CONCERT & RECITAL
SERIES
piano recital with Benjamin Grosvenor
Wednesday, 16 February 2011
The Shoe Factory, 304 Ermou Street, Nicosia 8.30pm
(Limited Seating, Pre-booking essential)
The Pharos
Arts Foundation presents British pianist Benjamin Grosvenor in a recital
comprising works by Gershwin, Ravel, Mompou, Chopin and Liszt. The young
Benjamin Grosvenor is internationally recognized for his electrifying
performances and penetrating interpretations. Audiences barely know where to
start in describing his performances, with reviews such as that in
International Piano Magazine commenting that 'it is hard to know which is
the more startling in a pianist still in his mid-teens: the all-encompassing
mastery of technique, or the flair and maturity of imagination. He really is
a rare talent.' His recital for the Pharos Arts Foundation will take place
on Wednesday, 16 February 2011, at The Shoe Factory, Nicosia / 8.30pm
"Grosvenor's performance was so alluring, so alive to the music's poetry,
and so colourfully detailed." The Daily Telegraph
''To call such playing that of a master-pianist will invite accusations of
exaggeration and hyperbole - but what else can I say?" Gramophone
''A Keyboard Visionary" Der Süddeutschen Zeitung
Benjamin Grosvenor / piano
British pianist Benjamin Grosvenor is internationally recognized for his
electrifying performances and penetrating interpretations. An exquisite
technique and ingenious flair for tonal colour are the hallmarks which make
Benjamin Grosvenor one of the most sought-after young pianists in the world.
His virtuosic command over the most strenuous technical complexities never
compromises the formidable depth and intelligence of his interpretations.
Audiences barely know where to start in describing his performances, with
reviews such as that in International Piano Magazine commenting that 'it is
hard to know which is the more startling in a pianist still in his
mid-teens: the all-encompassing mastery of technique, or the flair and
maturity of imagination. He really is a rare talent.'
Benjamin first came to prominence as the outstanding winner of the Keyboard
Final of the 2004 BBC Young Musician Competition at the age of 11. Since
then, Benjamin has become an internationally regarded pianist performing
concerti with renowned orchestras from the London Philharmonic and the Tokyo
Symphony to the Brazilian Symphony. For his Helsinki debut with Kymi
Sinfonietta, Benjamin's performance was described as 'Wunderkind dives
straight to the heart of the music' (Helsingin Sanomat), again celebrating
his prodigious intuition. In the United States, Benjamin Grosvenor has
performed with the North Carolina Symphony, and made his Carnegie Hall debut
as soloist with the New York Youth Orchestra at the age of thirteen. In
2009, Benjamin's sell-out debut with the Philharmonia at the Royal Festival
Hall was hailed as 'a performance that took its expressive and dramatic cues
from the very heart of the music, and in so doing crafted an interpretation
of palpable character and astute panache' (Daily Telegraph). Benjamin's
orchestral performances have taken him to prominent venues such as the
Barbican, Muza Kawasaki in Toyko and the Royal Albert Hall and he has worked
with numerous esteemed conductors including Alexander Lazarev, Vladimir
Ashkenazy and Alan Buribayev.
Already an accomplished recitalist, Benjamin performs to acclaim across the
world. A regular at the Wigmore Hall in London, he has also made debuts at
venues including the Victoria Hall in Singapore and the Philia Hall in
Tokyo. In the USA, Benjamin has appeared at the Gilmore Festival and is a
favourite in Saint Paul at the Chopin Society in Minnesota. Benjamin has
recently given a highly successful fifteen-concert tour across Germany, for
which he was labelled a 'piano visionary' by the Süddeutschen Zeitung.
Benjamin continues to work chamber music collaborations into his busy
schedule and performs regularly with members of the English Chamber
Orchestra in London. Highlights of the 2010-11 season include his recital
performance for the LSO St. Luke's Chopin Series, Rachmaninov Piano Concerto
No. 2 for the BBC National Orchestra of Wales? New Year Concert and his
Belgian debut at BOZAR in Brussels.
In recent years EMI Classics have supported Benjamin through an innovative
development agreement. Benjamin's recordings for the EMI 200th anniversary
edition of Chopin's complete works have received accolades in Gramophone and
BBC Music Magazine, in which he was lauded for his ?sensitivity of touch,
general musicality and affection for the music? and his interpretations of
the works were praised above all other existing recordings. Through
collaboration with EMI and Bowers & Wilkins Society of Sound, Benjamin
recorded a mixed recital in 2008, which has now been released on CD,
entitled 'This and That'. Overwhelming commendation has followed, with
Gramophone exclaiming 'the performances by Benjamin Grosvenor exhibit a
skill and talent not heard since Kissin's legendary teenage Russian debut'.
During his short but sensational career to date, Benjamin has been featured
in two BBC television documentaries, and his performances have been
broadcast widely in the UK, Europe and the USA.
Benjamin Grosvenor's teachers have included Christopher Elton at the Royal
Academy of Music, Leif Ove Andsnes, Stephen Hough, and Arnaldo Cohen amongst
others.
Programme:
George Gershwin: Rhapsody in Blue
Frederick Chopin: Scherzo No. 1 in B minor, Op. 20
Mazurka in A minor, Op.17 No.4
Mazurka in D major, Op.33 No.2
Scherzo No. 4 or 2 TBC
interval
Maurice Ravel: Gaspard de la Nuit
Frederick Mompou: Cancion y Danza Nos 1, 3 & 6
Franz Liszt: Rhapsodie Espagnol
Ticket Prices:
Adults: EUR22
Friends and Supporters of the Pharos Arts Foundation / Concessions: EUR17
Click
here to purchase your tickets online or telephone 7000 9304
