Hungarian flavour to this year’s piano fest
THIS September the New Ross Piano Festival will turn its attention to the great Hungarian tradition of piano-playing with several Hungarian musicians travelling to the town to perform a wide range of piano and chamber music, adding an extra day devoted to jazz piano to the festival.
Among the pianists is Klára Würtz who is familiar to many Irish music-lovers as she was a prize-winner at the inaugural Dublin International Piano Competition in 1988. Zoltán Fejérvári is a rising star from Budapest who will make his Irish début at the festival.
Festival Artistic Director for the past 12 years Finghin Collins will return to play at the three main concerts also. The pianists will be joined by a very strong trio of string players to perform wonderful piano quartets by Brahms, Schumann and Fauré: old friends Kristóf Bárati and István Várdai are artistic directors of the Kaposvar Festival in their native Hungary, while Jennifer Stumm is an American viola player with a major international career.
For the first time the festival will present a recital on a period instrument, with world-renowned specialist Kristian Bezuidenhout performing a solo recital on a reproduction of an 1805 Walter fortepiano which the festival committee are bringing specially from the UK.
Connie Trantrum of New Ross Piano Festival said: ‘We also present the Irish debut of the astonishing 21-year-old Russian pianist Elizaveta Ukrainskaia who won first prize at the European Piano Competition in Bremen last year.’ Israeli pianist David Greilsammer performs the late night with an eclectic mix of Janacek, CPE Bach, Mozart and more. ‘We are also thrilled to announce our new Jazz Day on Wednesday, September 20, curated by Phil Ware, presenting an evening performance by the very highly-regarded Italian jazz pianist Enrico Pieranunzi, as well as a lunchtime concert with Phil and bassist Damian Evans.’ Alongside all of this activity there will be talks, masterclasses and workshops. The festival has become an important fixture on the musical calendar of Ireland and attracts an audience from all over Ireland and overseas. ‘It has a unique format and the small town atmosphere lends itself to a sociable weekend of music.’