Adelaide Symphony Orchestra
presents Konstantin Plays Beethoven
Adelaide Symphony Orchestra is excited to be back on the main stage in the Festival Theatre performing Konstantin Plays Beethoven on Friday 16 October.
ASO Managing Director Vincent Ciccarello says, “While the orchestra can’t celebrate the 250th anniversary of Beethoven’s birth by performing all nine Beethoven Symphonies as originally planned, we’re thrilled to mark this special occasion with one of our closest friends, Konstantin Shamray and our former Principal Conductor Nicholas Braithwaite.”
Concert pianist Konstantin Shamray burst onto the international music scene when he won both Judges’ and People’s Choice prizes at the Sydney International Piano Competition in 2008. Since then, he has enjoyed critical acclaim for his performances with orchestras and chamber music groups around the world. Alongside his busy international touring schedule, he is completing his PhD studies at the University of Adelaide’s Elder Conservatorium of Music where he is also Lecturer in Piano.
Konstantin is an exhilarating performer with faultless technique and fearless command of the piano.
He will be performing Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No.5 ‘Emperor’ Beethoven’s final piano concerto is a truly sublime work, born in the face of adversity during the fires of Vienna’s Napoleonic siege. Although the nickname was not Beethoven’s, it has been called ‘an Emperor among concertos’ for good reason. This music has it all: dazzling virtuosity, martial drama, transcendental beauty and exuberant celebration.
Konstantin is excited to be back performing in his home town with the orchestra. Of the Emperor Konstantin explains, “It is no doubt one of the most difficult concertos to play on stage; the difficulty one understands exactly when performing the work. The music seems straightforward; however, the difficulty is finding the fine balance between heroic, and poetic and playful. This concerto can be easily turned into a heavy, large, single colour (heroic) tiring work. On the other hand, if a pianist doesn’t have enough scale this concerto doesn’t work either. Beethoven, before anything, was a human, a live soul, and it is all in his music.”
Konstantin believes the piece is more relevant today than ever before; he says “it’s a timely reminder of what we should never forget: what life Beethoven had and how hard he fought. We may complain about everything now but we should think about him and what he went through.”
ASO Horn Emma Gregan says, “We are so lucky in these times to have access to world-class soloists here at home in Adelaide, so what better way to celebrate both our return to the stage this year, and Beethoven’s 250th birthday, than with Konstantin performing the Emperor Concerto?”
Don’t miss the opportunity to see the orchestra back on the main stage with Konstantin performing Konstantin Plays Beethoven Friday 16 October, Festival Theatre
Concert Repertoire:
Dukas Fanfare La Peri
Britten Four Sea Interludes from Peter Grimes
Elgar Serenade for Strings
Beethoven Piano Concerto No.5 Emperor
Conductor Nicholas Braithwaite
Piano Konstantin Shamray
For concert details on how to secure your seat visit www.aso.com.au.
Tickets on sale to the general public Wednesday 16 September.
Adelaide Festival Centre CEO and Artistic Director Douglas Gautier AM says: “We are delighted to welcome back Adelaide Symphony Orchestra and audiences to Adelaide Festival Centre’s Festival Theatre to experience this very special Beethoven Anniversary concert. We have been working closely with local arts organisations to bring back live entertainment and keep our community connected through live music, celebrating Adelaide’s important standing as a UNESCO City of Music. To ensure patrons feel comfortable and safe returning to our venues, we have implemented several safety measures including physical distancing, hand sanitising stations, and frequent cleaning.”
All events at Adelaide Festival Centre venues are being held in accordance with SA Health direction and the South Australian Roadmap for Easing Covid-19 Restrictions. The Adelaide Festival Centre website offers Event Guidelines https://www.adelaidefestivalcentre.com.au/your-visit/novel-coronavirus-covid-19-update/ in response to the most current information. Attendees will be seated in a checkerboard format, meaning patrons will have at least one empty seat between them and the next person. This concert will not include an interval.
Konstantin Shamray
Russian pianist Konstantin Shamray commenced his studies at the age of six in the city of Kemerovo with Natalia Knobloch. He then studied in Moscow at the Russian Gnessin School of Music and the Gnessin Academy of Music with Professors Tatiana Zelikman and Vladimir Tropp, and the Hochschule für Musik in Freiburg, Germany with Professor Tibor Szasz.
In 2008, Konstantin won First Prize at the Sydney International Piano Competition. He is the first and only competitor to date in the 40 years of the competition to win both First and People’s Choice Prizes, in addition to six other prizes. Konstantin also won First Prize at the 2011 Klavier Olympiade in Bad Kissingen, Germany and performed numerous times at the Kissinger Sommer Festival. In July 2013, following chamber recitals with Alban Gerhardt and Feng Ning, he was awarded the Festival’s coveted Luitpold Prize for outstanding musical achievements.
Konstantin’s extensive concert career encompasses Russia, Western Europe, Canada, Australia, Japan and China. He has performed with the Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra, Russian National Philharmonic, Moscow Virtuosi, Orchestre National de Lyon, Prague Radio Symphony, Belgrade Philharmonic and Sydney Symphony, amongst others; under the baton of distinguished conductors including Vladimir Spivakov, Dmitry Liss, Tugan Sokhiev, Nicholas Milton and Alexandr Vedernikov. His chamber music partners have included the Australian String Quartet, Kristof Barati, Alban Gerhardt, Johannes Moser, Li Wei Qin and Andreas Brantelid, amongst others.
He has enjoyed critical acclaim at Klavier-Festival Ruhr and Bochum Festival in Germany; Mariinsky International Piano Festival and White Nights Festival in St Petersburg; Musica Viva Sydney and Huntington Festivals; Coriole Chamber Music Festival and the Adelaide Festival. Konstantin has recorded CDs for labels Naxos, ABC Classics, Fonoforum and Artaria.
As of 2020, Konstantin is Lecturer in Piano at the Elder Conservatorium of Music at the University of Adelaide.
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Adelaide Symphony Orchestra is South Australia’s largest performing arts organisation. Established in 1936, it has been bringing music into the lives of South Australians for 84 years. As well as presenting orchestral concerts, the ASO’s focus is on nurturing our future musicians and audiences through concerts, education and community programs. ASO aims to inspire, challenge, educate and entertain.
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