PROGRAMMA

Henryk Wieniawsky (1835 – 1880)
Lègende in Sol minore per violino e pianoforte Op. 17

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827)
Sonata No. 5 in Fa Maggiore Op. 24 “Primavera”

César Franck (1822–1890)
Sonata in La maggiore per violino e pianoforte

Pablo de Sarasate (1844 – 1908)
Zigeunerweisen Op. 26

 

KINGA AUGUSTYN, violino
Kinga Augustyn is a New York City-based virtuoso concert violinist and recording artist. Ms. Augustyn has a large repertoire of more than 40 concerti, both standard and lesser–known, that she has performed with such orchestras as the German Kammerorchester Berlin and the Wroclaw Philharmonic. Augustyn’s expanding discography on major labels such as Naxos, includes the Paganini Caprices, which music critics consider as convincing as Perlman’s or Midori’s, and an “an enduring benchmark” (Classical Net). “Stylish and vibrant” (The Strad Magazine), and “beyond amazing, one hell of a violinist!” (The Fanfare Magazine), Kinga Augustyn is often praised for her musical interpretations. Music Web International describes her recording of the Bruch Violin Concerto with Janacek Philharmonic as “extremely moving and expressive,” characterized by “beauty, richness and smoothness of her tone,” and as “music she responds to on a deeply personal and emotional level.” Gramophone calls her “Turning in Time” album of 20th and 21st Century works “remarkable”. Augustyn has performed as a soloist with orchestras in the United States, Europe and Asia, including the Deutsches Kammerorchester Berlin, Magdeburg Philharmonic Orchestra, the Chamber Orchestra Leopoldinum, the Wrocław Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Riverside Symphonia. She has toured China and performed at China’s most prestigious venues such as Beijing Poly Theater and Shanghai Oriental Art Center. Other venues she has appeared at as a recitalist or chamber musician include both the Stern Auditorium and the Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Aspen Music Festival, and Chicago Cultural Center. In addition to concerti with orchestras and recitals with piano, she frequently performs unaccompanied solo violin recitals.  Augustyn’s most recent and critically acclaimed recording was released in 2021 by Centaur Records, and it features 20th and 21st Century unaccompanied solo violin works by Krzysztof Penderecki (world premiere of “Capriccio”), Debra Kaye (world premiere of “Turning in Time”), as well as other works, significant in the violin repertoire, by Elliott Carter, Luciano Berio, Isang Yun and Grażyna Bacewicz. Her second Centaur Records release in 2021 is “La Pasión”, which features 6 Tango-Etudes for Solo Violin by Astor Piazzolla.  In 2018, together with the Torun Symphony Orchestra and Mariusz Smolij, Augustyn released on Naxos an album of world premieres by the contemporary Polish composer Romuald Twardowski (b. 1930). Augustyn, who has proven her commitment to increasing awareness of music by Polish composers, had previously made a significant contribution to Polish music by recording the Polish Violin Music, a highly praised, “fascinating” (The Strad) album of lesser-known Polish composers. She has also recently released Telemann 12 Fantasias for Solo Violin (Centaur Records), in which “her interpretations are convincing in every piece here, and the Baroque spirit of the violin and Telemann’s mastery abiding throughout” (Music Web International); and Glen Roven’s Runaway Bunny Concerto performed with Catherine Zeta-Jones as a narrator and featuring Kinga Augustyn’s Solo Violin Cadenza (GPR Records). Her “exquisite playing” (Music Web International) is often praised for the profundity, deft phrasing, beautiful tone, mastery of the bow, and perfect intonation. “With completely secure technical control, she couples a tapestry of tone color to her innate musicality” (The Fanfare Magazine). Ms. Augustyn is an advocate of new music and premieres and records new works, oftentimes written especially for her.  Ms. Augustyn has won international awards, including First Prizes at the Alexander & Buono International String Competition (NYC), Artist International Presentations (NYC), J. S. Bach String Competition (Zielona Gora, Poland), and the 2017 “Young Poland” contest in Poland. Other top honors include prizes at the Johannes Brahms International Competition (Poertschach, Austria) and the Kloster Schoental International Young Artist Competition (Kloster Scheontal, Germany).  Ms. Augustyn studied at The Juilliard School with Dorothy DeLay, Cho-Liang Lin, and Naoko Tanaka, and earned there both the Bachelor and the Master degrees. She also holds a doctorate from the Stony Brook University where she worked with Phil Setzer and Pamela Frank.  Kinga Augustyn plays on a violin made by Joseph Gagliano in 1774, generously on loan to her from a private collector.

CORRADO RUZZA, pianoforte
Corrado Ruzza, pianista e docente al Conservatorio di Riva del Garda, si occupa di repertori cameristici, ai quali dedica la propria attività artistica e didattica. Molte nel tempo le sue collaborazioni con importanti solisti che lo hanno portato a tenere concerti in Europa e Stati Uniti (tra gli altri, il violinista Cristiano Rossi, i flautisti Giampaolo Pretto e Andrea Griminelli, il violinista Domenico Nordio col quale ha realizzato un CD per Il Canale UNICEF, i cantanti Anna Dragoni, Francesco Meli, Nicola Ulivieri, ecc.). Il celebre soprano russo Ljuba Kazarnovskaya lo ha scelto per numerose tournée cameristiche tutto il territorio della ex-Unione Sovietica. È pianista stabile del Museo Nazionale Giuseppe Verdi di Busseto, dove collabora con i maggiori cantanti del panorama internazionale in concerti da camera. È inoltre pianista ufficiale del concorso internazionale AudiMozart! per strumenti a fiato di Rovereto presieduto da Marcello Abbado.  È particolarmente attivo nel campo della ricerca,occupandosi in particolare della valorizzazione del patrimonio meno conosciuto dell’Ottocento musicale italiano attraverso concerti, incisioni discografiche, mostre e convegni. Tra le incisioni di rilievo in prima moderna assoluta si segnalano l’opera cameristica di Giancarlo Colò e un cd con romanze su testi del letterato Andrea Maffei (librettista di Verdi), apprezzate dalla stampa specializzata nazionale. Ha inoltre in progetto la pubblicazione per la Tactus Records delle opere cameristiche di Cesare Dominiceti e Giacomo Gotifredo Ferrari. Ha tenuto masterclasses e conferenze per la Sacramento Youth Symphony (Stati Uniti), per l’Accademia musicale di Kuopio (Finlandia) e per l’università di Magdeburgo (Germania). Ha tenuto inoltre un corso di Musica da Camera per la Summer Academy di Radovljica (Slovenia).

 

KINGA AGUSTYN

CORRADO RUZZA