Two Stars with Pegasus - Tchaikovsky, Schumann & Beethoven
Event Information
Description
Two Stars with Pegasus - Tchaikovsky, Schumann & Beethoven
Pegsasus at Mana: Orchestra Series
March 14, 2020 Concert: 7:00pm
2007 Tchaikovsky international gold medalist Sergey Antonov (cello) and rising star Asiya Korepanova (piano) join Pegasus: the Orchestra to perform Tchaikovsky’s Variations on a Rococo Theme, and Schumann’s Introduction and Allegro Appassionato, Op. 92, respectively, with Karén Hakobyan as conductor. The second half will culiminate with Beethoven’s monumental Symphony No. 7 conducted by Karén Hakobyan.
PROGRAM
P. TCHAIKOVSKY Variations on a Rococo Theme, Op. 33, for cello and orchestra
Sergey Antonov, cello
Karén Hakobyan, conductor
R. SCHUMANN Introduction and Allegro Appassionato, Op. 94 for piano and orchestra
Asiya Korepanova, piano
Karén Hakobyan, conductor
L. BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 7 in Major, Op. 92
Pegasus: The Orchestra
Karén Hakobyan, conductor
PERFORMERS
Sergey Antonov, cello
Cellist Sergey Antonov enjoys a versatile career as a soloist and chamber musician. Critics throughout the world have hailed him as “destined for cello superstardom” -Washington Post, “combining formidable technique and an incredibly warm, penetrating and vibrant tone to a romantic musical sensibility to create music - making of a highest caliber” - Budapest Sun. After one of the Newport Festival concerts in RI, a critic wrote “... a performance with soaring phrases and a tone to die for.” Sergey’s performance of the Elgar concerto drew the critic of the Moscow’s Daily Telegraph to write: “[he] is a musician who has his own inner space, where he submerges himself from the very first sound…who turns each phrase, every deeply felt sound into an event of his own inner monologue. The theme of this monologue is existential suffering; a change of intricately noted emotions, directly related to the unexplainable condition known as Spiritual Life.” A Canadian critic wrote: “Antonov conveyed ...a world of expression from plaintive hope to existential pathos.” One of the recent reviewers wrote, “ No virtuosic challenge is more than his equal.”
After winning the Gold Medal in the 2007 International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow, Russia, Sergey has been touring extensively throughout Europe, Asia, North and South America performing in halls ranging from the Great Hall of Moscow Conservatory to Suntory Hall in Tokyo. He has collaborated with musicians such as Denis Matsuev, Bernadene Blaha, Kevin Fitz Gerald, Ekaterina Mechetina, Harve A’ Kaoua, Carl Ponten, Dora Schwartzberg, John Lenehan, Colin Carr, Cynthia Phelps, Martin Chalifour, David Chan, among others, as well as his permanent piano partner Ilya Kazantsev. The duo has recorded several CDs of traditional cello-piano repertoire as well as their own transcriptions, recorded in their CD album Elegy. Sergey is a member of the acclaimed Hermitage Piano Trio with Ilya Kazantsev and violinist Misha Keylin.
In addition to being the 2007 Tchaikovsky gold medal winner for cello, Antonov has been a recipient of the 2008 Golden Talent Award by the Russian Performing Arts Foundation as well as garnering top prizes at the Justuz Friedrich Dotzhauer Competition, Germany, David Popper International Cello Competition, Hungary, American String Teachers Association in Detroit. His chamber ensemble performances have also brought him honors from the Lyrica Chamber Music Series as their “Young Artist of the Year”, and First Prizes from the Chamber Music Foundation of New England and the Swedish International Duo Competition. He holds an Artist Diploma from Longy School of Music in Boston where he worked with Grammy nominated cellist Terry King. While being a student at the Moscow Conservatory, Sergey was under the tutelage of M. Rostropovich. Sergey has appeared on Russian National Television in performances with the Moscow Philharmonic in their “Stars of the 21st Century” series, and in live concerts on Boston’s NPR radio station WGBH. His performances were also broadcast by NHK Japan.
Asiya Korepanova, piano
An enthusiastic transcriber, Asiya composed the first ever transcriptions of Richard Strauss’ “Ein Heldenleben” and complete Rachmaninoff Cello Sonata for piano solo. Among her other transcriptions are works by Faure, Berg, Amy Beach, Mussorgsky, Tchaikovsky, Franck, Bernstein, Bach, and others. Many of her transcriptions can be heard in her YouTube blog project “Midnight Pieces”, a one of its kind project. The weekly vlog presents 53 pieces over the course of 12 months, a new piece presented each week. Curated in groupings of four, each four-week section is comprised of a well-known piece, a piece by a Russian composer, an obscure piece, and a transcription by Asiya.
