Varna, Contemporary Music Festival – Pula, Croatia, May Opera Nights – Skopje, Macedonia, Dyuni Festival – Matera, Italy, etc. In October 2014, Grigor Palikarov had two concertos with the orchestra of Classic FM Radio at the prestigious Alte Oper (Frankfurt am Mein) from the programme of the festival of European Culture Days organized by the European Central Bank.

Grigor Palikarov regularly performs abroad in countries like Germany, Austria, Belgium, France, Italy, Luxemburg, Russia, the USA, Slovenia, Greece, Poland, the Ukraine,  Taiwan, the Netherlands, Great Britain, Portugal, Mexico, Korea, Japan, Uruguay, etc. He has conducted the Royal Belgian Philharmonic – Brussels, the national Opera and Ballet – Ljubljana, Vienna Chamber Ensemble “New Tone”, Century Symphonic Orchestra – Taipei,   Cleveland Opera – the USA where his debut was marked as one of the most important music events for 2009 in the state of Ohio, the Krasnoyarsk Opera and Ballet – Russia, Yanacek Philharmonic – Czech Republic, Czestohowa Philharmonic and Varmino-Masuric Philharmonic – Poland, Symphonic Orchestra – Bari, national Orchestra (SODRE) and the National Choir of Uruguay, Magna Grecia Orchestra – Italy, Dnepropetrovsk Philharmonic, Yucatan Symphonic Orchestra and Monterey Symphonic Orchestra – Mexico, Thessaloniki Symphonic Orchestra, and many others.

Along with his activity as a conductor, Grigor Palikarov composes, performs in concerto playing the piano and teaches at the National Music Academy “Prof. Pancho Vladigerov” where he successfully pursued his Ph.D. degree in Music Studies and Music Art in 2017. Some of his works are being performed at a number of festivals and have been recorded many times. He has won many national and international awards for his successful performance as a composer and pianist at the competitions “Svetosalv Obretenov”, “Albert Roussel”, The Music of the Earth, etc. Three-time laureate of the prestigious award Crystal Lyre of the Union of Bulgarian Musicians and Dancers – 2002, 2012, and 2017, as well as of the ward the Golden Feather.

Within two mandates, Grigor Palikarov has been the Chair of Mensa-Bulgaria –  the branch of the worldwide organization of people with high IQ.

 

Georgi Cherkin

Cherkin was born in Sofia, Bulgaria in a family with a great music tradition (his grandfather Georgi Zlatev-Cherkin was a famous Bulgarian composer and vocal pedagogue). He started playing the piano and composing at the age of six, and the following year he enrolled in the Liubomir Pipkov National Music School in Sofia, where he was a student of Antonina Boneva. In 1996, he was admitted to the Pancho Vladiguerov State Music Academy in Sofia in Prof. Atanas Kurtev’s class. A year later, he was also admitted at the prestigious Accademia di Santa Cecilia in Rome, where he was trained by one of the most renowned music professors in Italy, Sergio Perticaroli, graduating cum laude.

He has performed as a soloist with symphony orchestras more than 100 times, and played in many prestigious concert halls, such as the Auditorio Hall in Rome, Musikhalle in Hamburg, Convention Center in Okinawa, Seoul Arts Center, Palais des Beaux Arts in Brussels, Invalides Hall in Paris, Kaufmann Concert Hall in New York to name a few. During the past few years, he has been awarded numerous prizes for popularizing culture and art in Bulgaria, including “The Crystal Lire”, “The Golden Century”, “The Golden Muse”, and “The Golden Quill” among others. He has also won top prizes at the following international competitions – Pancho Vladigerov in 2003, Premio Sassari (Italy) in 1999, and Young Musical Talents in Sofia, 1994.

Cherkin’s repertoire includes more than 25 concertos for piano and orchestra, including all the concertos by Rachmaninoff and the most difficult ones of the romantic period, which he has performed as a soloist of the Sofia Philharmonic, the Symphony Orchestra of the Bulgarian National Radio, Classic FM Orchestra, Santa Cecilia Orchestra, Incheon Philharmonic Orchestra, Orquestra de Câmara de Cascais e Oeiras, National Radio Orchestra of Romania, and Bilkent Symphony Orchestra, under the batons of Emil Tabakov, Georgi Dimitrov, Milen Nachev, Horia Andreescu, Francesco La Vecchia, Shungo Moriyama, Ovidiu Balan, Miguel Grassa–Mora and many others. His concert schedule during recent years has included a series of very successful piano recitals in Rome, Paris, Berlin, Brussels, New York, Seoul, Warsaw, Prague, Sofia, and Bratislava.