Simon Trpčeski Will Perform With the Palm Beach Symphony

The next Palm Beach Symphony concert will be led by music director Gerard Schwarz, on Sunday, April 19 at 3 p.m. at Dreyfoos Hall at the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts in West Palm Beach. Virtuosic and charismatic, Simon Trpčeski takes on Sergei Prokofiev's technically dazzling Piano Concerto No. 3 in C Major, Op. 26. The Symphony opens the afternoon with a performance of Igor Stravinsky's sparkling Scherzo Fantastique, Op. 3 and concludes with the raw emotional power of Dmitry Shostakovich's Symphony No. 5 in D Minor, Op. 47.

Macedonian pianist Trpčeski (pronounced terp-CHESS-kee) has established himself as one of the most remarkable musicians to have emerged in recent years. Launched onto the international scene 20 years ago as a BBC New-Generation Artist, his fast-paced career has seen him collaborate with more than 100 orchestras on four continents with appearances on the most prestigious stages.

“I've been working with Simon since he was a child, and I'm amazed at what an incredible artist he has become," said Maestro Schwarz. "The Prokofiev concerto is a masterpiece, and it will be an absolute joy to revisit it with Simon."

Following the concert, Trpčeski will be hosting a piano masterclass on Monday, April 20 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at Palm Beach Opera (425 24th St. in West Palm Beach). During the masterclass, Trpčeski will provide an individual coaching session in front of an audience. Student musicians will perform a prepared piece for expert feedback on areas for improvement, including musical technique, style, interpretive qualities, presentation and overall musicality. Those interested in attending are asked to RSVP with the number of people in their party by Monday, April 6 via email to Bryce Seliger, Education & Programming Associate, at bseliger@palmbeachsymphony.org.

Trpčeski has recorded award-winning discography that includes Rachmaninoff's complete works for piano and orchestra and Prokofiev's piano concertos, as well as works by composers such as Poulenc, Debussy and Ravel. His latest solo album, Variations, was released in Spring 2022 and features works by Brahms, Beethoven and Mozart. It received CD of the Month in Fono Forum (Germany) and an Editor's Choice in Gramophone (UK).

Born in 1979, Trpčeski is a graduate of the School of Music at the University of St. Cyril and St. Methodius in Skopje, where he studied with Boris Romanov. Committed to strengthening the cultural image of his native country, his chamber music project Makedonissimo weaves Macedonian folk music tradition with highly virtuosic, jazz influenced riffs and harmonies into one unique sound.

With the support of Macedonia's leading cultural and arts organization KulturOp, Trpčeski regularly works with young musicians to help cultivate the talent of the country's next generation of artists. In 2009, he received the Presidential Order of Merit for Macedonia and in 2011, he became the first-ever recipient of the “National Artist of Macedonia” title.

To begin the concert, Palm Beach Symphony will fill the concert hall with Stravinsky's Scherzo Fantastique, Op. 3. “He uses an alto flute, a G flute, in a gorgeous middle section of the piece,” Maestro Schwarz said of the composer's creative choice.

The concert concludes with Shostakovich's Symphony No. 5 in D Minor, Op. 47. This is a pivotal piece in the career of Shostakovich, whose life was complicated by his relationship to the government, in particular Joseph Stalin, leader of the Soviet Union. “The fifth symphony was the turning point for Shostakovich because it became so successful internationally that it made it impossible for anyone to destroy him,” Maestro Schwarz explained of the historical backstory. “It starts in what we call a minor key, which is generally more dour or serious. The end of the fourth movement is triumphant in a major key. Harmonically, it's an uplifting key. I do it as he wrote it, which is relatively slow. Our job as performers is to look at those notes on the page and make them come alive.”