June 9 , 2022 /Thursday/
18.30 hours Hall “M-Ro G.Atanasov”
Conductor: GIANCARLO DE LORENZO /Italy/
Soloist: Zala Kravos – piano /Luxembourg/
Program:
P.I. Tchaikovsky – Piano Concerto №1, op.23
R. Schumann – Symphony №4, in D minor, op.120
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GIANCARLO DE LORENZO
He studied at the School of Music of Brescia and graduated in Organ and Organ Composition with high marks under M° F. Castelli. At the same time he got the Diploma of “Maturitа Classica” and then went to
university, attending the courses of the D.A.M.S. Music section at the faculty of “Lettere e Filosofia” in Bologna. Besides, he studied composition and orchestra conductorship with M° G. Cataldo, widening his knowledge and experience.
Founder and Conductor of the “Orchestra Vox Aurae” of Brescia since 1992, he dedicates himself to the rediscovery and deepening of little known authors of the baroque music such as F. Durante, F. L. Gassmann, J. Myslyvecek. With the “Vox Aurae” he did record the complete series of Symphonies for Strings by F. Durante, the first volume of the 20th century Italian authors who wrote in Baroque style, the Symphonies for Strings by J. Myslivecek, the integral of the Symphonies for strings of FL Gassman, and a CD dedicated to the piano and orchestra concerts of W.A. Mozart. All recordings have been edited by Agorа recording company in Milan.
In 2003 he becomes the Artistic Director and 1st Conductor of the “Orchestra del Teatro Olimpico” of Vicenza, a position he held until December 2011. In October 2005 he conducted the Orchestra of the
Teatro Olimpico of Vicenza at the Barge Music of New York where he returned in March 2006 to conduct in the prestigious Carnegie Hall.
He has also collaborated with great soloists such as L.G. Uriol, M. Fornaciari, A Bacchetti, S.Krylov, F.Manara, A.Persichilli, P. Hommage, E. Klein, G. Costa, U. Clerici, B. Engerer, P. Entremont, M. Rudy, E Virsaladze, S. Mintz, U. Ughi, P. Amoyal, P. Galliano, Hiromi Uehara, Uri Caine, Ramin Bahrami, Mischa Maisky, Olga Kern and many others.
Zala Kravos
Musicians, some of whom world famous, who have worked with Zala Kravos have been impressed by her talent and musical maturity. Maria João Pires, her former teacher at the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel, declared that Zala was one of the greatest talents she had ever seen.
Born in Slovenia in July 2002, Zala was initiated into music from the age of three and received her first piano lessons at five. At six, she entered the Conservatory of the City of Luxembourg, where she has studied with Marco Kraus and Jean Muller and has obtained all available diplomas in piano performance and several diplomas in music theory. From 2012 to 2016, she studied at the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel with Maria João Pires and has continued with Louis Lortie since then. Last May, she passed the ‘Young Artist Diploma’ exam. Since 2010, she regularly participates in master classes with internationally renowned pianists.
In 2009 and 2011, she won gold medals at the Luxembourg Competition for Young Soloists. She is also laureate of several international competitions in France, Luxembourg, and the USA.
In spite of her young age, Zala is already an experienced artist. Since the age of six, she has been making dozens of public appearances every year and has already performed in fourteen countries, including China and the USA. Her repertoire extends from classical and romantic to contemporary music, sometimes written especially for her.
She has participated in several festivals, for example Flagey Piano Days, Classissimo, and Vaux-Hall Summer in Brussels, ppIANISSIMO and Piano Extravaganza in Sofia, Klassiek op het Amstelveld in Amsterdam, and ISCM World New Music Days in Bratislava. She gave her first solo recital at the age of eleven. She played with an orchestra for the first time when she was eight and since then, she has made more than a dozen appearances in concertos by J. C. Bach, Beethoven, Berkovich, Chopin, Haydn, Mozart, Prokofiev, and Ravel. More recently, she has started playing chamber music.
In 2017, she recorded her first solo album (Brahms, Liszt, Chopin, and a contemporary piece written for her), which has been very well received by the critics and the media in several countries (Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Spain…). At the age of eleven, she recorded two impromptus (Schubert and Chopin) for the jubilee CD marking the 150 years of the UGDA music education association in Luxembourg.
