Classical Underground

Classical Underground February 9, 2012

2012-02-13T01:49:00.000-08:00

Classical Underground December 19, 2011

2012-02-13T01:40:00.000-08:00

Click on the photo to view more pictures from our December event!

Our February CU is on Thursday - Feb 9 - sold out!

2012-01-31T23:54:00.000-08:00

February Night
next Thursday (as rare exception), the 9th @ 8 p.m.

Russian Encore!

Our February Classical Underground will be on THURSDAY, (this time) Feb. 9... why should Mondays have all the fun?!! And once again we have a nearly all Russian-performer program, with some wonderful new guests from out of country, favorite old friends of CU as well as the premiere of a brand new work.

We are very happy to have Alexander Kobrin, first prize winner of the Van Cliburn and Busoni piano competitions as well as a prize winner of the Chopin Competition in Warsaw, making his first appearance at Classical Underground. Alexander will perform Beethoven's 32 Variations in C, and will be joined by the outstanding cellist and CU fave Boris Andrianov for the Beethoven Cello Sonata #4 and the Benjamin Britten Cello Sonata.

Alexander Kobrin Boris Andrianov

Making their first appearance at CU, the young Russian cello virtuoso Evgeny Tonkha and pianist and composer Anna Drubich will premier Anna's "Intro Version" as well as perform works by Stravinsky and the most esteemed living Russian composer, Rodion Shchedrin.

Evgeny Tonkha Anna Drubich

And for the tasty palate cleanser between cello courses, the Croatian bass-baritone Boris Martinovich will sign some Rossini accompanied by CU regular Kanae Matsumoto on piano.

Boris Martinovich Kanae Matsumoto

As always - bring your spirits, food and drink for you and your friends to enjoy.

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We are most grateful to our supportive friends at

Steinway Piano Gallery West Hollywood

for graciously providing us with their incomparable instrument.

To RSVP use this link to paypal. We are sold out!

Classical Underground is thrilled to Showcase

a spectacular exhibition

"The Epic & the Exotic: 19th Century Academic Realism from the Dahesh Museum of Art"

now at the Frederick R. Weisman Museum of Art

at Pepperdine University
as well as its direct connection to ART of our Day.

William Adolphe Bouguereau (1885)

Young Girl Going to the Spring 63 1/8 x 28 7/8 in

I heard gloating is not good, but time and again we are being reminded that nowhere else in the nation is the "off the beaten track" alternative contemporary ART process as vibrant as it is in LA. Case in point - the rare and important visionary exhibition of one of the nation's most unique collections of 19th century academic ART at a museum whose prime expertise is contemporary ART.

Yes, there are some wonderful exhibitions of superb ART around the nation, yet this show is special and thoroughly unique in its rare intimacy, getting to the very heart of a vibrant artistic conversation that we are witnessing currently around the nation and in LA and which burns with brilliant intensity completely under the radar of the "official" art establishment.

As the show generated tremendous buzz and excitement among many artists in Southern California, the museum director Michael Zakian invited a group of somewhat notorious LA figurative painters to discuss the relevance of 19th century academic ART in a special article for the fabulous Fine Art Connoisseur Magazine. What do you know, most of them including myself turned out to be die-hard Classical Underground painters, so it appeared only natural to have this subversive bunch, selected for the article, to highlight the show with their -- or rather our -- current work.

Adrian Gottlieb

The Airforce Subject oil on linen

Jeremy Lipking

Ma Lo oil on linen 20 x 16in

Tony Pro

"il comico divino" oil on linen 40 X 30 in

Kate Sammons

Venus de Milo charcoal on paper 25 x 36 in

and me

Alexey Steele

Madonna Of The Storm oil 80 x 36in

Through works of good friends Adrian Gottlieb, Jeremy Lipking, Tony Pro and Kate Sammons it is quite exciting to see how our group represents the wide artistic force and creative talent of our day, each in their own unique way building upon rigorous and powerful visual and philosophical principles developed by the academic tradition, way beyond any specific "look" and based on wide-ranging aesthetic preferences, helping build the vibrant and truly diverse contemporary ART not of decades past, but of our day.

In ART we trust!

About the performers at the Feb 9 program

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Alexander Kobrin is a winner of several int'l piano competitions such as the Van Cliburn Int'l Piano Competition, Busoni Int'l Piano Competition. A faculty member on the Int'l Keyboard Festival in Mannes School of Music in NYC, and at the Schwob School of Music, Columbus State University.

Boris Andrianov, CU favorite, one of the most gifted Russian musicians of his generation, winner of the bronze medal at the International Tchaikovsky Competition and Russian laureate at the International Rostropovich Competition in Paris.

Boris Martinovich, Croatian Bass-Baritone who has appeared in the major opera houses of the U.S. and Europe.

Kanae Matsumoto, is active as a soloist and a collaborative pianist, having performed many recital halls in Germany, Italy, Russia, Japan and the United States.

Evgeny Tonkha is one today’s most talented Russian cellists.Among his achievements are the 1st Prize and the Golden Medal at the 12th International Cello Competition in the Czech Republic, the Special Jury Prize at the 13th International Tchaikovsky Competition, and prizes for the best performance of contemporary music.

Anna Drubich studied piano with Eliso Virssaladze in Moscow, and is an accomplished film and television composer, currently studying at USC in the prestigious film scoring program.

CU: December 19 - Music and Art at the Studio Holiday event + with Toy Drive + please dress warm!

2011-12-13T16:15:00.000-08:00

We are sold out!!!!

Dear friends,

Classical Underground was founded on the spirit and synergy of uniting a community of Art in painting and music. If there is a musical composition that most clearly embodies this spirit, it would be Modest Mussorgsky's "Pictures at an Exhibition," written to commemorate the paintings of his dear artist friend, Viktor Hartmann.

For our December program, Mikael Oganes will play selections from this great virtuoso suite while surrounded by an Exhibition of Pictures selected by our dear friend Jeremy Lipking from a recent show of excellent artists at his studio (see Artist Showcase notes below).

Mark Kashper Kanae Matsumoto

Mark Kashper, beloved master violinist of the LA Philharmonic, and the graceful pianist Kanae Matsumoto return to CU to perform Schubert's lovely and charming Sonatina in G minor.

Victor de Almeida Mikael Oganes

We welcome for the first time to Classical Underground the outstanding violist Victor de Almeida, who will be joined by Mikael Oganes in some festive Piazolla tangos.

Michael Kaufman Ran Kampel

Christopher Goodpasture

Also making their CU debut from USC's Thornton School of Music, performing the Beethoven Clarinet Trio, are Christopher Goodpasture - piano, Michael Kaufman - cello, and Ran Kampel - clarinet.

Steven Vanhauwaert Danny Holt

And a demi-debut: pianist Steven Vanhauwaert, who played at our Levitt Pavilion outing in Pasadena last summer, will be joined by fellow pianist Danny Holt in fanciful duos by Igor Stravinsky and Alfredo Casella.

Noel Gould

If youare a hardcore Undergrounder who sticks around for our decadent after-party bachanals, you know that our awesome recording engineer Noel Gould is himself also a wonderful pianist. For this program we have finally enticed him to share some Chopin in primetime, and of course after-party as well!

Laurence Vittes

Journalist and CU comrade Laurence Vittes is introducing a classical music writing workshop "How To Write About Classical Music Without Becoming A Critic" with a free trial for CU guest, with a post-concert discussion which will start right after the concert (just meet at the bar).

Steinway CD587

A very important member of our December 19th event is Steinway CD587! It is one of the favorite pianos in the Concert & Artist Department. It was recently used for a recording session featuring singer, songwriter Melody Gardot. CD587 has been described by pianists as having a medium bodied tone with excellent sustain. The piano's action is firm without being heave.

In the spirit of Christmas, we would appreciate if you could please bring an unwrapped toy for our good friends and neigbbors Glory Christian International Church's toy drive in support of their extensive work with underprivileged inner city children.

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As always - bring your spirits, food and drink for you and your friends to enjoy. Please RSVP via Paypal (above). We are sold out. The paypal link is removed.

******

We are most grateful to our supportive friends at

Steinway Piano Gallery West Hollywood

for graciously providing us with their incomparable instrument.

******

Classical Underground Showcase:

"Pictures From an Exhibition"

Highlights from Jeremy Lipking's Open Studio show

Jeremy Lipking

Joseph Todorovitch

Rose Frantzen

Tony Pro

Ignat Ignatov

and me

In ART we trust!

Alexey Steele

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CU news and beyond plus LA Phil tickets giveaway!

2011-11-30T14:11:00.000-08:00

Dear friends!

What an amazing experience of beauty, passion and refinement November night turned out to be! The level of the performers, the choice of the music, the surprises! Thanks to all great musicians, thanks to the amazing audience!!!!!!! Here are some photos from the night - and you can view a lot more in our picasa album.

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Upcoming events

December 4, Sunday @ 3 p.m.

EDUARDO DELGADO, piano

special guest performance

Program: Liszt repertroire

Bosendorfer Pianos

5539 Van Nuys Blvd, Sherman Oaks, CA 91401

Must RSVP at 818-787-0201 due to limited seating

a live study of Eduardo playing at CU by Rose Frantzen

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TICKETS GIVEAWAY!

