Cultural Program
Kerry Waller
Canadian pianist Kerry Waller, now resident in London, began his piano studies at the age of five in his home town of Edmonton, Alberta, with Wolfram Linnebach, and afterwards studied with Jacques Després at the University of Alberta, Paul Stewart at the University of Montreal, and Katya Apekisheva and Ronan O’Hora at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, where he completed his Artist Masters degree and his Artist Diploma in piano performance.
He has participated in masterclasses with many eminent colleagues, including Piers Lane, Victor Rosenbaum, Boris Berman, Idil Biret, Claudio Mehner-Martinez, Dennis Lee, Ann Schein, Christiane Karajeva, David Jalbert and Eric Larsen, and has taken part in numerous notable summer festivals on both sides of the Atlantic, including the Encuentro de Santander, the Meadowmount School of Music and the International Summer Academy of the Vienna University of Music and Performing Arts. Among his competition successes have been First Prize at the International Festival of Lanaudière (Canada), the Grand Prize at the Canadian Music Competition, and Second Prize at the Shean Piano Competition (Edmonton, Canada).
Among Kerry's concert appearances are concerto dates with the Montreal Sinfonia, the Quebec Symphony Orchestra and the University of Alberta Symphony Orchestra, and he has worked with conductors including Michael Tilson Thomas, Louis Lavigueur, Gilles Auger, Simon Wills and Petar Dundjerski. He is also active in the field of chamber music, where notable partners have included cellist Ivan Monighetti, horn player Richard Watkins and pianist Katya Apekisheva.
Recent engagements include recitals for St. Mary’s Perivale, the National Liberal Club, the Endelienta Festival in Cornwall, the Sevenoaks Music Club, the Polish Hearth Club, Poole Lighthouse Centre for the Arts, the London Symphony Orchestra's lunchtime recital series, the Blüthner recital series, the London City Music Society concert series, the Sarah Walker Festival, the Guildhall Chamber Festival, and the BBC Symphony Orchestra's Total Immersion day, devoted to the music of Anders Hillborg and broadcast live on BBC Radio 3.
Kerry has received grants from the Ranald and Vera Shean Memorial Scholarships, the Winspear Arts Centre, the Anne Burrows Musical Foundation (Edmonton, Canada), Jeunesses Musicales of Canada (Montreal), and the Hnatyshyn Foundation (Ottawa).
Programme
Franz Liszt – Ballade No. 2 in B minor, S. 171
A monumental and deeply personal work, Liszt’s Second Ballade unfolds as a psychological journey between despair and redemption. The music alternates between turbulent storms and moments of transcendental calm, reflecting Liszt’s own inner drama and visionary Romanticism.
Ottorino Respighi – Three Preludes on Gregorian Melodies
- Molto Lento – Contemplative and solemn, echoing the stillness of ancient chant.
- Tempestoso – Dramatic and impassioned, a tempest of faith and fervour.
- Lento – Meditative and luminous, dissolving into quiet reverence.
Respighi blends Gregorian austerity with impressionistic colour, bridging the sacred and the sensual in three miniature tone poems.
Nikolai Medtner – Forgotten Melodies, Op. 39: No. 5 – Sonata Tragica
Medtner’s Sonata Tragica crowns the recital with its noble gravity and emotional intensity. Written during his late Romantic isolation, it speaks of struggle, loss, and spiritual perseverance — a modern tragedy in sonata form.
Piano: Kerry Waller
Venue: Károlyi-Csekonics Palace, Budapest
Date: 17 October 2025
From darkness to light – the Romantic soul in transformatio
Számel Lilla
Lilla Számel began her vocal studies after finishing high school. What started as a hobby soon turned into a deep passion for music and opera. During her conservatory years, she performed at some of Budapest’s most renowned classical music venues, including the Liszt Academy of Music, Vigadó, and the Palace of Arts. She also took part in the conservatory’s opera productions, such as Carmen and The Magic Flute.
After graduating from the Szent István Király Conservatory, she was admitted to the University of Pécs to further pursue her musical studies. There, she had the opportunity to tour with the university choir in China and Poland, where she was honored to share the stage with Andrea Bocelli.
Since her graduation, she has performed at numerous concerts. For the past four years, she has been a regular guest performer at the British Embassy in Budapest, singing at events celebrating the coronation anniversaries of Queen Elizabeth II and, more recently, King Charles III.
She has attended several masterclasses in Rome and Padua.
Her latest and dearest project is leading singing tours at the Hungarian State Opera House, where visitors can learn about the building’s architecture and art history, and listen to some of Puccini’s most beloved arias, presented through the lens of music history.
Programme
Giacomo Puccini – Quando m’en vo (Musetta’s aria from La Bohème)
A graceful and coquettish waltz in which Musetta flaunts her charm and independence — a sparkling moment of Puccinian brilliance.
Francesco Paolo Tosti – Sogno
A nostalgic Italian art song of tender melancholy, where dream and longing intertwine in elegant melodic simplicity.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – Giunse alfin il momento…Deh vieni non tardar (Susanna’s aria from Le nozze di Figaro)
Susanna’s playful and heartfelt aria, where wit and warmth merge in one of Mozart’s most human and intimate musical confessions.
Giacomo Puccini – O mio babbino caro (Lauretta’s aria from Gianni Schicchi)
Perhaps Puccini’s most beloved aria — a simple yet deeply moving plea of youthful love and sincerity.
Francesco Paolo Tosti – Non t’amo più
A passionate art song of wounded pride and unrequited love, full of Mediterranean fire and lyrical intensity.
Antonín Dvořák – Měsíčku na nebi hlubokém (Rusalka’s aria from Rusalka)
Huszka Jenő – Egy férfi képe (Countess Lili’s aria)
A Hungarian operetta gem, blending romantic lyricism and folk-like sweetness — a portrait of yearning and devotion.
Franz Lehár – Szilvia belépője (Szilvia’s aria from Csárdáskirálynő)
A triumphant and effervescent entry aria, full of charm and vitality, closing the evening with the unmistakable sparkle of Hungarian operetta.
Singer: Lilla Számel
Piano: Éva Bárkányi-Horváth
Venue: Károlyi-Csekonics Palace, Budapest
Date: 16 October 2025
A lyrical evening of opera and song – from Puccini’s passion to Hungarian operetta charm.