Evening Recital: Maria Tsangaridou | Piano

Please note, entrance to the venue is via stairs only. We apologise for the inaccesability of this venue; should you require assitance, our stewards are more than happy to help.

Join Us for the Premiere Concert of the RRO's Evening Recital Series!

Starring Maria Tsangaridou, a pianist at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire.

Programme

J.S. Bach: Prelude & Fugue in G minor, No. 16 BWV 861, Book 1

Chopin: Prelude op.28, No. 6

Chopin: Prelude op.28, No. 20

Yann Tiersen: Comptine d'un autre ete - l'apres-midi

Yann Tiersen: La Noyee

Tchaikovsky: "October", from "The Seasons"

F. Schubert/Liszt: "Standchen"

Short Interval (10 mins)

Fryderyk Chopin: Nocturne, Op. 55, No.1

Vassilis Tsitsanis: "Six Folk Pictures": No. 1, 2 (arr. Hadjidakis)

No.1: "Συννεφιασμένη Κυριακή" ("Cloudy Sunday")

No.2 "Αρχόντισσα" ("Lady")

Maria Tsangaridou: Improvisation in A-minor

Franz Schubert: Sonata in C-minor, D958:

III. Menuetto: Allegro-Trio

IV. Allegro

Maria Tsangaridou - Biography

Maria Tsangaridou was born in the city of Nicosia, in Cyprus. Since her childhood, she displayed a genuine interest in music. She started piano lessons with Maral Betikqian, around the age of 5 and one year later she continued with Chloe Mavronicola Chrysostomou at the Pan-Cyprian Odeon, who was her piano teacher until the age of 17. After graduated high school as the 1st top ranked student for the whole six years, she went on to study Medicine at the University of Patras, in Greece. However, her passion for music led her to pursue the studies she was expected to do and had as first choice, in music. Accordingly, in summer 2019 she applied to universities in the United Kingdom and she got an unconditional offer from the University of Southampton, where she did a Bachelor with Honours, studying piano with Sylvia Bowden, conducting with Robin Browning and composition with Matthew Schlomowitzch. She then applied for Masters at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, in September 2022, when she immediately got the place to start her course a week later. She pursued her Masters in Piano performance at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, under Katharine Lam and Daniel Browell. She is also got an offer to do an Advanced Postgraduate Diploma in Performance with scholarship, in United Kingdom and in Russia (full scholarship), in September 2024.

Since the age of 8 she started attending piano competitions with success. She won the 1st Piano Award among young pianists and was attributed with the 1st prize award - most outstanding performance- of works of a composer-pianist-conductor Christodoulos Georgiades at the 1st Pan-Cyprian Competition of ‘’EPTA’’, in Cyprus, in 2001. Thereafter she won the first piano prize at an International Piano Competition ‘’Evangelia Tziarri’’, a very important competition in her country which hosts candidates from all over the world. She later on, got the second piano prize for pianists up to eighteen years old, at the ‘’3rd Pan-Cyprian Piano Competition ‘’The Steinway Club’’ at the age of nine. Thomas Duis, who was the one of the jury members on that competition had mentioned that they wanted to honour two first prizes, however her age was the factor for their final decision. The latter accomplishment gave her the opportunity to represent Cyprus on the ‘’10th International Steinway Festival’’, in Hamburg, in Germany, in 2002, which it remains one of the most significant experience she had in music so far. Maria continued participating and winning competitions in piano solo performance at Pan-Cyprian and Pan-Hellenic Competitions and to get 2nd and 3rd prize awards in International competitions, as well as in 10 Maths Pan-Cyprian competitions during her lifetime in Cyprus and before to go to the University.

Being an active member in Music, Maria gave her first piano concert at the age of 5. She was also a soprano in choirs and she gave concerts in Spain. She had also been the pianist at the Orchestra in Nicosia, when she was 16 years old and she played Mozart’s piano concerto with the Symphony Orchestra of Cyprus, when she was 17 years old. She later, gave concerts in Patras accompanying vocalists and she was the assistant director of a music band in Greece, where she was also working as pianist and vocalist. She had been giving recitals with orchestral ensembles in Southampton and played in piano duos and trios as well as chamber music and solo recitals in Birmingham.

She performed in thirteen several venues during 2023-24, around Birminhgham (i.e.: Stratford-Upon-Avon) ,throughout United Kingdom and in Cyprus. She also played with the Symphony Orchestra of the Conservatoire , at Symphony Hall, in Birmingham, collaborating with Catherine Larsen- Maguire.

At the age of 11 she had been chosen to participate in masterclasses with various professors in the United Kingdom, such as Judith Burton and Niel Immelmann, at the ‘’6th Oxford Philomusica Festival’’, which takes place every year, in Oxford. A year later, she attended masterclasses with Thomas Duis and other accomplished pianists in Cyprus and in Vienna, and in 2202-2024 with Peter Donohoe, Martino Tirimo, Victor Sangiorgio, John Thwaites, Julian Jacobson and Carole Presland.

Teaching piano, singing and theory of music for seven years privately and at music schools in Southampton and Birmingham gave her the opportunity to help students pass their exams with distinction. During her teaching journey, she has taught more than 250 students She is always focusing and working deeply on technique, musicality and she is fostering confidence in her pupils during their performances in concerts, exams and competitions.

Apart from her teaching path, she is also currently giving solo and chamber recitals in the United Kingdom, as well she is accompanying students at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire for their exams.

Described from her teachers:

“A rare talent at such young age, who plays like an adult mature pianist, with so much wisdom and depth”

“Naturally talented in musicality and technique, clever and flexible fingers drawing the music.