TU Dublin Philharmonic Orchestra | Composers at the Crossroads

TU Dublin Philharmonic Orchestra presents

Composers at the Crossroads

David Brophy, Conductor

Marianna Prjevalskaya, Piano

Andreas Ioannides, Piano

Saturday, April 5th @ 19:30 hrs

TU Dublin Concert Hall, East Quad, Grangegorman D07 XFF2

Composers at the Crossroads

Dimitry, Wolfgang and the Quest for Freedom

The final programme in the TUDublin Philharmonic’s inaugural season features transitional works from two composers who, in their own ways, pushed orchestral music towards new frontiers.

It’s November 1937. In Leningrad, Dimitry Shostakovich’s Symphony No.5, written earlier that year, has just received its world premiere. Dubiously viewed as the composer’s “rehabilitation piece” following public attacks on his 1934 opera, Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, Shostakovich looks-on as conductor, Yevgeny Mravinsky, holds the score aloft to the wild cheers of an ecstatic audience. Having withdrawn his Symphony No.4 at the end of 1936, the composer began work on his fifth symphony the following April, subsequently referring to it as ‘a Soviet artist’s no-nonsense response to just criticism.’ In this endlessly fascinating work, Shostakovich deftly managed to present music that at once appealed to the nationalistic pro-Soviet ideals of Stalin, while simultaneously giving voice to the suffering of the Soviet people in the lead-up to World War II.

Roughly 160 years earlier and about 2,200 kilometres south-west of Leningrad, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was becoming disillusioned with his tenure at the court of Archbishop Hieronymus Colloredo in Salzburg, increasingly keen to plot a course that would eventually take him to Vienna. Acutely aware that ever-grander musical forms would increase his chances of impressing the Viennese, he began exploring multi-soloist concerti, resulting in his Sinfonia Concertante for Violin and Viola (K.364) of 1779 and this evening’s concerto, his Double Piano Concerto in E-flat (K.365). Seemingly composed for himself and his sister, “Nannerl”, his ingenious inclusion of the second piano presented even greater scope to display his endless inventiveness in handling texture, form, character and dramatic contrast.

Our programme opens with a work that was commissioned by the Bolshoi Theatre to mark the 37th anniversary of The October Revolution; Shostakovich’s Festive Overture. Composed at break-neck speed in 1954 – a year after Stalin’s death – the composer being afforded only three days’ notice, the piece displays a deft handling of memorable melodic material alongside infectious orchestral colour and formal inventiveness.

All of us involved in the TUDublin Philharmonic look forward to welcoming you to our season-finale on April 5th!

Programme

Shostakovich Festive Overture Op. 96

Mozart Concerto for Two Pianos K. 365 (Marianna Prjevalskaya & Andreas Ioannides , two pianos)

Shostakovich Symphony No. 5 in D minor, Op. 47

David Brophy

Chief Conductor of the WDR Funkhausorchester, Köln, David Brophy was born in Dublin and is a graduate of the Technological University Dublin and Trinity College Dublin. Following further studies in Ireland, England and Holland, he was appointed Apprentice Conductor with Chamber Choir Ireland and subsequently became the first appointee to take the position of Assistant Conductor with the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland. A former Principal Conductor of the RTÉ Concert Orchestra, David now enjoys a close relationship with both the RTÉ Concert Orchestra and the National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland, in addition to regular appearances as guest conductor with the Ulster Orchestra. His career has seen him conduct throughout Europe, Africa, the United States, South America, Canada and Asia.

He has conducted across Europe with recent engagements taking him to Spain (Orquesta Nacional Clásica de Andorra and Orquesta Sinfónica de Galicia), The UK (Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra), Denmark (Aalborg Symfoniorkester), Finland (Oulu Symphony Orchestra) and Germany (WDR Funkhausorchester, Cologne). Recent engagements have seen him début with some of America’s finest orchestras including the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Buffalo Philharmonic, Nashville Symphony Orchestra, Naples Philharmonic, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and with the National Symphony Orchestra at The Kennedy Center, Washington D.C.

Marianna Prjevalskaya

Praised by critics as “a grand pianist” (Il Cittadino, Italy) and a “master of piano” (Music Magazine ‘Auditorium’, Korea), Marianna Prjevalskaya joins the Dublin Conservatoire as a new piano faculty, this September.

Born to a musical family, Dr. Prjevalskaya benefited from early lessons with her mother from age six, her principal mentor for more than eleven years. She continued her studies at the Royal College of Music in London with Irina Zaritskaya and Kevin Kenner.

