Recital for cello and piano

A recital for cello and piano will take place at Technopolis 20, on Friday, April 8, at 8pm with Brice Catherin (cello) and Annini Tsiouti (piano).

The programme will include works by Dmitri Shostakovich, Nikos Skalkottas and Galina Ustvolskaya.

Entrance: 10 euro
Reservations necessary at 70002420.

It can still be read on Galina Ustvolskaya's official website that she hated Dmitri Shostakovich who "ruined her life".

These two met at the Conservatory of Saint-Petersburg one century ago when she was his composition student. Shostakovich was madly in love with her and quit his wife to propose to her. After she rejected the offer, Shostakovich came back to his former wife, devastated, but still filled with an immense respect for his pupil. He would quote her music in at least two of his later works.

The mutual influence between the two composers is rather evident to most ears, in spite of Ustvolskaya's denials. She somehow writes like a Shostakovich who got rid of his superego (or KGB threats, or taste for late romanticism?) and dived into the freest radicalism and expressionism. An "unchained" Shostakovich, if you wish.

Both of them composed one unique work for cello and piano that illustrate perfectly their differences and their similarities. Between these two extremely intense pieces, we will have a short break of sensuality in our flow of violence, desperation and frustrated hope, with a short and beautiful "Tender Melody" by their Greek contemporary Nikos Skalkottas.

Brice Catherin
After his diploma of composition with Michael Jarrell in 2006, Brice Catherin willingly stepped away from the contemporary music institutions in order to develop very freely a few activities: multi-instrumental cellist, improviser, composer and art performer. These activities fed into each another, so that beyond his multidisciplinary shows and improvised concerts, Brice Catherin has never stopped composing and premiering written pieces.

Most of his recent projects explore the idea of democracy in art: the artists’ individual responsibilities and their place in the social group as well as those of the members of the audience are challenged and questioned.

Annini Tsiouti
Annini Tsiouti took piano lessons at the Ethnikon Odeion Kyprou with Thetis Dalitou. After receiving her piano Degree she was accepted at the École Normale de Musique de Paris where she studied piano and chamber music.

In 2001 she started taking piano lessons at the Conservatoire Municipal du 17e arrondissement - Claude Debussy, where she was awarded a scholarship by the City of Paris for the academic year 2003-2004.

In September 2000 she started studying Musicology at the Sorbonne University, where she specialised in 20th century music. After presenting a Maîtrise in October 2005, she followed up with a Master 2 in October 2007, both of which were received with Mention Très Bien. Both works of research dealt with the piano music of Greek composer Nikos Skalkottas, the first analysing the Four Suites and the second the 32 Piano Pieces. She is currently preparing a doctorate degree at the same university.

In 2008 Annini moved back to Cyprus where she has been working as piano teacher and accompanist. She continues giving concerts, in Cyprus and abroad, and has appeared in many cities in Europe and the Middle East, where she has also performed in various international festivals. A fervent supporter of contemporary music, she has given first performances of many works by Cypriot and other composers, either for piano solo or in chamber music groups. Since 2011 she is the official Cyprus representative of RILM (Répertoire International de Littérature Musicale).