ARTIST TALK

GIUSEPPE GUARRERA
MAYUMI KANAGAWA
MICHIAKI UENO

on Wednesday, 25 June, at 3 p.m., at the Glasbena Matica Friuli Venezia Giulia – Gorizia (IT).

Pianist Giuseppe Guarrera is the latest winner of the Beethoven Prize at the Cleveland International Piano Competition (2024). Acclaimed for his “virtuosity” and “expressiveness” (Scherzo), Guarrera has performed as both a soloist and chamber musician in some of Europe’s most prestigious venues, including Wigmore Hall in London, the Louis Vuitton Foundation in Paris, and the Scherzo Foundation in Madrid. His concert engagements also span renowned festivals and venues such as the Jerusalem Chamber Music Festival, Verbier Festival Academy, and Klavierfestival Rhur, as well as distinguished halls like the Musikverein in Vienna, Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, and Philharmonie in Luxembourg.

Guarrera’s concert highlights include collaborations with esteemed orchestras such as the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal, and the Orchestra del Teatro La Fenice and The Cleveland Orchestra. A significant milestone in his career was his invitation by the legendary conductor Daniel Barenboim to perform at the opening concert of the 2017-2018 season at the Pierre Boulez Saal. In addition to his recent achievements, Guarrera received the Tabor Award at the Verbier Festival in 2018 and was named a Rising Star at the Klavierfestival Ruhr in 2019. Before joining the Barenboim-Said Akademie under the mentorship of Nelson Goerner, Guarrera studied in Italy with Siavush Gadjiev and Giuseppe Cultrera, and later in Berlin with Eldar Nebolsin. This year, he will perform Shostakovich’s Concerto No. 2 in F Major with Camerata Strumentale under the baton of Jonathan Webb. He will also perform solo and chamber recitals at the Tokyo Spring Festival, Heidelberg Spring Festival, Grünwalder Konzerte, and Piano en Valois Festival, in addition to a recital tour in Italy this summer.

Mayumi Kanagawa is a violinist praised for her rich, dark sound and focused, engaging musicality. Gold medalist of the 2024 George Enescu competition as well as prizewinner at the 2019 Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow and silver medalist at the 2018 Long-Thibaud Crespin competition in Paris, she is establishing herself as a versatile and refined soloist and chamber musician. The 2024-25 season brings re-invitations from orchestras such as the Tokyo Metropolitan, Hiroshima and Maidstone Symphony Orchestras, Orchestre de Pau Pays de Bearn as well as debuts with Ensemble Kanazawa, with conductors such as Leonard Slatkin, Elias Grandy, and Nodoka Okisawa. Recital and chamber music concerts with colleagues including Giuseppe Guarerra, Yu Kosuge, Ben Goldscheider, and the Tonhain Kollektiv bring her throughout Europe and Japan. Her debut CD “Recital” with pianist Giuseppe Guarrera was released in Japan in February 2023 to wide critical acclaim, and in 2024 she received the “Fresh Artist” award from Nippon Steel.

Mayumi has performed with many orchestras including the Mariinsky Orchestra, Belgian National Symphony, Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra, Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, among others, in repertoire ranging from Bach to Britten and Berg. Her unique talent for communicating the love and joy of music making in varied repertoire and venues has also brought her to many outreach programs and schools around the world, from San Francisco to Novosibirsk. She is currently an ambassador for El Sistema Japan’s new Ribbon project, bringing instruments and music education to children in the foster care system. Since October 2023 she is also teaching at the Hochschule für Künste in Bremen. Mayumi’s musical education has been shaped by Kolja Blacher, Yoshiko Nakura, Masao Kawasaki, and Robert Lipsett. She currently performs on the Wilhelmj Antonio Stradivarius violin from 1725, on generous loan from the Nippon Music Foundation.

As the winner of the Geneva International Music Competition (2021), Michiaki Ueno has proven to be one of the most promising artists on the classical music scene. He made his debut as a soloist at the prestigious Suntory Hall at just eleven years old, performing the Lalo Cello Concerto. This led to his win at the International Tchaikovsky Competition for Young Musicians, catapulting him onto the international scene. His artistry has been honored with numerous awards, including the Idemitsu Music Award, Nippon Steel Music Award, Hideo Saito Memorial Foundation Award and first prizes at the Romanian International Music Competition. He attracted the world’s attention at the Geneva International Music Competition with his sensational performance of the Lutoslawski Cello Concerto, winning the first prize with three special awards, including the Young Audience Prize. Educated under the tutelage of Hakuro Mohri and Pieter Wispelwey, Ueno further honed his musicality as an artist-in-residence at the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel, under the guidance of Gary Hoffman and Jeroen Reuling.

As a soloist, Ueno has performed with leading orchestras such as the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Warsaw Philharmonic, KBS Symphony Orchestra, NHK Symphony Orchestra, and the Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra, under renowned conductors including Charles Dutoit and Jonathan Nott. He has shared the stage in chamber music performances with acclaimed artists such as Martha Argerich, Mischa Maisky, Augustin Dumay, and José Gallardo. Ueno performed at music festivals around the world such as La Folle Journée de Nantes, Montpellier Music Festival, Pacific Music Festival, Argerich Music Festival Beppu, and the Beethovenfest Bonn, where he was awarded the Beethoven-Ring 2024. His recording career began ambitiously with the release of his world debut album, featuring the complete Bach suites at the age of 26. ​Ueno performs on two fine instruments: a 1730 “Feuermann” Stradivarius, on loan from the Nippon Music Foundation, and a 1758 P.A. Testore cello, on loan from the Munetsugu Collection.

Admission free.