The 2020 Piatigorsky International Cello Festival, recently listed by The New York Times as a classical season highlight, and Artistic Director Ralph Kirshbaum, have announced several new developments to the exciting 10-day event, taking place in Los Angeles from March 13-22, 2020, including the addition of several new guest artists, the complete roster of Festival Fellows, and the launch of a never-released work of fiction by the Festival’s namesake, Gregor Piatigorsky, published by Adelaide Books. Tickets to all 42 events of this truly unique international celebration of the cello are now on sale.

In conjunction with the Piatigorsky Film Screening & Panel Discussion on Saturday, March 14, 2020, Joram Piatigorsky, Gregor’s son, will present the fictional work entitled Mr. Blok. The novel is published with an introduction by Joram, who states about this release, “I am very grateful to Adelaide Books and Stevan Nikolic for publishing my father’s novel, Mr. Blok, after it has languished unpublished for some sixty years. In my opinion, this wildly imaginative, surreal novel makes a significant contribution to literature by the creation of a unique fictional character – Mr. Blok – who my father calls in the forward, ‘a likable fellow, who will not mind in the slightest being put aside, should he not succeed in holding your attention.’ He certainly held my attention. I believe Mr. Blok extends the legacy of my father as a broad, perceptive artist even beyond his fame as a cellist. Also, as I wrote in the introduction, Blok has particular poignancy for me as I recognize him as ‘a tormented fantasy of Papa, an original anti-hero bursting with ambition, flipping back and forth between exuberant inspiration and waves of sadness verging on despair.’ It is a great satisfaction for me to have been able to bring Mr. Blok to the world, as I believe it would have been to my father. That the novel is being launched at the Piatigorsky International Cello Festival in Los Angeles, where he lived and taught, is especially meaningful and speaks directly to the many musicians and fans who loved him.”

Mr. Blok is the only literary work written by the famous musician and beloved music teacher and provides an invaluable source of insight into, and knowledge about, the mind and personality of the great man behind the cello. According to Stevan Nikolic, editor at Adelaide Books, “after reading his work, my conclusion is that it is almost impossible that such a novel was written without heavy inclusion of autobiographical elements. Of course, at this point, it is just an assumption, which makes it an even more interesting read for anybody interested in the work of Gregor Piatigorsky.”

The Festival has also announced the addition of cellists Ye Lin (Stella) Cho, Evan Drachman, and Terry King; conductor Hilo Carriel; pianists Vivian Fan, Lily Maisky, and Alin Melik-Adamyan; soprano Sarah Shafer, and violist Yura Lee. The expertise, diversity, and artistry of these outstanding musicians serve to enhance the Festival’s already-outstanding roster, through thoughtful programming, direct audience engagement, and mentorship of the Festival Fellows.

Pictured: Soprano Sarah Shafer by Vanessa Briceno

Cellists:
Ye Lin (Stella) Cho • Thomas Demenga • Evan Drachman • Chiara Enderle Samatanga • David Geringas • Clive Greensmith • Narek Hakhnazaryan • Frans Helmerson • Steven Isserlis • Michael Kaufman • Terry King • Ralph Kirshbaum • Maria Kliegel • Jacob Koranyi • Benjamin Lash • Laurence Lesser • Antonio Lysy • Jens Peter Maintz • Mischa Maisky • Yoshika Masuda • Peter Myers • Jean-Guihen Queyras • Wolfgang Emanuel Schmidt • Inbal Segev • Andrew Shulman • Giovanni Sollima • Jeffrey Solow • Kian Soltani • Torleif Thedeen • Camille Thomas • Laura van der Heijden • Istvan Vardai • Quirine Vierson • Raphael Wallfisch • Wendy Warner

Pianists:
Bernadene Blaha • Ya-Fei Chuang • Vivian Fan • Kevin Fitz-Gerald • Lily Maisky • Alin Melik-Adamyan • Juho Pohjonen • Robert Thies

Conductors:
Hilo Carriel • Karen Kamensek • Carl St.Clair

Violist:
Yura Lee

Soprano:
Sarah Shafer

Ensembles:
Los Angeles Philharmonic • USC Thornton Symphony • Piatigorsky Festival Orchestra • SAKURA

