AVA's annual Russian Romances concert premieres on Tuesday, December 15 led by Russian specialist, music director and pianist, Ghenady Meirson.
Featured in the program will be Russian master composers Sergei Prokofieff (1891-1953), Dmitiri Shostakovich (1906-1975), Georgy Sviridov (1915-1998) and Polina Nazaykinskaya (1987).
AVA is extremely fortunate this season, as it has the honor of not only hosting the American Premiere of Ms. Nazaykinskaya's Three Akhmatova Poems, but also the pleasure of having Ms. Nazaykinskaya in attendance during the performance.
Ms. Nazaykinskaya was born in Togliatti, Russian in 1987 and since the age of four, has actively been studying music. Ms. Nazaykinskaya holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the Moscow State Conservatory Music College (with concentrations in violin and composition), a Masters of Music degree in Theory and Composition along with honors from the Yale School of Music and is pursuing a Doctorate degree in Composition at the Butler School of Music - University of Texas at Austin.
(l-r) Ghenady Meirson, music director & pianist with Polina Nazaykinskaya, composer
Ms. Nazaykinskaya's impressive composing career includes numerous awards: First Place, Dmitri Kabalevsky Competition, 2006; First Place, Vyacheslav Zolotarev International Composers Competition, 2008; Honorary Mention at the ASCAP, 2010; Grand Prize, Future Songs of the City, 2010 and many more awards.
Her compositions have been performed at several festivals as well including the Music Academy of the West (USA, 2007), the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival (USA, 2009), the New Music New Haven (USA, 2008-2010), the Classic Music Festival (Russia, 2005-2008), the Cadiza Festival (Spain, 2006), the Highpoint Festival in Woodstock (USA, 2010), "Composers of the World" (Ukraine, 2011), "CTAM" (Russia, 2011),"Klassika Open Fest" (Solo Show) (Russia, 2011) as well as others throughout Europe and the United States.
We were fortunate to be able to ask Ms. Nazaykinskaya a few questions regarding her composition style and the upcoming performance of Russian Romances:
Polina Nazaykinskaya, composer
What specifically drew you to Russian modernist poet Anna Akhmatova’s work that inspired you to set her poetry to music?
Anna Akhmatova's poetry holds a very special place in my heart. Her poetic exquisiteness combines sticking beauty and poignant sorrow and touches the soul. When working with her poems I found myself mesmerized by the evocative imagery to such a point that the music started to flow freely shaped by the Akhmatova's powerful symbolism.
How would you describe your process of composition? Are there specific instruments you begin with? How do you look for material to compose?
When composing, I find myself reaching back to roots of Russian folklore musical culture, which provides inspirational foundation for my own musical style and language. The power and the force of unabridged emotions coupled with poetic feelings and nostalgia lend my music a distinct and expressive style.
You were one of the winners of the first Russian YouTube composers’ competition. In what ways do you find that YouTube has aided the expansion of the classical music world and of your own work?
YouTube is a fantastic platform for popularization of classical music (old and new). It's a dream come true for a modern composer to have an opportunity to share his/her music with the worldwide audience through YouTube. My participation at the Russian YouTube composers competition (I got the Audience Choice Award) has granted me a unique opportunity to collaborate with one of the best symphony orchestras in Russia: The Russian National Orchestra. My piece "Winter Bells" was recorded by the RNO on the Sony-Music label in 2010 and also was performed at the Tchaikovsky Hall in Moscow.
Russian Romances premieres on Tuesday, December 15 - Wednesday, December 16 at 7:30PM. More information and tickets on Russian Romances for the performance can be purchased here.
Samantha van Adelsberg is a Los Angeles native working in AVA's marketing department and managing the AVA Young Professionals group. Samantha holds two degrees from Binghamton University in English and Vocal Performance and is an active rock vocalist in the Philadelphia music scene.
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