Save the Date
December 15th
Our Festive Wintery Night
right in time for the Holiday Season!
Music and Arts in the Studio
Holiday event, Toy Drive and Potluck
Look for the information next week!
Thursday, December 4, 2014
Tuesday, November 4, 2014
November 10th Night Music & Art at the Studio - not to miss!
The online RSVP are now closed.
For our November program, we are very excited to welcome the eminent Lithuanian cellist David Geringas. A world-renowned soloist and distinguished teacher, David Geringas studied with Rostropovich in Moscow and won the Tchaikovsky Competition in 1970. Some of the greatest contemporary composers have dedicated works to him, one of which - Peteris Vasks' haunting "A book for solo cello" - he will perform for us. Geringas will also be joined by one of his former students, CU's own Evgeny Tonkha, for Haydn's cheerful Duet in D for 2 cellos.
Leonid went to Repin Academy after the war and became part of the core generation that revived the full glory of classical Russian Academic tradition and method. He melted that capability into decades of fearless stylistic feats. He moved mountains in ART. He became one of the founding influences of the Severe Style with his 1958 "Dawn." He participated in 11 All-Union exhibitions, the most prestigious in the USSR, a rare fit for a maverick artist who enjoyed public love, but never held any official post in the soviet art bureaucracy. Because of such public love of his work, he had rare mass media coverage of his art totaling around 30 million in circulation.
His legacy and his life's work are now an inseparable part of our common culture, much as his name now belongs fully to our common history.
When I asked David Geringas if he was interested to do a solo recital in LA, he replied - “For me it’s important to play – because I love it!” Those words really struck a chord – when I first came to Los Angeles all I wanted to do was play. My first recital here took place at the Classical Underground series and I’m very grateful to Alexey and Olga for that opportunity – since then we became good friends.
Right now I’m happy to be presenting my own concert series “K17”. Our first concert took place at the Frankel Hall in Beverly Hills on October 25th and it featured a magnificent David Geringas. It was a resounding success and I’m happy to share this success with my dear friends at Classical Underground.
Haydn Duett D-Dur Hob X:11 for 2 Cellos
Moderato
Menuet
Presto
Peteris Vasks "A book for cello solo"
Fortissimo. Pianissimo
November Night
this coming Monday, the 10th @ 8 p.m.
For our November program, we are very excited to welcome the eminent Lithuanian cellist David Geringas. A world-renowned soloist and distinguished teacher, David Geringas studied with Rostropovich in Moscow and won the Tchaikovsky Competition in 1970. Some of the greatest contemporary composers have dedicated works to him, one of which - Peteris Vasks' haunting "A book for solo cello" - he will perform for us. Geringas will also be joined by one of his former students, CU's own Evgeny Tonkha, for Haydn's cheerful Duet in D for 2 cellos.
After
his smashing duo performance with Danny Holt last season, the
highly-regarded LA pianist Steven Vanhauwaert makes his first solo
appearance at CU with some most romantic works of Rachmaninoff and
Liszt.
One of the most delightful
CU debuts last season was the soprano Jennifer Lindsay, whose radiant
and natural voice warmed our hearts. She will sing selections from
Verdi's La Traviata and Gounod's Faust, accompanied by CU's own,
pianist Mary Au.
Osaka native Chika Inoue covered all bets by studying saxophone at both UCLA and USC, where she recently received her doctorate. Doctor of Saxophone, how cool is that?! She is making her Classical Underground debut, accompanied by Mary Au.
Osaka native Chika Inoue covered all bets by studying saxophone at both UCLA and USC, where she recently received her doctorate. Doctor of Saxophone, how cool is that?! She is making her Classical Underground debut, accompanied by Mary Au.
Leonid Steele was an artistic giant with a remarkable life story. His career in art spanned an astounding 75 years.
The
very first exhibition of his life was the 1939 World Fair in New York
where he was part of the Soviet Children Art Pavilion. Recovering from a
concussion during the war in Novosibirsk, he met and studied with the
director of the famed Tretiakov Gallery who was evacuated to Siberia and
who was one of the very few students of the great Russian Realist
master, Isaac Levitan.
