24 Results for : recitalist
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Trio Hemanay
Biographical information Trio Hemanay was formed at the beginning of 1997. Since then it has had extraordinary success throughout South Africa. Well known Johannesburg music critic Thys Odendaal has singled it out as "one of the very few ensembles here who can compete in the international market", while Paul Boekkooi has praised it's "enterprise, style and flair." It is the chamber group, he concludes, "that shows us the way". Trio Hemanay has also made a name for it's commitment to the performance and promotion of works by South African composers. The South African Music Rights Organization (SAMRO) has commissioned several works for the Trio, amongst them Stefans Grové's very evocative The Soul Bird and, more recently, the young Stellenbosch composer Hans Huyssen's The Cattle Have Gone Astray. Arrangements of well known pieces by Satie and Bartók have also been specially commissioned for them, and are included on this album. Hendrik Hofmeyr's Notturno Elegiaco is dedicated to the group. Trio Hemanay performs at major concert venues throughout South Africa, and is featured in the programmes of the Johannesburg and Cape Town Music Societies, Northwards, Mount Grace, and The Standard Bank National Festival of the Arts in Grahamstown. In 2000 the group enjoyed successful tours both to the United States and The Netherlands. Marian Lewin is South Africa's best known and best loved cellist. She began playing at the age of 5, studying with her aunt, the indomitable Betty Pack. A UNISA Scholarship took her overseas for a time, and in 1964 she began her almost 30-year long orchestral career. After a stint in the SABC Orchestra, she joined the newly formed PACT Orchestra as Principal Cello, a post that she held for 20 years. During the International Cello Week in Holland in 1967 she was adjudged best cellist and appeared on Eurovision. Remembered for her solo performances with the SABC, Natal Philharmonic and PACT Symphony Orchestras, Marian is also a veteran broadcaster and was a founding member of the Alma Musica Piano Trio. She currently plays with the Rosamunde String Quartet, Enigma Piano Quartet and Trio Hemanay. She has been nominated for 3 Artes Awards. Amongst her many CD performances are recordings of the complete Glière Cello Duets. Malcolm Nay is one of the most charismatic of South African chamber musicians. His mentors and teachers were pianists Pauline Nossel and Isabel Stengel and he obtained the B. Mus. Degree and Postgraduate Performer's Licentiate (cum laude) at the University of the Witwatersrand. In 1978 he won the P.J. Lemmer Scholarship for Overseas Study, gaining a place with the famous Hungarian pianist, Bela Siki. During his time in the USA he performed and recorded extensively, winning numerous prizes. On the competition circuit he was awarded Silver Medal in the International Piano Competition in Montevideo and fifth place in the UNISA/Transnet International Piano Competition of 1984. Since his return to South Africa, Malcolm has appeared as a soloist with most major local orchestras, and is a popular solo recitalist throughout the country. He now heads the practical teaching staff at Wits University, at the same time managing a very active concert career. Helen Vosloo is Principal Flute with the Johannesburg Philharmonic and Johannesburg Festival Orchestras, as well as the Chamber Orchestra of South Africa. She appears regularly as a soloist and is much sought after as a chamber musician. She has been the recipient of several of South Africa's top music awards, including the D.J. Roode and Nina Barry Overseas Study Scholarships. She was placed fourth and awarded the Mozart prize in the SABC Music Prize Competition. She has undertaken frequent and extensive study tours to Europe and the USA, studying with some of the world's leading flautists and performing in prestigious master classes, such as those of William Bennett in London and Peter Lukas Graf in Switzerland. In 2002 Helen was engaged as a member of the celebrated Tapiola Sinfonietta in Finland, and worked with conductors such as Paavo Berglund and Jukka-Pekka Saraste. While resident in Finland she also performed at the Kuhmo Chamber Music and Oulunsalo Festivals. South African composer Hendrik Hofmeyr chose her to premiere his much acclaimed Flute Concerto.- Shop: odax
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Sketches of Latin America
David Solis Olson, guitar A finalist and semi-finalist in several international guitar competitions, most notably, the 2002 Music Teachers National Association Solo Competition and the 1994 National Solo Competition of the American String Teachers Association in Cincinnati, Ohio, David Solis Olson is considered to be among the finest classical guitarists of his generation. Mr. Olson has appeared as solo and chamber recitalist in concerts and festivals throughout the United States and in Canada, France and Germany. He has performed at Saint Patrick's Cathedral in New York City and in Eastman Theater in Rochester, New York. Mr. Olson began guitar study at age twelve and has been the recipient of numerous scholarships and accolades. These include: the Performer's Certificate and the George Eastman Merit Scholarship from the Eastman School of Music, and the John G. Welch Scholarship for demonstration of "unusual talent and self-discipline" and