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Song Recital
Soile Isokoski
(soprano)
10
October 2007, 8:30pm
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Song Recital
Soile Isokoski
(soprano)
10
October 2007, 8:30pm
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* * All proceeds will be donated to the fire victims in Greece
The Pharos Trust in cooperation with the Embassy of Finland present a song recital by Soile Isokoski (soprano) and Marita Viitasalo (piano). The recital will take place on Wednesday 10 October 2007 at 8:30pm at the PASYDY Auditorium in Nicosia. The programme includes works by Mozart, Schubert, Sibelius, Britten and Strauss.
Soile Isokoski is considered one of the world’s finest singers and regularly appears on the most renowned stages and concert halls in the world. A native of Finland, she graduated from the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki and made her stage debut as Mimi in La Bohème at the Finnish National Opera. From there, she went on to capture audiences and critics worldwide. In addition to opera, she regularly gives recitals with her accompanist Marita Viitasalo. Her many recordings include the Four Last Songs by Richard Strauss together with the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin and Marek Janowski (Gramophone Editor’s Choice Award and Editor's Choice recording 2002), and most recently Sibelius’ Luonnotar and orchestral songs with the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra and Leif Segerstam (Ondine 2006). She was awarded the MIDEM classical award 2007 as well as the Vocal Αward and Disc of the Υear at the BBC Music Magazine Awards 2007. In honour of her notable contribution to Finnish music, Isokoski was awarded with the Pro-Finlandia medal in December 2002.
Besides role debuts as Tatiana in Eugen Onegin in Helsinki (2006), Ellen Orford in Peter Grimes in Dresden, Christine in Intermezzo at the Theater an der Wien (2008) and the title role of Charpentier’s Louise at the Bastille Opera in Paris, Soile Isokoski’s future engagements include Capriccio and Der Rosenkavalier in Dresden, several recitals and concerts in London (Wigmore Hall) and Philadelphia, Mahler’s 2nd Symphony together with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra and Sir Simon Rattle, as well as Mahler’s 8th Symphony with the Berliner Staatskapelle and Pierre Boulez. Also, Der Rosenkavalier in San Francisco and Vienna (2007), Cosí fan tutte in Bilbao, Lohengrin in Geneva, La Juive in Vienna (2008), and Don Giovanni at the Metropolitan Opera, among others.
Marita Viitasalo studied at the Sibelius Academy and received her diploma in 1972. She completed further studies at the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome, and in 1976 she was awarded her concert diploma after a further four years of study at the Viennese School of the Arts with Professor Dieter Weber. Viitasalo’s solo career was initiated with her winning the important Finnish Maj Lind Competition. Since then, she has regularly worked with all the main orchestras in Finland and Scandinavia. She has given concerts in Vienna, Berlin, Rome, Düsseldorf, Schleswig-Holstein and Stockholm as well as elsewhere. Her concert repertoire is particularly devoted to the impressionist composers; she has gained a considerable reputation as a sensitive performer of Ravel and Debussy, as well as of Chopin and Sibelius. Viitasalo is also a professor of piano at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, and since 1989 she has been the Artistic Director of the Espoo Piano Festival. In 2006 she was awarded with the Pro Finlandia medal.
In 1986 Marita Viitasalo founded the Trio Finlandia, undertaking concert tours throughout Scandinavia, Belgium, Germany, France, Italy, Greece, Russia, the USA and South-East Asia. In its programmes the Trio has not only emphasised the classical piano trio repertoire, but has also realised the importance of performing contemporary Finnish works outside of Finland. Since 1987, Viitasalo has been the constant duo partner for the renowned Finnish soprano Soile Isokoski, with whom she has given recitals all over the world, winning over audiences at Wigmore Hall, the Edinburgh Festival, Vienna, Paris, Strasbourg, Amsterdam, Rome, Munich, Athens, Moscow, St Petersburg, New York, Washington and elsewhere. In addition to solo CDs, Marita Viitasalo has made numerous recordings with Soile Isokoski of Scandinavian works, as well as songs by Schubert and Schumann. Her future projects include concerts with Soile Isokoski in London (Wigmore Hall) and Dresden.
Ticket Prices:
Adults: £12
Friends and Supporters of the Pharos Trust: £10
Concessions: £7
Tickets can be purchased from:
The Pharos Trust (22 663 871),
Athalassas Music Centre (22 510 547),
Moufflon bookshop (22 665 155),
Soloneion bookshop (22 666 799) and
Travelorama (22 452 945)