St Martin’s Embassy and Cultural Institute Series

Programme

Schumann — Adagio and Allegro for cello and piano
Schumann — Sonata for piano op. 11 in F sharp
Hindemith — Sonata for cello solo op. 25
Lipatti — Prelude
Lipatti — Nocturne
Piazzolla — Le grand tango

Performers

Pianist Dimitri Malignan was born in 1998 in Paris. Dimitri is the grandson of Henry Malineanu, a famous Romanian composer. He started taking piano lessons at the age of 5 with French pianist Nicolas Horvath, who encouraged him to participate in competitions: he subsequently won more than 20 national and international prizes in France and abroad. Dimitri joined the Ecole Normale “A. Cortot” in 2009 and he graduated with honours in piano, chamber music and musical analysis. This year he is passing his Concertist Diploma (highest level of the school). He also graduated Composition with French composer Stéphane Delplace, who encouraged him to compose himself, following the steps of his grandfather.

In September 2016 he started studying at the Royal Conservatoire in Hague, having been directly admitted in 3rd year of Bachelor Degree. Dimitri is laureate of many international competitions such as Mihail Jora Competition in Bucharest, Romania (2016: 1st Prize); Anton Garcia-Abril Competition in Teruel, Spain (2011: 1st Prize); Bradshaw & Buono Competition in New-York, USA (2010: 2nd Prize); American Protégé Competition, New-York, USA (2009: 2ndPrize); Osaka Music Competition, Japan (2009: 3rd Prize). He performs both in solo recitals and chamber music, and he has been invited to take part in several festivals in France and abroad.

He played in Paris (Salle Cortot, International Association “Dmitri Shostakovitch”, Czech Cultural Institute, Showroom Fazioli, Scottish Church, Cité Universitaire, etc.), Talcy (“La Clé des Portes” Festival, 2014 and 2016), Puteaux (“Les Nuits du Piano”, 2016), Barbizon (“Musique d’abord” Festival, 2016), Villejuif (“Jeunes Talents”, 2016), La Frette-sur-Seine (“Spiriades-sur-Seine” Festival, 2015), Collioure (“Fête du Piano”), Fougy, Verneuil-sur-Avre, Sète, Villemomble, Le Mont-Dore. Abroad, he played in prestigious places, such as: Ateneul Român (the Romanian Athenaeum), the Royal Palace and George Enescu’s House in Bucharest (Romania), the Tchaïkovsky National Museum in Klin (Russia, “De la Loire à la Volga” festival, 2014), Kaufmann Centre in New York (USA), but also in Viborg (Denmark), Spoleto and Magione (Italy), Dubrovnik (Croatia).

He is keen in presenting interesting programmes, with unknown or contemporary pieces. In his repertoire there are more than 120 pieces written by 30 different composers. He has also played for charity events (in care-homes, hospitals, etc.). Dimitri has taken masterclasses with well-known pianists such as Angela Hewitt, Abdel Rahman El Bacha and Dmitri Alexeev. Since 2010 he is also working closely with the French pianist and teacher Jean-Paul Sevilla.

Cellist Cornelius Zirbo is studying at Dinu Lipatti National High School of Arts in Bucharest with prof. Octavian Lup. Untill now, he worked with many famous cellists such as: Gautier Capuçon, Frans Helmerson, Götz Teutsch, Emeric Kostyák, Răzvan Suma, Marin Cazacu, Jan-Erik Gustafsson, Maximillian Hornung, Jacob Shaw, Denis Severin, Wendy Warner and Romain Garioud. Cornelius is one of the 6 selected cellists for the 3rd season of “Classe d’Excellence de Violoncelle” – Gautier Capuçon at Foundation Louis Vuitton in Paris, France. He participated at SoNoRo-Interferences in 2014 at Portul Cultural Cetate (Romania) and in 2015 at Bad-Endorf (Germany). He has performed in several concerts in a tour at the South Bohemian Festival 2016 (Czech Republic).

In July 2016 he was selected as active student to Frans Helmerson’s masterclass in Montepulciano, Italy. In September 2016 he participated at the Cello Masterclasses of Kronberg Academy in Germany. He is a laureate of many competitions in his country and abroad, for instance: StreichWerk International String Competition (Berlin), International Competition “Concertino Praga” (Prague), International Cello Competition “Antonio Janigro” (Poreč), International Competition “Young Virtuosos” (Sofia), “Mihail Jora” Competition (Bucharest), etc.

He performed as soloist with orchestras such as: Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra, “Moldova” and “Transilvania” State Philharmonics, The Royal Camerata, The National Youth Orchestra of The Princess Margareta of Romania Foundation and the “JUNIOR” Romanian National Orchestra. Cornelius is a scholar of The Princess Margareta of Romania Foundation. After winning the 1st prize at StreichWerk competition in Berlin, Cornelius is the owner of the Streichwerk Domenico Montagnana cello.