We are delighted to welcome back outstanding pianist, Antoine Préat, this time with highly acclaimed Icelandic cellist, Geirþrúður Guðmundsdóttir
February 3, 2024 -- For immediate release
Carrick Concerts has been extremely fortunate in engaging two of the most outstanding young musicians of their generation. Antoine Préat is already known to us, having won a standing ovation for his performance with the Trio Cordiera on his last visit to Mylor.
After graduating with honours from the Ecole Normale de Paris where he studied with Liudmila Berlinskaia and Guigla Katsarava, Antoine furthered his studies at the Royal Academy of Music and at the Guildhall School of Music under the tutelage of Tatiana Sarkissova and Ronan O'Hora, while studying harpsichord and fortepiano under the guidance of Carole Cerasi.
Among his many trophies, Antoine was awarded the first prize of the Concours international d’Ile de France and the Los Angeles Colburn Piano Festival Competition,
Antoine has performed in many prestigious venues including the Wigmore Hall, St John’s Smith Square, Salle Gaveau, Salle Cortot, Paris Beaux Arts Museum, Frederyk Chopin Insitute, as well as festivals such as the Nohant Chopin Festival, Lisztomanias, Chopin à Bagatelle, Les Nuits du Piano in Paris. He has appeared on BBC Radio 3, France Musique, Scala Radio and RTBF Musiq3
Praised for her "agile and passionate" playing and her "unbridled and honest" interpretation (Fréttablaðið, Reykjavík), Icelandic-American cellist Geirþrúður Anna Guðmundsdóttir has performed internationally at Weill Recital Hall in Carnegie Hall and at the Southbank Centre in London and appeared as a soloist with the Iceland Symphony Orchestra and the Royal Academy of Music Symphony Orchestra, among others. Her performance of the six Bach Cello Suites in Harpa Concert Hall in 2021 was hailed as "an awe-inspiring experience" (Jónas Sen, Fréttablaðið).
Geirþrúður has been a prize winner at numerous competitions, including the Anton Rubinstein International Cello Competition, the Hellam Young Artist Competition, the New York International Artists Association Competition, the Philharmonic Society of Arlington Young Artist Competition, and the Thaviu String Competition.
In addition to her work as a modern cellist, Geirþrúður has a keen interest in period performance and conducting. She has studied baroque cello with Phoebe Carrai and Tanya Tompkins and appeared at the Valley of the Moon Music Festival for period performance in California. She made her conducting debut with the Iceland Symphony Orchestra in 2023 as a member of the orchestra's Conducting Academy. Outside her love of music, she enjoys reading, photography, and chess.