Two Hands & Four: A Piano Celebration of Mozart’s Birthday & More
Pianists Ghadeer Abaido and Franz Mantini present an evening of dazzling pianistic adventure featuring music by Bach, Chopin, Brahms, Rachmaninoff – and, of course, Mozart, in celebration of his birthday!
The program will feature each pianist presenting six of the twelve magnificent Chopin Opus 25 Etudes, and then joining forces on the same piano to perform a Mozart Sonata and Hungarian Dances written for four hands and transcriptions of beloved works by Bach and Rachmaninoff.
About the Performers
Ghadeer Abaido (pictured above) is a Palestinian-Jordanian pianist with extensive experience in the music world. From performing classical music as a soloist to collaborating with chamber music groups and orchestras in the Middle East, Europe and the United States. She received her Bachelors degree from the National Music Conservatory in Jordan. While living in Jordan, she performed the Tchaikovsky piano concerto under the baton of Mohammed Uthman Siddiq, and Liszt’s second piano concerto in collaboration with the conductor Jose Arean. Ghadeer was also actively involved with the humanitarian aid organization War Child, where she was dedicated to working with refugees in different parts of Jordan.
Ghadeer worked briefly in Dubai as a film-score composer; her music won two Lynx awards and was featured in the Dubai International Film Festival. She moved to the United States in 2017 and completed her master’s at the University of South Florida under the guidance of Dr. Svetozar Ivanov. While studying at USF, she won the concerto competition and went on to perform Liszt’s Totentanz with the USFSO. She was also awarded first place in the USF piano competition for her performance of the Liszt piano sonata and Beethoven’s Op. 109. Ghadeer also participated in the Osaka International Piano competition, winning first place in the U.S. regionals and going on to Japan for the finals.
Ghadeer most recently won the Iowa Performance Fellowship award from the University of Iowa, where she completed the requirements for her Doctorate in Piano Performance under the guidance of Dr. Rene Lecuona.
Ghadeer has taken part in music festivals regionally and around the world; some festivals she performed in are the Cincinnati Young Artists Chamber Music Festival, the Harvard Chamber Music Festival, the Savonlinna Chamber Music Festival in Finland, the International Brancaleoni Music Festival in Italy, and the International Prague Piano Festival. She has performed in masterclasses for and studied with world-famous pianists such as Ralf Gothoni, Valentina Lisitsa, Antonio Pompa-Baldi, and Richard Goode.
Ghadeer enjoys performing chamber music and arranging orchestral works for marimba and piano with her duo partner William Brown. The Abaido-Brown Duo first met at the University of South Florida, debuting with an electrifying performance of Danse Macabre. The two players have since developed an astounding repertoire, joining forces to bring new life to beloved classics in recording and performance.
Ghadeer currently serves as an adjunct professor at the University of South Florida, and as an instructor at the Tampa Bay Music Academy.
Franz Mantini
Franz Mantini has maintained an active schedule of solo and chamber music performances in the Tampa Bay area and beyond for nearly thirty years. Mr. Mantini studied with renowned artist Jacques Abram at the University of South Florida, where he appeared numerous times in solo recitals and as a soloist with the USF Symphony Orchestra as winner of the annual Concerto Competition.
His local credits include a combined thirty solo and chamber performances at what is now the Straz Center for the Performing Arts. He has collaborated with many current and former principal members of the Florida Orchestra as well as members of the Houston Symphony and Formosa String Quartet. He has appeared in concerts with the Lafayette String Quartet and as a concerto soloist with various community orchestras. Mr. Mantini has been a regular at the Carrollwood Cultural Center since its inception, where he created the Strings in the Spring series, which has featured both local and international artists annually for over a decade. Guests have included former and current Florida Orchestra Concertmasters Amy Schwartz Moretti and Jeffrey Multer, TFO Principal Cellist James Connors, Internationally acclaimed violist Che Yen Chen, and many more.
In addition to his musical endeavors, Mr. Mantini earned a bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering and a master’s degree in Engineering Management from the University of South Florida and currently works as an Electronic Hardware Design Engineer at GE Aerospace. He resides in Carrollwood with his wife, Julie and is the proud father of two young men, Gabriel and Gianni.
Admission: $15 member / $20 general admission
Group tickets for parties of 10+ (Promo Code: Group): $16
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