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| | Arts Calendar / June 10 / Concerts |
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19:00 | Igor Butman (Russia) |
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 Encouraged in music from a very early age by his father, an amateur drummer and singer, Butman first took piano lessons although he really wanted to be a drummer. At the age of 11, however, a music teacher persuaded him to take up the clarinet. He was briefly at the Rimsky-Korsakov College of Music, but then studied alto saxophone with Gennedy Golstain at the Mussorgsky School of Music in the mid- to late 70s. At the end of the decade he was in a band led by multi-instrumentalist David Goloshchokin. He then played in the big band led by Oleg Lundstrem, before joining pianist Nikolai Levinovsky’s Allegro. Because Allegro’s book called for a tenor saxophonist, Butman again switched instruments, this time finding his true motier. Among other bands with which he played were Popular Mechanics, Kino and Aquarium. Butman had taught himself to speak English and therefore was able to talk to visiting American musicians, among them Gary Burton, with whom he played during Burton’s 1982 tour with Chick Corea. Burton tried to obtain for the young saxophonist a scholarship to study at the Berklee School Of Music and although this was not possible at the time, Butman’s ambition and determination were such that in 1987 he made his own way to Berklee where he was promptly offered a two-year scholarship. During his time at Berklee, Butman studied with Billy Pierce, Andrew McGhee, and Joe Viola. He also led his own band, which included fellow student Rachel Z. , and worked for a time in Rebecca Parris’ group. In addition to his jazz work, Butman has also played and recorded with classical violinist Yuri Bashmet and his Moscow Soloists Chamber Orchestra.
Tchaikovsky Concert Hall  |
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19:00 | Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra |
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 The Mariinsky Theatre Symphony Orchestra is one of the oldest in Russia. Its history dates back to the first orchestra of the St. Petersburg Imperial Opera Orchestra, covering a period of over two hundred years. Under the leadership of Maestro Valery Gergiev, the Mariinsky Theatre has forged important relationships with the worlds' greatest opera houses, among them the Metropolitan Opera House, London's Royal Opera House, the San Francisco Opera, the Theatre Chatelet in Paris La Scala in Milan just to name a few. Besides extensive touring of the opera and the ballet company, the Kirov Orchestra has performed throughout world and has become one of the outstanding orchestras. The success of the orchestra's continual travelling has lead to the reputation of, what a journalist called, "the world's first global orchestra." The Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra has played a role in countless Russian premieres as well as the first Russian performances of European operas and ballets including works by Pyotr Tchaikovsky, Sergei Prokofiev, operas by Mikhail Glinka, Alexander Dargomyzhsky, Alexander Serov, Anton Rubinstein, Modest Musorgsky, Alexander Borodin, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov - the list is endless. In 2008, according to results of a survey of leading music critics from major publications in America, Asia and Europe, the Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra was one of the top twenty orchestras in the world, beating two other Russian orchestras also listed in the ratings. Dazzling Russian coloratura soprano Albina Shagimuratova first came to international attention as the winner of the Gold Medal in the 2007 Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow. This was followed quickly by her European opera debut as the Queen of the Night at the Salzburg Festival under the baton of Riccardo Muti. She has been hailed by Opera News as "a phenomenon that must be heard to be believed" and by the New York Times for her "riveting Lucia..."
Zaryadye Concert Hall |
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