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June 16 , 2022 /Thursday/
18.30 hours Hall “M-Ro G.Atanasov”
Conductor: Stanislav Potchekansky
Soloist: Darian Keller – trombone / Germany /
Program:
C. M. von Weber – Overture from the opera „Oberon“
F. David – Trombone Concertino, Op.4
Fr. Schubert – Symphony №8, “Unfinished”, D 759
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Stanislav Potchekansky
Stanislav Potchekansky was born in Sofia, Bulgaria. He graduated from the Secondary School of Music “Lyubomir Pipkov” in Sofia with honours and was awarded a medal by the Ministry of Education in Bulgaria. In 1993, he graduated with honours from the State Academy of Music “Pancho Vladigerov”, from the Trombone class of Prof. Dimitar Momchilov, Ph.D. In 1992, he participated in the master class of Prof. Franz Weilnhammer in Iserlohn, Germany. In 1995, he completed a two-year Trombone specialization in the master class of Prof. Dimitar Momchilov, Ph.D., and in 1996 – a two-year specialization in Chamber Music in the master class of Prof. Kostadin Chilev at the State Academy of Music “Pancho Vladigerov”. In 1996, he specialized with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Chicago Chamber Musicians and the De Paul University in Chicago, USA.
From 1990 until 1993, he was the Principal Trombonist at the Academic Symphony Orchestra of the State Academy of Music “Pancho Vladigerov”. In the period 1996-2009, he was Principal Trombonist of the Orchestra of the National Opera and Ballet – Sofia. He was also a soloist in chamber and symphony orchestras in Bulgaria and abroad.
Since 1993, he is a full-time Teacher of Trombone and Chamber Music at the National School of Music “Lyubomir Pipkov” – Sofia, and from 1994 until 2015, he is an Assistant-Professor at the Brass and Percussion Instruments Department in the Instrumental Faculty of the National Academy of Music “Prof. Pancho Vladigerov”. Students of his class have been awarded multiple times at prestigious national and international competitions.
Laureate of the Fourth National Chamber Music Competition “The Golden Diana” – Yambol, 1986 and one of the Founders of the Chamber Ensemble “Academic Brass”. Winner of the Award for higher educational achievements at the Music of Austria and Germany International Competition “M.A.G.I.C.” – Burgas, 2001, 2007, 2013, 2015 and of the National Competition for Instrumentalists and Singers “Svetoslav Obretenov” – Provadia, 2014. In 2014, he was the Chairman of the Jury at the Fifth International Chamber Music Competition in Kavadarci, Macedonia.
He is a Member of the International Trombone Association and the Historic Brass Society in New York, USA. Since 2015, he is the President of the Union of Bulgarian Musicians and Dancers.
Darian Keller
Born in 2006 in Beittigheim-Bissingen, Germany. He started playing the zugtrombone at the age of 7 at the local music school with Michael Tsee. At the age of 8 he took part in his first regional competition and won first prize. This is followed by annual participation in the Jugend Musiziert competition at regional and national level with first prizes in the category of solo trombone and chamber music.
In 2017 he was admitted to the “Gifted Class” of the music school, where he is awarded an annual scholarship for high achievements. In 2018, he was selected by his high school to participate in the “Creative Weeks of the Cultural Academy for Gifted Children” of the Kinderland Foundation – Baden-Württemberg. In 2018 he won first prize in the category of solo trombone at the competition of Tonkünstlerverband – Stuttgart, and in 2020 he received first prize at the International Competition “Tryavna Art” – Bulgaria. In 2021 he was a three-time winner of the first prize at the regional level – in Baden-Württemberg and at the national level of the Jugend Musiziert competition, solo trombone category. In 2022 he received first prize in the trombone and piano category with his longtime creative partner Alexandra Krol.
Darian Keller participates in master classes in Bulgaria – with Stanislav Pochekanski and in Germany – with Prof. Werner Schreiter and Prof. Henning Viigrebe. Since 2019 he has been a student of Michael Bigelmeier (solo trombonist of the Stuttgart Philharmonic). Darian Keller is a member of the Baden-Württemberg Youth Orchestra and the National Youth Orchestra.