MAYN SHPRACH. YIDDISH ART SONGS BY LAZAR WEINER

CD PRESENTATION AND CONCERT

Cultural Center “Our Texas” is excited to welcome back on its stage an incredible singer Mikhail Smigelski and pianist Jeanne Hourez presenting the new CD.

September 9, Saturday at 7:00 pm.

LAZAR WEINER (1897-1982) is widely remembered today as an outstanding composer of Yiddish art songs. He was born in Cherkassy, Ukraine and emigrated to the USA at the age of 17. Weiner eventually became a pianist for the studio where he acquired a reputation as a brilliant accompanist. The culmination of Weiner’s career was his appointment as the Music Director of the Central New York Synagogue. Finding himself in a Yiddish cultural circle in New York triggered Weiner’s lifelong love affair with this language, its serious literature, and poetry. Weiner’s art songs are distinctly Jewish because of the way he instinctively understood and interpreted its sound, little nuances, tonality, inflections, accentuations, and idioms.

Hailed as “phenomenal” (The Harvard Chrimson), “impressively epic” (schwäbische.de), and for his “wine-dark bass ” (The Boston Globe), bass-baritone MIKHAIL SMIGELSKI enjoys a career of vast and various genres, including opera, oratorio, early music, musical theatre, and contemporary music. Born in St. Petersburg, Russia, Mikhail has performed on the world most prestigious stages including Carnegie Hall, Saint Petersburg’s and Moscow’s Philharmonias, Berliner Philharmonie. Mikhail Smigelski’s vast repertoire includes over 30 operatic roles and over 100 art songs in Russian, German, Italian, French, Polish, Czech, and Yiddish languages.

Since her debut as a soloist at the age of 12, French pianist JEANNE HOUREZ has appeared with various orchestras, including the Orchestre Symphonique de Cannes, the Orchestre Symphonique Azuréen, and the Orchestre Philharmonique des Musiciens de Montréal. She has  performed numerous recitals in Europe, North America, and Asia and has participated in seasonal music. Jeanne Hourez has received numerous awards, including three Gold Prizes at the London Young Musician Competition, among others. An active chamber musician, Jeanne co-founded the Ensemble Benzaiten, whose repertoire uniquely blends mandolin and piano. She also forms a duo with French violinist Katya Darisio and serves as the pianist of SoundMap Ensemble.

Tickets: $25