RSVP now for March 20th Music & Arts in the Studio

Online reservations are now closed.

March Night! 

this coming Monday, the 20th @ 8 p.m. 
Music & Arts in the Studio  

 

@ Alexey Steele Grand Atelier 

In the midst of March Madness, we balance the CU bracket with both Bruins and Trojans, as well as that basketball powerhouse, the Colburn School.

 

UCLA piano professor and commanding performer Inna Faliks will play Beethoven's last work for the piano, the concise, noble, and exquisite Bagatelles Op. 126, plus the bravura Mephisto Waltz #1 of Liszt.

 

Young Ukrainanian violinist Orest Smovzh, a student of Midori at USC, makes his CU debut with Bach's Partita in D minor for solo violin.

 

Camille Avellano has been a vital part of the LA Philharmonic string section since 1981 (and somehow during that stellar gig she also found time to be a violin professor at UCLA).  For her CU performance of Stravinsky's Suite Italienne she is bringing a special friend, pianist Liliana Cino, who in her off-keyboard time just happens to be LA's Consul General of Peru!  They will also treat us to Fritz Kreisler's arrangement of "Danse Espagnole" from De Falla's La Vida Breve. 

 

Our Colburn representative, Russian pianist and CU regular Anton Smirnov, will be joined by Ukrainian pianist Angelika Fuchs to tackle the delightfully jazz-inflected Sinfonietta for Four Hands by contemporary Russian composer Nikolai Kapustin.

 

And we invite you to please stick around for some late evening surprises!

    

 

Inna Faliks          

 

Please RSVP via Paypal through our website by clicking on the button above. 

 

Classical Underground Showcase:
Leonid Steele - Going "To The People" and the Inspiration for My Neighbor Series  

""Gutsul's Yard" 1962, 41" x  55"  

 

 

My father Leonid Steele was a great embodiment of Russia's venerable cultural tradition of going "to the people." Like his cultural forebears, the artists of the famed "peredvizhnik" movement, he believed that the people from the far reaches of society, far away villages and factories, are the best and most important material for serious Art. He also believed that these very same people also are the ones who need the exposure to Art the most. He believed the vitality and necessity of Art shows itself in the clearest way in such context.

 

This belief resulted in my dad's continuous journeys away from big cities in his quest for true characters and subjects. This quest fueled his remarkable oeuvre  with humanistic representations of his era, and became a foundation for his iconic masterpieces of epic multi-figure paintings. In his travels throughout Ukraine, he produced the most compelling and heartfelt depictions of true people from Western, Central and Eastern regions, showing them as the same brotherly people despite all the differences that were painfully lurking under the polished surface of the Soviet Union even back then.  Dad believed that through affecting the people Art has a power to affect society, much as he believed in the ability of our common humanity to bridge all cultural and historic differences.

 

I grew up in the midst of the highest stage in my Dad transforming his great material into his most important works, and it left an indelible mark on me. I spent many months at a time accompanying Dad on his trips to the farthest villages as he would conceive, research and create his new works.

 

Dad's ideas and example became the blueprint for my current Love My Neighbor public art project in the City of Carson and for the works of My Neighbor Series at its center.

 

You can learn more about the project at www.lovemyneighbor.us  

"Sproose Grouse.

Boiler Riveting Worker: The Wood Grouce (Gluhar)" 1958 53" x 39"

    

 "Friends" 1961, 52" x  35"

 

   

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

 

 

 

  

******

We are most grateful to our supportive friends at

 Steinway Piano Gallery Los Angeles  

for graciously providing us with their incomparable instrument CD213!

  

 

   

******

    

in ART we trust!

        We are grateful for a continuous support     

of our founding patron 

RAND RESOURCES, LLC 

   

     

 

 

 

*******

20795 Main St. Carson, Ca 90745
Doors open at 7 p.m. No assigned seats - first come-first served. Potluck. Entrance from the parking lot.  Free parking.    

RSVP for February 13th - CU - Music and Arts in the Studio

Online reservations are now closed.

February Night ! 

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

Music & Arts in the Studio  

 

@ Alexey Steele Grand Atelier 

        

For our February 13 Valentine program:

Pianist Alexander Slobodyanik turns on the romantic charm with Schumann's "Scenes from Childhood" plus a couple of Chopin Etudes.

