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

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

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!

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!

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

 

                                                                               

     

      

                                                 follow us on facebook 

    
 

 

    Our next event is coming in December!  Stay tuned!

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

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!