On 13 October at 19.00 at the Concert Hall “Latvija” piano virtuosos will perform with the programme “Portreti”. The concert will feature music by the jury of the 12th Riga International Competition for Young Pianists – Italian pianist Giulio Biddau, London-based Ukrainian artist Olga Paliy, the brilliant Polish pianist Slawomir Wilk and internationally renowned Latvian pianist Arta Arnicāne.
This autumn the Riga International Competition for Young Pianists will take place for the 12th time. The jury performances are traditionally held in various venues in Riga and also outside the capital. This year, the jury experts will give a concert at the Concert Hall “Latvija” in Ventspils, offering the audience a programme of piano music “Portreti”.
Giulio Biddau is one of the best Italian pianists who in 2019 received the “Most Outstanding Foreign Musician Award” from the Argentine Music Council, which is rarely awarded. He has won the main awards at various international piano competitions. This season, Giulio Biddau is scheduled to perform solo at prestigious European concert halls in Rome, Paris, Berlin and Salzburg, as well as with orchestra at several classical music festivals. The concert series is complemented by live performances on Radio 3 in Japan, France and “ABC Klasika” in Australia. In the concert, Giulio will play Mucio Clementi’s exquisitely virtuosic Sonata in F-sharp minor.
Olga Paliy is a Ukrainian artist based in London, who this season successfully combines solo and chamber music activities with international musicology lectures. Her repertoire includes classics alongside opuses by less frequently performed contemporary composers. She has frequently performed in her native Ukraine with symphony orchestras in Kiev, Lviv and Dnipro. Olga Paliy is a prizewinner of international competitions and in 2017 received her Doctorate in Music from the Royal Manchester College of Music. She currently teaches piano in London and serves on the juries of several international piano competitions. In this concert Olga will perform Ballade by Claude Debussy and Preludes by Ukrainian composer Vasyl Barvinsky.
Slawomir Wilk is a distinguished Polish pianist who has gained international recognition at major classical music festivals in Europe and the USA. This year his musical activities include a series of solo concerts in Polish cities as well as in Germany, Switzerland, Sweden, Ireland and Australia. He has won prizes at numerous international piano competitions and has been awarded the Szczecin Special Prize for Culture and Media Science, as well as the prestigious “Artist Award” in Gdansk, Poland. Currently, Slawomir is Professor of Piano at the Academy of Music in Gdansk. In this concert, the Polish pianist will perform the dazzling Fantasia by Carl Czerny on themes from Mozart’s opera “The Marriage of Figaro” and works by Polish composer Julius Zarebsky.
Arta Arnicāne is a musician whose “playing has both impeccable virtuosity and a wide palette of sound nuances, and the ability to surprise at every moment, thus attracting the ear throughout the entire listening” (Orests Silabriedis, “Mūzikas Saule” magazine). This season, the pianist has been performing in European countries, mainly in Switzerland, her chosen place of residence, as well as in solo concerts and with orchestras in renowned concert halls around the world, including the famous “Teatro Colon” in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Arta Arnicāne is the winner of 16 performing arts competitions, winning top awards in Switzerland, England, Poland, Spain and the Czech Republic, followed by a series of invitations to perform at classical music festivals, raising her international profile. She currently teaches piano at the Zurich Conservatory, Switzerland. In the concert, Arta will perform the poetically captivating “Dainas” by Jānis Mediņš.
The concert is organised by SIA “Kurzemes filharmonija” in collaboration with the Riga International Competition for Young Pianists. Tickets are available at the ticket sales network “Biļešu paradīze”, as well as at the box offices of the Concert Hall “Latvija” and the Theatre House “Jūras vārti”.
Please note that photography and video recording is possible during the event for the needs of the organizer. The materials will be used for publicity purposes, on the website and social media accounts of the Concert Hall “Latvia” and the Riga International Competition for Young Pianists.
