Yesterday at the MECMA: Piano Duo Recital

In yesterday's penultimate concert in the MECMA's series of daily performances, Piano Duo ST-Duo (Sofia Sakhnova and Antonina Luzko) presented a diverse programme of works. 

As part of the EUFSC and SAMIT’s efforts to promote high quality musical education, this year’s edition of InClassica is also incorporating the inaugural edition of the Middle East Classical Music Academy (MECMA), taking place from the 4th to the 23rd of September. This educational initiative features three weeks of lectures, discussions and masterclasses in the schools of piano, wind, and strings, led by a roster of international professors and music pedagogues consisting of some of the most illustrious names active today. In addition, the MECMA is also presenting a series of daytime concerts featuring soloists, orchestras, and prodigies from all around the world, with select Academy students being offered the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity of joining these artists in live performance on stage.


Yesterday at MECMA

Masterclasses:

Violin masterclass • Igor Petrushevski
Piano masterclass • Stepan Simonian
Violin masterclass • Pavel Vernikov


Quotes from Professors:

Pavel Vernikov
- “I would like to thank the European Foundation for Support of Culture for the opportunity to be here. I'm very impressed with the scale of the festival and very grateful for the warm welcome. The organisers did a very good job. I am meeting very beautiful people here who show very good support and am very happy with the masterclasses which we conducted. All the students were very happy with the masterclasses that we did — it’s good that the EUFSC not only looks at the present, but also to the future and gives students time for their skills to develop. There are so many students from all over the world. It’s good practice for students to practice their skills with the orchestras and perform in concert, it gives them a unique feeling of how to perform with orchestras and conductors.”

- “The location of the masterclasses isn’t important. It’s the quality that matters. I would like to highlight the high level of organisation of this festival in the Middle East. I’ve seen a lot of students from Egypt and also from Lebanon, and their level is also incredible. I’ve organized a few festivals myself when I was director of those festivals and organisation is extremely important. Many times, ninety percent of what you plan goes well, but then there’s ten percent of unpredictable situations which are difficult. Here I can say that one hundred percent has gone well! The fact that so many are coming to the middle east speaks for itself, and is a unique opportunity for them to take part in this festival where the quality is very high. Great opportunity for musicians to see the new place.


Daytime concert: Piano Duo Recital

Sofia Sakhnova (piano)
- "We only recently got acquainted with the music of Alexey Shor and it was very nice to immerse ourselves in the fabulous world of his images. We would like to personally thank the President of the European Foundation for Support of Culture Konstantin Ishkhanov and the entire team of organisers — it is simply impossible to convey in words all the bright emotions that we will take from Dubai to Russia."

Antonina Lutsko (piano)
- "Dubai is an amazing place, it made an indelible impression on us, it is a real oriental fairytale. And to hold a festival here with such an extensive program, with dozens of the most famous soloists and conductors in the era of the pandemic is a great victory. It is important for musicians not only to perform in public, but also to communicate with colleagues, and this is another important aspect of this event."

- "Today, for our listeners, we performed two works by Alexey Shor — 'Travel Notebook' and 'Verdiana'. The composer himself turned out to be a very intelligent and pleasant person, special thanks for the fact that he supports the musicians, is present at all rehearsals before the concert and gives valuable advice. It is always very pleasant to communicate directly with the composer. I think we were able to get as close as possible to the author's idea and convey the vision of his world with sounds."


Academy students selected to participate in the concert:

Ariana Karapetyan (piano)
Margarita Mikaelyan (piano)
Mari Poshotyan (piano)
Valeri Poloyan (piano)
Tigran Gasparyan (oboe)


Students’ Programme:

Liszt: Concert Etude no. 1 “Waldesrauchen”
M. Ravel: Jeux D'eau
Chopin: Prelude no. 24 op. 28 in D minor
A. Durand: Valse no 1, op 83
Eugene Bozza: Fantaisie italienne

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