April 12 Programme

alexey steele presents
Classical Underground

Where ARTS meet series

Monday, April 12, 2010

PROGRAMME

we are thanking the Steinway Piano Gallery-West Hollywood
for most graciously providing us with the piano

Frank Campo - Fantasia Autunnale, Op. 82
Jonathon Grasse - Letters from Brazil
RJ, RJ (Rio de Janeiro)
BH, MG (Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais)

The Kravchak Morris Duo
Richard Kravchak - oboe/English horn
Scott Morris - guitar

***
P. Vladigerov - Valse Romantique
G. Z. Cherkin - Sevdana
Hristoskov - Rustic Caprice
Moni Simeonov – violin
Pepi Pilibossian – piano

***
Frederick Chopin - Nocturne op. 9 #1
3 Waltzes
Eduardo Delgado – piano

***
Giuseppe Verdi - Dormiro sol nel manto mio regal from "Don Carlos"
Boris Martinovich – bass-baritone
Kanae Matsumoto – piano

***
Johann Nepomuk Hummel, Trumpet Concerto E Major
II:Andante
III: Rondo (Allegro)
Rodion Shchedrin - A la Albeniz
arranged for trumpet and piano by Timofei Dokshitser
Courtney Jones – trumpet
Kanae Matsumoto – piano

***
Four Shakespeare Songs by Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco
"What shall he have that kill'd the deer"
"O mistress mine"
"Take, o take those lips away"
"Who is Silvia?"
Timur Bekbosunov – tenor
Anastasia Nemirovich-Danchenko – piano

***
Peter Schickele - Autumn Trio (2009)
Mosaic
Intermezzo
Tarantella (La Vache Qui Rit)
The Autumn Trio
Michele Zukovsky – clarinet
Armen Ksajikian – cello
Bryon Pezzone - piano

*****
Classical Underground Showcase

PETER ADAMS
painter

It would be exceptionally hard to find anyone around who did more for the Arts affecting so many great artists of our day than did Peter alone with his incredible wife Elaine in their unparalleled and self-less personal effort of making California Art Club into what it is today. Thank you, Peter from all of us!

Peter Adams - Alberich's Vision (Rhine Maidens) Oil 72" x 48"

Next month with Peter's passion for opera the CAC team is putting up the exhibitions at the LA's landmark Our Lady of The Angels Cathedral and two other venues to be part of LA's Ring Festival celebrating a full Ring Cycle production by our magnificent LA Opera.

February 22 event invitation

Dear Friends,

As we travel together on the journey which is Classical Underground, there is one central thing that we believe makes it such a unique sensation - a rare intimate connection between different forms of classical expression. As each over-compartmentalized field of ART is going through some major transformation recently, together in a deeply interconnected state, the ARTS are truly the heart and soul of our times that pack some indispensable power. With this in mind, we think our next event will open a new territory in this enchanted land.

The fierce contingent of CU painters – Jeremy Lipking, Tony Pro, Christopher Pugliese (finding refuge with us from the freeze of New York), Joseph Todorovitch (his debut with CU) and myself - will paint live one of our favorite CU musicians, Yana Reznik. The final stretch of this live session will overlap by about an hour with the time of your arrival till the beginning of the program, so you will have a rare glimpse at how painting is being done and how each one of us will catch our sense of Yana.

clockwise: Tony Pro, Jeremy Lipking, Alexey Steele en plein air

If that was not enough, we are finally adding a dimension to CU we long hoped for – in a spirit of comrades- in-arms we are joining cultural forces with our great new friends at Forth Magazine to inaugurate our first poetic showcase! We are honored and pleased to have John Tottenham as part of our program, just wait till you hear his reading!

Of course, the mother lode of musical talent awaits us with Nigel Armstrong, Yuliya Barsky, Eduardo Delgado, Sam McElroy, Mikael Oganesyan, Pepi Pilibossian, Indira Rachmatulla, Yana Reznik, Moni Simeonov performing. Celebrate with us as always the undying, indestructible and unsuppressible spirit of ART!

As always to RSVP please use the Paypal button below - chairs are first-come first-served - and please do not forget about the potluck! The doors open at 7 p.m. to catch the live painting session before the music starts at 8 p.m.

We are sold out.

Rex and Classical Underground on ABC Eyewitness News

by Adrienne Alpert, KABC

MALIBU, Calif. (KABC) -- Thanks to music, a teen with severe disabilities discovered an extraordinary talent. And with it, what could have been a very limited life has enlightened thousands.

Cathleen Lewis was told her son might never walk or talk. Rex was born blind and mentally impaired 14 years ago. He developed autistic symptoms. But at age 2, he was given a piano.

Rex cannot read music. He can play exactly what he hears. He is one of the world's very few musical savants. Rex learned all of "Rhapsody in Blue" in five hours. He has music teachers and hours of practice, and his technique, his improvisation, are growing more sophisticated every day.

Rex performed at Classical Underground earlier this month, a progressive venue. He and his mother travel frequently for his performances. She speaks, delivering a message of inspiration.

