I enjoy discovering and highlighting new piano related courses and festivals, and this event is taking place in Canada, from July 31st to August 9th 2015. The Cui International Music Festival is essentially a Summer course focusing on singers and pianists, and it boasts an impressive faculty of professors, an interesting array of guest artists and an innovative programme. Faculty members are world-recognized musicians from Israel, Poland, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Hong Kong, Russia, France, China, and the USA.

The Festival’s mission is ‘to provide talented individual singers and pianists with an exciting multi-cultural exchange in which to experience and learn excellence in the performance of classical music from around the world.’ Held at York University, which is situated in Toronto, participants will be housed at the campus and all classes and rehearsals will take place in the specialized music building.

Participants may take part in master classes, individual classes, performances, tours, and an array of lessons and activities. Over 100 participants, volunteers and spectators are expected.

César Antonovich Cui (1835 – 1918) was a Russian composer who belonged to the group of composers known as ‘The Five’; the other group members were Aleksandr Borodin, Mily Balakirev, Modest Mussorgsky, and Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov. Cui was a music critic and military engineer, who composed copiously, predominantly writing operas, songs, and piano music, so he is the perfect namesake.

Publications

Melanie Spanswick has written and published a wide range of courses, anthologies, examination syllabuses, and text books, including Play it again: PIANO (published by Schott Music). This best-selling graded, progressive piano course contains a large selection of repertoire featuring a huge array of styles and genres, with copious practice tips and suggestions for every piece.

For more information, please visit the publications page, here.