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Tuesday, April 13, 2021
Mar Zaghia church| Ajaltoun | 7:30 PM
OUTSTANDING STUDENTS OF NDU-SCHOOL OF MUSIC ORGAN CLASS
In collaboration with the Italian Institute of Culture in Beirut
Program
Wednesday April 14, 2021
Saint Anthony monastery | Harissa | 6:00 PM
EUGENIO MARIA FAGIANI (Italy), organ – MARIO RAHI (Lebanon), violin
In collaboration with the Italian Institute of Culture in Beirut
Program
Friday April 16, 2021
Notre Dame de Louaize monastery | Zouk Mosbeh | 7:30 PM
EUGENIO MARIA FAGIANI (Italy), organ
In collaboration with the Italian Institute of Culture in Beirut
Program
Saturday April 17, 2021
Sanctuaire de l’Enfant Jésus de Prague – Couvent Saint Elie| Mayssra (Nahr Ibrahim) | 7:30 PM
KAREL MARTÍNEK (Czech Republic), organ
In collaboration with the Embassy of the Czech Republic in Lebanon
Program
Sunday April 18, 2021
National Evangelical church | Beirut – Riad Essoulh | 12:00 PM
EDMOND VOEFFRAY (Switzerland), organ
Program
The concerts will be broadcast in live streaming on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/solorganfestival (UTC/GMT +3)
Renowned internationally for his impressive, enthralling and vibrant musical language, the Italian organist Eugenio Maria Fagiani performs regularly on the most important instruments in Europe, Russia, Middle East and Northern America such as Notre Dame de Paris (F), Berlin’s Dom (D), St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York (US), Tchaikovsky’s Great Hall in Moscow (RU), the Royal Albert Hall in London (UK), Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore in Firenze (I), the Hofkirche St. Leodegar in Luzern (CH), the St. James Anglican Cathedral in Toronto (CDN), the Skt. Florian Stiftsbasilika (A), the National Center for the Arts Weiwuying di Kaohsiung (TWN).
Besides his activity as a soloist, he holds a long term collaboration with the Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano La Verdi (since 2010) and the Filarmonica Arturo Toscanini (since 2020), and has been directed by eminent conductors as Jeffrey Tate, Riccardo Chailly, Xian Zhang, Claus-Peter Flor, Chien Wen-pin, Patrick Fournillier, Stanislav Kochanovsky, John Axelrod, Missak Baghboudarian, Jader Bignamini, Giuseppe Grazioli, Jens Georg Bachmann and Alpesh Chauhan. Celebrated as “the wizard of improvisation”, he’s also a fine composer. His works are now part of the repertoire of some of the most prestigious artists of our time as David Briggs and Stephen Tharp.
Since 2008 he is the Organist of the Franciscan Shrine of La Verna, Arezzo (IT). Eugenio is the Artistic Director of the Festival Internazionale di Musica d’Organo de La Verna and the Festival Organistico “S.Donato” in the Arezzo’s Dome, and also since 2016 the Artistic Advisor of the Terra Sancta Organ Festival, across the Middle-East region, organized by the Custody of the Holy Land. He is invited to hold masterclasses (both in Interpretation and Improvisation) and lectures for several top-class music institutions around Europe and North America such as the Cambridge University Organ Scolar’s Forum (UK), the RCCO, Toronto (CDN).
He is also invited to serve as juror in major international competitions. He records with: VDE-Gallo, Spektral Records, Fugatto, Da Vinci and Decca. These productions have received flattering reviews, as well quite a few prizes, from the major international specialized magazines.
Born in Lebanon in 1983, Mario Rahi started the violin at a very young age. he pursued his diploma studies at the Santa Cecilia Conservatory of Rome with Maestro Claudio Cornoldi. In 2011, Mario Rahi was awarded his masters degree, with the maximum vote from the Accademia Nazionale Santa Cecilia with professors Domenico Nordio and SonigTchakerian. During his studies, Mario attended several master classes for solo, chamber and orchestral music with renowned professors such as Salvatore Accardo at the Accademia Chigiana of Siena. He was appointed concert master at the World Youth Orchestra from 2001 until 2010, and performed with famous and reputed Italian artists such as Bruno Giuranna(chamber music) and Stefano Montanari (Baroque music).