LA Phil is offering a pair of tickets to the St. Petersburg Philharmonic orchestra to Classical Underground devotees. Please respond to this email to be considered for the drawing.

giveaway is for two tickets to the Wednesday, December 14, concert

Handel's Messiah

Tuesday, Dec. 13 and Wednesday, Dec. 14, 8:00pm at Walt Disney Concert Hall

Artists:

Philharmonia Baroque

Nicholas McGegan, conductor

Dominique Labelle, soprano

Daniel Taylor, alto

Thomas Cooley, tenor

Nathaniel Watson, baritone

Philharmonia Chorale, Bruce Lamott, director

Program:

Handel: Messiah

Additional Info:

Although it's a widely known fact, it still beggars belief that Handel could have completed the three-hour Messiah in a mere 24 days. He created many versions over the years depending on the needs of a particular performance, but the result has become one of the most well-known and appreciated works in Western choral literature. Movement after movement features unforgettable melodies, impeccable choral counterpoint, tremendous rhythmic variety and expressive word painting. It's no wonder that it's so popular. Hearing it in a stylistically aware period performance adds even more to the enjoyment.

Presented by LAPhil. For tickets and information, visit LAPhil.com.

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You can support Classical Underground by getting a cool Classical Underground hat and/or a t-shirt! Inquire at classicalunderground @ yahoo.com

Alissa Margulis, Jura Margulis, Olga Vlasova

Bryan Pezzone wearing CU hat

Our next event is coming in December! Stay tuned!

The Russians are Coming - November Night This Coming Monday, the 7th

2011-11-01T15:00:00.000-07:00

We are sold out!

Dear friends,

The Russians are coming to Classical Underground, by way of the San Francisco Symphony, the LA Philharmonic, CSU Northridge, and yes, even all the way from Russia! It's an all Russian musician program, featuring some of our oldest and dearest CU friends and some welcome newcomers, and one of the greatest Russian realist painters in our Artist Showcase.

Serge Oskotsky, our own wonderful cellist with the LA Phil, and David Chernyavsky, erstwhile CU and LA Phil violinist now with the SF Symphony, will be joined for the first time by esteemed CSU Northridge piano professor Dmitry Rachmanov to perform Rachmaninoff's Trio Elegiaque #1. Dmitry Rachmanov will also perform solo with a selection of Schubert's Moment Musicaux and song transcriptions by Liszt.

Returning to CU from Moscow is the always exciting cellist Boris Andrianov, who will perform with the Russian pianist and composer Aleksander Pokidchenko. Take a look at this thrilling performance by Boris from a previous visit to CU: http://youtu.be/Hc3r2rKNRwg. Making his first appearance here, Aleksander will also play Scriabin on the glorious Steinway Hamburg CD-386 from Steinway...

May we suggest bringing vodka and blini, pirogi, piroshki, pelmini, caviar to share in Russian style? It's going to be a spirited night of great music and art!

Boris Andrianov

Serge Oskotsky David Chernyavsky

Dmitry Rachmanov Aleksander Pokidchenko

And the Russians will be joined by a Chinese - CU regular - Mary Au!

As always - bring your spirits, food and drink for you and your friends to enjoy. We are sold out!

******

We are most grateful to our supportive friends at

Steinway Piano Gallery West Hollywood

for graciously providing us with their incomparable instrument.

******

Classical Underground Celebrates:

LEONID STEELE

the Living Legacy of the art of the Soviet Union

It is a great honor and pleasure to salute a great Russian Master - my father Leonid Steele -- and to wish him a very HAPPY 90TH BIRTHDAY!

Leonid Steele "Ivan Susanin" 48" X 72" oil on canvas 1952

Leonid Steele is an important Russian Artist of the Socialist Realism School, known as "Socrealizm". A graduate of the much venerated Leningrad Repin Art Institute, former Russian Imperial Academy of Arts, and an heir to the Russian Academic Tradition, he became one of the masters of what is now known in the West as Soviet Impressionism of the 1950s - early 1960s, and one of the pioneers and leading masters of the Severe Style of the 1960s.

He is part of a remarkable group of the best artists of his era, who under the pressures of totalitarian society were able to expand its restraints and to appeal directly to the core of human emotions, contributing to the universal images of humanity.

Alexey Steele "My Father Leonid Steele" 48" X 60" oil on canvas

His ART is filled with deep empathy toward the common man, conveys a uniquely personal sense of the historic Soviet Era, and yet stands alone in its unequivocal and uncompromising search for artistic truth. He is the only artist of his historic stature with a career spanning the entire time frame of this important school of post WWII art, who now resides in the United States.

His substantial oeuvre and life story, with its aesthetic and cultural importance as a vibrant thread that contributed to contemporary multi-cultural pattern, already belongs to history.

Drawing and painting since age four every day to this very moment - tenaciously, joyfully and vibrantly -- his remarkable life in ART stands as testimony to the powers of brilliant and restless, ever-young Creative Spirit.

Alexey

In ART we trust!

Season's Opening - This coming Monday, September 12 @ 8 p.m.

2011-09-06T18:22:00.000-07:00

Dear friends,

Welcome back to CU for the opening of our 5th season with a program celebrating the 200th birthday year of Franz Liszt, along with music of fellow pianist-composers Rachmaninoff, Ravel, Scriabin and Franck... plus lots of cello, and a Klezmer finale to get us in the mood for the upcoming holidays!

Joining us will be Eduardo Delgado (piano), Pavel Petrov (piano), Harout Senekeremian (piano), Armen Ksajikian (cello), Indira Rachmatulla (cello), Pepron Pilibossian (piano), Leo Chelyapov (clarinet) and Jordan Charnofsky (guitar).

As always - bring your spirits, food and drink for you and your friends to enjoy. Please RSVP via Paypal (the button is below). If you have problems with PayPal - don't wait - email us right away!

Classical Underground Showcase:

An illustrious group of some of the top realist figure painters in the nation today gathered once again in the Classical Underground stronghold of Alexey's "Grand Atelier" to welcome the towering figure of the movement - legendary painter Richard Schmid. To say that we had fun would be an unforgivable understatement, as two full days of continuous celebration of our beloved art form armed with paints and brushes, food and booze, ideas and conversation were what the spirit of ART is all about.

On the second day in a smaller group we got to paint a wonderful musician -- one of Classical Underground favorites, soprano Oxana Senina -- with her staggering beauty perfectly reflecting the beauty of her singing, as anyone who visited CU's summer excursion to Levitt Pavilion would attest.

Music and Painting in their inseparable unity make ART rule in our turbulent world - this is what I call NOVOREALISM.

In ART we trust!

Please use this button to make the reservations:

About the performers for Sept 12

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Eduardo Delgado, CU favorite, renowned performer of romantic and Argentinian piano repertoire, Prof. at CSUF. Just came back from performing internationally.

Pavel Petrov, CU regular, hailed for his "masterful performances, depth of tone, exquisite taste and artistic originality" is an extraordinary gifted musician, organist, chamber performer, and pedagogue.

Harout Senekeremian, pianist, is an eager participant in the performance of new music. He continues to concertize in both solo and chamber concerts in Southern California as well as maintaining an active piano studio.

Pepi Pilibossian, an incredible collaborative pianist, our CU regular, along with classical core repertoire performing rare authentic music.

Armen Ksajikian, has performed as principal or soloist with the Los Angeles Chamber, Opus Chamber and Hollywood Bowl orchestras, among others.

Indira Rahmatulla, a graduate of Colburn Conservatory, has achieved success in international competitions, including the Aram Khachaturian Cello Competition, and the Torrance Symphony's Young Artist Competition. Her concert engagements include solo and chamber music performances throughout Turkey, Europe, and US. Indira is Principal Cellist of the American Youth Symphony.

Leo Chelyapov, clarinetist, multi-instrumentalist, composer and arranger, is a graduate of the Moscow College of Musical Arts. As an avid Klezmer musician, Leo was commissioned to arrange "Klezmer Dances" for the LA Guitar Quartet, and recorded it for Sony Classical. Leo's commercial work includes soundtrack for "Private Parts," with The Red Hot Chili Peppers, performances on MTV, Late Night with David Letterman, and Madison Square Garden.

Jordan Charnofsky holds the Doctor of Musical Arts degree from USC Thornton School of Music in classical guitar performance. He has served regularly as principal guitarist for the L.A. Opera Orchestra, and has accompanied opera superstars Juan Diego Florez Bryn Terfel, and Luciano Pavarotti.

Special! CU at the Levitt Pavilion of Pasadena - June 25th, Saturday

2011-06-20T16:42:00.000-07:00

Classical Underground goes above the ground!

Special program at the Levitt Pavilion of Pasadena

June 25, Saturday at 8 p.m.

admission is FREE

bring your own food and your own chair!

85 E. Holly St., Pasadena, CA 91103 - the concert is in the Memorial Park

Program:

Antonio Vivaldi: Concerto for Two Trumpets in C Major

Courtney Jones - trumpet

Ilya Sergienko - trumpet

Mikael Oganes - piano

Alexander Scriabin: Etude Op. 8 No. 12 (Heroic)

Nikolai Rakow: Humoresque

Anton Rubenstein: Melody

Ilya Sergienko – trumpet

Mikael Oganes - piano

Sergei Rachmaninoff: “Oh, Cease thy Singing, maiden fair"

Sergei Rachmaninoff: " How fair this spot!"

