Geirthrudur Gudmundsdottir & Antoine Préat

A lunchtime recital of Romantic music for cello and piano

PROGRAMME:
DVOŘÁK Silent Woods
CHOPIN Sonata for Cello and Piano in G minor Op 65
GRIEG Sonata for Cello and Piano in A Minor Op 36

The programme opens with Dvořák’s Silent Woods, a quiet, lyrical piece first written as a piano duet in his From the Bohemian Forest collection and later arranged for cello. Two passionate sonatas follow, in which the piano is as much a star as the cello. Chopin’s was the last work he published in his lifetime, written for his close friend, the cellist Auguste Franchomme. Grieg’s, dedicated to his cellist brother, displays the composer’s signature folk-dance energy.

About Geirthrudur Gudmundsdottir

Praised for her “technical mastery” and “extraordinarily musical” performances (Morgunbladid, Iceland) Icelandic-American cellist Geirþrúður Anna Guðmundsdóttir is carving a distinctive musical voice, combining sensitivity with a bold and fiery stage presence. She has performed at venues across the world, including Carnegie Hall, the Southbank Centre, the Warsaw Philharmonic, Lincoln Center, and the Banff Centre, and appeared as soloist a with the Iceland Symphony Orchestra and the Royal Academy of Music Symphony Orchestra, among others. Her performance in Reykjavík’s Harpa Concert Hall of the six Bach Cello Suites, was hailed as “an awe-inspiring experience” (Frettabladid, Iceland). Geirþrúður has been a prize winner at numerous competitions, including the Anton Rubinstein International Cello Competition, Hellam Young Artist Competition, and the New York International Artists Association Competition.

About Antoine Préat

Noticed at the Clara Haskil Competition and signed with Naïve Records, Franco-Belgo-British pianist Antoine Préat has been praised for his “unique voice and strong musical convictions”. Described by the french radio as “one of the most gifted pianists of the young generation”,  this Londoner has been invited to perform
at the Wigmore Hall, Concertgebouw d’Amsterdam, St Martin-in- the-Fields, Bridgewater Hall, Harpa Hall in Reykjavik, Salle Gaveau, BOZAR, Flagey, Salle Cortot, Fryderyk Chopin Institute as well as throughout Europe and the United States. He is frequently invited
to speak and perform on the BBC, France Musique, RTBF Musiq3, RAI radio 3. Antoine is currently Artist in Residence at the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel in Belgium.