Antal Zalai & Adam Heron

Performers

Notes on the performers

“An exceptional violinist, who has perfect technique, beautiful large tone, real musical finesse and maturity as well as noble personality,” wrote legendary Russian violinist Igor Oistrakh of his colleague, Antal Zalai, who is fifty years of his junior, and who is unique among his fellow violinists with his characteristic tone, mature musical phrasing and elegant virtuosity.

The foundation of his organically growing popularity is his constantly updated videography, in which he performs pieces of the violin repertoire requiring the utmost technical mastery and musicianship. The collection on his YouTube channel with several million views includes Paganini’s 24 Caprices, which have proved to be a grandiose success shared by several thousand viewers, and led to a number of concert engagements. The audio files of the videos – together with his previous CD recordings – are available on all of the major on-line music stores.

His most recent release is the complete Sonatas & Partitas for Solo Violin, BWV 1001-1006 by J.S. Bach.

Recently, he performed as soloist of the Nürnberg Staatsphilharmonie and the Brandenburger Symphoniker in Germany; the Casco Phil in Belgium, gave a Paganini recital at the LongLake Festival in Lugano, performed in Montreal with the Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra, and appeared on stage in Mexico, Brazil, Kuwait, Russia, Belgium, Slovenia, and Hungary. During this period, Zalai several times performed two concertos in one concert.

Earlier, he had performed as soloist with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, the Orchestre National d’Île-de-France, the Romanian National Radio Orchestra, the Hungarian National Philharmonic Orchestra, the Lithuanian National Symphony Orchestra, the Zagreb Soloists, the Irish Chamber Orchestra, and the Hong Kong Sinfonietta. In Vienna, he debuted in the Wiener Symphoniker’s “Frühling in Wien” gala concert, conducted by Fabio Luisi. The event, held in the Golden Hall of the Musikverein, was broadcast live on television by ORF and 3SAT.

A multidisciplinary classical pianist of Nigerian-Filipino ancestry, Adam Heron is the winner of the 2020 Harriet Cohen Bach Prize. Born in Hong Kong, then adopted by his Irish mother, Adam rose to prominence following his 2018 television debut as a BBC Young Musician piano finalist. Through his unique artistry, coupled with an innate flair for communication, he strives to become a leading ambassador for classical music.

Adam commands a demanding schedule of international recital engagements, having already performed at distinguished venues including Wigmore Hall, St Martin-in-the-Fields, and Southbank Centre. A keen linguist and traveller, his artistic endeavours have led to appearances in far-flung concert halls including the International Center for Arts in Cairo as well as the National Centre for the Performing Arts in Mumbai. Festival collaborations include The Aegean Arts International Festival, The Cayman Arts Festival, The Cheltenham Music Festival, and The GAP Arts Festival. Adam frequently engages with headlining media outlets such as BBC Radio 3 in addition to specialist broadcasters such as Colourful Radio, and he has worked alongside leading presenters including Katie Derham and Sean Rafferty.

In addition to his solo career, Adam is also a devoted collaborative pianist, composer, and conductor. He has joined forces with fellow musicians including saxophonist Amy Dickson, double-bassist Chi-chi Nwanoku CBE, violinist Daniel Pioro, soprano Francesca Chiejina, and cellist Laura van der Heijden. In 2016 Adam became one of the first ever concerto soloists to perform with the Chineke! Orchestra, and he has since worked with esteemed conductors including Jonathon Heyward, David Curtis, Dwight Pile-Gray, Pete Harrison, and Timothy Carey.

Programme

Programme notes

Chevalier de Saint-Georges

Sonatas for Piano and Violin: Nos. 2 and 3

1. Sonata No 2 in A major
2. Sonata No 3 in G minor

Notes

Source: Wikipedia

Pablo de Sarasate

Zigeunerweisen

1. Moderato – Lento – Un poco più lento – Allegro molto vivace

Zigeunerweisen (Gypsy Airs), Op. 20, is a musical composition for violin and orchestra written in 1878 by the Spanish composer Pablo de Sarasate. It was premiered the same year in Leipzig, Germany. Like his contemporaries, Sarasate misidentified Hungarian folk music with the “gypsy music” of the Romani people, and the themes in the piece are not of Romani origin, but were all actually adapted from Hungarian music pieces. For instance, the third section borrows a melody by Hungarian composer Elemér Szentirmay de; hu, and the last section uses a theme from Franz Liszt’s Hungarian Rhapsody No. 13, in the rhythm of the csárdás.

Source: Wikipedia

Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (1875 – 1912)

Two Gipsy Movements, Op. 20

1. D major
2. A minor

Samuel Coleridge-Taylor was a British composer and conductor. Of mixed-race descent, Coleridge-Taylor achieved such success that he was referred to by white musicians in New York City as the “African Mahler” when he had three tours of the United States in the early 1900s. These two Gipsy Movements were composed in 1898.

Source: Wikipedia

Adam Skoumal

Variations on a Gypsy Melody

Adam Skoumal is known to the audiences in Europe, USA, and Japan as one of the foremost Czech pianists and composers.

The composition Variations on a Gypsy Melody was created in 2002. It was selected as a compulsory contemporary piece for the 2009 Concours International de Violon violin competition in Sion, Switzerland, and for the 2010 International Violin Competition in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Source: Wikipedia