Only two years have gone by after its creation , and ALAPP- Argentina is showing its musical presence through different activities that appeal to students, piano teachers , investigators and music lovers.
Thanks to its “alma mater”,Mtro. Alberto Portugheis, and the enthusiasm of its founding members, Valentín Surif, Estela Telerman, Lilia Noguera, Alfredo Corral , Ana María Mondolo, Martha Bongiorno , Guillermo Carro and Gloria Diograzia, ALAPP- Argentina was created in September 2006.
In 2007 it started its presentations with a concert of the Chamber Orchestra of Culture Broadcasting Station with Alberto Portugheis as a soloist and under conductor Alfredo Corral,During the year there were different concerts to pay homage to the memory of Mozart, Schumann and Ginastera in their respective anniversaries.
It continued with three different series of concerts offered by young Argentine talents, Argentine pianists , and Non- Argentine artists as well. Among them , we were honoured by the presence of Carmen Piazzini (Germany- Argentina),Valentina Diaz Frenot ( France-Argentina-Paraguay),Ratimir Martinovic (Montenegro), Elizabeth Joy Roe (USA),Boris Kraljevic(Montenegro),Oscar Macchioni (USA-Argentina),etc.
Thematic recitals were offered in the memory of Jan Sibelius, Edvard Grieg, Maurice Ravel, Claude Debussy ,and Isaac Albeniz .
There were master classes, seminars , and workshops offered by recognized pianists from Argentina and from abroad like Mirian Conti (from Juilliard School of Music –New York) and by specialiszed piano teachers like Ana Inés Aguirre , from the National University of San Juan ,investigator and expert in piano methods for young piano students.
The attendants to these master classes came from different conservatories, universities, and private teachers from all over the country.
2008 started with the presention of the recently edited CD of Valentina Diaz Frenot , with Isaac Albeniz´s Iberia Suite, recorded in Germany under the advice of Alicia de Larrocha..
Daniel Glover (USA) offered a lecture- recital dedicated to Russian composers and to the religious music of Liszt, José and Oliver Curbelo (Spain) , music for two pianos , Immanuela Grünberg (Israel-USA) Concert-Lecture on Franz Schubert´s Sonatas , Anaïs Crestin (France-Argentina) , Blas Gonzalez-Ya Ting Liou (Argentina – China) Lecture Recital on two-piano repertoire,
A Seminar –Workshop on the Interpretation of the Chopin Piano Studies by Elsa Puppulo, who published a DVD with the approval and advice from Martha Argerich..There will also be thematic lecture -recitals like Laura Maito´s project on Jazz in classical music with investigation and interpretation of works by Strawinsky , and Gershwin among other composers, and Nélida Sanchez (Argentina) is organizing a seminar on Romanticism in piano repertoire.
We also participated in the organization of the 2008 USA- Argentina competition to
select Argentine young pianists to continue studies in four American universities.
Our projects for 2009 are very ambitious. We are planning to organize a Piano Competition with the collaboration of other ALAPP institutions from the area like
ALAPP- Chile and ALAPP –Ecuador. and at the same time we are trying to extend our activities to other Latin American countries like Paraguay, Uruguay and Brazil. The exchange programme with ALAPP –Chile already started with the participation of our president Valentín Surif , through offering master classes at the Conservatory of the Universidad Mayor from Santiago, and he will proximately take part in the ALAPP_Chile Celebration of Romanticism with a recital fully dedicated to Romantic composers.
As part of our future activities, we regularly hold auditions for young pianists in order to include them as participants of our public performances.
In 2009 we are also planning to celebrate hommages to Mendelssohn, Haydn and Washington Castro (Argentine composer who has recently passed away.)