Classical Music Encounters of Orange County, California

June 3rd - Season Finale: Piano-Violin Recital of Valentina Gottlieb and Rochelle Abramson

2006-05-23T11:22:00.000-07:00

"Her performance may be described as masterfully perfect, full with brilliant interpretation and poetic understanding of a music work. Mrs. Gottlieb’s repertory is very wide and oriented on enlightenment of the public.”
Prof. Lev Vlasenko, Moscow Conservatory of Music, President of the Tchaikovsky Piano Competition Jury.

“Gottlieb shined in tour-de-force performances of Liszt’s transcriptions of three Schubert songs. [The middle song] simply took one’s breath away.”
Irvine World News.

Native of Latvia, Dr. Gottlieb was one of the leading professors at Piano Faculty of Latvian Academy of Music. Her graduates have successfully participated in prestigious National and International competitions. Today they are leading performers and educators.
In 2000, she began teaching for CSULB, Department of Music. Dr. Gottlieb is an active member of the Music Teachers' Association of Southern California (MTAC) and National Association of Professional Music Teachers (MTNA). She gives master classes and coaches students at her private studio in Irvine. Her students won gold and silver medals at MTAC Bach Junior Festival, silver and bronze medals at United States Open Music Competition, became winners of the Southwestern Youth Music Festival in Solo and Chamber Music categories.
In Latvia, Valentina Gottlieb has been the first performer of the John Field concerti for piano and orchestra, B. Martinů’s piano Sonata and other compositions, published two books on B. Martinů piano music. Several her programs were recorded and broadcast on Latvian State Radio and TV.
Since 1994, Dr. Gottlieb performs solo concerts in Southern California. In 1999, she toured in Latvia and Spain. In 2001, she soloed at the Gala concert dedicated to 800-years anniversary of the City of Riga, Latvia. She is an active performer at the Irvine Chamber Music Festivals.
She graduated with honors State Conservatory of Music in Riga, Latvia, holds a M.A. degree from that Conservatory and a Doctorate from the St. Petersburg Conservatory of Music.

A graduate of the Juilliard School of Music, violinist Rochelle Abramson made her New York debut at Carnegie Recital Hall as winner of the Artists International Auditions. Ms. Abramson has been a winner in numerous other competitions, including the National Federation of Music Clubs Biennial Competition, the National Stillman-Kelly Competition, and the Palm Beach Flagler-Matthews Competition.
In Southern California she has appeared as a soloist with the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl, and with many Los Angeles area orchestras. She has been concertmaster of the Peninsula Symphony's annual Summer Concerts and the San Juan Capistrano Symphony. Currently she is concertmaster of the L.A. Valley College Symphony, with which she recently played Bruch's Scottish Fantasy. As a chamber music performer, Ms. Abramson has appeared in concerts at Barnsdall Park, the Museum of Natural History, the Bing Theater at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and at Harbor College. A member of the Los Angeles Philharmonic's first violin section, she joined the Orchestra in the 1978/79 season. Ms. Abramson was the recipient of two individual artist's grants from the City of Los Angeles Cultural Affairs Department between 1992 and 1994.

Please note the change of date and time!!! (Saturday instead of the usual Sunday)
Recital takes place Saturday, June 3rd at 7:00 PM
Orchepia Music
4482 Barranca (Barranca & Lake)
Irvine, CA 92604

In the Program: Medtner, Liebermann, Debussy, Sarasate, Da Falla, J. Williams.

Tickets: $13, $15.
.