Additionally, the Festival Fellows have been selected and announced.  Recommended by the guest artists, each young musician was considered for their immense talent and accomplishments and spend the entirety of the Festival with their mentors and each other, building a network of the next generation of excellent cellists. They join the artists in the many masterclasses, workshops, panels, and performances that the Festival offers, as well as the Mass Cello Ensemble on the Disney Concert Hall stage. The Festival Fellows come together in Los Angeles from across North America, Asia, and Europe.  Notable alumni and current Fellows include Zlatomir Fung (2016) gold medal winner of the 2019 Tchaikovsky Competition; winner of the 2019 Astral Artists National Auditions and 2019 National Federation of Music Clubs Biennial Young Artist Competition Alexander Hersh (2016); 2016 Spinx Competition 1st Prize Winner Thomas Mesa (2016); 2018 Paulo International Cello Competition 1st Prize Winner Brannon Cho (2016); 2019 ARD Competition 2nd Prize Winner Friedrich Thiele (2020); and 2019 Tchaikovsky Competition 4th Prize Winner and recently appointed Artistic Ambassador of Suwon, South Korea, Taeguk Mun (2020).

Festival Fellows:

Jared Blajian - Naples, FL, USA
Juan-Salvador Carrasco - Santa Monica, CA, USA
Lia Chen Perlov – Tel-Aviv, Israel
Bryan Cheng – Ottawa, Canada
Youna Choi - Seoul, South Korea
Hayoung Choi - Seoul, South Korea
Maialen Eguiazabal Arruabarrena - Irun, Spain
Benjamin Fried - Highland Park, IL, USA
Domonkos Peter Hartmann - Veszprém, Hungary
Constantin Philipp Heise - Weimar, Germany
Juliette Herlin – Paris, France
Natania Hoffman – Cincinnati, OH, USA
Allan Hon – Santa Ana, CA, USA
Javier Iglesias-Martin – Madrid, Spain
Annette Jakovcic – Leonia, NJ, USA
Jakob Christoph Kuchenbuch - Weimar, Germany
Waynne Wooseok Kwon – Sydney, Australia
Yanyan Lin – Xiamen, China
Constantin Macherel - Lausanne, Switzerland
Taeguk Mun – Suwon, South Korea 
Henry Myers - St. Louis, MO, USA
Sinéad O‘Halloran – Cork, Ireland
Jason Pegis – Seattle, WA, USA
Timotheos Petrin - Thessaloniki, Greece
Erica Piccotti – Rome, Italy
Ben Solomonow - Evanston, IL, USA
Anton Spronk - Den Bosch, The Netherlands
Endre Steger – Vienna, Austria
Friedrich Thiele - Weimar, Germany
Ülker Tümer – Adana, Turkey
Clara Védèche - Saint Étienne , France
YuqiWang – Hangzhou, China
Aihao Zheng – Zhenjiang, China

Tickets to each Piatigorsky International Cello Festival event are now available for purchase by calling the USC Thornton Ticket Office at 213.740.4672 or clicking here.

1.       All-Festival Pass
     a.       Adult $995.00
     b.       Non-USC Student/Senior $850.00
     c.       USC Community $600.00

2.       Opening Weekend package
     a.       Adult $300.00
     b.       Non-USC Student/Senior $250.00
     c.       USC Community $200.00

3.       Bach/Evening Recital Series package
     a.       Adult $425.00
     b.       Non-USC Student/Senior $350.00
     c.       USC Community $225.00

4.       Lunch Series package
     a.       Adult $200.00
     b.       Non-USC Student/Senior $150.00
     c.       USC Community $100.00

5.       Festival One-Day Pass
     a.       Prices vary per day

FESTIVAL SCHEDULE

All venues are at USC, with the exception of the concerts at the Walt Disney Concert Hall

Friday, March 13, 2020

Opening Gala Concert
7:30PM • Bovard Auditorium
USC Thornton Symphony
Carl St.Clair, conductor
Mischa Maisky, cello
Yura Lee, viola

Beethoven: "Egmont" Overture, Op.84
R. Strauss: Don Quixote, Op. 35

Saturday, March 14, 2020

Mischa Maisky: Reflections on the Challenges and Joys of a Musician’s Life
11:00AM-12:30PM • Alfred Newman Recital Hall
 