the Chancellor's Award of Excellence from the North Carolina School of the Arts in Winston-Salem. Mr. Olson has performed in masterclasses for such classical guitar luminaries as Roland Dyens, Angel Romero, Manuel Barrueco and David Russell and his primary teachers include Nicholas Goluses, Ricardo Cobo and James Ryan. As an advocate for innovative and diverse solo and ensemble programming for the classical guitar, Mr. Olson's recitals feature repertoire ranging in style and character from Bach lute works to Argentinean tangos. Past recitals have included Lou Harrison's "Serenade" for guitar and percussion and Mr. Olson's own transcriptions of Chick Corea's, "Children's Songs," for solo piano. Mr. Olson has opened for rock guitarist Steve Vai. In March of 2008, Mr. Olson was awarded the degree Doctor of Musical Arts in Guitar Performance and Literature from the Eastman School of Music where he held a graduate fellowship. Mr. Olson currently resides in the Charlotte, North Carolina area where he is a freelance guitar instructor and performer.- Shop: odax
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Love Songs Roger Quilter/British & American Art Songs
American Tenor, Thomas Poole, is a versatile tenor, who is equally at home performing in opera, oratorio, symphony concert, music theater, and as a recitalist. He has performed with opera companies and orchestras throughout the United States, Europe, South and Central America, the Caribbean, and Asia. These include NEW YORK CITY OPERA, SAN FRANCISCO OPERA, NEW YORK PHILHARMONIC, SPOLETO FESTIVAL (IT), DOMINICAN REPUBLIC SYMPHONY, WARSAW SYMPHONY, KENNEDY CENTER, OPERA COLORADO, AND COLORADO SYMPHONY. OPERA NEWS hailed his 'Impressive Lyric Tenor' as Nemorino in L'ELISIR D'AMORE. Known for his vivid characterizations, Mr. Poole sang the role of Erice in the nationally acclaimed production of Cavalli's L'ORMINDO in New York and Washington, D.C. He was again praised when he recreated the role for the FESTIVAL DEI DUE MONDE in Italy. Thomas Poole's large and diverse repertoire includes Classical, Verismo, and Contemporary opera roles and syphonic literature. Mr. Poole has recorded Handel's opera ALESSANDRO in Warsaw, Poland on the Koch label. As a part of the 500th Anniversary of Columbus' landing, he sang the lead tenor role in the world premiere of Antonio Braga's opera '1492' in the Dominican Republic. He performed in the premiere of Constantinides' opera, ANTIGONE, and recreated this at Carnegie Hall in New York. In Korea, Mr. Poole presented Master Classes and concerts in six cities, and also presented six concerts in Taiwan as a part of 'An Evening With Three Tenors.'- Shop: odax
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Music of Russian Composers
Piano Synergy Duo. Husband-and-wife team Ruslan Sviridov and Irina Khovanskaya created the Piano Synergy Duo in 1996. Using their unique musical potential, the duo designs concert programs in which they perform together as well as individually. The results have been a constantly heavy demand and continuing success. For the past 14 years, the duo has toured extensively throughout Russia, Europe, and the Unites States. Now, for the first time, listeners have an opportunity to hear them on a CD. Irina Khovanskaya was born to a musician's family in Russia's Moscow Region in 1972. She began piano lessons at age 4 and gave her first recital about two years later in Kiev. Ten years of formal musical training followed at the Moscow Central Special Music College, during which time she also concertized extensively as a recitalist and with orchestras. Several of these events took place at the Moscow Conservatory's Small Hall, but she also played as far afield as the Russian Space Center (Moscow Region) and on USSR TV. Receiving a Bachelor's Degree in 1990, Khovanskaya's studies and performing career continued as she entered the Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory, where her teacher was Victor Merzhanov. Now her performances become international. Besides appearances with the Moscow Symphony Orchestra and in many Russian cities, she performed in Zurich, Munich, Brussels, and Warsaw. Contests in Russia, Germany, and Belgium were capped by Khovanskaya's winning First Prize in the Texas Steinway Society Piano Competition in Dallas, Texas in 1999. With her Conservatory Diploma (1996) and post-graduate work behind her, Dr. Khovanskaya now resides in San Antonio, Texas. In addition to performance engagements, she teaches piano at the University of the Incarnate Word and adjudicates in piano competitions. Ruslan Sviridov was born in 1973 in Tambov, Russia. He began to study music at age 7 and gave his first public performance at the age of 8. His years of study at the Tambov Music School and later at the Rachmaninov Music College in Tambov were marked by many competition triumphs and literally hundreds of concerts and recitals throughout Russia's Central Region. First prizes came from the Tchaikovsky Regional Piano Contest (1989), the Bartok Regional Contest (1989), and the Kabalevsky Regional Competition for Young Pianists (1990), to name only a few. Sviridov went on to enter the Moscow State Conservatory, studying with Victor Merzhanov. Concerts and competitions continued, now at a higher level. He played with symphony orchestras in several Russian cities, including Moscow, Ulyanovsk, and Tambov, and at the Glinka Music