Anastasia Khitruk –
Bio
One of today's most vibrant young
violinists, Anastasia Khitruk
has appeared as a
soloist with orchestras and in recitals worldwide.
Her talent was immediately recognized when she made her orchestral
debut at the age of eight. Ms. Khitruk's playing is characterized
by passion and intense musicality and she "radiates an inner force
that galvanizes the performance and mesmerizes the
listener."
Ms. Khitruk has given many performances as soloist
with internationally acclaimed orchestras including the Adelaide
Symphony (Australia), the Sofia Symfonietta and the Burgas
Philharmonic (Bulgaria), BDMG Orchestra, Belo Horizonte (Brazil),
the Avignon Symphony (France), Orchestra della Fondazioni Teatro
Carlo Felice, Genoa (Italy), the Kazakh State Chamber Orchestra
Academy Soloists (Kazakhstan), the Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra
(Lithuania), the St. Petersburg Philharmonia and the Moscow Chamber
Orchestra (
Russia), the La
Grange Symphony Orchestra, Georgia, the Auburn Symphony Orchestra,
Alabama and the
Fordham University Orchestra, New York
(United States). She has also toured throughout France with the
Seasons Orchestra (Russia). She has performed under the baton of
renowned conductors such as Claude Bardon, Hannu Lintu, Svilen
Semenov and Saulis Sondeskis.
Anastasia has appeared in recitals
in Europe at such prestigious venues as the Sala Bulgaria and the
National Center for Culture (NDK) (Sofia, Bulgaria), Opéra
d'Avignon et des Payes de Vaucluse, (Avignon, France), Theatre du
Cavaillon (France), Teatro Carlo Fenice (Genoa, Italy), The
Hermitage (St. Petersburg, Russia) and Salons de Musique (Geneva,
Switzerland). In the United States, she performed at the Aspen
Music Tent (Colorado), Lincoln Center's Alice Tully Hall, Symphony
Space, Merkin Concert Hall (New York City), and Bargemusic
(Brooklyn), as well as numerous performances in Boston and Los
Angeles.
Her numerous festival appearances include the Telstra
Adelaide Festival (Australia), Sofia Music Weeks (Bulgaria),
Musicales du Luberon, Festival de Musique de Chambre les Musicimes
à Courchevel (France), the Festival "Elba, Isola Musicale d'Europa"
(Italy) "Sommet Musicaux" Festival in Gstaad (Switzerland), Aspen
Festival, and Festival of Russian Culture in Los Angeles (United
States).
Ms. Khitruk has collaborated in
chamber music with an
impressive list of renowned musicians, such as Tasso Adamopoulos,
Alexandre Brussilovsky, Yuri Gandelsman, David Korevaar, Mark
Peskanov, Francois Salque, Tatjana Vassiljeva and Volodymyr
Vynnitsky. Currently she is working with Swedish pianist, Daniel
Propper, in a violin-piano duo.
She specializes in discovering
and performing unknown and forgotten works, several of which have
been featured on her debut CD "
La Folia" (suoni e
colori SC 253312) and the "
Works of Ivan
Khandoshkin" (Naxos CD 8.570028). She also performs works
of Léon de Saint-Lubin and Nicolai Affonassiev and has committed
herself to performing works of living composers such as
Sofia
Gubaidulina, Phillipe Hersant, Pavel Karmanov and Efrem
Podgaitz. She has also premiered and collaborated in the creation
of a new live music score accompanying the first Oscar winning
silent film "
Wings" from
1927 and recorded the Brahms Violin Sonatas with David Korevaar
(Titanic 260).
Ms. Khitruk has made frequent guest appearances
and been interviewed on television and radio, including the
Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Bulgarian National TV, Russian
Television, Swiss Radio and Russian Television in NY.
Anastasia
comes from a musical and artistic family. After immigrating to
America, Ms. Khitruk continued the violin studies that she had
begun at Moscow's Central Music School. She has studied with Dora
Schwartzberg, Zinaida Gilels, with
Dorothy DeLay and at
Mannes College and
Juilliard
School. She has also participated in master classes of
Isaac Stern,
Cho-Liang
Lin, Joseph Swensen, and Victor Tretiakov.