She developed and performed several multimedia projects with her own poetry and drawings set to Liszt’s Transcendental Etudes, Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier, Tchaikovsky’s 18 Morceaux, Op. 72 and, most recently, Mussorgsky’s Pictures at the Exhibition. She performs them live, featuring projection of her artwork and narrating the poetry between playing each separate piece of music. In 2017 Asiya launched ‘Festival Baltimore’, a two-week chamber music series and summer academy featuring the complete works of composers in various genres. In its first three years at the Linehan Hall of University of Maryland, Baltimore County, the festival has already solidified its reputation as a highly original musical series, both in concept and context; offering a distinctive twist on programming.
To help her cause, the same year Asiya founded 'Music for Minds', a non-profit organization with a dual primary focus; bringing classical performances to children directly to their classrooms and creating music festivals with unique programs. The daughter of a composer and a composer herself, Asiya has an immense interest for new music. In Russia, she premiered 3 piano concertos by Vladislav Kazenin and Shamil Timerbulatov, together with the Svetlanov Symphony Orchestra of Russia, the Saint Petersburg Capella Symphony Orchestra, the Ural Philharmonic Orchestra and the Tatarstan National Symphony Orchestra. In the United States, she premiered works by Michael Daugherty, Thomas Sleeper and Orlando Garcia.
Asiya was born in 1984 in Izhevsk, Russia. Raised in a musical family, she began to learn piano when she was 4 years old from her mother, her first piano teacher. She was taught to read music in orchestral clefs by her father, an exemplary composer, at the age of 6. At 9, she made her orchestral debut, playing Mozart's Concerto No.8 with her own cadenza, and performed her first philharmonic recital. She was awarded the Russian Federation’s President Award for “Exceptional Achievement in the Arts” when she was 12. Later, she has been honored with the National Award from the Republic of Udmurtia (2002), Germany’s Berliner Salon Award (2003), and Russia’s Youth Triumph Award (2005). In 2009, she became an Honored Artist of Udmurtia, and an artist with the Moscow Philharmonic Society.
In 2012, Asiya moved to the United States at the special invitation of renowned concert pianist Santiago Rodriguez. In the same year, she became a Gold Medal winner at the Nina Wideman International Piano Competition in Shreveport, Louisiana. She has garnered national attention performing at the Stern Auditorium at Carnegie Hall, the Rockefeller University Tri-I Noon Series, Bargemusic Series, and Symphony Space in New York, the Phillips Collection in Washington, DC, the Dame Myra Hess Memorial Series in Chicago, the International Miami Piano Festival and Grand Piano Series in Florida, and many more. Her recitals have been broadcasted by NPR stations WFMT and WETA. Recently, CNN featured Asiya performing, and covered the specialized programs she offers school children.
This year, Asiya will premiere her latest major transcription project, Tchaikovsky’s Manfred Symphony. The premiere performance will take place at Tchaikovsky’s birthplace in Russia on May 7, the day of his birthday. Among the coming years’ highlighted performances include her debut recital at New York City’s renowned Merkin Concert Hall as a part of the International Keyboard Institute and Festival as well as the continuation of her signature #Liszt24Etudes program in multiple locations including Worchester Music Series and Cayman Arts Festival. Lastly, Asiya will publish her piano transcription of the Rachmaninoff Cello sonata, along with her other transcriptions and original compositions.
Karén Hakobyan, conductor
Described as “a musician of abundant gifts and bountiful ideas” by New York Concert Review, and “an immensely talented and dynamic performer” by Deseret Morning News, Armenian-American pianist, composer and conductor Karén Hakobyan has emerged as a versatile force on the international musical scene. Since his Carnegie Hall debut at the age of seventeen, he has performed in major concert halls in Armenia, Argentina, Mexico, Germany, France, Japan, and the United States. He is a top prizewinner of multiple international piano and composition competitions and holds degrees from the Manhattan School of Music, Mannes College of Music, and the University of Utah. Hakobyan has appeared as a soloist with many orchestras across several continents. His performances have been broadcasted on WQXR (New York’s classical radio atation), WMFT (Chicago’s classical radio station), Argentine National Radio, Monterrey’s (Mexico) Op. 102 radio station, and Armenian National Radio. He is the Founder and Artistic Director of Pegasus: the Orchestra, based in New York.
Pegasus: The Orchestra
Pegasus: The Orchestra is a nonprofit professional orchestra-in-residence at Mana Contemporary with a mission to empower rising musicians with artistic freedom and promote innovative repertoire in an environment of creative thought and expression, led by founder, artistic director, and conductor Karén Hakobyan.