Leonid went to Repin Academy after the war and became part of the core generation that revived the full glory of classical Russian Academic tradition and method. He melted that capability into decades of fearless stylistic feats. He moved mountains in ART. He became one of the founding influences of the Severe Style with his 1958 "Dawn." He participated in 11 All-Union exhibitions, the most prestigious in the USSR, a rare fit for a maverick artist who enjoyed public love, but never held any official post in the soviet art bureaucracy. Because of such public love of his work, he had rare mass media coverage of his art totaling around 30 million in circulation.
His output
is truly gigantic. He painted masterpieces. He loved life and was
loved back generously. He loved people, and his own visual brand of
humanistic rendition of the very depths in personal characters made him
unique within Socialist Realism. He touched universal humanity while
faithfully portraying a nation in its long and tumultuous stretch of
history. His style could be termed Humanist Realism.
His legacy and his life's work are now an inseparable part of our common culture, much as his name now belongs fully to our common history.
We are most grateful to our supportive friends at Steinway Piano Gallery for graciously providing us with their incomparable instrument.
A message from Evgeny Tonkha about David Geringas appearance and his new music series "K17":
When I asked David Geringas if he was interested to do a solo recital in LA, he replied - “For me it’s important to play – because I love it!” Those words really struck a chord – when I first came to Los Angeles all I wanted to do was play. My first recital here took place at the Classical Underground series and I’m very grateful to Alexey and Olga for that opportunity – since then we became good friends.
Right now I’m happy to be presenting my own concert series “K17”. Our first concert took place at the Frankel Hall in Beverly Hills on October 25th and it featured a magnificent David Geringas. It was a resounding success and I’m happy to share this success with my dear friends at Classical Underground.
Haydn Duett D-Dur Hob X:11 for 2 Cellos
Moderato
Menuet
Presto
Peteris Vasks "A book for cello solo"
Fortissimo. Pianissimo
Monday, October 13, 2014
Legendary Painter Leonid Steele Passing and Memorial October 15
 |
| "Self-Portrait in Ukrainian Shirt" 1953 |
It is with a
profound sadness and pain we share the news of my Great Dad's passing on the
morning of
October 4th,
2014.
A True ARTIST and
Giant, he lived life anyone can only dream of.
He cheated death so many times that his entire life is a miracle. He survived the 1933 golodomor in Ukraine, a burst appendicitis in 1939 while in the Army (before newly discovered penicillin use it was considered untreatable), a heavy air bomb concussion in a first siege of Kharkov in 1941 that left him in coma for three months...
With all that he created ART, a kid from Kharkov, the first exhibition in his life was a 1939 World Fair in New York out of all places... he was part of the Soviet Children Art pavilion... While recovering from his concussion in Novosibirsk, he met and studied with the director of the famed Tretiakov Gallery that was evacuated to Siberia and who was Levitan's student.
He went to Repin Academy after the war and became part of the core generation that revived a full glory of classical Russian Academic tradition and method. He melted that capability into decades of fearless stylistic feats. He moved mountains in ART. He became one of the founding influences of Severe Style with his 1958 "Dawn." He participated in 11 All-Union exhibitions, the most prestigious in the USSR, a rare fit for a maverick artist who enjoyed public love, but never held any official post in the soviet art bureaucracy. Because of this public love of his work he had a high mass media coverage of his Art totaling around 30 million in circulation. His output is truly gigantic. He painted masterpieces. He loved life and was loved back generously. He loved people and his own visual brand of humanistic rendition of very depths in personal characters made him unique within Socialist Realism. He touched universal humanity while faithfully portraying a nation. He lived ART to his last breath. He is a Star that guides, a true compass.
He cheated death so many times that his entire life is a miracle. He survived the 1933 golodomor in Ukraine, a burst appendicitis in 1939 while in the Army (before newly discovered penicillin use it was considered untreatable), a heavy air bomb concussion in a first siege of Kharkov in 1941 that left him in coma for three months...
With all that he created ART, a kid from Kharkov, the first exhibition in his life was a 1939 World Fair in New York out of all places... he was part of the Soviet Children Art pavilion... While recovering from his concussion in Novosibirsk, he met and studied with the director of the famed Tretiakov Gallery that was evacuated to Siberia and who was Levitan's student.