Festival in Smolensk. During 1994-96, he took Grand Prize or First Prize (or both) or a Special Jury Prize at competitions in Italy at Tortona, Alassio, San Bartolomeo al Mare, and Caltanissetta, Sicily. His first U.S. triumph was a Special Jury Prize in Kingsville, Texas (1995). In addition to an international list of recitals, Sviridov's career is distinguished by a substantial body of television tapes and live appearances, starting in Russia and extending through Italy, Switzerland, Portugal, and the United States (NBC). During his studies in Moscow, culminating in a Doctoral Degree (1998), he taught piano and music theory. Leaving Russia in 1998, Dr. Sviridov again picked up his teaching activity in San Antonio, Texas, also his base for concertizing and contest adjudication. ______________________________________________________________________________________________ Tchaikovsky, The Nutcracker Suite As charming and entertaining as The Nutcracker ballet turned out, one would hardly imagine that Peter I. Tchaikovsky (1840-1893) did not care much for the score himself. The composer had been a little reluctant to compose this music on a subject that was prescribed for him and for which the choreographer had given him an over-detailed scenario. He completed the score in 1891, and some months before the premiere of the full ballet the following year he extracted a concert suite. The scenario of The Nutcracker ballet was taken from a story by E.T.A. Hoffmann as adapted by Alexander Dumas, Sr. It has to do with Clara, a young girl who receives a grotesque looking nutcracker for Christmas, only to have it magically transformed into a prince who carries her off on fantastic adventures. The movements of the Suite do not follow the progress of the story exactly, but are ordered to form a good musical sequence. The "March" has a toy quality, reminding us that the only military operations that Clara witnesses are imaginary ones between mice and gingerbread soldiers. The "Dance of the Sugar- Plum Fairy " was composed originally for the celesta, a bell-like keyboard instrument that personifies this character perfectly. This was the first time a composer had written for the instrument. In the second act of The Nutcracker, Clara and her Nutcracker are treated to an international divertissement of dances at the court of the Sugar-Plum Fairy. One part of this is the "Trepak," a wild Russian dance and one of the nationalistic elements in the ballet. More exotic is the Chinese "Dance of the Reed Flutes," originally featuring shrill flutes and piccolos and mumbling bassoons. When we think of waltzes, we usually think of Johann Strauss. But Tchaikovsky was also one of the great waltz composers of his century. Waltzes from Eugene Onegin and the Serenade for Strings bear witness. The "Waltz of the Flowers" is the finale to The Nutcracker Suite and one of the most graceful movements ever penned by Tchaikovsky. Stravinsky, Five Easy Pieces for Piano Duet The years of World War I (1914-1918) were years of small pieces for Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971). Self-sequestered in Switzerland for most of the duration, the composer found few opportunities for performances or publication. Stravinsky occupied himself chiefly with small- scale stage works, songs, and short instrumental pieces. At that time, his oldest children, Theodore and Mika, had become good enough pianists for him to write music for each of them to play with their father. So originated the series of Five Easy Pieces for piano duet. The child's part was usually a melody played in octaves, while the father's part filled out the texture and contained any complicated passage work. Stravinsky later orchestrated four of the duets to produce his Suite No. 1 for small orchestra. Stravinsky's musical sense of humor is, of course, famous. In these miniature character pieces, we can hear the same wry satire that charms us in much of his other music from this period. The Five Easy Pieces touch on various "national" musical characteristics. Following a relatively serious "Andante" comes an "Española" composed after a trip to Spain in 1916. The "Balalaika" celebrates the Russian folk instrument. "Napolitana" was another travel souvenir, this time to Naples in 1917. The concluding "Galop" is a spoof on the archetypical endings of French ballets of the 19th century. It's high spirits and satirical jabs sum up the flavor of the Five Easy Pieces. Rachmaninov, Six Pieces for Piano Duet, Op. 11 Like his mentor Tchaikovsky, Sergei Rachmaninov (1873-1943) did not enjoy teaching. He did so only when he needed money. Rachmaninov found himself in that financial position in 1893, the year Tchaikovsky died. Taking on more private lessons, he also taught music theory at a girls' academy. Rachmaninov's publisher, knowing his need and also knowing the market for his piano music, convinced him to write something for piano four-hands. The result was the Six Pieces for Piano Duet published in 1894, which turned out to be the longest work Rachmaninov ever created for piano duet. The movements are "character" pieces in the best romantic salon tradition, and they contrast with one another effectively. The opening "Barcarolle" floats along on the undulating lilt of a gondola song, yet Rachmaninov infuses it with his own characteristic melancholy. Cas- Shop: odax
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