Celebrated Turkish pianist Idil Biret joins forces with Worthing Symphony Orchestra

Worthing Symphony Orchestra's next concert on September 30 promises a unique occasion for both orchestra and audience.
IDIL BIRETIDIL BIRET
IDIL BIRET

Conductor John Gibbons explains: “Celebrated Turkish pianist Idil Biret is one of the most recorded classical musical artists in history and she returns to Worthing to perform with WSO and at the same time record two Mozart piano concertos.”

She has already recorded two concertos by Mozart – in collaboration with John and the London Mozart Players – and they now bring the recording team to Worthing.

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“Most recordings during the second half of the 20th century took place behind closed doors in studios such as Abbey Road or the Kingsway Hall. One key element missing from such occasions is the audience, so with the Worthing recording we hope to capture the true concert experience.

“Idil Biret has enjoyed an extraordinary career. A pupil of Nadia Boulanger, Alfred Cortot and Wilhelm Kempff, she made her US debut as a 19-year-old, playing Rachmaninov’s Third Piano Concerto on the day of John F Kennedy’s assassination.

“She has won numerous awards and accolades both in her native Turkey and internationally. Her legendary association with the Naxos label (by 2004 they had sold over 2 million copies of her recordings) includes the award-winning complete Chopin collection.”

Idil performs Mozart’s Piano Concertos No. 25 and 27 with WSO as part of a programme that includes Handel’s Arrival of the Queen of Sheba, and Boyce’s Symphony No 2, the inclusion of which exemplifies John Gibbons’ passion for British music and unsung British composers. John said: “William Boyce is a composer who was largely forgotten after his death and his music remains little-performed today. Baptised in London in 1711, Boyce was employed as an organist at the Oxford Chapel and went on to become Master of the King’s Musick in 1755 and one of George II’s organists at the Chapel Royal, before withdrawing from public musical life due to increasing deafness.

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“He wrote eight symphonies and a variety of anthems, odes and chamber music including a set of twelve trio sonatas. He also composed the British and Canadian naval march Heart of Oak. His Symphony No. 2 (originally titled Ode for the King’s Birthday) was first performed in 1756.”

The Assembly Hall concert starts at 2.45pm and tickets are available on 01903 206206 or online at http://www.worthingtheatres.co.uk.

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