Vincenzo Bellini: " Oh, quante volte!” from I Capuleti e i Montecchi

Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov: "The Snow Maiden"

Oxana Senina – soprano

Diane Ketchie - piano

Niccolo Paganini: Variations on a theme by Rossini

David Popper: Polonaise de concert

Laszlo Mezo – cello

Steven Vanhauwaert - piano

Witold Lutoslawski: Variations on theme by Paganini for piano and percussion transcription by M. Oganes and J. Astaire

Leonard Bernstein: Symphonic Dances from Westside Story transcription by M. Oganes and J. Astaire

Mikael Oganes – piano

John Astaire - percussion

More info about the Levitt Pavilion of Pasadena

http://www.levittpavilionpasadena.org/

About the performers for June 25th

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Courtney Jones, trumpet, an instant hit at CU, who frequently plays with the Golden State pops Orchestra, Southeast Symphony, MET LA Theater. Courtney completed his Doctorate of Musical Arts in Trumpet Performance and Pedagogy at UCLA.

Laszlo Mezo, cello, is winner of several International competitions, and is a member of the Pacific Symphony. László has forged a career as a soloist, recitalist, master teacher and chamber musician. He performs extensively in Europe, Asia and America, appearing in countries such as Hungary, Romania, Germany, Czech Republic, Austria, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, France, Brazil and Japan.

Mikael Oganes, piano - CU favorite, who in addition to his virtuoso performances, continuously surprises and dazzles with his incredible piano transcriptions of major symphonic works.

John Astaire earned his Doctor of Music degree in percussion and is currently active as a teacher and performer. His primary teachers included Gerald Carlyss and Kenneth Watson, under whom he also studied the Hungarian cimbalom. John has been a guest with several musical ensembles across the U.S., as well as a performer at the Cimbalom World Association's 2003 World Congress.

Soprano Oxana Senina recently performed the role of Queen Tye in the Long Beach Opera production of AKHNATEN. Not only an accomplished singer but a fine cellist as well, Ms. Senina earned undergraduate music degrees in both cello and vocal performance at the Chonkushov University as well as a Master of Music in Vocal Performance from the Music Academy in Moscow.

Diane Ketchie is not only a concert pianist but is also an accomplished singer. Of her dual talents as displayed in the opera, Orpheus In Love, Bernard Holland of THE NEW YORK TIMES said, “I can think of no one in the popular, Broadway or classical world who could do all the things Diane Ketchie does and do them so well." In the past few years Diane has appeared in concert in over forty states. Ms. Ketchie is proud to serve on both the Vocal Arts and Keyboard faculty at CSU Northridge.

Ilya Sergienko, is a professional music performer, composer, arranger and producer, who loves to explore new artistic opportunities. Ilya’s bright talent and stage presence make both his solo and group trumpet performances memorable. Ilya’s repertoire and knowledge of styles is extensive.

Steven Vanhauwaert, piano. Hailed by the Los Angeles Times for his "impressive clarity, sense of structure and monster technique", Steven Vanhauwaert has garnered a wide array of accolades, amongst which the Maurice Lefranc award, the Rotary Prize, the Galiot Prize and the USC Concerto Competition. Steven performs frequently throughout Europe, the US and last year China, both solo and in chamber music groups. His performances are broadcast regularly on K-MZT, K-CSN, K-USC, WHKB, W-UOT, K-UAT and KLARA.

May Night this coming Monday, the 16th - with LA Phil Piano Trio! - SOLD OUT!

2011-05-14T23:54:00.000-07:00

WE ARE SOLD OUT!
Dear friends, we are thrilled to have an astonishingly impressive power trio making their CU debut this month, the Los Angeles Philharmonic Piano Trio: Martin Chalifour, esteemed concertmaster and frequent solo violinist of the LA Philharmonic, Peter Stumpf, principal cellist of the LA Philharmonic and devoted chamber player, and Joanne Pearce Martin, principal keyboard master of the LA Philharmonic, will perform the magnificent Brahms Piano Trio #2 -- a preview of their upcoming concert at Disney Hall.

The Angeles Saxophone Quartet makes a delightfully convincing musical argument for their instruments' place in the classical world. Their playing of romantic and contemporary sax quartets will blow away thoughts of John Coltrane and Charlie Parker and leave you wondering why we don't hear more classical sax!

Also making his CU debut, international concert pianist and Naxos recording artist Markus Pawlik will perform Beethoven's Appassionata Sonata.

Most people who hear the name "Davidov" think of the Stradivarius cello now played by Yo-Yo Ma that famously used to belong to Jacqueline DuPre. It got that name because it also used to belong to the Russian Karl Davidov, the greatest cellist of his day. A contemporary of Tchaikovsky, Davidov was an occasional composer and we will hear one of his rarely performed gems, the Concert Allegro, played by our young virtuoso Xian Zhuo, with Mary Au on piano.

For all the greedy pianists who wanted the drop-dead gorgeous melody from Rachmaninoff's cello sonata all to themselves without having to share it with a pesky cellist, the super-virtuoso pianist Arkady Volodos created a solo transcription which our own super-virtuoso, Harout Senekeremian, will very generously share with us.

As always - bring your spirits, food and drink for you and your friends to enjoy. Please RSVP via Paypal. If you have problems with PayPal - don't wait - email us right away!

******

We are most grateful to our supportive friends at

Steinway Piano Gallery West Hollywood

for graciously providing us with their incomparable instrument.

******

Classical Underground Showcase:

JEREMY LIPKING

An Unveiling of a new paining by Jeremy Lipking

We are enormously excited to showcase the newest work of a diehard "undergrounder" and one of the "official" CU painters in our notorious LA Art gang, our great friend Jeremy Lipking.

"Flor de Muertos" 40" x 70" oil on canvas

Jeremy is one of the leading forces in today's "Post Post-Modern" stage in contemporary American Art, the movement I call NOVOREALISM. One of the most successful and influential painters of his generation, his greatest strength perhaps is in declining to simply repeat what worked before, but to constantly explore and to expand his visual language.

Jeremy's new work is a formidable example of that search. Combining sophisticated tonal range with a delicately harmonized yet strong color rendition brings a visceral sense of glow to his austere compositional shapes, punctuated by a confidently rendered and moody figure with the edge of her black scarf emphasizing the features of the obscured sorrowful face. The energetic and fresh impasto foreground is anchored both visually and emotionally by the two empty bottles.

Jeremy's "Flor de Muertos" is a great testimony to the broad possibilities of true realism applied to seriously conceived thematic figure work, something that I think of as the most exciting frontier in our great contemporary movement.

in ART we trust!

WE ARE SOLD OUT!

May 16th programme notes

2011-05-10T01:01:00.000-07:00

About the musicians in the program:

Enjoying her 10th season as the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s Keyboardist, Joanne Pearce Martin performs with the orchestra on multiple keyboard instruments including the celesta, various synthesizers, and occasionally a Mac computer, in addition to the ubiquitous piano. Martin performs all over the world as soloist, chamber musician, and recording artist. Her playing has been described by the Los Angeles Times as possessing “unusual fervor and fluency” and “stirring virtuosity.”

Martin Chalifour began his tenure as Principal Concertmaster of the Los Angeles Philharmonic in 1995. He has appeared as soloist with conductors such as Pierre Boulez, Charles Dutoit, Christoph Eschenbach, Sir Neville Marriner, and Esa-Pekka Salonen. Chalifour and two of his Philharmonic colleagues, Joanne Pearce Martin and Peter Stumpf, met in 1981 while all three were studying at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia; they have joined forces to form the Los Angeles Philharmonic Piano Trio.

After serving 12 years as the Associate Principal Cellist of the Philadelphia Orchestra, Peter Stumpf became the Principal Cellist of the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the start of the 2002/03 season. A dedicated chamber music musician, he is a member of the Johannes String Quartet and has appeared on chamber music series at Carnegie Hall, Kennedy Center, Walt Disney Concert Hall, as well as with the Boston Celebrity Series and the Da Camera Society in Los Angeles.

Xian Zhuo (卓賢) is an extraordinarily talented young international artist known for his stunning technique, sensitivity and superb artistry. He has performed on three continents and shared stage with Mstislav Rostropovich and Seiji Ozawa.

German pianist Markus Pawlik has been performing in public throughout Europe, North America and Asia since age 7. As well as playing for the first time at CU, new challenges for Markus this year include a debut with the Dallas Symphony, an upcoming post-earthquake tour of Japan, performing the Beethoven Hammerklavier Sonata for the first time and preparing for a new recording of chamber music works by Arthur Schnabel.

Harout Senekeremian, pianist, is an eager participant in the performance of new music. Senekeremian continues to concertize in both solo and chamber concerts in Southern California as well as maintaining an active piano studio. He is a regular performer at CU.

Hong Kong born pianist Mary Au is a graduate of the Royal Academy of Music and the USC. Her collaboration with many renowned artists, including appearances in Columbia Artists Management Community Concerts, has been enthusiastically received. As a former executive of the GRAMMY Awards, Mary Au continues to dedicate herself to cross cultural boundaries and share her musical fabric with audiences worldwide.

The Angeles Saxophone Quartet, all music students from UCLA, has won a prestigious Gold Medal in the 2010 Fischoff Chamber Music Competition, and recently won the Prize for Winds in the 2011 Coleman Chamber Music Competition in Pasadena, CA.

