6th April (Saturday), 19:00, NAM, Concert Hall – COMPOSERS’ PORTRAITS: STEPHEN GARDNER



Composers’ Portraits: 
Stephen Gardner
(B. 1958, Ireland)

 


Guttersnipe for flute, clarinet, violin, cello and piano (2016) *
[Written for Hard Rain Ensemble]
Martin Pavlov – flute
Rosen Idealov – clarinet
Sara Panosyan – violin
Maria Vasileva – cello
Bogdan Ivanov – piano

Play for solo piano (2015) *
[Written for Claire Hammond]
Aleksandar Botusharov – piano

Malala for piano trio (2014) *
[Written for The Fidelio Trio]
Sara Panosyan – violin
Maria Vasileva – cello
Aleksandar Botusharov – piano

Two Guys Walk into a Piano Bar for two pianos (2011) *
[Written for Finghin Collins and Charles Lloyd]
Bogdan Ivanov – piano
Aleksandar Botusharov – piano

Clockwork Soldiers for flute, clarinet, violin, cello and piano (2018) **
[Specially written on the occasion of ppIANISSIMO 2019]
Martin Pavlov – flute
Rosen Idealov – clarinet
Sara Panosyan – violin
Maria Vasileva – cello
Bogdan Ivanov – piano

__________
* Bulgarian premiere
** World premiere

 * * *

The event is held under the patronage of

H. E. Michael Forbes 
(Ambassador of Ireland to Bulgaria)

and thanks to the generous support of:

https://www.dfa.ie/irish-embassy/bulgaria/

 * * *

 Stephen Gardner (b. 1958) studied music at the Universities of Ulster and Wales from 1984 to 1990. His first commission was Wanting, not wanting (1992) for the Ulster Orchestra. This composition showed an early desire to express composers’ response to the conflict in the North. Since then, his works have been performed worldwide.
To date, he has composed eleven works for orchestra. A CD called Hallelujah containing three of these works was released to critical acclaim by the Ireland's National Television and Radio Broadcaster (RTÉ) in 2013. A key to the development of his ensemble writing was the partnership established with the Concorde ensemble and its artistic director Jane O’Leary, resulting in seven works. Subsequently, Gardner has written a series of choral works (with financial support from The Arts Council) over the past few years.
Recent compositions include No Prayers, Nor Bells (2016) for orchestra, which commemorated the 100th anniversary of The Battle of the Somme, as well as a quartet of songs for voice and piano (2016) for the mezzo-soprano Carolyn Dobbin. The Crash Ensemble premiered Jerk in March 2017. Also premiered in 2017, by Hard Rain Ensemble, was Guttersnipe. The choir Te Deum Adoramus premiered Innocent in Sofia in 2017. This was to celebrate their 20th anniversary. A major project Ulysses Extended was created over a period of 5 months in 2018. This involved extensive workshopping and improvising, resulting in 3 performances at The James Joyce Centre in Dublin.
After composing a work specially for ppIANISSIMO 2019 in late 2018, Gardner is commencing 2019 with a large-scale work which celebrates the gift from the Choctaw Nation to aid Irish Famine relief in the 1840s. As with the Ulysses work, this will be developed over several months of workshopping and improvisation.
Stephen Gardner is a member of Aosdána – the Ireland’s state sponsored association of artists.

Martin Pavlov is a solo flutist, chamber and orchestral musician. He studied flute with Prof. Georgi Spasov at the “Lyubomir Pipkov” National School of Music and at the “Prof. Pancho Vladigerov” National Academy of Music (NAM) in Sofia, where he has been a regular PhD student for two years now. He participated actively in the master classes of András Adorján, Pirmin Grehl, Robert Wind, Johannes Meissel, Patrick Jude, Gottfried Pokorny, Evgenia Epstein and others.
He is a laureate of many national and international competitions both in Bulgaria and abroad – in such countries as Serbia, Turkey and Austria. He has performed as a soloist with orchestras, such as Sofia Philharmonic Orchestra, New Symphony Orchestra, Johannesburg Chamber Orchestra and others. As a member of chamber ensembles and orchestras, he has played in many countries around the world – Austria, France, Italy, Germany, England, China, Kuwait and South Africa.
Nowadays, he is working as first flutist in the Academic Symphony Orchestra of NAM.
He has recorded for the Bulgarian National Radio, Four for Music Company and others.

Rosen Idealov is a graduate of the “Dobri Hristov” National School of Arts in Varna and of the “Prof. Pancho Vladigerov” National Academy of Music (NAM) in Sofia, where he studied in the clarinet class of Prof. Sava Dimitrov and in the chamber music class of Prof. Konstantin Chilev. He is currently an assistant professor in chamber music and accompaniment at the NAM and a teacher of chamber music, clarinet and orchestral playing at the “Lyubomir Pipkov” National School of Music in Sofia. In addition, he gives master classes in various universities in the USA.
He is successfully concerting in Bulgaria and abroad in countries like Austria, Germany, Hungary, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Romania, Macedonia, Russia, China, Korea, the USA and many others. He regularly takes participation in prestigious music forums and festivals such as: Wien Modern, Triest Prima, Varna Summer, Sofia Music Weeks, March Music Days, Salon of Arts, Apolonia, Musica Nova and others. His repertoire includes more than 600 musical pieces from the Renaissance to modern times. He is highly appreciated as a performer of contemporary music – more than 250 pieces have been written for him by prominent Bulgarian composers from several different generations.
As soloists, he has performed with some of the most famous Bulgarian orchestras, including the Sofia Philharmonic, the Symphonic Orchestra of the Bulgarian National Radio (BNR) and the Sofia Soloists Chamber Orchestra. He has made numerous studio recordings, notably for BNR and BNT.
Rosen Idealov has is the recipient of many awards, including the Golden Lyre for high artistic achievements, awarded by the Union of Bulgarian Musicians and Dancers in Bulgaria.
 