April event - Music of the Heart

2006-04-10T12:51:00.000-07:00

Florence & Robert Estrin

Robert Estrin, musician, composer and teacher, performs concerts and presentations on the piano, harpsichord and fortepiano. He is also featured as a French horn soloist. He performs and composes a variety of musical styles from traditional performances to concerts and recordings utilizing state-of-the-art technologies. His original compositions have been performed in New York and Europe, and he has numerous album credits.
Estrin was raised in a musical family and has performed in concert with his father and mentor, concert pianist Morton Estrin. Estrin has worked with members of the Boston Symphony Orchestra including Seiji Ozawa on ABC television. A diverse performer, Estrin also performed with Chuck Mangione at the Eastman School of Music.
Equally at home on stage and in the studio, Estrin has worked with cutting-edge music companies. He spearheaded the music content development team for G-Vox Entertainment, providing music and audio files for interactive music education software. Estrin's formal music education includes three diplomas from the Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria, scholarship studies at the Manhattan School of Music as well as a degree in piano performance from Indiana University.
Currently Robert Estrin is bringing The Living Piano: Journey through Time to audiences. These shows highlight the development of the piano from the harpsichord, fortepiano, Viennese Piano, and finally the modern concert grand piano. Estrin presents the history and culture through the ages in period costume bringing the music to life with improvised and written music of the different period styles.
Website: http://www.LivingPiano.com

Florence Estrin has a wide ranging career as a flutist. She has performed in many of the great concert halls including Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center. Her performance of the Ibert Flute concerto marked her New York solo debut at the age of 19. Ms. Estrin has also performed extensively with orchestra including the Indianapolis Symphony and the San Francisco Ballet Orchestra. Ms. Estrin is a frequent soloist in many chamber music series including Laguna Beach Live, Casa Romantica and South Orange County Chamber Orchestra. Ms Estrin is also sought out as a teacher having taught at the University of Evansville before moving to Orange County, California.

Recital takes place Sunday, April 23rd at 5:00 PM
Orchepia Music
4482 Barranca (Barranca & Lake)
Irvine, CA 92604

In the Program: Music by Faure, Poulenc, Rachmaninoff, Chopin, Bizet & more

Tickets: $13, $15.
Children 12 and under $5 (with fully paying adult)
.

March event - Don't miss this rare opportunity!

2006-03-01T18:56:00.000-08:00

By the special arrangement, as part of the USA tour by
Russian National Orchestra (conductor — Mikhail Pletnev)
The Trio of the Masters
To hear three Masters of Classical Music coming together in this one-time-only performance at a private residence here, in Orange County!
_______________________________
Alexey Bruni (violin) —
Honored Artist of Russia, Concertmaster of the
Russian National Orchestra
http://www.classicalarchives.com/artists/bruni.html

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Alexander Gotgelf (cello) —
Principal at the Russian National Orchestra,
recording artist for the ‘Cello Classics’

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Leonid Levitsky (piano) —
Concert pianist, chamber
musician, founder of the
Pacific Virtuosi, Newport Beach

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DATE: TUE, MARCH 21 2006
TIME: 8:00 PM
Admission: $40 (by reservations only)
_______________
In the program:

Mozart—Sonata B flat major
(piano and violin)
Grieg—Sonata #3 c-minor
(piano and violin)
Tchaikovsky—Piano Trio

Music by Romantics - Just in time for Valentine Day

2006-01-25T20:55:00.000-08:00

Solo and ensemble pieces by Rachmaninoff, Tchaikovsky, Brahms and more...

YANGATI PIANO TRIO

The violinist Yang Xu has been awarded prizes in many international competitions including the Yehudi Menuhin, Henrik Szering, Irving Claim, Novosibirsk, and the Kloster Schontal International Violin Competitions.
Mr. Xu received his early music education from the prestigious Shanghai Conservatory of Music. Following his prize at the Yehudi Menuhin Violin Competition, Mr. Xu was invited to perform with the Orchestra National de Lille in France. Lord Menuhin described him as “a most intense and excellent violinist” after conducting the performance himself. In 1999, at the Music Academy of the West Festival in Santa Barbara, California, Mr. Xu made his American debut with the festival orchestra after having won the concerto competition. In 2000, he served as concertmaster of the Pacific Music Festival Orchestra in Japan, where he played chamber music concerts with the principal players of the Vienna Philharmonic. In 2002, Mr. Xu performed Beethoven Violin Concerto with the Oberlin Orchestra which was live broadcasted by WCLV (Cleveland classical music station). In the same year, Mr. Xu played Mozart A major Violin Concerto with the Minnesota Sinfonia. The enthusiastic response from the audience and critics ensured a returning engagement of a performance with the orchestra.
Mr. Xu received his Bachelor of Music degree from the Oberlin Conservatory in 2003. He was awarded his Masters of Music degree from the Juilliard School in the studio of Masao Kawasaki and is currently pursuing the Graduate Certificate with Midori at University of Southern California.

