UCCA Beijing

String-139 Series:A Musical Conversation with Belgium Guitarist Adrien Brogna

2019.11.14
19:30-21:30

Conversation
Location:  Auditorium
Language:  Chinese and English

Noted for the sensitivity of his playing and his rhythmic fire, multifaceted guitarist Adrien Brogna divides his time between the  roles of soloist, chamber musician and teacher. In 2008 he graduated with Great Distinction from the Conservatoire royal de Mons in Belgium. Then followed tours of the United States (via the Benaroya Hall in Seattle), England, Scotland, Greece (at the prestigious Pallas Theatre of Athens), and participation in the “Holland Festival” at the Muziek Gebouw aan 't IJ Amsterdam and the Festival Guitarras del Mundo in Argentina. Later, an astonishing duo of 8-string Romantic guitars was born through his collaboration with Raphaella Smits. Together they recorded an album for Soundset Recordings in 2014 and embarked on a concert tour across the world. The young guitarist is also a founding member of the Alki Guitar Trio, whose two albums to date were released in 2011 and 2015. The trio has also given concerts worldwide. He was previously Guest Professor at the Lemmens Instituut of Leuven, assisting Raphaella Smits. Since 2015, Brogna has been a Professor at the Royal Conservatory of Liège, Belgium.

 In 2018 Adrien Brogna released his first solo recording, a double album entitled V. His recordings are regularly broadcast on Belgian national radio stations Musiq'3 and Klara, along with international broadcasters. In addition to his expertise in Romantic guitar, Adrien Brogna is also a committed modern musician, and his recent activities have opened him to the inspiration of jazz, especially in Luz Da Lua, a duo with the Belgian bassist André Klenes. Together, in 2019 they recorded an album called “Illuminations ”for the label Home Records. He also plays in a duet with bandoneonist Daniel Gruselle, focusing on tango music.

Program (60 min)

Johann Kaspar Mertz

Le Romantique, Grande Fantaisie 

 

Fernando Sor 

Fantaisie élégiaque opus 59 

 

Johann Kaspar MERTZ 

Tarantelle 

Bardenklänge n°6 

 

Frédéric Chopin 

Valse n°1 opus posthume 69 

Arrangement Roland Dyens

 

Heitor Villa-Lobos

Suite Populaire brésilienne 

I Mazurka-Choro  1 

II Scottish-Choro  2 

III Valsa-Choro  3 

IV Gavotta-Choro 4 

V Chôrinho  5 

 

Astor Piazzolla

Invierno Porteño 

Attangement Sérgio Assad 

 

Sérgio Assad

Fantasia Carioca 


*Repertoire is subject to change based on live line up.

Speaker

Adrien Brogna (Guitar Musician)

Born in 1985, Adrien Brogna is one of the most talented Belgian guitarists of his generation. Noted for the sensitivity of his playing and his rhythmic fire, Brogna now divides his time between the roles of soloist, chamber musician and teacher. In 2008 he graduated with Great Distinction from the Conservatoire royal de Mons in Belgium. Then followed tours of the United States (via the Benaroya Hall in Seattle), England, Scotland, Greece (at the prestigious Pallas Theatre of Athens), and participation in the “Holland Festival” at the Muziek Gebouw aan 't IJ Amsterdam and the Festival Guitarras del Mundo in Argentina. In addition to his expertise in Romantic guitar, Adrien Brogna is also a committed modern musician. He was previously Guest Professor at the Lemmens Instituut of Leuven, assisting Raphaella Smits. Since 2015, Brogna has been a Professor at the Royal Conservatory of Liège, Belgium. He is generously supported by the US strings company D’Addario.

 

Du Yipeng (Founder of String-139) 

A veteran classical guitar educator with more than 20 years of experience in classical guitar education for adults and children. Graduated from the Mannes School of Music in New York, USA, studied under the famous music professor and grammy award winner Frederic Hand, specializing in classical guitar music education and performance. His students come from more than a dozen countries and regions, and many of them have won awards in international competitions. Du taught at the Beijing International School (ISB) In 1999 and had successfully held his first solo concert in Beijing in 2000. He is often invited to participate in various international classical guitar music festivals.

Collaborator

String-139

In 1723, Bach finished his No. 139 cantata Believe in God, God Blesses (Wohl dem, der sich auf seinen Gott, BWV 139) to express his love for the Lord. The name of this cantata perfectly described Bach's life of pure belief. Although new music forms are constantly being created, people have never given up on upholding tradition and faith. As time passes by, when fashion trends become classics, and persistence solidifies into greatness, classical works act as a mirror for people to slow down and reflect upon their true selves.

 

The aim of GuitarW Music Workshop (www.guitarw.com) is to share passion for the classical string music world. Inspired by Bach's commitment to his belief, our goal is to invite likeminded string masters to perform with us, in the “139” musical style, to demonstrate our musical beliefs.