Fanny Fheodoroff and Dominic Degavino | "A Night in Vienna"

The music the artists have chosen for this recital has one thing in common—the composers are all associated with Vienna. A particular highlight of the evening will be the spectacular Richard Strauss Violin Sonata, rarely played because it is so demanding of both the violinist and the pianist. It was composed when Strauss had just met the love of his life, the soprano Pauline de Ahna, and it radiates romantic fervour with dramatic melodies embracing a wide range of emotions.

Programme

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756 – 1791) – Violin Sonata in D major, K. 306

Friedrich Cerha (1926 – 2023) – Capriccio for violin and piano

Erich Wolfgang Korngold (1897 – 1957) – Much Ado About Nothing Suite, Op. 11

Richard Strauss (1864 – 1949) – Violin Sonata in E-flat major, Op. 18

Viennese-born violinist Fanny Fheodoroff has been awarded top prizes at national and international violin competitions, an alumna of The Juilliard School (New York), the Guildhall School of Music and Drama (London), the Academy of Music and Theatre (Hamburg), and the University of Music and Performing Arts (Vienna). Solo and chamber music performances have taken her to venues including Philharmonie Berlin, Filharmonia Kraków, Hamburg's Laeiszhalle, Beethoven-Haus Bonn, and London's Wigmore Hall.

In 2022, Fanny joined the French piano trio Sōra, based in Paris, where they hold a residency at the Fondation Singer-Polignac. Their double album dedicated to the piano trios of Johannes Brahms was released in April 2024 under the label La Dolce Volta. The album received a CHOC Classica, a Trophée Radio Classique and a nomination for the Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik, among others, and was unanimously praised by international press reviews.

Performances with the Yehudi Menuhin charity “Live Music Now” and the organisation Musethica have taken her to prisons, schools, psychiatric clinics, homeless shelters and refugee centres, highlighting her passionate devotion to community engagement with diverse audiences. Fanny plays a violin by Ferdinandus Gagliano (1769), generously loaned by a private sponsor.

British pianist Dominic Degavino has performed at venues across the United Kingdom and beyond, including solo performances at the Wigmore Hall and Southbank Centre, London, at the Bridgewater Hall, Manchester, at the Edinburgh Festival, and as a concerto soloist with the Manchester Camerata. He has achieved considerable competition success, including prizes at the Concours International de Piano d'Epinal, J.N. Hummel International Piano Competition, Giorgos Thymis International Piano Competition.

Dominic studied in Manchester with Helen Krizos at both at Chetham's School of Music and the Royal Northern College of Music, where he was a recipient of the prestigious RNCM Gold Medal, before completing his studies at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London with Charles Owen and Noriko Ogawa. During this time, he also participated in masterclasses with eminent pianists such as Lang Lang, Richard Goode, Imogen Cooper, Peter Frankl and John O'Conor.

The Mithras Trio, founded with two fellow students at the Guildhall, won the prestigious Trondheim Chamber Music Competition in 2019. The trio was subsequently selected for the BBC's New Generation Artists scheme for the 2021–23 seasons. Dominic now has a full performing schedule as a soloist, chamber musician, accompanist and jazz player.

This concert is presented by Kettner Concerts (Charity No. 1161105) generously supported by the charity Promote Our Pianists (Charity No. 1215344). For more information please visit http://www.promoteourpianists.org