Aranovskaya performed chamber music with a group of friends who called themselves the Leningrad Quartet, a band of four classically trained string musicians who were all graduates of the famed Leningrad Conservatory of Music.
"We won competitions in Russia all the time," Aranovskaya explained. "But in reality, that was nothing."
Until one day that the quartet played in front of an audience of mixed nationalities, including a woman who lived in San Francisco and was acting as a talent agent for similar musical groups. Lisa Sapinkopf spotted the then Leningrad Quartet and the rest was history.
"She was just a tourist and heard us play," Aranovskaya said of the first meeting with Sapinkopf. "After hearing us, she said that she wanted to represent us and bring us to America. I felt like it was our destiny to go. After we met Lisa, she made us famous in the United States and we were able to perform all over the world, not just Russia."
Living in America
The Leningrad Quartet became the St. Petersburg Quartet after the fall of the Soviet Union and the prominent name change of their hometown. But the members, namely Aranovskaya, violinist Alla Krolevich Goryainova, bassist Leonid Shukayev and violist Boris Vayner have been traveling the world, performing in all kinds of venues and concert halls.
"We are just starting a tour now," said Aranovskaya, who will lead the St. Petersburg Quartet to Weehawken to perform in the latest of the Hudson Riverfront Performing Arts Center's free UBS Atrium Lunchtime concert series on Thursday, beginning at 12:30 p.m.
"We're playing a concert in Boston, then one in Florida for the American Chamber Music Society," Aranovskaya said in a phone interview from her Ohio home, where she has lived since 1999. "Then after we play in Weehawken and at Times Square in New York, we're going to Mobile, Alabama."
One doesn't think of the Deep South when you think of classical chamber music.
"Oh, they have a nice concert hall there in Alabama and a lot of people go to that hall to do recordings because of the fine acoustics there," Aranovskaya said. "It's very strange to go there, but it's also good. There are a lot of chamber music fans in Alabama."
As well as there are in the metropolitan New York area.
"We also know that there are a lot of Russians who live in the area," said Aranovskaya, who with her group members enjoyed a five-year residency at the prestigious Oberlin Conservatory of Music in Ohio. "We hope that they take the time to come and see the concert."
World renowned quartet
Aranovskaya said that the quartet's style of music goes beyond simple classical.
"We believe that the music should have a passion, to give the audience a chance to experience what we're feeling," Aranovskaya said. "It's not just classical. It can be contemporary. We have a lot of different things in our repertoire and we get all of the emotions involved. Sometimes, our audiences tend to be a little sophisticated, but we want to reach out to everyone."
The St. Petersburg Quartet is considered among the world's great chamber ensembles.
Their rise to fame has included a Grammy nomination, an opening night performance at Mostly Mozart at Lincoln Center and hundreds of concerts at many of North America, Europe and Asia's most prestigious series and festivals.
The group just celebrated its 20th anniversary of performing together last year.
"We've been around together for so long and we don't hate each other," Aranovskaya laughed. "It's better than some marriages. We tour for about five or six months of the year, doing like 70 to 80 concerts. Last year, we went to Spain, England, Germany and Sweden. We also try visiting Russia once a year if we can. We still have a lot of friends there, family, former students. Sometimes, we're lucky and we get to see our friends from Russia around the world. Just recently, I met with a former teacher in Sweden and that was really great. I hadn't seen him in 15 years."
But Aranovskaya knows that she would have never received the chances to perform worldwide if she wasn't discovered on that fateful day 18 years ago.
"I was absolutely glad to have the chance to leave when we did," Aranovskaya said. "Nothing can compare with that."
Lunchtime concert in Weehawken
Aranovskaya said that she was excited to bring the St. Petersburg String Quartet to Weehawken and help the cause of the HRPAC to eventually build a permanent arts center along the Hudson River waterfront.
"We're pleased to be able to participate," Aranovskaya said. "We don't know much about the venue. It's going to be different. We've played in a lot of different places before, so it will be nothing new. We just hope we can encourage more people to get involved."
HRPAC Executive Director Bruce Sherman is pleased to bring such renowned classical chamber masters to the UBS Atrium concert series.
"We're proud to be able to present such a distinguished group," Sherman said. "The St. Petersburg String Quartet is regarded as one of world's finest interpreters of the Russian repertoire. The concert on Thursday will include the famous Nocturne by Alexander Borodin (most will recognize this as music used for the Broadway musical Kismet). It will also include Beethoven's String Quartet # 4 and excerpts from Dvorak's `American' Quartet and Shostakovich's String Quartet #9."
It shapes up to be an exciting and prestigious event, one that shouldn't be missed.
The HRPAC UBS Atrium free lunchtime concert will feature a performance from the St. Petersburg String Quartet on Thursday, Jan. 11, beginning at 12:30 p.m. at the atrium of the UBS Financial Services headquarters, located at 1000 Harbor Boulevard in Weehawken. Admission to the concert is free. For further information, contact the HRPAC's concert hotline at (201) 716-4540 or visit the website at www.hrpac.org.
Their rise to fame has included a Grammy nomination, an opening night performance at Mostly Mozart at Lincoln Center and hundreds of concerts at many of North America, Europe and Asia's most prestigious series and festivals.
Post a Comment