Later on, Mario was admitted to the Roma Sinfonietta Orchestra, established by the legendary film-music composer Ennio Morricone. Back to Lebanon at the age of 28, Mario has been part of the Lebanese Philharmonic Orchestra since 2011. He is currently a violin teacher at the Lebanese National conservatory of music . He also contributed to the development of the “Conservatory Youth Orchestra” that he has been coaching with great passion and dedication until today. Mario appeared several times as soloist with the lebanese philharmonic orchestra performing concertos by Mozart, Saint-saens, Hakim . He is often invited to perform in many festivals in Lebanon and abroad especially in Italy. Mario reserves particular interest in promoting Lebanese classical music.
President of the Valais-Romand section of the AOR (Association des Organistes Romands), member of the International Festival of historical organ of Valère sur Sion board, and titular organist of the Cathedral of Sion (Switzerland), Edmond Voeffray graduated from Lausanne Conservatory in 1996 in the class of Pierre-Alain Clerc, after which he followed a year of study in North Germany with Harald Vogel. In 2008, he obtained the concert diploma from the Lausanne Conservatory with Prof. Kei Koito.
Voeffray chaired the Martigny section of Jeunesses Musicales until 2005 and is active within the framework of the André Guex-Joris Foundation in the same city. As an accompanist, he collaborates with many Swiss choirs. He contributes regularly to the “Organ Tribune”, a specialist journal in French-speaking Switzerland. He recently signed a presentation of the last restoration of the Valère organ (the oldest playable organ in the world), an article also published in the Revue Musicale de Suisse Romande. He also wrote an article on the organs of Guatemala, after a trip to this country with the trumpeter Dario Maldonado. With the latter, he initiated the Musical Sundays of Massongex. The Swiss-German Radio asked him in October 2000 for recordings presenting the old organs of St-Séverin sur Conthey and Martigny. He pursues historical research on the organs of his region as well as on Valais organs.
Artistic director of the International Organ Festival in Olomouc; organist, and choirmaster at St. Wenceslas cathedral in Olomouc, Karel Martìnek graduated from the Palacký University in Mathematics, Physics, Philosophy and Musicology. Between 2004 and 2009 he studied organ at the Janáček Academy of Music in Brno under K. Klugarová and improvisation under K. Pokora. He followed numerous masterclasses under world class organists such as Olivier Latry, Thomas Ospital, Susan Landale, Martin Sander, Günther Kaunzinger, Julian Gembalski, and Reitze Smits; subsequently winning several interpretation and improvisation competitions.
As of 2014, he regularly attends improvisation classes with Philippe Lefèbvre, titular organist of Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral. Martìnek regularly performs in Czech Republic, France, Germany, Belgium, Austria, Italy, Finland, Sweeden, Poland, Slovakia, Netherlands, and Ukraine, playing the monumental instruments of Notre-Dame de Paris, Stefansdom in Wien, Our Lady Cathedral in Antwerp, St. Baafs Cathedral in Ghent, and Basilica S. Rita in Torino, presenting organ literature from all epochs and styles, while giving a considerable attention to improvisation. Martìnek teaches organ at the Conservatoire of the Evangelical Academy in Olomouc, and organ improvisation at Janáček´s Music Academy in Brno. His collaborations include eminent Moravian music ensembles as the Moravian Philharmonic Orchestra Olomouc, the Martinů Philharmonic Orchestra Zlín, and the Czech Philharmonic Choir Brno, to name a few. His discography includes several recordings including documentary films music. As a composer, Martìnek’s catalogue includes organ, piano, choir, and orchestra music, receiving several awards at different competitions.