He went to Repin Academy after the war and became part of the core generation that revived a full glory of classical Russian Academic tradition and method. He melted that capability into decades of fearless stylistic feats. He moved mountains in ART. He became one of the founding influences of Severe Style with his 1958 "Dawn." He participated in 11 All-Union exhibitions, the most prestigious in the USSR, a rare fit for a maverick artist who enjoyed public love, but never held any official post in the soviet art bureaucracy. Because of this public love of his work he had a high mass media coverage of his Art totaling around 30 million in circulation. His output is truly gigantic. He painted masterpieces. He loved life and was loved back generously. He loved people and his own visual brand of humanistic rendition of very depths in personal characters made him unique within Socialist Realism. He touched universal humanity while faithfully portraying a nation. He lived ART to his last breath. He is a Star that guides, a true compass.
 |
| "Family" 1972 |
We thank everyone for
all your comforting words, good wishes and prayers in this difficult moment.
Old dear friends, who knew and loved him, spent happiest of times together...
all who knew and loved his phenomenal work or got to know it... Our family
deeply appreciates the outpouring of your support.
Thank you to all remarkable artists and whole
Classical Underground Community, who made last CU the most special ever. Though
I could not be there in person, I will treasure the recordings and photos
forever.
For those who wish to say goodbye in
person
to my Legendary Dad, the memorial is
going to be held on
Wednesday, October 15 at
1pm
Hollywood Forever
Cemetery,
6000 Santa Monica
Blvd, Hollywood, CA 90038.
Followed
by
A Drink in
Eternal Memory of Leonid
and
Studio
Exhibition:
"Legends
Never Die: The Legacy Lives!"
at
my studio
20795 Main Street,
Carson, Ca 90745
If you wish to make a charitable contribution in Dad's
name, you can make it to California Art Club were he was an
Honorary Signature Member for Life.
The Era is closed - the Legend
continues. Dad's Legacy is Forever.
ART lives!
ART lives!
 | ||||
| "The Land" 1968 |
Tuesday, September 30, 2014
Season's Opening! October 6th Music & Arts in the Studio RSVP open
Season's Opening!
October Night
October Night
this coming Monday,
October 6th @ 8 p.m.
October 6th @ 8 p.m.
Music & Arts in the Studio
(and Potluck Party)
The thermometer may disagree, but the calendar says it is finally fall and time for the opening concert of the 7th season of Classical Underground. If you've ever found yourself saying, "You know, I love CU but they just don't have enough woodwinds"...well, this is your night!
First we have the glorious
sound of four saxophones together: the fabulous City of Angels Saxophone
Quartet returns to Classical Underground to perform two movements of
the lush Ravel String Quartet, and then for something completely different, Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsody #2...which,
if you recall Tom & Jerry (or Cziffra if you're an especially
Classy Undergrounder), imagine what a hoot that will be on saxophones!
In addition to mind-blowing reed transcriptions, we also have a rare performance of the Poulenc Sonata for Two Clarinets, featuring our resident clarinet virtuosos Leo Chelyapov and Uriel Vanchestein.
There is no finer proponent of the piano works of the Argentinean composer Alberto Ginastera than our querido amigo, Eduardo Delgado. Last Sunday he blew the roof off the concert hall with his performance of "Danzas Criollas"
at his "farewell recital" (which thankfully is only a farewell to being
a professor at Fullerton, and not to performing or teaching!). We have
asked him to reprise that performance, as well as Haydn's lovely Variations in F minor.
Also no stranger to CU audiences, the fine cellist Evgeny Tonkha returns with pianist Anastasia Nemirovich-Danchenko to play a group of dances and elegies by Albeniz, Faure, William Squire, and David Popper, along with a work by contemporary LA composer Juan Colomer, "Realidades Disipadas."
As always - bring your spirits, food and drink for you and your friends to enjoy.
******
We are most grateful to our supportive friends at
for graciously providing us with their incomparable instrument
Model D, CD-587.
Model D, CD-587.
It is an extreme pleasure to open our season with showcasing one of my favorite contemporary figurative artists - the sculptor Alicia Ponzio. Strong sculptors in many ways are even more rare than strong painters, and Alicia without any doubt possesses a rare strength of three dimensional mastery. Her heads and figures are imbued with a rare nowadays Form Sense and truly musical plasticity of movement.
