‘Muses’ Four Hands Piano: Iliriana Gjoni & Rea Veizi
“Muses” brings to the public some of the most compelling melodies written for four hands. They represent special places, important moments and meaningful memories as an inspiration to the composers who created them. Pianists Iliriana Gjoni and Rea Veizi bring together friendship and music in this four hands recital, which aims to take the public inside Faure’s, Debussy’s, Brahms’s, Mozart’s and Dvorak’s world.
ILIRIANA Gjoni was born in Montenegro’s southernmost city of Ulqin/Ulcinj. Following the aftermath of the Balkan wars and eager to find an authentic outlet for her imagination, she enrolled as a first-generation student at her local music school. The piano soon became her best friend and safe haven, a place where she could explore her freedom away from the political divisions and national segregations brought up by the war.
In this context, Iliriana embarked on a rich adventure. Following an inspiring professor that had recently returned from the Moscow Conservatoire, she took classes with him across the country, traveling to near and far lands to perform and win piano competitions. Iliriana completed an ma Piano solo and ma Chamber Music at the University of Music Karlsruhe, where she studied under Michael Uhde and Markus Stange. A regular juror at German piano competitions, she performed in front of 40.000 people for Karlsruhe’s 300th anniversary. She studied under Boris Kraljević in Montenegro, Nora Çashku in Albania and Lucia Passaglia in Italy.
In her efforts to advocate for a free and just world, she also pursued an ma European Studies at ku Leuven. Next to her artistic endeavors, she is a Political Analyst at the renowned Carnegie Europe think tank in Brussels after a short stint at the European Parliament.
Rea Veizi is an Albanian pianist, chamber musician and pedagogue based in Paris.
She has performed as soloist and chamber musician in Spain, Italy, Kosovo, Albania and France and in various festivals like “Trois Soleils”, “Honfleur Lirique”, “Chopin” Festival, Brescia Festival etc.
She is the author and interpreter of Alter", a multidisciplinary performance with Sebastian Ene and Ema Andrea, premiered in Tirana and Pristina.
Rea completed the first twelve years of piano studies in Tirana with Valbona Simixhiu and Anita Tartari, during which she won many awards in national and international piano competitions. She has studied at Conservatorio Superiore de Castellon, Ecole normale de Musique “Alfred Cortot” and Scola Chantorum with Leonel Morales, Marian Rybicki, Billy Eidi in piano and Nina Patarcek in chamber music.
Since 2022 she is co-founder/artistic director of Himara International Music Festival.
Art Base, Sunday 19/1/25 17h, 15E ( reduced 10E for students under 26 and jobseekers),
29 rue des Sables Zandstraat, 1000 Bruxelles. For reservations & more info www.art-base.be