Christopher Elchico, soprano saxophone; Ryan Weston, alto saxophone; Umut Dursun, tenor saxophone; Andrew Barnhart, baritone saxophone

We are completely sold out!

April Night this coming Monday, the 18th - with a special appearance of Helen Jane Long - sold out!

2011-04-12T01:23:00.000-07:00

Dear friends, we are very excited that the L.A. Philharmonic's wonderful violinist Mark Kashper is making his first appearance at CU playing the gorgeous Franck Sonata, along with Kanae Matsumoto at the piano - a preview of their upcoming performance at Disney Hall.

Our very good friend Jura Margulis, one of the finest Liszt players anywhere, is back in town to play the Mephisto Waltz and share his mad love for Wagner with his own transcription of the Funeral march from Gotterdammerung, a magnificent and moving farewell to the opera's hero, Siegfried.

Mendelssohn's Piano Trio in D minor led Schumann to dub him "the Mozart of the 19th century," and it's still one of the most popular trios in the 21st century. Performing the first movement, our trio consists of Natalia Margulis from the Madrid Opera Orchestra on cello, Radu Pieptea on violin, and Natasha Rubin-Marin making her CU debut on piano.

Helen Jane Long is a fast-rising classical, film and tv composer from the UK. She is bringing a few friends from "across the pond" - Yuri Kalnits, violin, Jonathan Howells, violin, Katherine Jenkinson, cello, Nick Holland, cello - to join her at the piano as she performs selections from her latest album of lovely contemporary classical pieces, "Embers." Among Helen's many musical accomplishments, she assisted on the film score for "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy.

One of the highlights of last summer's Bowl season featured the LA Phil playing Bernstein's West Side Story Suite in all its jazzy glory. CU's Mikael Oganes together with John Astaire has come up with a dazzling version for piano and percussion that will have your toes tapping and fingeres snapping along like the Jets and the Sharks... what a cool way to end the night!

As always - bring your spirits, food and drink for you and your friends to enjoy. Please RSVP via Paypal. If you have problems with PayPal - don't wait - email us right away!

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We are most grateful to our supportive friends at Steinway Piano Gallery West Hollywood for graciously providing us with their incomparable instrument.

Classical Underground Showcase:

ADRIAN GOTTLIEB

A Today, Los Angeles occupies a unique position as a leading center of the newly reborn and re-invigorated realist movement of contemporary American Art. Marked by a staggering diversity of approaches, practices and aesthetic philosophies for understanding the reality of the visual world, a dynamic group of LA's top young talents is gaining wide recognition.

Among the most dangerous in this local and nationwide band of highly advanced figurative painters is artist Adrian Gottlieb.

Dormir, oil on linen, 24" x 48"

Successfully combining approaches of the Classical Masters with principles of Naturalist Tradition, Adrian's work bears a vivid, luminous quality in his multi-layer development of subtle yet thoroughly defined values, delivering cleanness of the unified form and a natural appearance, along with a somewhat detached contemplative tranquility in his imagery.

It is truly exciting to contemplate what damage this LA gang will inflict on the restive Art World!

In ART we trust!

We are sold out!

April 18 Programme Notes

2011-04-10T19:08:00.000-07:00

About the musicians performing in the program:

Our guest artist/composer

Helen Jane Long is one of the very few young, successful, British female composers, as well as a classically-trained pianist. Helen’s credits for TV and film are numerous, ranging from the Lord of the Rings trilogy, to cult films such as Surveillance, Out In The Cold, and scores for UK’s Channel 4, The BAFTA Awards and Fifth Gear TV programs. Helen has also composed music for a variety of commercials including Bosch, Barclay’s Bank, Mercedes, and Volkswagen.

She leapt onto a piano at the age of 4, training as a classical pianist, and also plays the clarinet, guitar, and cello. The phenomenal response from her fans provoked Helen to send a demo CD of her music to various record companies. She was signed almost instantly to Warner Bros. Records which resulted in her debut album, Porcelain, an expressive, inspiring and evocative collection of compositions. The album immediately hit the UK Charts in the top 5 and lodged there for 6 weeks while Classic FM in London named Helen the “Best New Composer of the Year”.

In between her efforts as a triathlete, Helen wrote and released the follow up to her major label debut, Embers, to critical acclaim. The album is getting major support in both the UK and US. Helen will be supporting the release with a U.S. performance tour with an impressive string quartet that will showcase Helen’s original music.

Her string quartet includes Yuri Kalnits, violin - an exceptional soloist and chamber musician; Jonathan Howells, violin - has worked with Andrew Lloyd-Webber and built an exceptional repution as an extremely versatile performer; Katherine Jenkinson, cello - a scholar of the Royal Academy of Music, appeared and recorded with such artists as Pavarotti and Boccelli, Nick Holland, cello - one of the most internationally respected cellists has performed with the most prestigious orchestras and artists.
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Mark Kashper, Associate Principal Second Violin of LA Phil, graduate of the Moscow Conservatoire where he was one of the last and favored students of the legendary Professor David Oistrakh, Mr. Kashper also graduated from the Leningrad Conservatoire. An active recitalist and avid chamber music player, Kashper performs extensively throughout the United States and internationally.

Jura Margulis has performed with the Russian National Orchestra at the Hollywood Bowl, the Montreal Symphony, the Prague Symphony, at the Verbier Festival in Switzerland, and at Martha Argerich's festivals in Lugano, Switzerland and Beppu, Japan. He is Executive Director of the International Piano Academy in Freiburg, Germany, and Professor of Piano at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, where he swears it is indeed possible to get a fine cup of cappuccino.

Natasha (Rubin) Marin enjoys working both as a soloist and in ensembles. She has been performing extensively in Russia (including venues such as St. Petersburg Philharmonic Hall) and in the United States. She was featured on the radio, TV and recordings.

Radu Pieptea, a Julliard graduate and Fulbright Scholar, currently records in the studios for movies, television, and records and performs regularly with the LA Philharmonic, LA Opera and Hollywood Bowl Orchestra.

Kanae Matsumoto is active as a soloist and a collaborative pianist, having performed at many recital halls in Germany, Italy, Russia, Japan and the United States.

Natalia Margulis makes a return visit to CU from Spain, where she is principal cellist of the Orquesta Sinfonica de Madrid. When not accompanying the Madrid Opera, Natasha frequently plays in chamber ensembles throughout Spain and Europe, and has performed at the Verbier and Lugano Festivals.

Mikael Oganes, pianist - CU favorite, who in addition to his virtuoso performances, continuously surprises and dazzles with his incredible piano transcriptions of major symphonic works.

John Astaire earned his Doctor of Music degree in percussion at Indiana University and is currently active as a teacher and performer. His primary teachers included Gerald Carlyss and Kenneth Watson, under whom he also studied the Hungarian cimbalom. John has been a guest with several musical ensembles across the U.S., as well as a performer at the Cimbalom World Association's 2003 World Congress.

Programme:

Franz Liszt

Petrarch's Sonnet 104

Mephisto Valse (adaptation by Jura Margulis)

Jura Margulis - piano

Cesar Franck

Violin Sonata, A Major, 3rd and 4th movement

Mark Kashper - violin

Kanae Matsumoto - piano

Richard Wagner

Funeral March from Götterdämmerung (Twilight of the Gods)

Jura Margulis transcription

Jura Margulis - piano

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Helen Jane Long

Selections from the new CD "Ember"

Helen Jane Long - piano

Yuri Kalnits - violin

Jonathan Howells - violin

Katherine Jenkinson - cello

Nick Holland - cello

Felix Mendelssohn

Piano trio No. 1 op. 49, 1st movement

Natasha (Rubin) Marin - piano

Radu Pieptea - violin

Natalia Margulis - cello

Leonard Bernstein

Symphonic Dances from West Side Story

Piano and Percussion Transcription by M.Oganes and J. Astaire

Mikael Oganes - piano

John Astaire - percussion

March Night This Coming Monday, the 21st - Sold out!

2011-03-15T21:18:00.000-07:00

Dear friends,

Our March Classical Underground program will journey from the 17^th century to the 21^st,through geography from Argentina to Armenia and the Spain of yesterday and today, with musical styles from Bach to Khachaturian to Navarro.

We are very fortunate to have the finest interpreter of Argentine piano music living right here in LA, CU favorite Eduardo Delgado, who will play the rhythmically riveting first piano sonata of his compatriot Alberto Ginastera.

You may have seen him profiled on 60 Minutes and on KABC news the last time he played at CU, though most of us were probably not invited to hear his recent performance at Vice President's Joe Biden's house. But it is always a very special occasion when Rex Lewis Clark shares his great love of music with us. Rex will play a Chopin Nocturne and his own arrangement of a Schubert Impromptu.

Bach's eternal works with their universal musical material have thrived as transcriptions for many instruments, and when his chorale preludes are played by virtuoso bassoonist John Steinmetz, you might believe that's what Johann Sebastian had in mind all along. What better way to celebrate one of mankind's greatest geniuses on his birthday, which is March 21^st!

