Concert bayanist Stas Venglevski will perform “In Croce” by Sofia Gubaidulina on February 15th 7:30 PM (CST) at the Harris Theater in Millennium Park in Chicago, Illinois. The University of Chicago presents Contempo’s first concert of 2012 celebrating Sofia Gubaidulina, one of Russia’s most esteemed living composers. The program combines the talents of Grammy-winning new music ensembles eighth blackbird and Pacifica Quartet in a special event commemorating the composer’s 80th birthday.
In Croce features Pacifica Quartet cellist Brandon Vamos with Stas Venglevski on bayan, a Russian-style button accordion. The work’s title translates roughly to “On the Cross” or “Cross-Wise”, conveying both musical meaning as well as a Christian one.
This all-Sofia Gubaidulina program includes the world premiere of A Pilgrimage of Four, commissioned for Contempo by The Serge Koussevitzky Music Foundation in the Library of Congress and The Koussevitzky Music Foundation, Inc. The performance also features Gubaidulina’s monumental cantata Perception, which reflects her fascination with ancient mathematical principles of proportion.
World-renowned composer Sofia Gubaidulina was awarded a Doctor of Humane Letters degree. Gubaidulina, who is of Russian and Tatar descent, is known for a prolific body of work that melds Russian, Central Asian and Western influences. A highly-celebrated figure in contemporary music, the prolific Russian composer, Sofia Gubaidulina, has written more extensively for the accordion (mostly for the Russian variant called the bayan) than any other composer, attracted by the living properties of an instrument that “breathes”.
Although her singular, haunting style was at odds with the Soviet musical establishment, Gubaidulina gained a devoted following in Russia. In 1985, she was allowed to travel to the West for the first time, where she soon found an equally appreciative audience.
She has received commissions from major ensembles worldwide, including the New York Philharmonic and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. She is perhaps best known for her 1980 violin concerto, the “Offertorium” and her 2002 “Passion and Resurrection of Jesus Christ according to St. John”.
She has received numerous honors for her work, including Japan’s Praemium Imperiale, the Russian State Prize, Sweden’s Polar Music Prize, and the Koussevitzky International Recording Award.
Shulamit Ran, the Andrew MacLeish Distinguished Service Professor in Music and the College, presented Gubaidulina at a ceremony in July 2011.
Stas Venglevski’s artistry, dazzling technical command, and sensitivity have brought him increasing acclaim as a virtuoso of the bayan. A two-time first prize winner of bayan competition in the Republic of Moldova, Stas is a graduate of the Russian Academy of Music in Moscow where he received his Masters Degree in Music under the tutelage of the famed Russian bayanist, Friedrich Lips. In 1992 he immigrated to the United States.
Stas’ repertoire includes his original compositions, a broad range of classical, contemporary and ethnic music. He has toured extensively as a soloist throughout the former Soviet Union, Canada, Europe, and the United States including numerous performances with Doc Severinsen, Steve Allen and with Garrison Keillor on the Prairie Home Companion Show. Additionally, he has performed with symphony orchestras throughout the United States. He performed the world premiere of Concerto No. 2 by Anthony Galla-Rini and also the world premiere of Bayan and Beyond, composed for Stas by Dan Lawitts.
He is a regular participant of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra’s Arts in Community Education Program (ACE); has done television commercials and performed in theater productions; produced numerous recordings including transcription of Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker Suite for bayan as well as one of original compositions. He has published several books of original compositions.
Stas Venglevski also performs as a member of the A Sta_Sera Duo where he combines talents with accordionist, John Simkus, known primarily for his smooth jazz renditions. Their musical partnership has resulted in a unique repertoire and as a duo they have toured the United States and Europe extensively and collaborated on a CD of original compositions, “Seasonings”.
Stas Venglevski will be Guest Artist and conduct the 2012 AAA Festival Orchestra in Baltimore, MD. July 11-15. Stas will also be Featured Artist/Educator at the Accordion Heroes Event, June 20-23, in Fredericksburg, Virginia.
For further information: stasvenglevski@sbcglobal.net
To order tickets to the concert in Chicago: 312-334-7777
