Suzana Bartal: Piano and Suliman Tekalli: Violin
Suzana Bartal is one of the upcoming piano talents of the young generation. Recent performances have taken her to prestigious venues such as the Beethoven-Haus in Bonn, Salle Pleyel and Radio France in Paris, Merkin Hall in New York as well as Milton Court in London. Her appearances have been captured by France Musique. Other highlights of the past months include a Germany tour with violist Mariko Hara as part of the series “Best of NRW”. Their duo has been hailed as “brilliant, facettenreich und virtuos” and was recorded by the West Deutscher Rundfunk. Suzana’s playing has been described as having a “pearly touch and of absolute precision” by the Bonner Anzeiger.
In January 2015, Suzana made her triumphal debut with the Orchestre Avignon-Province in the Grieg Concerto under the baton of Wolfgang Doerner, as she stepped in very last minute for pianist Marie-Josèphe Jude. Her performance has received critical acclaim: “As soon as she lays her hands on the keyboard, the artist sets up a strongly marked personality. Her touch is sure, she shows perfect technique and plays with absolute simplicity pages of great complexity. Her sound is powerful and luminous (…)” – Le Marseillais.
Suzana Bartal has become the winner of the New York Concert Artists Concerto Competition in 2013 and has made her NYC debut with orchestra in the past season. She was also the winner of the 2012 Woolsey Concerto Competition allowing her to perform under the baton of Peter Oundjian. Previously, she has become a finalist of the Campillos International Piano Competition in Spain (2010), the winner of the Agropoli “Le Muse” Competition in Italy (2007) as well as of the Concours International d’Ile de France (2006). She has been selected to play on an Italy tour of the Slovakian orchestra Kysucka.
A recipient of the prestigious scholarship from the Yamaha Music Foundation of Europe, Suzana has also been supported by the Fondation Nadia et Lili Boulanger, the ADAMI and the Williamson Foundation.
Suzana’s wide range of repertoire reaches from solo works and concertos to chamber music works, all of which she actively and passionately performs. She has given concerts all around the world: in Germany, Holland, Italy, Hungary, UK, Belgium, France and Romania as well as the US and China. Her performances have been captured by French, German, Hungarian and Romanian radio and television channels. Outstanding events of the past seasons have included a solo recital at the Musée d’Orsay on the 100th anniversary of Olivier Messiaen’s birth (2008), as well as a recital as part of the “Génération Jeunes Talents” at Radio France (2010 and 2015).
Suzana is also an enthusiastic advocate of contemporary music and has worked with some of the most significant composers of our day, such as Thomas Adès and Eric Tanguy. In June 2015 she performed the world premiere of Tanguy’s song “Cercle” for soprano and piano with Armelle Khourdoian at Radio France.
Extramely active as a chamber musician, Suzana has performed with violinists Alexandra Soumm and Guillaume Sutre, cellist Yan Levionnois, clarinetist Pierre Genisson and musicians from the Philharmonique de Radio France orchestra (David Haroutunian and Pauline Bartissol) and the Orchestre de Paris (Anne-Sophie Le Rol and Eric Picard), among others.
Born in 1986 in Timişoara (Romania) into a Hungarian family, pianist Suzana Bartal started her musical education in her hometown. Only three years later she became a winner of national and international competitions and gave her first solo recital at the age of 12 and had her first concerto apparition at the age of 13. In 2005 she decided to move to France where she studied with Denis Pascal, Pierre Pontier and Florent Boffard in Paris and in Lyon at the CNSMD. Between 2011 and 2014, Suzana has perfected her skills at the Yale School of Music under the guidance of Peter Frankl. She is currently a candidate for a Doctorate of Musical Arts from Yale and has received the Harriet Gibbs Memorial Prize for excellency in studies from Yale. In 2013 – 2014 Suzana has been at Teaching Fellow at the Yale College.
Many distinguished artists have influenced Suzana’s musical and artistic development, such as: András Schiff, Leon Fleisher, Paul Lewis, Menahem Pressler, Jean-Claude Pennetier or Matti Raekallio, as well as the Ysaÿe Quartet, the Tokyo String Quartet or the Emerson Quartet. She has been invited to take part in the very selective International Musician’s Seminar in Prussia Cove (UK).
Concert violinist Suliman Tekalli‘s multi-faceted career spans a wide range of activities from concerto soloist and recitalist to chamber musician. His concertizing has taken him throughout the U.S., Canada, Central America, and Europe performing as soloist with orchestras such as the International Sejong Soloists, Sendai Philharmonic, and la Orquesta Sinfónica del Estado de México.
Mr. Tekalli has distinguished himself as a soloist garnering top prize winner at the Seoul International Music Competition in Korea, as well as first prize in the Blount National String Competition, and prizes in the 2013 Sendai International Music Competition in Japan, 2010 Lipizer International Violin Competition in Italy, 2009 Szeryng International Violin Competition in Mexico.
Suliman Tekalli began his studies in violin at the age of 4 in his native state of Florida with Lev Gurevich. His performing career began early with his radio debut on NPR’s “From the Top” radio show in 2000 and his subsequent debut with the Orlando Philharmonic, performing the Sibelius Violin Concerto in 2004 at the age of sixteen.
As a chamber musician Mr. Tekalli has appeared extensively in festivals including Music@Menlo, Yellow Barn Festival, and the summer chamber festival at Banff Centre. He has collaborated and performed as with eminent musicians such as violinist Gil Shaham, Cho Liang Lin, Aiman Mussakhajayeva, and Donald Weilerstein, cellist Paul Watkins of the Emerson Quartet, and clarinetist David Shifrin among others. Mr. Tekalli also extensively concertizes with his various duos, the Tekalli Duo with his sibling pianist Jamila Tekalli, and the Goliath Duo formed in 2013 with contrabassist Samuel Suggs.
Mr. Tekalli has attended the Juilliard School, Cleveland Institute of Musi, Yale School of Music, and the Schwob School of Music, studying with the notable pedagogues Hyo Kang, Sergiu Schwartz, and Joel Smirnoff. He actively transcribes and arranges the violin, piano, and mixed ensembles as well as composes original works as well as cadenzas for the standard violin concerto repertoire.
