Mohamed Shams
YouTube: the artist with the orchestra of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto #2 (third movement), Glasgow, 2012 (7:54)
New York, NY, November 10, 2014 – In a one-time only free public event, acclaimed Egyptian pianist Mohamed Shams returns to present works by Mendelssohn, Schumann, Debussy and Liszt on Saturday, November 22 at 2:30 pm at the Bruno Walter Auditorium, New York Public Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center, 111 Amsterdam Avenue. Admission is on a first-come first served basis.
The
pre-Thanksgiving performance will be Shams’ third appearance at the
Library. The program, featuring masterpieces from 19th and 20th century
composers, comes on the heels of his noteworthy October S&R Foundation recital
in Washington, D.C. and his critically praised appearances since the
age of 16 with the Cairo Symphony Orchestra. He also appeared with the
Royal National Orchestra of Scotland and the Royal Conservatoire of
Scotland Orchestra (2012). The November 22 New York Public Library
performance will offer a sneak preview to what lies in store for Shams’
upcoming April 15, 2015 Carnegie Hall/Weill Recital Hall solo debut.
Heralded
as a “world class pianist” by Philippe Entremont, the celebrated
pianist and conductor, and dubbed “brilliant” by host Bob Sherman of
WQXR-NY McGraw-Hill Young Artists Showcase, Shams is an exceptionally
gifted Middle Eastern musician steeped in Western European classical
tradition.
“I am an Egyptian classical pianist,” he says. “To
many, this may appear anomalous; I suspect that for most of the
worldwide audience for this art form, Egyptian classical artists are a
well-kept secret. However, Egypt was the first, and remains the most
cosmopolitan of the nations in this region. In fact, The Khedivial Opera
house in Cairo, for over a century the only opera house in the Middle
East, was built in 1869 to celebrate the inauguration of the Suez Canal.
Verdi’s opera ‘Aida’ received its premiere there.”
“A year ago
in Cairo,” he continued, “a young girl was returning home from class at
the at the Academy of the Arts Conservatory of Music when she was
suddenly confronted by extremist Islamist enforcers who snatched her
instrument and smashed it. Today, the government that embraced these
people has been driven from power, but my country remains in the throes
of an upheaval that in the past three years has also convulsed other
nations of the Middle East. In the midst of this turmoil, the Cairo
Opera House remains open, and defiant creativity flourishes in the
formal venues and thrives in the most unlikely places.”
ADMISSION FREE on a first-come, first-served basis.
PROGRAM:
F. Mendelssohn Bartholdy: Songs Without Words Op. 67
Andante
Allegro leggiero
Moderato
Allegretto non troppo
Andante tranquillo
Presto
R. Schumann: Sonata No. 3 in F minor, Op. 14 "Concerto without orchestra"
Allegro
Quasi Variazioni: Andantino di Clara Wieck
Prestissimo possibile
C. Debussy: Preludes (selection)
Ce qu'a vu le vent d'ouest (Book I)-La fille aux cheveux de lin (Book I)
Général Lavine – eccentric: Dans le style et le mouvement d'un Cakewalk (Book II)
F. Liszt: Mephisto-waltz No.1
FOR BRUNO WALTER AUDITORIUM EVENT LISTING, CLICK HERE.
MOHAMED SHAMS FULL BIO:
Mohamed
Shams began his piano studies at the Conservatoire of Music at the
Academy of the Arts in Cairo, Egypt, at the age of seven, graduating
with distinction in 2004. In 2000 and 2002 he won first prize at the
Brevard Music Festival competition (USA), which led to an invitation to
play with their orchestra, the Transylvania Symphony, in 2003, and a
Fulbright grant to study for one year in Washington DC with Marilyn
Neeley.
In 2008, he enrolled on full scholarship in the Master’s
Program at the Manhattan School of Music, studying with Dr. Marc
Silverman, Lawrence Dutton (Emerson Quartet) and Sylvia Rosenberg (MSM,
Juilliard School). In April 2011, he won first prize in the School’s
Mieczyslaw Munz scholarship competition, and in May, the School’s Harold
Bauer Award for a graduating student in recognition of outstanding
accomplishment, cooperation and promise.
