FROM THE MANAGING DIRECTOR...
Dear Friends,
I hope that this finds you all well and having had a restful and productive summer. I'm very excited to embark on the Fall performance season, which seems to be starting earlier and earlier every year!
Our public events for this month are listed below: I wish to especially draw your attention to September 12th's concert by the wonderful young pianist Alexei Tartakovsky, who is already making a tremendous name for himself. He will shortly be traveling to Warsaw, Poland to compete in the 17th International Chopin Piano Competition, and is performing an all-Chopin program for us here at The Space. Don't miss this fantastic evening!
I am also very proud to announce that, from October 26-31, we will be presenting the renown pianist and pedagogue Eteri Andjaparidze in a series of masterclasses. This is a tremendous opportunity to work with one of the great teachers of our day--she is an artist-faculty member at both Mannes and NYU Steinhardt--and is open to pianists of all ages: I hope that you will consider playing for this tremendous musical mind, or might suggest this to any of your students. Each masterclass is limited to three participants and each will be devoted to a single musical period: Baroque, Classical, Romantic, 20th and 21st centuries, and concerti or duo-piano repertoire; the series will culminate in a final concert with performances by the best student from each day. If you would like more information on registering for this exciting project, or auditing one or all of the classes, please do let me know by emailing
info@theconcertspace.com. It is my hope and intent that this series of masterclasses will be the first of several, featuring master teachers from around the world. If you are interested in receiving information about these classes as they are scheduled, please do let me know via email to the aforementioned address.
I look forward to seeing many of you either here at The Space or at performances around the City at some point this Fall.
With warm regards,
Nicholas Russotto
|
|
September Calendar of Events
|
September 10, 2015 at 8:00pm
Christian Artmann
,
flute
Gregg Kallor, piano
Johannes Weidenmüller, bass
Jeff Hirschfield, percussion
Program
Including jazz and blues standards, original compositions, and selections from Mr. Artmann's new CD, "The Fields of Pannonia", recently released on Sunnyside Records.
Christian Artmann, a New York-based flute player and composer, is passionate about bridging musical boundaries and showcasing the flute in jazz. His musical associations include jazz pianists/composers Laszlo Gardony, Gregg Kallor, Rubens Salles and Philippine Duchateau, bassist Johannes Weidenmueller, drummer Jeff Hirshfield, mezzo soprano Elena McEntire, percussionist Luiz Claudio, the Princeton University Orchestra and the Aspen Festival Orchestra. He has performed at the Konzerthaus in Vienna, the Django Reinhardt Jazz Festival near Paris, the Smetana Hall in Prague as well as clubs in New York, Boston and Vienna.
Raised on a heavy dose of Bach in Germany and Austria, Christian had his first solo recital at age nine and, as a teenager, was invited to the Aspen Music Festival. At Aspen, he performed under world-renowned conductor Claudio Scimone and gave solo recitals of Debussy, Hindemith, and Bartók. Increasingly fascinated with composition and improvisation, he realized that jazz was his true calling and committed to developing his own musical voice. Following studies at Berklee College of Music, Christian recorded his first album, Living Room, an intimate encounter of jazz duos with Vienna jazz pianist Philippine Duchateau. After moving to New York, Christian released his first record as a leader, Uneasy Dreams, to critical acclaim in 2011.
His latest recording, Fields of Pannonia (Sunnyside Records, 2015), explores influences from Bach over 20th century classical music to Wayne Shorter. Featuring long-time collaborators Gregg Kallor on piano, Johannes Weidenmueller on bass and Jeff Hirshfield on drums, Fields of Pannonia is firmly rooted in the jazz tradition but has a decidedly European, or even global, "accent".
Christian studied at Harvard Law School and Berklee College of Music. He is a Miyazawa Artist and a member of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP). Christian plays Miyazawa and Kotato flutes and uses Applied Microphone Technology microphones. His website is
http://www.artmannjazz.com
Tickets are available at the door.
