Nicolas Bringuier and Olga Monakh will present a concert entitled “Along the Danube”, in which they will play two works written for four hands, the Mozart Sonata in D Major KV381 and Fanz Schubert’s Fantasy in F minor D940 and then Liszt’s Second Rhapsody. In part two, they will play three Hungarian Dances of Brahms, three Slavonic Dances of Dvorak and will finish with the spectacular arrangement of Smetana’s tone poem, The Moldau. Though we are aware that the Danube does not reach Prague, we are sure the Denia audience will overlook that and just listen to the music!
Sharing the same love for the repertoire of four hands, it was after their meeting in 2002 in the class of the great pedagogue Klaus Hellwig at the Berlin University of the Arts that the Nicolas Bringuier and Olga Monakh began to play together. United on stage as in life, they quickly made a name for themselves for their virtuosity and the originality of their programs. In 2005, they played at a reception given by the President of the Republic of Germany and have toured many countries, including concerts across China. Their extremely extensive repertoire includes most of the original works for four hands, as well as many transcriptions of symphonic works.

Programme:
W.A. Mozart: Sonata in D Major KV 381
F. Schubert: Fantasy in f minor D.940
F. Liszt: 2nd Hungarian Rhapsody

Intermission

J. Brahms: 3 Hungarian Dances
A. Dvorak: 3 Slavonic Dances
B. Smetana: The Moldau

In the Denia Festival’s second concert on October 30, Ars Alta proudly presents Vasco Dantas from Portugal in an evening titled “From Bach to Queen”. A Gramophone review of a recent recording by Vasco Dantas praises “his unusual programming and captivating artistry”. In this Denia concert, he will offer a guided tour of three hundred years of writing for keyboard, including pieces from Bach’s Art of Fugue, Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata, a Military March of Schubert, Schumann’s Arabeske, a Chopin Polonaise and favourites of Liszt, Satie and Debussy. Prokofiev’s Montagues and Capulets will follow and then, to conclude, he will play Queen’s Don’t Stop Me Now. If the audience is lucky enough to receive an encore, it will surely be a Portuguese Fado.
Vasco Dantas was born in Porto in 1992 and attended London’s Royal College of Music before completing his doctorate in Münster. Since then, he has performed on all five continents is the most prestigious concert halls, receiving excellent reviews.

Programme:
Johann Sebastian Bach - El arte de la fuga, Contrapunto IX (1742)
Ludwig van Beethoven - Sonata para piano n.º 14, Op. 27 n.º 2 “Moonlight” (1801)
Franz Schubert (arr. Franz Liszt) - Marcha militar n.º 1, Op. 51 (1812)
Robert Schumann - Arabeske in C major, Op. 18 (1839)
Frédéric Chopin - Polonesa en la bemol mayor, Op. 53 (1842)
Franz Liszt - Liebestraum n.º 3 (1850)
Erik Satie - Gymnopédie n.º 1 (1888)
Claude Debussy - Suite Bergamasque L. 75 III. Clair de Lune (1905)
Sergei Prokofiev - Romeo y Julieta: Montagues and Capulets (1935)
Queen - Don’t Stop Me Now (1978)

On November 6, in the third of this year’s International Piano Festival concerts, Ars Alta is proud to present Congyu Wang for the second time in Denia in a programme entitled “Romantic Encounter.” Singapore-born Congyu Wang trained in France and now lives in La Reunion. He will play a movement from a Concerto by Mozart and then three Chopin Nocturnes followed by the four Ballades. If that were not enough for an evening’s work, he will then play Liszt’s Rigoletto Paraphrase, which is probably as virtuosic as it gets.
He himself says that he loves to play the classical repertoire, Beethoven, Mozart, Chopin, and Liszt, but his repertoire goes way beyond this and includes his own compositions. He also says he tries to change his repertoire in the same way a restaurant would change its menu, and concert goers in Denia can look forward to this menu based on Chopin and Liszt. Congyu Wang is a Steinway Artist.

