September 13, 7:00 PM
Mercer Island Presbyterian Church, Mercer Island
The program will include pieces by Arensky and Tchaikovsky.
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Performers
Dmitri Berlinsky
Mr. Berlinsky arrived on the International scene as the youngest winner in the history of the Paganini International Violin Competition in Genoa, Italy. This victory led to his performance on Nicolo Paganini’s own Guarneri del Gesú instrument, a privilege shared by only a handful of artists in history. Subsequent triumphs at the Montreal International Violin Competition (Grand Prize), the International Tchaikovsky Competition and the Queen Elizabeth Competition in Brussels, led to appearances with major orchestras in Europe, Russia, the Far East, North and South America.
Mr. Berlinsky has performed in such major venues as Carnegie and Avery Fisher Halls in New York, Kennedy Center in Washington DC, Tokyo’s Suntory Hall, Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory, Mariinsky Concert Hall, Leipzig Gewandhaus, Berlin Philharmonic Hall, Munich Herkulessaal, Palais des Beaux Arts in Brussels, Bonn Beethoven Hall, Le Place des Arts in Montreal, and Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires among others.
His extensive performance schedule has taken him to the Mostly Mozart Festival, the Prague Spring Festival, the Aspen Music Festival, the Newport Music Festival, the Settimane Musicale in Stresa, Italy, Bratislava Festival, as well as appearances at the Ambassador Foundation in Pasadena, the Fiddle Fest at Alice Tully Hall, the 92nd Street Y
Recently he performed with Lorin Maazel at the Castleton Festival, Russian National Orchestra at the Arts Square Festival in St.Petersburg, Prague Radio Symphony at the Budapest Spring Festival, Orchestra de Chambre Français in New York, Russian Chamber Philharmonic on European Tour, Directed and performed with “International Chambers Soloists” at the Fontana Arts Festival, San Francisco Conservatory, New York, Los Angeles, Toronto. He gave recital in US, Taiwan, Korea, England, Italy, Mexico, and Brazil.
Recent highlights include performances with the London Philharmonic, St. Petersburg Philharmonic, Sinfonia Toronto, Montreal Symphony, New York Chamber Symphony, Leipzig Radio Orchestra, Belgian National Orchestra, Quebec, Utah, Virginia, Kalamazoo, Miami, San Antonio, and West Virginia Symphonies, Seoul Philharmonic, New Jersey Philharmonic, Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz, Weimar Staatskapelle, Berlin Staatskapelle, Gent Opera Orchestra, Orchestra Sinfonia Siciliana, UNAM Symphony in Mexico City, I Musici de Montreal in Canada and the United States, South American tour with the Prague Chamber Orchestra,as well as appearances at the Casals Festival in Puerto Rico and festivals in Italy, Belgium, Germany, Scandinavia, Taiwan and Costa Rica.
His playing was featured in Emmy-Award documentary “Life on Jupiter” and “New York Canvas”.
Dmitri has been Artist Teacher and Professor at the College of Music at the Michigan State University. His students have won important international competitions such as the Tchaikovsky, Menuhin, Tibor Varga, William Byrd and have assumed positions in orchestras including the Boston Symphony Orchestra and concertmaster of the Seattle Symphony.
In high demand as a teacher Mr.Berlinsky has tought and given Master Classes in Europe, Asia, Canada and in US at the Chautaqua Festival, Summit Music Festival in New York, Festival Internacional de Campos do Jordão in Brazil, International Academy of Music in Italy, Music in the Mountains Colorado, Schlern Festival, Instrumenta Verano in Mexico, University of South California in Los Angeles, Eastman School of Music, Menuhin School, Manhattan School, Temple University in Philhadelphia, DePaul and Roosevelt University in Chicago, Western Michigan University, Weber University in Utah, and UNT in Texas.
Mr.Berlinsky is the founder of the chamber orchestra “International Chamber Soloists” and Artistic Director of “Southampton Arts Festival” in Long Island, New York.
Mr.Berlinsky has been recipient of many awards including SONY, Juilliard, YCA and Bagby Foundations.
For several years he played on famous “Yusupov” Stradivarious-same instument David Oistrakh and Leonid Kogan played.
Andrey Tchekmazov
Hailed by critics as an “extraordinary musician” (Washington Post), cellist Andrey Tchekmazov is known for his versatility as a soloist, recitalist and chamber musician.
Mr. Tchekmazov was the Grand Prize winner of the Vittorio Gui International Chamber Music Competition and the Premio Trio di Trieste and has performed extensively throughout North and South America, Europe, Russia and Asia, appearing at the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory, Osaka Symphony Hall in Japan, New York’s Alice Tully Hall, Brazil’s Sala Cecilia Mereles, Sala Sao Paulo and Teatro Alfa with orchestras such as the São Paolo Symphony, the Moscow Chamber Orchestra, the Brazil National Symphony, the Kiev Philharmonic and the Teatro Alfa Symphony. He has also been a top prizewinner at the Koussevitzky Cello Competition in New York, the Schadt Competition, Artists International, Premio della Critica in Trieste and the Russian Kobalevsky Competition.
