Violin and Pianoforte Recital
Programme
A. Schnitke (1934 – 1998) Suite in the Old Style op. 80
J. Brahms (1833 – 1897) Sonata no. 2 in A Major op. 100
A. Piazzolla Gubaidulina Le Grand Tango
Andrea Gajic’s performances have been described‘a triumph of musical expression which held one spellbound from the opening cadenza to the last wisp of sound’.(The Scotsman).
Since her London debut performing Bruch’s Scottish Fantasy at St James’s Palace for Yehudi Menuhin’s 70th Birthday Celebration at the age of 12, Scottish violinist Andrea Gajic has enjoyed an international career as a soloist and chamber musician of the highest order. As a soloist she has performed with many orchestras across the globe and most recent performances include concertos by Sibelius, Barber, Brahms, Prokofiev, and Glazunov. She has also recorded for BBC Radio, Bavarian Radio, Lithuanian Radio, and Radio Baltimore together with appearances on BBC, STV, ITV and Russian and Serbian television.
Chamber music highlights include leading the Fibonacci Sequence at Conway Hall, London, recitals at the Munich Residenz and the Arctic Arts Festival, and a recording of Beethoven’s Theme and Variations op. 107 with pianist Michael Leslie, Thomas Rugge and Michael Shopper for Bavarian Radio, then released by Büchergilde Gutenberg. Andrea also plays as part of Ad Libitum – a unique and exciting violin and accordion duo – with her husband Djordje performing regularly across UK, Serbia, Croatia, Russia, Australia and at the Victoria International Arts Festival, Gozo.
Alongside an active performing career, Andrea is also a passionate and dedicated pedagogue. A professor at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, many of her students have excelled in national and international competitions: the Queen Sophie Charlotte International Violin Competition, the Lithuania International Music Competition, the Hunter Foundation BAFTA, and gone on to work with some of the major orchestras and ensembles: RSNO, BBC orchestras, SCO, Scottish Ballet, and the Scottish Ensemble. Andrea previously taught at the Yehudi Menuhin School, Surrey, St Mary’s Music School, Edinburgh, and the Douglas Academy, Glasgow. In demand internationally as a visiting professor, Andrea has given classes and workshops at the Sydney Conservatorium, University of Performing Arts-Graz, Rostov Conservatoire of Music, University of Delaware, Peabody Conservatory, European String Teacher’s Association, Sistema Scotland and music schools across Serbia, Russia, and Scotland. Working regularly alongside Nicola Benedetti, Andrea is a tutor for the Benedetti Foundation and in 2017 together with Natasha Boyarskaya she gave a series of filmed workshops for the Benedetti Strings Festival in Saffron Hall which was featured in The Strad and Music Teacher magazines.
Andrea began her musical studies at St Mary’s Music School, Edinburgh, before being awarded scholarships from the Martin Trust, the Caird Trust and the Scottish International Educational Trust to study with Sylvia Rosenberg at the Peabody Conservatoire, Baltimore. Five years of study with Khalida Akhtiamova followed at the Gnesin Russian Academy of Music, Moscow, before she completed her studies at the Royal College of Music with Dr. Felix Andrievsky.
Andrea plays on a 1766 Nicola Gagliano violin.
Liivi Arder is an Estonian pianist who studied at the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre under the tuition of Toivo Nahkur and Nata-Ly Sakkos. In 2010, she completed the Advanced Accompaniment Course at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland with Fali Pavri and later received the Sam Hutchings Fellowship award. She has taken part in several competitions, winning the first prize in the famous Valentino Bucchi Competition, Rome, third prize in the chamber music category of the 11th Pietro Argento Music Competition, Gioia del Colle, the Estonian National Television prize in their Con Brio Competition, as well as the coveted Hestor Dickson Accompanist Prize, among many others. Liivi has been a soloist with the Chamber Orchestra of the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre (EMTA) as well as with the Aberdeen International Youth Festival. She was also a member of the EMTA New Music Ensemble performing in the Contemporary Music Festival in Seoul. As an accompanist, Liivi has been working for music summer courses and master classes at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, as well as with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra and the prestigious BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra. She has also performed in chamber ensembles with Peter Wesley and Kai Kim, and has taken part in the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and the Glasgow West End Festival with the ensemble Daniel’s Beard. Liivi is currently an accompanist and coach with the Strings Department at the RSC and the Junior Conservatoire of Scotland. She is also a member of the Da Vinci Trio.
This concert will start at 8.30pm.
