Chamber Music in May

Monday, May 18th, 6pm

Only a few places remaining (as of 4th May)

 Dvorak String Quintet in G, op. 77

 Mozart Divertimento in D, K136

Rossini Sonata for Strings in G major






Played by five members of Pro Musica

Tasana Nagavajara, violin

Jiyun Yoo

Khunakorn Svasti-Xuto, double bass

David Abrahamyan, viola

Ruaychai Saengow, violin

Reservations: 1,000 baht per person. Email asiachart@hotmail.com or call 038 069681 during office hours. Due to limited number of places payment must be received before the day.

Directions to Eelswamp: can be found at the bottom of this page: http://eelswamp.blogspot.com/2013/11/the-music-room-at-eelswamp.html
or simply search for Eelswamp on Google maps.

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Latino touch

Sunday, 31st May, 5pm

Georgi Mundrov, piano

Georgi Mundrov is a Bulgarian pianist. He graduated from the National Music Academy in Sofia and from the Frankfurt University for Music and Performing Arts. 

He is coming to Pattaya for one concert only, courtesy of Khun Mongkol. 

His program contains a large dollop of interesting latin music, a taste of Chopin and a substantial helping of Schumann.

Program

Chopin: Grande valse brillante in A flat Major, op. 34
Debussy: Habanera: La Puerta del Vino
Albeniz: Prelude & Tango
Ginastera:Danza de la moza donosa
Salgan: Don Agustin Bardi
Piazzolla: La muerte del angel
Chopin: Polonaise in A flat Major, op. 53
Schumann: Carnaval op. 9

Reservations: 1,000 baht per person. Email asiachart@hotmail.com or call 038 069681 during office hours. Due to limited number of places payment must be received before the day.

This program is suitable for children aged 8 and above.

Directions to Eelswamp: can be found at the bottom of this page: http://eelswamp.blogspot.com/2013/11/the-music-room-at-eelswamp.html
or simply search for Eelswamp on Google maps.

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Elizaveta Ivanova plays Harpsichord and Piano

Two programs - one harpsichord, one piano

First Prize, Verona International Piano Competition, 2012

First Prize, Elise Meyer Scholarship Competition, Hamburg, 

2012 Steinway Förderpreis 2013, 

Blüthner Golden Tone Award 2013, 

and many others

Thursday, 30th April, 6pm

Harpsichord Program

This beautiful instrument is made from pear wood and is a reproduction of an 18th century bent-side spinet. It has a rich and luscious sound, enhanced by the wonderful acoustics in the music room.

Scarlatti Sonata K.409 in B minor
Sweeklinck, Variations on the theme, 'Mein junges Leben'
Rameau, Suite in A minor
JS Bach, French Overture, BWV 831

This is a diversified program, with works from two periods and four countries. We begin with two short works: first by Italian composer, Domenico Scarlatti and second, by the earlier, Dutch, composer, Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck (1562 - 1621) who straddled the end of the Renaissance and the beginning of the Baroque.

Then there will be two major works. First, the Suite in A minor of French composer, Jean-Philippe Rameau, born two years before Bach in 1683. This is a work of exquisite beauty, in seven movements.

Finally, Elizaveta will perform Bach's Overture in the French Style. This is one of Bach's most substantial works, wonderfully balanced in 11 movements ranging from lively to tranquil and containing some of the composer's richest music.

Sunday 3rd May, 4pm*

*note the special time for this concert

Piano Program 

Beethoven, Sonata no. 16 in G major, op.31 no. 1
Composed between 1801 and 1802, the opus 31 sonatas demonstrate Beethoven's exploration with the unconventional. The first movement of op.31 no. 1 is strikingly original with a humorous, jaunty exposition in the first movement and a cascading development section of brilliant virtuosity. The slow movement evokes an almost drunken lilt with a nutty second subject. The third and final movement is light and charming, culminating in an understated finale.

Rachmaninoff, Three Moments Musicaux, op.16, nos. 1,3 and 4. 
These are three short, sumptuous and lyrical works.

CPE Bach, Sonata in G Major Wq. 55/6.

Prokofiev, Sonata No. 8 in B flat major, op. 84 
This is a mighty work, written in 1944. According to Boris Berman, it is Prokofiev's most expansive sonata. Sviatoslav Richter said of the work, "Of all Prokofiev’s sonatas, this is the richest. It has a complex inner life, profound and full of contrasts... like a tree with heavy fruit." Needless to say, this sonata is a work of great technical and musical challenge to which Elizaveta is equal. 

