The concert program highlights the complex music of the 20th and 21st centuries, particularly Elliot Carter’s solo guitar piece "Changes." My goal is to project listening as a form of analysis into Carter’s composition. The concert will include works by Carter, Haubenstock-Ramati, Schurig and Sidoo focusing on different aspects of their harmony, rhythm, and construction of musical time. Traditonally speaking, a “good” interpretation brings out the structure of a given composition. A more “artistic” insight into the performance of this repertoire should deal with the interconnection of musical thought and with principles which concern the operations of the human mind while listening to music. The ambition of the concert is to bring a new audience closer to this specific musical language while unfolding the deeper meaning of the performed pieces. The performed sequence of pieces shall demonstrate an analysis without words, presented only through the music, where the decisions of interpretation, even like the length of the silences between pieces, have an immediate effect on the analysis, creating a single, enclosed flow of thoughts on the various aspects of Carter’s music.
Program
Elliott Carter: Shard
Zsombor Sidoo: Intermezzo 1
Wolfram Schurig: Atemzüge
Roman Haubenstock-Ramati: Préludes
Elliott Carter: Changes
Zsombor Sidoo: Intermezzo 2
Elliott Carter: Shard
Zsombor Sidoo
Guitar
Zsombor Sidoo (Budapest, 1997) is undoubtedly one of the most promising guitarists of his generation. He is recognised as a unique talent with a keen sensibility for different styles, extensive knowledge, and impressive natural technical ability. Critics praise him for his interpretations of Bach and contemporary music. He is the winner of the third prize (first not awarded) in the International Instrumental Competition Markneukirchen, considered one of the most important musical competitions. Furthermore, despite his young age, he caught the attention of international juries and the public at several competitions. He has won numerous competitions, including the 5th Zagreb Guitar Festival, the 15th Enrico Mercatali Competition, the international guitar competition Ida Presti, the 9th Hannabach Prize, and the 10th Oberhausen Guitar Competition. Won the 2nd prize at the 11th J. K. Mertz Competition, Forum Gitarre Wien (first not awarded), and the European Bach Guitar Award. The 3rd prize at the 52nd International Competition for classical guitar “Michele Pittaluga”, 44th Gargnano International Competition and 2nd International Competition in Klagenfurt.
He regularly gives solo recitals across Europe in prestigious venues such as the Ehrbarsaal in Vienna, Konzerthaus Klagenfurt, Musikhalle Markneukirchen, Uppsala Concert Hall, Vatroslav Lisinski Hall in Zagreb, Verrucano in Mels, Switzerland, and the Fricsay Hall in Szeged. In the past few years, he has been invited to perform and give masterclasses at several Festivals (Postojna, Rome, Pordenone, Szeged, Vienna, Oberhausen, Jüchen, Poznan, Uppsala, Paris, Turin, Grado, et al.).In recent years, he has worked on projects centred around contemporary music alongside the esteemed conductors Cordula Bürgi, Peter Rundel, Christian Karlsen, the vocal ensemble Cantando Admont, and the composer Beat Furrer.
He got his early musical influences from József Eötvös, at the Franz Liszt Academy for Music in Budapest, where he was a junior student. Since 2013 he has been studying with Paolo Pegoraro at the University for Music and Performing Arts in Graz. In 2021, he graduated with his master’s degree with the best possible marks and all honours. Due to his interest in musical composition, he had the privilege to take lessons from Beat Furrer, and he often premières new works, including some of his compositions. Since 2022, he has been a doctoral candidate in the artistic scholarly doctorate program at the University of Music and Performing Arts. His artistic research project focuses on Elliott Carter’s music. He published an article about Carter's ‘Shard’ in the Italian journal Il Fronimo (nr. 198).