Palace Music: Massimo Mercelli – flute, Irina Zahharenkova – harpsichord, piano
Massimo Mercelli – flute (Italy)
Irina Zahharenkova – harpsichord, piano
Program: Corelli, Marcello, Donizetti, Mercvadate, Morricone, Bacalov, Piovani
In cooperation with Italian Embaasy in Tallinn
Massimo Mercelli is the flautist in the world who boasts the most important dedications and collaborations with major composers: the likes of Penderecki, Gubaidulina, Glass, Nyman, Bacalov, Galliano, Morricone, Sollima, Piovani, Carrara and Gabriel Prokofiev have written for him or performed premieres.
Self-taught and then a pupil of the famous flutists Maxence Larrieu and André Jaunet, at the age of nineteen he became first flute at the Teatro La Fenice in Venice, won the “Premio Francesco Cilea”, the “Concorso Internazionale Giornate Musicali” and two editions of the “Concorso Internazionale di Stresa”.
Massimo plays regularly at major concert venues around the world: Carnegie Hall in New York, Herculessaal and Gasteig in Munich, NCPA in Beijing, Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires, Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Teatro alla Scala, Auditorium RAI in Turin, Victoria Hall in Geneva, San Martin in the Fields and Wigmore Hall in London, Parco della Musica in Rome, St. Petersburg Philharmonic, Warsaw Philharmonic, Tchaikovsky Hall in Moscow, UN auditorium in New York, Great Hall of Mozarteum in Salzburg Berlin Philharmonic and Moscow Philharmonic and in the Festivals of Ljubljana, Berlin, Santander, Vilnius, St. Petersburg, Bonn, Cervantino Festival, Rheingau, Jerusalem, Warsaw, collaborating with artists such as Yuri Bashmet, Valery Gergiev, Krzysztof Penderecki, Philip Glass, Michael Nyman, Massimo Quarta, Ennio Morricone, Luis Bacalov, Peter-Lukas Graf, Maxence Larrieu, Aurèle Nicolet, Anna Caterina Antonacci, Ramin Bahrami, Albrecht Mayer, Gabor Boldowsky, Jiri Belolhavec, Federico Mondelci, John Malkovich, Igudesman & Joo, Jan Latham-Koenig, Catherine Spaak, Susanna Mildonian
In November 2018 he was the only Italian invited to participate in the Festival for Krysztof Penderecki‘s 85th birthday at the Warsaw Philharmonic.
In 2019, for his birthday, he performed Michael Nyman’s Concerto No. 2, dedicated to him, at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan, and in 2020, also at the Teatro alla Scala, Ennio Morricone’s Notturno Passacaglia, also dedicated to him; in 2021, at the Teatro degli Arcimboldi in Milan he performed alongside John Malkovich. In 2022, he has been a soloist in the “Dante concerto” written for him by Gabriel Prokofiev and in 2023, with I Solisti Veneti in the premiere performance of 3 concertos for flute and orchestra dedicated to him composed by Oscar winner Nicola Piovani. Massimo plays wooden flutes by Alfred Verhoef elaborated by Andrea Dainese.
Irina Zahharenkova is one of the most outstanding keyboard performers of her generation to emerge from Estonia today.
She has won first prizes from major international piano competitions as the International Johann Sebastian Bach Competition (Leipzig, Germany – 2006), Alessandro Casagrande International Piano Competition (Terni, Italy – 2006), International Competition George Enescu (Bucharest, Romania – 2005), and Jaén International Piano Contest (Jaén, Spain – 2004).
In 2008 Irina Zahharenkova became prize-winner at Artur Rubinstein Piano Master Competition in Tel Aviv, Israel.
Irina Zahharenkova obtained her Master of Music degree in Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre with Prof. Lilian Semper and in Sibelius Academy in Finland with Prof. Hui-Ying Líu-Tawaststjerna. In addition to piano she explored early keyboards, studying harpsichord with prof. Maris Valk-Falk and fortepiano with Prof. Pekka Vapaavuori.
Irina Zahharenkova has also been a laureate in Prague Spring competition in Czech Republic (2005) – as a harpsichordist and in Festival van Vlaanderen competition in Bruges, Belgium (2004) – as fortepianist.
She was a winner of 2007 Borletti-Buitoni Trust Fellowship Award.
Performing frequently in solo piano and harpsichor recitals in Europe and Japan, Irina Zahharenkova has played among others in Klavier-Festival Ruhr in Germany, Spoleto Festival in Italy, Kuhmo Chamber Music Festival in Finland, Bergen International Festival in Norway and others. As soloist she has appeared with Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Orchestre National de Lorraine, Israel Philarmonic Orchestra, Pilsen Philharmonic Orchestra, Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, Prague Chamber Orchestra, Estonian National Symphony Orchestra, Sinfonia Finlandia and others, played with such conductors as Juha Kangas, Dmitri Alexeev, Leif Segerstam, Patrick Gallois. Her repertoire encompasses a wide range of musical styles from baroque to contemporary. Apart from concert activities Irina Zahharenkova is teaching piano in Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre and Sibelius Academy and working as accompanist in Kuopio Academy of Music and Dance (branch of Savonia University of Applied Sciences). In 2010 Zahharenkova had two recordings released: DVD by Estonian Record Productions, recorded live at Glasperlenspiel Festival in Tartu, Estonia, where she gave a recital playing harpsichord, fortepiano and modern piano, and Bach Goldberg Variations CD recorded by Classical Records in Moscow. Her recording of Scarlatti Sonatas (Classical Records) released in spring 2012 has got very positive reviews.
Kadriorg Palace is one the most well known and beautiful historic concert halls in Estonia offering memorable music experiences already for many decades. The tradition of performing music in the baroque palace goes back to 18th century when court music accompanied the daily life. The palace has had the pleasure to welcome many international artists and ensembles for outstanding performances. The construction of the Kadriorg Palace was started by the Tsar Peter the Great of Russia in 1718. It was named Catharinenthal (in Estonian Kadriorg) in honour of his wife Catherine I. The palace was designed by the Italian architect Nicola Michetti and its abundantly decorated main hall is one of the most exquisite examples of baroque architecture both in Estonia and in northern Europe. Kadriorg Palace has always been the crown jewel of Tallinn. The small festive tsars’ palace in the style of Roman Baroque, surrounded by a regular garden, with fountains, hedges and flowerbeds, planned after the model of Versailles. The palace was a summer residence of Russian emperors untill 1917. In the 1920s, and again in 1946-1991 palace served as the main building of the Art Museum of Estonia. In the 1930s, it was the residence of the Head of State of the Estonian Republic. In 2000, it was opened as the Kadriorg Art Museum, which displays the largest collection of old Russian and Western European art in Estonia.
The artistic director of the Palace Music Concert Series is Aare Tammesalu.
In cooperation of the Art Museum of Estonia. Supporters: Estonian Ministry of Culture, The Cultural Endowment of Estonia, Estonian Public Broadcasting, Tallinn Culture and Sports Department, UNESCO City of Music Tallinn, Kultuuriküla, pointprint
Special thanks: Visit Tallinn, Õhtuleht
The concert tickets are also valid for museum visits on the day of the concert
