Since winning the prestigious Young Concert Artists Auditions in New York in 2012 and taking second prize at the Queen Elisabeth Competition in Brussels in 2015, Aleksey Semenenko has been considered one of the world’s leading violinists. Together with pianist Inna Firsova, the two form a permanent duo.
The two Cologne-based artists have performed at venues including the Berlin Philharmonie as part of the Musical Olympus Festival, Schloss Elmau, the Usedom Music Festival, the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Festival, the Korsholm Festival in Finland, the International Music Festival in Cervo, Italy, and many others. At the 67th Dubrovnik Summer Festival, they won the jury and television prize Orlando as the festival’s “Best Concert.”
In the Humboldt Hall, Aleksey Semenenko and Inna Firsova captivated the audience with a program that combined major chamber music works by Ravel and Brahms with lesser-known pieces by Myroslav Skoryk and Aaron Copland. With Ravel’s Sonata No. 1 and the famous “Tzigane” Rhapsody, as well as Johannes Brahms’s Sonata No. 2 for Piano and Violin, the audience was treated to chamber music of the highest quality and execution. It was an impressive performance by a truly exceptional violinist and an outstanding pianist.
Programme:
Maurice Ravel (1875–1937)
Sonata for Violin and Piano No. 1 in A minor (Sonate posthum, M.12)
Johannes Brahms (1833–1897)
Sonata for Piano and Violin No. 2 in A major, Op. 100
1. Allegro amabile
2. Andante tranquillo – Vivace – Andante – Vivace di più – Andante
3. Allegretto grazioso (quasi Andante)
- intervall -
Myroslav Skoryk (1938-2020)
Caprice for solo violin (1978)
Pyotr Tchaikovsky (1840-1893)
„Sérénade mélancolique“ op. 26
Programme Focus: 150 Years of Maurice Ravel
Maurice Ravel, one of the most significant Impressionist composers, was born 150 years ago; the Eternum Saxophone Quartet, along with Aleksey Semenenko and Inna Firsova, marked this important anniversary in their programmes.
