Masterclass with Réka Szilvay

Wednesday, 27th March 2024, 11am-12:30pm


Bio

Réka Szilvay, Violin

Finnish-born violinist Réka Szilvay, with Austrian-Hungarian roots, has showcased her talent as a soloist and chamber musician across Europe, Asia, South America, South Africa, and the USA. She has graced the stage as a soloist with major Finnish orchestras, including the London Philharmonic, Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg, Mariinsky Orchestra St. Petersburg, Dallas Symphony Orchestra, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, Copenhagen Philharmonic Orchestra, Orquestra Nacional do Porto, Tonkünstler Orchestra Austria, and Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg.

Réka has embarked on tours with esteemed ensembles such as the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, Helsinki Strings, Orkester Norden, Ostrobothnian Chamber Orchestra, and the Lahti Symphony Orchestra. She has collaborated with renowned conductors such as Ádám Fischer, Mikko Franck, Rumon Gamba, Valeri Gergiev, Neeme Järvi, Juha Kangas, Okko Kamu, Fabio Luisi, Sakari Oramo, Libor Pesek, Jukka-Pekka Saraste, Leif Segerstam, Hubert Soudant, Osmo Vänskä, and Mark Wigglesworth. Her solo performances have graced prestigious venues like Musikverein Wien and Großes Festspielhaus Salzburg, as well as renowned concert halls worldwide like Tokyo Suntory Hall, National Concert Hall Taipei, Symphony Hall Birmingham, London Barbican Concert Hall, Kölner Philharmonie, Casa da Música Porto und Teatro Colón Buenos Aires as well as at festivals like Kuhmo Chamber Music, Festival Grafenegg, Klangbogen Wien and Singapore Arts Festival.

Réka Szilvay has enriched her artistic interpretation through collaborations with notable musicians, including Gerhard Schulz, Erich Höbarth, Matthew Barley, and Robert Cohen, at festivals like Salzburger Festspiele, Helsinki Festival, and Tampere Chamber Music Festival.

In partnership with her Finnish pianist Heini Kärkkäinen, Réka has performed the complete cycle of Beethoven sonatas at various concert venues. Additionally, with her Austrian pianist Christoph Berner, she has given recitals at prestigious venues like Konzerthaus Wien, Carnegie Hall New York, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Wigmore Hall London, Cité de la Musique Paris, and Musashino Concert Hall Tokyo.

Réka Szilvay also explores historical performance practices, regularly playing on gut strings, and collaborates as a soloist with the Helsinki Baroque Orchestra and in various chamber music formations together with cembalist Aapo Häkkinen and violinist Erich Höbarth among others.

Her performances have been broadcast on notable radio stations such as BBC, Radio France, Arte TV France, Austrian ORF, Finnish YLE, and Hungarian MRT. Réka Szilvay has recorded for labels including Warner Records (Vivaldi, Bach), Alba Records (“Roaring Twenties”: Bartók, Janáček, Schulhoff, Ravel), and Naxos (Schumann).

In 2006, Réka Szilvay was appointed Professor of Violin at the Sibelius Academy/University of the Arts Helsinki. She upholds the pedagogical legacy of her professors Géza Szilvay, Tuomas Haapanen, Sándor Végh, and Gerhard Schulz. Many of her students have achieved success as winners and laureates in international competitions. Alongside her concert engagements, Réka actively addresses ergonomic considerations in violin playing, conducting workshops and presentations regularly.

Timo Koskinen, Piano

Timo Koskinen is a Finnish pianist whose artistic development has been significantly influenced by two experiences. Firstly, he studied for eight years (1971-79) with the traditional Polish method, focusing on ergonomic techniques under the guidance of Michał Zieliński at the Helsinki Conservatoire. Secondly, his 30-year career as a chamber pianist at the Sibelius Academy, where he collaborated with numerous pedagogues and hundreds of students, has profoundly enriched his musicianship. Particularly invaluable were the years spent in the class of cellist Heikki Rautasalo.

Timo Koskinen has collaborated with Professor Réka Szilvay’s class for many years, among other classes. Before his inaugural solo recital in Helsinki in 1990, he also studied at the Sibelius Academy and the Chopin Academy of Warsaw under pianists such as Liisa Pohjola, Erik T. Tawaststjerna, and Andrej Stefański.

Having performed in numerous European countries, as well as in Hong Kong and South Korea, Koskinen is renowned as a chamber pianist, and has worked for decades to various national and international competitions for different instruments.

Additionally, Timo Koskinen has participated in competitions as a competitor, winning 1st prize in the Ilmari Hannikainen Piano Competition in 1978 in the under-16 category and the 2nd prize in the Maj Lind Piano Competition in 1988.