Matei Varga is the 2021 recipient of the Romanian - American Fine Arts Award, conferred by the Romanian government. His artistry has garnered superlative reviews from critics around the world, who have found his performances “magical” (Süddeutsche Zeitung), “colorful, vivacious [and] engaging” (Le Diapason). A top prizewinner at the “George Enescu”, “Maria Canals”, and "Cidade do Porto" international piano competitions, Mr. Varga has appeared as a soloist and recitalist in many of the world’s leading concert halls, among them Carnegie Hall and Alice Tully Hall in New York City, Konzerthaus Berlin, Palau de la Musica in Barcelona, the Romanian Atheneum in Bucharest, Victoria Hall in Geneva and the Auditorium du Louvre, Salle Cortot and Salle Gaveau in Paris. He was invited by Gian Carlo Menotti to appear at the “Festival dei Due Mondi” in Spoleto and was awarded the “Salon de Virtuosi” Career Grant in New York.
He has collaborated with conductors such as Otto-Werner Mueller, Elio Boncompagni, Christian Reif, Gabriel Bebeselea, and frequently accompanied the great Romanian soprano Mariana Nicolesco. Mr. Varga studied with Ana Pitis, Ioana Minei and Sandu Sandrin at the National University of Music in Bucharest, and with Pavlina Dokovska at Mannes College. He now lives in New York City and is Artistic Director of the Vendome Prize, a piano award described by Le Figaro as "the world's most prestigious competition" and currently presented by the College of Performing Arts at The New School.
Mr. Varga's discography includes releases for Naxos, Sono Luminus and Coviello Classics.
PRESS
"With his infectious enthusiasm and seemingly effortless technique, Varga makes light work of soaring leaps, cascading runs at breakneck speed and delightful trills, all with precise attention to detail.”
Lisa MacKinney
Limelight"[A] grand and wonderfully lugubrious new release from the young Romanian pianist Matei Varga... [Dumitrescu's] nine piano preludes recorded here are largely vivacious and full of dense keyboard intricacies that Varga exploits splendidly... Janácek’s swirling, Impressionist masterpiece...gets an appealingly fluid performance. The slow movement of Bach’s D-Minor Concerto...closes out the disc like a serene funeral benediction."
Joshua Kosman
San Francisco Chronicle"The performances are exquisite... they show a fine sense of shaping a lyrical melodic line with perfect tonal control”
Rob Haskins
American Record Guide"[an] excellent pianist”
Robert Gottlieb
The New York Observer"[H]is every phrase conveyed intelligence and a burning sense of musical mission. . . . Mr. Varga played with consummate care and fidelity without ever sounding fussy or pedantic . . . listeners were rapt, utterly motionless and silent. . . . there was clearly an exceptional mind at work.”
Rorianne Schrade
New York Concert ReviewSUGGESTED PROGRAMS
Ernesto Lecuona (1895 - 1963)
Andalucía (from Suite Española)Frederic Chopin (1810 - 1849)
Trois Ecossaises, Op. 72 No. 3
George Gershwin (1898 - 1937)
I Got RhythmLudwig van Beethoven (1770 - 1827)
Bagatelle in A minor (WoO 59) Für EliseErnesto Lecuona (1895 - 1963)
XIXth Century Cuban Dances (selections)La Cardenense
Arabesque
La Mulata
Al Fin Te Vi
Minstrels
Frederic Chopin (1810 - 1849)
Impromptu No. 3, Op. 51 in G-flat majorErnesto Lecuona (1895 - 1963)
Zambra Gitana, from “La tierra de Venus” (transcribed and arranged by Thomas Y. Tirino)Domenico Scarlatti (1685 - 1757)
Keyboard Sonata K 380, in E majorKeyboard Sonata K 135, In E major
Andrei Tudor (b. 1983)
Rondo alla CrazyMily Balakirev (1837 - 1910)
Spanish MelodyFrederic Chopin (1810 - 1849)
Fantaisie-Impromptu Op. 66 in C-sharp minorErnesto Lecuona (1895 - 1963)
Danza Lucumi, from “Danzas Afro-Cubanas”Frederic Chopin (1810 - 1849)
Etude Op. 10, No. 12 in C minor (The Revolutionary)George Gershwin (1898 - 1937)
The Man I LoveFrederic Chopin (1810 - 1849)
Impromptu No. 1, Op. 29 in A-flat majorErnesto Lecuona (1895 - 1963)
Yo te quiero siempre, canción (transcribed and arranged by Thomas Y. Tirino)Vals Azul, from “Lola Cruz” (transcribed and arranged by Matt Van Brink)
Duration: approx. 60 minutes, with no intermission
cantabile (adj.): melodious, imitating the human voice
3 composers who changed the history of classical music
2 of the greatest works in piano literature
1 major & minor key
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
Piano Sonata in C major, K 279 / 189 d (1774)
AllegroAndante
Allegro
Robert Schumann (1810-1856)
Fantasie in C major, Op. 17 (1836)
Durchaus fantastisch und leidenschaftlich vorzutragenMäßig. Durchaus energisch
Langsam getragen
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Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
Piano Sonata in C minor, K 457 (1784)
Molto AllegroAdagio
Allegro assai
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
Piano Sonata No. 32 in C minor, Op. 111 (1821-22)
Maestoso – Allegro con brio ed appassionatoArietta: Adagio molto semplice e cantabile Duration: approx. 90 minutes, plus one intermission