St. Petersburg Chamber Philharmonic
Troika International Festival 2012
Jeffery Meyer, Artistic Director
The festival will introduce four of China’s premiere performers on traditional Chinese instruments (pipa, zheng, sheng, erhu). They will be playing not only traditional Chinese music, but also new music written by some of China’s most important living composers, Ye Xiaogang, Chen Yi, Qin Wenchen, Tang Jianping, Guo Wenjing, Jia Guoping, three of whom will be in attendance at the festival.
Representing the United States, in addition to Artistic Director Jeffery Meyer, will be New York City’s Margaret Kampmeier (piano), as well as composers Ed Harsh and Laura Kaminsky, also from New York City. Harsh, who is the President of New Music USA, will present a talk entitled 'New Voices in New York' at the Rimsky-Korsakov conservatory. The final festival concert will feature Pulitzer-prize winning American composer Melinda Wagner, as well as a world premiere by the young American composer Christopher Stark, whose music has been described as 'fetching and colorful' by The New York Times.
Listeners will experience a wide range of Russian works, from the rarely performed early 20th century composer Nikolai Roslavets, to a world premiere by the up-and-coming Timofey Buzina, whose works have been praised by The New York Times as 'exuberantly pulsating.' Listeners will also hear Schnittke’s powerful Piano Concerto and Tchaikovsky’s ever-popular masterpiece the Serenade for Strings.
The Troika International Festival 2012 is a celebration of both the unique cultural identity of three nations and the new frontiers created through international collaboration. We look forward to sharing the excitement of this cross-cultural alliance and exploring new artistic ventures throughout the festival and beyond.
Margaret Kampmeier
Piano Program
The Three-Nation Journey Begins
Margaret Kampmeier, piano
Thursday May 10th 2012 · 5 PM
Rimsky-Korsakov St. Petersburg State Conservatory
The festival begins with one of New York City’s most sought-after pianists Margaret Kampmeier performing a rarely heard sonata by Russian composer Roslavets, two Russian premieres by Ed Harsh (USA) and Laura Kaminsky (USA) and Lam Bun-Ching's stunning Six Phenomena.
Nikolai Roslavets: Sonata #5 (1923)Ed Harsh: Acts of Faith (Russian Premiere)
Laura Kaminsky: Music for Artur (Russian Premiere)
Lam Bun-Ching: Six Phenomena (Russian Premiere)
'New Voices in New York'
A Talk About Present New Music in New York City
Ed Harsh (President and CEO, New Music USA)
Friday May 11th 2012 · 1:30 PM
Rimsky-Korsakov St. Petersburg State Conservatory
Ed Harsh, the President and CEO of New Music USA, discusses the new music landscape of New York City with young composers from the Rimsky-Korsakov Conservatory.
Lan Weiwei
Song Xinxin
Orchestral Program
Russia and China, Classic and Contemporary
St. Petersburg Chamber Philharmonic
Jeffery Meyer, conductor
Lan Weiwei, pipa
Margaret Kampmeier, piano
Song Xinxin, zheng
Friday May 11th 2012 · 7 PM
Glinka Hall
The Festival continues with its first orchestral program, again featuring Margaret Kampmeier performing Schnittke’s Piano Concerto, whose 2010 performance with the St. PCP at Symphony Space in New York City was called 'blazing' and 'polished' by The New York Times. The concert will also feature two of China’s top virtuoso musicians performing new works for Zheng and Pipa both written for the festival. Finally, Tchaikovsky’s beloved Serenade will top off this eclectic evening.
Qin Wenchen: Across the Skies for pipa and strings (World Premiere)
Dong Ying
Yi Hu
Whispers of A Gentle Wind
Through China from Past to Present
with Traditional Chinese Instruments
Dong Ying, sheng
Lan Weiwei, pipa
Song Xinxin, zheng
Hu Yu, banhu/erhu
Sunday May 13 · 6 PM
St. Petersrburg Rimsky-Korsakov Music College
per. Matveeva, 1-a, lecture hall #50
A special and exclusive evening of drink, food and music featuring Russian premiere performances of traditional and contemporary works for Chinese Folk Instruments (sheng, pipa, zheng, erhu) with some of China’s premiere performers and composers.
Traditional: Tune from Jin RegionFinale
Baroque Inspirations and New Works
from Russia, United States and China
St. Petersburg Chamber Philharmonic
Jeffery Meyer, conductor
Ekaterina Budnikova, violin
Nikolai Mohkov, flute
Nika Sedakova, flute
Dong Ying, sheng
Hu Yu, erhu
Monday May 14th 2012 · 7 PM
Glinka Hall
Ekaterina Budnikova
Nika Sedakova
Nikolai Mohkov
Christopher Stark
The first half of the final concert of the 2012 Troika International Festival is centered around Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 4 featuring the St. PCP’s concertmaster Ekaterina Budnikova and principal flute of the Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra, Nikolai Mohkov. Although Bach was clearly not Chinese, Russian or American, his music inspired countless generations of composers including the composers of the other two works on the first half: a world premiere commission by Timofey Buzina (RUS) and a Russian premiere Melinda Wagner’s (USA) Little Moonhead, both for the same instrumentation. The second half of the concert will begin with a newly commissioned work by Christopher Stark (USA) and two new works for Sheng and Erhu by Guo Wenjing and Chen Yi. The festival will close with a three world premieres!
Melinda Wagner: Little Moonhead (2009) (Russian Premiere)