Sara Panosyan graduated from the “Prof. Pancho Vladigerov” National School of Music and Performing Arts in Burgas under Lyudmila Ivanova and the “Prof. Pancho Vladigerov” National Academy of Music (NAM) in Sofia under Prof. Verka Stefanova. She subsequently specialised with Prof. Yosif Radionov. Since 2018, she has been a PhD student at the Department of Chamber Music and Accompaniment of NAM with Prof. Georgita Boyadzhieva-Nikolova, PhD, as doctoral advisor.
She has been an active participant in the violin master classes of Gil Shaham, Vladimir Spivakov, Jean Ter-Merguerian, Barbara Doll, Sebastian Gürtler, Vesko Panteleev-Eschkenazy, Mincho Minchev, Micho Dimitrov, Vesselin Parashkevov and in the chamber music master classes of Hatto Beyerle, Avedis Kouyoumdjian, Evgenia Epshtein, Johannes Meissl, Peter Schuhmayer, Péter Nagy and others.
She has had solo and chamber music concerts at various festivals including Sofia Music Weeks, European Music Festival, ISA Festival at the International Summer Academy of the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna and Aurora Classical Music Festival in Stockholm.
She has performed as a soloist of the Sofia Philharmonic Orchestra, the Academic Symphony Orchestra and the Student String Orchestra of the NAM.
Sara Panosyan has won a number of awards from national and international competitions as solo and ensemble performer.

Maria Vasileva studied cello at the “Dobri Hristov” National School of Arts in Varna with Lyubka Angelova and at the “Prof. Pancho Vladigerov” National Academy of Music (NAM) in Sofia with Prof. Anatoli Krastev. Since 2015, she is a PhD student in chamber music at NAM with Prof. Georgita Boyadzhieva-Nikolova, PhD, as doctoral advisor.
She has participated in many master classes for cello and chamber music, including those of Yang Chang Cho, Xenia Jankovic, Alexander Hülshoff, Robert Cohen, Jahannes Meissl, Georg Baich, Marina Kapitanova, Stefan Gardmayer, Álvaro Huertas, Mats Lidström, Peter Meintz, Dilyana Momchilova, Hatto Beyerle, Avedis Kouyoumdjian, Evgenia Epshtein, Peter Schuhmayer, Péter Nagy.
She has participated in various music festivals, including Sofia Music Weeks, European Music Festival, ISA Festival at the International Summer Academy of the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna and others.
In 2010, she joined the Symphonic Orchestra of Classic FM Radio and, since 2018, she performs as part of the cello group in Bulgarian National Radio Symphony Orchestra.
Maria Vasileva is a laureate of many awards from national and international competitions, both as soloist and as chamber musician.

Aleksandar Botusharov graduated from the “Lyubomir Pipkov” National School of Music and from the “Prof. Pancho Vladigerov” National Academy of Music (NAM) in Sofia in the piano class of Prof. Iliya Chernaev, PhD. Currently he is a master degree student in the class of Chernaev as well as in the cembalo class of Prof. Margarita Krasteva, PhD. He has participated in many master classes, including those of the professors Victor Chuchkov, Tamara Poddubnaya, Elena Ashkenazy, Markus Prause and Massimo Gon.
During his school years he has given four solo concerts. He later appeared as a soloist of the Philharmonic Orchestras in Vidin and Vratsa, the Academic Symphony Orchestra of NAM and the Sofia Philharmonic Orchestra.
Over the years he has won numerous awards from prestigious international piano competitions including: “Claude Kahn” (Paris, 2006 & 2008), Young Pianists Competition in Gevgelija (2014), “Scriabin – Bartok” Academic Competition of the NAM (2015), International Competition for Young Pianists in Niš (2016) and “Stoyanov – Ravel” Academic Competition of the NAM (2017), where he won the special award for best performance of a work by Vesselin Stoyanov.
 
Bogdan Ivanov graduated from the National School for Music and Dance Arts in Plovdiv in the piano class of Elena Velcheva. He earned a Master’s Degree at the “Prof. Pancho Vladigerov” National Academy of Music (NAM) in Sofia, where he studied in the piano class of Prof. Yovcho Krushev. In 2016–17, he was an Erasmus student at the Royal Conservatory of Music of Antwerp in the class of Eliane Rodrigues. He has also attended the masterclasses of Daniel Pollack, Johannes Kropfitsch, Miri Yampolsky, Milena Mollova, Stella Dimitrova-Maystorova, Tamara Poddubnaya, Sandu Sandrin and others.
He is the winner of many national and international music competitions, including the “Dimitar Nenov” (Razgrad, 2014) and the “Liszt – Bartok – Kodaly” (Sofia, 2017) piano competitions, as well as the International Chamber Music Competition in Plovdiv (2015) for his duo with clarinettist Angelina-Ogniana Gotcheva.
He has given many solo recitals and appeared as soloist with the philharmonic orchestras of Sofia, Plovdiv, Ruse, Vratsa and Razgrad, as well as with the Academic Symphony Orchestra of the NAM. As part of the international ensemble SILAKBO, he has given world premieres and participated in festivals, such as ppIANISSIMO and Zomer van Antwerpen, as well as at the Chigiana Summer Academy (Siena), where he worked with David Krakauer.
Since 2017, he has been teaching piano at the “Lubomir Pipkov” National School of Music in Sofia. As of 2018, he also pursues a PhD at the NAM.