Saturday, February 15, 2025 @ 7:00pm – 9:00pm (EST)
Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, Baltimore, MD, United States

Cristian Măcelaru brings Romanian flair to music from his homeland and beyond. Simon Trpčeski, the Macedonian pianist favored for "his combination of deft, subtle musicianship allied with virtually infallible fingers" (The Washington Post), romps through Rachmaninoff's hearty First Piano Concerto. Superstar American composer Jessie Montgomery offers alluring Snapshots in a score co-commissioned by the BSO, and Stravinsky appears in full neoclassical regalia with the debonair Symphony in C. Capped by Enescu's intoxicating Romanian Rhapsody, complete with local drinking songs, it will leave you wanting to raise a glass to Măcelaru and company to shout—as Romanians do—Noroc!"

Runs Feb. 13-16.

About Simon Trpčeski, piano

Simon Trpčeski has been praised not only for his powerful virtuosity and deeply expressive approach, but also for his charismatic stage presence.

Launched onto the international scene twenty years ago as a BBC New-Generation Artist, in an incredibly fast-paced career that encompass no cultural or musical boundaries, Simon Trpčeski has collaborated with over a hundred orchestras on four continents, including the London Symphony Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra, City of Birmingham Orchestra, Orchestre National de France, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Deutsche Sinfonie Orchester Berlin, and Dresden Philharmonic.

In North America, he is a frequent soloist with the Cleveland and Philadelphia Orchestras, the Los Angeles and New-York Philharmonic, and the Chicago, San Francisco, St. Louis, Seattle, and Baltimore Symphonies. Further afield, he has performed with the New Japan, Seoul, and Hong Kong Philharmonics, and the Sydney, Adelaide, Melbourne, and New Zealand Symphonies.

A much sought-after soloist, the long list of prominent conductors Simon Trpčeski works with includes Lorin Maazel, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Marin Alsop, Gustavo Dudamel, Cristian Măcelaru, Charles Dutoit, Jakob Hrusa, Vladimir Jurowski, Susanna Malkki, Andris Nelsons, Antonio Pappano, Vasily Petrenko, Robert Spano, Michael Tilson Thomas, Gabriel Bebeselea and David Zinman. He has a particularly long-standing relationship with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, further strengthened during the tenure of Vassily Petrenko. Together, they have recorded the monuments of the Russian piano repertoire, all four Rachmaninov piano concertos as well as the Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, for Avie, the two Tchaikovsky piano concertos and most recently Prokofiev Piano Concertos Nos. 1 and 3 for Onyx Classics.

An acclaimed recitalist, Simon Trpčeski has performed in major halls in New York, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., London, Paris, Amsterdam, Milan, Munich, Prague, Hamburg, Bilbao, Istanbul, Dublin, and Tokyo. Since his debut at Wigmore Hall in 2001, he has remained a regular guest of this prestigious venue, including a Residency in 2018, and with two recitals released on the Wigmore Live label.

In chamber music, Simon Trpčeski regularly partners cellist Daniel Müller-Schott, and regularly appears as a chamber musician in festivals such as Aspen, Verbier, Risor, Bergen, and the Baltic Sea Festival. His latest chamber music collaboration is with the world-renowned violinist Maxim Vengerov.

A natural music explorer, Simon Trpčeski is also committed to strengthening the cultural image of his native Macedonia. His latest chamber music project MAKEDONISSIMO is dedicated to introducing audiences world-wide to the rich traditional Macedonian folk roots. With the collaboration of composer Pande Shahov, it weaves into one unique sound world, the Macedonian folk music tradition with highly virtuoso, jazz-influenced riffs and harmonies. Since its successful premiere in Germany at the Ludwigsburger Schlossfestspiele, the project has travelled to Slovenia, UK, Poland, The Netherlands, France, Serbia, Montenegro, Romania, and South Korea with future performances scheduled in Russia, New Zealand, and Australia.

In 2009, he received the Presidential Order of Merit for Macedonia, a decoration given to foreign and domestic dignitaries responsible for the affirmation of Macedonia abroad. In 2011, he became the first-ever recipient of the title "National Artist of Macedonia."

Born in Macedonia in 1979, Simon Trpčeski is a graduate of the School of Music at the University of St. Cyril and St. Methodius in Skopje, where he studied with prof. Boris Romanov. He was BBC New Generation Artist 2001-2003 and in 2003, was honored with the Young Artist Award by the Royal Philharmonic Society.

http://www.trpceski.com/simon/