Thursday 28 March 2024

Malta International Music Festival adds two concerts

Pictured above: Pianist Polina Osetinskaya, clarinetist Julian Milkis and cellist Boris Andrianov

Music lovers have a chance to hear three international acclaimed musicians in two distinct concerts: “Contemporary Master Pieces. Piazzolla and more…” on Monday 1st June 2015 at Temi Zammit Hall, Mediterranean Conference Centre, Valletta and “From Baroque to Jazz” on Wednesday 3rd June at St Paul’s Anglican Cathedral, Valletta. Both performances start at 19:30 and entrance for the concerts is free of charge.
The programme on 1st June will feature Julian Milkis on clarinet, Boris Andrianov on cello, and Polina Osetinskaya on piano. They will play Soledad and the Four Seasons of Buenos Aires – four tango compositions by Astor Piazzolla, Nino Rota’s Trio for clarinet, cello and piano, and Ilya Dimov’s Tango Forever. In addition Julian, Boris and Polina will perform four compositions of Alexey Shor, who will be present at the concerts. Alexey Shor serves as the Composer-in-Residence for the renowned Salomé Chamber Orchestra and for the Salomé Music Festival at the Hamptons.
Julian Milkis and Polina Osetinskaya will present a different programme at St Paul’s Anglican Church in Valletta on 3rd June. “Baroque to Jazz” will feature works by J. A. Hasse, A. Templeton, J.S. Bach, G. Kancheli, D. Hyman, I. Dimov, K. Weill in addition to more compositions by Alexey Shor.
Organised by European Foundation for Support of Culture, these two special concerts are sponsored by Alexey Kononenko. They are being held as a sideline of the Malta International Music Festival and Competitions 2015. This year’s Festival attracted over 150 participants from 45 different countries including Malta that took part in the Master-classes, Concerts and International Music Competitions for piano, strings and wind instruments.
Seat reservations for the concert on the 1st June can be made by e-mail: info@eufsc.eu or call on telephone: +356 777 27 222.

About Alexey Shor
Alexey Shor’s works have been performed in diverse concert halls and theatres around the world by, among others, the Orchestre National des Pays de la Loire, the Hamburg Opera Orchestra, the George Enescu Philharmonic Orchestra, the Slovak Sinfonietta and the “Soloists of Russia.” His compositions have been featured in Schloss Elmau’s music series in the Bavarian Alps of Germany, the Verbier Festival in Switzerland, the Aldeburgh Festival in the United Kingdom, at Carnegie Hall and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
Mr. Shor serves as the Composer-in-Residence for the renowned Salomé Chamber Orchestra and for the Salomé Music Festival at the Hamptons. Mr. Shor studied composition with Oran Eldor. He also holds a Ph.D. in mathematics.

About Julian Milkis
A rarity amongst clarinetists, Julian 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 featured on prominent stages such 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.
He is a leading voice for his instrument in the field of jazz. One of Julian’s recent collaborations was with Benny Goodman’s old band-mate, Dick Hyman, who wrote and dedicated his Ragtime Concerto to Julian. The world premiere of this work took place in Helsinki, Finland in 2012. A Canadian citizen, and graduate of The Juilliard School and the Manhattan School of Music, he performs exclusively on Yamaha clarinets, and plays on RICO reeds.

About Boris Andrianov
One of the most gifted Russian musicians of his generation. He is the Artistic Director of the new State Project “Star Generation” – covering concerts by young talented musicians across Russia.
Andrianov’s talent was immediately recognised by acclaimed musicians, such as Mstislav Rostropovich and Daniil Shafran who said: “Boris Andrianov is probably one of the most talented cellists of Russia at present.” In 1997 Boris was the first Russian cellist to become a laureate at the VIth International Rostropovich competition in Paris.
In September 2007 Boris Andrianov’ new CD recorded with pianist Rem Urasin (Rachmaninov and Schostakovitch cello sonatas) became the Gramophone Editor’s Choice CD of the month. In 2003 DELOS Record Label released CD with music for cello and guitar (with one of the best Russian guitarists Dimitri Illarionov).
Boris participated in many international festivals and performed with top conductors such as V.Gergiev, V.Fedoseev, M.Gorenstein, P.Kogan, A.Vedernikov, D.Geringas, and R.Kofman. He regularly plays in major concert halls in Russia, Germany, Holland, Japan, Austria, Switzerland, USA, Slovakia, Slovenia, Italy, France, South Africa, China, Korea, India amongst others.
About Polina Osetinskaya
At the age of 13 Polina Osetinskaya joined the school of the Leningrad Conservatoire under the acclaimed teacher Marina Wolf. Polina Osetinskaya’s onstage partners have included conductors Saulius Sondeckis, Vassily Sinaisky, Andrei Boreiko, Gerd Albrecht, Yan Pascal Tortelier and Thomas Sanderling. She performed at the Wallonie Festival in Brussels, the Mainly Mozart festival, the Frédéric Chopin Festival in Miami, the Stars of the White Nights festival and the December Evenings festival among numerous others.
Polina often performs works by post-avant-garde composers such as Valentin Silvestrov, Leonid Desyatnikov, Vladimir Martynov, Georgs Pelēcis and Pavel Karmanov. She collaborates with many recording companies including Naxos, Sony Music and Bel Air.

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