A PIANO RECITAL BY ROWEL ELESIO FRIERS

ABOUT THE PERFORMER

Rowel Friers, born 2002 in Northern Ireland, embarked on his musical journey on a toy keyboard at 18 months. Beginning piano tuition aged five, he gave his first public recital that same year.

Rowel made his New York Debut in Carnegie Hall as a New York Concerti Sinfonietta International Shining Star in 2017. He has won many competitions including the Belgian Cesar Franck International in 2018; was awarded his Diploma Licentiate of Trinity College London in 2018; the Gillian Smith Cup for Pianoforte in RIAM in 2019; became the Rotary Northern Ireland Young Musician of the Year 2019; the Feis Ceoil ‘Patricia Read’ Competition in 2019; progressed to the second round of the BBC Young Musician competition in 2019; awarded 2nd Prize at the Italian Livorno International in 2020; and won the Ursula Uí Chuinneagáin Bursary and the Maura Teissier Scholarship in 2020.

He was awarded the Charles J. Brennan Prize and McCullough Bursary at the prestigious 2022 Dublin International Piano Competition; reached the semi-finals of the 2022 Dudley International Piano Competition; won the Feis Ceoil Mabel Swainson Piano Award; won the Audience Prize in the 2023 Madrid International Piano Competition and was awarded the Irish Freemasons Young Musician of the Year 2023. Most recently, Rowel won the Feis Ceoil’s prestigious Morris Grant Bursary.

Rowel’s concerto debut with the RTE Concert Orchestra at the National Concert Hall in August 2023 was met with a standing ovation and on the 2nd of July, he performed with the National Symphony Orchestra in the National Concert Hall once again to a standing ovation.

Rowel is currently studying for his Bachelor of Music degree at the Royal Irish Academy of Music, Dublin, with Professor Réamonn Keary.

Programme:

JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH/ FERRUCCIO BUSONI
Ich ruf zu dir Herr Jesu Christ - Choral Prelude BWV 639

JOSEPH HAYDN 
Sonata No. 62 in E-flat major, HOB.XVI:52

JOHN FIELD 
Nocturne No.8 in e-minor, H 46

FRYDERYK CHOPIN 
Etiude No.10 in b-minor, Op. 25

LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN 
32 Variations in c-minor, WoO 80

DAVID FENNESSY
Nara Dreamland 

FERENC LISZT 
Spanish Rhapsody, S. 254