Piatigorsky Film and Panel
Cellist: The Legacy of Gregor Piatigorsky
3:00PM • Alfred Newman Recital Hall
Panel featuring students of Piatigorsky
Terry King (Official Biographer of Piatigorsky)
Laurence Lesser
Mischa Maisky
Jeffrey Solow
Raphael Wallfisch
and special guest, Piatigorsky’s grandson,
Evan Drachman
 

Mr. Blok Book Launch
5:30pm • Alfred Newman Recital Hall
A previously unpublished novel, “Mr. Blok” by Gregor Piatigorsky, introduced by his son, Joram Piatigorsky.
Underwritten by Adelaide Books


Recital Gala 
8:00PM • Bovard Auditorium
Pre-Concert Talk at 7:30PM presented by American cellist, Jeffrey Solow
Underwritten by Florian Leonhard Violins

Cello:
Thomas Demenga
Chiara Enderle Samatanga
David Geringas
Frans Helmerson
Antonio Lysy
Mischa Maisky
Andrew Shulman
Quirine Viersen
Raphael Wallfisch

Piano:
Bernadene Blaha
Lily Maisky
Juho Pohjonen
Robert Thies

Schumann: Fantasy Pieces, Op. 73 (Helmerson/Pohjonen)
Mendelssohn: Cello Sonata No. 1 in B-flat Major, Op. 45 (Lysy/Blaha)
Brahms: Cello Sonata in e minor, Op. 38 (Wallfisch/Pohjonen)

Mendelssohn: Song Without Words (Viersen/Thies)
Schumann: Five Pieces in Folk Style, Op. 102 (Demenga/Thies)
Mendelssohn: Cello Sonata No. 2 in D Major, Op. 58 (Geringas/Pohjonen)

Schumann: Adagio and Allegro (Enderle Samatanga/Thies)
Mendelssohn: Variations Concertantes, Op. 17 (Shulman/Blaha)
Brahms: Cello Sonata in F Major, Op. 99 (Maisky/Maisky)

Sunday, March 15, 2020

Master Class with Maria Kliegel
10:00AM • Alfred Newman Recital Hall
Underwritten by The Andrew B. Kim and Wan Kyun Rha Family Foundation, Inc.
Ty Kim and Felicia Paik Kim
 

Lunch Series Concert
1:00PM • Alfred Newman Recital Hall
Jakob Koranyi, cello
Underwritten by the Church Family in Honor and Memory of Frank V. Church

A. Hillborg: Duo for Cello and Piano
M. Lysenko: Sum, Elegy for Cello and Piano
Shostakovich: Sonata for Cello and Piano, Op. 40
Jakob Koranyi, cello
Juho Pohjonen, piano
 

Master Class with Frans Helmerson
3:00PM • Alfred Newman Recital Hall
Underwritten by The Andrew B. Kim and Wan Kyun Rha Family Foundation, Inc.
Ty Kim and Felicia Paik Kim
 

Bach Series
7:00 pm • Alfred Newman Recital Hall
Thomas Demenga, cello
Bach: Cello Suite No. 1
Underwritten by Joan A. Friedman, PhD and Robert N. Braun, MD, USC Glorya Kaufman School of Dance
 

Piatigorsky Festival Orchestra
8:00PM • Bovard Auditorium
Underwritten by The Parisot Family in Honor and Memory of Aldo Parisot

Thomas Demenga, cello
Jens Peter Maintz, cello
Wolfgang Emanuel Schmidt, cello
Giovanni Sollima, cello
István Várdai, cello
Raphael Wallfisch, cello
SAKURA

Vivaldi: Concerto for Two Cellos in g minor, RV 531 (Maintz and Schmidt)
Weinberg: Concertino (Wallfisch)
Sallinen: Nocturnal Dances of Don Juan Quixote (Demenga)
Sollima: Violoncelles vibrez! (Sollima, Vardai, and SAKURA)
Costanzi: Concerto in G Major (Sollima)
Costanzi: Concerto in F Major (Sollima)

Monday, March 16, 2020

Master Class with Wolfgang Emanuel Schmidt
10:00AM • Alfred Newman Recital Hall
Underwritten by The Andrew B. Kim and Wan Kyun Rha Family Foundation, Inc.
Ty Kim and Felicia Paik Kim
 

