Paris Mirages: Cellist Misha Quint and Pianist Alexei Volodin
Renowned cellist Misha Quint and acclaimed pianist Alexei Volodin – two soloists – team up in a dynamic duo for a program of French masterworks in Paris Mirages at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall on January 23rd at 8PM. The concert is presented by InterHarmony International Music Festival as part of its iconic InterHarmony Concert Series. Tickets are available online at www.carnegiehall.org or by calling CarnegieCharge at 212-247-7800. More information can be found at www.interharmony.com.
This concert marks a powerful collaboration between two Russian-born artists who have made their homes in the USA and Spain, respectively. Misha Quint, known for tackling the most technically demanding cello repertoire with passion and flair, and Alexei Volodin, celebrated for his poetic artistry and masterful technique, began performing chamber music together at the InterHarmony International Music Festival in Acqui Terme, Italy, five years ago. Their upcoming recital reflects the repertoire of their anticipated CD release, offering a fresh interpretation of these evocative works.
See concise “about the program” section to preface the more detailed highlights below.
About the Program
"Paris Mirages" offers a glimpse into the vibrant and transformative era of Fin-de-Siècle Paris, where composers like Debussy, Franck, Fauré, and Ravel redefined the boundaries of musical expression. This period, marked by unparalleled artistic innovation, bridged the late Romantic era with the dawn of modernism, weaving new textures, harmonies, and cultural influences into the fabric of music.
The program highlights works that exemplify the close-knit relationships between composers and the virtuoso performers of their time. These connections shaped the interpretations, transcriptions, and legacies of the pieces presented, offering an intimate look at a historical moment when collaboration and creativity flourished. Quint and Volodin’s interpretations breathe new life into these masterpieces, connecting the avant-garde spirit of the past with modern audiences. .
Program Highlights
Gabriel Fauré: Élégie, Op. 24
Dedicated to cellist Jules Loeb, Élégie stands as one of Fauré’s most poignant works, combining haunting lyricism with profound emotional depth. Though originally intended as part of a larger sonata, the piece evolved into a standalone treasure of the cello repertoire. Pablo Casals later premiered its orchestral arrangement, cementing its place in history.
César Franck: Violin Sonata in A Major (Arranged for Cello and Piano)
Franck’s Violin Sonata, beloved for its cyclic structure and radiant melodies, was adapted for cello by Jules Delsart with the composer’s blessing. This adaptation retains the emotional intensity and technical brilliance of the original, showcasing Franck’s genius for intertwining thematic ideas into a cohesive, lyrical narrative.
Claude Debussy: Nocturne et Scherzo
Debussy could have written Nocturne et Scherzo while spending the summer with the von Meck family in Switzerland as resident pianist and private tutor. This was the same Nadezhda von Meck, known for being Tchaikovsky’s patron and close correspondent. Debussy incipiently scored Nocturne et Scherzo for von Meck’s resident violinist, but after a single performance which Debussy accompanied himself, he decided to rework the piece for cello. This piece vanished from public record, was rediscovered in the 1970’s, Rostropovich presented the first public performance. It is deceptively depicted as 2 pieces, but it is only one. There is debate about whether the Nocturne was lost or whether Nocturne et Scherzo is meant to be a linked piece, like Chopin made with his Polonaise-Fantastique or Debussy’s own Scherzo-Intermezzo from his Piano Trio.
Debussy: Claire de Lune (Arranged for Cello and Piano)
Clair de Lune from Suite Bergamasque is one of the most popular of Debussy’s compositions, and most famous classical music pieces of all time. Debussy composed it in 1890 and reworked it many times, dedicating it to four different women, until the final 1905 publication. Initially for piano, it has inspired transcriptions for many instruments and other media. Clair de Lune means moonlight and was based on a poem by the French symbolist Paul Verlaine. Suite Bergamasque was based in Bergamo, the home of Comedia d’Arte. The character Pierrot comes to mind again in this piece in his association with the moon, Bergamo, and relationship to Debussy.
Claude Debussy: Sonata for Cello and Piano
Debussy’s Sonata captures the wit, theatricality, and emotion of the Commedia dell’Arte tradition. Originally titled "Pierrot is angry at the moon," the piece blends dark humor and elegance across its three movements—Prologue, Sérénade, and Finale—offering a vivid exploration of mood and character.
“Music expresses that which cannot be put into words and that which cannot remain silent.”― Victor Hugo
PERFORMER BIOGRAPHIES
A graduate of the Leningrad Special School for the Gifted and the Leningrad State Conservatory, Misha Quint made his orchestral debut at the age of 13 after winning first prize at the Boccherini Competition in St. Petersburg (then Leningrad). He gained international recognition after capturing top prizes in the 1975 International Competition in Prague and the Russian National Competition. Quint immigrated to the US and made his critically acclaimed New York recital debut at the 92nd Street Y and his orchestral debut in Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center in 1992. He has given numerous solo recitals and master classes in the leading halls of England, Germany, Switzerland, Ireland, Russia, Latvia, Georgia, Belorussia, Romania, Italy, and the US. “[Quint] provides a fresh voice…The Russian school of string playing has taken on a different light with Quint” said Daniel Webster of the Philadelphia Inquirer and “a master of probing sentiment, shaded phrasing, and flawless technique” from MetroWest.
