Defne Gultoprak

Defne Gultoprak

Piano

Irish          Age: 20

Domenico Scarlatti
Sonata in D minor, K141

Maurice Ravel
Ondine- Gaspard de la Nuit

Frédéric Chopin
Ballade No.4 

 Defne was awarded the prestigious Lucien and Maura Teissier Bursary for Pianists and the Fidelio Cup in RIAM, 2024. Some of her other recent awards include RIAM Piano Fest Chisholm Sonata Cup first prize (2024), Feis Ceoil, Huban Cup first prize (2024), Margaret O’ Hea Recital Cup first prize (2023), Italy, Concorso Pianistico Europeo Premio Speciale, first prize (2021) and Istanbul Pera International Piano Competition first prize (2017).

In 2016, Defne gave her first international recital in North Cyprus where she was invited to be part of 20th International Bellapais Music Festival and was also selected to be one of ten pianists to participate in Lang Lang’s Allianz Junior Music Camp Program in Warsaw.

In 2024, Defne was selected to be one of the five participants of the DIPC Young Pianists Programme. Defne has also been participating in masterclasses of world known pianists such as John O’Conor, Hilary Coates, Finghin Collins, Noriko Ogawa and Christopher Elton.
Programme Notes

Scarlatti- sonata in D minor, K141:
This is one of my favourite Scarlatti sonatas as it displays a wide range of technical and musical challenges such as lyrical melodies and hand crossings. The influence of Spanish dance music is evident in this piece, due to use of repeated and syncopated rhythms.

Ravel- Gaspard de la Nuit, Ondine:
As a lover of fairytales, Ravel’s Gaspard de la Nuit has always been a very special work for me. I have chosen to perform the first movement, Ondine, as Ravel’s depiction of the cascading flows of water to illustrate the story of a seducing water nymph has continually fascinated me.

Chopin- Ballade no.4
To conclude, I have chosen Chopin’s fourth Ballade, which has always been one of my favourite piano works due its depth in musicality and romanticism. My favourite thing about this piece is how its rich and constantly modulating themes are interwoven together to bring us on a melancholic journey until we reach the brilliant coda concluding this work.