Main Photo: Alice Kawadzki and Rob Luft
Cranleigh Arts welcomes 2024 with a collaboration from two exciting jazz musicians. The first of our popular lunchtime concerts is on Tuesday 16th January at 1.00 pm with Alice Kawadzki and Rob Luft with an innovative programme which fuses jazz, folk and improvisation.
Alice is a singer, songwriter, composer and violinist of considerable repute and has been described by The Guardian as a “genuine original”. She has performed extensively around the world including at Ronnie Scott’s and the Royal Albert Hall and headlined at many jazz festivals including those in Taipei, Massachusetts, USA (Coventry Calling) and Italy (Südtirol).
Described by Jamie Cullum as “so talented”, Rob Luft is an award-winning jazz guitarist whose virtuosity has been compared to that of six-string legends John McLaughlin, Al Di Meola & Paco De Lucia. He was the recipient of the 2016 Kenny Wheeler Prize from the Royal Academy of Music, and he also received the 2nd Prize in the 2016 Montreux Jazz Guitar Competition. His debut album, “Riser”, mainly consisting of his own compositions, was released in 2017 to widespread acclaim from the European jazz media. He was Instrumentalist of the Year in the 2019 Jazz FM Awards and selected as a BBC New Generation Jazz Artist.
Alice and Rob will introduce their programme and explain the style and the musical sources of each song as they perform.
Our second concert, on Wednesday 24th January at 7.30 pm, presents the virtuoso pianist, Cristian Sandrin.
Cristian was born in Bucharest to a family of classical musicians and was initially taught by his father, Sandu Sandrin, the distinguished pianist and pedagogue. When he moved to London, Cristian continued his studies at the Royal Academy of Music graduating with an Advanced Diploma in 2019. Since 2021 he has been mentored by the acclaimed American pianist, Grant William Naboré.
Cristian has performed with many orchestras around the world, including the Oxford Sinfonia, Bacow State Philharmonic and Bucharest Symphony Orchestra. His extensive list of recital venues includes the Queen Elizabeth and Wigmore Halls, La Fenice Theatre in Venice, the Marstall Platz in Berlin and the Polish National Philharmonic Hall.
He is a scholarship holder of the Imogen Cooper Music Trust and has also been supported by the Tillett Trust, the Hattori Trust, the Martin Musical Scholarship Fund, Help Musicians UK, the Cohen Foundation, the Harold Craxton Memorial Trust and the Royal Society of Musicians. Cristian is joint Artistic Director of the Kettner Society which promotes classical music in the heart of London.
Tonight’s programme includes two of Liszt’s most loved works – the Two Petrarch Sonnets (op 104 and 123) and, Brahm’s youthful and lyrical Four Ballades op 10. Suites composed by the keyboard virtuoso Purcell complete the programme.
This event is fundraising for Cranleigh Arts.
Tickets for both concerts and full programme details can be found online at www.cranleigharts.org or via the Cranleigh Arts Box Office on 01382 275800.
