Online Information Sessions

Madrid, 22 January 2025.- The cultural activities of the Real Casino de Madrid now have a new partner, the Reina Sofía School of Music.

Julia Sánchez Abeal, CEO of the Escuela Superior de Música Reina Sofía, and Fernando Eguidazu Palacios, President of the Real Casino de Madrid, signed a collaboration agreement this morning, by which the cultural and recreational society will host a concert series produced by the internationally renowned centre for young musicians.

The members of the Real Casino will enjoy music performed by the young artists of the Reina Sofía School of Music. From Thursday, 30 January, and until May, five unique concerts will be held in the magnificent setting of the Salón Príncipe, where the Afternoon Concerts take place monthly.

The series will begin with a flute recital at 7:00 PM on 30 January. American flutist Matthew Origel and Spanish flutist Marta Chelet will perform works by Mozart, Saint-Saëns, Tchaikovsky, Godard, Widor, Enescu, and Jolivet, accompanied on the piano by faculty pianist Luis Arias.

The second concert, on Thursday, 27 February, will feature the Cuarteto Arriaga de Banco de España. Established at the Reina Sofía School of Music in 1995, this quartet has studied with Antonello Farulli, Alasdair Tait, and Márta Gulyás, among other professors. Their current formation studies under the guidance of Heime Müller, professor of the String Quartet Department. In 2010, they received the Most Outstanding Chamber Group Mention in the piano group category from Her Majesty Queen Sofía. They also received the same Mention in the string quartet category in 2024.

In the 2024-2025 academic year, the quartet is composed of Irene Herrero and Gustavo Gil (violins), Adriana Julio (viola), and Álvaro Lozano (cello). They will perform works by Kreisler and Shostakovich at 7:00 PM.

Continuing the Thursday tradition, on 20 March at 7:00 PM, the third session will bring the Trío Amy Beach to the Salón Príncipe of the Real Casino de Madrid. This piano trio, created in 2024, studies under Márta Gulyás, Professor of the Piano Group Department. Its three young members are violinist Cecilia Novella (Valencia, Spain, 2005), cellist Friederike Herold (Pirna, Germany, 2005), and pianist Evelina Medvedko (Novosibirsk, Russia, 2004). Their repertoire will include works by Schubert, Mendelssohn, and Shostakovich.

In May, the final two concerts. On Thursday, 22 May, two students from the “Alfredo Krauss” Fundación Ramón Areces Vocal Chair, Colombian soprano Marlín González and Venezuelan tenor Pedro Nieves, will offer a vocal recital featuring works by Mozart, Donizetti, Verdi, Gounod, Puccini, Sorozábal, Guerrero, Torroba, Roig, and Penella.

Finally, on Thursday, 29 May, Michael Davidman, an American pianist and student of the Fundación Banco Santander Piano Chair under Professor Stanislav Ioudenitch, who has performed with the Philadelphia Orchestra, Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, Monterey Symphony, and the West Point Band, will present a solo recital.