The timeless Armenian spirit brilliantly shines through the vibrant and lush themes of this nation's iconic composer Aram Khachaturian, and will be brought to life at CU by the wonderful musicians of Armenian heritage Aroussiak Baltaian, violin and Pepi Pilibossian, piano. The duo will send us dancing into the night with some Gypsy violin by way of Spain, with Sarasate's Zigeunerweisen. For a historic teaser, check out Pablo Sarasate himself way back in 1904: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABm7nMVyNh4

Some of the most intensely romantic themes that Rachmaninoff ever wrote are packed into his cello sonata, more rightly called a sonata for cello and piano as the romantic splendor and virtuosic demands are shared equally... in this case between cellist Peter Myers, making his CU debut, and Ryan McCullough, who made a great impression at our last CU gathering.

Composer Oscar Navarro, who flew from Spain to be with us, will present his Jumper Clarinet arranged for French Horn and Piano, performed by Pablo Ortiz De Urbina and Harout Senekeremian. And finally, Harout will finish the evening with the super-virtuoso Sonatine by Charles-Valentin Alkan.

As always - bring your spirits, food and drink for you and your friends to enjoy. Please RSVP via Paypal. If you have problems with PayPal - don't wait - email us right away! The full program and the list of musicians is in the post below.

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We are most grateful to our supportive friends at Steinway Piano Gallery West Hollywood for graciously providing us with their incomparable instrument.

Classical Underground Showcase:

VADIM ZANGINIAN

A student of my beloved "Russian School" in painting from Erevan, Armenia, Vadim Zanginian is an art teacher and artist for whom interactions with classical music are just as important, from the standpoint of artistic execution or "form", as the subject matter or "content" in his work.

Aram Khachaturian, oil on canvas, 18" x 24"

In ART we trust!

We are sold out!

March 21 Programme Notes

2011-03-15T20:30:00.000-07:00

Rex Lewis Clack, musical savant, profiled on 60 Minutes and on KABC news the last time he played at CU. It is always a very special occasion when Rex shares his great love of music with us.

Eduardo Delgado, CU favorite, renowned performer of romantic and Argentinian piano repertoire, Prof. at CSUF. "Virtuosity, clean sound, and passion... the best" La Capital of Argentina.

John Steinmetz is a freelance bassoonist in L.A. who also composes, writes, and teaches at UCLA.

Eric Neufeld is a recovering bassoonist who has traded the irritation of working with recalcitrant reeds for the annoyance of piano intonation

Pepi Pilibossian, an incredible collaborative pianist, our CU regular, performing rare authentic music.

Pianist Ryan MacEvoy McCullough, making his mark as an artist of great versatility and musical fervor, has studied with John Perry at the Colburn Conservatory and Thornton School of Music, and has appeared with numerous orchestras throughout U.S.

Aroussiak Baltaian violin, has gained international attention through her extensive appearances as a prominent recitalist, soloist, chamber musician and recording artist. She is a member of the Pasadena Symphony Orchestra and performs regularly with the LA Phil. She also serves on the faculty of the Music Department at the Master’s College.

Cellist Peter Myers is becoming known as a chamber musician of great lyricism, imagination, and color. He has performed abroad in Germany, Japan, Laos, and Mongolia.

Harout Senekeremian, pianist, is an eager participant in the performance of new music. Senekeremian continues to concertize in both solo and chamber concerts in Southern California as well as maintaining an active piano studio.

Pablo Ortiz de Urbina at age 17 joined San Diego Youth Symphony as Associate Principal French horn. Urbina is a member of American Youth Symphony and regularly plays with many different ensembles. He combines his playing career with work in the fields of conducting, composing and event managing.

programme

J.S. Bach (1685-1750)

Aria, “Beglückte Herde” (Blessed Shepherd) from Cantata 104;

Three Chorale Preludes (transcribed by Pierre Fournier)

Nun komm’ der Heiden Heiland , BWV 659 (Now Come, Savior of the Heathens); Herzlich tut mich velangen, BWV 727 (I Yearn from My Heart);

Wenn wir in Hochsten Nöthen sein, BWV 641 (When We Are in Deepest Need)

John Steinmetz, bassoon, Eric Neufeld, piano

Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873 - 1943)

Sonata for Cello and Piano in G minor Op.19
3.Andante (E flat major)

4.Allegro mosso (G major)

Peter Myers, cello, Ryan MacEvoy McCullough, piano

Frédéric François Chopin (1810 – 1849)

Nocturne in C Minor;

Franz Peter Schubert (1797 – 1828)

Impromptu in A Flat Minor no. 4

Rex Lewis Clack, piano

Alberto Ginastera (1916-1983)

Sonata No.1 op. 22

Allegro marcato

Presto misterioso

Adagio molto appassionato

Ruvido ed ostinato
Eduardo Delgado, piano

Pablo de Sarasate (1844 – 1908)

Zigeunerweisen, op 20

Aram Khachaturian (1903 – 1978)

Nocturne from MASQUERADE-Suite

Aroussiak Baltaian, violin, Pepi Pilibossian piano

Oscar Navarro (1981- present)

Jumper Clarinet arranged for French Horn and Piano

Pablo Ortiz De Urbina, french horn, Harout Senekeremian, piano

Charles-Valentin Alkan (1813 – 1888)

Sonatine op.61

Allegro Vivace

Allegramente

Scherzo-Minuet

Coda. Tempo giusto

Harout Senekeremian, piano

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CLASSICAL UNDERGROUND SHOWCASE

VADIM ZANGINIAN

A student of my beloved "Russian School" in painting from Erevan, Armenia, Vadim Zanginian, is an art teacher and artist for whom interactions with classical music are just as important, from the standpoint of artistic execution or "form," as the subject matter or "content" in his work.

Aram Khachaturian, oil on canvas, 18" x 24"

LA today is a unique global cultural crossroads. With remarkable talent from every creative field coming from all over the world, we are enormously fortunate to participate in and benefit from an intangible yet remarkably consequential and famous phenomenon called "knowledge spillover".

Paris roughly 100 years ago was justly famous for it, when Picasso and Braque were charting the course of 20th century ART out of her creative juices.

James Panero just wrote a fabulous article on it.

In some ways Classical Underground is an exercise in such a "knowledge spillover" when music and art as forms of Classical vision "cross-pollinate" each other.

The fusion of various schools of thinking is particularly evident within the newly and excitedly emerging current day realism, where thirst for knowledge in classical visual form is truly inspiring. While most established academic institutions fail to address the need for a thorough realist "fine art" -- not "illustrationist" education, the grass roots "underground" effort is tenaciously filling the void with the growing popularity of live drawing and painting classes along with the sharpened interest in its guiding principles and practices.

This substantially raises the importance of an "underground," "un-approved" by the reigning art establishment teachers, and highlights the inherently communal nature of culture based on sharing of "forbidden" knowledge, and which in turn contributes greatly to a volatile mix inside of LA's creative pressure cooker.

One of the wonderful art thinkers, teachers and artists in this phenomenal and deeply "insurgent" movement within our community is our good friend, Vadim Zanginian.

CU news and beyond!

2011-02-16T18:22:00.000-08:00

Read in this news issue:

Thank you, all, for making the February event such a success!
Upcoming events
LA Phil Giveaway to St. Petersburg Philharmonic
Support Classical Underground by getting a cool t-shirt and a hat!

Dear friends!

What an amazing experience of elegance and refinement February night turned out to be! What a great testament to eternal Power of ART to reach through times and distances with Philip Glass's incredible Akhnaten and to touch our hearts with incredible and romantic music by Scriabin, Franck, Rachmaninoff, Liszt and Strauss - thanks all great musicians, thanks LBO, thanks to the amazing audience!!!!!!!

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Upcoming events

February 18, Friday @ 7: 30 p.m.

PAVEL PETROV

piano recital

Program: Mozart, Franck, Schumann, Wien, Prokofiev

Irvine Presbyterian Church

4445 Alton Pwky, Irvine, CA 92604. Admission is FREE. donations are welcomed.

www.pianistpavelpetrov.com

February 20, Sunday @ 4 p.m.

EDUARDO DELGADO, piano with baritone SAM McELROY

Program: Schumann: Fantasy in C Major op. 17

featuring Sam McElroy in Dicterliebe

Liszt: Sonata in B Minor

Meng COncert Hall - Cal State Fullerton

Tickets: $15 www.arts.fullerton.edu

by Rose Frantzen

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March 22, Tuesday - see below giveaway from LA Phil!

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March 19, Saturday @ 7:30 p.m.

March 27, Sunday @ 2 p.m.

AKHNATEN by Philip Glass

LONG BEACH OPERA

Tickets: http://www.longbeachopera.org/

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Month of April

South Bay Chamber Music Society

RYAN McEVOY McCULLOUGH, piano and PETER MYERS, cello
will be appearing at an invitatio-only SBCMS Patrons' Concert, they will be playing the Rachmaninoff and Poulenc sonatas plus some shorter works, followed by a buffet dinner, wine, and great desserts. For information go to: http://www.palosverdes.com/sbcms/

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TICKETS GIVEAWAY!

LA Phil is offering a pair of tickets to the St. Petersburg Philharmonic orchestra to Classical Underground devotees. Please respond to this email to be considered for the drawing.

LA Phil Presents St. Petersburg Philharmonic

Tuesday, March 22, 8:00pm at Walt Disney Concert Hall

Yuri Temirkanov, conductor

Alisa Weilerstein, cello

RIMSKY-KORSAKOV Russian Easter Overture

SHOSTAKOVICH Cello Concerto No. 1

BRAHMS Symphony No. 4

At a time when more and more orchestras sound alike, Russia's mighty St. Petersburg Philharmonic retains its distinctive timbre, rock-solid and richly vibrant. A gifted young cellist joins the orchestra and its beloved Principal Conductor for a thrilling program of masterworks.

