Saturday, February 14, 2009

Nigerian Pianist Sodi Braide Gives Recitals in Illinois & Ohio Feb. 16-18, 2009

[Sodi Braide: Franck, œuvres pour piano; Lyrinx\Talents LYR 249 (2006)]

AfriClassical has followed the career of the Nigerian pianist Sodi Braide with great interest for some time. A link to an audio sample of his playing can be found in the upper right corner of the blog. Sodi has a new website in English and French. His many concerts are listed at his MySpace page. Sodi will perform two recitals and give one masterclass while in Ohio and Illinois in the coming week:
Monday, February 16, 2009, 8:00 pm, Recital, Mees Auditorium, Capital University, Columbus, Ohio
Wednesday, February 18, 2009, 12:15 pm, Recital, Preston Bradley Hall, Chicago Cultural Center
Wednesday, February 18, 2009, 8:00 pm, Masterclass, Wheaton College of Music, Wheaton, Illinois

Wednesday, February 18, 2009, 12:15 p.m.
Impromptu in c minor, Op. 90, No. 1, D899; Franz Schubert (1797 – 1828)
Ballade No. 2 in b minor (1853); Franz Liszt (1811 – 1886)
Spanish Rhapsody (1863); Franz Liszt
“A cosmopolitan artist influenced by numerous cultures, Sodi Braide likes to explore a large repertoire of different styles and periods. Currently living in Paris, he performs recitals and chamber concerts in France (Radio France, Salle Cortot, Bagatelle Chopin Festival, Serres d’Auteuil Festival, Chambord Festival, 'Flâneries musicales' Reims festival, amongst others). He has also performed in the United Kingdom (Harrogate, Cheltenham and Cambridge Summer Music Festivals), Belgium, Italy, Germany, Spain, Luxemburg, Romania and the United States. He was invited to perform in South Africa in 1994, becoming one of the first black African pianists to perform there after the end of apartheid. His Paris debut recital in 2001 was recorded by Radio France for the Declic CD series, sponsored by the French Foreign Ministry, after which Mr. Braide was invited on extensive tours of Latin America. 

“Born of Nigerian parents in Newcastle (United Kingdom), Sodi Braide started playing the piano at the age of 3 in Dublin, Ireland. He continued his musical studies in Nigeria until 1988, when he was noticed by the French pianist Eric Heidsieck during a competition organized by the Musical Society of Nigeria (MUSON). He subsequently was invited to take part in the televised concert Classic Aid II at UNESCO, Paris. He continued his musical studies in France, first at the Orleans Conservatory, then at the Conservatoire National Supérieur and at the Ecole Normale, both in Paris. He obtained the French scientific baccalaureate. He entered the postgraduate course at the Paris Conservatory, studying under Gerard Fremy, and then was admitted into the class of Dimitri Bashkirov at the Reina Sofia School, Madrid. A residency at the prestigious Lake Como Piano Foundation followed. Sodi Braide has won numerous prizes and awards. He was notably a laureate of the Natexis Banques Populaires foundation from 2001 to 2004; as well as a prize-winner in the international competitions of Pretoria, South Africa (1996), Leeds (2003) and Van Cliburn (Jury Discretionary Prize, 2005).”





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