Beata SZALWINSKA
// piano
Beata Szalwinska, pianist with Steinway & Sons, has performed at the National Philharmonic Hall in Warsaw, Philharmonic Hall in Luxembourg, and the Salle Cortot and Théâtre de Nice in France.
Alexsander ANISIMOV
// bass
Alexander Anisimov, a prize winner in the Glinka and Tchaikovsky Competition, has performed on stages around the world such as the Metropolitan Opera, La Scala, Bolchoi Opera, and Paris Opera.
ARTISTS
The Russian bass, Alexander Anisimov, a prize winner in the Glinka and Tchaikovsky Competitions, made his debut as a soloist with the Bolshoi Opera in 1990, the same year he completed his studies, singing major roles in Tchaikovsky's lolanta and Glinka's A Life for the Tzar. Two years later he made his international debut at the Paris Opera as the Old Convict in Shostakovich's Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk in a production that also traveled to La Scala, conducted by Myung-Whun Chung. He was invited to make his debut with La Scala, Milan as The Grand lnquisitore in a new production by Franco Zefferelli, of Verdi's Don Carlo with Luciano Pavarotti, conducted by Riccardo Muti [EMI CD and video]. He also performed at La Scala as Commendatore at Mozart's Don Giovanni with Muti. Anisimov sang Prince Gremin in Tchaikovsky's Eugene Oneguin at the Chatelet Theater in Paris, conducted by Semyon Bychkov, which became an award-winning CD on the Philips label. His Metropolitan Opera debut took place in 1994, as the Old Convict in Shostakovich's Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk under the baton of James Conlon. A regular guest at the Metropolitan Opera, Anisimov appeared as Lodovico in the opening night production of Verdi's Otelia with Placido Domingo and Renee Fleming, conducted by James Levine, which was later telecasted over PBS (Deutsche Grammophon CD/DVD}.
Beata Szalwinska is a Polish pianist graduated from Fryderyk Chopin Music Academy in Warsaw. As a French Government stipendiary she also studied at the Ecole Normale de Musique Alfred Cortot in Paris. In the last year of her studies she won a competition for the best performance of a piano concerto where the award was her debut in the National Philharmonic in Warsaw where she played the Symphony no. 4 of Karol Szymanowski. After the performance, the music critic Krzysztof Baculewski wrote in the music journal “Ruch Muzyczny”:
“…already during the first notes, the soloist played intrigued with a romantic phrase sounding almost Chopin-like; she enchanted the audience with her colorful interpretation. The performing concept seemed to follow the classical form, inspirited however with sudden articulation motifs, attractive phrasing and, broadly speaking, with a different, fresh approach. Beyond any doubt, Beata Szalwinska is an extremely talented pianist which was confirmed by the standing ovation after the performance of the Symphony…”