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March 18, 2012

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Russian pianist joins Chinese string quartet

RUSSIAN pianist Elena Bashkirova will perform two chamber music quintets of the 19th and 20th centuries in a concert next Wednesday.

The program at the Shanghai Oriental Art Center features Schnittke's "Piano Quintet" (1972), considered a work of modern pathos dedicated to his teacher Dmitri Shostakovich, and Schumann's "Piano Quintet in E Flat Major."

Bashkirova, performing for the first time in Shanghai, will be joined by violinists Li Pei and Chen Yi, violist Wei Zhen and cellist from the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra.

Schnittke's "Piano Quintet," which may be unfamiliar to many Shanghai music lovers, is considered the defining work of his career and look a long time to complete. Some sketches were discarded and later used in a requiem.

"It is a relatively rare work for stage performance," says Li, concertmaster at the symphony orchestra, adding that the chamber group has not played that particular composition before.

Schumann was one of the first significant composers to combine piano with a string quartet. His piano quintet takes full advantage of the expressive possibilities of both quartet and piano.

"This piano quintet may sound more classical for most audiences," says Li. "It is technically difficult to keep all the five instruments in the right keys while presenting the melody harmoniously."

The work contains sharp contrasts and is altogether appealing, he says.

Bashkirova was born into a musical family in Russia in 1958. Her father is a pianist and teacher. Bashkirova studied at the Tchaikovsky Conservatory. Focusing on chamber music throughout the years, she established the Metropolis Ensemble in Berlin and the Jerusalem International Festival of Chamber Music in 1998.



Date: March 21, 7:45pm

Venue: Shanghai Oriental Art Center, 425 Dingxiang Rd, Pudong

Tickets: 60-300 yuan (US$9.50-47.52)

Tel: 962-388




 

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