12 November 7 pm City Hall
Tonja Čuić (Croatia/Germany) and
Fejes Krisztina (Hungary) piano recital
Program
César Franck: Prelude, Fugue and Variation, op. 18 (arr. Harold Bauer)
Dora Pejačević: Song Without Words, op. 5
Johann Sebastian Bach / Camille Saint-Saëns: Sinfonia from Cantata BWV 29 “Wir danken dir, Gott, wir danken dir” (“We Thank Thee, God, We Thank Thee“)
Pianist: Tonja Čuić
Franz Liszt: Petrarch Sonnet 123
Franz Liszt: Hungarian Rhapsody No. 14
Pianist: Krisztina Fejes
Tonja Čuić
Tonja Čuić is croatian pianist and fortepianist, currently living in Karlsruhe, Germany
She began her musical journey in the age of 12 and entered the academy in Zagreb in 2007. In 2011 she finished her Bachelor in Zagreb in the class of prof. Ljubomir Gašparović and entered the academy in Karlsruhe, Germany, where she studied Master Piano Solo with Peter Eicher and Markus Stange (2011-2015) and “Historical instruments” with Kristian Nyquist (2015-2017).
While studying, she recived numerous prizes and awards, including Rektor´s award, Deen´s Award and the prize od the Ministry of education and sport. She also won two second prizes at international piano competitions.
She participated in numerous master classes of eminent piano teachers all over Europe (Dina Yoffe, Karl – Heinz Kämmerling, Eugen Indjic, Konstantin Bogino, Pascal Rogé, Edouard Hubert, Eldar Nebolsin, Anthony Spiri, Nina Tichmann, Gottlieb Wallisch, Martin Hughes, Avedis Koumdyian, Yuval Admony, Tami Kanazawa).
As a soloist or in different chamber music ensambles, she gave concerts in Croatia, Slovenia, Austria, Serbia, Hungary, France, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Germany, Sweden and Finland.
As a soloist with orchestra, she played with different chamber music orchestras under the baton of maestro Tomislav Fačini, Orest Shourgot, Filip Šljivac, Howard Arman and her own – conducting from forte piano.
During her studies in Germany, she concentrated on First Viennese school and Schubert, the differences between playing on modern and historical pianos; conducting, while playing in small orchestras and working with singers in diffrent forms of music theaters.
Fejes Krisztina
This Hungarian artist was able to prove even through one piece that she is a true master of her instrument, and we heard a really extraordinary performance form her Zaragoza – El periodico de Aragón 2021 Excellent pianist. She has a great technique and a high level musicality. Her tone, ability to express is colorful, versatile and poetic Ádám Medveczky – Budapest 2019. She is a virtuoso with smooth play, and uses lively expression and numerous nuances changing between strong and intimate play, and always follows the natural flow of the music. János Kovács – Budapest – 2018 In the sequel Fejes was in the center again: To paraphrase Liszt Rigoletto was a very demanding piece to the player. Fejes is a complete virtuose playing one of the most difficult pieces, she is a real master of her instrument. Allgemeine Zeitung – Bingen 2018 – Germany.
Ms. Fejes began studying piano at the age of five from Ms. Zsuzsanna Vermes at the Béla Bartók Music School in Szolnok. Her talent was already outstanding at an early age. At the age of ten she won the county piano competition for youth, and two years later she was selected to the final of the Lajos Papp Piano competition at the Budapest academy of Music. After her initial success she was admitted to the acclaimed Béla Bartók Conservatory in Budapest, where she studied under Imre Hargitai and Zoltán Benkő. In 2003, she was admitted to the acclaimed Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music where she studied under László Baranyay, Balázs Szokolay and Attila Némethy. Their music pedagogy impact on her development as an artist were outstanding. She has been a permanent participant of international courses. She has participated in a variety of masterclasses lead by Dimitri Bashkirov, Paul Badura Skoda, Mikhail Voskresensky.
She has participated in numerous competitions during her study years. Out of her foreign competition during her studies, in 2007, she won second prize at the Carl Filtsch Piano Competition in Sibiu, Romania. She won second prize at the Béla Bartók Piano Competition in Szeged, Hungary and also won special prize for the best Chopin etude interpretation and best Bartók piece. To restate another way her international success resulted in multiple domestic and international invitations. She had solo tours and masterclasses in China and in South America. She was invited internationally among others to Germany, Austria, Spain, Switzerland, Italy, France, Romania – including Transylvania – and several countries where Hungarians live abroad, e.g. Serbia – Subotica Columbia, Finland, Mexico and China.
In spring 2016, she had solo tours and masterclasses in China. She has not only given the highest quality of many solo recitals, but also appeared with chamber ensembles. It is proven by the high number of invitations to international music festivals. As an invited artist from Europe she represented Europe – including Hungary – with the National Symphony Orchestra at Teatro Colón de Bogotá, during the European days. She gave a master class at the University of Cauca in Popayán and was invited by the Colombian National Philharmonic Orchestra to play Liszt’s Piano Concerto in E flat major at the Teatro Colón in Bogotá. A year later, in 2018, she returned to Colombia to give concerts, while also teaching courses at local universities, including the Universidad de Los Andes. In March 2018, she gave a masterclass in Mexico at the prestigious University of Toluca, with a recital and Liszt : Hungarian Fantasy with orchestral accompaniment in Pachuca.
Krisztina Fejes has a rich and diverse repertoire ranging from baroque to contemporary music. She is a leading artist of the Hungarian contemporary music scene, making numerous live recordings for Hungarian Radio and premieres. In 2010 she was awarded the Annie Fischer Scholarship. In 2012 she was awarded the Artisjus Prize for her work as a performing artist. She was awarded a scholarship by the MMA – Hungarian Academy of Arts for 2017/2018. In 2020 she was awarded the Artisjus Prize for her work as a performer. She is currently a freelance concert artist and a much sought-after pianist, receiving constant interest and invitations from all over the world and in Hungary also. Teaching is a mission beside her soloist – concert artist life. She is the president of Fejes Academy , her association was established during the pandemic in 2020.
