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Quarto Quartet on the concert in Bulgaria Hall, April 2010

June 3, Wednesday, 19.00h

Beethoven

Sonatas for violin and piano

Ivan Penchev (violin) & Dimo Dimov (piano)

• Violin Sonata No. 1 in D major, Opus 12 (1798) Dedicated to Antonio Salieri.

• Violin Sonata No. 5 „Spring“ in F major, Opus 24, (1801)

• Violin Sonata No. 9 in A major, „Kreutzer Sonata“, Opus 47, (1803)

Ivan Penchev (violin) graduated from the Sofia school of music and the state music academy with Prof. Josiph Radionov. Since childhood he has been wining awards at national and international competitions including “Wieniavski”, “Kotzian”, “Sv. Obretenov” and others. He participated in master classes of Max Rostal, Vl. Spivakov, Svetlana Bezrodnaia, Bernhart Hartog. Since 1990 he has been placed in various positions including leader in many Bulgarian and international orchestras conducted by Cl. Abbado, Carl St. Claire, Rossen Milanov, N. Marriner, E. Tabakov and others. Currently he is a member of the Sofia Philharmonics; he is the first violin of “Quarto Quartet” winning several competitions for chamber music – “250 years Mozart” in 2006, “Competition for Austrian music” in 2008, “Competition Goleminov” in 2008 and others.He has been a soloist of several orchestras with concerts of Bach, Mozart, Brahms, Tchaikovsky, Beethoven and others. Since 2006 he has been collaborating with Prof. Dimov their repertoire included sonatas of Beethoven, Schubert, Schumann, Brahms, Bartok and others.

Dimo Dimov (piano) graduated from the Sofia music school and the state music academy with Professors Julia and Constantine Ganev. He continued his education as their assistant. During 1983 – 4 he completed his education with Prof. Lilly Krauss in the United States. In 1970 he received first prize at the national competition “Stvetoslav Obretenov” he also received first prize at the “International competition for pianists in Athens in 1979”. He has been praised by critiques and juries for his performances of Beethoven being compared with the performances of Sv.Richter. Dimo Dimov has been successfully performing as a soloist and in orchestras in Europe and in the United States. He conducted master classes in Greece from 1986 through to 1991. Currently Dimo Dimov is Prof. in piano at the state music academy Pancho Vladigerov.

May 12, 2009 in Dobrich

"Quarto" Chamber Music Players

Quarto – The chamber music players of Sofia.

The Quarto’s concert in Dobrich (Bulgaria) on the closing of Chamber Music Festival (May 12).

Program:

Mozart’s Fantasia in d moll – prof.Dimo Dimov (piano);
Beethoven’s Sonata No.1 for violin and piano – Ivan Penchev (violin) and Dimo Dimov (piano);
Schubert’s Nocturne – Ivan Penchev (violin), Stoyan Bozhkov (cello) and Dimo Dimov (piano);
Mahler’s Piano Quartet – Quarto Quartet (Ivan Penchev, Tatyana Todorova, Stoyan Bozhkov and Darina Vassileva);
Pipkov’s Piano Quartet – Quarto Quartet (Ivan Penchev, Tatyana Todorova, Stoyan Bozhkov and Darina Vassileva).

Ivan Penchev – violin
Svetlana Stancheva – violin
Tatyana Todorova – viola
Stoyan Bozhkov – cello
Darina Vasileva – piano
Silvet Salieva – double bass

• Bedrich Smetana String Quartet No. 1 in E minor „From My Life“ The composition of the first string quartet From My Life was preceded by a period of fateful changes in Smetana’s life। In 1874 he lost his hearing। Two years later he moved with his family to Jabkenice in the countryside, which seemed to him like an expulsion; he suffered from his deafness and missed contact with like-minded company. He presented the string quartet as a conversation within a close circle of four friends who discuss what is tormenting them. It is a kind of passionate and resigned dialogue between a spirited person and his destiny.
• Franz Schubert ‘Trout’ Quintet in A major for violin, viola, cello, double bass, and piano, D667,  composed in summer 1819 during an excursion to Upper Austria. The title is so called because the fourth of the five movements is a set of variations on his song The Trout/Die Forelle, D550, (1817).

Tickets are available on +359 2 951 5571, www.ticketstream.bg, quartoquartet@gmail.com and at the box office of Bulgaria Hall

Sofia Chamber Music Players

Ivan Penchev-violin

Darina Vasileva-piano

Tatyana Todorova-viola

Stoyan Bozhkov-cello

&

Silvet Salieva – double bass, Atanas Iliev – clarinet,

Pavel Rusev – cello and Svetlana Stancheva – violin

The Quartet „Quarto“ was founded more than 3 years ago in Sofia, Bulgaria, as not only a piano quartet, but also as a flexible chamber ensemble with varying configurations, such as duos, trios, as a string quartet and as a quintet with piano, double bass or clarinet.

They present frequent concerts in Sofia and many other cities in Bulgaria (Sofia, Ruse, Stara Zagora, Varna, Dobrich) as well as in Italy, Germany and Austria.

Bulgarian and foreign musicians alike testify to the high level of these young musicians, as exemplified by their performances at and prizes from competitions such as the „250 Mozart Anniversary“ -Sofia, 2006, ”Brahms Competition”-Austria,2006, Competition “Austrian music” -Sofia, 2008, „Goleminov Competition“ - Sofia 2008 and others.

Frequent guests artists appearing with Quartet „Quarto“ are Bulgarian pianists Dimo Dimov and Bogdan Stanev, cellist John Koen (Philadelphia, USA) and violist Avri Levitan (Israel).

The quartet and its guests have premièred numerous contemporary works by Bulgarian and foreign composers such as Georgi Arnaudov and Tsenko Minkin, Lubo Denev and Vasil Kazandjiev, Tom Knific, Dimitar Ninov and others.

Their current repertoire includes trios, quartets and quintets for piano and strings by Beethoven, Brahms, Schubert, Robert Fuchs, Frank Bridge, Dvořák, Mahler, Mozart, Schumann, Bartok, Marin Goleminov and others.

Quartet Quarto