About this Event
Join us on April 13th at 7 pm at one of the first purpose-built concert halls in Europe - the Holywell Music Room, as we proudly present our new programme "Baroque to Romanticism" by the talented Italian pianist Giacomo Tora, and take you on a journey through the different eras of classical music.
The concert programme unfolds like a story in two parts, each with its own flavour. The first half begins with Bach's Aria Variata, exploring his first set of variations written in the Italian Baroque style, showcasing the richness and sophistication of the musical world.
PERFORMERS
Italian Pianist Giacomo Tora received the Special Prize from the Jury at the 2022 Newbury Festival/Sheepdrove Intercollegiate Piano Competition for being the "candidate considered most worthy of professional support". He is also the prize-winner and finalist of several piano competitions in Italy, Spain, and the UK.
As a solo recitalist, Giacomo has performed extensively across Europe, including notable venues such as Auditorium Joseph Kosma FR, Teatro del Bibiena, XXXV International Chamber Music Festival "Umbria Classica", Piceno Classica Festival IT, St James's Piccadilly, Steinway Hall UK, Lansdowne Club, Oriental Club, Ognisko Polskie – Polish Heart Club, and Great Hall of the Blackheath Halls, among others. As a chamber musician, he has had the opportunity to perform at distinguished venues such as Queen Elizabeth Hall at Southbank Centre, Auditorium Monteverdi in Mantua, and Old Royal Naval College in London. Recently, he appeared as a soloist performing Beethoven's 4th Piano Concerto with the Orchestra Sinfonica del Conservatorio di Mantova conducted by M° Carla Delfrate.
In 2023, he recorded his unique programme for his debut album, "Hommage à BACH," with the support of the Robert Turnbull Piano Foundation. Giacomo's debut album will be released in Spring 2024, promising a captivating homage to Bach's masterful compositions.
"Through sensitive pianism illuminated with unfailing vitality and character, Giacomo Tora has brought two of the greatest composers for the keyboard into a fresh conversation that proves both richly subtle and delicately surprising," remarks Rupert Christiansen, music critic for the Daily Telegraph and UK and Europe Director of the Robert Turnbull Piano Foundation.
Giacomo is a graduate of Conservatorio di Musica "L. Campiani" di Mantova, where he completed his studies with the highest honours under the tutelage of Roberta Bambace. Currently, he is working with Deniz Arman Gelenbe towards completing his postgraduate studies after obtaining his Master of Music as a Trinity College London scholar at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance in London. He is also the recipient of the Alfred and Therese Kitchin UK and Charles Haimoff Foundation CH/IT scholarships. Giacomo is deeply grateful to have had the opportunity to refine his repertoire with world-renowned artists such as Françoise Thinat, Bruno Canino, Pascal Rogé, Martino Tirimo and Mikhail Kazakevich.
Giacomo is a member of the teaching staff at the London Piano Centre and, in the past, had collaborated with renowned Italian composer Alessandro Solbiati and musicologist Enzo Restagno for lecture-recitals on Debussy, Gershwin, Reich, and Kurtág.
PROGRAMME
J. S. Bach [1685-1750]
Aria Variata (nella maniera italiana) in A minor BWV 989 [15']
F. Liszt [1811-1886]
Après une lecture du Dante : Fantasia quasi sonata [18']
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Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco [1895-1968]
Cipressi, Op. 17 [10']
Claude Debussy [1862-1918]
Prelude No. 7, Book II, La Terrasse des audiences au clair de lune [4'] Prelude No. 7, Book I, Ce qu’a vu le vent d’ouest [4']
L'Isle Joyeuse [6']
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Holywell Music Room, Holywell Street, Oxford, United Kingdom
GBP 18.00 to GBP 35.00