June 06, 2024 /Thursday/
18.30 hours Hall “M-Ro G.Atanasov”
Conductor: Roselise Gentile
Program:
L. van Beethoven – Egmont Overture
Jean Sibelius – Karelia Suite op.11
J. Brahms – Symphony No. 4 in E minor, op.98
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Roselise Gentile
Roselise Gentile carried out her studies in Piano as well as Harmony and Counterpoint at the Conservatorio “A. Boito” in Parma, Italy. After her diploma, Roselise studied Choir conducting with G. Acciai and R. Gabbiani, following the three-year Advanced Course in Choral Practice and Choir Conducting “R. Goitre”. Roselise founded the “Ensemble Vocale Alia Musica”: under her direction the Ensemble took part in some of the most important International Festivals and Competitions After moving to England Roselise has worked with Mirabilé Vocal Ensemble (Nottingham) with which she has won the first prize at the Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod competition. In parallel Roselise studied Orchestra conducting following international course held by Julius Kalmar for the “Hans Swarowsky” Association, and international course in Orchestra Conducting “Franco Ferrara”, held by Luis Salomon at the “Teatro Sociale” in Como, Italy. She subsequently studied with Romolo Gessi and Donato Renzetti following the Master Classes and the three years Course at the European Academy in Vicenza. Roselise has worked with different instrumental ensembles, including the Regional Choir and Orchestra of Umbria, and the Chamber Orchestra “Cappella Musicale di Minerbio”, composed by leading members of the Orchestra of Teatro Comunale in Bologna, working with important soloists and singers such as Anna Caterina Antonacci. In Switzerland, Roselise carried out projects dedicated to Carlo Florindo Semini, one of the most renowned Swiss composers. She has conducted the Chamber Orchestra “Farnesiana” (Parma, Italy) with a vast repertoire ranging from baroque to XXth century music. As assistant of M°George Pehlivanian Roselise took part in projects with Slovenian Philarmonic Orchestra, in Slovenia and France. Roselise has also worked as coach at the “Festival dei Due Mondi” in Spoleto, at the 52th International Festival of Contemporary Music for La Biennale in Venice. In England Roselise has conducted the Barnet Symphony Orchestra in London and the Marlborough Concert Orchestra in Marlborough. In Europe she worked with the orchestra of Teatrul Național de Operă și Balet “Oleg Danovski” in Constanța (Romania) and in 2022 she was invited to conduct the Vienna Royal Orchester at the Haus der Industrie, Wien (Austria). In November 2022 Roselise conducted the Budapest Symphony Orchestra at the Pesti Vigadó in Budapest (Hungary). In the 2023/2024 season Roselise will be conducting in Bratislava (Slovakia) will hold a workshop on Verdi’s Requiem in London, and will be involved in projects in Beijing, Guangzhou and Taiyuan (China).
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June 13, 2024 /Thursday/
18.30 hours Hall “M-Ro G.Atanasov”
Conductor: Roberto Gianola
Soloist: Maurizio Moretta – piano
Program:
V. A. Mozart – Concerto for piano and orchestra No. 21, C major, K467
L. van Beethoven – Symphony No. 3 “Eroica”, op.55
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Roberto Gianola
Roberto Gianola boasts significant collaborations that have led him to conduct orchestras worldwide: Europe, the USA, Central and South America, Russia, Turkey, Egypt, China, Korea, Japan, and the United Arab Emirates. He has been the Principal Conductor of the Izmir State Opera and Ballet since May 2023, and for nine years, he also served as the Music Director of the Istanbul State Opera, conducting numerous operas, concerts, and ballets. A guest in renowned venues such as the Musikverein in Vienna, the Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall in New York, the Seoul Arts Center, the Smetana Hall in Prague, Sala Verdi in Milan, and theaters in Hong Kong, Beijing, and Macau, he has collaborated with prestigious Italian institutions such as the Fondazione Arena di Verona, Teatro Lirico di Cagliari, Teatro Verdi di Trieste, Teatro Regio di Parma, Teatro Del Giglio di Lucca, and with orchestras such as I Pomeriggi Musicali di Milano, Orchestra Regionale della Toscana, Orchestra del Festival Pucciniano, I Virtuosi del Teatro alla Scala, I Cameristi del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, the Sicilian Symphony Orchestra, and the Sanremo Symphony Orchestra. The 2023 season saw him on the podium at the Hong Kong Opera with La Boheme, the Ljubljana Opera with Il Trovatore and Romeo and Juliet (Ballet), the Teatro Coccia in Novara with Il Paese dei Campanelli, the Teatro Verdi in Sassari with The Barber of Seville, the Skopje Opera with Aida, the Astana Opera, the Fuerteventura Opera with Nabucco, and concerts with I Pomeriggi Musicali di Milano, the Bari Metropolitan Orchestra, the Magna Grecia Orchestra in Taranto, as well as invitations to Poland, Bulgaria, and London with the London City Philharmonic Orchestra. The 2024 season will see him embarking on a major concert tour throughout China, returning to the Hong Kong Opera with Gounod’s Romeo et Juliette, conducting Falstaff at the Izmir Opera, The Barber of Seville at the Fuerteventura Opera, and performing concerts in Bulgaria and Italy. As an artistic director, he founded the Lake Como Philharmonic Orchestra and the Lake Como Music Academy on Lake Como, which have distinguished themselves over 20 years for organizing major events (operas and concerts), competitions, and masterclasses. Roberto Gianola’s discography includes a Stradivarius CD with I Pomeriggi Musicali di Milano and a CD with music by Respighi recorded with the Sanremo Symphony Orchestra and published by the magazine “Amadeus”.