 

Esteemed violinists Mark Kashper and Camille Avellano will pair up for violin duos of Bela Bartok. We are always thrilled and grateful when our LA Phil friends spend their night off playing for us!

 

The formidable bass-baritone Boris Martinovich will sing two Verdi arias:  "O tu Palermo" from I Vespri Siciliani, and "Ella giammai m'amò" from Don Carlo, accompanied by Mary Au on piano.

 

CU favorites Evgeny Tonkha and Anton Smirnoff bring us Rachmaninoff's  swooningly romantic Cello Sonata. 

 

And here's something you don't hear every day: Carmen...on the saxophone! Sax virtuosa Chika Inoue will play Francois Borne's "Fantaisie brillante sur airs de "Carmen," with Mary Au, piano.

  

 
Camille Avellano & Mark Kashper                               Boris Martinovich 

online reservations are now closed.

Classical Underground Showcase:
"Love My Neighbor" public art project in Carson by Alexey Steele 

"Ricky of Carson" oil on linen 31"x 25" 

 

 

In exceptional times we'll make an exception to our tradition of showcasing the works of my friends, and will showcase my recent "Love My Neighbor" public art project in our City of Carson.

 

The project came out of my belief that in a society where the faith in most of its institutions is severely undermined, there is a vital need to find an idea in which we can all still have some credible faith.  Something we can all believe in despite all the differences and severe polarization, well managed  by profiteers of "divide and conquer" doctrines hiding under any stripe.

 

 

"Mrs. O'Neal" sepia on Fabriano paper 30" x 22"  

 

I found this powerful, uniting and credible idea in a testimonial affirmation that I formulated as "Love My Neighbor." Whoever we are, we are neighbors first. In this country or in the world. In the City of Carson, statistically the 5th most diverse in the nation, the neighbors just happen to be like the rest of the world. For the last nine years I have been working on the My Neighbor Series based on this principle.

 

What my Dad called "High Art" in my view stands today as a vehemently anti-ideological counter-politics. It utilizes the power to unite people on a human level. Practicing High Art today in this way becomes social action.

 

In the last year I have been privileged to have the City of Carson as my partner in this project through a grant from its Cultural Arts Commission, with Wells Fargo Bank as the local exhibiting partner. At two locations, the Carson Park Building and the Wells Fargo Town Center Store, in one month approximately 40,000 Carson residents were exposed to the "Love My Neighbor" message through my images of beloved and inspiring neighbors.

 

I am working on the second leg of the project this year in this awesome collaboration.

 

You can learn more about the project at www.lovemyneighbor.us  

 

     

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

 

   

******

We are most grateful to our supportive friends at

 Steinway Piano Gallery Los Angeles  

for graciously providing us with their incomparable instrument CD 587.

  

 

   

******

 

in ART we trust!

        We are grateful for a continuous support     

of our founding patron 

RAND RESOURCES, LLC 

   

     

 

*******

20795 Main St. Carson, Ca 90745
Doors open at 7 p.m. No assigned seats - first come-first served. Potluck. Entrance from the parking lot.  Free parking.    

 

 

    **********

Save the Date! February 13th Music & Art in the Studio!

Save the Date!

 

Monday, February 13th, 2017

Music and Art in the Studio

 

Look for the invitation next week, or check our website at that time.

 

SOLD OUT Dec 12th Holiday Event and Toy Drive

We are completely sold out.  We closed our RSVP last night.  If you did not make the RSVP by yesterday through Paypal - we are very sorry - we will not be able to accommodate you this time. 

We welcome you to a Russian-themed holiday night at Classical Underground, featuring a program of Russian favorites and the CU debuts of some outstanding young Russian talents, as well as returning good friends.

 

Cellist Alexander Buzlov is an exciting young cellist with an international career that was burgeoning even before he was a prizewinner at the most recent Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow.  He will perform Rachmaninoff's Cello Sonata, featuring one of the composer's most beautiful and memorable tunes in the 3rd movement, with Anton Smirnoff on piano, and a few surprise solo pieces.

 

Azerbaijan-born and USC-bred soprano Liya Khaimova will sing songs of Rachmaninoff, accompanied by Daniel Linder on piano.

 

Pianist Vladimir Khomyakov will display two aspects of his virtuosity with the heavenly clarity of the Bach/Siloti arrangement Prelude in B minor and the grand inferno of Liszt's Dante Sonata.

