20.04.2024, 19:00, Wrocław, Aula Leopoldina
Frederic Chopin and his genius influenced the work of many prominent neo-Romantic composers, including Alexander Tansman and Alexander Scriabin, who over time developed their own, more abstract musical language. Poetry and mysticism are combined here with folklore and an innovative approach to harmony.
The program will be rounded out with original works by Ferdinand Sora for solo guitar and guitar duet.
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From the gentlest of whispers to visceral percussive power, Jesse Flowers ‘reveals the full potential of the classical guitar’ (Badische Zeitung). His refined command of timbre and nuance saturates every note within his repertoire, from the Renaissance era to today’s contemporary compositions. His playing has captivated audiences at renowned venues such as the Wigmore Hall, Aldeburgh Festival, and the Musikverein in Vienna, and has taken him on concert tours spanning his homeland Australia, Europe, China, and the USA.
Flowers has received prizes at not only a plethora of international solo guitar competitions, in Salzburg, Zagreb, London, Koblenz, Nürtingen, Alessandria, and Darmstadt, but also at prestigious multi-instrumental competitions, including the Deutscher Musikwettbewerb and the Prinzessin Margaret von Hessen Wettbewerb.
Flowers thrives on collaboration, frequently performing in a variety of chamber music settings. Most prominently, he performs duo recitals with Julia Spies (mezzo-soprano), Ildiko Szabo (cello), and Anissa Baniahmad (flute). These concerts often feature his unique arrangements of an array of composers, spanning from Schubert to Debussy, Bach to Piazzolla, and also newly commissioned pieces.
An integral part of Flowers’ mission is to grow the repertoire of the classical guitar, a commitment he fulfils through new arrangements, and collaborating with composers to commission original pieces. He has premiered new works by Olivia Davies, Petra Szászi and João Luiz, and aspires to add to this list in the coming years.
As of April 2020, Flowers is Professor for Guitar at the Akademie für Tonkunst Darmstadt in Germany, where he teaches both undergraduate and postgraduate students. Beyond this he also gives masterclasses at guitar festivals and universities across the world.
Born in Sydney to an Australian-Singaporean father and a German mother, Flowers earned his Bachelor of Music at the Australian National University, studying under the guidance of Minh Le Hoang and Timothy Kain. In 2014, he relocated to Germany, commencing his studies with Tilman Hoppstock in Darmstadt (Akademie Für Tonkunst) and later Thomas Müller-Pering in Berlin (Universität der Künste). Throughout his musical journey, the late composer Phillip Houghton served as a significant and cherished mentor.
‘A Master of breathing and vocal line on the guitar’ – this is how the playing of the Polish musician Jerzy Chwastyk was described by the Pizzicato magazine.
Jerzy Chwastyk’s extensive repertoire ranges from traditional and classical guitar music to innovative projects and unusual duets with other artists.
These include collaborations with the Neuköllner Oper, the actor Hanns Zischler, the bandoneonist Omar Massa and the cellists Susanne Szambelan and Maciej Kułakowski.
This versatility is also evidenced by his two highly acclaimed solo CDs: La Joia (2017) and Iberian Soundscapes (2020), “dichter.liebe” (Prospero Classical) with Hanns Zischler and Susanne Szambelan and the CD Romance – Canciones y danzas (2019), which he recorded with the violinist Tjaša Kastelic.
On the album “dichter.liebe” recorded in 2022 with Susanne Szambelan and Hanns Zischler, he also appeared as an arranger of songs by Robert Schumann – the first transcription of the well-known cycle was praised by critics as an “absolutely monumental and poignant” work. (Radio France)
Prize winner of many renowned competitions (Concurso Sigall/ Chile, Concurso Fernando Sor/Madrid und Concurso Segovia in Linares and in La Herradura) studied in Weimar, where he attended a master course taught by Prof. Monika Rost and Prof. Tomasz Zawierucha, and in Berlin, where he took up master studies under the supervision of Thomas Müller-Pering. He also participated in numerous international master courses run, among others, by Zoran Dukic or Roberto Aussel. Apart from obtaining a diploma and a Master’s degree he also passed a concert exam in 2015.
Jerzy Chwastyk gives concerts as a soloist and chamber musician in the whole Europe.
