MAKEDONISSIMO, meaning very Macedonian ,sees Macedonian pianist Simon Trpceski take a detour from Beethoven and Brahms to celebrate the music of his homeland, Macedonia. Trpceski takes listeners on a joyous tour through the incredible rhythms and haunting melodies of the Macedonian folk music tradition in which highly intricate, jazz-influenced riffs and harmonies are seamlessly interwoven. Inspired by Trpceski's passion for the folk traditions of his homeland, Macedonian composer Pande Shahov (b. 1973), in collaboration with Trpceski created a six movement cycle he called Pletenki (Plaits).

In these new arrangements Shahov merges his own sound world - one which is influenced by impressionist attitudes to resonance and jazz harmony - with Macedonia's traditional music.

This project had its world premiere in May 2017 at the Ludwigsburg Festival, Germany, and went on to wow audiences in the UK (London, Liverpool, Birmingham), Slovenia (Ljubljana), France (Lille), Poland (Warsaw, Szczecin, Gdansk, Katowice), the Netherlands (Amsterdam), Serbia (Belgrade), Montenegro (Bar), Romania (Cluj) and South Korea (Jeongseon, Wonju, Chuncheon).

Led by Trpceski on piano the quintet of virtuosi musicians comprises Hidan Mamudov clarinet, saxophone, kaval Aleksandar Krapovski violin, Alexander Somov cello and Vlatko Nushev percussion.

About the Artist:

Born in Macedonia, pianist Simon Trpceski was a BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artist and was honoured with the Royal Philharmonic Society Young Artist Award in 2003. Trpceski regularly gives solo recitals in New York, Paris, Munich, São Paulo, Prague, Sydney, Beijing, Tokyo and London, where he was recently Artist-in-Residence at Wigmore Hall. He has performed at prestigious festivals including Verbier, Bergen, Baltic Sea and BBC Proms. Trpceski is also a committed chamber musician, appearing with his regular duo partner Daniel Müller-Schott. He is the pianist and founder of the MAKEDONISSIMO Quintet and with the special support of KulturOp works regularly with young musicians in Macedonia to cultivate the country's next generation of artists.