Maurizio Moretta
Maurizio Moretta, born in Gravedona (Lake Como), completed his musical studies at the V. Appiani Musical High School in Monza under the guidance of Rosamaria Losi and Gianluigi Centemeri. He graduated in main piano from the G. Verdi Conservatory in Milan with top honors. He pursued further studies in Milan with Vincenzo Balzani and later in Munich with Ludwig Hoffmann. Winner of the first prize at the Viotti International Piano Competition in Varallo (7th edition), he embarked on a rich concert career highlighted by laudatory reviews (Corriere della Sera, La Stampa, Il Giorno, Panorama, Epoca, Capital, L’Espresso, etc.), leading him to perform throughout Italy and abroad for prestigious concert associations and in renowned theaters, including: Smetana Hall in Prague, Musikverein in Vienna, Laeiszhalle in Hamburg, Felipe Villanueva Hall and Bicentennial Theater (Mexico), Verdi Hall in Milan (Societа dei Concerti and Serate Musicali), Manzoni Theater in Milan (Gruppo Fininvest), Palazzo Barberini and Chiostro del Bramante in Rome, Ducal Palace in Massa. He has collaborated as a soloist with prestigious orchestras such as: Wiener Mozart Orchester (Vienna), North Czech Philharmonic and Karlovy Vary Symphony Orchestra (Prague), Istanbul State Symphony Orchestra, Istanbul Chamber Orchestra, State Symphony Orchestra of Mexico, I Cameristi del Verbano, Tchaikovsky Symphony Orchestra (Moscow), Oradea State Philharmonic, Dinu Lipatti Philharmonic Orchestra (Satu Mare), Mihail Jora Philharmonic (Bacau), Paul Constantinescu National Philharmonic (Vidin), Grosseto Symphony Orchestra, Sanremo Symphony Orchestra, Friuli Venezia Giulia Symphony Orchestra, ICO Orchestra of Magna Grecia; Abruzzese Symphony Orchestra, Elblag Chamber Orchestra (Poland). Recently, he enjoyed great success with a tour in China, where he performed with symphony orchestras in 25 prestigious theaters. Active also in teaching, he has been a main piano teacher at the V. Appiani Musical High School in Monza and is currently Director and main piano teacher at the Civico Istituto Musicale Dongo- Menaggio-Porlezza. He has frequently been invited to judge national and international competitions and as an external Commissioner for Conservatory exam boards. He has served as Artistic Consultant for the Provincial Administration of Como, Artistic Director of the Lake Como & Insubria Festival, and currently holds the position of Artistic Director of the Pianomaster International Festival, the Varenna Festival, and the Giuditta Pasta International Opera Competition in Saronno.