 

Our own cello regular Evgenny Tonkha and Anton Smirnoff will perform L.A. composer Juan Colomer's "The existential tourist." 

Longtime CU friend Roberto Cani, distinguished concertmaster of the LA Opera, joins the program, preparing an extra treat for us with the phenomenal cellist Alexander Buzlov.

 

And for a festive finale, Natasha Rubin-Marin and Marina Demina will play piano 4-hand arrangements of selections from Tchaikovsky's beloved Nutcracker Suite.

 

 

Classical Underground Showcase:
Peter Adams  

"Windy Afternoon, Convict Lake"    

California occupies a special place within a resurgent realist movement in American Art. One of the fortunate reasons converging around Southland is its venerable Plein Air tradition. Giving impulse to study the impact of color and light, it greatly expanded the palette of California representational artists, refreshing and modernizing the feel of their work. A uniquely Californian voice, shaped by its plein air tradition is the artist Peter Adams.

 

His prolonged interest in mystical sensation delivered through expressive use of color gives his works a thoroughly individual and authentic presence, while making his landscapes in particular distinctly personal.

 

Peter also dedicated almost two decades of his life to raising the profile of the California Art Club, and as its president built it into one of the leading organization dedicated to support of representational art in the US.

 

We are very happy to showcase Peter's new work "Windy Afternoon, Convict Lake" that is going to be exhibited at the Masters of The American West Art Exhibition at The Autry Museum.

     

 As always - bring your spirits, food and drink for you and your friends to enjoy and unwrapped toys for the children from the neighboring church.   

 

   

******

We are most grateful to our supportive friends at

 Steinway Piano Gallery Los Angeles  

for graciously providing us with their incomparable instrument CD 213!

    

******

We are grateful for a continuous support     

of our founding patron 

RAND RESOURCES, LLC 

 

in ART we trust!

          

*******

20795 Main St. Carson, Ca 90745
Doors open at 7 p.m. No assigned seats - first come-first served. Potluck. Dress warm.  Entrance from the parking lot.  Free parking.    

 

 

Save the date: Deceber 12th our Holiday Event and Toy Drive!

Our December Night  - Holiday Event and Toy Drive

Save the date!
Monday, December 12th, 2016

Look for the email invitation next week or check back on this website.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

RSVP now for November 7th - not to miss with Vadym Kholodenko

online reservations are now closed. Payments at the door are cash only.

November Night ! 

this coming Monday, the 7th @ 8 p.m. 

Music & Arts in the Studio  

@ Alexey Steele Grand Atelier 

  

 

We are truly privileged to present the CU debuts of two of the finest young musicians of their generation. The latest winner of the Van Cliburn Competition (2013), Vadym Kholodenko is a magisterial pianist in the grand Russian tradition. Perhaps it is no coincidence that Vadym will perform Schumann's rarely heard 4 Piano Pieces, op. 32, a work championed by the great Emil Gilels, whose refined power Vadym readily calls to mind.  Also on the program, Ravel's suite "Le tombeau de Couperin," and a Schubert Fantasie for Violin and Piano with the wonderful violinist Alena Baeva.  A graduate of the Moscow Conservatory like Vadym, and protege of both Rostropovich and Seiji Ozawa, Alena has performed concertos and chamber music with many of the greatest conductors and musicians in the world, including Martha Argerich, Yuri Bashmet, Valery Gergiev, and Sir Neville Mariner.

Here is a preview featuring Alena and Vadym playing together last summer at an informal gathering of a lucky few in the CU studio:

Alena Baeva and Vadym Kholodenko play Beethoven Violin Sonata Op12-3

You can also hear Vadym performing the Rachmaninov Concerto #2 this week with the New West Symphony in Oxnard on Nov. 4 and Thousand Oaks on Nov. 5,  http://www.newwestsymphony.org/single_tickets.php 

Rounding out the program, the gifted clarinetist James Hodges will perform Dance Preludes by Witold Lutoslawski together with returning to CU pianist Hung-Tao Lin. 

Classical Underground Showcase:  Jeremy Lipking 

"Danielle" oil on linen  

It is always a great pleasure to see any recent work by our Classical Undergrounder Jeremy Lipking, but the one he just completed and will be sharing with us is particularly special. 