Lunch Series Concert
1:00PM • Alfred Newman Recital Hall
Quirine Viersen, cello

JacobTV: Glacier (US Premiere)
Britten: Cello Suite No. 1
 

Master Class with Ralph Kirshbaum
3:00PM • Alfred Newman Recital Hall
Underwritten by The Andrew B. Kim and Wan Kyun Rha Family Foundation, Inc.
Ty Kim and Felicia Paik Kim
 

Bach Series
7:00PM • Alfred Newman Recital Hall
Frans Helmerson, cello
Bach: Cello Suite No. 2
Underwritten by Joan A. Friedman, PhD and Robert N. Braun, MD, USC Glorya Kaufman School of Dance
 

Evening Recital
8:00 PM • Bovard Auditorium
Maria Kliegel, cello
David Geringas, cello
Underwritten by Bein & Fushi

George Onslow: Cello Sonata Op. 16, No. 3
Camillo Schumann: Cello Sonata in g minor, Op. 59, No. 1
Fazil Say: “Bodrum” from Four Cities 
Maria Kliegel, cello
Robert Thies, piano

Weinberg: Cello Sonata, Op. 63, No. 2
Grigory Krein: Poéme 
Julian Krein: Sonata-Poem for Cello and Piano 
David Geringas, cello
Bernadene Blaha, piano

Tuesday, March 17, 2020


Master Class with Torleif Thedéen
10:00AM • Alfred Newman Recital Hall
Underwritten by The Andrew B. Kim and Wan Kyun Rha Family Foundation, Inc.
Ty Kim and Felicia Paik Kim
 

Lunch Series Concert
1:00PM • Alfred Newman Recital Hall
Kian Soltani, cello
Underwritten by Darnton & Hersh Fine Violins

Arvo Pärt: Fratres
Reza Vali: “The Girl from Shiraz” and
“Love Drunk (mastom-mastom)” from Persian Folk Songs (Set.16C)
Rachmaninov: Cello Sonata, Op. 19
Kian Soltani, cello
Bernadene Blaha, piano


Master Class with Thomas Demenga
3:00PM • Alfred Newman Recital Hall
Underwritten by The Andrew B. Kim and Wan Kyun Rha Family Foundation, Inc.
Ty Kim and Felicia Paik Kim
 

Bach Series
7:00PM • Alfred Newman Recital Hall
Jakob Koranyi, cello
Bach: Cello Suite No. 3
Underwritten by Joan A. Friedman, PhD and Robert N. Braun, MD, USC Glorya Kaufman School of Dance
 

Evening Recital
8:00PM • Bovard Auditorium
Cello Duello: Jens Peter Maintz, cello
Wolfgang Emanuel Schmidt, cello
Underwritten by Reuning and Son Violins

Haydn: Duo in G Major Hob: XII:1+4 (Cello Duello)
     Adagio cantábile
     Allegro
     Minuetto
     Allegro molto
Dutilleux: Trois strophes sur le nom de Sacher (Maintz)
Paganini: Cantabile (Cello Duello)
Prokofiev: March for Children (arr. Piatigorsky) (Schmidt)
Weinberg: Prelude No. 21 (Schmidt)
Piatigorsky: Promenade: Prokofiev Meets Shostakovich (Schmidt)
Rostropovich: Etude (Schmidt)
Weber: Adagio und Rondo (arr. Piatigorsky, transcribed for two cellos) (Cello Duello)
Offenbach: Duo in E Major, Op. 54 (Cello Duello)
Händel-Halvorsen: Passacaglia (Cello Duello)

Wednesday, March 18, 2020

Master Class with Jens Peter Maintz
10:00AM • Alfred Newman Recital Hall
Underwritten by The Andrew B. Kim and Wan Kyun Rha Family Foundation, Inc.
Ty Kim and Felicia Paik Kim
 

Lunch Series Concert
1:00PM • Alfred Newman Recital Hall
Inbal Segev, cello
Underwritten by The Mari and Ed Edelman Charitable Fund

Poulenc: Sonata for Cello and Piano
Inbal Segev, cello
Juho Pohjonen, piano
Gity Razaz: Legend of Sigh: Concerto for Cello and Electronics
Inbal Segev, cello
 