Elizaveta Ivanova is a versatile and accomplished musician, playing both piano and harpsichord and having won so many awards that I can't list them all. She graduated from Moscow Conservatory in 2011 with honours where she studied harpsichord as well as piano. Elizaveta is now a post graduate student at Hamburg University of Music and Theatre. She is currently preparing a disseratation on CPE Bach. 

Elizaveta has performed around the world in fifteen countries (excluding her native Russia): Austria, Australia, Belarus, Bulgaria, Canada, Czech Republic, Germany, France, Ireland, Italy, Serbia, Sweden, United Kingdom, Ukraine, Uzbekistan. Thailand will be her sixteenth!

Elizaveta first came to my attention with her performance of Prokofiev's 8th sonata, which was riveting, as I expect her performances at Eelswamp will be.

Reservations: 1,200 baht for one concert. 2,000 baht for both. 


Email asiachart@hotmail.com for reservations. For more information call 038 069681 during office hours. Due to limited number of places payment must be received before the day. 

Directions to Eelswamp: can be found at the bottom of this page: http://eelswamp.blogspot.com/2013/11/the-music-room-at-eelswamp.html. 
If you haven't been here before I strongly urge you to find the venue before the day of the concert.

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Chopin and Beyond

Two Three piano recitals
 by
Evgeny Starodubtsev

Laureate, Honens International Piano Competition, 2009

First Prize, 2008 Parnassos International Piano Competition, Monterrey, Mexico

First Prize, Ciurlionis Competition, 2011

Equal First Prize (with Andrey Gugnin) Valsesia Competition, 2014

"An accomplished and probing artist" New York Times

Friday, 3rd April, 6pm

All Chopin

Four Scherzi
Chopin elevated the classical 'scherzo' movement to a stand alone work. They follow the form of the classical scherzo (A-B-A) but are much more elaborate. Chopin wrote four scherzi and we are going to hear the complete set.
Barcarolle
 A sumptuous waltz depicting a gondola in Venice.
12 Etudes op. 25
Chopin's second set of 'studies'. Even though each study focuses on a technical gesture, these works are far more than mere technical exercises. They comprise some of Chopin's most engaging music.


Sunday, April 5th, 5pm 

Beyond Chopin 
(or 'Men in Hats')

- music of the 20th century and a bit of Liszt

Szymanowski, Two Mazurkas
Szymanowski, Two Masques, opus. 34, Note program change
No. 2 Tantris the Clown and 
No. 3. Don Juan Serenade
Polish composer, Karol Szymanowski, was much influenced by Chopin. His piano works follow the form and mood created by his predecessor, but with a distinctive style. Szymanowski's Masques were written in 1915 to 1916, 75 years after Chopin's etudes and among his most popular piano works.

Prokofiev, Sonata no. 5 
Written in 1923 in Paris, Prokofiev commented that the sonata was inspired by "the Parisian atmosphere, where complex patterns and dissonances were the accepted thing".

Liszt, Spanish Rhapsody
This mature Liszt work, written in 1863, features variations on Spanish themes, including the spanish dance, the jota and the "La Folia" theme, used by Beethoven in the slow movement of the Fifth Symphony.

Scriabin, Sonata no.7
Subtitled, "The White Mass", this sonata was written in 1911, towards the end of Scriabin's interrupted life-span. Scriabin allegedly wrote the sonata as an exorcism of the dark forces conjured up in his sixth sonata. According to Vladimir Ashkenazy, Scriabin intended the mood of the piece to be ecstatic, evoking images of winged flight, voluptuous rapture and overwhelming forces.

Stravinsky, Three Movements from Petrushka
This is a wonderful, vibrant adaption of themes from Stravinsky's opera, Petrushka. 

Monday 6th April, 6pm, Encore Program  
newly added program

Selections from the two programs on 3rd and 5th plus:

Schubert's magnificent Fantasia in F minor for four hands 

Evgeny and his wife, Alexandra Lotova, also a talented pianist, will play Schubert's Fantasy in F minor for four hands, one of the most beautiful works for four hands in the repertoire.


Price for this concert is:
500 baht if you booked for both other concerts - children free
800 baht if you booked for one other in this series (either 3rd or 5th)
1200 baht if you booked for neither 3rd nor 5th April but want to come to this one.
Evgeny Starodubtsev is a graduate of the Moscow Conservatory. He came to fame as a laureate of the Honens Competition in 2009. Honens is a Canadian CD label which operates a piano competition. As part of the prize Evgeny recorded a CD which was described by the New York Times as, "an impressive recording". The magazine Audiophile wrote that Starodubtsev's fingers 'glisten and sing' with 'delicious sauvity'.

Evgeny (left) and Andrey Gugnin receiving first prize at the Valsesia Competition last year

Evgeny performing the Spanish Rhapsody of Liszt

Reservations: 1,200 baht for one concert. 2,000 baht for both. 


