Concert & Recital Series
Concert for Haiti
Piano Trio
Wednesday 17 February 2010, 8.30pm
The Shoe Factory, Nicosia
(Limited Seating, Pre-booking required)
Part of the proceeds will be donated to the
earthquake victims of Haiti
The concert
is supported by the Embassy of Spain
The Pharos Arts Foundation continues its Concert and Recital Series with a
concert by three exceptional young soloists - the brilliant young Russian
pianist Polina Leschenko, the Spanish violinist Leticia Muñoz Moreno,
considered one of the most sought after musicians of the 21st century, and
the artistic director of International Pharos Chamber Music Festival,
cellist Alexander Chaushian. The three artists will join forces for a unique
evening of chamber music, with works by Shostakovich, Rachmaninov and
Franck. The concert is supported by the Embassy of Spain, and will take
place on Wednesday 17 February 2010, at the Foundation's venue The Shoe
Factory, 8.30pm.
Polina Leschenko (piano)
‘The highlight of the evening was the return of Polina Leschenko, the
brilliant young Russian pianist who made such an impression with the Liszt
No. 1 on her debut here a year ago. ….There is something exceptional and
compelling about her combination of delicacy, fluency and well-timed bursts
of fireworks.’ (Robert Beale, Manchester Evening News, April 2007)
Polina Leschenko was born in St Petersburg into a family of musicians and
began playing the piano under her father’s guidance at the age of six. Two
years later she made her solo début with the Leningrad Symphony Orchestra in
St Petersburg. She studied with Sergei Leschenko, Vitali Margulis, Pavel
Gililov, Alexandre Rabinovitch-Barakovsky and Christopher Elton. At the age
of 16 she received her Higher Diploma with the greatest distinction from the
Royal Conservatory in Brussels. Leschenko collaborates with orchestras
around the world including the Scottish Chamber, Bournemouth Symphony,
Britten Sinfonia, Russian National, and Australian Chamber Orchestras. An
accomplished and admired chamber musician, Polina Leschenko also performs
frequently at many festivals, including Aldeburgh, Risor, West Cork, Stiift,
Moritzburg, Progetto Martha Argerich in Lugano and Musiktage Mondsee. Polina
Leschenko has given major solo recitals in Vienna’s Konzerthaus, Amsterdam’s
Concertgebouw and New York’s Carnegie Hall as well as in Salzburg, London,
Paris, Brussels, Minnesota and Atlanta. In September 2008, she toured South
America with the Hallé Orchestra and Sir Mark Elder. 2009 saw Leschenko
commence a new position as International Chair in Piano at the Royal Welsh
College of Music & Drama in Cardiff, where she began a three year residency.
Polina Leschenko has recorded a début CD for EMI in the series ‘Martha
Argerich presents …’ with works by Liszt, Chopin, Kreisler/Rachmaninov,
Brahms and Bach/Feinberg. The Gramophone described her as having ‘technical
dexterity in abundance, and signs of a major artist in the making’. She has
also recorded a disc of Prokofiev chamber music with Martha Argerich,
Christian Poltéra and Roby Lakatos, for Avanticlassic. Her latest disc – a
Liszt recital, including the B minor Sonata – was released in May 2007 by
Avanticlassic.
Leticia Muñoz Moreno (violin)
Leticia Muñoz Moreno is one of the most sought after violinists of her
generation. Praised by audiences and critics for her exquisite musicality
and expressivity, Leticia has been catching the attention of today’s most
important conductors. She is winner of five international competitions: The
Henryk Szeryng Competition (2000), Concertino Praga (2000), Novosibirsk
(2001), Sarasate (2001) and the Kreisler Competition, and she has received
numerous national and international awards, among them the Emily Anderson
Prize 2005 of the Royal Philharmonic Society, Martin Musical Scholarship
from the Philharmonia Orchestra and the Ibla Grand Prize 2008. Leticia
studied at Madrid’s Reina Sofia School and Köln Musikhochschule with
Professor Bron, at Saarbrücken Musikhochschule with Maxim Vengerov, and at
the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, where she obtained a Masters Degree
with distinction. Her Final Recital was awarded the highest grade ever in
the history of the college. Leticia had the privilege to meet and receive
the valuable advice of Maestro Rostropovich. Most recently, Maestro Plácido
Domingo became her mentor caring about her musical and career development.
