ONE of the leading Czech cellists of the present day will give classical music lovers a treat this afternoon.

Frantisek Brikcius will perform for the audience at the Weymouth Lunchtime Chamber Concert at St Mary's Church in Weymouth today (12) at 1pm.

Joining him on the piano will be Weymouth musician Duncan Honeybourne and Sonja Grossner with the Sonata Appassionato.

Frantisek, winner of the Anglo-Czech Competition in London in 1999, is welcomed to town for a recital as part of his UK tour.

The programme will include classics of the cello and piano repertoire and the Grossner Sonata Appassionato, which was premiered by Duncan with cellist Sharon McKinley in Birmingham Cathedral in 1999.

There will also be the chance to enjoy Brahms and Alexandre Tansman.

František Brikcius began playing in his early childhood and quickly developed into a competent student.

He was accepted into the Janá?ek Academy of Music (JAMU) in Brno after completing his study of the absolutory at the Prague Conservatoire.

As a student at JAMU, František studied in Bed?ich Havlík’s cello class. He furthered his study at the Toho Gakuen Academy in Japan, and continued his studies under the guidance of Professor Anna Shuttleworth in the United Kingdom.

He has performed at many festivals and was a fellow of the Czech Music Foundation (?HF) in the 2001 and 2002 for the interpretation of contemporary Czech composers. Frantisek chose to dedicate his life to the interpretation of cello compositions written by composers of the 17th, 18th, 19th, 20th and 21st centuries, with special consideration given to compositions for cello solo.

He also allows concentrates on works by Czech, Terezín and contemporary composers.

František plays a “George Kriwalski” cello made in 1904. Together with his sister Anna Brikcius, he is a founder member of the “Duo Brikcius”.

Sonja Grossner was born in Maidenhead, Berkshire and received her earliest musical training there.

A holiday trip to Dresden in 1960 turned into a permanent stay in the former East Germany and she subsequently studied violin and composition with Manfred Weiss at the Carl Maria von Weber Hochschule fur Musik in Dresden, prior to working as both a music teacher and a violinist in the Freiberg Theatre Orchestra and at the Dresden Operetta Theatre.

Duncan Honeybourne has established a rich and diverse career as a pianist and in music education. He made his debut as soloist at Symphony Hall, Birmingham and the National Concert Hall, Dublin, in 1998, and debut recitals included London, Paris and the Miry Concertzaal in Ghent, Belgium, during the Gentsche Festspiele. His 2-CD debut solo album was described by the Gramophone as “a set not to be missed by all lovers of English music”, and received 4 stars in Musical Opinion and BBC Music Magazine, which reported: “There are gorgeous things here. Hard to imagine better performances.”

Duncan has toured extensively as recitalist, concerto soloist and chamber musician in the UK, Ireland, France, Belgium and Switzerland, appearing at many major venues and leading festivals. His solo performances have been frequently broadcast on radio networks worldwide including BBC Radio 3 (UK), RTE? (Ireland), YLE (Finnish Broadcasting Company), Radio Suisse Romande (Switzerland), ABC Classic FM (Australia), SABC (South Africa) and Radio New Zealand.

He is a Tutor in Piano at the University of Southampton and has written for journals including Classical Music and International Piano magazines, the Jewish Chronicle and The Times.

*Weymouth Lunchtime Chamber Concert, St Mary's Church, Weymouth, today at 1pm. Tickets cost £4.50 on the door or £3 for students.

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