We dedicate this project to the Macedonian people!
Formed by the acclaimed pianist Simon Trpčeski, the MAKEDONISSIMO quintet also includes Hidan Mamudov (clarinet, alto saxophone and kaval), Aleksandar Krapovski (violin), Alexander Somov (cello) and Vlatko Nushev (percussion). Its first concert prompted glowing reviews: “Quite magical” wrote Süddeutsche Zeitung; “This group should come again” exclaimed The Independent after the UK premiere in Wigmore Hall, London, in 2018.
Indeed, MAKEDONISSIMO produces a unique sound: it fuses incredible rhythms and haunting melodies of the Macedonian folk music tradition with highly virtuoso, jazz-influenced riffs and harmonies. The twenty-three dances and songs, especially selected by Trpčeski for this project, are interwoven in a truly unique fashion by the composer Pande Shahov. After its successful premiere in Germany at the Ludwigsburger Schlossfestspiele, the project travelled to Slovenia, UK, Poland, The Netherlands, France, Serbia, Montenegro, Romania, South Korea, Macedonia, Switzerland, Bulgaria, Monaco, Canada, Hong Kong. Future performances include Czech Republic, China, Russia, New Zealand, and Australia. The quintet featured on BBC Radio 3 In Tune programme, live Broadcast on YouTube from South Korea, as well as on other renowned TV and Radio broadcasters.
Simon Trpčeski – founder of MAKEDONISSIMO quintet
Simon Trpčeski has been praised not only for his powerful virtuosity and deeply expressive approach, but also for his charismatic stage presence. Launched onto the international scene twenty years ago as a BBC New-Generation Artist, in an incredibly fast-paced career that encompass no cultural or musical boundaries, Trpčeski has collaborated with over a hundred orchestras on four continents, including the London Symphony Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra, City of Birmingham Orchestra, Orchestre National de France, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Deutsche Sinfonie Orchester Berlin and Dresden Philharmonic. In North America, he is a frequent soloist with the Cleveland and Philadelphia Orchestras, the Los Angeles and New York Philharmonic, and the Chicago, San Francisco, St. Louis, Seattle, and Baltimore Symphonies. Further afield, he has performed with the New Japan, Seoul, and Hong Kong Philharmonics, and the Singapore, Sydney, Adelaide, Melbourne, and New Zealand Symphonies.
A much sought-after soloist, the long list of prominent conductors Trpčeski works with includes Lorin Maazel, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Marin Alsop, Gustavo Dudamel, Cristian Măcelaru, Charles Dutoit, Jakob Hrusa, Vladimir Jurowski, Susanna Malkki, Andris Nelsons, Antonio Pappano, Vasily Petrenko, Robert Spano, Michael Tilson Thomas, Gabriel Bebeselea, David Zinman. He has a particularly long-standing relationship with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, further strengthened during the tenure of Vassily Petrenko. Together, they have recorded the monuments of the Russian piano repertoire, all four Rachmaninov piano concertos as well as the Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, for Avie, the two Tchaikovsky piano concertos and most recently Prokofiev piano concertos no. 1 and 3 for Onyx Classics.
An acclaimed recitalist, Trpčeski has performed in major halls in New York, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., London, Paris, Amsterdam, Milan, Munich, Prague, Hamburg, Bilbao, Istanbul, Dublin, and Tokyo. Since his debut at Wigmore Hall in 2001, he has remained a regular guest of this prestigious venue, including a Residency in 2018, and with two recitals released on the Wigmore Live label.
In chamber music, Trpčeski regularly partners cellist Daniel Müller-Schott, and regularly appears as a chamber musician in festivals such as Aspen, Verbier, Risor, Bergen, and the Baltic Sea Festival. His latest chamber music collaboration is with the world-renowned violinist Maxim Vengerov.
A natural music explorer, Trpčeski is also committed to strengthening the cultural image of his native Macedonia. His latest chamber music project MAKEDONISSIMO is dedicated to introducing audiences world-wide to the rich traditional Macedonian folk roots. With the collaboration of composer Pande Shahov, it weaves into one unique sound world, the Macedonian folk music tradition with highly virtuoso, jazz-influenced riffs and harmonies. Since its successful premiere in Germany at the Ludwigsburger Schlossfestspiele, the project has travelled to Slovenia, UK, Poland, The Netherlands, France, Serbia, Montenegro, Romania, South Korea, Macedonia, Switzerland, Bulgaria, Monaco, Canada, Hong Kong.
