Classical Piano Concert by Girma Yifrashewa in Brooklyn at Tadias Magazine

Pianist and composer Girma Yifrashewa. (Photo courtesy ISSUE Project Room, 22 Boerum Place, Brooklyn)

Tadias Magazine
Events News

Published: Friday, May 3rd, 2013

New York (TADIAS) – Ethiopian classical pianist and composer Girma Yifrashewa is scheduled to perform at Issue Project Room in Brooklyn on June 8th.

“A highly accomplished performer of the romantic repertoire, Yifrashewa has chosen to remain in Ethiopia— where classical music is far from a dominant practice— forging a classical tradition for his own country,” organizers said in a press release. “Using traditional tunes as a foundation, Yifrashewa’s compositions combine the ecstasy of Ethiopian harmony with the grandeur of virtuoso piano technique into an effortlessly enjoyable, heady mixture. In this solo piano concert, Yifrashewa performs works by Chopin, Schumann, Debussy, and Mozart, as well as a set of his own Ethiopian informed compositions.”

Girma, who was born in Addis Ababa in 1967, is a graduate of the Yared School of Music and the Sofia State Conservatory of Music in Bulgaria.

“It was in Bulgaria that he made an impact as a solo pianist, performing the works of Schumann, Schubert, Chopin and Debussy, throughout the country until his return to East Africa in 1995,” the event announcement said.  “He has a preference and well-determined approach to the music of Bach as well as Mozart and Beethoven.”

“Yifrashewa returned to Ethiopia in 1995, teaching piano at the Yared School of Music until 2001. He received scholarships for short-term specialization courses from the British and German Governments, at the Royal Academy of Music in London (1997) and at the Hochschule fur Music Und Theater in Leipzig (1999). Currently Yifrashewa works to promote Ethiopian and Classical Music throughout the continent and beyond.”

Tadias Magazine

Classical Piano Concert by Girma Yifrashewa in Brooklyn

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