Tilman Kanitz, Cello

Tilman Kanitz was born into a family of musicians and started playing the cello at the early age of five. At fourteen, he entered the renowned Music University in Luebeck, Germany and finished his cello studies at the Freiburg and Cologne Universities.
From 2001 to 2005 Kanitz was a principal cellist of the Cologne Chamber Orchestra under the baton of Helmut Mueller-Bruehl. He performed at Philharmonie Cologne, Konzerthaus Berlin, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Theatre des Champs Elysees Paris and Walt Disney Concert Hall Los Angeles, among eminent artists, including Itzhak Perlman, Pepe Romero and Rainer Kussmaul.
In addition to his performance career, Kanitz has won prizes in competitions as cellist and composer, and recorded for NAXOS, Deutschland Radio, Hessischer Rundfunk, WDR, Radio Swiss and KUSC-Los Angeles. In 2004 he received the prestigious “Music-Merit-Scholarship” from the University of Southern California, Los Angeles where he is currently studying with the legendary cellist and pedagogue Eleonore Schoenfeld.

Yana Reznik, piano

Russian-born pianist, Yana Reznik has performed throughout Russia, Europe and the United States. She gave her Carnegie Hall Debut in New York in 2002 as a winner of the Artists International Competition. Her guest artists were the renowned St.Petersburg Quartet. She has also appeared on such stages as the Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center, The Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory and the Philharmonic Hall in St. Petersburg, Russia. Yana has performed with the Moscow Chamber Orchestra and World Youth Symphony orchestra as a concerto soloist.
Yana Reznik’s artistic career began at the Rachmaninoff School of Music in Moscow where she studied with Raisa Bekerman. Since 1995 Miss Reznik has been living in the United States and has studied at the Interlochen Arts Academy with Stephen Perry, received her Bachelors Degree from the Manhattan School of Music, New York, under the guidance of Phillip Kawin. Since then she has performed excessively as a soloist as well as a chamber musician, collaborating with such masters as Isidor Cohen, Frank Morelli, Mark Silverman, Alex and Albert Markov and Peter Marsh. Yana has participated in prestigious summer festivals such as the Sarasota Music Festival, Kent/Blossom Music Festival, Norfolk, Piano Summers at New Paltz, International Academy of Music in Russia, East-West International Academy in Germany, Vivaldi Nuelly Pleasance in France. She has won the MTNA competition, Cypress College Competition, and Interlochen Arts Festival concerto competition. Yana has also benefited from the masterclasses with Claude Franck, Boris Berman, Vladimir Feltsman, Peter Frankl, John O’Conor, Eugine Istomin, Robert Levin and Ann Shein among others. Her performances have been broadcasted at “Sundays at Four” in Los Angeles, NPR “From the Top” and Interlochen Public Radio in Michigan.
Currently, Miss Reznik is a scholarship student of John Perry at the University of Southern California where she is pursuing her Masters Degree.

Concert will take place Sunday, February 12, at 5:00 pm.
Tickets $13 and $15. Kids free (one free child ticket with one fully paid adult)

Ring this New Year in a 'Classical Style'!

