In front of a packed Kolarac Concert Hall, in a delightful atmosphere, violinist Maxim Vengerov and pianist Simon Trpčeski performed at the concert that is considered by many to be one of the most important cultural events of the season.
Maxim Vengerov is one of the most sought-after soloists and conductors of today. He has been inspired to try out many different styles of music, including baroque, jazz and rock. In recent years, Vengerov has performed as a soloist and / or conductor with all of the world's major orchestras, including the New York Philharmonic, the Berlin Philharmonic, the London Symphony Orchestra, the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra, the Symphony Orchestras of Chicago, Montreal, Toronto, Sidney, Melbourne, the Munich Philharmonic, the French National Orchestra, the La Scala Philharmonic Orchestra and many others. He has won numerous awards, including the Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Soloist Performance (with orchestra) in 2003, two Gramophone Awards, the Classic BRIT Award, five Edison Classical Music Awards (Edison Klassiek), two ECHO Awards and the World Economic Forum Crystal Award.
Pianist Simon Trpčeski has built a reputation thanks to his powerful virtuosity and deep expressiveness, as well as his charismatic stage performance. His breakthrough on the international scene came twenty years ago, as part of the BBC New-Generation Artist. In the course of his career so far, he has collaborated with more than a hundred orchestras on four continents and performed on the most prestigious concert stages in the world. Trpčeski has had successful collaboration with renowned record companies, as well as with numerous prominent conductors. Dedicated to spreading Macedonian culture and art, he initiated the MAKEDONISSIMO project to introduce audiences around the world to the richness of Macedonian folk music. In 2009, Trpčeski received the Macedonian Order of Merit by the Macedonian president, and in 2011, he became the first ever recipient of the title National Artist of the Republic of Macedonia.
At the concert in Belgrade, organized by CEBEF (Belgrade Festivals Centre), this ‘explosive duo’ performed works by Mozart, Prokofiev, Franck and Ravel.
The audience gave a standing ovation to the flawless and inspired concert performance of the two virtuosos, who ‘treated’ it to compositions by Johannes Brahms – Hungarian Dance No. 2 (Ungarischer Tanz Nr. 2), Fritz Kreisler – Love's Sorrow and Love’s Joy (Liebesleid and Liebesfreud) and Gabriel Fauré – After a Dream (Après un rêve), which they performed as an encore.
