5.08 Eivere manor at 3 PM
GALA CONCERT
Anahit Nersesyan (Armenia), Irina Zahharenkova,
Izumi Tateno (Finland/Japan), Ralf Taal
Programme: Schumann, Chopin, Liszt, Debussy, Sumera etc
Ticket 15€/10€
IRINA ZAHHARENKOVA
started with piano lessons with her mother when she was four, studied at the Tallinn Georg Ots Music School (Prof Mare Ots, 1991-1995) and Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre (piano: Prof Lilian Semper; harpsichord: Prof Maris Valk-Falk, 1995-2000) where she got her master’s in 2003 (Prof L. Semper). Irina continued at the EAMT doctoral studies in 2003–2011. In 2010 she also got her master’s from Helsinki Sibelius Academy in Finland (Prof Hui-Ying Liu-Tawaststjerna). Irina has furthered her studies in the master classes of S. Kovachevich, A. Hewitt, A. Schiff, V. Meržanov, H. Dreyfus, P. Hantaï, C. Stembridge, P. Vapavuori etc. Irina has won first prizes in major international piano competitions such as the M. Čiurlionise Competition (Lithuania, 2003), Prémio Jaén Competition (Spain, 2004), “Van Vlaanderen” Festival Piano Competition Brügges (Belgium, 2004), Competition in Epinal (France, 2004), “Praha Spring“ Harpsichord Competition (Czech Republic, 2005), Georges Enescu Piano Competition (Romenia, 2005), Competition in Genf (Switzerland, 2005), Alessandro Casagrande Competition (Italy, 2006), Johann Sebastian Bach Competition (Leipzig, 2006), Villa-Lobos Competition (Brazil, 2006) and A. Rubinštein Piano Competition (Israel, 2008). Irina has performed in several international festivals in Italy, Germany, Finland, Norway and Estonia. She has also performed as a soloist with orchestras such as Estonian National Symphony Orchestra, Tallinn Chamber Orchestra, Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande and Orchestre National de Lorraine. As an extremely versatile musician, I. Zahharenkova frequently performs on the piano and harpsichord also in solo recitals and chamber music concerts. Two CD’s with Irina’s interpretations of J. S. Bach “Goldberg Variations” BWV 988 (2010, Classical Recordings) and D. Scarlatti Sonatas (2012, Classical Records) and also DVD “Keyboard Juggleress” (Estonian Records Production 2009) have been released. Irina’s repertoire encompasses a wide range of musical styles from baroque to contemporary. Today she lives and teaches in Finland and at the EAMT. Irina has also pursued the organ, chemistry, as well as Estonian and Finnish philology for her own interest.
ANAHIT NERSESYAN
is a famous Armenian pianist. She studied at the Tchaikovsky Music School in Yerevan (1961–1972, Prof E. Voskanyan) and continued her education at the Moscow State Conservatory (Professor V. Merzhanov, 1972–1977). She got her post-graduate education in piano. Since 1977 she has been teaching at the piano department of the Komitas State Conservatory of Yerevan. She has participated in several international competitions and festivals: VI International Johann Sebastian Bach Competition (1980, First Prize and Golden Medal, Germany), J. S. Bach 300th Anniversary Festival (1984, Germany), International Conservatory Week Festival (2014, St. Petersburg) and international festival dedicated to the memory of T. Shebanova (2015). A. Nersesyan has taken master classes at Karol Lipiński University of Music in Wrocław (1985, Poland) and Tokyo College of Music (1994–1995, Japan). She has been a member of several international juries: J. S. Bach International Competition in Saarbrücken (1992, Germany), Rachmaninov International Competition (1994, 1995, 2004, 2008, Russia), Balakirev International Competition (2014, Krasnodar, Russia), International Competition “Minsk 2014” (2014, Belarus), festival dedicated to the 95th anniversary of the birth of V. Merzhanov (2014, Tambov, Russia). A. Nersesyan has given solo concerts dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide (2015, Germany) and a concert dedicated to the 175th anniversary of the birth of P. Tchaikovsky (2015, Yerevan, Armenia). She has given several master classes at the Conservatory of Rimsky-Korsakov (St. Petersburg, Russia), in Sanok (Poland) and in Krasnodar (Russia) and has given numerous recitals in Germany, France, Canada, Finland, Hungary, Austria, Japan, Baltic countries, USA and Poland. She has performed with several renowned conductors including Khanjian, Tjeknavorian, Manino (Italy), van Tristen (Netherlands), Koch, Emin Khachaturian ect. She has also given performances with the Komitas Quartet several times. A. Nersesyan’s albums were popular in the former Soviet Union as well as in Germany and Japan, where she has toured numerous times. She has released music with the Melodiya and Altus. A. Nersesyan was granted with the title of Meritorious Artist of Armenia in 2007. Currently she is working as a professor at the Yerevan State Komitas Conservatory.