In 2003 Marianna moved to the United States where she joined the Toradze Piano Studio at Indiana University South Bend. She also holds Artist Diploma and Master of Music from the Yale School of Music, where she studied with Professor Boris Berman, as well as a doctorate from Peabody Institute of Music where she was a student of Professor Boris Slutsky.

Being a devoted piano teacher, she taught at Sunderman Conservatory of Music, Peabody Institute and Preparatory Program and at the Nelly Berman School of Music in Pennsylvania. She also served as Visiting Assistant Professor and piano area coordinator at East Tennessee State University.

Since her solo debut with orchestra at age nine, Dr. Prjevalskaya has appeared with major orchestras such as the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, or Galicia Symphony Orchestra, and collaborated with renowned conductors such as Rumon Gamba, Ion Marin, or Roberto Trevino. As a recitalist, she performed in the US, Europe, and Japan at prestigious venues such as the Mozarteum in Salzburg, Accademia Santa Cecilia in Rome, Minato Mirai Hall in Yokohama, Palau de Les Arts Reina Sofia in Valencia, or Weill Hall in New York. Her debut at Carnegie´s Weill Hall with Rachmaninoff´s Variations on a Theme of Chopin and the entire Book II of Préludes by Debussy was praised by musical critic Frank Daykin as “one of the major piano recitals of the season” and “a stunning display of mature pianism”. He also complimented “her sensitivity to harmonic color and her natural glorious romantic rubato.” (New York Concert Review, New York).

Marianna´s first victory at a piano competition was at the age of fourteen at Marisa Montiel Piano Competition in Linares. Since then, her performances have won her top prizes at over 20 competitions, including first prizes at the New Orleans International Piano Competition, World Piano Competition in Cincinnati, Jaén International Piano Competition in Spain, among many others.

Her performances were broadcasted by numerous radio stations across the USA, as well as by the Lithuanian, Polish Television, and Spanish Television and Radio stations. Her first CD album was released by Naxos in 2012 and features works of Scarlatti, Haydn, Schumann and José Zárate. Her Rachmaninoff album was released in 2016 by Fanfare Cincinnati and was praised by critics in the US and in Spain.

Dr. Prjevalskaya offered masterclasses in diverse music conservatories across Spain, in Iowa University, Tulane University in the USA, and at Iturbis Festival, Musical Arts Summer Program and Festival in Requena, InterHarmony International Music Festival in Italy, and the New Orleans Piano Institute. She has published diverse articles and concert reviews in Ritmo Music Magazine and Mundoclasico in Spain, and offered presentations about Alexander Scriabin and Domenico Scarlatti’s music at diverse conferences. She has served as adjudicator at Albacete National Piano Competition, Santa Cecilia Hazen Prize in Segovia, MTNA in the US, the New Orleans International Piano Competition, and Jaén International Piano Competition in Spain.

Beyond her musical life, Marianna is interested in photography and art painting.

Andreas Ioannides

"An astounding pianist of the highest artistic standards." – Menahem Pressler

Lauded as "an outstanding pianist of the highest artistic standards" by the late Menahem Pressler, Cypriot pianist Andreas Ioannides leads a dynamic international career devoted to performance, interpretation, and teaching of the piano.

Andreas has made concert appearances throughout Europe, Asia, North and South America. Highlights include performances at Boston Symphony Hall, the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., the Berlin Konzerthaus, the Seoul Arts Center, the Temppeliaukio Kirkko in Helsinki and the Municipal Theater of Rio de Janeiro. As soloist he has performed under such maestros as Neil Varon, David Effron, Paul Nadler and Roberto Tibiriçá. A devoted chamber musician, he has collaborated with esteemed artists including John Sharp, Joseph Swensen, Atar Arad, Mark Kaplan, Peter Stumpf, the Fry Street and Ariel quartets.

Andreas has received enthusiastic reviews by the Boston Globe and his performances have been broadcast on television and radio across three continents. Having been a prize winner in the BNDES International Piano Competition in Rio de Janeiro and the Hastings International Piano Competition in the UK, he more recently turned his attention to recording projects, including a 2-disc album released by NAXOS in 2020 in honour of the 250th anniversary of Beethoven’s birth.

Ioannides is currently Lecturer of Piano and Chamber Music at the Technological University of Dublin and has previously served as Lecturer at both Munster Technological University in Cork and Indiana State University in the USA. He is also co-founder and Artistic Director of ChamberFest Brown County, a chamber music festival that seeks to inspire audiences in rural America through classical music performance and education of the highest calibre.

Ioannides holds a Doctor of Music degree from Indiana University, mentored by legendary pianist Menahem Pressler.