"Rex is my greatest teacher. He's taught me to stop just chasing after 'things,'" said Cathleen.

Cathleen walked away from a career in finance and now teaches visually impaired children when she and Rex aren't on the road.

"He gets such joy when he plays for people. You should see his face. It's like plugging him into an electrical socket. He lights up like he's been given a shot of adrenaline," said Cathleen.

And while audiences are clearly moved by this boy whose world revolves around music, Cathleen has written a book describing her life with Rex and the music that transformed them.

"There's no giving up, I'm on a fascinating ride. It's not just not giving up. It's 'enjoy the ride,'" said Cathleen.

Rex doesn't carry on a conversation, but he has opinions. When asked whose music he likes best, he answers, "Mine."

He goes to public high school where he receives special education. And just recently, a breakthrough.

"Out of the blue, last year, he had his hand on a page of Braille, and all of a sudden, he was reading Braille. Six years later," said Cathleen.

With his heightened sensitivity, Rex couldn't touch Braille, until now. And he is broadening his musical abilities by learning how to sing.

Music opened Rex's curiosity about the world. There is no telling where it might take him.

(Copyright ©2010 KABC-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.)

November 9 Programme

alexey steele presents
CLASSICAL UNDERGROUND
November 9, 2009
Chamber music series
Music director Maksim Velichkin

Jörg Widmann "Air"
Ben Jaber-horn

J.Brahms Waltz Medley Opus 39
F.Chopin Fantaisie Impromptu
Improvisation off a Chopin Nocturne
Rex Lewis-Clack-piano

P. Tchaikovsky Meditation
Lyudmila Adzhemova -violin
Maksim Velichkin-piano

M.Ravel Ondine
W. Bolcom Serpent's Kiss Ragtime
Georgi Slavchev-piano

J.S. Bach Sarabande from Suite no.6
N.Paganini Caprice #17
August Lee -cello

N. Burgmüller Duo op.15
Sergei Vassilyev-clarinet
Harout Senekeremian-piano

Duke Ellington T.G.T.T. from Second Sacred Service
Tricia Oney-lyric soprano

F.Liszt Rhapsody # 12
Yana Reznik-piano

INTERMISSION

J.S. Bach Invention (arrangement with viola)
Serge Oskotsky-cello, Alexander Gurevich-viola

P.Hindemith duo for 2 cellos
Serge Oskotsky-cello, Maksim Velichkin-cello

F.Liszt Funerailles
Soo Lee-piano

Schumann Adagio and Allegro
"Duo Esperanza"
Joo Lee-cello
Soo Lee-piano

I.Albeniz : from "Iberia":
El Puerto
Almeria
Triana
Regulo Martinez-piano

J. Williams Theme from "Schindler's List"
S. Prokofiev March from "The Love For Three Oranges"
Saschka Haberl-violin
Yana Reznik-piano

N.Kapustin Variations Op 41
Harout Senekeremian-piano

*****

CLASSICAL UNDERGROUND SHOWCASE

focusing on a classical art form of serious contemporary representational art

CU Painter: Leonid Steele

Today's my Dad's birthday...he turned 88, a Great Man, a Warrior of Art, Maestro and Living Classic...he come to the studio today and we painted a nude.

It was special indeed...he blasted half of 18" X 24" before we even got to set up...he wrote a poem tonight, in Russian of course, but the meaning of it was that time has no power over feeling and once you go just by your feeling, you remain eternally young...he should know

This is a portrait of my grandmother he did in 1954.

Portrait of Mother 31" x 39" oil on canvas

A deep realist who transformed through his humanist eye the collective artistic effort of his generation into timeless images that speak to us now, Classical Underground celebrates the life-long work of a Master for whom ART was and is a way of LIFE.

Notes from our audience - from you! Thank you!

Wow! What a beautiful evening we had on September 28! I think that your words speak better than anything else. Here are some warm words you sent us - and thank you again for making it happen!

What an exceptional evening. I felt honored to be a part of such an incredibly rich event. - Romy

AMAZING...CAN'T WAIT TILL THE NEXT...WHAT YOU HAVE CREATED IS BEYOND WORDS...EMBRACING ART...SO COMPLETELY
... AN EXTRAORDINARY... SPACE SURROUNDED WITH ARCHITECTURE, PAINTING, SCULPTURE, MUSIC, PEOPLE AND FOOD! THNK YOU SO MUCH! xo kara

Thank you so much…for your effort, for astounding quality, for a generous and easy vibe, for excellent management, for inclusion and gathering those people together and letting me come be with them, and above all, for a “not one thing felt weird or less than fabulous” evening!

Well done by all of you, Classical Underground! - Lisa

Thank you for a wonderful evening and a great time! Can't wait for the next one! - Tim

Thank you and bravo!

