|
|
Love songs at the Galaxy
The concert which took place on March 7th was dedicated
to the International Women’s Day. It somehow reminded of the filming of a
documentary movie, which was about process of the creation and birth of
music. In the spacious hall Galaxy which has no stage, in the middle of
the room, was nothing but a grand piano and the rows of chairs. The
musicians while dressed in casual and not their usual performance costumes
were walking in the hall and talking to each other and to the audience who
was just coming in to the concert. The audience gathered slowly, sat down
and talked to each other, discussing the upcoming program of the concert.
But at some point all of the sudden, performers were transformed into
their stage costumes and the live music has begun playing.
The program consisted of several sets of works – such as
classical, jazz and other genres of music, but since I am not a
professional, it is a difficult for me to name them all. From
the classics, the concert’s performances included serious
composers such as Brahms, Mahler, Schumann, Wolf, Britten, jazz
- in songs by George Gershwin. There were also songs of the
Italian composer and actor Cesare Bixio, Neapolitan composer
Ernesto Curtis, as well as a Russian born composer Nicholas
Brodszky.
Now about the performers. They are all young and
beautiful, but despite their youth, they have already won the
recognition in the music world.
Mezzo-soprano Fleur Barron - the winner of Liederkranz
Foundation in 2013, made her debut at Carnegie Hall. In the
season 2015 Fleur is involved in the productions of the four
operas Glyndebourne Festival in England. In the 2013-2014
season, she sang the main role in opera "Carmen" at a music
festival in Aspen, and she also made her appearance at the Opera
House Saint-Louis.
Pianist Merriam Leskis - who is a solo and accompanist mainly of the
chamber music, has appeared on the stage with many famous
musicians - such as the contrabassist and conductor of the
London Symphony Orchestra, Rinat Ibragimov. As a solo performer,
Miriam appeared at various prestigious venues in the Jerusalem
Theater, as well as in Geneva, New York (Carnegie Hall), and in
Germany. Miriam has performed regularly as the accompanist of
the singer Fleur Barron.
Finally, the youngest participant of the concert
was Pavel Sulyandziga, who is still a student of the Russian
Academy of Music. Despite his age he was already the winner of
national and international vocal competitions, including "Silver
voice" (2009), All-Russian Singing Competition (2009), the
competition "Bella voce" (2012), "Passion of music" (2013,
2014). He is the solo performer of studio RAM at Gnessin Academy
of Music. Gnessin’s career of Pavel includes the performances at
prestigious venues in Moscow, in Russian cities and abroad
(Belgium, Spain, Denmark, Luxembourg, Germany, America);
participation in international festivals; awards received at
international competitions, and a lot of experience on stage.
Despite the different experiences and
different roles at the concert, they all made a unique ensemble,
and brought the audience an incredible pleasure.
Well, if you continue my comparison of this
concert with the filming of the documentary movie - that after
the actors changed into their usual casual clothes, they broke
into the groups and continued the conversation. And all of the
sudden, almost as a surprise for the audience, the evening ended
with Pavel’s performing an area from “Eugene Onegin” by
P.I.Tchaikovsky. He has an absolutely wonderful voice and it was
an unbelievable performance by Pavel.
And of course, I should mention the
director and organizer of this concert – Olga Slavnina, whose
enthusiasm and drive allowed us to enjoy this beautiful music
and great voices.
Translated by Lina Donskaya
|
|
