Marcel Zidani, pianist and composer will present a lunchtime programme to include an arrangement of Casta Diva from Bellini's Norma by Mik Hashoff (a contemporary of Liszt), one of the Hungarian Rhapsodies by Liszt, a prelude by Rachmaninoff, as well as Marcel's own improvisations inspired by the painting and Sargent's Broadway.
Tickets £8.00
Venue: St Michael and All Angels Church


Marcel Zidani, piano
Marcel Zidani was born in London in 1973. He grew up in Banbury and studied music at the Birmingham Conservatoire where he graduated with honours in 1995. After being selected for advanced performance studies at the Conservatoire Marcel began his concert career. He has performed extensively, as a soloist, in Europe as well as giving concerts locally and in the Midlands. Marcel's first CD, ‘Piano in the Small Hours’, is the result of improvised sessions, often late at night and after a few glasses of wine! It has a mixture of musical qualities, from easy listening with long flowing melodies, to a more classical/romantic piano style, appealing to all musical tastes. Marcel’s music has influences from a wide range of composers and there are references to Chopin, Liszt, Mozart, Einaudi and Keith Jarrett.Marcel Zidani has been a long time supporter of Evesham based ‘The Tracy Sollis Leukaemia Trust’ and is donating a third of each 'Piano in the Small Hours' CD sold, to the charity. He has also recorded 'A New Renaissance'. The title dictates a rebirth of the romantic style and is intended to be indicative of a long awaited return to this and other styles. This music is dedicated to those who like a good melody but need something more than much of the ‘easy listening’ music that is so widely available today.

About the Programme
Marcel Zidani piano – Liszt Hungarian Rhapsody no.2
In their original piano form, the Hungarian Rhapsodies are noted for their difficulty
Liszt incorporated many themes which he had heard in his native Hungary and which he believed to be folk music, though many were in fact tunes written by members of the Hungarian upper middle class, or by composers such as József Kossovits, often played by Roma (Gypsy) bands. The large scale structure of each was influenced by the verbunkos, a Hungarian dance in several parts, each with a different tempo. Within this structure, Liszt preserved the two main structural elements of typical Gypsy improvisation—the lassan ("slow") and the friska ("fast").
Few other piano solos have achieved such widespread popularity, offering the pianist the opportunity to reveal exceptional skill as a virtuoso, while providing the listener with an immediate and irresistible musical appeal. It is considered one of the most technically demanding works in the solo piano repertoire.

Hungarian Rhapsody No.12
One of the most elaborate of the Hungarian Rhapsodies was dedicated to one of the foremost violinists of his time, Joseph Joachim (1831-1907), who was associated with performing Brahms’ Hungarian Dances.
This Liszt rhapsody is one of the most pianistically spectacular and contains a series of beautiful Hungarian tunes, woven elaborately and leading to a virtuosic coda.

Liebeslied
The Kreisler originals were violin and piano, but are less caloric in texture and less challenging for the performers.
Thereafter, Rachmaninov gives this jaunty theme a variety of brilliant and colourful treatments, not always following Kreisler's lead. Much of the writing contrasts the bold and splashy—as in the thrilling ending—with the delicate and gossamer, as in much of the central part of the piece.

Rachmaninov Prelude OP32 no 13
Though Rachmaninov’s 24 preludes might seem to make a satisfyingly round number in musical terms, and each contains a piece in each of the major and minor keys. No.13 is the last of all the preludes and is written perhaps with this in mind.

Mikhashoff - Casta Diva – (Based on melodies from Bellini’s Norma)
American Pianist Composer 1941-1993
Here Mikhashoff pays tribute to the close friendship that Chopin and Bellini shared adopting a chopinesque approach and of the many Mikhashoff transcriptions, this is one of the greatest.

Zidani: - Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose - improvised
Chopin - Fantasy Impromptu in c sharp minor
Chopin - Nocturne No.19 in E minor

www.marcelzidani.co.uk