06.11.2011

Aydin receives an excellent review from NY Times

The New York Times, November 1, 2011

By Vivien Schweitzer

...A celebrity instrumentalist (Midori) invariably headlines the event, but talents of the pianist are equally important, especially in a work like Mozart’s Sonata for Piano and Violin in E flat (K.380), which opened the program. It’s publisher advertised the piece in 1781 as one of “six sonatas for piano with the accompaniment of a violin by the moderately well-known and famous Wolfgang Amadee Mozart”

Mr. Aydin’s lithe, sparkling touch brought out the sunny qualities of the outer movements, his poised reading of the Andante con moto beautifully complemented Midori’s penetrating playing.

That these two musicians are regular collaborators was evident in each of their finely wrought but free spirited interpretations. The eerie musings of the first movement of Shostakovich’s Sonata for Violin and Piano (op. 134) unfolded here with plaintive intensity. The no-holds-barred ferocity of Midori and Mr.Aydin’s playing vividly illuminated the manic, almost deranged moods of the second moment Allegretto and the solo cadenzas in the finale.

A more subdued agitation permeates Schumann’s Sonata for Violin and Piano No.1 in A minor, written a few years before the composer was admitted to a mental asylum. The musicians offered an intimate interpretation that conveyed the work’s restless energy and plumbed the searching dialogue between the two instruments.

The program concluded with a passionate rendition of Schubert’s Fantasy for Violin and Piano in C (D.934), composed shortly before he died at 31.

19.10.2011

October 2011

This month, Ozgur Aydin goes on a US Recital tour with violinist Midori. Their program consists of Sonatas by Mozart, Shostakovich, Schumann and the Fantasy in C Major by Schubert. The final concert takes place at New York's 92nd Street Y on October 29th.

On November 3th and 4th Aydin performs Mozart’s D Minor Piano Concerto No.20, K.466 with the Presidential Symphony Orchestra of Turkey in Ankara.

08.06.2011

Ozgur Aydin on tour in Japan with violinist Midori

Pianist Ozgur Aydin is on tour in Japan with the renowned violinist Midori in June. The Duo will give 10 recitals all over the country including the Suntory Hall in Tokyo and Hyogo Performing Arts Center in Osaka. The Programs consist of Sonatas by Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms, Janacek, Ravel and short works by Webern and Kurtag.

29.06.2010

Ozgur Aydin at festivals on three continents

Ozgur Aydin goes on tour with the renowed violinist Midori in the USA. The Programs include sonatas by Beethoven, Brahms, Bloch, Ravel, 3 Myths by Szymanovsky and duo capriccioso by Davidovsky. July 8, Livingston Manor, NY

  • July 11, Caramoor NY
  • July 13, Winona, MN
  • July 15, Rockport, ME
  • July 17, Rockport, MA
  • July 19, Ravinia, IL

Aydin and Midori then travel to Germany for five performances again at festivals, including Branderburgische Sommerkonzerte and das Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival: July 25, Maulbronn

  • July 30, Mainz
  • July 31, Ober Schliessheim
  • August 1, Angermünde
  • August 3, Itzehoe

The duo will end up their summer concerts with two more recitals in Europe:

  • August 24, Oslo, Norway
  • August 26, Edinburgh, Scotland

This recital at the Edinburgh Festival will be broadcast on Tuesday 7 September 1.00pm by BBC Radio 3.
The Edinburg program juxtaposes two well known violin sonatas (by Beethoven and Brahms) with two 20th century works. Bloch described his Second Violin Sonata, composed while he was in America, as portraying the world as it should be. Davidovsky is an Argentine-American composer whose Duo Capriccioso is a delightful dialogue between violin and piano.

Ozgur, meanwhile, will travel to Japan for a tour with his wife Naoko Shimizu, principal violist of the Berliner Philharmoniker. Their programme will consist of sonatas by Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, R. Clarke.

