An Intimate and Magical Piano Recital Series at the Wolfsonian – FIU Museum
The recitals series at the Wolfsonian Museum in Miami Beach offer a special opportunity to our audience to feel close and personal with our artists. This Landmark in Miami Beach is one of the most enchanting, inspiring and magical places to hear piano recitals.
The Discovery Series is the crown jewel of this truly unique Festival. Is in these series that we search for those artists that are not only great talents but are unique, passionate, and creative, and with much to share with our audiences. Once these artists are discovered we take them under our wing, offer them multiple opportunities to develop their careers, making sure that they will be mentors for the next generation of pianists.
MARCH 4
ARISTO SHAM (Hong Kong)
“This young artist’s potential is boundless.” Aristo Sham showed tremendous command and involvement, passion, and pianism”
The New York Concert Review
Hailed by the New York Times as a pianist “whose playing combines clarity, elegance and abundant technique,” and by the Washington Post as a young artist with “boundless potential” who can “already hold his own with the best,” pianist Aristo Sham has dazzled audiences on five continents. In 2009, Aristo was featured in the documentary ‘The World’s Greatest Musical Prodigies’, broadcast by Channel 4 in the UK.
Aristo has also performed for royalty and dignitaries such as Prince Charles, the Queen of Belgium, and ex-President Hu of China, and collaborated with orchestras such as the London Symphony Orchestra under Sir Simon Rattle, Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra under Edo de Waart, English Chamber Orchestra under the late Sir Raymond Leppard, Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne and the Minnesota Orchestra.
Aristo first came under international recognition when he won First Prize in the Ettlingen International Piano Competition in Germany in 2006, and First Prize in the Gina Bachauer International Junior Piano Competition in 2008. More recently, he has also won prizes in the Vendome Prize at Verbier Festival, Gina Bachauer, Dublin, Clara Haskil, New York, Saint-Priest, and Viotti International Piano Competitions. In 2019, he was First Prize winner of the Casagrande International Piano Competition.
MARCH 5
NICOLAS NAMORADZE (Georgia)
“Set to become one of the truly important artists of his generation.” – Emanuel Ax
Pianist and composer Nicolas Namoradze, whose performances have been hailed as “sparkling… sensitive and coloristic” (The New York Times) and “simply gorgeous” (Wall Street Journal), came to international attention in 2018 upon winning the triennial Honens International Piano Competition in Calgary, Canada—one of the largest prizes in classical music. His often-sold-out recitals around the globe have been met with universal critical praise, and recent album releases have received extraordinary accolades, including the Choc de Classica, Record of the Month in Limelight, Instrumental Disc of the Month in BBC Music Magazine, Editor’s Choice in Gramophone, Editor’s Choice in Presto Classical and Critics’ Choice in International Piano, as well as a first-place debut in the UK charts for classical instrumental albums.
Among the most critically acclaimed musicians of his generation, Namoradze was bestowed the 2020 & 2021 Young Pianist Award by the UK Critics’ Circle, which called him “very much more than a top-flight pianist.” A Gramophone “One to Watch” and BBC Music Magazine “Rising Star,” Namoradze was also named among WQXR’s “20 for 20,” a list that “includes long-time heroes, established favorites and newcomers set for stardom who are redefining what classical music can be.” Recent critical highlights include rare five-star reviews in The Telegraph and The Guardian, which called his performance at Royal Festival Hall “ideally laconic and debonair, weighty yet exquisite, and exactingly precise in tone and touch.” A January 2022 cover feature in International Piano declared Namoradze’s Wigmore Hall debut “astonishing,” concluding that, “with so many talents and interests it is impossible to predict what this young man will go on to do: all we can be sure of is that it will be both original and unexpected.”
DISCOVERY SERIES AT THE WOLFSONIAN-FIU MUSEUM
1001 Washington Ave. Miami Beach, FL
All concerts at 7:30 PM
March 4 ARISTO SHAM
Johan Sebastian Bach
Partita No. 4 in D major, BWV 828
Ludwig van Beethoven
Piano Sonata No. 23 in F minor "Appassionata", Op. 57
Heitor Villa-Lobos
Astor Piazzolla
Adiós Nonino "Tango Rhapsody"
Smuel Barber
Piano Sonata in E-flat minor, Op. 26 Samuel Barber (1910-1981)
March 5 NICOLAS NAMORADZE (Georgia)
Johan Sebastian Bach
Selections from Art of Fugue, BWV 1080
Rachmaninoff-Kocsis
Vocalise, Op. 34 No. 14
Rachmaninoff-Namoradze
Adagio from Symphony No. 2, Op. 27
Namoradze
Memories of Rachmaninoff’s “Georgian Song”
Intermission
Franz Schubert
Sonata in B-flat major D960
For information on the full season and tickets, please visit www.miamipianofestival.com.
PATRONS OF EXCEPTIONAL ARTISTS
Exceptionally talented pianists devote their entire youth to the development of their skills, abiding by rigid and demanding schedules; focused on achieving a successful career in music. During this arduous process, they find themselves lost without the support and understanding of a benefactor. That is where the mission and purpose of Patrons of Exceptional Artists comes in, an organization that for the last 25 years has exposed the talent of countless deserving pianists to the attention of the public, conductors, and agents. Many of our artists are now in the international circuit represented by top management.
In order to further its mission, in 1998, Patrons of Exceptional Artists branched out to create the Miami International Piano Festival, (MIPF), which resulted in highly popular and inspiring summer academies held at Nova Southern University in Florida. This summer, however, MIPF offered students exposure to a most accomplished international faculty in the beautiful region of Briosco, Italy, at Villa Medici Giulini, a historical building that houses an astonishing collection of keyboard instruments. We also expanded our outreach through an online state-of-the-art virtual platform that continues to evolve, creating an archive and visual library of these activities. The goal is to provide global exposure to our artists while allowing music lovers around the world the opportunity to enjoy our concerts, lectures, and masterclasses.
Giselle Brodsky, founder and artistic director of Patrons of Exceptional Artists, spends hundreds of hours listening to innumerable performances of hopeful entries to select the artists that will inspire our audience and students with their passion and commitment to the expression of music. The Miami International Piano Festival concerts are interactive experiences that engage our audiences and enhance their appreciation of music in its infinite prism of ideas and emotions.
Patrons Of Exceptional Artists is a 501 (C)(3) non-profit organization. For more information, contact Giselle Brodsky, at info@miamipianofest.com or visit our website at www.miamipianofest.com.