Email asiachart@hotmail.com for reservations. For more information call 038 069681 during office hours. Due to limited number of places payment must be received before the day. 

Directions to Eelswamp: can be found at the bottom of this page:  http://eelswamp.blogspot.com/2013/11/the-music-room-at-eelswamp.html. If you haven't been here before I strongly urge you to find the venue before the day of the concert.

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Brahms - Two Masterpieces

Andrey Gugnin 

and 

Members of Pro Musica

All-Brahms program

Tuesday 3rd March, 6pm

Brahms piano solo: Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Handel, op. 24. Brahms's masterly fusion of Baroque with Romanticism.

Brahms piano and string quartet: Piano Quintet in F minor, op. 34. Masterpiece of romantic chamber music. 

Andrey Gugnin, piano, gold medal winner of 2014 Gina Bachauer International Piano Competition.

Tasana Nagavajara, violin, leader of Pro Musica Orchestra, former concertmaster of Bangkok Symphony Orchestra, Tasana has much experience in chamber music, including the Brahms Quintet, which I heard him lead fifteen years ago.

Pitchayapa Lueangtawikit, violin, winner of the 2014 National Beethoven Competition, soloist with the Thai Philharmonic and student of Leo Phillips. Leo described her as one of the most promising young violinists in Thailand.

David Abrahamyan, viola

David has performed in venues such as The Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Konzerthaus in Berlin, Teatro Coliseo in Buenos Aires, and the Mozarteum in Salzburg with such musical luminaries as Boris Belkin, Wolfgang Meyer and Levon Chilingirian. He is now first violin with the Bangkok Symphony Orchestra.

Jaime Rapado, cello

Spanish cellist, Jaime Rapado has performed with the Moscow String Quartet and won first prize in the Asturias Chamber Music Competition. 

Don't miss one of the musical highlights of this year!

Reservations for this program: 1,200 baht - only 800 baht if you have reserved for either of the other Gugnin recitals (Feb 28th or March 1st).

Email asiachart@hotmail.com or call 038 069681 during office hours. Due to limited number of places payment must be received before the day.

Directions to Eelswamp: can be found at the bottom of this page: http://eelswamp.blogspot.com/2013/11/the-music-room-at-eelswamp.html
or simply search for Eelswamp on Google maps.

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Gugnin returns to Eelswamp

Andrey Gugnin plays three programs 

Featuring Liszt, Tchaikovsky and Brahms

First Prize, Gina Bachauer Competition, USA, June 2014

Equal First Prize*, Concorso Valsesia, Italy, September 2014

Second Prize, International Beethoven Competition, Vienna 2013

Andrey Gugnin thrilled and delighted our audience in March last year with performances of Rachmaninoff's Preludes op. 32, Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition and an all Beethoven Program, including an Appassionata Sonata like no other! Since visiting us last year he has triumphed in two major international competitions, winning the prestigious Gina Bachauer Competition in the USA and coming equal first in the Concorso Valsesia, in Italy.

1. Solo program on Saturday, 28th February at 5pm 

Franz Liszt: Twelve Transcendental Etudes (Études d'exécution transcendante)

Liszt's Sonnetto 104 del Petrarca and 
Rachmaninoff Elegy
Rachmaninoff-Tchaikovsky Lullaby

The Liszt Transcendental Etudes are one of the most ambitious and virtuosically brilliant sets of 'studies' in the musical repertoire. No doubt inspired by Chopin's 'etudes', Liszt's studies are more elaborate and substantial. Each is a masterpiece. Together the twelve studies comprise one of the greatest technical challenges of the piano repertoire and an inspired musical journey.

Reservations: 1,200 baht Email asiachart@hotmail.com or call 038 069681 during office hours. Due to limited number of places payment must be received before the day. 

2. Solo program on Sunday, 1st March at 5pm

Liszt Transcendental Etudes - selection

Andrey will select six or seven of the twelve etudes for the first half of the program.

Tchaikovsky Nocturne, op. 10 no.1 and Humoresque, op. 10 no.2

Two tuneful, short pieces, offering a respite from the fireworks of the Liszt and the piece to follow.

Arno Babajanian Six Pictures (1965)

Armenian Composer, Arno Babajanian (1921 - 1983) is described as 'an extraordinary musical talent' who came to the attention of Kachaturian when still a boy. His Six Pictures, 1965, is a collection of extraordinary rhythms and musical textures lasting around eleven minutes. According to Andrey, the piece is very popular in Russia. It will be a great opportunity to hear him play this work in Thailand. 

