English virtuosos David Owen Norris (piano) and Paul Silverthorne (viola) will give the opening concerts of the Amigos 2019-2020 season at Os Agostos country estate, near Santa Bárbara de Nexe. The first concert on Tuesday, September 10 will feature music by Beethoven, Berg and Elgar whilst the second concert will be on Thursday, September 12 and will consist of pieces by Bridge, Brahms and Cole Porter.
David Owen Norris began his career by accompanying such well-known artists as Dame Janet Baker and Sir Peter Pears. He was the first winner of the Gilmore Artist Award which is awarded every four years to a concert pianist.
He has played concertos all over Australia, North America and Europe and has made several appearances at the BBC Proms. David Owen Norris has been a familiar face on television since the 1990s when he presented a variety of programmes on BBC.
He has hosted and appeared in many radio programmes and had his own weekly show, The Works. David Owen Norris is also a well-known composer having created major works including ‘HengeMusic’, a multi-media piece for organ and saxophone quartet with film and poetry.
He also plays early pianos. His discovery that the world’s first piano concertos were written around 1770 in London for the tiny square piano led to a complete reconsideration of that instrument and led to concert tours of the UK, Europe and the USA.
Paul Silverthorne was born in 1951 and studied at the Royal Academy of Music. In 1988, he became principal of the London Sinfonietta, a contemporary music ensemble.
In 1990, he started playing with the London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) and was appointed the principal viola the next year.
Paul is an active viola soloist and has performed with major English, American and European orchestras and with conductors including André Previn, Sir Simon Rattle and Sir John Elliot Gardiner.
Paul left the LSO in 2015 for a three-year period as Professor of Viola at the School of Music at Soochow University. He has since returned to London to resume teaching at the Royal Academy of Music and his former position at the London Sinfonietta.
Paul and David have worked together many times over several decades and their recent recording “Beethoven by Arrangement”, a collection of works arranged for viola and piano, has been widely praised.
Amigos de Música concerts at Os Agostos begin at 7pm sharp. Doors open at 6pm and wine, fruit juices and canapés will be served. There will also be a short interval with refreshments served. Entry donation is €25 per person for guests and non-members.
The Amigos is an international group of around 90 members who stage musical activities by internationally renowned musicians and also sponsor young Portuguese musicians.
For more information about the Amigos de Música and concert programmes, visit www.amigos-de-musica.org
For concert bookings, email reservasconcertos@gmail.com
Photo from left: Paul Silverthorne (viola) and David Owen Norris (piano)