In addition to
her concert career, Ms. Khitruk's commitment to developing young
audiences is demonstrated by her work as President of the Manhattan
Music Society, a
non-profit foundation based in New York.
The Solo Violin Music of Ivan Khandoshkin [1411]
Article by Anastasia
Khitruk
<<I’ve been surrounded by great music all my
life. My mother is a concert pianist and she played music while I
was in the womb. When, to my piano-playing family’s surprise, I
decided to take up the violin, I entered into another, equally
beautiful realm. In practice rooms, and at lessons, concerts and
master classes, the great works for violin became part of my very
consciousness. When I die, the autopsy will probably show
permanently etched scores of Tchaikovsky’s violin works inside my
ears.
Imagine my surprise, when, in one of my periodic raids
through the used music pile at Frank Music in New York, I came
across a Russian composer of whom I’d never heard: Ivan
Khandoshkin. I looked at a copy of his Sonata no.1 for violin solo,
and thinking Khandoshkin must be a contemporary composer who hadn’t
been discovered, and seeing the (cheap) price of the score, I
bought the music without even opening it.
At home, I read
through the Sonata, found it quite difficult, and assumed it was
written in the 19th century. "Too much work" was my verdict. The
music went into the cupboard, and there it stayed for the next
year.
A year later, I had the opportunity to present a number of
concerts for solo violin. Most of the program was clear: Bach,
Ysaye, Shchedrin, maybe a little Paganini and Kreisler to round out
the mix. But the program needed something else; I didn’t know what.
Out came my stash of as-yet-unplayed scores. This time, as I read
through the Khandoshkin, the unusual character of the music was
obvious. This wasn’t German counterpoint, or Italian bel canto, or
anything familiar at all. Rather, it was all these things, blended
into a very distinct, and unfamiliar mix. More importantly, it
would serve beautifully as a bridge between Bach and Ysaye.
As I
learned the piece, I became curious as to its provenance. Who,
exactly, was this Khandoshkin? Where did he learn to play like
that? The first surprise was right there on the music: the date.
This was virtuoso violin music written by a Russian violinist and
fifty years before Russian music was supposed to have begun! As far
as I knew, Russian music started with Glinka. Obviously, I was
wrong.
The first few Russian musicians I asked were aware of
Khandoshkin’s existence, but had never heard the music itself. In
fact, Khandoshkin was more famous for the many forgeries ascribed
to him, than for any music he created. Clearly, I would need an
expert, so I called my friend, Alexandre Brussilovsky. A fantastic
violinist, he has an encyclopedic knowledge of violin repertoire.
Jackpot! I learned the incredible, improbable story of a man
universally lauded in his lifetime for his remarkable violin
playing, but who died in obscurity and penury, his music forgotten
and lost. I learned that St. Petersburg was not, as I had thought,
a backwater during Catherine the Great’s time, but a cultural
center lavishly funded by Catherine’s treasury. Not only did
Alexandre know the music, and have all the scores, he provided me
with invaluable musical guidance.
I began a series of concerts
featuring Khandoshkin, not knowing how the music would be received.
To my great surprise and pleasure, it had a universal appeal.
Classical music neophytes found it beautiful, and the experts
enjoyed discovering something new. Fellow violinists got their
usual sadistic pleasure watching a colleague somersault through
various difficult passages. One of these performances was attended
by a gentleman called Peter Tcherepnine. From a deeply cultured
family, he is descended from not one, but two fantastic composers
of that last name. Peter, although he lives in New York, is a true
Russophile - not surprising, considering his background - and
immediately suggested recording Khandoshkin. Through the
Tcherepnine Society, I was able to record these works where they
were born, Saint Petersburg.
I hope that this record will allow
Ivan Khandoshkin to retake his rightful place in violin history,
that of a groundbreaking violin virtuoso and composer. I feel very
lucky that the company releasing this record, Naxos, has helped me
in bringing this music, and this musician, back to the audience’s
attention and favor.>>
External Links
Read her
latest Anastasia’s Violin newsletter at
[1412] Visit her website at
http://www.anastasiakhitruk.com
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