Misha Quint has appeared with such celebrated orchestras as the New York Chamber Symphony, Metropolitan Symphony, the London Soloists Chamber Orchestra at Queen Elizabeth Hall, Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra, Moscow State Symphony Orchestra, Leningrad State Orchestra, Orchestra of Classical and Contemporary Music, National Irish Symphony, the OrquestraSinfônica do Teatro Nacional do Brasilia and with the Symphony Orchestras of Latvia and Georgia among others. He has worked with an equally illustrious group of conductors including Maxim Shostakovich, Christian Vásquez, Paul Lustig Dunkel, Colman Pearce, Sidney Harth, Ravil Martinov, Yakov Bergman, and Ira Levin. Quint is an active chamber musician and has performed with such artists as Nikolai Znaider, Vadim Repin, Shlomo Mintz, Bela Davidovich, Bruno Canino, Julian Rachlin, Jean-Bernard Pommier, Sherban Lupu, Boris Kushnir, and Mikhail Kopelman.
As a special guest artist, Misha Quint was broadcast in live television performances in Westchester, NY; "The Jewish Entertainment Hour"; German Television, Italian Television, RTN/WMNB; and live radio broadcast recitals on WQXR's "The Listening Room", WGBH (Boston), WMNB (NJ), WNYC (NY). Quint captured first prize of the CRS National competition in 2009, was a featured performer at The Festival of the Musical Citadel in Brasov, Romania in August 2013 and 2014, and is the Founder of the InterHarmony Concert Series at Carnegie Hall in New York and the former InterHarmony Concert Series at the Modern Museum of Art in Fort Worth, Texas. Quint’s discography includes Live Cello Recitals and Valse Sentimentale on the Volshebnik Productions Label, and the 2014 release of Tempo Trapezio and 2016 release of Matryoshka Blues on the Blue Griffin Label. Quint captured the gold medal inthe March 2016 Global Music Awards for his recording, Matryoshka Blues, on the Blue Griffin label in three categories: instrumentalist, album, and new release, and was featured in the top five spring albums in Global Music Awards.
Misha Quint is strongly committed to teaching and is on the faculty of InterHarmony International School of Music. He has been on the faculty of the International Institute of Music in Marktoberdorf, Germany, and was Music Director and Founder of the Soesterberg International Music Festival in Holland from 1998 – 2007, the Intensive Cello Studies Abroad in Blonay, Chalet de lacroix at the Hindemith Foundation in 1997, Interharmony Music Festival in Geneva, Switzerland in 2000, The Berkshires, Massachusetts from 2007 – 2008, San Francisco, California in 2009, Hinterzarten, Schwarzwald, Germany from 2008 – 2011, in Tuscany, Italy from 2012 – 2016, presently in Acqui Terme, Italy since 2017, and from 2005-2019 in Sulzbach-Rosenberg, Bavaria, Germany. Quint studied with Emmanuel Fishman, Natalia Gutman, Boris Pergamenshikov, and Daniel Shafran. www.mishaquintcello.com www.interharmony.com www.interharmonymusicschool.com
Previous seasons have included performances with Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal, NCPA Orchestra China, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Winnipeg Symphony, Singapore Symphony, NHK Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Kyoto Symphony, Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg, Antwerp Symphony Orchestra, The Mariinsky Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra, and St Petersburg Philharmonic. He has worked with conductors including Valery Gergiev, Semyon Bychkov, Stanislav Kochanovsky, and Robert Trevino.
Volodin regularly appears in recital in venues such as Wiener Konzerthaus, Carnegie Hall, Wigmore Hall, Barcelona’s Palau de la Música, Mariinsky Theatre, Paris’ Philharmonie, Alte Oper Frankfrut, Madrid’s Auditorio Nacional de Música, Zentrum Paul Klee, Muziekgebouw aan 't IJ, and Dresdner Musikfestspiele.
As an active chamber musician, he has a long-standing collaboration with many artists including Igor Levit, Claire Huangci, and Sol Gabetta. Previous chamber partners include Janine Jansen, Julian Rachlin, and Mischa Maisky, as well as the Borodin Quartet, Modigliani Quartet, Cuarteto Casals and Cremona Quartet. This season he performs with artists such as Ilya Gringolts, Alban Gerhardt, and Eldbjørg Hemsing for trio recitals and regularly works with Olga Pashchenko, Claire Huangci, and his wife Edith Peña for piano duo recitals. Volodin’s latest album with the Mariinsky label was Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No.4, conducted by Gergiev. Recording for Challenge Classics, Volodin’s disc of solo Rachmaninov works was released in 2013. He also recorded a solo album of Schumann, Ravel and Scriabin, and his earlier Chopin disc won a Choc de Classica and was awarded five stars by Diapason.A regular artist at festivals, Volodin has performed at Kaposvár International Chamber Music Festival, Festival Les nuits du Château de la Moutte, Variations Musicales de Tannay, Bad Kissingen Sommer Festival, La Roque d’Anthéron, Les Rencontres Musicales d'Évian, Festival La Folle Journée, the White Nights Festival in St Petersburg, St. Magnus International Festival, Interharmony Festival, and the Moscow Easter Festival.
Born in 1977 in Leningrad, Alexei Volodin studied at Moscow’s Gnessin Academy and later with Eliso Virsaladze at the Moscow Conservatoire. In 2001, he continued his studies at the International Piano Academy Lake Como and gained international recognition following his victory at the International Géza Anda Competition in Zürich in 2003. Alexei Volodin is an exclusive Steinway artist.
HarrisonParrott represents Alexei Volodin for general management.
Program
Fauré: Élégie, Op.24Franck: Sonata for Cello and Piano in A Major
Debussy: Nocturne et Scherzo
Debussy: Clair de Lune from Suite bergamasque for Cello and Piano in A Major
Debussy: Sonata for Cello and Piano
Misha Quint, cello
Alexei Volodin, piano
Where to Go
Tickets are $45, and can be purchased by calling CarnegieCharge at 212- 247-7800; at the Carnegie Hall box office located at West 57th and Seventh Avenue or online at www.carnegiehall.org.
Press Contact:
Caleb Hathaway
170 NE 2nd St #443
Boca Raton, FL 33429
USA
festival@interharmony.com
