David Vance and Illir Merxhushii - Piano at 10
We are indeed fortunate to have secured these two fine musician for the Piano at 10 programme and our audience is sure to be delighted with another outstanding recital by musicians of renown.
Ilir Merxhushi, cello
Albanian-born cellist, Ilir Merxhushi, graduated with excellence in performance and teaching from the Academy of Fine Arts, State University of Albania in 1987. He was then appointed to the Albanian State Opera Orchestra, later becoming the principal cellist. He worked with the orchestra for more than ten years. At the same time he was professor of cello at the Academy of Fine Arts, Albania, and performed as a soloist and chamber musician in concerts throughout Albania, Germany, Italy, Croatia, Spain, Portugal and Greece. Ilir migrated to Australia in 2001. He played with the Australia Opera and Ballet Orchestra under Simone Young as artistic director from 2002-2004.
He maintains an active teaching practice in Wollongong alongside a busy performing schedule. His repertoire embraces the major cello works, including the Bach cello suites, concertos by Dvorak, Schumann, Saint-Saens, Lalo and Tchaikovsky's Rococo Variations, as well as the sonatas of Brahms and Beethoven.
David Vance, piano
David Vance holds honours degrees in English literature and music performance, and pursued further musical studies in Italy, Austria and England. He taught at the University of Sydney and the NSW Conservatorium of Music before his appointment in 1982 to the University of Wollongong where he was Associate Professor and Sub Dean in the Faculty of Creative Arts until his retirement in 2012. David has broadcast and recorded chamber music for the Australian Broadcasting Commission, and is active as an accompanist and choral conductor. In recent years he has provided music, as performer, composer and music editor, for several documentary films made by the acclaimed Australian cinematographer/director, Geoff Burton, including The Fall of the House, a film about the conductor Sir Eugene Goossens.
Concert review
Date: – 1st March 2014
Venue: Soldiers’ Memorial Hall, Bundanoon
The artists: Ilir Merxhushi, ‘cello and David Vance, piano
Highly talented artists IIir Merxhushi & David Vance made their second appearance in Bundanoon. In their first appearance, they were members of a piano trio. The music selection offered in this recital was two major works of the nineteenth century and an introspective encore piece by the master of the tango (as made respectable by fusion with European baroque underpinnings), Astor Piazzolla.
The Program
1. Luigi Boccherini 1862-1918
Concerto in B flat major (arranged by Friedrich Grützmacher, 1895)
This very popular concerto is based on Boccherini’s ninth concerto but it is also a pastiche, including elements of several others of the composer’s concerti.
2. Johannes Brahms 1833 –1897
Sonata for Piano and ‘Cello in e minor Op. 38
This sonata is one of two that Brahms wrote for ‘cello and piano, a somewhat early work (1865) and therefore well furnished with musical ideas.
Encore: Astor Piazzola 1921-1992 “Oblivion” (1982)
Reviewer: Neil Mitchell
General Comments:
The concert was held before a rather large audience (ca. 109 persons) on a cool and wet day. The audience was quiet but warm and the performers were informative in their programme notes and in introducing the encore. As before, the artists were well-prepared, more than equal to the demands of the program and they were well-matched. In particular Mr Merxhushi’s masculine and superbly accurate playing was easily audible at the back of the hall. Mr Vance was also superbly accurate and a nuanced associate artist (or soloist, according to the title of the Brahms sonata) but was not helped by some slightly flat notes in the upper octaves of the hall’s Kawai grand piano, a matter that is to receive attention.
Bundanoon audiences will undoubtedly welcome back IIir Merxhushi & David Vance at any future concerts.