Last night was thrilling. There were moments when I felt the top of my head might actually blow off from from the excitement of all that virtuosity! Everything about the evening was first class: the magnificent performers, the superb programming, the astonishing music, the setting (with Alexey's glorious artwork), the warmth of the host and hostess, the enthusiastic audience.I feel as though I've finally found my home "tribe," and I can hardly wait for your next! - Judith

A Tribute to Navarro and His Fine Performers

a note from our website visitor:

I've just watched and listened to the film of Oscar Navarro's piano trio, and was thrilled by the work and the performance. Thank you for making this exciting work accessible to a wider audience.As a tribute to Navarro and his fine performers, I'm enclosing below a poem I wrote after another wonderful chamber music concert I attended. Viva Classical Underground!

Judith Searle
http://www.judithsearle.com/

IN THE TEETH OF TIME

Music heard so deeply
That it is not heard at all, but you are the music
While the music lasts.
--T.S. Eliot, "The Dry Salvages"

The violinist is dying, the pianist is dying, all of us
in this high-ceilinged room on our chairs are dying.
The roses in the sunlight streaming through the windows
are dying, though their scent is strong.

Outside a dog howls as the violin pours forth
its intricate filigree, its amazing leaps and moans.
Poor howling dog, howling for all of us sitting here
on this Sunday afternoon in the teeth of time.

We are forever brothers and sisters,
held together in this womb, birthed
through the throes of the music into the sunlight.
We howl with pain and joy.

This musk of mortality mixes with the fragrance of the roses.
The moans and sobs of the violin are indistinguishable
from the blood leaping in our veins on this
Sunday afternoon in the kingdom of forever.

The cutting edge of time is essential to the ecstasy.
The performers are our high priests, flinging themselves
into the silence to bring back treasures for the tribe,
which we devour in this ritual communion.

We ride their backs as if on dolphins,
soaring into the sunlight scattering diamonds,
plunging through the depths, lungs bursting,
our exuberance edged with panic.

In this moment of alchemy, discipline is inseparable from freedom,
fierceness from tenderness, focus from abandonment.
The music is a lover with a hundred hands, and we are reeling
with the sudden touch of sound after a moment of silence.

Worth it to be mortal on a day like this,
with the sunlight, the roses,
the music rising to heaven, swooping back
to earth, our vehicle to eternity.

--Judith Searle
from her book IN THE TEETH OF TIME

We are in our 3rd season!

August Concert
this coming Monday, the 3rd at 8:30pm

music director
M a k s i m
V e l i c h k i n

It always feels good when lots of great things are happening and it is certainly true with our Classical Underground right now thanks to the wonderful collaborative spirit by the gang of magnificent talents in a subversive effort to serve the true ART within a jaded modern society.

Our new website, the article in the Gramophone. We are also working on our first Classical Underground disc!
Things are getting hot here in the studio in every sense with the current heat wave, but braving the elements, we are still having our illustrious gathering.

Whether it's freezing cold of a winter or a summer heat - the Arts still rule the day and we invite you to share this spirit with us as always. We will start at 8:30 p.m. to let the night bring us some fresh air and then again... Some Like it Hot!!!

Really warmly this time around,

Alexey

Yuliya Barsky Offers a Recording of Her Studio Production "Adventures of Pekka, Once Upon a Practice"

With a new school year approaching, Yuliya Barsky is offering Classical Underground members and friends a recording of her studio production “Adventures of Pekka, Once Upon a Practice”. This is a time travel tale for all ages, introducing young and young-at-heart to the Baroque period music and its composers via a delightful original story interwoven with music for piano, violin, voice and cello. In making this production, aside from the musicians who have performed at Classical Underground - Yuliya Barsky (piano) and Ludmila Adzhemova (violin), one would hear Vahe Hayrikian (cello), Michael Daniels (baritone), Frank Matcha (narrator) and ten piano students of Yuliyard Aesthetic Center.

This CD will make a unique and original gift to any of your classical music aficionados, children and adults alike. Feel free to contact Yuliya at yuliyabarsky@yahoo.com to obtain your own copy.

For more news and information on traditional Russian method music education check www.palisadesmusiclessons.com

Yana Reznik on Urban Sage TV program

Here's a link to an interview Yana Reznik did for a Holistic Healing TV program called Urban Sage. (http://www.theurbansage.com). Dr.Bodhise, the person behind the Urban Sage, is a healer and spiritual inspiration, who has helped millions to find balance and happiness and well being. He now has a TV program broadcasting all over the world and since music is a big part of our nourishment, Yana was asked to participate. And you can watch the result.

Yana Reznik - Debut CD "Bad-Tempered Pianist"

Yana Reznik has completed the recording of her Debut CD Album called "Bad-Tempered Pianist". The CD will include the works performed at Classical Underground throughout the year and more, including Gershwin "Rhapsody in Blue", Granados "Allegro de Concierto". If you'd like to be the first owners of the CD and have it signed by Yana, you can pre-order the CD by emailing Yana at yanareznik@yahoo.com. The expected release date is end of July.

More information about Yana Reznik is at http://www.yanareznik.com/

Welcome to Classical Underground

It is close to the end of our second season - and it is about time to have our blog!
Thank you, everyone, for being patient, and for being loyal to our events.

We will be posting information about our concerts, musicians, composers and artists hopefully in reasonable time.

Meanwhile, click on "subscribe" button to ensure that you are on our list.