Programme:
Mozart Piano Concerto K488 Adagio
Chopin Nocturne Op.48 No.1
Chopin Nocturne Op.9 No.2
Chopin Nocturne Op. Post
4 ballades de Chopin 
Liszt Rigoletto Paraphrase

On November 26, in a concert entitled “La Reina”, Ars Alta Cultural is proud to present the legendary Turkish pianist, Gülsin Onay. She has many years of experience at the top of the international concert circuit, is recognised as a State Artist in Turkey and has played with many top orchestras and conductors. She is described on Wikipedia as having “long been a household name around Europe and beyond, with an international career spanning more than 80 countries, and including collaborations with many of the most esteemed artists and musical institutions of our time.” She is also famous for championing the music of Turkish composer, Ahmed Adnan Saygun and indeed she will play two of his Preludes in Denia. Alongside the Saygun, she will play a Bach Partita BWV825, the Sonata K331 of Mozart and the Chopin Sonata in B minor, op58.
Widely renowned as one of Turkey’s most acclaimed cultural exports, Gülsin Onay has been enchanting audiences around the globe for decades, starting with her first official concert when she was six years old. She has been a Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF and now spends her time between touring and giving concerts, leading masterclasses at various venues, and sitting on the jury boards of multiple international competitions. We are very lucky to hear her play this fourth concert in the Denia International Piano Festival.
In her own words, “it is not enough to just play, but a pianist needs to create meaning, to say something with the piece. Each note that they play has to have a meaning, it cannot just be playing mechanically, that’s not enough.” She advises every pianist to “ensure that each musical phrase should be a new creation and a creation of magic.” The audience at this fourth concert of the Festival can judge Gülsin Onay against her own personal standard, when she observes that playing the piano “is without question always such a great experience to go through, it’s such a joy for me, and I always feel so immensely thankful every day that I can still play!”

Programme:

Johann Sebastian Bach
Partita No. 1 in B flat major, BWV 825

Praeludium - Allemande - Courante - Sarabande - Menuett I - Menuett II - Gigue

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Sonata in A major, KV331

-Andante grazioso con variazioni
-Menuetto
-Alla Turca

Ahmed Adnan Saygun
2 preludes in Aksak rhythm, op.45 nos.4 \& 12

Frédéric Chopin
Sonata in B minor, op.58

Allegro maestoso
Scherzo: molto vivace
Largo
Finale: presto non tanto

The fifth and final concert of this third Denia Internation Piano Festival on December 4 is given by a young pianist who recently won first prize at the Franz Liszt Center Piano Competition. With the title “Mastermind”, Serbian Milan Slijepčević will play a demanding and ambitious programme that promises a rich and varied musical experience, with a few fireworks at the end.
Milan Slijepčević’s concert will start with Schumann’s Davidsbündlertänze op6, eighteen characteristic pieces from the composer’s early career. He will follow with a Debussy Prelude “La terrasse des audiences du clair de lune”, and then the lyrical Fifth Sonata of Scriabin. Then to finish, he will play the Second Sonata of Prokofiev.
Born in 2000, Milan Slijepčević has been described as performing the Schumann “with his customary sensitivity and mastery.” He is described as “a young pianist who has already conquered the international music scene with his virtuosity and ability to interpret works with great expressive maturity.”
Ars Alta Cultural gives priority to the promotion of young artists and in this fifth concert of the festival, our organisation is achieving its goal. Milan Slijepčević, however, is an amazing pianist and already a seasoned performer. He will certainly not disappoint and has the potential to bring this third Denia International Piano Festival to a rousing and spectacular conclusion.

Programme:
1. R. Schumann: Davidsbündlertänze, op. 6
I Lebhaft (Florestan und Eusebius)
II Innig (E.)
III Etwas hahnbüchen (F.)
IV Ungeduldig (F.)
V Einfach (E.)
VI Sehr rasch und in sich hinein (F.)
VII Nicht schnell. Mit äußerst starker
Empfindung. (E.)
VIII Frisch (F.)
IX Hierauf schloß Florestan und es
zuckte ihm schmerzlich um die
Lippen.
X Balladenmäßig. Sehr rasch. (F.)
XI Einfach (E.)
XII Mit Humor (F.)
XIII Wild und lustig (F. u. E.)
XIV Zart und singend (E.)
XV Frisch (F. u. E.)
XVI Mit gutem Humor
XVII Wie aus der Ferne (F. u. E.)
XVIII Ganz aus Überfluss meinte
Eusebius noch Folgendes, dabei
sprach aber viel Seligkeit aus
seinen Augen.

2. C. Debussy: Prelude No. 7, Book 2, “La terrasse des audiences du clair
de lune”

3. A. Scriabin: Sonata No. 5, Op. 53

4. S. Prokofiev: Sonata No. 2 in D minor, Op. 14
I Allegro ma non troppo
II Scherzo: Allegro marcato
III Andante
IV Vivace

Enjoy all our concerts with one Season Pass!