Improvisation Workshop
3:00pm • Alice and Eleonore Scheonfeld Symphonic Hall
Giovanni Sollima, cello
Festival Fellows
Underwritten by Nigel Hirst
 

Bach Series
7:00PM • Alfred Newman Recital Hall
Pre-concert talk at 6:30PM on the Bach Suites presented by Jeffrey Solow
Laurence Lesser, cello
Bach: Cello Suite No. 4
Underwritten by Joan A. Friedman, PhD and Robert N. Braun, MD USC Glorya Kaufman School of Dance
 

Evening Recital
8:00PM • Bovard Auditorium
Wendy Warner, cello
Torleif Thedéen, cello
Underwritten by Rare Violins of New York

Myaskovsky: Cello Sonata No. 2 in a minor, Op. 81
Britten: Cello Sonata in C Major, Op. 65
Wendy Warner, cello
Kevin Fitz-Gerald, piano

Barber: Cello Sonata, Op. 6
Grieg: Cello Sonata in a minor, Op. 36
Torleif Thedéen, cello
Juho Pohjonen, piano

Thursday, March 19, 2020

Master Class with Laurence Lesser
10:00AM • Alfred Newman Recital Hall
Underwritten by The Andrew B. Kim and Wan Kyun Rha Family Foundation, Inc.
Ty Kim and Felicia Paik Kim
 

Lunch Series Concert
1:00PM • Alfred Newman Recital Hall
Chiara Enderle Samatanga, cello

Beethoven: Cello Sonata in C Major, Op. 102, No. 1
Penderecki: Capriccio per Siegfried Palm for Solo Cello
Stravinsky: Suite Italienne
Chiara Enderle Samatanga, cello
Robert Thies, piano
 

Master Class with Steven Isserlis
3:00PM • Alfred Newman Recital Hall
Underwritten by The Andrew B. Kim and Wan Kyun Rha Family Foundation, Inc.
Ty Kim and Felicia Paik Kim
 

Bach Series
7:00PM • Alfred Newman Recital Hall
Jean-Guihen Queyras, cello
Bach: Cello Suite No. 5
Underwritten by Joan A. Friedman, PhD and Robert N. Braun, MD, USC Glorya Kaufman School of Dance
 

Evening Recital
8:00PM • Bovard Auditorium
Giovanni Sollima, cello
Istvan Vardai, cello
Underwritten by Tarisio Fine Instruments & Bows

Giovanni Sollima: Concerto rotondo 
Giulio de Ruvo (sec XVII): Romanella and Tarantella for violoncello senza basso 
Alfredo Piatti: Tema con variazioni sul Carafa 
Eliodoro Sollima: Sonata 1959 for cello solo 
Francesco Corbetta: Caprice de Chaconne (arr. G. Sollima)
Traditional Salento: Santu Paulu 
Giovanni Sollima: Fandango after Boccherini 
Giovanni Sollima, cello

Kodály: Capriccio for Solo Cello
Janáček: Pohadka 
Schubert: Arpeggione Sonata in a minor, D. 821 
Popper: Hungarian Rhapsody, Op. 68
Istvan Vardai, cello
Bernadene Blaha, piano

Friday, March 20, 2020

9:00am-6:00pm • Town and Gown
Festival Exhibition Hall Opens
 

Laura van der Heijden with Los Angeles Philharmonic
11:00AM • Walt Disney Concert Hall
Los Angeles Philharmonic
Karen Kamensek, conductor
Laura van der Heijden, cello

Pépin: Vajrayana
Haydn: Cello Concerto No. 1 in C Major
Mendelssohn: Symphony No. 3, “Scottish”
 

Lunch Series Concert
2:00PM • Alfred Newman Recital Hall
Camille Thomas, cello
Underwritten by Ruth Y. Goldway

Prokofiev: Sonata for Cello and Piano in C Major, Op. 119
Beethoven: Cello Sonata in A Major, Op. 69
Camille Thomas, cello
Kevin Fitz-Gerald, piano
 

Master Class with David Geringas
4:00PM • Alfred Newman Recital Hall
Underwritten by The Andrew B. Kim and Wan Kyun Rha Family Foundation, Inc.
Ty Kim and Felicia Paik Kim
 

