Concert for OBOE and CLARINET
The concert “Mozart and his contemporaries” brings together today the Albanian excellence in the world, the professionalism of the NTOB orchestra, the virtuosity of the Albanian instrumentalists and the international experience at the Cultural Center of the Orthodox Cathedral.
The NTOB orchestra will be conducted by internationally renowned French conductor Martin Lebel.
Special guest is the Albanian oboist, known in the international stages from China to Europe, Ali Pengili who came from France especially for this concert.
Featuring NTOB soloist, virtuoso Elton Katroshi who will perform the most beautiful pieces of the concert with his clarinet.
With the participation of:
NTOB Orchestra
Conductor: Martin Lebel
Soloist: Ali Pengili and Elton Katroshi
Organizer: NTOB
Place: Cultural Centre of the Orthodox Cathedral, Tirana – 31 October, 19:00
Program:
- A. Mozart – K 622 (A major) – concert for Clarinet
Soloist: Elton Katroshi
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Ludwig August Lebrun – Oboe Concerto Nr 2 (G minor)
Soloist: Ali Pengili
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Ludwig Beethoven – Symphony Nr.2
Martin Lebel, Conductor
Martin Lebel is the Musical Director of the Filarmonia de Montevideo and he has also been invited to continue in his position of Musical Director of the Karlovy Vary Orchestra (Czech Republic), a post which he was first offered in 2009.
Martin Lebel was the first French conductor to receive first prize in conducting at the Intenational ‘Prokofiev’ Competition in St Petersburg in 2003. Following this success, he has been invited back to conduct the St Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra on various occasions.
Since 2003, he has conducted many French and foreign orchestras such as the Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse, the Orchestre Symphonique de Saint-Etienne, the Orchestre de Bretagne, the Yekaterinburg Philharmonic Orchestra, the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra, the Lisbon Metropolitan Orchestra and the Montevideo Orchestra in Uruguay.
Martin Lebel is a universally respected conductor, both within France and further afield, as is evident in his mastery of the symphonic repertoire (Beethoven Symphony No. 9, Schumann Das Paradies und die Peri, Bach St John Passion, Strauss Metamorphosen, Mahler Symphony No. 5, the Beethoven Festival (3 concerts), the Dvorak Festival, Stravinsky Le Sacre du Printemps, etc) as well as his considerable experience as an operatic conductor (Puccini Madame Butterfly, Verdi Falstaff, Verdi Il Trovatore).
A pianist and cellist, Martin Lebel was awarded four separate awards at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris: in fugue, counterpoint, orchestration and conducting.
In 1998 he was a prizewinner at the Dimitri Mitropoulos Orchestra International Conducting Competition in Athens. Before this competition, he perfected his technique in Tanglewood where he was chosen by Séiji Osawa to direct during the festival. He also assisted James Conlon in various productions with the Köln Gürtznich-Orchester and with Opéra Bastille.
In addition to conducting the orchestras of Nancy, Avignon and the Pays de Savoie, he conducted 40 concerts with the Orchestre de Bretagne as their associated young conductor for the 1996-1997 season.
Since 2001, he has been invited regularly to the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris to give masterclasses to conducting students, as well as to conduct the Orchestre des Lauréats du Conservatoire (OLC). He has conducted the premières of various contemporary works on Radio-France, at the Berlin Akademie der Kunst and at the Festival Ars Nova (Brussels). He also conducts the Ensemble Itinéraire.
Since 2002, he has also been regularly invited to the Festival Musical d’Automne de Jeunes Interprètes (FMAJI).
Martin Lebel has accompanied various soloists, including Brigitte Engerer, Nicolai Lugansky, Kun Woo Paik, Bruno Rigutto, Alexandre Mogilevsky, Daniel Pollak, Cédric Tiebergin, Vanessa Wagner, Jean-Frédéric Neuburger, Daniel Raiskin, Emmanuelle Bertrand, Francis Pierre and Guy Touvron.
He has been awarded the citizenship of Karlovy Vary in 2014.
Ali Pengili, Oboe
The musical career of internationally renowned instrumentalist Ali Pengili got a major boost in 1994 when hesuccessfully passed the competition for the first solo oboe in the Singapore Symphony Orchestra (SSO), one of Asia’s finest orchestras. For many years, Mr. Pengili has performed under the guidance of some of the most popular conductors in the world such as: George Pretre, Essa Peka-Salonen, Oko Kamu, Carlo Franci, Claudio Simone, Jean-Claude Casadessus, etc.; and many other soloists such as: Anne Sophie Mutter, Hillary Hahn, Vadim Repin, Boris Beresovsky, Liang Liang etj. At the same time, he performs as a soloist with the orchestra in some of the most popular oboe repertoire concerts: Marcello, Mozart, Strauss.
During these years the orchestra has performed numerous tours around the world (Hong Kong, Malaysia, Germany, France, USA).
After 10 years of successful interpretation, he returns to France and graduates from the French Ministry of Culture with a professor high degree (CA in oboe and chamber music). In 2005, he was hired as a professor of oboe at the Rouen Normandy Academy of Music (CRR), the academy in which he continues to exercise his profession even nowadays.
He also continues his artistic activity within the academy season and in various scenes in France (Grand Théâtre de Reims, Opéra de Rouen).
He currently resides in Chatou, the city of French Impressionists.
Elton Katroshi, Clarinet
Elton Katroshi was born in Tirana in 1979. He began learnign the clarinet at the age of 10. In 2002, he graduated from the University of the Arts of Tirana in the class of Prof. Kiço Dako. During his time at the university he is distinguished for his talent and participates in all activities as a first clarinet in the University Orchestra. He has participated in the masterclass of Paris Conservatory’s Ass. Prof and solo clarinet at the Jerome Paris Opera Orchestra, Julien Laferriere. In 2002, he won the competition as the first clarinet at the National Theater of Opera, Ballet and Folk Ensemble where he currently works. Katroshi has performed many chamber music recitals and concerts by W. A. Mozart, J. Brahms, C. Saint-Saëns, E. Cavallini, L. Bassi, P. Botessini, N. Gade, F. Chopin, G. Rossini, D. Shostakovich, C. M. von Weber etc. In 2013, he is invited to represent Albania professionally at the International Clarinet Festival “ClarinetFest” in Assisi, Italy. He is a guest lecturer at the University of Arts.