Lunchtime Concert: Bridget Douglas and Michael Tsalka – flute and piano

Join us for a lunchtime recital of music for flute and piano, featuring works that span the Baroque to the contemporary. The program opens with J.S. Bach’s masterful Flute Sonata in B minor, a cornerstone of the flute repertoire. Internationally renowned visiting pianist, Michael Tsalka, showcases two solo works for piano: Pauline Viardot-Garcia’s charming Sérénade and Gavotte, followed by the World Premiere of Two Poems, One Meditation by British composer Prof. Nicholas Smith. The recital concludes with Schubert’s virtuosic and deeply expressive Introduction and Variations on “Trockne Blumen”, a dramatic tour de force for both flute and piano.

Michael Tsalka is currently serving as a Professor and a Doctoral Supervisor at the School of Music, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen. He is also a member of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts (EASA), Salzburg, Austria, The Chairman of the Board (and faculty) of the European Fortepiano Museum and Academy (EFM) in Germany. As a pianist and early keyboard performer, he has won numerous prizes in Europe, Asia, North America, and Latin America. He is a versatile musician, who performs repertoire from the early Baroque era to our days. Dr. Tsalka maintains a busy concert schedule, performing circa 100 concerts a year worldwide. Together with musicologist Dr. Angélica Minero Escobar, he has prepared a critical edition of Daniel Gottlob Türk’s 30 keyboard sonatas for Artaria Editions in New Zealand. Additionally, ten of his scholarly articles have been published by music journals, in Italy, the U.S.A., and the Netherlands.

He has recorded 40 critically acclaimed CDs, with repertoire from the Baroque period to the Contemporary Era (including many world premiere recordings) for NAXOS, Grand Piano, Paladino, Brilliant Classics, IMI, Sheva Collection, Wirripang, Tempus Clasico, and Ljud & Bild. Circa 85 contemporary compositions (which he premiered) were dedicated to him by composers from all over the world.

Bridget is Section Principal Flute of the NZSO and an Artist Teacher in Flute at the New Zealand School of Music – Te Kōkī. She collaborates on diverse performance projects with a wide variety of local and international musicians throughout Australasia. Bridget particularly enjoys playing chamber music with her musical friends and is regularly featured on Radio NZ Concert.

Bridget has released five albums, four of which were finalists for Best Classical Album at the Aotearoa Music Awards. She encourages the next generation of musicians in Aotearoa through teaching and mentoring at universities and schools nationwide. In 2020 she was awarded the CANZ (Composers Association of NZ) Citation for Services to NZ Music.