Yesterday at the MECMA: Flute and Piano Recital

Yesterday, the MECMA concert series presented a recital progamme featuring Maxim Rubtsov (flute) and Andrey Gugnin (piano), as well as pianist Costanza Principe. 

As part of the EUFSC and SAMIT's efforts to promote high quality musical education, this year's edition of InClassica is also incorporating the inaugural edition of the Middle East Classical Music Academy(MECMA), taking place from the 4th to the 23rd of September. This educational initiative features three weeks of lectures, discussions and masterclasses in the schools of piano, wind, and strings, led by a roster of international professors and music pedagogues consisting of some of the most illustrious names active today. In addition, the MECMA is also presenting a series of daytime concerts featuring soloists, orchestras, and prodigies from all around the world, with select Academy students being offered the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity of joining these artists in live performance on stage ...

Yesterday at MECMA

Masterclasses:

Violin masterclass • Igor Petrushevski
Piano masterclass • Stepan Simonian

Quotes from Professors:

Stepan Simonian
- How are your classes at the Academy going? “Very intense. All students mostly study either in special music schools or in universities, that is, their level is already very decent. Funny, talented, good guys. They perform complex works. I am pleased to see such a desire for knowledge. Music is an activity that you can learn all your life. "

- How do you feel about the concept of the Academy: masterclasses and performances on stage side-by-side? “It is very good that students have the opportunity to play on stage. And not just to perform, but also with an orchestra. This is a unique opportunity. You can learn to play with the orchestra only in the process of practice. And students often have problems with this. They study for 5-6 years at the university and during these years they can go on stage with an orchestra a few times. Therefore, the Academy is a unique project. "

- How comfortable was the training process organized? “I am always very happy to teach. Of course, this is a very energy-intensive process that requires a lot of internal resources from the teacher. Therefore, it is very pleasant that everything was done perfectly in organisational terms. We have large rooms with grand pianos for classes. We live in a beautiful hotel, the living conditions are wonderful, everything is clearly organized. Therefore, it is very easy to work at masterclasses. They not only study and perform on the same stage with famous soloists themselves, but also attend the evening concerts of the InClassica festival. And this is a huge experience for the guys. One of my students performed a Mozart concerto, and a few days later she heard it performed by Costanza Principe. And we discussed various nuances for a long time afterwards. Of course,

Daytime concert: Flute and Piano Recital

Maxim Rubtsov (flute)

Andrey Gugnin (piano)
-“Initially, this piece was written for piano, but my partner in today's performance, Maxim Rubtsov, after performing it in an arrangement for flute, suggested making a duet. So it was the premiere in an arrangement for flute and piano. I really liked how the sonata was transformed, acquired new colors. It's not so easy to divide the piano part into two instruments, we added additional voices, there are also moments of improvisation in this piece, I really like it. I like some spontaneous decisions, when you don't know what will happen in the next second, and you decide on stage based on the current moment. In this sense, it was very comfortable to cooperate with Maxim. He is also an emotional, spontaneous person. And I had a great pleasure. I didn't even expect it to be so pleasant, because we didn't have much time to prepare, and we didn't rehearse much. But I think everything worked out. ”

- “The composer Alexey Shor was present in the hall. On the one hand, you realize that the responsibility is higher, but on the other hand, you also understand that there is a person in the audience who thoroughly knows this work. And no matter what you do, it will not go unnoticed. In a sense, this helps. And in this state, you are more naked, emotionally receptive. I'm loving it. And it is interesting for a composer to hear his own work in a new arrangement. ”

Costanza Principe (piano)
- “It was a wonderful time again. It was my second time here and I had another beautiful piece by Shor. It really went down well, I think the audience liked it. It's really amazing to be part of what's going on here. Music education is one of the most important things we can dedicate our time to I think, so I'm very glad to have been given the opportunity to be here again. ”

Academy students selected to participate in the concert:

Miquel Muñiz (violin)
Natalia Vaskinova (violin)
Davit Tonoyan (bassoon)
Mihran Arakelyan (trumpet)
Samvel Davtyan (trombone)
Garnik Msryan (piano)
Amin Ghafari (violin)

Students' Program:

JS Bach - Partita no.1
J. Sibelius - Romance
J. E. Galliard - Sonata no.1
J. Arban - Variations on Bellini's Norma
R. Glière - Nocturne
A. Babajanian - Expromt
G. Dinicu - Hora Staccato