Wednesday, 7 January 2009, Rialto Theatre, Lemesos, 20:30
Thursday, 8 January 2009, Markideion Theatre, Pafos, 20:30
Friday, 9 January 2009, Strovolos Municipal Theatre, Lefkosia, 20:30
Soloist: Anika Vavic (piano)
Music Direction: Kalervo Kulmala
Programme:
A. Part: Fratres
K. Aho: Piano Concerto No. 2
E. Grieg: Symphony in C minor
Ticket prices: 10 and 5 euro for pensioners. Tickets available at the Theatres’ box office
Free entrance for students, soldiers, student card and EURO<26 card holders
A childhood winner of numerous international competitions and awards, young pianist Anika Vavic began studying in Vienna at the age of sixteen, at the University of Music and Performing Arts. Since her first public performance in her hometown Belgrade at the age of eight, she has consistently excelled in solo recitals, piano concerts, radio and TV programmes as well as in various chamber music ensembles, such as the Horn-Trio-Wien. She won the Second Steinway Competition in Vienna (2001), receiving a further special prize for the best interpretation of Haydn. She was awarded a scholarship by the prestigious Herbert von Karajan Centre in Vienna and the Gottfried von Einem Foundation(2001) and was granted the Austrian National Award for Women in the Arts (2002). She was also chosen for the highly esteemed Rising Stars concert-cycle for the season 2003-2004, which has taken her as a soloist to the most famous concert houses in the world such as the Carnegie Hall, New York; Wigmore Hall, London; Concertgebouw, Amsterdam; Vienna Musikverein; Cologne Philharmonie; Megaron, Athens; Palais des Beaux – Arts de Bruxelles and Cit de la Musique, Paris. The cycle was accompanied by the release of her recital programme on CD produced by ORF and Vienna Musikverein. In May 2003 she gave her debut at Vienna Konzerthaus, followed by her debuts with the Munich Philharmonic and Paavo Jrvi, at Schwarzenberg Schubertiade and the Ruhr Piano Festival. In the season 2005-2006 the young pianist gave a recital tour in Japan as well as recitals in Vienna Musikverein and Konzerthaus, Berlin, London, Belgrade, Moscow and Istanbul. She has collaborated with great orchestras such as the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra, Gran Canaria Symphony Orchestra, Zagreb Philharmonic, Tchaikovsky Symphony Orchestra and the Mariinsky Orchestra in St. Petersburg.
Kalervo Kulmala was born in Helsinki in 1947. From 1972 to 1982 he held the position of solo horn at the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra and since 1974 he has been solo horn at the International Savonlinna Opera Festival. He is professor of brass and wind-orchestra conducting at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki and professor of horn at the Estonian Academy of Music in Tallin. He is professor of Horn and trainer at the Simón Bolivar Orchestra in Cararas, Venezuela and at the Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra in Austria, one of the top youth orchestras of the world, whose artistic director is Claudio Abbado. In Cyprus he has appeared as a soloist with the Cyprus State Chamber Orchestra and worked as a trainer at the Cyprus State Youth Orchestra. This year he has been invited as a trainer for brass instruments at the Summer School of the Cyprus Youth Symphony Orchestra. He has conducted extensively both in Finland and in many other countries of the world.