2005-12-19T09:36:00.000-08:00

In our January 2006 recital we are proud to present to you performance of two Word-class musicians, masters of chamber music:
Movses Pogossian (violin) --- Prize winner at the Tchaikovsky International Violin competition (1985), and youngest-ever First Prize winner of the USSR National Violin Competition. See http://home.earthlink.net/~mpogossian/,
http://dilijan.larkmusicalsociety.com/
and
Leonid Levitsky (piano) --- Well-known and beloved concert pianist, chamber musician, teacher and a founder of the Pacific Virtuosi series.

Concert will take place Sunday, January 8th, at 5:00 pm.
Tickets are $15 and $17.

We'd like to hear from you!

2005-11-08T12:20:00.000-08:00

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Please note: dates and performances are subject to change... Please watch for the updates and new postings!

PRE-HOLIDAY SPECIAL!

2005-11-08T09:10:00.000-08:00

Sunday, November 13, 5:00 pm.

Back by popular demand: Baritone Leonid Smetannikov...
Leonid holds an honorable title of Peoples Artist of Russia, and is back with a new program, dedicated to the songs of the World War II, which were heart-felt and inseparable from a soldier's soul, a truly lirical reflection of feelings of being homesick, missing their loved ones, and patriotism. Smetannikov's strong yet soft tembre of baritone is a perfect match to the songs' beautiful inspired melodies.

Program includes World War II songs, as well as romances by Tchaikovsky, Kui, Rachmaninoff, and Russian folk songs and romances. Piano accompaniment - Lina Baranova.
Russian-style refreshments served at intermission.

2005-2006 SEASON OPENING

2005-10-11T19:41:00.000-07:00

SUNDAY, October 16 2005, 5:00 PM

2005-2006 SEASON OPENING
Pianist, composer and educator Robert Estrin presents program called 'The Living Piano: Journey Through Time'.
Estrin performs concerts and presentations on the piano, harpsichord, fortepiano and contemporary keyboards. He is also featured as a French horn soloist. He performs and composes a variety of musical styles from traditional performances to concerts and recordings utilizing state-of-the-art technologies. His original compositions have been performed in New York and Europe, and he has done extensive recording.
The Living Piano: Journey Through Time highlights the development of the piano from the harpsichord, fortepiano, Viennese piano, the modern concert grand piano and beyond to computer based keyboard performances. Estrin presents the history and culture through the ages bringing the music to life with improvised and written music of the different period styles.

In the program: Bach, Beethoven, Chopin, Mendellsohn, Liszt.

2004-2005 SEASON:

2004-09-14T18:25:00.000-07:00

Saturday, July 2nd, 2005, 7:30pm.

Season closing.
Dynamite duo of violinist Michael Voronel and pianist Victoria Rubinchik perform at a private residence in Irvine.
In the program: Beethoven, Krysler, Sarasate, Tchaikovsky and much more...
Tickets are $20 and include concert, wine reception and refreshments...

Space is limited, please call or write ahead for more information and reservations.

Sunday, June 5, 2005, 5:00pm.
EVENT CANCELLED
(due to the auditorium scheduling conflict)
Look for this event in the next season!
___________________________________________
Enjoy a Taste of France!
Family duo of flutist Florence Estrin and pianist Robert Estrin are performing
the program which features French music through the ages.
Florence Estrin has a wide ranging career as a flutist. She has performed in many of the great concert halls including Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center. Her performance of the Ibert Flute concerto marked her New York solo debut at the age of 19. Ms. Estrin has also performed extensively with orchestra including the Indianapolis Symphony and the San Francisco Ballet Orchestra.

Robert Estrin, musician, composer and teacher, plays the piano, keyboards and French horn. He performs and composes a variety of musical styles from traditional performances to concerts and recordings utilizing state-of-the-art technologies. His original compositions have been performed in New York and Europe, and he has numerous album credits. He composes music for film and television and maintains an active performing and teaching career.

