Avita Duo
January 20th, 2024
7:30 PM
Christ United Methodist Church
January 20th, 2024
7:30 PM
Christ United Methodist Church
Featuring
Katya Moeller, violin Ksenia Nosikova, piano Program Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) Sonata for Piano and Violin, Op. 30 No. 1 I. Allegro II. Adagio molto espressivo III. Allegretto con variazioni George Gershwin (1898-1937) Three Preludes (Transcribed for Violin and Piano by Jascha Heifetz) I. Allegro ben ritmato e deciso II. Andante con moto e poco rubato III. Allegro ben ritmato e deciso Intermission Richard Strauss (1864-1949) Sonata for Violin and Piano, Op. 18. I. Allegro, ma non troppo II. Andante cantabile III. Andante - Allegro |
Avita Duo
Avita Duo has been praised for “technical excellence, emotional intensity, and unity of purpose” and “fresh, committed playing, always powerful and concentrated” by Fanfare magazine. This dynamic Mother / Daughter Duo has performed versatile and captivating programs in Italy, Austria, and Russia, Brazil, and United States. Their most recent seasons included performance tours to Brazil and Southeast Asia (Hong Kong, Singapore, and Bangkok). Award winning soloists Katya Moeller (violin) and Ksenia Nosikova (piano) have enjoyed collaborating for 15 years. The Duo produced their first recording of Lera Auerbach’s Twenty-Four Preludes for Violin and Piano and world-premiere of Oskolki in 2022. Called an “absorbing, dramatic, compelling, audacious, and riveting”, this CD was released on the Hänssler Classic label and has received enthusiastic reviews from several prominent critics. This summer Avita Duo will be performing at festivals in Vienna, Budapest, and Natal (Brazil).
Katya Moeller
Violinist Katya Moeller, 18, was called a “phenomenal instrumentalist” and praised for her “fresh, committed playing, always powerful and concentrated,” “dramatic and convincing performances”, and “exquisite interpretations” by Fanfare Magazine. Katya played her first solo recital at the age of six and made her orchestra debut when she was twelve. Since then, she has been a featured soloist with several symphony orchestras in the Midwest. As a member of the vibrant Avita Duo, she performed multiple concerts in Brazil, Thailand, and Singapore in the fall of 2019 and early 2020.
A successful competitor, most recently, Katya was named the First Prize Winner of the World Bach Competition (2020), ODIN International Music Competition (2020), and 1st World Violin E-Competition Napolinova (2020), Grand Prize Winner of the ENKOR International Violin Competition (2019), and Second Prize Winner of the Togliatti International Violin Competition (Russia, 2021) and 1st Harmonium OnlinePlus International Music Competition (Armenia, 2020). Nationally, she earned the American Opera Society of Chicago Scholarship Award in honor of Katherine Buell (2022), Grand Prize at the Walgreens National Concerto Competition (2021), First Prize in the Musicians Club of Women-Chicago (2021), the Charleston Baroque Music Competition (2021), and Honorable Mention in the National YoungArts Foundation Competition (2020). She also was a prize-winner at Schubert Club Student Scholarship Competition (2019, 2021), MTNA West Central Division Auditions (2019, 2021), American Music Institute Violin Competition (Chicago), and Sejong Music Competition (Chicago). In April 2022 as a member of the Peresson String Quartet, she was the Gold Medal Winner at the St. Paul String Quartet Competition and in 2020, as a member of Dasani String Quartet, Katya was the Grand Prize Winner at the Chicago International Music Competition and received a Silver Medal Award at the Fischoff Chamber Music National Competition. Katya has performed several times on Chicago’s WFMT and Iowa Public Radio’s classical music stations. Katya recently moved to New York City to pursue her Bachelors of Music Degree at the Juilliard School of Music, studying violin performance under the tutelage of Professor Masao Kawasaki. She started violin lessons at the age of four at the Preucil School of Music in Iowa City with Christie Felsing and began studying with the legendary Professor Almita Vamos in Chicago at age eight. She was a fellowship member of the prestigious Music Institute of Chicago Academy for four years. Furthering her studies, she attended the Aspen Music Festival, the Bowdoin International Music Festival, and the Semper International Music Festival in Italy. She has participated in master classes and lessons with renown musicians and pedagogues, such as Midori Goto, Rachel Barton Pine, Georgy Pauk, Paul Huang, Sergey Kravchenko, Paul Kantor, and the Cavani and Ying Quartets. Katya’s last year’s engagements featured performances of Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto with Orchestra Iowa, Mozart’s Violin Concerto No. 4 with Ottumwa Symphony Orchestra, and Barber’s Violin Concerto with the Claudio Santoro National Theater Symphony Orchestra, as a part of the July 4th celebration of the US Embassy in Brazil. An avid chamber musician, she also performed with the Avita Duo and collaborated with Red Cedar Chamber Music. Her 2022-2023 season included performances of Coleridge-Taylor’s Violin Concerto with the Northeastern Pennsylvania Philharmonic and the Bismarck-Mandan Symphony Orchestra and several Avita Duo recitals. Katya plays a 1978 Sergio Peresson violin. |
Ksenia Nosikova
Pianist Ksenia Nosikova has been praised as “First rate” (Fono Forum), “Full of dramatic intensity” (International Piano), “Phenomenal instrumentalist; absorbing, dramatic, compelling, and riveting” (Fanfare Magazine), “Impressive musicianship, musically very poetic” (Boston Globe), and “Refined sensibility and exquisite pianism” (New York Concert Reviews). The scope of her concert engagements across the globe expands from professional concert venues, such as Shanghai City Hall in China, City Hall Theatre in Hong Kong, Chetham’s International Piano Series in England, Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall in New York City, and Dame Myra Hess Concert Series in Chicago, to major academic institutions, including over 170 performances at American universities’ guest artist series. Her extensive repertoire list reflects her commitment to presenting diverse programs of masterworks and lesser-known compositions and includes over 30 piano concertos.
Ksenia Nosikova has recorded for Profil Medien, Hänssler Classic, Albany Records, Centaur Records, and Capstone Records labels. Among her twelve critically acclaimed CD recordings are the complete three volumes of “Years of Pilgrimage” by Franz Liszt, called an “outstanding achievement” by Classics Today and “super disc” by London’s International Piano magazine. In 2021 her double CD set of Aus Meinem Tagebuch (From my Diary) Op. 82 by Max Reger was released by Centaur Records. Most recently, as a member of Avita Duo, she recorded “Twenty-Four Preludes” and Oskolki by contemporary Russian-born American composer Lera Auerbach, which were released by Hänssler Classic in the spring of 2022. Dr. Nosikova is a graduate of Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory and University of Colorado. Among her most influential teachers are Mikhail Voskresensky, Norma Fisher, and Robert Spillman. Currently, she is a Professor and Chair of Piano Department at the University of Iowa and a member of the artist faculties of Semper International Music Festival (Italy) and Wiener MusikSeminar International Master Classes (Austria). Dr. Nosikova has presented over 300 guest master classes and frequently serves on judging panels. Her students have excelled in numerous competitions, been hired by numerous institutions of higher education, been accepted to leading US music programs, and awarded fellowships and scholarships at many prestigious summer programs. Ksenia Nosikova is a member of the American Liszt Society’s National Board of Directors and Artistic Director of “Piano Sundays at Old Capitol” Concert Series. She is a Steinway Artist and 2021 Steinway Teacher Hall of Fame inductee. |
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