Trpčeski’s fruitful collaborations with EMI Classics, Avie Records, Wigmore Hall Live, Onyx Classics, and currently Linn Records has resulted in a broad and award-winning discography. His natural affinity with Russian composers of the 19th and 20th century is featured in seven CDs presenting works by Rachmaninov, Prokofiev, Stravinsky, Tchaikovsky, Scriabin, Mussorgsky and Rimsky-Korsakov. He has also recorded the music of Chopin, Brahms, Poulenc, Bach, Liszt and Debussy. His debut album received both the “Editor’s Choice” and “Debut Album” prizes at the Gramophone Awards in 2002. His Rachmaninov concerto cycle in 2010 and 2011 was Gramophone “Editor’s Choice” and also received a Diapason d’Or. The Wigmore Live CD of 2012 was The Telegraph “Classical CD of the Week.”
With the special support of KulturOp – Macedonian cultural and arts organization – Trpčeski works regularly with young musicians in Macedonia nurturing the talent of the next generation of artists, as well as for the promotion and affirmation of the Macedonian music and of the classical music in general. In 2009, he received the Presidential Order of Merit for Macedonia, a decoration given to foreign and domestic dignitaries responsible for the affirmation of Macedonia abroad. In 2011, he became the first-ever recipient of the title “National Artist of Macedonia”.
Born in Macedonia 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 prof. Boris Romanov. He was BBC New Generation Artist 2001–2003 and in 2003 was honored with the Young Artist Award by the Royal Philharmonic Society.
Hidan Mamudov – clarinet, saxophone, kaval
Hidan Mamudov was born in Macedonia in 1982. He studied for a year with Sidney Forrest and then for a further two years with Petko Radev in Bulgaria. In 2000 he went on to study at the Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst Wien with Horst Hajek. He has participated in masterclasses with Charles Neidich, Stanley Drucker and Robert Spring. He received scholarships from the Dr. Robert and Lina Thyll-Durr foundation and the Viktor-Bunzl-Stipendium. He was a finalist at the Ciudad de Dos Hermanas competition and won first prize at the Jeunesses Musicales Bucharest competition. He appeared as a soloist with the Macedonian Philharmonic Orchestra under the conductor Jouan Romero and Thomas Platzgummer. Other conductors he has worked with include Pierre Boulez, Franz Welser-Most, Kirill Petrenko and Mark Stringer. He is a founder of the Trio Prestige, which has won competitions in Greece and Austria. The ensemble has given concerts in Germany, Italy, and Bulgaria.
Aleksandar Krapovski – violin
Aleksandar Krapovski was born in Macedonia in 1981. He studied in Bulgaria with Dora Ivanova and in Germany with Mintcho Mintchev. He won third prize at the Pancho Vladigerov Competition and first prize at the Musicians of the New Millennium competition. He has appeared as concertmaster with orchestras such as the Music Academy of the State of Bulgaria, Verbier Chamber Orchestra, Spanish National Orchestra (Madrid), Tenerife Symphony Orchestra and Real Filharmonia de Galicia, among others. He has worked with conductors such as James Levine, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Kurt Masur, Mstislav Rostropovich and Valery Gergiev. He is a member of the orchestra of Gran Teatre del Liceu, Barcelona. As a soloist he has performed with orchestras in Bulgaria, Macedonia, and Spain, and has toured with the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra and Slovenian National Youth Orchestra. He has performed at Ohrid Summer Festival, Verbier Festival, Apollonia Arts Festival and Ravello Festival, to name a few.
Alexander Somov – cello
Alexander Somov was born in Sofia and studied at the National Music School with Stefan Rounevsky. He continued his studies at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, London, where in 1998 he won the Gold Medal, a prize previously awarded to Jacqueline du Pre. Since then, Somov has performed concertos spanning from Baroque to contemporary music with the Philharmonia Orchestra, Royal Northern Sinfonia, Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg and Bulgarian National Radio Symphony, conducted by Thomas Zehetmair, Paul McCreesh, Thierry Fischer, David Parry, Marc Albrecht, Lionel Bringuier, Sir James MacMillan, Emil Tabakov and Georgi Dimitrov, among many others. As chamber musician Somov has travelled across Europe, Israel, Japan and Mexico with partners including Thomas Zehetmair, Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Yuri Bashmet, Tasmin Little, Bartek Nizioł, Mari Kobayashi and John York. Since 2003, he has been guest-principal cellist with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, English Chamber Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra and SWR Baden-Stuttgart, among others.
Vlatko Nushev – percussion
Vlatko Nushev was born in 1981 and studied percussion and timpani at the Faculty of Music in Skopje, Macedonia, where he is currently working as a professor. He regularly plays with the Macedonian National Opera and Ballet, and was a member of the contemporary music ensemble ConTempora. A versatile musician, he has performed with various types of chamber music ensembles and bands, as a composer, arranger and producer. He won prizes at the Yamaha scholarship Competition (Yamaha Music Foundation of Europe) and the Music and Earth International Competition, among many others.