Leticia Muñoz Moreno has performed with world renowned orchestras, including
the Vienna Symphony Orchestra, Vienna Chamber Orchestra, Sinfonia Varsovia,
Russian National Orchestra, St Petersburg Camerata, Novosibirsk Symphony
Orchestra, Frankfurt Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra Symphonica de Palermo,
San Remo Philharmonic Orchestra, as well as most of the major orchestras in
Spain under batons of such legendary conductors as Krzysztof Penderecki,
Walter Weller, Günter Herbig and Pinchas Steinberg. She has appeared in some
of Europe´s most prestigious concert halls, including Amsterdam’s
Concertgebouw, Vienna’s Konzerthaus, London’s Wigmore Hall, and the
Hermitage Theater in St Petersburg and she has participated in major
festivals, such as the Lockenhaus Festival, the Ravinia Festival, the
Beethoven Festival in Warsaw, the Passau Festival, and the Tel Aviv
Festival. She has collaborated in concert with important musicians, such
Maxim Vengerov and Krzystoph Penderecki, who has invited her to a worldwide
tour née performing his concerto Metamorphosen. In addition, Gidon Kremer
invited her to the Lockenhaus Chamber Music Festival and Vladimir Spivakov
to perform with The Russian National orchestra. Leticia has recorded Lalo’s
Symphonie Espagnole with Jonde for VERSO and has made several radio
recordings for RNE, ZDF, BBC and Chicago Classical Radio. She plays on a
Nicola Galiano 1762.
Alexander Chaushian (cello)
A graduate of the Yehudi Menuhin School, the Guildhall School of Music and
Drama in London and the Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler in Berlin, cellist
Alexander Chaushian has been the recipient of numerous awards, such as the
first prize in the 1990 Premio Mozart Competition in Verona, the first prize
in the International Music Competition in Holland in 1992, the third prize
in the 12th International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow, and the third
prize and the special prize given by the Munich Chamber Orchestra at the
Internationaler Musikwettbewerb der ARD in Germany. Chaushian has appeared
in prestigious venues throughout the world, including a greatly successful
debut at the Suntory Hall in Japan. As a soloist, he has played with a
number of renowned orchestras, including the Vienna Chamber Orchestra at
Vienna’s Konzerthaus and at the Bruchnerhaus in Linz, the London Mozart
Players and the Philharmonia Orchestra in London, the Orchestre de la Suisse
Romande, the Royal National Orchestra of Belgium, Les Solistes Europeens de
Luxembourg in a gala concert conducted by Yehudi Menuhin, the Boston Pops
Orchestra at Boston Symphony Hall, and the Armenian Philharmonic Orchestra
at Carnegie Hall. He has also appeared in highly acclaimed concerts with the
Philharmonia Orchestra at the Royal Festival Hall, with The Academy of St
Martin in the Fields and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at the Barbican,
as well as the Padova Chamber Orchestra at the Sala Verdi in Milan.
Alexander Chaushian has given highly praised recitals at the Wigmore Hall
and the Queen Elizabeth Hall, the Harrogate Festival in England, the Kuhmo
International Festival in Finland, La Jolla Festival in the USA, the Theatre
du Chatelet in Paris, and in Montpellier as recipient of the Beracasa
Foundation Prize of the Radio-France and in Montpellier Festival. In 2006,
Alexander Chaushian recorded Dmitry Shostakovich’s Cello Sonata for
Performance Channel Television, as well as Wim Zwaag’s Cello Concerto with
the Núrnberger Symphoniker. His solo debut recording for the BIS label of
Weinberg’s Sonatas, in which he is partnered with Yevgeny Sudbin, was
recently released to much acclaim.
Programme:
Dmitri Shostakovich (1906 – 1975) - Sonata in D minor for cello and piano
Op. 40 (1934)
César Franck (1822 – 1890) - Violin Sonata in A major (1886)
Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873 – 1943) - Trio élégiaque No. 1 in G minor
Ticket Prices:
EUR30
Tickets can be purchased from:
The Pharos Arts Foundation (22 663 871)
Moufflon Bookshop (22 665155)
http://www.cyprus-tickets.com (70009303)