|
September 12, 2015 at 6:00pm
Alexei Tartakovsky
, piano
all-Chopin Program
Ballade No. 1 in G minor, Op. 23
Four Mazurkas, Op. 30
Scherzo No. 1 in B minor, Op. 20
Nocturne in E major, Op. 62, No. 2
Ballade No. 4 in F minor, Op. 52
Polonaise-Fantasie, Op. 61
Sonata No. 2 in B-flat minor, Op. 35
Polonaise in A-flat major, Op. 53
Called "a thoughtful and serious musician" by the New York Concert Review,
Alexei Tartakovsky
is one of the most promising young talents of his generation. He first brought attention to his artistry by winning top prizes at the New York Piano Competition, the Rolf and Brigitte Gardey International Piano Competition in Daytona Beach, Florida, and the American Fine Arts Festival (AFAF) in a one year span during 2006-2007. Also in 2007, Alexei performed with the Jacksonville Symphony at the Peabody Auditorium in Daytona Beach. As the 1st prize winner of AFAF, Alexei performed at the Weill Recital hall at Carnegie Hall. Since then he has given numerous solo, concerto, and chamber music recitals in the United States, Russia, Canada, Holland, China, Japan, and England. In 2008 and 2009, Alexei won 3rd prize at the James Mottram International Piano Competition in Manchester, England (2008) and 1st prize at the Heida Hermanns International Competition in Westport, Connecticut, where he was highly praised by the jury in the media. The Westport Patch wrote: "Tartakovsky won the Heida Hermanns Competition with unanimous decision by the judges, who called him a 'phenomenal pianist' and a 'first-rate player'". Juror Gayle Martin Henry said: "Tartakovsky is a monum
ental talent. He has such a clear vision and ability to listen to himself. He is very special".
In 2011, Alexei won both the New York Concert Artists International Concerto Competition and the Queens College Concerto Competition, resulting in performances in New York City and with the North Czech Philharmonic in Smetana Hall, Prague. His performances have been broadcast on the McGraw Hill Young Artists Showcase on WQXR, the New York City classical music station.
In 2012, Alexei won the International Russian Music Piano Competition in San Jose, California. He also won the Audience Prize and the prize for the best performance of a Russian work. In May 2013, Alexei performed and taught master classes in a tour of four Chinese cities. In August of 2013 and 2014, he also performed throughout Holland as part of the Holland Music Sessions festival. In November of 2015, he will be performing throughout Holland again, including at the Theater Odeon in Zwolle and at the Amsterdam Concertgebouw.
Alexei was born in Moscow, Russia in 1989 and moved to the USA at 3 years old with his parents. He started his professional training with Eleanor Sokoloff and Marcantonio Barone in Philadelphia. He continued his studies with Matti Raekallio at the Juilliard School. Alexei received his Bachelor of Music degree from Queens College, where he studied with Nina Lelchuk, and his Master of Music degree from the Peabody Conservatory, where he was a full scholarship student of Boris Slutsky. He holds an Artist Diploma from the Yale School of Music, where he studied with Boris Berman.
Tickets are $20 and are available at the door.
|
September 20, 2015 at 7:30pm
Thomas Mesa
, 'cello
Yoon Lee
, piano
Program to include
BACH 'Cello Suite No. 2 in D minor, BWV 1008
DEBUSSY 'Cello Sonata
BRAHMS 'Cello Sonata No. 2 in F major, Op. 99
works of
Penderecki and Sollima
Thomas Mesa is a soloist, chamber musician, and teacher in New York City. He is 'cellist in St. Petersburg Piano Quartet, and with them has played sold out concerts at Barge Music, Doheny and Kohl
 Mansions. He has toured with Itzhak Perlman both nationally and internationally and has
collaborated with artists such as Roger Tapping, Andres Diaz, Barry Shiffman, Miguel da Silva, and Paul Katz. Additional collaborations have been as soloist with The Crossing Choir (Margaret Hillis Award winner in 2015) in venues around NYC and Philadelphia. Most notably at the Metropolitan Museum of Art for the U.S. Premiere of "Astralis" by Wolfgang Rihm for Choir and Solo Cello. He has performed either in ensemble or as soloist in venues such as Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall, WMP Music Hall, Arsht Center in Miami, Sandler Center in Virginia, Jordan Hall, and on PBS's From the Top. Thomas' orchestral experience includes being principal cellist for Northwestern Symphony Orchestra and the Juilliard Orchestra. He has performed under the batons of James Levine, Tan Dun, David Afkham, Alan Gilbert, James Conlon, Nicholas McGegan, Ludovic Morlot, Franz Welser-Most, Joel Sachs, Benjamin Zander, Victor Yampolsky, Donald Nally, and Timothy J. Robblee. Thomas won first place in the Thaviu Competition for String Performance in Chicago, first place in Alhambra Orchestra Concerto Competition, and was the recipient of the Ray Millette Young Artist's Award, Certificate of Merit in Music from the City of Miami, and received an Outstanding Musicianship award from New World Symphony. He has attended Summer festivals and institutes which include the Perlman Chamber Workshop (with additional residencies in Stowe, Vermont), Heifetz International Music Institute, Banff Masterclasses, Kronberg Academy, Royal Danish Academy Masterclasses, and Kneisel Hall. A passionate teacher, Thomas is currently on faculty at Brooklyn Conservatory of Music, St. Petersburg International Music Academy, was the teaching assistant to Hans Jensen at Meadowmount School of music for two years, and has a private teaching studio in New York City where he currently resides. Thomas began his musical studies on cello at the age of eleven and is a graduate of The Juilliard School (B.M. 2012); and Northwestern University (M.M. 2014) where he was the recipient of the Richard and Helen Thomas Fellowship and Graduate Program Honors for extraordinary contributions to the String Department. In 2015, he will begin his Doctoral studies at Manhattan School of Music under the tutelage of Julia Lichten. His principal teachers have been Hans Jorgen Jensen, Timothy Eddy, Mark Churchill, Ross Harbaugh, and Wells Cunningham. Thomas currently plays on a cello made by Richard Tobin, 1826.