This masterwork likely won't go to a gallery, but remain a private family treasure. Jeremy and Danielle just welcomed to the world their twins Juniper and Zion. This painting is dedicated to the sacred woman's power of life-giving and depicts Danielle during her pregnancy.

The gorgeous palette of soft yet crisp colors perfectly placed in exquisitely precise tonalities displays a magnificent and rare level of control that puts Jeremy among the very few painters who ever mastered the visual power of close tonal range. This unique and highly developed ability allows him to keep the figure as a darker, fully unified silhouette set against shimmering evening sky, yet never disturb its overall lightness.

The profile presentation of the figure gives the exposed crescent of the baby bump a feeling of a celestial body rising over a horizon, with its curvature being supported and contrasted with the orb of the black hat.

Congratulations Jeremy and Danielle!

    

     

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

  

******

We are most grateful to our supportive friends at

 Steinway Piano Gallery Los Angeles  

for graciously providing us with their incomparable instrument

  

 

   

*****

    

in ART we trust!

            

*******

20795 Main St. Carson, Ca 90745
Doors open at 7 p.m. No assigned seats - first come-first served. Potluck. Entrance from the parking lot.  Free parking.    

 

RSVP now for November 7th - not to miss with Vadym Kholodenko

November Night ! 

this coming Monday, the 7th @ 8 p.m. 

Music & Arts in the Studio  

@ Alexey Steele Grand Atelier 

  

 

We are truly privileged to present the CU debuts of two of the finest young musicians of their generation. The latest winner of the Van Cliburn Competition (2013), Vadym Kholodenko is a magisterial pianist in the grand Russian tradition. Perhaps it is no coincidence that Vadym will perform Schumann's rarely heard 4 Piano Pieces, op. 32, a work championed by the great Emil Gilels, whose refined power Vadym readily calls to mind.  Also on the program, Ravel's suite "Le tombeau de Couperin," and a Schubert Fantasie for Violin and Piano with the wonderful violinist Alena Baeva.  A graduate of the Moscow Conservatory like Vadym, and protege of both Rostropovich and Seiji Ozawa, Alena has performed concertos and chamber music with many of the greatest conductors and musicians in the world, including Martha Argerich, Yuri Bashmet, Valery Gergiev, and Sir Neville Mariner.

Here is a preview featuring Alena and Vadym playing together last summer at an informal gathering of a lucky few in the CU studio:

Alena Baeva and Vadym Kholodenko play Beethoven Violin Sonata Op12-3

You can also hear Vadym performing the Rachmaninov Concerto #2 this week with the New West Symphony in Oxnard on Nov. 4 and Thousand Oaks on Nov. 5,  http://www.newwestsymphony.org/single_tickets.php 

Rounding out the program, the gifted clarinetist James Hodges will perform Dance Preludes by Witold Lutoslawski together with returning to CU pianist Hung-Tao Lin. 

Classical Underground Showcase:  Jeremy Lipking 

"Danielle" oil on linen  

It is always a great pleasure to see any recent work by our Classical Undergrounder Jeremy Lipking, but the one he just completed and will be sharing with us is particularly special. 

This masterwork likely won't go to a gallery, but remain a private family treasure. Jeremy and Danielle just welcomed to the world their twins Juniper and Zion. This painting is dedicated to the sacred woman's power of life-giving and depicts Danielle during her pregnancy.

The gorgeous palette of soft yet crisp colors perfectly placed in exquisitely precise tonalities displays a magnificent and rare level of control that puts Jeremy among the very few painters who ever mastered the visual power of close tonal range. This unique and highly developed ability allows him to keep the figure as a darker, fully unified silhouette set against shimmering evening sky, yet never disturb its overall lightness.

The profile presentation of the figure gives the exposed crescent of the baby bump a feeling of a celestial body rising over a horizon, with its curvature being supported and contrasted with the orb of the black hat.

Congratulations Jeremy and Danielle!

    

     

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

  

******

We are most grateful to our supportive friends at

 Steinway Piano Gallery Los Angeles  

for graciously providing us with their incomparable instrument

  

 

   

*****

    

in ART we trust!

            

*******

20795 Main St. Carson, Ca 90745
Doors open at 7 p.m. No assigned seats - first come-first served. Potluck. Entrance from the parking lot.  Free parking.