Performers: Vagram Saradjian – cello, Tatiana Gerasimova – piano
The musical events dedicated to Dmitry Shostakovich has been a good tradition at Russian Cultural Center. We continue to introduce the works of the great Russian composer to our audience.
Duet of incredible musicians, Vagram Saradjian and Tatiana Gerasimova is well-known in Houston. They appeared at RCC on various occasions and their performances has been acclaimed by the public.
Wine will be served.
Advanced ticket purchase is recommended as seating is limited.
Alexander Scriabin (1872- 1915) was one of the most innovative and most controversial of early modern composers. Many of his works are written for the piano. The earliest pieces resemble Frederic Chopin and include music in many forms that Chopin himself employed, such as the etude, the prelude and the mazurka. The style of composer changed enormously as he progressed. The early pieces are romantic, fresh and easily accessible, while his later compositions explore harmony’s further reaches.
An avid chamber musician, Teng-Kai Yang currently works on his doctorate in piano performance at University of Houston. His mentor is the most respectful pianist professor Abby Simon.
Wine will be served.
Advanced ticket purchase is recommended as seating is limited.
The Russian Cultural Center of Houston has teamed up with Hans Graf, the Houston Symphony, and renowned restaurateur, Tony Vallone, for a special evening “Imperial Russia New Year’s Eve Gala. Our first Annual Gala highlights the best of Russian music and cuisine and will bring in the New Year in classic Russian style, on Friday evening, January 13, 2012.
The gala is honoring the Music Director of the Houston Symphony, for his continued support of the Russian Cultural Center as a board member and the director of our musical programs.
In collaboration with the Houston Symphony, patrons and music lovers have the option of attending both the Jones Hall performance of Sergey Rachmaniniff’s Piano Concertos Number 1 and 4, with guest soloist Kirill Gerstein, and a Russian-style New Year’s Eve Gala at the Ciao Bella restaurant following the concert.
Please join the Russian Cultural Center, the Houston Symphony, and Tony Vallone for this extraordinary evening. Make it a date night or invite your friends to enjoy Gerstein’s performance of Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concertos and Chef Vallone’s special menu of Classic Russian dishes resurrected from the twilight reign of the Romanoffs. The Gala will commence at 10:00 pm, featuring open bar of premiere Russian vodkas, wine and beer, special 5-star three course supper, silent auction and music by the “Gypsies.”
Be a part of the special tribute to the most beloved Russian composer. Don’t miss the opportunity to reserve a table with this year’s Gala Honoree, Maestro Hans Graf, or with our special guests Russian Consul General, Vice Russian Consul and world renowned pianist Kirill Gerstein.
Proceeds from the event are tax deductible and will be used to underwrite the cultural programs offered to Texans through the Russian Cultural Center. Together, we can boost visibility of the Russian culture and improve the quality of cultural events in Houston.
Individual Gala Tickets – $150
Gala Sponsor Level Tables of Ten
$25,000 – seating with Maestro & Mrs. Hans Graf (table of 10)
$10,000 – seating with the Russian Consul General and spouse (table of 10)
$5,000 – seating with pianist & Mrs. Kirill Gerstein (table of 10)
The tickets are treated as a charitable donation and are tax deductible.
Gala featuring Supper menu by Tony Vallone and music by the “Gypsies” band
Open bar with Russian vodka, wine, and beer
Silent Auction
Raffle for 2 round trip to Moscow, courtesy of Singapore Airlines
Attire: Black Tie Optional.
For more information and reservations, please call 713.395.3301
The Gala Chairs:
Jamie Stewart and John Sparacino
Victoria Filippov and George Nemeth
The Gala Committee:
Mrs. Donna Alexander, Ms. Lisa Whitaker,
Dr. Boris & Larisa Rubashkin, Dr. Alex Prokhorov,
Ms. Kate Campbell, Ms. Esther Olivarez, Ms. Lisa Lee
The Gala Honoree:
Hans Graf, Music Director of Houston Symphony. Known for his intensely musical interpretations of a wide ranging repertoire and creative programming, the distinguished Austrian conductor, Hans Graf, is one of today’s most highly respected musicians. This year’s gala honors Hans Graf for his service on the board of the Russian Cultural Center “Our Texas” and an important contribution to our musical program.
Admission: $20 (RCC members $16) Please, purchase tickets in advance as sitting is limited.
Sergei Rachmaninoff was a Russian composer, pianist, and conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered to be one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one of the last great representatives of Romanticism in Russian classical music. Early influences of Tchaikovsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, and other Russian composers gave way to a thoroughly personal idiom that included a pronounced lyricism, expressive breadth, structural ingenuity, and a tonal palette of rich, distinctive orchestral colors.
Russian pianist Kirill Gerstein is one of today’s most intriguing young musicians. Born in 1979 in Voronezh, Russia, he came to the U.S. at 14 to continue his studies in piano as the youngest student ever to attend Boston’s Berklee College of Music. Kirill Gerstein was awarded First Prize at the 2001 Arthur Rubinstein Piano Competition in Tel Aviv, received a 2002 Gilmore Young Artist Award, and was chosen as Carnegie Hall’s “Rising Star” for the 2005-06 season.