For tickets and information, visit LAPhil.com .

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You can now support Classical Underground by getting a cool Classical Underground hat and/or a t-shirt! Inquire at classicalunderground @ yahoo.com

Bryan Pezzone wearing CU hat

To find out about our next event, sign up at http://classicalunderground.com

Our next event is coming in March! Stay tuned!

Program for Feb 7 - we are sold out!

2011-01-31T13:32:00.000-08:00

Program:

Cesar Franck (1822-1890)

Violin Sonata, A Major, 1 and 2nd movement

Ludmila Adzhemova - violin

Yulia Barsky - piano

Alexander Scriabin (1872-1915)

3 Preludes Op.11

Prelude and Nocturne for the left hand, Op.9

Impromptu No. 2, Op.12 in B flat minor

Pavel Petrov - piano

Philip Glass (b.1937)

Arias from "Akhnaten"
Act 2 Scene 2: Akhnaten and Nefertiti

Act 2 Scene 4: Hymn

Act 1 Scene 3: The Window of Appearance

by members of Long Beach Opera

Nandani Sinha - mezzo soprano, Heather Calvete - soprano, Oxana Senina - soprano

Andreas Mitisek - Artistic Director and piano

intermission

Franz Liszt (1811-1886)

Sonetto 123 del Petrarca

Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873-1943)

Etude-Tableau, op. 33 no. 4

Ryan MacEvoy McCullough - piano

Richard Strauss (1864-1949)

Sonata for violin and piano E-flat

Radu Pieptea - violin, Bryan Pezzone - piano

Please stay after main program to enjoy spontaniuoty of classical music jamming / reading by Armen Ksajikian and Pepi Pilibosian.

Meet the artists:

Andreas Mitisek, Artistic and General Director of Long Beach Opera (LBO), conductor and concert artist, earned critical and popular acclaim for building the foremost contemporary opera companies.

Nandani Sinha, mezzo soprano, member of Long Beach Opera, has performed in Los Angeles, London, Germany, Austria, France and New York.

Soprano Heather Calvete, member of LBO, who earned critical acclaim as a singer with "sensitivity, considerable power and a most attractive sheen", has performed opera and concert works in the US and Europe.

Oxana Senina, coloratura soprano who captivated audience with her recent CU performances, returns to CU as a member of Long Beach Opera.

Bryan Pezzone, has excelled in classical, contemporary, jazz, and experimental genres. His recent endeavor, Freedom Series, is a growing and thriving series of concerts that features his own music, improvisations, selected standard repertoire and spoken musings and feelings about life.

Pavel Petrov, CU regular, hailed for his "masterful performances, depth of tone, exquisite taste and artistic originality" is an extraordinary gifted musician, organist, chamber performer, and pedagogue.

Ludmila Adzhemova had taught at the Special Music School of the St. Petersburg Conservatory for 28 years. Among her students are concertmasters of the St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra, the Kirov Orchestra, and orchestra members of the Barcelona, Valencia, Rotterdam and Copenhagen Symphonies.

Pianist Ryan MacEvoy McCullough, making his mark as an artist of great versatility and musical fervor, has studied with John Perry at the Colburn Conservatory and Thornton School of Music, and has appeared with numerous orchestras throughout U.S.

Yuliya Barsky, a frequent CU performer who elects to collaborate with chamber musicians in groups of two to six when not teaching piano in her studio.

WE ARE SOLD OUT!

February Night this coming Monday, the 7th

2011-01-30T13:00:00.000-08:00

Classical Underground Showcase:

JOVE WANG

It is a distinct pleasure to introduce a long time friend and one of the most accomplished California figurative realist painters Jove Wang.

A graduate of the prestigious China Academy of Fine Arts, a highly influential art training center in China, Jove studied under renowned master artist Guo Gang who in turn was trained by the leading artists of the Leningrad Academy of the Soviet Union in the 1950s. The Russian Realism genesis of some of today's most exciting Chinese realist artists is a remarkable phenomenon in contemporary Chinese art and a vibrantly significant part in newly emerging Realist Movement of the contemporary American art.

Bold and poetic all within the same confident and unsentimental brush stroke, Jove's work in all variety of subjects rides on the hieghtened sensibility and depth of his color harmonies and presents a rare sensation of exhilarating and refined force of paint.

New Century, Old Century, oil on linen, 84" x 60"

As always - bring your spirits, food and drink for you and your friends to enjoy. Please RSVP via Paypal. If you have problems with PayPal - don't wait - email us right away at classicalunderground@yahoo.com!
P.S. We are SOLD OUT!

Dear friends,

Our prelude to Valentine's Day is full of romance and opera, CU debuts, and old favorites.

In a CU first, we are thrilled to welcome Andreas Mitisek, the Artistic Director of the Long Beach Opera, and members of the Long Beach Opera performing arias from Philip Glass's Akhnaten, including a love duet between Akhnaten and his queen, Nefertiti. The love connection was obvious, but we had no idea how timely the Egyptian connection would be!

Making his CU debut, violinist Radu Pieptea with pianist Bryan Pezzone will perform the Violin Sonata of Richard Strauss, a passionate early work written under the spell of his soon-to-be wife Pauline, and full of hints at his future operatic style.

Another rising local star, pianist Ryan McCullough, makes his CU debut with Liszt and Rachmaninoff, and talented young CU regular Pavel Petrov turns up the flames on the Steinway with preludes and impromptus of Scriabin.

Ludmila Adzhemova, noted teacher and Grand Dame of LA violin, will give us a taste of the most romantic violin sonata of all, the Franck... or as Martha Argerich calls it, Franckenstein -- it is a monster for the pianist, too! In this case, CU's own Yulya Barsky.

We are most grateful to our supportive friends at Steinway Piano Gallery West Hollywood for graciously providing us with their incomparable instrument.

CU news and beyond, new youtube videos from October event

2011-01-29T21:56:00.000-08:00

Dear friends of Music and Art,

Last month Rex Lewis Clark, who in so many ways embodies the very Spirit of Music, performed at the home of Vice President Joe Biden. Please, see the picture below where Vice President is holding Cathleen's heart-felt and inspiring book "Rex". We are so proud for you, Rex, the world most definitely has much to learn from you!

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Wonderful sound engineer Noel Gould together with our tireless and brilliant videographer Julie Resh have made it possible to revisit the extraordinary CU experience of our most unique October 25th event. Enjoy it on YouTube below!

Moni plays Chaconne
"...then came the first heart attack. Moni Simeonov played the Chaconne from Bach's Partita #2 ... The music grew and grew and grew and many in the audience began to weep... When he finished the response was so intense and heartfelt I thought some of Alexey's paintings would fall off the walls." - Lynda Adams, CU aficionado

Rossini Barber 6 hands

"...the famous "Figaro!, Figaro!, Figaro!" passage... brought down the house. This time the tears were of laughter and hilarity". - Lynda Adams

"To cap off the evening, 6 hands and 30 flying fingers on one Steinway keyboard, one piano bench and a half, and pianists Pepi Pilibossian, Mikael Oganes and Harout Senekeremian, had the crowd going wild in a Rossini grand finale..." - Laurence Vittes, Huffington Post

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Right after our December concert, Alissa Margulis and Jura Margulis went to Germany to record their new album. We feel very special to get a live "sneak pick" of it!

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You can now support Classical Underground by getting a cool Classical Underground hat or a t-shirt! Inquire at classicalunderground@yahoo.com

Our next event is coming soon! Stay tuned!

Our next event December 13 - Music and Art in the Studio - Sold Out!

2010-12-06T20:00:00.000-08:00

December Holiday Night
this coming Monday, the 13th @ 8 p.m.

Dear friends,

At this special time of the year, I would love to express my deep gratitude to all of you, the extraordinary musicians, incredible artists and remarkable audience, who together and despite all, valiantly convey the Idea of ART in our turbulent world.

For our December night we are enormously excited to welcome back our great CU friend Jura Margulis, professor of piano at University of Arkansas, joined by his sister Alissa Margulis, an esteemed violinist and professor of the Royal Conservatory of Antwerp, who are coming to share with us their new program for their upcoming album of Liszt's magnificent but rarely heard works for violin and piano, including their "Grand duo concertant" that brought down the house at Martha Argerich's Lugano Festival last summer.

The theatrical tenor Timur Bekbosunov and Eduardo Delgado will perform arias of Henry Purcell, including the haunting "Cold Song" from "King Arthur", which was popularized by the cult performance artist Klaus Nomi.

Our poet of the piano Eduardo will continue with one of Robert Schumann's most deeply passionate works, the Fantasy in C (first movement), dedicated to no less than Franz Liszt.

To end the night in a holiday mood with sugarplums dancing in our heads, Mikael Oganes will perform selections from Mikhail Pletnev's virtuosic solo piano transcription of "The Nutcracker Suite".

Let's celebrate the season with the Idea of Art in one of her most glorious forms!

Again we are most grateful to our supportive friends at Steinway Piano Gallery West Hollywood for graciously providing us with their incomparable instrument.

Please bring an unwrapped toy for our good friends and neighbors Glory Christian International Church's toy drive in support of their extensive work with underprivileged inner city children.

