Melodies and Serenades
The upcoming concert to be performed by Sofia Narmania and Lucie Kucharova will be held on Tuesday the 5th of April 2016 at the Oratory of St. Francis at 12:30pm. It will feature delightful and melodious classical music such as the iconic Saint-Saens The Swan.
The progamme performed by cello and piano duo, will feature, besides Saint-Saens music, Faure`s Sicilieen op. 78 and Elegy op. 24. and David Poppers Melodie on Antoine Rubinstein theme Op.3 No. 1.; Rachmaninoffs famous, lyrical Vocalise Op 34 No 14 and Antonin Dvoraks Silent Woods Op 68/ V. The programme will also feature Josef Suks Ballade and Serenade Op 3.
Lucie Kucharova (cello) commenced her violoncello studies with Bedrich Havlik, pursuing advanced study at the Janek State Conservatory in her native Brno. She graduated after further specialising in violoncello performance at the Academy of Music and Performing Arts, Bratislava, simultaneously completing her academic studies at the Masaryk University, Brno. Recipient of numerous bursaries she also studied at the University of Copenhagen and the Conservatorio Giuseppe Tartini, Trieste. Following the completion of her studies, which included chamber music performance, she worked at the Landestheater Detmold in Germany. She also represented the Academy of Music and Performing Arts of Bratislava with the Philharmonie Junge Donau under the direction of the legendary Tam Vasy. Between 1998 and 2004, Lucie performed with numerous orchestras in her native country including the Radio Symphony Orchestra and the National Opera Theatre Orchestra after which she became Principal Cellist with the Opera Giocosa del Friuli Venezia-Giulia. She was also a member of the Orquestra do Norte, Portugal.
Amongst important concerts in her career is her participation at the Warsaw Autumn Festival, a concert in Lisbon with the participation of renowned tenor Placido Domingo, and at the Vatican City in a concert commemorating the 4th anniversary of the Pontefice with the Orchestra Sinfonica Giuseppe Verdi. She has been a member of the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra since 2009.
Lucie features frequently as a soloist with various ensembles in Malta and Gozo. She plays an 1869 French Derazey cello.
Pianist Sofia Narmania displayed tremendous interest in music from
an early childhood and started giving her first concerts at the age of seven.
At the age of ten she won great public acclaim playing Beethoven's 2-nd
Piano Concerto and then she was invited to continue her music education in
Moscow Pre-Conservatory college.
Her musical development was shaped by
her studies at the Moscow Conservatoire and postgraduate,where she graduated
with honors in the class of professor I.Plotnikova.
During her years of education Sofia appeared on the concert stage as a soloist
with many orchestras, and gave several recitals in the main halls of Moscow and
in other cities of Russian Federation.
As a soloist she performed the concertos of J.S.Bach, W.A.Mozart, L.Beethoven, S.Rachmaninov, P.Tchaikovsky, D.Shostakovich. Sofia has participated in numerous festivals and master-classes with various renowned professors.
A winner of international competition in Italy (1
prize),she has performed in Greece, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Holland, Russia,
Malta.
Her extensive repertoire covers all musical periods and styles,she performs
works by Scarlatti and Bach,Liszt and Rachmaninov,Ginastera and Piazolla.
In March 2014, she made a recording of works by modern Italian composer Federico Gozzelino.
The lunchtime concerts are aimed at giving a platform to local and foreign artists and, it gives the opportunity for the audience to experience the charming oratory. The oratory has an interesting history as before the main church was enlarged in the beginning of the 20th Century, the large chamber was used as the refectory for the religious community. It was then transformed into an oratory, adorned by magnificent baroque paintings, a magnificent gilded altarpiece and original monks benches.
The events are fund raising events for the Franciscan Church, which is undergoing extensive structural restoration. Tickets for the lunchtime concerts, costing 8 euro, can be obtained from the venue itself half an hour before the concert begins. For more details phone 7968 0952 or email: baroccomalta@gmail.com