Highlights of Mr. Gerstein’s 2009-10 North American season include debuts with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and with the Atlanta Symphony, Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, and the Rochester Philharmonic; re-engagements with the Detroit, Houston, and Oregon Symphonies; and a tour with cellist Steven Isserlis that includes performances at the Kennedy Center and in San Francisco.
Program of the evening: TBA
Kirill Gerstein will perform with Houston Symphony January 15, 16, 17, 2010
Champagne will be served.
Advance tickets purchase is recommended, as seating is limited.
Please call 713.395.3301 or e-mail: rcc@ourtx.com
Event Sponsors
This project is funded in part by a grant of the City of Houston through the Houston Art Alliance
Music of Dmitri Shostakovich (1906-1975) is baldly Russian in style, yet diverse. It contains memorable themes stemming from Russian folk and popular song, jazz, and the polyphonic traditions of Johann Sebastian Bach. Unlike other Soviet composers who benefited from political fortune rather than artistic merit, Shostakovich remains an international phenomenon whose music is performed constantly.
“Ms. Shuhatovich showed herself to be a commanding force at the keyboard as well as engaging personality speaking from the stage. Beautifully shaped singing phrases and drama galore characterize this pianist… It was much to admire in every work this pianist played” – New York Concert Review, Spring 2009
In the program: 12 preludes from “24 Preludes” (op. 34) by Shostakovich.
Wine will be served.
Advance tickets purchase is recommended, as seating is limited.
Please call 713.395.3301 or e-mail: rcc@ourtx.com
Event Sponsors
This project is funded in part by a grant of the City of Houston through the Houston Art Alliance
Russian Cultural Center “Our Texas” presents A Russian Composer Birthday Celebration: PIOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY with honored guest and member of the RCC Board of Directors.
Piotr Tchaikovsky (May 7, 1840 – November 6, 1893) wrote some of the most popular concert and theatrical music in the Classical repertoire, including the ballets Swan Lake and The Nutcracker, the 1812 Overture, his First Piano Concerto, several symphonies, and the opera Eugene Onegin.
As his style developed, Tchaikovsky wrote music across a range of genres, including symphony, opera, ballet, instrumental, chamber and song. He became the first Russian composer to personally acquaint foreign audiences with his own works, as well as those of other Russian composers. Although Tchaikovsky’s music has always been popular with audiences, it was at times been judged harshly by musicians and composers.
James Dick is a brilliant artist, founder and creative director of the Festival-Institute in Round Top. His concert tours take him throughout the United States and abroad each year. Recognized as one of the truly important pianists of his generation, pianist James Dick brings keyboard sonorities of captivating opulence and brilliance to performances that radiate intellectual insight and emotional authenticity.
The RCC will present a documentary film about the composer, followed by a musical recital of selections from Tchaikovsky’s “Seasons”, performed by James Dick.
Wine will be served.
Please call or e-mail to RSVP, as seating is limited: 713-395-3301 or russianculturalcenter@gmail.com
On March 2, 2009 at 7:30 p.m. Russian Cultural Center “Our Texas” will present the first event of our new Russian Composer Birthday celebration series “Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky” with honored guest and member of RCC Board of Directors Maestro Hans Graf
Modest Mussorgsky (March 21, 1839 – March 28, 1881) was one of the most important Russian composers of the nineteenth century, an innovator of Russian music. He strove to achieve a uniquely Russian musical identity, often in deliberate defiance of the established conventions of Western music.
Many of his major works were inspired by Russian history, Russian folklore, and other nationalist themes, including the pieces he is most famous for: the opera Boris Godunov, and the piano suite Pictures from an Exhibition. For many years Mussorgsky’s works were mainly known in versions revised or completed by other composers. Many of his most important compositions have recently come into their own in their original forms, and some of the original scores are now also available.
Mussorgsky’s biography is somewhat unusual for a famous classical composer. He served as a civil servant, wrote music only part-time, and died early from alcoholism, leaving behind a fairly small body of work. Yet Modest Mussorgsky is, indisputably, a major figure in the history of Russian music.
RCC will present a documentary film about the composer, followed by a musical recital of excerpts from Mussorgsky’s Pictures from an Exhibition, performed by Li Zhang.
Light refreshments will be served.
Please call or e-mail to RSVP, as seating is limited: 713-395-3301 or russianculturalcenter@gmail.com
Maestro Hans Graf will appear in RCC Our Texas sharing his experience as a musician and conductor of the Houston Symphony.
Hans Graf is the 15th music director of the Houston Symphony.
He studied with Franco Ferrara, Sergiu Celibidache and Arvid Jansons in St. Petersburg Cocervatory. His international career was launched in 1979 when he was awarded first prize at the Karl Böhm Competition.
Graf was chosen Music Director of the Houston Symphony in September 2000.
This year Maestro Hans Graf has been awarded the Grand Decoration of Honour in Gold for Services to the Republic of Austria for his contributions to Austrian-American cultural relations and his services as a cultural ambassador of Austria around the world.
When he isn’t conducting, Graf enjoys literature, fine wine, linguistics (he speaks five languages) and jazz. He and his wife, Margarita, have homes in Salzburg and Houston. They have one daughter, Anna, who lives in Vienna.
Information: 713-395-3301 or e-mail OurTexasInc@gmail.com