P.S. As always - bring your spirits, food and drink for you and your friends to enjoy. Please RSVP via Paypal (below). If you have problems with PayPal - don't wait - email us right away! And don't forget to dress warm - it is winter in the studio!

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Classical Underground Showcase:

Joseph Todorovitch

One of the important aspects of the young generation of American artists choosing serious figurative realism as ther favored mode of expression is a dedication to study visual reality in all its complex and subtle forms. It often resides in concentrated examination of the tonal depth and richness that conveys the life-like persuasiveness and introspection of contemporary character.

It is remarkable to see such great new voices like Joseph Todorovitch making LA a new center of gravity in the art world. We are thrilled to showcase one of the bright and very promising talents in the newly emerging Realist Movement of our time.

Joseph Todorovitch

The Expert, oil on linen, 48 x 36

We are sold out!

Letter from our loyal friends of CU - after our October 25th event

2010-11-29T19:26:00.000-08:00

Here I am, 1:30 in the morning, and still soaring on the emotions of the evening. I know I will land at some point, but right now it is an amazing feeling. Tonight's Classical Underground reached a level of artistry that we can only hope will be matched in future evenings. We all agreed that this was the best program with the best performances we have seen so far. Alexey and Olga outdid themselves. We wept at the beauty of Bach, roared with laughter at piano for 6, count 'em six, hands, and experienced several other emotions in between. But to specifics.

The program began with classical guitar played by a lovely young woman, Iren Arutyunyan. It was serene, quiet and a perfect aperitif for the start of the evening. Then came the first heart attack. Moni Simeonov played the Chaconne from Bach's Partita #2 for unaccompanied violin. Just before the performance Laurence Vittes, the house commentator, said that the work would show us our souls. And then Moni played. The music grew and grew and grew and many in the audience began to weep, including yours truly. When he finished the response was so intense and heartfelt I thought some of Alexey's paintings would fall off the walls.

Wondering who could follow such an experience was answered when Ben Lulich, principal clarinetist for our own Pacific Symphony, accompanied by Pepi Pilibossian on piano, played his collation of variations on "Carnival of Venice". He clearly enjoyed playing to an audience that clearly enjoyed him. Total delight and fabulous clarinet playing.

The first half of the program finished with CU favorite Mikael Oganessian performing his transcription of "Night at Bald Mountain" by Mussorgsky. Alexey prefaced the performance by saying that Mussorgsky captured perfectly the extremes of the Russian character with this piece. "Mika" then proceeded to play as if he had an entire symphony orchestra in his hands. And he did. For those of us familiar with the Ravel orchestration of "Night...." it was a wonderful new look at an old friend. All the color was there along with the wonder of just how he did it.

We staggered out for intermission, shaking our heads as what we had just heard and seen. But Wait! There was more coming!

The first work in the second half was the work of a contemporary composer, Stig Petterson, entitled "A Dream Play". It is excerpts of a chamber opera scored for piano, 2 violins, cello, accordion, clarinet, glockenspiel and voice (soprano). It was lovely. Afterwards Stig spoke about how he loved earlier composers but found that sometimes they used too many notes for his taste. He was trying to achieve the same intensity and emotion in his pieces, but with fewer notes. Charming and revelatory.

The comments about note count became moot with the next performance. Harout Senekeremian played three pieces by Marc-Andre Hamelin. Who is Mr. Hamelin you might ask. He is a piano virtuoso who writes fiendishly complicated pieces for other piano virtuosos. In other words, a lot of notes. The fact that they are also beautiful and leave the audience gasping for breath at the end is almost an afterthought.

The final performance of the program was the return of Mika, Harout and Pepi for an arrangement for 6 hands of Rossini's "Barber of Seville", including the famous "Figaro!, Figaro!, Figaro!" passage, voice supplement courtesy Mika. It brought down the house. This time the tears were of laughter and hilarity.

As we drove home, exhausted, exhilirated (sp.) and overwhelmed by the evening, we shared our favorite moments of the evening. I have left out our interactions with other members of the audience, the discovery of two tango enthusiasts sitting in the row in front of us, Kris finding one of Elysabeth's friends coming back for his third CU, bringing some friends for their first time.

As we were settling down, or trying to, Ernie and I marveled about the evening. We wonder how this can continue. But we forget. There is so much talent and so much passion for this kind of experience. We should be thankful for Alexey and Olga having the talent and passion to bring everything together for these magical evenings.

Lynda Adams

Programme Notes - October 25

2010-10-25T01:00:00.000-07:00

By popular demand we are sharing our exciting program with you as it formed by now. Tonight will be a night of astounding piano virtuosity and a lovely new chamber opera, plus Bach, Spanish guitar, Italian clarinet, and Russian cello favorites with introductions by Comrade Laurence Vittes.

In a Classical Underground first, we present selections from a new opera, "A Dream Play" by local composer S.J. Pettersson (who will be present), in a chamber orchestration for a unique array of instruments and voice.

Marc Andre-Hamelin is considered today's greatest piano super-virtuoso, specializing in the most entertainingly difficult works of the 19th century, but did you know he is also a brilliant composer? Inspired by the style of 19th-century piano greats like Alkan and Thalberg, these hyper-difficult, hyper-beautiful etudes require a hyper-virtuoso to bring them off, and we have one in Harout Senekeremian!

The piano fun continues with Michael Oganes' (Oganesyan) own brilliant transcription of Mussorgsky's Night on Bald Mountain.

Our CU favorite, Moni Simeonov, is bringing this time the beautiful and virtuoso Bach's Chaconne. We are also getting ready for a surprise performance. The rumours say that Natalia Margulis (principal cello at the Madrid Royal Opera) and Armen Ksajikian (principal of Los Angeles Chamber) were rehearsing few pieces for two celli today. Stay tuned for their late-night appearance!

And to cap off our evening of virtuosity and opera, 6 hands and 30 flying fingers on one Steinway keyboard in a Rossini grand finale!

and the weather? ....not record high, not record low, and no rain in the evening!

Thank you everyone for being patient while dealing with the paypal issues!

alexey steele presents

CLASSICAL UNDERGROUND

October 25, 2010

Music and Art Series

Special thanks to Steinway Piano Gallery – West Hollywood for their wonderful Steinway D!

Introductions by Laurence Vittes

PROGRAMME

Francisco Tarrega: Zarzuela on Themes from Arrieta's "Marina,"

Francisco Tarrega: Sueno (tremolo)

Iren Arutyunyan - guitar

Johann Sebastian Bach: Chaconne from Partita 2 in D

Moni Simeonov - violin

"Carnival of Venice" variations by Paul Jeanjean, Domenico Mirco and Luigi Bassi

Ben Lulich – clarinet, Pepi Pilibossian - piano

Modest Mussorgsky: Night at a Bald Mountain (Piano Solo Transcription by M. Oganes)

Mikael Oganes - piano

S. J. Pettersson - from chamber opera A Dream Play

1. Postlude (We actually should call it Prelude just because it comes first)

2. The Officer and Victoria

3. The Green Fishing Net

4. The Star Quilt

5. The Ballerina

6. From My Lips By Yours (world premiere performance)

Oxana Senina - soprano, Yakov Birman – piano, Moni Simeonov - violin, Eugene Lifschitz - cello, Cosima Luther - violin, Ben Lulich - clarinet, Gee Rabe - accordion, Jack Verga - glockenspiel

Marc-Andre Hamelin: Etude No. 6 “Omaggio a Domenico Scarlatti”

Marc-Andre Hamelin: Etude No.7 “Lullaby” for the left hand after Tchaikovsky

Marc-Andre Hamelin: Etude 5 “Toccata Grottesca”

Harout Senekeremian - piano

Piazzolla arranged for 6 hands by M. Oganes
Gioachino Rossini: Barber of Seville Fantasie

arranged for 6 hands By D. Krug

Pepi Pilibossian, Mikael Oganes, Harout Senekeremian

CU Showcase:

Focus on Design in Painting: The Three Compadres

Glenn Dean, Logan Hagege, Eric Merrell

One of the key elements of the human interpretation of "real" is our sense of "design" which is aimed at making personal choices of importance and priorities within the chosen subject through the arrangement of main compositional forms - something no techno gadget is capable of making regardless of a price tag. Great friends who shared many travel adventures together, Glen, Logan and Eric are some of today's leading young artists investigating in their enormously effective and aesthetically satisfying work the visual force of "design."

October 25th invitation

2010-10-20T00:59:00.000-07:00

Dear friends,

We have a great program for our October evening studded with wonderful musical talents and exciting works, spanning from the immortal classics to the music of our day. Let's celebrate together the ever-present and ever-burning spirit of art and the beginning of the holiday season at our Classical Underground.

As always - bring your spirits, food and drink for you and your friends to enjoy. Please RSVP via Paypal.
In the program:
Iren Arutyunyan (guitar), Yakov Birman (piano), Eugene Lifschitz (cello), Ben Lulich (clarinet), Cosima Luther (violin), Mikael Oganes (piano), Pepi Pilibossian (piano), Gee Rabe (accordion), Harout Senekeremian (piano), Oxana Senina (soprano), Moni Simeonov (violin), Jack Verga

Iren Arutyunyan, classical guitar, garnered many awards since she was 13, including first prize at the Aron Green/ASTA Classical Guitar Competition.