Sunday, May 1, 2005, 4:00pm.
YOUNG TALENTS ON STAGE - 2005: Come to one of the most exciting events of the season! Locally-grown young talents at their best will delight and surprise the audience with their performances. Last two YTS recitals were a huge hit! Bring your kids, family and friends to this fun and inspiring event.
Award Ceremony and refreshments reception at the end of the concert.
Tickets for this event only: $10.00

Sunday, March 27, 2005, 5:00pm.
AN EVENING OF CHAMBER MUSIC
Talanted musical duet of Lorenz Gamma (violin) and Ming Tsu (piano) gave a wonderful, truly well-connected performance recital. In the program were: Beethoven, Kreisler, Ravel, Kurt Weill.
Lorenz GAMMA – violin: Former Principal of the Orchestra of the Zurich Opera (Switzerland), Lorenz Gamma dedicates himself to coaching chamber ensembles and performs as a regular with Grammy Award winning Southwest Chamber Music and the Los Angeles Philharmonic. He is internationally active as soloist, chamber musician and recitalist. As former co-leader of the Amar Quartet of Switzerland he has performed in many of Europe’s most important concert venues, including the Tonhalle in Zurich, the Victoria Hall in Geneva, the “Residence” in Munich and the Cologne Philharmonic, where he participated in the Isaac Stern’s Encounters. Prior to his activity with the quartet, he served as Principal of the Zurich Opera Orchestra.
Born in Switzerland, Lorenz Gamma received his initial training as violinist there. His further studies took place in the United States, at Indiana University with Franco Gulli, University of Washington with Steven Staryk and UCLA with Mark Kaplan, for whom he is currently serving as assistant.
Pianist Ming Tsu has concertized as a soloist and chamber musician in Germany, Switzerland, Canada, theUnited States, and her performances were broadcasted on Germany National Radio and KING FM in Seattle. Ms. Tsu is a founding member of the Young Internationals Chamber Music Society (Seattle) and performs regularly with the Southwest Chamber Music at the Colburn School, Norton Simon Museum, and in the group’s Summer Music Festival at the Huntington Gardens in Pasadena. Ming Tsu studied with Patricia Zander at the New England Conservatory of Music, Edward Auer at Indiana University, and Bela Siki and Craig Sheppard at the University of Washington.

Sunday, February 27, 2005, 5:00pm.
SONGS FROM THE PAST. Evening of Vocal Music: Baritone Boris Zhaivoronok with the program which includes popular Russian, Ukrainian, Italian, Spanish, Gypsy and American popular love songs, folk songs, and romances. Russian-style refreshments were served at intermission.

Sunday, January 30, 2005, 5:00 pm.
Pianists Valentina Gottlieb and Chizuko Asada from Irvine, CA are both highly regarded performers, teachers and faculty members of the Music Department at CSULB. Piano duet will perform a lively program of dance music and other vivacious music selections, such as Invitation to the Dance by C.M. von Weber, Hungarian dances by Brahms, Carnival of the Animals by Saint-Saëns, as well as Spanish Dances by Moszkowsky, pieces and arrangements by Rossini, Beethoven and more.
Dr. Valentina Gottlieb is an honor graduate of the State Conservatory of Music in Riga, Latvia, with a M.A. degree from that Conservatory and a Doctorate from the St. Petersburg Conservatory of Music. She was one of the leading professors in the Piano Faculty at the Latvian Academy of Music. Her graduates have successfully participated in prestigious National and International competitions.
Chizuko Asada holds her Master of Music degree from California State University at Long Beach, is a winner of the Fine Arts Affiliates Scholarship, the University Concerto Competitions and membership in Pi Kappa Lambda. In 2000, she was listed in Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers as one of the best Teachers in America.

November 22, 2004 - Event cancelled (due to the musician unavailability)...

October 24, 2004, 5:00 pm.
Back by popular demand: Baritone Leonid Smetannikov.
Leonid holds an honorable title of Peoples Artist of Russia, and is back with us with a new program, which includes songs, romances and arias by Glinka, Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff, Sviridov and Kabalevsky, as well as old Russian songs and romances. Piano accompaniment - Lina Baranova.
Refreshments served at intermission.