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June 20, 2024 Thursday/
18.30 hours Hall “M-Ro G.Atanasov”
Conductor: Amir Shiff
Program:
V.A.Mozart – Divertimento in D Major, K. 136
Ludwig van Beethoven – Symphony No.6 Pastoral
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American-Israeli Conductor Amir Shiff, was born in Israel. He studied the violin with Alice Fenyves and Yair Kless in Israel. Shiff continued his studies in the US with the legendary Dorothy Delay and Hyo Kang.As Principal Violist of the Virginia Symphony Orchestra, the Virginia Opera Company, and later on as Principal Violist with the renowned “Philharmonia Hungarica” of Germany, Shiff performed as Soloist with those orchestras on numerous occasions. Amir Shiff performed as soloist with orchestras in the USA, in South Korea at the Arts center of Seoul, in Daegu, at the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow with Vakhtang Jordania as conductor (premiering Jan Radzynski concerto for viola and orchestra which was dedicated to him), in Lithuania with the Vilnius Chamber Orchestra and the Festival Orchestra, in Kaunas, New Zealand, Italy, and on numerous occasions in Israel as soloist with the Jerusalem Radio Orchestra, different chamber orchestras, and on Israel tour with “Symphonietta Hungarica“. Shiff gave as well numerous Master Classes in China, in the US, Italy and the Baltic States, and was a member of the Jury at the “William Primrose” International Viola Competition. Amir Shiff started conducting worldwide in 2010, after his successful debut with the “Pacific Encore” Opera Company at the Axelrod Arts Center in New-Jersey, the United States. The concert included 17 Arias from the major repertoire, and due to the highly successful performance, his conducting activity took off, first with the Opera Company and soon-after internationally. Shiff is in great demand in mainland China, conducting some of the better Orchestras there, including the Shenzhen Philharmonic. In 2011. In recent years, engagements included Symphony concerts in the USA, Israel, Romania and Bulgaria. His opera debut with the State Opera of Stara-Zagora, Bulgaria, in ”La Traviata” ,which took place in July of 2015, was followed in the summer of 2016 with couple of productions of Puccini’s “Tosca”. – Symphonic Concert in Kansas City, USA , International Music Center, 2011 – Symphonic concert, “Raanana Simphonette”, Israel, 2013 – Opera debut with the State Opera of Stara-Zagora, Bulgaria, in La Traviata, 2015 – Russe Opera and Philharmonic Society, Bulgaria, Tosca, Puccini, 2016 – Stara Zagora State Opera , Tosca, 2016 – Symphony concerts with the Pazardjik Philharmonie, and with the Stara Zagora State Opera Symphonie Orchestra, 2017 – A production of Carmen, Bizet, with the State Opera Stara Zagora, 2018 – Symphony concerts in Bulgaria, 2018 – Rigoletto, Verdi, with the “National Opera and Ballet Oleg Danovski”, Constanta, Romania 2019 – Burgas Philharmonic, Bulgaria 2019 – Concerts as Violist, Tel-Aviv, Israel 2019
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June 27, 2024 /Thursday/
18.30 hours Hall “M-Ro G.Atanasov”
Conductor: Claudio Cohen
Soloists: Alexandra Dicheva – piano
Mila Mihova – piano
Program:
J. Brahms – Concerto for Piano Four Hands and String Orchestra in G Minor (After the Quartet, Op. 25, Arr. by Richard Dünser)
B. Britten – Simple Symphony, for string orchestra, op.4
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Claudio Cohen
Full conductor and Artistic Director of the Claudio Santoro National Theater Symphony Orchestra, Claudio Cohen is an Honorary Citizen of Brasнlia, and has been an active participant in the music scene in Brazil and abroad as a conductor and guest artist at the main music festivals and orchestra seasons. He is a founding member of the Clбudio Santoro National Theatre Symphony Orchestra, where he served as spalla. He was a member of the Brasilia Quartet with which he toured Brazil, Asia, the Americas and Europe and recorded several CDs. He was awarded the Sharp Prize in the category of best classical album of the year in 1993. He also won the OK Culture Prize, was nominated for the TIM Music Prize in 2003 and in 2004 won the outstanding chamber music category of the IX Carlos Gomes Prize. He is a member of the Brazilian Academy of Letters and Music – ALMUB of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences, Arts. History and Literature. He holds the Order of Merit of Brasнlia, the Order of Cultural Merit of the Federal District in the rank of Commander and also the Order of Judicial Merit of Labor in the rank of Commander. Other awards he has received include the Commercial Merit from the DF Commercial Association, the BPW Stella de Prata Trophy 2011, the Federal Police Deference Diploma, the National Expression Merit from the International Academy of Culture, the Peacemaker’s Medal and the Military Merit (Brazilian Army), and the Clбudio Santoro Cultural Merit, the Anacleto de Medeiros Merit, the Emperor Pedro II Medal and the Friend of the Navy. Claudio Cohen has a busy national and international schedule as a conductor, performing with orchestras in the following countries: USA, Mexico, Austria, Germany, Hungary, Serbia, Poland, Portugal, Bulgaria, Finland, Italy, Argentina, Chile, Ecuador, Qatar, Czech Republic, Spain, Israel, Romania, China and Brazil. In 2022, Claudio Cohen received the Commendation of the Golden Cross of Science and Art of the Republic of Austria.