Eugene Lifschitz, currently at Colburn Scool of Music is a laureate of the International Schlern Music Competition and has just returned to the US after two years study at the Moscow Conservatory under famed cello teacher Natalia Gutman.

Gee Rabe, LA's accordion diva, has won major awards for her performance, including the Accordion Federation of North America's virtuoso (Western classical) and virtuoso jazz competitions in 1984 and 1985 respectively. She is currently finishing a Ph.D. in Ethnomusicology at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Yakov Birman, pianist, graduated from St. Petersburg Conservatory, is active performing and teaching. Dr. Yakov Birman has experience in music from the Baroque era to our own time.

Mikhail Korzhev, pianist, is equally active as a solo recitalist, a chamber musician and has appeared as soloist with orchestras to high critical acclaim from American and European press. Korzhev recorded a CD of Krenek’s piano music released by Phoenix Records.

S.J. Pettersson, composer. A handpicked ensemble of Classical Underground favorites and newcomers will be performing selected pieces from S.J. Pettersson's 2010 chamber opera "A Dream Play" plus a world premiere performance of his new piece for cello and piano.

Mikael Oganes, pianist - CU favorite, who in addition to his virtuoso performances, continuously surprises and dazzles with his incredible piano transcriptions of major symphonic works.

Pepi Pilibossian, an incredible collaborative pianist, our CU regular, performing rare authentic music.

Cosima Luther (MM, University of Southern California, BA, Pepperdine University) has been playing violin since the age of five and is currently a freelance teacher and performer in the Los Angeles area.

Oxana Senina, coloratura soprano, holds two Bachelor of Music degrees in both voice and cello from Chonkushov University and a Master's degree in voice from the Gnessino Academy in Moscow.

Moni Simeonov, CU favorite, dynamic virtuoso of romantic Bulgarian violin, concertmaster of Reno Philharmonic.

Ben Lulich, principal clarinet of the Pacific Symphony since May 2007, will be debuting at CU.

Jack Verga has had a long successful career as a jazz drummer, orchestral percussionist and teacher in the Los Angeles area.

Noel Gould, rare to find a fantastic engineer who is also a pianist; over the past 28 years he has recorded everyone from Leon Fleisher, the Tokyo String Quartet, The New York Woodwind Ensemble, Leonard Rose, The Vermeer String Quartet, Rufus Choi and our own Yana Reznik!

Classical Underground Showcase:

Focus on Design in Painting: The Three Compadres

Glenn Dean, Logan Hegege, Eric Merrell

As the newest stage of contemporary realism, which I came to call NOVOREALISM, is gaining steam with great new generation of young American talent, it is showing itself in a diverse variety of existing and distinct forms.

"Realism" in painting is often thought of as something that "looks just like a photograph," which in fact cannot be further from its actual substance. "Photorealism" is a respected and established part of a modernist expression, which is aimed at recreating a technological effect of a photograph. "Realism" is based solely on the laws and principles of a human perception of a visual world. Even when "realist" painters use photographs (even though when they do, it is most often as a very secondary reference) it is done entirely based on their long-developed ability to interpret visual reality "live."

One of the key elements of this human interpretation of "real" is our sense of "design" which is aimed at making personal choices of importance and priorities within the chosen subject through the arrangement of main compositional forms - something no techno gadget is capable of making regardless of a price tag.

Great friends who shared many travel adventures together, Glen, Logan and Eric are some of today's leading young artists investigating in their enormously effective and aesthetically satisfying work the visual force of "design."

Glenn Dean "Evening in the Foothills" 16x20 oil

Logan Hagege "Shadows On the Mountain" oil 30x40

Eric Merrell "Spaceship Landing (The Salton Sea)" Oil 30" x 30"

In ART we trust!

CU September 27 sold out

2010-09-27T11:17:00.000-07:00

We are sold out!

To everyone who is coming tonight - please note that this is the hottest day of the year, and it is pretty warm in the studio. Please dress accordingly! and for potluck consider the "colder" food / drinks!

Opening season is on this coming Monday, September 27

2010-09-19T15:00:00.000-07:00

Dear friends,

It's hard to believe that the summer is over and we are on with our fourth season of celebrating the very spirit of ART at our Classical Underground. We have great plans and ideas for new ways of showing and supporting ART that we are excited to share with you as we go into the season, and we have a mother lode of musical treats in our September 27th program. We are extremely proud and fortunate to set an informal stage (in fact so informal there is no stage!) for the greatest classical music talents from here and beyond, who are performing at CU for the pure love of their Great and Noble ART,united in the cause of reaching out to new and wonderful audiences with the best that the wonderful world of classical music has to offer:

Christoph Bull (organ), Roberto Cani (violin), Whitney Crockett (bassoon), Eduardo Delgado (piano), Ariana Ghez (oboe), Courtney Jones (trumpet), Kanae Matsumoto (piano), Laszlo Mezo (cello), Vicky Miskolczy (viola), Mitsuko Morikawa (piano), Robert Thies (piano), Bradley Wisk (tenor).

No matter what we face collectively in this much-troubled world of ours, it is ART that will always be there to inspire us,and I much look forward to seeing you all on Monday to share in the experience which is Classical Underground. Again we are most grateful to our supportive friends at Steinway Piano Gallery West Hollywood for graciously providing us with their incomparable instrument.

Alexey
P.S. As always - don't forget - it is a potluck party - bring your favorite food and drink! Your PayPal payment is your reservation to the evening.

CU Showcase: NOVOREALISM and Convergence of Generations

It is so exciting to see LA on the front line of a great cultural transition in ART yet again as we see happening in front of our very eyes. Among other various intriguing forms of contemporary expression, American Realism as a most recent form of American Non-Conformism is gaining energy and excitement among young and rebellious talents. The rapidly gaining note (if not notoriety!) LA Classical Visual Art gang, which is much represented at CU showcases, is certainly a raucous part of this wide and diverse movement across the land, which different people call different names and which I call Novorealism.

We are enormously excited to host a constellation of new bright young stars of this exciting movement: Scott Burdick, Rose Franzen, Nancy Guzik, Ignat Ignatov, Jeremy Lipking, Susan Lyon, Tony Pro, Joseph Todorovich, Michelle Dunaway, among other great talents. Yet the most fascinating part is that these Young Guns are getting together with their beloved iconic Maestro Richard Schmid and a special appearance of my dad, Master Leonid Steele, to paint (much as we did last year) one of the beloved CU musical stars and an unforgettable character - cellist Armen Ksajikian.

What could better represent the inseparable connection of these two glorious art forms than some of the best painters in the land painting our best musicians! As our CU experiment of bringing classical forms of music and visual arts together on a cross-inspirational platform gets note from LA to NY to London and everywhere in between, we are enormously proud to showcase some of the results of this truly exciting and unique gathering.

In ART we trust!

Musicians and Artists featured on Sept 27th program

2010-09-15T09:40:00.000-07:00

Christoph Bull, a concert organist, pianist, singer, composer, and recording artist, currently finishing the world premiere recording of the one-of-a-kind Walt Disney Concert Hall pipe organ.

Roberto Cani, Italian violinist, has been hailed by critics as "…a violinist of high caliber following the great Italian tradition of the virtuoso violinist, Paganini."

Whitney Crockett joined LA Phil as Principal bassoon after being Principal bassoon of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, Montreal Symphony Orchestra, and other great orchestras.

Eduardo Delgado, CU favorite, renowned performer of romantic and Argentinian piano repertoire, Prof. at CSUF. Just came back from performing in Argentina and Italy.

Ariana Ghez is a Principal Oboe at Los Angeles Philharmonic, a frequent soloist and an avid lover of chamber music.

Courtney Jones, an instant hit at CU, who frequently plays with the Golden State pops Orchestra, Southeast Symphony, MET LA Theater.

Kanae Matsumoto, is active as a soloist and a collaborative pianist, having performed at many recital halls in Germany, Italy, Russia, Japan and the United States.

Laszlo Mezo, winner of several International competitions, is a a member of the Pacific Symphony and has performed extensively in Europe, Asia and America.

Vicky Miskolczy, associate principal viola of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, a member of the Capitol Ensemble. She also performed solo recitals in Australia, US and Canada.

Mitsuko Morikawa, a professional accompanist over 10 years, recorded music for the New World Records label and have been featured on radio programs such as WCLV, Cleveland and NHK-FM, Japan.

Robert Thies, the only American pianist in four decades to win a Russian piano competition since Van Cliburn. "A pianist of unerring warm-toned refinement, revealing judicious glimmers of power" (LA Times)

Bradley Wisk, lyric tenor, described as having "an alluring rich color and exceptionally spinning stratospheric top notes", and a "tall dark drink of a leading man".

NOVOREALISM and CONVERGENCE of GENERATIONS

We are enormously excited to host a consellation of new bright young stars of this exciting movement: Scott Burdick, Rose Franzen, Nancy Guzik, Ignat Ignatov, Jeremy Lipking, Susan Lyon, Tony Pro, Joseph Todorovich, Michelle Dunaway, among other great talents. Yet the most fascinating part is that these Young Guns got together with their beloved iconic Maestro Richard Schmid and a special appearance of my dad, Master Leonid Steele, to paint one of the beloved CU musical stars and an unforgettable character - cellist Armen Ksajikian.

Armen Ksajikian, has performed as principal or soloist with the Los Angeles Chamber, Opus Chamber and Hollywood Bowl orchestras, among others.