The next concert in our New Artists Series provides a platform for music by the doyen of living Austrian composers, Friedrich Cerha, and his Hungarian counterpart/contemporary György Kurtág - alongside works by Ernest Bloch and Frederic Chopin.
Representing Cerha is his fascinating Sonata for Viola and Piano of 1951. The Kurtág is a selection of his collected miniatures Signs, Games & Messages (still desginated as work in progress). Bloch's exotic 1919 Suite for Viola & Piano complete the programme, together with a Chopin Nocturne. And the performers are two young masters of modern repertoire, Austrian pianist Veronika Trisko and American violist Stephen Upshaw, whose partnership has drawn critical acclaim at concerts in Vienna and elsewhere. As always, this London recital will be introduced by the critic and broadcaster Michael White.
Born in Vienna, Veronika Trisko studied solo piano at the University of Music in Vienna with C. Berner and M. Hughes.
She holds of a scholarship by Bösendorfer and is a prize winner of many competitions such as the IBLA Grand Prize Competition (Sicily), First Twenty Fingers Piano Duo Competition (Rome), Int. Chamber Music Festival Allegro Vivo, Musica Juventutis (Vienna Konzerthaus), ARD-Competition Munich, International Broadcasting Competition Concertino Praga, Concorso Internationale Provincia di Caltanissetta and Grieg-Competition Oslo.
She has given numerous concerts in Austria (Musikverein, Konzerthaus Vienna), Germany (Rosengarten Mannheim, Herkulessaal and Gasteig Munich), the Czech Republic (Rudolfinum Prague), Italy (Auditorio della RAI, Torino), Hungary, Norway, Mexico and the USA (Carnegie Hall). Veronika has performed with orchestras such the Radio Symphonic Orchestra Munich, the Radio Symphony Orchestra Vienna, the Symphony Orchestra Berlin, RAI Orchestra Italy and various others. She debuted at the Carnegie Recital Hall (New York City) in 2006, and had her debut at the Großer Musikvereinssaal (Vienna) in October 2009, conducted by Pascal Rophé.
Since making his concerto debut at 17, violist Stephen Upshaw has won several competitions and played in festivals around the world including IMS Prussia Cove, City of London Festival, Oxford Chamber Music Festival, Lucerne Festival and Salzburg Chamber Music Festival alongside artists such as Gary Hoffman, Philippe Graffin, Jennifer Stumm and the JACK Quartet. In recent seasons, recital and chamber music engagements have brought him to Boston’s Jordan Hall, London’s Barbican Hall and Royal Opera House, Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall and Vienna’s Konzerthaus.
A noted interpreter of contemporary music, Stephen has given numerous national and international premieres and performed with groups such as Klangforum Wien, Aurora Orchestra, Le Balcon (Paris) and the Bodø Sinfonietta (Norway), working closely with composers such as John Adams, Julian Anderson, George Benjamin, Christian Wolff and Michael Finnissy, who is writing a new piece for Stephen to be premiered in 2014. Additionally, Stephen has a strong interest in synthesizing music with other fields and has helped realize collaborative projects with the Boston Architectural College, Transport Theatre Company, Rambert Dance Company and Parasol Unit Art Space. He is also the artistic director of "Sounding Motion" - a new company exploring the relationship between live contemporary chamber music and dance.
A native of Atlanta, he earned a BMus(Hon) from the New England Conservatory in Boston studying with Carol Rodland and Martha Strongin-Katz and has appeared in masterclasses with Thomas Riebl, Kim Kashkashian, Pinchas Zukerman and Nobuko Imai. Stephen completed his Postgraduate studies in the class of David Takeno at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, where he was elected a Junior Fellow, and is grateful for support from the Guildhall School Trust, the Albert Cooper Memorial Trust and the Nicholas Boas Charitable Trust.
