July 11
Lake Placid Center for the Arts
Albert and Alexander Markov
Internationally celebrated violinist Alexander Markov has been hailed as one of the most captivating musicians now before the public. Lord Yehudi Menuhin wrote, "He is without doubt one of the most brilliant and musical of violinists . . . Alexander Markov will certainly leave his mark on the music-lovers of the world and in the annals of the violin virtuosi of our day."
Gold Medal winner at the Paganini International Violin Competition, Mr. Markov has appeared as a soloist with some of the world's most celebrated orchestras such as the Philadelphia Orchestra, the BBC and the Montreal Symphonies, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the BBC Symphony, the Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra, the Budapest Festival Orchestra and the Detroit Symphony. He has worked with with major conductors of our day, including Neeme Jarvi, Christoph Eschenbach and Ivan Fischer.
Mr. Markov has established a reputation second-to-none in the 19th-century virtuoso repertoire. His CD release and the video of the 24 Paganini Caprices for solo violin, directed by the legendary film director Bruno Monsaingeon, caused a sensation, and as a result he recorded five more CDs for the Erato/Warner Classics. Markov remains one of the very few violinists in the world who performs the entire set of the 24 Paganini Caprices in a single recital, and he is featured in the internationally-acclaimed film about great violinists "The Art of Violin," also directed by Bruno Monsaingeon.
Alexander Markov's musical journey takes him far beyond his activity as a classical violin soloist. He has composed "Rock Concerto," an original composition collaborating with James V. Remington, who also designed for him a new six-string electric violin. The new patented instrument, the only one of its kind in the world, has a unique sound and the most enormous dynamic range from soft and sweet to the monstrous and powerful. (Markov plays it through a Marshall amp.)
Albert Markov immigrated to the United States from Russia in 1975 and made his sensational debut with the Houston Symphony in May, 1976, prompting a New York Times reviewer to write: "The audience roared approval, coming to its feet for three standing ovations, Mr. Markov wowed them with dazzling pyrotechnics."
Following performances with symphonies and solo appearances at Carnegie Hall in New York, Markov performed at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. and played a great media acclaim in concert halls in Chicago, Los Angeles, Detroit, Philadelphia, Houston, Toronto, Montreal and other cities of North and South America, Europe, Asia, and Africa. He appeared with such conductors as James Conlon, Neeme Jarvi, David Zinman, Andrew Litton, Lukas Foss, Sixten Ehrling, Kazuyoshi Akiyama, Sergiu Comissiona, Sir Charles Groves and others. After almost 20 years of absence from the Russian concert stage, Mr. Markov entered the music scene again in Moscow in May, 1994.
His recent works are the Violin Concertos, Formosa Suite for Violin and Orchestra (both recorded by Mr. Markov with the Russian National Orchestra on the Sunrise label) and the Symphony "Kinnor David" premiered in Moscow. Albert Markov is the only concert violinist of the 20th century who has created major compositions and which are performed internationally and are commercially recorded.
His recordings are on Sunrise, Melodia and Musical Heritage Society labels. His compositions which have been published by G. Schirmer (USA) and Muzyka (Russia) are: Sonatas for Solo and Duo Violins, Three Rhapsodies, Caprices.
Mr. Markov is the Music Director of the Rondo Chamber Orchestra appearing both as a soloist and conductor. Mr. Markov teaches at the Manhattan School of Music. Among his students are prize winners of the International Competitions and members of the leading orchestras. Mr. Markov's Violin Technique and Little Violinist (G. Schrimer, USA) are worldwide recognized violin methods.
Aram Khachaturian wrote: "Albert Markov's activities have had many facets . . . in all spheres of actions, he shows a remarkable talent. As a violinist, he is one of our best. As a teacher, he has trained excellent violinists. As a composer, he is remarkable in the originality of his compositions. In summary, Albert Markov is an outstanding musician."
July 25
Lake Placid Center for the Arts
Andrew Russo, Piano
Andrew Russo was born to a father of the same name who played baseball as a catcher for the Philadelphia Phillies. He is a native of Syracuse, New York, and graduated from Fayetteville-Manlius High School in 1993. Russo received his bachelor's and master's degrees from the Juilliard School in New York City and did post-graduate study in France and Germany. He participated in the Gina Bachauer International Piano Competition in 1998, returned to New York at the age of 25, and created Music Journeys Inc., a nonprofit youth educational foundation. Russo played in the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in 2001, and released "Voice of the Whale", an album of songs by composer George Crumb, for the British label Black Box Records in 2002.
Subsequent albums for Black Box, Corigliano: Violin Sonata; Etude Fantasy; Fantasia on an Ostinato; Chiaroscuro (2006), Aaron Jay Kernis: 100 Greatest Dance Hits (2007), Paul Schoenfield: Four Parables; Four Souvenirs; Café Music (2007), and Mix Tape (2008) received positive reviews by Allmusic. Russo's 2007 album Dirty Little Secret for Endeavour Classics was favorably reviewed by Allmusic and The New York Times. Andrew Russo was nominated for a 2007 Grammy for his recording of works by John Corigliano on Black Box Records. For more information: www.russocentral.com |
