Classical music of youth

By Maria Gregoriou

The Embassy of Romania in Cyprus and the Romanian Society in Cyprus are organising an evening of classical music featuring young Romanian musicians on Saturday at the Kasteliotissa Hall in Nicosia.

The three young musicians, Irini Pericleous, Annisia Iacovou,and Bianca Matei, will perform Brahms, Enescu, Liszt, Porumbescu, Rachmaninov, Sarasate, Skalkottas, and Toduta at the Kasteliotissa Hall together with music teacher Catalina Teican.

Pericleous is the youngest of the musicians, at only 12 years old. It was not so long ago, at the age of seven, when she started violin lessons with the Programme for the Development of Musical Talents, established by the Ministry of Education in collaboration with the Department of Antiquities. Playing the violin came naturally to her and in no time she could play difficult pieces and achieve excellent results in her performances and exams. Through the musical programme, she took part in a number of concerts throughout the island. This year she gave a solo performance at the Romanian School in Nicosia as part of its anniversary concert.

Fifteen-year-old Iacovou was born into a musical family, making her background and everyday life one of musical adventure. She started violin lessons at the age of eight with the Programme for the Development of Musical Talents. The programme enabled her to become a member of the Cyprus Young String Soloists ensemble, with whom she has performed at various major events in Cyprus, and abroad in Vienna, Brussels, Moscow and Rome. Last year Iacovou and the young string soloists performed in Italy and she has been selected to perform as a soloist with the Cyprus Symphony Orchestra during their performances next year.

The eldest of the three is Matei, a new graduate of the Gheorge Dima Academy of Music in Cluj-Napoca,Romania. Matei also grew up in a musical family and started piano lessons at the age of five. A year after starting her lessons she entered the Sigismund Toduta Music school and has since won a number of prizes, performed in recitals and has received invitations to perform in various musical festivals. She has been awarded for excellence and won first prize in a number of competitions, including the Pro Piano-Romania competition and the J. S. Bach competition.

The three young soloists will be joined by Teican, who studied at the Academy of Music in Bucharest and at Bowling Green State University, USA. She has performed in workshops and master classes with such renowned pianists as Gerard Fremmy, Andre Watts, Garrick Ohlsson and Daniel Shapiro, and participated in numerous national and international
competitions, festivals, recitals and chamber music concerts. She is currently living in Nicosia and teaches at the G. Menelaou Music School in Nicosia.

A cocktail will follow the concert during which you can meet the young artists.

Young Romanian Musicians in Concert
Classical music featuring young, talented Romanian musicians. November 22. Kastelliotissa Hall, Nicosia. 7.30pm. Free. Tel: 96-249493

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