Piano duo “Atmospheres”
Behind the poetic name “Atmospheres” are the personalities of two young pianists – Mila Mihova and Alexandra Dicheva. Different in temperament and mood, they manage to create a harmonious musical whole on stage. Their path to music is different. Mila Mihova went through all the usual stages in the development of a musician – she studied at the National Music School “Lyubomir Pipkov” in the class of Emilia Kaneva and then took the natural step to continue her education at the National Music Academy “prof. Pancho Vladigerov”. Alexandra Dicheva graduated from the Vasil Karagyozov Language School in her hometown of Yambol with the Ministry of Education and Science’s “National Diploma” award, but then chose to apply to the National Academy of Music “prof. Pancho Vladigerov”. It was there, in the class of Prof. Dr. Borislava Taneva, that Mila and Alexandra first met. After successfully completing the Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees, the two pianists continued their development at the Academy as full-time doctoral students – Alexandra in the specialty “Chamber Singing-Piano” with the scientific supervisor Prof. Dr. Boryana Lambreva and Mila in the specialty “Piano” with the scientific supervisor Prof. Dr. Borislava Taneva. Duo Atmospheres made its debut in 2017 at the jubilee edition of the International Festival of Contemporary Piano Music “ppIANISSIMO” with premiere works by Penka Kuneva and Konstantin Ilievsky. A series of significant creative encounters with musicians such as Plamena Mangova, prof. Tomislav Baynov, prof. Maya Rajković, prof. Avedis Kuyumdzhan, prof. Alan Fraser and prof. Lyudmil Angelov, who polished the talent of the two young pianists and expanded their professional horizons. Of key importance for the creative development of the Atmospheres piano duo is their participation in 2019 in the “isa International Summer Academy” at the mdw University of Music and Fine Arts in Vienna, where they have the chance to work with the Berlin-based piano duo Silver-Garburg. In 2020, they also take part in the first ever digital edition “isa-digital”. August 2021 is their third participation in the International Summer Academy “isa”, supported by the National Culture Fund. Mila and Alexandra are both currently full-time students in the Silver-Garburg piano duo class at the Graz Conservatory in Austria in the master’s program for piano duos.
One of the driving forces of the Atmospheres duo is discovery – it motivates them to discover and perform lesser-known works by both Bulgarian and foreign composers. The piano duo premieres performances of Bulgarian works by Julia Tsenova and Laura Al-Ahmad at the Cultural Center “Tchaikovsky” in Moscow, as well as premiere studio recordings of works by Brazilian composers as part of the festival “Musica rara Brasileira – a series of chamber music from Brasil”, organized by the cultural institute Zenon. At the International Festival “Sofia Music Weeks” they debut with music for two pianos by Alexander Scriabin, Alfred Schnittke and Sergei Rachmaninoff. For this recital, the piano duo has been awarded the 2022 Crystal Lyre. The Atmospheres Piano Duo are also recipients of a grant from the Futurama Foundation. In their latest project “Marginalia”, the duo premiered the music of Estonian composer Jaan Raats in a visual environment created by scenographer Venelin Shurelov at the Regional Centre for Contemporary Arts “Topocentral”. In the spring of 2023, the duo Atmospheres became Grand Prix winners of the International Competition “La musique et la terre” in Orsay, France. In the summer of 2023, the duo will make professional recordings of the suite for four hands “My Mother the Goose” by Maurice Ravel especially for the new educational game with music of the Cultural Perspectives Foundation. In September of the same year, the duo Atmospheres gave their debut recital at the International Festival “Days of Music at Balabanov House”. This concert is part of the Atmospheres Duo’s national tour, in which they present for the first time in Bulgaria Brahms/Dünsser – Piano Concerto for four hands and string orchestra op. 25 in five cities in the country. In April the premieres took place in the town of. Shumen with Symphonieta – Shumen and conductor Simon Pavlov and in the town of. Sofia with the Academic Symphony Orchestra and conductor Demetra Anjalika.