Jacques Ibert  (1890 - 1962) - Petite Suite in Fifteen Images (1944)

Ibert was a French composer with an extensive repertoire of Orchestral, operatic, chamber and solo music. His music is lyrical, 'tinged with gentle humour' and a touch of classicism. Andrey assures me that the Petite Suite is 'wonderful music' but 'there are no good recordings of it.' So let him persuade us!

Tchaikovsky-Feinberg Scherzo from Symphony no. 6.

This is a dazzling transcription of the third movement of the sixth symphony, the Pathétique. 

Reservations: 1,200 baht Email asiachart@hotmail.com or call 038 069681 during office hours. Due to limited number of places payment must be received before the day.

3. Piano Quintet program on Tuesday, 3rd March at 6pm

Brahms piano solo: Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Handel, op. 24

Brahms piano and string quartet: Piano Quintet in F minor, op. 34

Andrey Gugnin Piano and members of Pro Musica

Tasana Nagavajara, violin

Pitchayapa Lueangtawikit, violin

David Abrahamyan, viola

Jaime Rapado, cello

Tasana Nagavajara, violin

The Handel Variations is one of Brahms's two famous works for the piano in variation form. (The other is the Paganini Variations.) Brahms combines the romantic and the baroque in this original work, which was one of Andrey's winning performances at the Gina Bachauer Competition, last year. 

The Brahms Piano Quintet in F minor is one of the greatest works in the chamber music repertoire. It is a grand and powerful work. The first movement, according to one musicologist, is 'an epic all of its own'. 

Tasana Nagavajara is the Deputy Dean of Silpakorn University, former concertmaster and first violin of the Bangkok Symphony Orchestra and reincarnator of the Pro Musica Orchestra. We heard Tasana perform with our French cello and piano team last May in a stunning performance of Beethoven's Ghost Trio. I heard Tasana in a performance of the Brahms Quintet more than fifteen years ago in Bangkok and it was truly memorable. We are very fortunate to have him collaborating with Andrey and members of the Pro Musica Orchestra in a performance of this work. 

Reservations for one program: 1,200 baht
Multiple bookings: 2,000 baht for any two programs. 2,500 baht for all three.

Email asiachart@hotmail.com or call 038 069681 during office hours. Due to limited number of places payment must be received before the day.

Directions to Eelswamp: can be found at the bottom of this page: http://eelswamp.blogspot.com/2013/11/the-music-room-at-eelswamp.html
or simply search for Eelswamp on Google maps.

*Andrey came equal first in the Concorso Valsesia with another very talented Russian pianist, Evgeny Starodubtsev, who, by coincidence, will be visiting us next, in April.

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Leo and Hiroko play Mozart

Leo Phillips and Hiroko Takemura 

play three Mozart violin sonatas

sold out

Saturday, 14th February, 2015, 5pm

Leo Phillips, violin

and Hiroko Takemura, piano

Three Mozart sonatas for violin and piano

No. 21 in E minor KV 304
No. 14 in E flat KV 481
No. 15 in A major KV 526

One performance only: Saturday, 14th February, 2015, 5pm

Leo Phillips, violin

Leo is well known to the Pattaya audience for his role as concert master and soloist with the Pro Musica Orchestra. He led the Orchestra in the Pro Musica Mozart concert at Siam Bayshore on July 12th last year and performed as a soloist in Bach's double violin concerto in a recent all-Bach Pro Musica Concert.

Leo was born in London and has performed in over sixty countries with orchestras and chamber groups. He has appeared as leader of many world-renowned orchestras including The London Philharmonic, The Hallé Orchestra, The Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, The BBC National Orchestra of Wales, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, BBC Philharmonic and so many more.

Hiroko Takemura, piano

A native of Japan, Hiroko Takemura graduated from Kunitachi Music College in Tokyo.
She has performed extensively as a chamber musician, as a vocal accompanist, and as soloist both in recital and in concerto performances, including an appearance with The Telemann Chamber orchestra in Osaka. In addition to chamber music studies with Christopf Henkel, Hiroko studied the Piano with Josef Palenicek, Edith Picht-Axenfelt, Elvira Galionlina and Heinz Medjimorec at the Kusatsu International Music Festival, and she was a specific prizewinner at the PTINA piano competition in Japan. Hiroko has performed many recitals with Leo Phillips in Japan, this will be her first in Thailand.

Reservations: 1,000 baht per person. Email asiachart@hotmail.com or call 038 069681 during office hours. Due to limited number of places payment must be received before the day. 

Directions to Eelswamp: can be found at the bottom of this page: http://eelswamp.blogspot.com/2013/11/the-music-room-at-eelswamp.html
or simply search for Eelswamp on Google maps.

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