Wednesday 14 April 2010, Strovolos Municipal Theatre, Lefkosia, 20:30
Thursday 15 April 2010, Markideion Theatre, Pafos, 20:30
Friday 16 April 2010, Xenion Highschool Amphitheatre, Paralimni, 20:30
Family Concert: Saturday 17 April 2010, Pallas Theatre, Pafos Gate, Lefkosia, 17:00
Soloist: Martino Tirimo (piano)
Conductor: Christian Benda
Programme:
W.A. Mozart: Symphony No. 38 in D major, K. 504 (Prague)
W.A. Mozart: Symphony No.31 in D major, K.297 (300a) (Paris)
F. Chopin: Variations on Là ci darem la mano, Op.2
F. Chopin: Grande Polonaise brillante in E-flat major, Op.22
€12 and pensioners €7
Free entrance for students, soldiers and EURO<26 card holders
Tickets available at the Theatres’ box office
In collaboration withthe Polish Cultural Society in Cyprus
Described as ‘a pianist of vision’ and ‘an inspiring poet of the piano’ (Daily Telegraph), Martino Tirimo‘s playing is often compared to that of Schnabel, Arrau and Rubinstein. His extensive discography of over 50 recordings for EMI, BMG and other companies includes the piano concertos of Brahms, Chopin, Rachmaninov, Tippett (with Tippett conducting), the complete solo works of Mozart, Beethoven, Debussy, Janacek and the first complete set of Schubert’s 21 Sonatas (for EMI). For his Rachmaninov 2nd Concerto and Paganini Rhapsody, one of EMI’s best sellers, he received a Gold Disc. He is the son of Dimitri Tirimo, one of Cyprus’ most influential musicians, and as child prodigy appeared both as pianist and conductor, at 12 conducting La Traviata seven times with soloists from La Scala, Milan. At 16 he won the Liszt Scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music, later completing his studies in Vienna. He came to world attention in 1971/72 when he won the international competitions in Munich and Geneva and has since appeared regularly with many of the world’s great orchestras, with conductors such as Barbirolli, Boult, Masur, Sanderling and Rattle. He has also directed from the keyboard several cycles of the Beethoven Concertos, with the Dresden Philharmonic, in Germany and at the Royal Festival Hall in London. He has a repertoire of 70 Concertos and has given numerous series devoted to Mozart’s complete works, Beethoven’s 32 Sonatas, Schubert’s 21 Sonatas, Robert and Clara Schumann’s principal works, series of Mozart Concertos, directing the Prague Chamber Orchestra and, at this very moment, Chopin’s complete works at London’s Kings Place. A frequent performer at international festivals, in 2004 he performed at the Athens Festival during the Olympic period, with the Vienna Philharmonic, and prior to the Games had the honour to run with the Olympic torch, perhaps the first classical musician to do so. Since 2002 he has also been more active in chamber music, touring extensively with his Trio, the Rosamunde Trio. Music and Vision recently declared that ‘Tirimo’s playing belongs to a past generation of ‘greats’. Listening to him I conjure up aural images of Solomon, Arrau, Kempff, Serkin, Schnabel, Backhaus and Rubinstein. Throughout the evening one was consistently aware that this supreme musician placed himself entirely at the service of the composer’.
Christian Benda appears worldwide in music centers such as Paris, Vienna, London, Rome, New York, Hong Kong, Milan, Budapest, Prague, Warsaw, Singapore, Bucharest, Florence, Zürich, Shanghai, Sao Paolo and with various orchestras such as Warsaw National Opera, Orchestre de la Suisse Romade, Slovenian Philharmonic, Matav Orchestra Budapest, Shanghai Philharmonic, Slovak Philharmonic and Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra. After his debut as soloist with the Prague Symphony Orchestra, invitations follow with the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Moscow Virtuosi, Stuttgart and Prague Chamber Orchestra, Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne, d’ Auvergne, de Cannes, della Toscana, Lviv, Slovenian, Münster and Janacek Philharmonic, Belgrade Symphony, Polish National Opera Orchestra, Bucharest Radio Symphony, Shanghai Broadcast Symphony, Ulster Orchestra, etc. Christian Benda’s appearances at international festivals include Schwetzingen, Echternach (Luxemburg), La Roque d’ Anthéron (France), Cité de la musique (Paris), Prague Spring, George Enescu Bucharest, Wratislavia Cantans (Poland), Clifden Arts (Ireland), Campos do Jordao (Brazil), Hong Kong Arts Festival, Klangbogen Wien, Styriarte and Steirischer Herbst (Austria), Lugano Festival, Menuhin Festival (Switzerland). A passionate of vocal repertoire, Benda conducts vocalists such as Barbara Hendricks, Cheryl Studer and Simon Estes. He was invited by the Czech Television to conduct the television broadcast concerts in honor of President Vaclav Havel with Renee Fleming and the Prague Symphony Orchestra. After ten years of collaboration with the Prague Chamber Orchestra and many CD recordings, Christian Benda becomes also Chief Conductor and Artistic Director of the Prague Sinfonia Orchestra created by Vaclav Havel. Among the soloists having performed with him we find Lazar Berman, Till Fellner, Michail Rudy, Josef Suk, Vladimir Spivakov, Philippe Entremont, Cristina Ortiz, Marcello Viotti, and many others. Benda also performs with actors, theatre and opera directors from the Vienna Schauspielhaus, Volkstheater, Burgtheater and the Paris Comédie Française. His discography includes Schubert’s complete symphonic overtures with the Prague Sinfonia Orchestra, symphonic works by Casella and Malipiero, the complete works for piano and orchestra by Frank Martin with Paul Badura-Skoda, Haydn’s violin concertos with Jean-Jacques Kantorow, J.S.Bach’s Musical Offering, the Hamburg Symphonies by C.P.E.Bach, as well as recordings by the Benda composers of the 18th century, notably Jiri Antonin Benda’s symphonies and melodramas together with violin and viola concertos by Frantisek and Jan Jiri Benda with Josef Suk as soloist.