Enrolled in 2011 on full
scholarship in the Master of Music program at the Royal Conservatoire
of Music, Glasgow, Scotland, Shams studied with professors Aaron Shorr
and Steven Osborne. He graduated from the Conservatoire in 2013. At the
RCS, he won the Jock Holden Memorial Mozart Prize, the Royal
Conservatoire of Scotland Competition, the Bamber/Galloway Competition
and the Tony and Tania Webster Prize for Russian Music. He was the
recipient of the Governor’s Prize, and the David Knox Memorial prize for
outstanding achievement at RCS.
Shams is currently enrolled in
the Artist Diploma program at the Hartt School of Music in Hartford,
Connecticut, studying with professor David Westfall.
As a
soloist, Shams has performed with a number of orchestras, among which
the Cairo Symphony Orchestra, the Egyptian Philharmonic Chamber
Orchestra, the London Chamber Players, and the Repertory Symphony (USA).
At the Beethoven Festival in Bonn, August 2007, he performed the
composer’s Concerto no. 3 in the Beethovensaal under the baton of Peter
Gulke. In March 2008, he performed the Mozart piano Concerto no. 9 at
the Cairo Opera House with The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by
Enrique Batiz. In March 2011 he played Leonard Bernstein’s Symphony no.
2, “The Age of Anxiety” with the Manhattan School of Music Symphony,
Philippe Entremont conducting, and in November 2011 he gave the opening
recital celebrating the 200th anniversary of Franz Liszt for the
International Music Center at the historic Manasterly Palace, Cairo.
While in Scotland, he played the Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto no. 2 with
the RCS Orchestra in 2012, and the same year made a guest appearance, on
a Scottish tour - Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow - (playing Gershwin’s
“Rhapsody in Blue”) with the Royal National Scottish Orchestra. In
December 2013, he performed the Prokofiev Concerto # 3 with the Cairo
Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Nader Abbassi, at the New Cairo Opera
House., In October 2014, Shams gave a recital in Washington D.C. at the
invitation of the S&R Foundation. In January 2015, he is scheduled
to appear with the Cairo Symphony Orchestra, playing Beethoven’s 4th
piano concerto.
In 2010 Shams was a semi-finalist at the Scottish
International Piano Competition in Glasgow, winning the prestigious
Bryden Thomson prize and a one-year scholarship – extended to two – at
the Royal Conservatory of Music in Glasgow, Scotland. In July 2011, he
joined the faculty of the International Music Academy in Pilzen, the
Czech Republic. He has participated in master classes by world-famous
pianists including Sergie Dorensky, Nikolai Petrov, Idil Biret, Ramzi
Yassa, Gyorgy Sandor and Nikolay Demidenko. In June 2013, he was chosen
to participate in the select Hamptons Pianofest, directed by pianist
Paul Schenly.
Shams was the featured artist on New York’s
classical music radio station, WQXR, on the McGraw-Hill Companies Young
Artists Showcase, hosted by Robert (Bob) Sherman in September 2012, and
twice again in October 2014.
Upon the nomination of the Royal
Conservatory of Music, Scotland, Shams was awarded the Silver Medal by
the Worshipful Company of Musicians.
In addition to his
performances as a solo recitalist, Shams has participated in numerous
chamber music concerts in Europe and the USA. He is a member of Chamber
Music America. He is also an accomplished accompanist.
Mohamed Shams will make his Carnegie Hall debut on April 15 2015, with a solo recital in Weill Recital Hall.
“…World-class pianist…” (Philippe
Entremont, on conducting Mohamed Shams and the Manhattan School of
Music orchestra in Leonard Bernstein’s Symphony no. 2, the “Age of
Anxiety”)
“…Exceptional pianist…” “…Brilliant…” (Host Bob Sherman, on featuring Shams on his program, the McGraw-Hill Young Artists Showcase, WQXR New York)
“…Amazing
Egyptian…play(ed) an unbelievably high-speed piece by Elliott Carter…
…deeply impressive pianist (gave) a performance of tremendous flair and
intellectual strength… Tchaikovsky’s 2nd piano concerto with spectacular
Egyptian soloist Mohamed Shams… (Michael Tumelty, music critic, Herald-Scotland).
“…Shams has what it takes to meet the technical demands involved, but more importantly he is a passionate performer” (Ati Metwali, Al-Ahram Weekly)
Hi Bill, Thank you so much for this! I hope you
will consider including Mohamed again down the road, for his April
Carnegie Hall concert (press release to be sent). Maybe you can join us at one of these events? Please let us know! Best wishes, Adria:) Adria Rolnik
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