Since their formation in 2011, the piano duo of Julian Jacobson and Mariko Brown has quickly established itself as an ensemble of rare distinction, vitality and originality. Following their critically acclaimed debut in the Beethoven Piano Society of Europe’s Summer Festival in July 2011, they have given many concerts in venues including Southbank Purcell Room (2014 and 2015), St John’s Smith Square, Fairfield Halls, Blackheath Halls, Royal Academy of Music (‘Music Past and Present’ series), the Lower Machen Festival, Markson’s Bösendorfer series, Warwick University, Brighton Fringe Festival, and at venues in Birmingham, Manchester, Oxford, Cambridge and Bristol. Abroad they have performed in Madeira at the Teatro Municipal, and they perform annually in France in the festival ‘Rencontres Musicales en Eygalières’.
Their first CD, of music by Julian’s father Maurice Jacobson, was released in 2014 on the Naxos label by the British Music Society. Their CD for Somm Recordings, with works by Busoni, Debussy, Satie, Poulenc, Casella and Anthony Herschel Hill, will be released later in 2017.
Their always expanding repertoire is firmly centred on the classics of the duo repertoire, and they have been particularly acclaimed for their performances of Schubert, Debussy, Ravel and Gershwin. However they also have a strong commitment to searching out neglected masterpieces, and – as composers as well as pianists – they maintain a strong and active involvement in contemporary music. Mariko’s piece, 'Travels through a mist of Chinese Mountains' has been performed to great acclaim in France and England, and Julian’s 'Palm Court Waltz' in memory of Sir Richard Rodney Bennett received its premiere in May 2013 in the Markson’s Bösendorfer series. They gave the world première of the revised version of 'After Braque' by Gary Carpenter in their Southbank debut in April. They have revived Debussy’s neglected ballet masterpiece 'Khamma', performing it as a collaboration with dance. 2014 also saw the première at St John’s Smith Square of Julian’s virtuoso transcription of Gershwin’s Second Rhapsody, which received excellent reviews and in 2016 they premiered Julian’s new transcription of Gershwin’s 'An American in Paris'. Also in 2016, in Manchester Art Gallery, they gave the premiere of Edward Lambert’s 'Aspects of Work', written for the duo and inspired by the painting 'Work' by Ford Madox Brown which is part of the gallery’s permanent collection.
Eliza Safjan is a London-based Polish soprano. She was a winner of International Moniuszko Competition in Bialystok and
Ludomir Rózycki Vocal Competition. She was also a 3rd prize winner at the Rudolf Petrák International Singing Competition in Žilina.
Eliza had her debut with Glyndebourne Opera Festival 2015 as Une Pastourelle (cover) in Laurent Pelly's critically acclaimed production of Ravel's L'enfant et les sortilèges. In 2016 Eliza returned to Glyndebourne Opera in Janacek's Cunning Little Vixen.
In 2017-2018 season Eliza performed the role of Annina in La Traviata also at Glyndebourne as well as covered the role of Servilia in the Claus Guth's new production of Mozart's La clemenza di Tito. In the Autumn Eliza had her debut at Wexford Festival Opera 2017 in Alfano’s Risurrezione. This season she will be returning to Wexford to sing the soprano I solo in Haendel's Dixit Dominus.
Eliza is a committed recitalist, having recently performed in recital at Barbican Hall as part of the LSO Guildhall Artist Platform, St Martin-in-the-Fields, St James’s Piccadilly and the Polish Embassy.
Eliza studied at Guildhall School of Music and Drama with Susan Waters, where she was supported by supported by the Backstage Trust, the Polonsky Foundation, the Guildhall School Trust, the Ministry of Science and Higher Education (Poland) and the President of Wroclaw. She previously graduated with the First Class honours degree from Karol Lipinski Music Academy in Wroclaw.
She achieved the status of being designated an International Summer Academy Scholar, Young Artist at the 46th and 48th International Baroque Music Festival Wratislavia Cantans and the Young Artist at the National Opera in Warsaw as part of European Network of Opera Academies.
Free recital (retiring collection)