Leslie Howard is a sensitive, intelligent and committed musician
– Alfred Brendel
MEDIA RELEASE
Adelaide: Thursday 4 June FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
In July 2009, the Accompanists’ Guild of South Australia’s fifth annual Festival of Accompanists will return with international Australian pianist, Leslie Howard as musician-in-residence. Dr Leslie Howard is one of Australia’s most successful pianists. He has recorded all the works of Liszt for Hyperion and has annual engagements on five continents.
His performances of chamber music and Lieder include collaborations with some of the greatest artists of our time, including the Amadeus, Britten and Endellion String Quartets, Salvatore Accardo, Augustin Dumay, Erick Friedman, Ani Kavafian, Benny Goodman, Charles
Neidich, Steven Isserlis, Nathaniel Rosen, Torlief Thedeen, Geoffrey Parsons, Sir Thomas Allen, Yvonne Kenny and Dame Felicity Lott.
Following Malcolm Martineau’s hugely successful 2008 residency the Guild was fortunate to discover that London based Australian pianist, Leslie Howard, a Geoffrey Parsons Memorial Trustee, was planning an Australian tour in 2009. In its third successive collaboration with Recitals Australia, (South Australia’s longest established piano recital presenter) the Guild was delighted to secure Leslie’s participation.
Guild founder and secretary, Diana Harris OAM remarks, “We are delighted that Leslie Howard has agreed to be our artist-in-residence for the 2009 Festival of Accompanists. To have a chamber musician of his calibre will add special significance to another stimulating and enjoyable celebration of collaborative music making.”
From 6 to 9 July, Leslie as artist-in-residence will present a masterclass, a recital with young South Australian violinist, Niki Vasilakis of TriOz and chair the Jury for the 2009 Geoffrey Parsons Award.
In the Masterclass, Leslie Howard will coach emerging young solo pianists and chamber musicians studying at secondary and tertiary level. For the recital with Niki Vasilakis they will perform Cesar Franck’s ever virtuosic and dramatic Violin Sonata and works by Franz Liszt.
The 2009 Geoffrey Parsons Award sees the Guild continuing to fund the prize money for Australia’s leading prize for accompaniment, with a cash pool of $4,000. The competitors selected following auditions, will perform a movement of Debussy’s Violin Sonata with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra’s Concertmaster, Natusko Yoshimoto, as part of their 25 to 30 -minute competition recital.
Celebrate the art of accompanying with Leslie Howard who undoubtedly is one of Australia’s musical treasures.
For further information please contact:
Christopher Wainwright 0438 829 728 cmwain@gmail.com
Sheila Bryce 0416 154 061 sheila@sheilabrycepublicity.com
Click here to download the media kit.