Macedonian Pianist Simon Trpceski Makes His Cal Performances Debut In A Recital Of Schubert And Liszt On Sunday

Macedonian Pianist Simon Trpceski Makes His Cal Performances Debut In A Recital Of Schubert And Liszt On Sunday, April 14, In Hertz Hall At 3:00 P.M.

Pianist Simon Trpceski, a Macedonian musical treasure, will play a recital of Schubert and Liszt works on Sunday, April 14 at 3:00 p.m. in Hertz Hall as part of the Koret Recital Series. In his Berkeley debut, Trpceski will reprise several works from his Carnegie Hall recital debut from March 2012 and will add a Liszt work inspired by Schubert, for an afternoon of ambitious and energetic piano music. “Anyone with a passion for piano-playing at its most spellbinding should hear Trpceski whenever they can” (The Telegraph, UK).

The recital will open with Franz Schubert’s German Dances, a suite of light dances of varying character and style, performed as one long work. Following is Schubert’s epic Wanderer Fantasy, a technically demanding work written when the composer was just 25 years old, that uses dense textures to compress an entire orchestra into the piano keyboard. Franz Liszt’s transcription and arrangement of J.S. Bach’s Prelude and Fugue in A Minor (BWV 543) follows, demonstrating Liszt’s understanding of organ-playing and the ways in which the organ’s many voices can be replicated—or at least emulated—using the piano. The next Liszt composition on the program, inspired by a Schubert suite, is Soirees de Vienne, valse caprices. The transitions and enhancements Liszt made to these nine brief Schubert waltzes are as interesting and entertaining as the underlying works themselves. The final work on the program, Liszt’s Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2, is often known through its orchestral transcription. It showcases the composer’s rich knowledge of, and deep affection for, the folk music of his native Hungary—perhaps surprising given that Liszt’s family moved to Vienna when Franz was just 10 years old and the composer rarely returned as an adult.

Simon Trpceski was born in the Republic of Macedonia in 1979. He studied with Boris Romanov at the University of St. Cyril and St. Methodius in Skopje, Macedonia, and now resides and serves on the music faculty there. In addition to winning several international piano competitions over his career, Trpceski received the Young Artist Award by the Royal Philharmonic Society (UK), the Presidential Order of Merit from the president of Macedonia, and the title “National Artist of the Republic of Macedonia”—the first artist granted this title. In addition to solo recital and festival performances worldwide, Trpceski has played with leading orchestras including the London Philharmonic, New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, Royal Concertgebouw, Russian National Orchestra, Hong Kong Philharmonic, and the Sydney and Melbourne Symphonies. He has recorded music of Tchaikovsky, Stravinsky, Rachmaninoff, Chopin, Debussy, and others for the EMI label. His official website, with content in English, is trpceski.com.

TICKET INFORMATION

Tickets for Simon Trpceski, piano on Sunday, April 14 at 3:00 p.m. in Hertz Hall are priced at $46.00, subject to change. Tickets are available through the Ticket Office at Zellerbach Hall; at (510) 642-9988; at www.calperformances.org; and at the door.  Half-price tickets are available for UC Berkeley students. UC faculty and staff, senior citizens, other students and UC Alumni Association members receive a $5.00 discount (Special Events excluded). For select performances, Cal Performances offers UCB student, faculty and staff, senior, and community rush tickets.  For more information about discounts, go to http://calperformances.org/buy/discounts.php or call (510) 642-9988.