Bessy Diagoma & Antonis Hatzinikolaou

The European University Cyprus in collaboration with the Pharos Arts Foundation present a recital with two of the finest guitarists of their generation, Bessy Diagoma and Antonis Hatzinikolaou. Having received international acclaim for their effortless technique and elegant interpretations as well as the quality of their expression and rich sound, Diagoma and Hatzinikolaou will present a programme comprising transcriptions and original works by Scarlatti, Rodrigo, Walton, Ryan and Ivanovic. The recital will take place on Monday 19 December 2011 at The Shoe Factory / 8:30pm

Antonis Hatzinikolaou
Greek born Antonis Hatzinikolaou completed his studies in F. Nakas Conservatory, in the class of A. Christodimou, and graduated with the highest honours and prizes. In 2004, Antonis joined London's Royal Academy of Music where he began his Postgraduate Diploma in Guitar Performance with Michael Lewin, Timothy Walker and John Mills. During this course Antonis became increasingly interested in performance research and ultimately graduated with a Masters of Music degree, having completed a concert project exploring John Dowland's depiction of melancholy in reference to Benjamin Britten?s Nocturnal. In addition to achieving a Distinction for his Master's degree, Antonis was further awarded the 'Reginald Thatcher Award for General Excellence' and, notably, the honorary DipRAM ' the highest performance award conferred by the Royal Academy of Music.

In his professional career, Antonis has already experienced notable success. He has received distinctions in numerous international guitar competitions and festivals, including the Patras National Guitar Festival Competition (Greece, 2001), the International Koblenz Guitar Competition''Hubert Käppel' (Germany, 2004), the Ivor Mairants International Guitar Award (UK, 2005) and the prestigious Julian Bream Prize (UK, 2006) adjudicated by Julian Bream himself. Antonis' professional engagements have taken him to Italy, Greece, Spain and the UK and have included performances with the Kensington Symphony Orchestra and with Grammy-winning violinist Peter Sheppard Skærved in the 2006 Paganini Festival in London. Antonis Hatzinikolaou was awarded the 2007 Park Lane Group Young Artist Award and subsequently made his Purcell Room debut (London?s Queen Elizabeth Hall) in 2008 which led to a solo recital at St. Martin-in-the-Fields earlier this year.

In 2009, Hatzinikolaou released his debut solo CD under the Draft Records label, and appeared in the NMC's Songbook CD box set of 20th Anniversary Concerts at Kings Place.

Bessy Diagoma
Having built a notable career with honorary distinctions, prizes and successful concerts, Athens-born Bessy Diagoma has been established as one of the most important soloists of her art, and undoubtedly, of her generation. In 1993 she graduated from the National Conservatory of Greece, where she studied in the class of Evanggelos Asimakopoulos, with Distinction and a unanimous jury First Prize Honours for an outstanding final recital. The following year, she won the Panhellenic Guitar Competition in Athens organised by the F. Nakas Conservatory. She subsequently attended seminars and master-classes by famous musicians such as L. Brouwer M. Barrueco, O. Ghilia, R. Dyens, and D. Russell, therefore extending her technical knowledge on the instrument and developing her musical aesthetics.

Bessy Diagoma has repeatedly appeared in recital all over Greece, the UK and Sweden. In 2005, she recorded her debut CD with works by H. Villa-Lobos, A. Piazzolla and R.Dyens, for ARKYS label, and participated in another disk with works by Greek composers for an issue of TAR magazine. Alongside her performing activities, Bessy Diagoma is also a professor at the Conservatory F. Nakas.

Programme
D. Scarlatti - 3 Sonatas (transcr. Hatzinikolaou)
J. Rodrigo - Sonata Giocosa
interval
W. Walton - Bagatelles ( II, III, IV, I )
G. Ryan - Generator
G. Ivanovic - 3 Macedonian Dances