Aurelia Shimkus and Tony Yike Yang

Programme:

 

Frederic Chopin - Ballade No. 1 Op. 23 and 2. Skerco op. 31

 

Sergei Prokofiev - Sonata No. 4, Op. 29

 

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - Sonata for two pianos in D major, K. 448

 

Peter Tchaikovsky - suite from the ballet “The Nutcracker”. (Arranged for two pianos by Nicolas Economou)

 

On 30 September at 19:30, a piano concert will take place in the Small Hall, featuring two outstanding pianists of the new generation, Aurēlija Šimkus and Tony Yike Yang. The programme will include music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Peter Tchaikovsky, Frederic Chopin and Sergei Prokofiev.

The two pianists first met in Sweden, where they studied with Professor Julia Mustonen-Dahlquist, and have performed together on several occasions since.

The international career of Aurēlija Šimkus began at the age of 16, when her solo album “Scherzo” was released by the German record label “Ars Produktion”. The magazine “Piano News” named it Album of the Month, saying that “Aurēlija Šimkus is an outstanding pianist and a real discovery”, while the newspaper “Westfalische Rundschau” admired the soulfulness of her piano playing, filled with the most exquisite musicality and sensuality. For her second solo album “Bach. Ich ruf' zu dir”, Aurēlija won the prestigious Echo Klassik Award in 2016.

Aurēlija Šimkus has participated in the Interlaken Classics, Next Generation Festival, Kissingen Summer, Kurt Weill Festival, Bonn Schumann Festival, Masters of Tomorrow Festival, etc. She has performed with the English Chamber Orchestra, Warsaw Symphony Orchestra, Dortmund Philharmonic Orchestra, Georgian Chamber Orchestra, “Orpheum” Chamber Orchestra, Freiburg Philharmonic Orchestra, Rheinland-Pfalz Philharmonic Orchestra and other ensembles.

The foreign press has written of pianist Tony Jaik Yang: “An absolute discovery... He combines the qualities of a true virtuoso and artist” (The Chopin Courier) and “Yang has a dazzling technique and brings a personal touch to everything he plays.” (The Dallas Morning News). Hailed as one of Canada's finest young musicians, pianist Tony Jaik Yang rose to international prominence at the age of 16, winning fifth place at the 2015 International Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw, becoming the youngest ever winner of the competition. Yang has also won prizes at the Wen Claibern, Bosendorfer & Yamaha USASU, Hilton Head and other international piano competitions.

As a solo performer he has appeared at Koerner Hall in Toronto, the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory, the Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre, the Seoul Arts Centre, the Warsaw Philharmonic, the Millennium Amphitheatre in Dubai, Severance Hall in Cleveland, Chopin Hall in Mexico City and elsewhere.

The concert will feature Mozart's gallant and joyful Sonata for Two Pianos in D major, K.448, as well as compositions by the genius melodist and piano keyboard aristocrat Frederic Chopin. We will hear Piano Sonata No. 4 of the restless Sergei Prokofiev, which reveals the introvert and contemplative side of the composer. The legendary 20th century pianist Sviatoslav Richter said of this sonata: “It is intimate chamber music with hidden treasures.” And Peter Tchaikovsky's popular suite from the ballet The Nutcracker, arranged for two pianos, takes us into the realm of the Christmas miracle and into a whirl of dances celebrating youth, friendship and love.

 

 Aurēlija Šimkus has more on the concert here:

 https://youtu.be/rtqWEbiA0zY

 
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