The 21st Gümüşlük Music Festival begins with an opening concert featuring violin virtuoso Kristóf Baráti, who is recognized worldwide as an extraordinarily talented musician, and a rising star supported by the Festival’s international education scholarship programme, composer and pianist Tuna Bilgin. The concert, featuring sonatas by Beethoven, Brahms, and Franck, will take place in the Ancient Stone Quarry.
Baráti’s performances, known for their wide range of expression and flawless technique, and the poetry he brings to his playing, are highly appreciated worldwide. Recently, Baráti has performed as a soloist with the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl, the London Philharmonic Orchestra at the Royal Festival Hall, and at the opening concert of the 2019 Verbier Festival. He has also played with orchestras such as the Zurich Tonhalle, Oslo Philharmonic, French National Orchestra, ORF Vienna Radio Symphony, Montreal Symphony Orchestra, BBC Scottish Symphony, BBC Philharmonic, and The Hague Philharmonic. Currently residing in Budapest, Baráti regularly performs throughout Hungary and, along with István Vardái, serves as Artistic Director of the Kaposvár International Chamber Music Festival.
Twenty-one-year-old composer and pianist Tuna Bilgin began his musical journey as a self-taught composer at the age of five. After starting piano at the age of seven, he was accepted into the Bilkent University Music Preparatory Secondary School at the age of ten, where he studied piano under Prof. Gülnara Aziz. Tuna, also a long-time student of State Artist and pianist Gülsin Onay was invited by conductor Valeri Gergiev and pianist Mira Jevtić Richter, to perform in a series of recitals at the Mariinsky Festival alongside renowned artists like Lucas Debargue and Daniil Trifonov. He has won awards in national and international competitions such as the Orbetello Piano Competition and the Paul Badura-Skoda competition.
CONCERT PROGRAM:
Beethoven:
Violin and Piano Sonata No. 5 in F Major, Op. 24 “Spring Sonata”
Brahms:
Violin Sonata No. 2 in A Major, Op. 100
Franck:
Violin Sonata in A Major