If that was not enough, Alicia bravely tackles something
specifically important to my own understanding of what constitutes the
ultimate challenge and excitement in our ART form: a multi-figure
composition. As I saw Alicia's magnificent "Lingering Shadows" at
California Art Club's last Gold Medal Show, I was struck by the
seriousness and depth of all her visual decisions masterfully weaving in
space the three glorious figures. Force and Grace - what could ever be
better to experience.
Despite all conformist perils, there is some true ART being made within newly emerging post - contemporary cultural terrain!
Alicia Ponzio - The Lingering Shadows
In art we trust!
20795 Main Street, Carson, CA 90745
Our online reservation is now closed.
20795 Main Street, Carson, CA 90745
Our online reservation is now closed.
Wednesday, May 28, 2014
Classical Underground for June 2 cancelled
Classical Underground for June 2 cancelled.
Due to a family emergency, we regret that we must cancel the final Classical Underground concert of this season, which had been scheduled for Monday, June 2. Alexey's father, Leonid Steele, has just been scheduled for surgery on June 2nd. We wish Leonid a speedy recovery, and lots of attention from the nurses! And we look forward to seeing you all at CU next fall.
Tuesday, April 1, 2014
April 7th - Music and Art in the Studio
(and Potluck Party)
@ Alexey Steele Grand Atelier @ 8 p.m.
A friend of Brahms said of his Clarinet Trio,
"It is as though the instruments were in love with each other." We can
hear this romance for ourselves as Uriel Vanchestein (clarinet),
Evgeny Tonkha (cello), and Clara Cheng (piano) perform Brahms' Trio in A
minor, op. 114.
We are excited to welcome the distinguished pianist and newly minted UCLA professor Inna Faliks to Los Angeles and Classical Underground, performing Beethoven's rarely heard Fantasy op. 77 (watch a video teaser here: http://vimeo.com/36656346) and Rodion Shchedrin's brawny Basso Ostinato.
Our great friends of CU, violinist Moni Simeonov and pianist Pepi Pilobossian, return to play a movement of the glorious Franck Sonata and some rustic Bulgarian tunes, which he plays with an authentic and irresistible spirit like no else.
Young but already veteran performer Nicholas King continues his CU exploration of Liszt with the titanic Sonata in B minor, one of the touchstones of the virtuoso piano repertoire.
As always - bring your spirits, food and drink for you and your friends to enjoy.
******
We are most grateful to our supportive friends at
for graciously providing us with their incomparable instrument
Model D, CD-551.
Model D, CD-551.
Having spent the last two weeks with my Dad in the hospital made me
appreciate even more so what a fortune it is to have such a true giant
among us. We talked about his days in the famed Repin Academy and about
some key principles that made the school so incredibly strong.
The very particular and specific approach to seeing and comprehending the form that was developed through intense drawing study of the figure allowed its best students a remarkable stylistic versatility in painting evident throughout my Dad's illustrious career.
Those principles are more relevant than ever today as we witness the incredible resurgence, even if still underground, of a serious realism in the contemporary American Art.
It is a unique privilege to be part of such institutional memory.
directions to my "Grand Atelier" studio:
please note that for convenience of cars not passing by while you are hanging outside, you will be entering from the first gate of the property on your left immediately before the building with columns begins, not second gate as before, then proceed to the big parking lot and walk into our building in the corner of Torrance and Main.
405 South to the Harbor 110 South towards San Pedro; Exit Torrance Blvd., Turn Left at the Stop sign; Turn Left on Torrance Blvd /next light/; Continue pass Figueroa Ave, pass Carson Town Center North; 200 yards before next light /which is Main street/ make Left into a driveway to a large parking lot and proceed to your right. Please note that the gate next to CU will be closed for safety. The entrance is from the parking lot. The building is on the corer of Main and Torrance. 20795 Main St. Carson, Ca 90745
please note that for convenience of cars not passing by while you are hanging outside, you will be entering from the first gate of the property on your left immediately before the building with columns begins, not second gate as before, then proceed to the big parking lot and walk into our building in the corner of Torrance and Main.