IZUMI TATENO
is a top Japanese pianist who has performed over 3000 concerts around the world and released one hundred recordings. In 1968, he placed second at the Messiaen International Piano Competition. In 1976, the Finnish government awarded him the Order of the First Class Knight of the Lion of Finland. Since 1981 he has been beneficiary of a stipend given by the government of Finland. He is presently the president of the Sibelius Society of Japan. In both 1982 and 1988, I. Tateno performed as a soloist with the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra’s tour in Japan. In 1984, he performed with the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra as a soloist on its European tour. In 1994, he was soloist with a Japan tour by the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra. He was invited to the St. Petersburg White Nights Festival in 1995. The same year he gave recitals around Japan and in Helsinki in commemoration of his thirty-fifth year as a concert pianist. In 1996, he received an award from the Japanese foreign minister for his contributions to friendly relations between Japan and other nations. In honor of the two hundredth anniversary of Schubert’s birth, he presented a seven-evening series of over 50 concerts around Japan and Finland. From 1989 until 1993 he worked as artistic director for the Finland Music Festival, and from 1991, the artistic director of the Nordic Light Sapporo music festival. In 1998 he became the artistic director of an annual event called the “Oulunsalo Music Festival Izumi Tateno and His Friends.” On January 9, 2002 I. Tateno collapsed on stage with an apoplectic stroke. It was right after the last piece at his recital in Finland. It resulted in a paralysis of the right half of his body. After concentrating on continuous rehabilitation, he returned to concert activities and performed recitals throughout Japan in May 2004, playing with only his left hand. His passion for music has moved people and he has been capturing people’s attention since then. Various magazines and TV programmes have taken up his life. Currently, he continues solo activities only with the left hand, and a number of new pieces for the left hand have been written for him by composers who were touched by his activities. Most active composers as Michio Mamiya, Pehr Henrik Nordgren, Hikaru Hayashi, Yasuo Sueyoshi, Takashi Yoshimatsu, Coba (Yasuhiro Kobayashi), and Kensaku Tanikawa have dedicated their original works to his left hand. The music pieces he worked on as if following water vein of his life give audience unforgettable impression, being backed with his calmly burning love for music. In 2007, he premièred “Cepheus note”, the first piano concerto for a left hand in Japan composed by Takashi Yoshimatsu, with Sächsische Staataskapelle Dresden. I. Tateno has performed as a soloist under such renowned conductors as Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, Jiři Belohlavek, Eliahu Inbal, Charles Dutoit, Kurt Masur, John Pritchard and Mariss Jansons. He has performed with almost every living Finnish and Japanese conductor Paavo Berglund, Okko Kamu, Jukka-Pekka Saraste, Hiroyuki Iwaki and Hiroshi Wakasugi, to name a few. His broad repertoire ranges from classical to contemporary pieces. He has received high acclaim for his performances and recordings in all genres. Honorable Director of Minamisouma Shimin Bunka Hall in Fukushima, Japan, President of the Sibelius Society of Japan, and Advisor of the Sévrac Society of Japan. In 2006 he was awarded the Sibelius Medal by the Sibelius Society of Finland. In autumn 2008, for the outstanding contribution during his musical activities of many years, I. Tateno was awarded “The Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette” and the honorable recognition from the Commissioner for Cultural Affairs in Japan.
RALF TAAL
has graduated from the Tallinn Music High School and the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre (EAMT). In 1993, he won the 1st Prize at the young pianists’ competition dedicated to the 150th anniversary of E. Grieg and in 1994 R. Taal won the National Pianists’ Competition and Young Interprets’ Competition-Festival “Con Brio”. He was a scholar of the Estonian Concert for the 1994/95 concert season. In 1995, he was awarded with a special prize at the Schubert International Pianists’ Competition in Dortmund for being the youngest finalist. R. Taal has performed as a soloist with almost all Estonian orchestras and he has given numerous solo concerts. He has cooperated with such outstanding conductors as Eri Klas, Paavo Järvi, Olari Elts, Arvo Volmer, Tõnu Kaljuste, Anu Tali etc. His solo programs mostly include music from Schubert, Beethoven and Chopin. In addition to being active as a soloist R. Taal is also a valued ensemble partner for several vocal and instrumental soloists, including singers Mati Palm, Ain Anger, Pille Lill, Helen Lokuta, Monika-Evelin Liiv and instrumentalists Indrek Vau, Oksana Sinkova, Toomas Vavilov, Andrus Haav etc. R. Taal is working as a pedagogue at the EAMT and at the Georg Ots Tallinn Music School and he was a concertmaster at the Estonian National Opera (1998-2014). In 2011, he was rewarded with the annual award of the Estonian Culture Endowment’s Music (Sound Design) Fund. In 2014, he released his solo album with Chopin’s piano music “Magic of Sound” (Estonian Record Productions).
