Concert

Concert

Rossitza Stoycheva (piano) & Mikako Hori (piano)

Programme:

Felix Mendelssohn – Allegro brilliant in A major, Op.92
Johannes Brahms – 4 Hungarian Dances (No1, 5, 7, 13)
Alexander Borodin – Polovtsian Dances from “Prince Igor”

– Interval –

Atanas Atanassov – Bulgarian dance
Alexander Yossifov – Toccata Virtuosa
Sergey Rachmaninov – Six morceaux, Op.11
1. Barcarolle
2. Scherzo
3. Theme Russe
4. Valse
5. Romance
6. Slava!

Biographies:

Rossitza Stoycheva and Mikako Hori have been performing together since 1996. They both studied at the Royal College of Music, London and have Masters Degree in performance. Their teachers have included Phyllis Sellick, Gordon Fergus-Thompson and Valeria Szervanszky.

Rossitza has won number of prizes at the International Piano Competitions in Italy, France and the Czech Republic. In 1994, she was a finalist of the BBC Radio 3 Young Artist’s Forum. Rossitza made her debut at Carnegie Weill Hall in New York in 1996 and appeared with Sir George Solti at a Gala Concert in the presence of HRH Duchess of Kent.

Mikako has won several piano competitions including the Silver Medal of the Chappell Piano Competition at the Royal College of Music. Mikako has achieved three Master’s degrees in different musical fields and performed recitals in Japan, Germany and Switzerland.

As a duo, they come from different cultural backgrounds. This is unique in a sense that they not only bring the characteristic of their own cultures, which complement one another, but it also adds a variety to their collaboration.

Their vitality, infectious enthusiasm and remarkable ensemble ensure that the listener is left with the sense of hearing one performer on one instrument- a rare phenomenon in the performance practice.

Their repertoire includes a wide range of works written for four hands and two pianos from the classical composers to the modern arrangements of popular classics. Rossitza and Mikako enjoy discovering new and original works, which are not often performed. Bulgarian and Japanese composers are of particular interest, mirroring their respective cultural backgrounds. The duo has performed in various recitals throughout the United Kingdom, including Wooburn Festival, Netherhall Concert Series and St. Andrews Young Artist Series. They have also performed for number of charity events, including a concert at Leighton House for the Rotary Club of Kensington. Their 2008 concert tour of Bulgaria received critical acclaim and the duo appeared on Bulgarian National Television as part of the Apollonia Festival.