405 South to the Harbor 110 South towards San Pedro; Exit Torrance Blvd., Turn Left at the Stop sign; Turn Left on Torrance Blvd /next light/; Continue pass Figueroa Ave, pass Carson Town Center North; 200 yards before next light /which is Main street/ make Left into a driveway to a large parking lot and proceed to your right. Please note that the gate next to CU will be closed for safety. The entrance is from the parking lot. The building is on the corer of Main and Torrance. 20795 Main St. Carson, Ca 90745
Tuesday, February 11, 2014
February 17th - Music and Arts in the Studio
(and Potluck Party)
With the sudden arrival of 80 degree temperatures, Spring has sprung early in LA, and what better way to celebrate it than with a bit of the Rite of Spring at Classical Underground!
The outstanding piano duo of Danny Holt and Steven Vanhauwaert will perform excerpts from Stravinsky's own 4 hand arrangements of Rite of Spring and Petrushka as well as the first movements of Ginastera's Estancia and Poulenc's four hand piano sonata.
The joyous and surprisingly subtle sound of four saxes in harmony will be on display as the City of Angels Saxophone Quartet performs a Bach fugue and the Glazunov Saxophone Quartet, infused with shades of jazz, Chopin and Schumann as the composer himself once wrote.
Already a veteran performer as he studies for his doctorate at USC, the fine young cellist Michael Kaufman returns to CU with Melody Chang on violin and Brendan White on piano to play the Brahms C Minor Piano Trio. Clarinetist Benjamin Mitchell will also join Michael for "Capriole" by the contemporary Finnish composer Kimmo Hakola.
Last year in his surprise CU debut as a last-minute replacement, pianist Anton Smirnoff received a thunderous ovation for his virtuosic account of the piano solo version of Petrushka. Now we will get to hear his gentler side in Mozart's Fantasia in C Minor, K. 475.
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
for graciously providing us with their incomparable instrument
Model D, CD-587.
Model D, CD-587.
******
Classical Underground Showcase
Sergio Sanchez
There is so much treasure in our own communities that is fueling and propelling our burgeoning and growing art movement! It is a great pleasure to have as our CU Showcase a distinct contemporary figurative artist, a great friend, and a local San Pedro brother-in-brush Sergio Sanchez.
Sergio is a well-recognized and much loved by his peers part of our awesome LA figurative gang, who is bringing together experiences of LA and his native Mexico. Fusing those experiences with his solid traditional art education as well as his background in illustration, Sergio brings it all together in a volatile and vibrant mix with his well-respected and followed tattoo work, as well as his long fascination with graffiti designs, all of which drives the stylistic and visual choices in his painting.
Sergio's work is always noted at many exhibitions, and it has gained the attention of specialized art magazines as well as media publications. He is currently teaching the crucial subject of head and figure drawing at such southland important art educational hubs as Art Center School of Design (Pasadena, California), Los Angeles Academy of Figurative Art (Van Nuys, California), Laguna College of art and design (Laguna Beach, California), and he is a fellow member of the venerable California Art Club.
Way to go, brother!
directions to my "Grand Atelier" studio:
please note that for convenience of cars not passing by while you are hanging outside, you will be entering from the first gate of the property on your left immediately before the building with columns begins, not second gate as before, then proceed to the big parking lot and walk into our building in the corner of Torrance and Main.
405 South to the Harbor 110 South towards San Pedro; Exit Torrance Blvd., Turn Left at the Stop sign; Turn Left on Torrance Blvd /next light/; Continue pass Figueroa Ave, pass Carson Town Center North; 200 yards before next light /which is Main street/ make Left into a driveway to a large parking lot and proceed to your right. Please note that the gate next to CU will be closed for safety. The entrance is from the parking lot. The building is on the corer of Main and Torrance. 20795 Main St. Carson, Ca 90745
please note that for convenience of cars not passing by while you are hanging outside, you will be entering from the first gate of the property on your left immediately before the building with columns begins, not second gate as before, then proceed to the big parking lot and walk into our building in the corner of Torrance and Main.
405 South to the Harbor 110 South towards San Pedro; Exit Torrance Blvd., Turn Left at the Stop sign; Turn Left on Torrance Blvd /next light/; Continue pass Figueroa Ave, pass Carson Town Center North; 200 yards before next light /which is Main street/ make Left into a driveway to a large parking lot and proceed to your right. Please note that the gate next to CU will be closed for safety. The entrance is from the parking lot. The building is on the corer of Main and Torrance. 20795 Main St. Carson, Ca 90745
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