6/1/2012 [Artists]
The Yamaha international Piano series continues at Malvern Theatres on Friday 3rd February
The fourth season of the critically acclaimed Yamaha International Piano series continues at Malvern Theatres on Friday 3rd February 2012 with a recital by internationally renowned French pianist, François-Frédéric Guy, who performs an inspired programme of works by Beethoven.
Described by BBC Music Magazine as ‘One of the foremost pianists of his generation’, François-Frédéric Guy is a concert artist of immense interpretative authority who has spent much of his career performing the works of Beethoven. BBC Radio 3’s CD Review selected his Naïve recording of Beethoven’s epic Hammerklavier Sonata as the finest in the catalogue.
François-Frédéric Guy has performed worldwide with orchestras such as the Berlin Symphony, Frankfurt Radio Symphony, Hallé, Helsinki Philharmonic, Japan Philharmonic, London Philharmonic, Munich Philharmonic, Orchestre de Paris, Orchestre national de Lyon and San Francisco Symphony. In the summer of 2006 he made his BBC Proms debut at the Royal Albert Hall performing Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G with Esa-Pekka Salonen and the Philharmonia. Other outstanding conductors with whom he has worked include Bernard Haitink, Daniel Harding, Neeme Järvi, Wolfgang Sawallisch and Michael Tilson Thomas.
In recital he has performed in cities including London, Milan, Munich, Paris, Vienna and Washington, and at festivals including La Roque d'Anthéron, City of London, Cheltenham and Yokohama. After his debut recital in the Berlin Philharmonie, the Berliner Morgenpost wrote, ‘Guy is a pianist of astonishing expressiveness, with immaculate pianistic technique...a man of the present even when he plays Schubert...’
Among François-Frédéric Guy’s most notable recordings are those of Prokofiev’s Sonatas 6 and 8 (Naïve) and Brahms’s Sonatas 2 and 3 (Meridian). He has also recorded Brahms’s Piano Concerto No 2 with the London Philharmonic Orchestra and Paavo Berglund (Naïve). His chamber music recordings include Beethoven and Brahms’s Cello Sonatas with Anne Gastinel and Brahms’s Clarinet Sonatas with Romain Guyot. As part of his ongoing Beethoven project he recently completed recording the five Piano Concertos with Philippe Jordan and Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France. Guy recently embarked on a project to record all thirty-two Beethoven Sonatas.
François-Frédéric Guy studied with Dominique Merlet and Christian Ivaldi at the Paris Conservatoire, where he graduated with the Premier Prix. He is a keen reader of the works of Dostoyevsky and of biographies and memoirs of musicians. In addition to his admiration of Beethoven – whom he describes as “the Alpha and Omega of music” – he has special affinities with the music of Bartók, Brahms, Liszt and Prokofiev and a strong commitment to contemporary music with close links to composers such as Ivan Fedele, Marc Monnet, Gerard Pesson and Hugues Dufourt, who recently dedicated a significant new piano piece Erlkönig to him.
The fourth season of the hugely successful Yamaha International Piano series that debuted with a performance by HJ Lim and has also featured Stephen Kovacevich culminates on 2nd March 2012 with a performance by Paul Lewis. Previous seasons have included sellout concerts by internationally acclaimed pianists, Peter Donohoe, John Lill, Noriko Ogawa, Nikolai Demidenko, Angela Hewitt, Freddy Kempf, Stephen Hough, Benjamin Grosvenor, Artur Pizarro and Jean-Efflam Bavouzet.
François-Frédéric Guy will be playing Yamaha's acclaimed new CFX concert grand piano and Yamaha Artist Services Europe’s manager Kumi Liley comments, “We are absolutely thrilled with the ongoing success of the Yamaha International Piano Series and our partnership with Malvern Theatres. The recitals allow us to showcase our CFX concert grand in the hands of some of the world’s finest pianists."
Malvern Theatres marketing director Fred Moroni said, “Malvern Theatres is once again grateful to Yamaha for its support, which has helped secure a distinguished line up of internationally renowned pianists. We sincerely hope this wonderful partnership with Yamaha will continue to bring the very best pianists here for many years to come.”
Ticket prices: £14 - £21
Starts: 7.30 pm Venue: Forum Theatre