Yoon Lee is a solo pianist, chamber musician, and teacher, active in the New York metropolitan area. A pianist
characterized by her grounded interpretations and solid sound, Yoon has been on the stages of the Carnegie Hall, the Lincoln Center Chamber Music Society, Château de Fontainebleau in France, and the Schumann-Haus Museum in Leipzig, in addition to many other stages of New York, Europe, and Seoul. Her live performances have been featured on WQXR, the American classical radio station that serves the New York metropolitan area, and KBS, the national television station of South Korea. Yoon won the special prize at the Anton G. Rubinstein International Piano Competition in 2012 for her mature interpretation and lyrical performance of Rubinstein's Soirées à Saint-Petersburg, Opus 44, and subsequently performed with the Carl Maria von Weber Orchestra of Dresden, Germany. She has also appeared as a soloist at the Camerata Forum Internacional in Torrelodones, Spain. As an avid chamber musician, Yoon has performed as a guest artist in the Eat, Drink, and Be Literary Series at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in NYC, Kneisel Hall Chamber Music Festival in Maine, and Château de Fontainebleau in France. She has performed frequently with the Lorelei Piano Trio, an ensemble she founded in 2005. The trio presented numerous outreach concerts in smaller performance venues and local churches, committed to find ways to bring classical music to new and underserved audiences. Yoon has established her reputation as an educator. She is currently a piano faculty of the Bergen Academy of Music. She has been a chamber music faculty at Kneisel Hall Adult Chamber Music Institute and a substitute chamber music faculty at the Manhattan School of Music Precollege division. Her interests in other forms of art have led her to be involved with NARU Korean Contemporary Arts, where she serves both as a music director and a principal dancer. Yoon is a Doctor of Musical Arts candidate at the Manhattan School of Music, where she earned her Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees under the tutelage of Solomon Mikowsky.
Tickets are $20 and are available at the door. Light refreshments are provided.
|
September 26, 2015 at 7:00pm
Takeshi Asai
, piano
Program
A Trilogy of Solo Jazz Piano: Part I
In this first of a series of three concerts, Mr. Asai explores the rich heritage of jazz piano, from blues and jazz standards to original tunes.
"The emerging jazz pianist in New York City (2013)" Takeshi Asai has actively been performing in Europe, Asia and the the United States for the last ten years. Authentic yet eclectic, his piano style has been acclaimed for the highest artistry and the catchiness, which you can find in any pieces he plays, whether it's his original or a standard. In fact, his latest CD "
Takeshi Asai French Trio Vol. 1" which was recorded in France in 2013, was praised for the sophistication and the eclecticism, "A fresh perspective,... jazz, classical and pop that is combined in a way that is fresh and extremely musical."
Takeshi's previous CD, "
Takeshi Asai New York Trio Vol. 1
" which was recorded in New York with New York's cutting-edge jazz musicians has been reviewed as "The biggest surprise since the beginning of the year in the jazz trio category" by Robert Ratajczak, RadioJAZZ.fm. As it shows, Takeshi's music contains both authenticity to the style of jazz in New York and the most creative styles of music coming from his cultural background, solid piano technique and the highly sophisticated composer's mind. As a scholarship student, Takeshi has studied jazz piano performance, classical piano technique and composition at Berklee College of Music in Boston, with the notable professors such as Ed Bedner, Ed Tomassi, Joanne Brackeen and Laszlo Gardony.
As a jazz pianist, he was the pianist/composer for the award-winning jazz ensemble, WaFoo in his early career in New York. Recently, he has been working on the international concert series called "
A Tale of Three Cities - Le Conte de Trois Cités
" with French pianist Catherine Schneider, and "
Barbotte Asai Duo
" with Masaé Gimbayashi-Barbotte. The duo will tour in Paris, New York, Tokyo and Kobe in 2014/2015 season. In his adapted hometown, New York, he has been working on his "phenomenal" jazz group "
Takeshi Asai New York Trio
" and have performed in prestigious jazz clubs such as The Kitano New York, Somethin' Jazz Club, Cleopatra's Needle, Caffe Vivaldi, Kavehaz, Drom, The Knitting Factory, Tomi Jazz, Garage, Silvana, Cafe Winberie, Glen Rock Inn, and Lenox Lounge. In Europe, Takeshi plays with his newest jazz project "
Takeshi Asai French Trio
" in music festivals and clubs in France for the past three years. The new CD of the trio "
Takeshi Asai French Trio Vol. 1
" received the highest review not only in Europe but also in New York. The trio continues to perform in Europe.
