An evening of Piano and Violin music

Cypriot Pianist Orestis Magou along with his South-African duo violin partner Jeffrey Armstrong present a program with music from the late 19th and 20th century. Join us for a journey through French, German and British music, which includes both famous and less-known works of the violin-piano repertoire. The concert will take place on the 25th of September, 20:00, at Technopolis 20.

Repertoire:
Eugène Ysaÿe - Rêve d' Enfant
Gabriel Faure - Violin Sonata No 1 in A major, Op 13
Frederick Delius – Violin sonata No. 2
Richard Strauss - Violin Sonata in E-flat major, Op. 18

Entrance: €10
Reservations necessary at 70002420 (calls only)
Sponsor: Deputy Ministry of Tourism

A few words about the musicians
Orestis Magou was born in Cyprus and grew up on the southeastern part of the island. He started having his first piano lessons at the age of 6 but began to show serious interest in music at the age of 14, when he started studying with Aimilia Michael and under the mentorship of Christodoulos Georgiades at the “Λύκειο Ελληνίδων Αμμόχωστου”. During his time in Cyprus he participated in the Evangelia Tjiarri international piano competition where he received third prize and in the Avantgarde Pancyprian piano competition for young pianists in which he was honoured with the first prize, which sent him off to Italy to have piano lesson with Fedele Antonicelli. Orestis was also selected to perform in two concerts with the Cyprus Symphony Orchestra, performing Cypriot composer Christodoulos Georgiade’s first piano concerto. Currently studying at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, Orestis has been the recipient of many prizes including First Price at the Birmingham Philharmonic Orchestra concerto competition, First prize at the Dennis Matthew competition, the Sheila and Colina Hodge Memorial Prize for the best violin-piano duo and the Miss Bowen Challenge cup.
Orestis actively performs solo and chamber repertoire and shows particular interest in the music for two pianos, with recent two piano concerts including works such as the complete Rachmaninoff suites for two pianos and the West Side Story (arr. John Musto) by Bernstein for two pianos. He has participated in masterclasses with musicians such as Cyprien Katsaris, Simon Trpceski, Colin Stone and Katya Apekisheva and he is currently a student of Julian Jacobson and Daniel Browell. Next year, Orestis will be continuing his studies at the Conservatoire under the guidance of Robert Markham, Julian Jacobson and Daniel Browell.

Jeffrey Armstrong is a South African-born violinist, currently studying with Caroline Pether and Oliver Wille at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire. He is a prize-winner at the conservatoire, having won the Winifred Micklam Prize, the Herbert Lumby Prize, the Sylvia Cleaver prize, Colina Hodge Memorial Prize for the best violin-piano duo, the Strings Prize and most recently the Principal’s Prize. Jeffrey has received masterclasses from, among others, Daniel Rowland, Boris Brovtsyn, Jan Repko, Baiba Skride, Olivier Charlier, and Leonidas Kavakos. He has performed as a soloist with the major orchestras in South Africa, including the Cape Town Philharmonic, the Johannesburg Philharmonic and the Kwazulu-Natal Philharmonic. Last year, Jeffrey was concertmaster of the Conservatoire Symphony Orchestra for the opening gala concert of the RBC, under the direction of Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla. Subsequently, Jeffrey was invited to perform alongside Kammerphilharmonie Bremen in their production of Debussy’s Pelleas et Melisande under the direction of Mirga. More recently, Jeffrey was selected for the Irish Chamber Orchestra’s annual academy which took place in November last year. He has just completed a year of student scheme with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, and now performs as an extra player with the orchestra. Much of Jeffrey’s time at college has been dedicated to performing chamber music. He was violinist of the Continental Quartet, and subsequently the Fletcher quartet. This included engagements at Wigmore Hall, Cheltenham Town Hall, and a performance of Elgar’s Introduction and Allegro at Windsor Castle. He has been coached and mentored by musicians including Jian Wang, Eberhard Feltz, Anthony Spiri, Jonathan Kelly, and Louise Lansdown. Currently he is a member of a piano trio that will represent the Conservatoire at the Cavatina intercollegiate competition later this year. Next year, Jeffrey will be continuing his studies at the Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Medien Hannover.