Russians Return to 5th
Monday, January 18, 2010 – 8pm
Julian Milkis, clarinet
Tanya Anisimova, cello
Ilya Itin, piano
Julian Milkis, clarinet
In a world where the word “cross-over artist” is thrown around without much meaning, clarinetist Julian Milkis stands out as a true testament to this description as one of the most exciting and versatile artist performing today, and as one of the leading practitioners of his instrument. A rarity amongst clarinetists, Mr. Milkis remains the only student of the clarinet icon Benny Goodman and has garnered an international stature as a dazzling soloist, chamber musician, recitalist and jazz clarinetist. His performances include such prominent stages as New York’s Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center, Salle Pleyel and Salle Gaveau in Paris, Great Halls of the Moscow Conservatory and the St. Petersburg Philharmonic, Roy Thomson Hall and Weston Recital Hall in Toronto, and the National Concert Hall in Taipei, Taiwan. His numerous solo appearances include orchestras in Canada (Toronto Symphony, CBC Vancouver Orchestra, Edmonton Symphony), Russia (State Symphony Orchestra of Russia, St.Petersburg Philharmonic, Moscow State Symphony Orchestra, Novosibirsk Philharmonic, Hermitage Chamber Orchestra), and Europe (Hamburg Mozarteum, Vivaldi Chamber Orchestra, L’Orchestre Nationale de Lyon, L’Orchestre Symphonique Francaise, Divertissment Chamber Orchestra). Mr. Milkis’s performances have been broadcast extensively on radio and television throughout the US, Canada, Europe and Asia. He is a leading voice for his instrument in the field of jazz. Well-known to Naples audiences, legendary pianist Dick Hyman, Benny Goodman’s old band-mate, has transcribed a number of Goodman's classics for Milkis. A Canadian citizen, and graduate of The Juilliard School and the Manhattan School of Music, he performs exclusively on Yamaha clarinets.
Tanya Anisimova, cello
A musician graced with “spiritual authority” and “an easy mastery of her instrument that recognizes no technical problems” is the description of cellist Tanya Anisimova given by the Washington Post. This internationally-known cellist and composer's recent concert engagements include solo appearances with the Russian Chamber Orchestra (CA), the Symphonicity Orchestra (VA), the Bay-Atlantic Symphony Orchestra (MJ); recitals in Russia, Iceland, Italy and the U.S. Boston and Washington, D.C. Born into a family of scientists in the Chechen city of Grozny, Ms. Anisimova began her music studies at age six and was soon accepted into the Moscow Central Music School. At 15, she won first prize at the international Concertino Praga competition (Prague, Czech Republic), first prize and special prize for the youngest participant at the Russian National String Quartet Competition, and a top prize at the Min-On International Chamber Music Competition (Tokyo, Japan). After graduating with honors from the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory, where she studied with Igor Gavrysh, Ms. Anisimova continued her education in the United States earning an Artist Diploma from Boston University (studio of George Neikrug) and Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the Yale School of Music (studio of Aldo Parisot). Her recordings include Bach's Six Cello Suites, her cello arrangements of Bach's Complete Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin, as well as cds of her original compositions and improvisations: "Sufi Soul – Tanya Performs Tanya" and "Mystical Strings – The Enchanted Cello."
Ilya Itin, piano
"A rare and exciting artistry...", "Borderline unbelieveable in combined power and accuracy...", "A prime example of a superb technique put at the service of an inquiring and imaginative mind." Such are the superlatives used to describe the artistry of pianist Ilya Itin. A graduate of the famed Moscow Conservatory, he won the William Kapell Competition in the USA at age 23 , followed by victories in both the Casadesus and Leeds international piano competitions. Soloist with orchestras such as the Cleveland Orchestra, St. Petersburg Philharmonic, the Tokyo Symphony, the National Symphony and the London Philharmonic, Itin has also played sold-out recitals throughout North America including at the Miami International Piano Festival. His recent touring schedule included debuts with the China National Symphony playing Rachmaninoff's 3rd Piano Concerto, and Prokofiev's 2nd Piano Concerto with the Bilkent Symphony in Ankarra, Turkey. Equally prized as a coach, Itin was a featured artist at the Golandsky Institute of Princeton University, where he gave master-classes, taught, and performed.
Johannes Brahms
(1833-1897; Germany)
Clarinet Trio, op. 114 (1891)
Astor Piazzola
(1921-1992; Argentina)
Selections
Tanya Anisimova
(b. 1966; Russia)
world premiere of
Trio for Clarinet, Piano
and Cello (2010)
About The Music:
Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
Clarinet Trio, op. 114
A beloved elder statement of Austro-German musical life, Johannes Brahms was lured from retirement by the extraordinary musicianship of clarinetist Richard Muhlfeld. The composer first heard Muhlfeld as principal clarinetist of the Meningen Court Orchestra (which had given initial performances of several of Brahms' symphonic works) in 1891. Deeply impressed by the beauty of the clarinetist's playing, Brahms dedicated his final four compositions to Muhlfeld: the Clarinet Trio, Clarinet Quintet and two sonatas, all major additions to the chamber music literature.
The Clarinet Trio was the first of the Muhlfeld inspired pieces, premiered in Vienna in December 1891 by Muhlfeld, cellist Robert Hausmann and Brahms on keyboard. The autumnal beauty of these final scores is enhanced by the clarinet's melancholic coloration. For the trio, Brahms chose the A clarinet which has a darker sound compass than the E-flat clarinet that Beethoven and Mozart had composed chamber works for. The cello introduces the main motif of the opening Allegro, taken up by clarinet and piano. Elegiac in nature, the opening movement is dominated by thematic development in minor keys. The songful Adagio is in D major while the third movement is a typically genial Brahmsian scherzo. The enlivening finale returns to minor modes, completing an arc that transcends previous chamber scores for its major wind instrument, unfurling the clarinet's melodic and expressive powers.
(notes © Lawrence Budmen)
Astor Piazzola (1921-1992)
selections
Tanya Anisimova (b. 1966; Russia)
Trio for clarinet and piano
Original music by Tanya Anisimova has been described as “striking in its emotional authenticity and melodic freshness” (The Moscow Conservatory Press, 2006) and as “marrying a sense of wild fancy and studied control” (The Washington Post, 2007), and as “melodious, mystical and deeply emotional” (The Washington Post, 2003). Described as a "creative artist with drive and fire," Tanya’s works have been performed by Russian Chamber Orchestra, St. Petersburg String Quartet, Prokofiev Quartet, cellists Paul Katz, and Igor Gavrysh, among others, and have been broadcast in Europe, Asia, North America, and Australia.
