Summer Master Course for Violoncello

8 - 22 August 2005

Hellenikon Idyllion, Selianitika, Greece

Stefan Popov is pleased to host his 6th annual Cello Master Course in the tranquil setting of Hellenikon Idyllion  on the North West coast of the Peloponnes. Participants will receive extensive personal tuition and will have the opportunity to participate in cello ensembles, culminating with an open-air performance in the beautiful Garden of the Muses. For relaxation, the sea is a mere two minutes away, and there is ample opportunity to experience and explore the local area.

For more information or to reserve a place on the course please contact spopov@gsmd.ac.uk, tel: +44 (0)1234-211478 or fax: +44(0)1234-306740. Course fees are €350 plus the price of lodging which is arranged directly with Andreas Drekis at Hellenikon Idyllion www.idyllion.gr.

Stefan Popov, an internationally known cellist, graduated with honours and a special gold medal from the Moscow Conservatoire and an exceptional prize from the Union of Soviet Composers. His professors were the most distinguished Russian cellists, Knushenivtsky and Rostropovich. Having been a prizewinner in many competitions, his career subsequently developed very rapidly, both as a performer and as a teacher. He was invited to become a professor at Boston University and later Head of the Cello Department at the New England Conservatoire. In 1977 he was invited to come to England from where his career is now based.

Stefan regularly performs and gives masterclasses in conservatoires throughout the world, and is on the panel of several international juries. Now one of the most widely acclaimed professors in London, he combines his busy career as a performer with teaching at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and holds the post of cellist-in-residence at the City University. His repertoire includes all the major works for cello from the Baroque period to the present day. He has played with many leading orchestras and distinguished conductors. Many composers have dedicated their works to him and he has given their first performances.

During his studies, Stefan was taught by cellists representing various schools of cello playing - French, German, Russian and others. This has enabled him to analyse their positive and negative sides, thus enabling him to establish his own way of representing and solving technical and musical difficulties.