Piotr Anderszewski and Mozart with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra

Virtuoso pianist Piotr Anderszewski joins the Scottish Chamber Orchestra for Mozart’s Piano Concerto in B flat K456 and the Concerto in C minor K491 at Perth Concert Hall (18 March), Edinburgh’s Queen’s Hall (19 March) and Glasgow’s City Halls (20 March) before taking the same programme on tour to Poland, Hungary and Turkey. Anderszewski takes on the dual role of pianist/director in these works, while the SCO’s Leader Christopher George directs the Orchestra from the violin in JC Bach’s Overture, Lucio Silla and Mozart’s Divertimento in E flat K113.

Piotr Anderszewski has developed a reputation for playing and directing, collaborating with many ensembles including the Mahler Chamber Orchestra and the soloists of the Berlin Philharmonic. He is a regular guest director with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, last performing with the Orchestra in Scotland as part of the SCO’s ‘Director’s Notes’ series in March 2008, before accompanying the Orchestra on a European tour which took in Vienna, Brussels, Bregenz and London. He has recorded Mozart's G major and D minor piano concertos with the SCO.

The SCO’s Eastern European tour – the Orchestra’s second international tour of 2009, following their recent very successful tour of India - takes in the Polish cities of Bydgoszcz and Krakow (twinned with Perth and Edinburgh respectively) on 22 and 24 March, the Budapest Spring Festival on 26 March, finishing in Istanbul on 28 March.

MOZART WITH ANDERSZEWSKI
JC BACH Overture, Lucio Silla*
MOZART Piano Concert in B flat K456
MOZART Divertimento in E flat K113*
MOZART Piano Concert in C minor K491

Piotr Anderszewski, piano/director
Christopher George, director/violin*


Piotr Anderszewski, piano/director
Piotr Anderszewski is regarded as one of today's most inspired musicians and is a regular visitor to major concert venues around the world.In recent seasons he has appeared with the Berlin Philharmonic, the Boston, Chicago and London Symphony Orchestras, the Philadelphia Orchestra and the Orchestra of the Royal Concertgebouw.

He has also developed a special reputation for playing and directing, collaborating with many ensembles including the Mahler Chamber Orchestra and the soloists of the Berlin Philharmonic. His play/direct partnership with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra has been particularly fruitful, and as well as touring extensively with the orchestra he has recorded a disc featuring Mozart's G major and D minor piano concertos. He has also made recordings with the Sinfonia Varsovia and, most recently, Die Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen.

An exclusive artist with Virgin Classics since 2000, Anderszewski's first disc on the Virgin label was Beethoven's Diabelli Variations. His strong identification with this work went on to become the subject of a film by Bruno Monsaingeon (creator of documentaries on Sviatoslav Richter and Glenn Gould). Anderszewski's discography also includes a Grammy-nominated CD of Bach's Partitas 1, 3 and 6 and a critically-acclaimed disc of works by Chopin. His special relationship with the music of his compatriot Szymanowski is captured in a highly-praised recording of the composer's solo piano works, which received the Classic FM Gramophone Award in 2006 for best instrumental disc.

Recognised for the intensity and originality of his interpretations, Piotr Anderszewski has been singled out for several high profile awards. In April 2002 he received the prestigious Gilmore award, given every four years to a pianist of exceptional talent. He has also been a recipient of the Szymanowski Prize (1999) and the Royal Philharmonic Society's Best Instrumentalist award (2001).

Anderszewski has recently collaborated with filmmaker Bruno Monsaingeon on a second prize-winning documentary, released by Idéale Audience at the end of 2008. In spring 2009 he will give a series of recitals in Europe with German violinist Frank Peter Zimmermann. His solo engagements in 2008/2009 include recitals at Carnegie Hall, Chicago's Symphony Center, the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles and the Royal Festival Hall, London. There will be further recitals in Rome, Cologne, St Petersburg, Paris and Tokyo.

Chris George, violin/director
Christopher George studied with Erich Gruenberg at the Royal Academy of Music, London and has been involved with a wide variety of music-making ever since. The SCO’s Leader, Chris has also led the Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, with whom he toured extensively working with musicians including Murray Perahia and Joshua Bell.

As concerto soloist, Chris has performed many baroque and classical works in London with the New London Soloists and London Musici, and Mozart’s G major Concerto with the SCO in the Highlands. Of the more Romantic repertoire, he has played the concertos of Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Brahms, Tchaikovsky, Sibelius, Bruch, Barber, Prokofiev, and Ravel’s Tzigane with the Brunel Ensemble, the Bath Festival Orchestra, the Jersey Symphony Orchestra, and L’Orchestre de Chambre Normandie. Venues include St John’s Smith Square in London, St George’s Brandon Hill in Bristol, and the Royal Academy’s Duke’s Hall.

Among the conductors Chris has collaborated with on these projects are Colin Metters, Rumon Gamba and Nicolae Moldoveanu. His association with the Brunel Ensemble has led to performances of more modern works such as Bernstein’s Serenade, Paul Patterson’s Concerto, and specially commissioned concerti by Alan Charlton and Will Todd. The group produced acclaimed CDs of music by Robert Saxton and Malcolm Williamson with Chris as leader and soloist.

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