  • August 12, Hashimoto, Sagamihara
  • August 13, Philia Hall, Yokohama
  • August 14, Sasebo
04.05.2010

Ozgur Aydin‘s concerts in April and May

Ozgur Aydin performed on 11 April at the Musikhochschule Leipzig works by German Composer Carl Reinecke (1824-1910) with the members of the Vogler Quartet, Tatjana Masurenko (viola) and Andreas Lehnert (clarinet) for the 100th anniversary of the composer's death. The program included 3 Fantasiestücke op.43, Violin Sonata in E minor op.116, Trio for clarinet, viola and piano op.264.

On 16 April, Aydin played Chopin's F minor Piano Concerto No.2 in Magdeburg (Germany) with the Mitteldeutsche Kammerphilharmonie under the conductor Jörg-Peter Weigle and received excellent reviews.

Aydin will give a Chopin Recital in Istanbul at the Notre Dame de Sion French High School on May 6. The program consists of 3 Nocturnes op.9, 4 Impromtus and 14 Valses.

After that he will be giving masterclasses at the Tenerife Conservatory of Music in Spain during May 14-17.

16.03.2010

Ozgur Aydin‘s concerts in March

Ozgur Aydin starts his concerts this month with Chopin's 2. Piano Concerto. The concert takes place on 13 March in Braunschweig's Stadthalle with the Louis Spohr Orchestra.

A European recital tour with the renowed violinist Midori will follow, in a combination of works by Bach, Beethoven, Schumann, Hindemith, Szymanovski and Saint-Saens in Wroclac and Bydgoszcz (Poland) and in Kempten and Dusseldorf (Robert Schumann Saal).

03.03.2010

Aydin celebrates the Chopin Year

Ozgur Aydin played Chopin's Piano Concerto No.2 on February 28th in Bernburg (Germany) with The Mitteldeutsche Kammerphilharmonie. The program will be repeated on April 16 in Magdeburg.

Aydin will perform the same concerto on March 13 in Braunschweig with The Louis Spohr Orchester.

13.11.2009

Ozgur Aydin on tour in Japan with violinist Midori

Pianist Ozgur Aydin goes on his second tour of this year in Japan with the renowned violinist Midori in November. The Duo will play in Hakodate City Art Hall, Matsumoto Harmony Hall and Shimokita Culture Hall, Mutsu. The program includes Grieg sonata No.1, Brahms sonata No.3 and short works by Dvorak, De Falla, Ravel and Szymanowski.

After this tour Ozgur Aydin will give a recital in Istanbul on November 24 at the Akbank Art Center. The program consists of Beethoven's Tempest Sonata and Chopin's all 4 Impromtus. On the next two days of the recital, the artist will be giving masterclasses at the same center.

08.08.2009

Ozgur Aydin on tour with violinist Midori

Pianist Ozgur Aydin is on tour with the renowed violinist Midori in August. The duo will give four resitals in Germany and one in Macedonia:

  • 7 August: Augusteerhalle, Herzog August Bibliothek Wolfenbüttel/Germany
  • 8 August: Schlos Elmau, Munich/Germany
  • 9 August: Arp Museum, Bahnhof Rolandseck/Germany
  • 10 August: Schloss Bensberg/Germany
  • 11 August: Ohrid Summer Festival, Ohrid/Macedonia.

The program includes sonatas for violin and piano by Bach, Schumann, Hindemith and Saint-Saens.

10.04.2009

Ozgur Aydin at the Salzburg Easter Festival

On April 12th, Ozgur Aydin performs Schumann's Piano Quintet and music by W. Rihm with four members of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra (Brandl, Gartemann, Shimizu, Weber) at the Salzburg Easter Festival.

Mid-April, Aydin will be serving as a jury member at the Kamuran Gundemir Piano Competition in Turkey. While in Turkey he is going to perform at the Sureyya Opera House on April 19 in Istanbul.