Sunday, September 26, 2004, 5:00pm.
Tickets $12.00 (Season opening special). Refreshments served.
Pianist Temirzhan Yerzhanov - Gold Medal winner at the XI International Schumann Piano Competition. In the program: D. Scarlatti, Schumann, Chopin, Prokofiev.
Concert Notes:Concert was a huge success! Temirzhan had performed Prokofiev with such precision, tenderness and depth, as if composer himself was at the piano... Unbelievable combination of power and sensitivity... It was a real pleasure to have this talented musician perform for us.

September 11, 2003 Story in Irvine World News...

2003-09-11T16:47:00.000-07:00

Classical Music Encounters opens fourth season Sept. 13 with all-Russian program
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By Michael Rydzynski
For Irvine World News
Link to story

Anatoly Berkovich
Wanted: One modest, medium-sized recital hall, seating 150-200, for user-friendly concert programs. Preferably in Irvine.

That’s what Classical Music Encounters of Orange County would like to place in the want ads — if there were a category for classical-music organizations searching for venues.

“ We need a bigger venue, as we’ve outgrown our present one,” said Inessa Khurgel, founder and artistic director of the Irvine-based recital organization, which has presented its programs almost exclusively at OrchePia, a music school in Woodbridge, where the organization had standing room only houses at its last four recitals.

“ Hopefully, we’ll find one. We’re always looking.”

In the meantime, it is poised to begin its fourth season of monthly recitals at OrchePia on Saturday, Sept. 13, with an all-Russian program of Tchaikovsky, Rubinstein, Musorgsky, Rachmaninov and Rimsky-Korsakov, featuring pianist Diana Volman and baritone Anatoly Berkovich.

“ Diana played for us last fall, but with another singer,” Khurgel said of the Moscow Conservatory graduate who busies herself with solo, accompanying and chamber music work in Southern California.

“ She called me not too long ago and suggested we feature this tenor, Anatoly. So I talked to other people in the Los Angeles area who heard him perform and they all highly recommended him.”

Berkovich, who has collaborated with Volman the last 3 1/2 years, was awarded the Honored Artist, Russia’s highest artistic honor, in 1995 and was also honored for his Tchaikovsky repertoire.

“ As for the program, next month will be the 110th anniversary of Tchaikovsky’s death, so the second half is devoted to his music,” said Khurgel, herself a Minsk Conservatory graduate and professional pianist who sometimes serves as accompanist on the series.

“ And since Anatoly does a lot of Tchaikovsky, it’s very appropriate.”

The first half of the recital will be filled with music by other Russian composers.

“ If we only did Tchaikovsky for the whole concert, it might be too much of the same for some of our audience,” Khurgel explained. “But even though we have other composers, to add more variety to the program, we’re still staying with the theme of music by Russian composers.”

Themed programs is something Khurgel strives for whenever possible.

“ It makes the concert user-friendly,” she said. “There’s a sense to the way the pieces are selected and put on the program. Otherwise, it’s just one piece played after another.”

Khurgel said that she works closely with the featured artists, finding out what they wish to perform and then “arranging such a program in an artistic manner.”

She often provides commentary during the recitals. The all-Russian program won’t be an exception, as she plans to discuss a little about the life and times of Tchaikovsky.

Besides needing a larger venue, Khurgel said that her organization is in search of corporate and civic sponsorship, which could range from free rental for a venue to underwriting an entire recital.

Khurgel founded Classical Music Encounters in 2000 “for musicians to have an extra opportunity to perform, even if they’re not well known,” she said.

“ This series is for the community and for musicians to come together,” she said. “We exist for that purpose and reach people through mailing lists, advertisements and word of mouth.”

Other recitals are set for October, November, January and February as well as one being scheduled for sometime in the spring. In addition, there will be the annual youth showcase, the “Young Talent on Stage Festival,” in April, featuring pre-college-age musicians.