Bach Series
7:00PM • Alfred Newman Recital Hall
István Várdai, cello
Bach: Cello Suite No. 6
Underwritten by Joan A. Friedman, PhD and Robert N. Braun, MD, USC Glorya Kaufman School of Dance


Evening Recital
8:00PM • Bovard Auditorium
Jean-Guihen Queyras, cello
Steven Isserlis, cello
Underwritten by J. & A. Beare

Ligeti: Sonata for Solo Cello
Kodály: Solo Sonata, Op. 8
Jean-Guihen Queyras, cello

Beethoven: 12 Variations in F Major Ein Mädchen oder Weibchen 
Schumann: Three Romances, Op. 94
Kabalevsky: Cello Sonata in B-flat Major, Op. 71
Steven Isserlis, cello
Ya-Fei Chuang, piano

Saturday, March 21, 2020

9:00am-6:00pm • Town and Gown
Festival Exhibition Hall Opens
 

Instrument Forum
11:30AM • Alfred Newman Recital Hall

Featuring Joseph Bein/Bein & Fushi
Florian Leonhard/Florian Leonhard Violins
Simon Morris/J. & A. Beare
Bruno Price/Rare Violins of New York
Jason Price/Tarisio Fine Instruments & Bows
Chris Reuning/Reuning and Son Violins

Lunch Series Concert
2:00PM • Alfred Newman Recital Hall
Clive Greensmith, cello
Narek Hakhnazaryan, cello
Underwritten by Jennifer Langham and Earle Crandall in Honor and Memory of Albert Mason

Pál Hermann: Cello Concerto, First Movement
Martinů: Cello Sonata No. 1
Clive Greensmith, cello
Robert Thies, piano

Tsintzadze: Five Folk Pieces for Cello and Piano
Bagdasaryan: Nocturne
Harutyunyan: Impromptu
Tchaikovsky: Nocturne No. 4, Op. 19
Rostropovich: Humoresque 
Narek Hakhnazaryan, cello
Kevin Fitz-Gerald, piano


Master Class with Jean-Guihen Queyras
4:00PM • Alfred Newman Recital Hall
Underwritten by The Andrew B. Kim and Wan Kyun Rha Family Foundation, Inc.
Ty Kim and Felicia Paik Kim


Kian Soltani with the Los Angeles Philharmonic
8:00PM • Walt Disney Concert Hall
Los Angeles Philharmonic
Karen Kamensek, conductor
Kian Soltani, cello

Pépin: Vajrayana
Schumann: Cello Concerto in a minor, Op. 129
Mendelssohn: Symphony No. 3, “Scottish”

Sunday, March 22, 2020

Workshop for Young Cellists
11:30AM • Alice and Eleonore Schoenfeld Symphonic Hall
Led by Clive Greensmith, cello


Ralph Kirshbaum with the Los Angeles Philharmonic
2:00PM • Walt Disney Concert Hall
Los Angeles Philharmonic
Karen Kamensek, conductor
Ralph Kirshbaum, cello

Pépin: Vajrayana
Julia Adolphe: Cello Concerto (world premiere, LA Phil commission)
Mendelssohn: Symphony No. 3, “Scottish”
 

Colburn Celebrity Series Recital
7:30PM • Walt Disney Concert Hall
Jean-Guihen Queyras, cello
Camille Thomas, cello
Narek Hakhnazaryan, cello
SAKURA
Mass Cello Ensemble

Franck: Sonata for Cello and Piano in A Major
Jean-Guihen Queyras, cello
Juho Pohjonen, piano

Debussy: Sonata for Cello and Piano in d minor
Milhaud: Braziliera 
Camille Thomas, cello
Bernadene Blaha, piano

Faure: Elegy, Op. 24
Paganini: Variations on the G String
Narek Hakhnazaryan, cello
Kevin Fitz-Gerald, piano

Donald Crockett: World Premiere, Comissioned by New Music USA
Debussy: The Girl with the Flaxen Hair 
SAKURA

Villa-Lobos: Bachianas Brasilieras No. 5 
Bach: Air 
Mass Cello Ensemble
Hilo Carriel, conductor
Sarah Shafer, soprano

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