Ever since his critically acclaimed debut at Carnegie’s Weill Recital Hall, Mr. Tchekmazov has enjoyed an active career as recitalist and chamber musician, performing at such renowned venues as Zankel Hall, the Caramoor Music Center, Barge Music, the Rhode Island Chamber Music Series, Bar Harbor Festival, Merkin Concert Hall in New York City and Hampden Sydney, where he was invited to perform by the members of The Emerson String Quartet.
As a performer with the Jupiter Chamber Players in New York and at the Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C, Mr. Tchekmazov “impressed his audiences with a big, warm tone and Russian brand of virtuosity” (The Strad) by introducing them to rarely-performed jewels of classical music alongside the works of great masters.
He has premiered works and worked closely with contemporary composers such as Alfred Schnittke, Lukas Foss, George Warren, Ira Cremer and Ralf Ytrehus and has recently recorded the Cello Sonata by David Winkler and “Byzantine Chants, The Sacred Concerto for Solo Cello,” by Margarita Zelenaia, both which were written and dedicated to him. He has also participated in ambitious, unique projects such as performing Dmitri Shostakovich’s entire chamber music repertoire for cello at the Phillips Collection.
An active educator, Andrey Tchekmazov has been a faculty member at the Rio de Janeiro Cello Encounter, the Lakewood Festival, Russish Abend Festival in Germany, He has also performed at Westminster College and Brown, Bowdoin, Seton Hall and Princeton Universities. As an orchestral musician, Mr. Tchekmazov was appointed principal cellist of the Moscow Chamber Orchestra and the São Paulo Symphony. His performances have been featured on WQXR, WGBH, NPR and other TV and radio stations across Eastern and Western Europe and South America.
Born in Moscow into a family of professional pianists, Mr. Tchekmazov studied piano and later cello at the Gnessin Specialized Music School in Moscow. He continued his education at the Moscow State Conservatory with Mstislav Rostropovich’s protégé Nataliya Shakhovskaya,, and later at the Juilliard School as a Leonard Rose scholarship student of Harvey Shapiro. At Juilliard he worked closely with members of the Juilliard and Guarneri String Quartets. Mr. Tchekmazov has made several recordings including a recent release on NAXOS with the Russian National Phiharmonic as well as a recording for the Delos label.
Mr. Tchekmazov is currently on the faculty of The University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Natalya Ageyeva
Natalya Ageyeva has dazzled audiences throughout the United States and internationally, including Italy, Austria, and Israel, as well as on tour in her native Russia. Her performances have also been broadcast several times locally on KING-FM in Seattle and televised in Moscow and Chicago. She has appeared at a broad range of venues, including the Governor’s Mansion in Olympia, Carnegie Hall in New York, Benaroya Hall in Seattle, and the Rachmaninoff Hall in Moscow. Her pianism prompted one reviewer to write “Immediately apparent was a tremendous technique at the command of a sharp musical intelligence and fingers of steel.”
Her artistry has earned her awards and recognition around the world, including the Young Artist Competition in Moscow, Rotary Club Scholarship in Chicago, Brechemin Scholarship at the University of Washington, Solo Competition Award from the Ladies Musical Club of Seattle, the Green Lake Music Festival Competition in Wisconsin, Bradshaw & Buono International Piano Competition in New-York, and the Zinetti International Chamber Music Competition in Italy. An artist of great versatility, Ageyeva has performed as a recitalist, chamber musician, and soloist with orchestras internationally. She has also been an active participant in many music festivals, including the Seattle Chamber Music Society’s Summer Festival, Methow Valley Music Festival in Winthrop (WA), Mostly Nordic Chamber Music Series in Seattle, Second City Chamber Series in Tacoma (WA), First Sunday at the Commons Series in Bainbridge Island (WA), Seattle Symphony Chamber Music Series in Seattle (WA), Olympic Music Festival (WA), and Green Lake Music Festival (WI).
Ageyeva began formal piano lessons at the age of thirteen when she was accepted by the prestigious Special Music School for Talented Children in Moscow, and graduated with honors in the Masters Program from the world-renowned Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow, where she studied with Valeriy Kastelsky. While at the Moscow Conservatory, Ageyeva was offered extensive solo and orchestra appearances throughout the former Soviet Union. She completed her doctoral degree at the University of Washington with distinguished pianists Bela Siki and Robin McCabe. She has also worked with well-known pianists John O’Conner, Victor Merjanov, and Helene Grimaud, and collaborated with conductors Vladimir Vais, Alexander Rudin, and Peter Erös. Ageyeva previously taught at Moscow Conservatory and University of Washington, and has adjudicated piano competitions in Chicago, Seattle, and Vancouver BC. Ageyeva is the Founder and Artistic Director of the Russian Chamber Music Foundation of Seattle. It is starting its sixth successful year of bringing high-level chamber music to the Seattle area.
In addition to growing the Foundation, she is currently focusing on her solo career and chamber music performances. Ageyeva is a member of recently formed “Thirty Fingers” group with pianists Deborah Dewey and Lisa Bergman. For more information, please visit www.natalyapiano.com.