As a composer, he was the arranger and producer for a new theater project called "Hunger - A Love Story." In 2012, he was commissioned by an internationally acclaimed piano duo, the Long Sisters and wrote a two-piano composition "Shunlai (or Spring Thunder)" to add a jazzy side to duo's well-established repertoire. The composition was premiered in Boston's Jordan Hall, and became a sensation. Writing pure classical music, Broadway theaters, film music, and producing singer/song-writers in New York, his schedule is always filled with a variety of music projects.
In 2012, under the concept "Genre is not a boundary," he has established a new record label, "de trois cités records" to work with the ilk of the same creative minds to spread his musical vision. In the following year, he created a production company and named "
DTC Music Productions
." Some of his film compositions have been distributed by an Italian, Rome-based company "
Have a Sync
" since 2013.
As a modern composer living in the digital age, he has had a keen voice in electric/digital music too, and launched a project called "le projet électrique" in 2012. He has also collaborated with artists and photographers in France and New York, making him one of the busiest music professionals in New York, Paris and Tokyo.
He currently lives in New York with his wife.
Tickets for this concert are $20 in advance (purchase by clicking
here) or
$25
at the door; tickets for the trilogy of concerts are $55, and includes a free gift.
|
September 27, 2015 at 3:00pm
Scot Albertson
, vocals
Stephen Fuller
, vocals
Dan Furman
, piano
Program to include
Jazz and blues standards, original compositions, selections from the American Songbook, and Tin Pan Alley hits.
Multi-genre vocalist
Scot Albertson has just celebrated his 10th year of performing in and around New York City, garnering high praise from critics and audiences alike wherever he plays, including multiple engagements at such notable venues as The Kitano, Symphony Space, Tomi Jazz (both solo and with his trio), The DiMenna Center, Klavierhaus, Baruch Performing Arts Center, and many others. Scot recently released his 6th CD, "Urge to Croon", which features, among others, Vince Cherico on percussion, George Small and Matt Baker on piano, and Ron Jackson on guitar. Scot has collaborated with such notable musicians as Daryl Kojak, Joe Utterback, Keith Ingham, Jerry Scott, and Sean Conly. In addition to a busy performing career, Scot is Artistic Director of Project 142, an organization which assists musicians in the New York Metropolitan area in finding performance opportunities and venues. This informal cabaret-style "jam session" at The Concert Space allows opportunities for members of the audience and other musicians to sit in--each program is different, but are always enjoyable.
Stephen Fuller's deep, rich voice and soulful renditions have long made him a favorite with sophisticated audiences around the world; performing in Israel, Jamaica, Costa Rica and The US Virgin Islands.
In addition to his overseas engagements, Fuller has also performed in renowned New York City and New Jersey venues such as: the Metropolitan Room, Zeb's, Trumpets Jazz Club, The Priory Jazz Club, Hibiscus Restaurant, Cobi Narita's New York Center for Jazz and many others. Recently he opened for Dr. Freddy Cole, brother of Nat King Cole, and has opened for both Stevie Wonder and Bill Withers.
As a lead vocalist, he has worked with a number of jazz bands and singing groups including: The Frank Owens Trio, Carrie Jackson's Jazz Vocal Collective, The Colgate Thirteen, The Ted Klum Jazz Trio, Greg Bufford Trio and many others. Most recently, he formed The Stephen Fuller Band, a performance group which includes some of the most talented jazz musicians in the New York area.
Dan Furman began playing piano and writing music at the age of 6 in Old Hickory, Tennessee (just outside of Nashville). He went on to study composition and jazz piano at Oberlin Conservatory in Ohio. Following school, he traveled to South America for a year, where he studied Latin music and played with "musica criolla" bands in Lima, Perú.
Back in the US, he spent a number of years as an political activist and organizer, working in industries ranging from meat-packing to railcar manufacturing. After moving to New York in 2003 to play jazz, Dan began writing for music theater as well. Dan spent 4 years in the BMI Lehman Engels Musical Theater Workshop and his musical,
Rip!
(now
Impossible But True
) was featured in the 2011 Midtown International Theatre Festival. Dan also wrote the theme song for the Big Apple Circus 2010-11 show, "Dance On!"
The Dan Furman Trio can often be seen at Cleopatra's Needle in Manhattan, and the first CD of his original jazz group, the Primordial Jazz Funktet, is available on iTunes and CDBaby.
Dan is currently a regular pianist at the show Sleep No More in Manhattan and is at work writing two new shows,
The Proust Virus
and
Ybor City
(in collaboration with Anita Gonzalez).
A free-will donation is accepted. Light refreshments are provided.
|
|
|
|
|
