The Embassy Concert Series EMBASSY OF SLOVAKIA☼ Mont r eal and Sinfonieor chest er Baden-Baden. H e i s a 3523 INTERNATIONAL COURT, NW laureate of many prestigious violin competitions such 2014- 2015 Season as Q ueen Elisabet h Inter national Music Com-petition st MARTIN BABJAK, (Belgium); Inter national (21 YEAR) DANIEL BURANOVSKÝ, PIANO O ist r akh Competition Jerome Barry, Thursday, September 18, 2014, 7:30pm (Ukraine); Inter national Director/Founder Among the many r oles which Martin Babjak has Kotorovych Violin portrayed on the stage are: Amonasro in Verdi's , Competition (Ukraine), Advance Notice Brochure Count Almaviva in Mozart's , Inter national Spohr Count Danilo Competition (); As of July 1, 2014 lovitsch in Fr anz International Montreal Competition (Canada); Lehár 's The Merry Inter national Premio Lipizer (Italy), Inter national Widow, Escamillo N ir edgazi Violin Competition (), Int er nat io nal in Geor ges Bizet 's Dvarionas Violin Competition (Lithuania) and Car men, Figar o i n International Molinari Competition (). He Uniting People Through Musical Diplomacy Rossini's The Bar - plays a violin from Giuseppe Guarneri del Gesù, one of the greatest violinmakers in the music history, ber of Seville, Golaud in 's Pelléas et which is lent to him to recognize his high class as a Mélisande, Guglielmo in Mozart's Così fan tutte, the Lord Duke of Nottingham in Donizetti's Roberto violinist and a musician. Program: Schubert, EMBASSY OF SLOVENIA ☼ Devereux, Iago in Ver di's and many more. He is Mendelssohn, Ysaÿe, Sarasate, Koryk, 2410 CALIFORNIA STREET, NW widely known as one of Slovakia’s finest singers. Schimanovsky. Buffet/wine/ parking acr o ss LANA TROTOVŠEK, VIOLIN Daniel Buranovský, piano, is a brilliant artist, the street ($6) or on-street parking- $95 ANNA SHELEST, PIANO r etur ning t o The Embassy Ser ies. The W ashington Times at that time wrote: “Mr . Bur anovsky’s br acing EMBASSY OF HUNGARY☼ Tuesday, September 9, 2014- 7:30pm recital offered an intellectual challenge to his 2900 SPRING OF FREEDOM, NW

audience: a summons to once again learn fr om and HUGO KAUDER TRIO The winner of inter national competitions and pr izes, build upon the wor k laid down by our artistic Slovenian violinist Lana Trotovšek was a pupil of pr edecessor s r at her t han r eject ing it as ir r elevant or Tuesday, October 14, 2014- 7:30pm Ruggier o Ricci. She hopelessly outmoded in our tempestuous times — made her debut in the fashionable tactic of incr easingly out-of-t ouch Oboist Ivan Danko, the principal oboist of t he 2012 with t he post moder nist s.” Program: Arias & Songs/Piano Stuttgart St at e O per a and fir st pr ize winner of t he Mariinsky Theatr e solos. $75 -Cold buffet/wine/Ample on Street "Inter national Hugo Or chestr a under the Parking Kauder Competition" baton of Valery in N ew H aven in 2009, Ger giev; a perform- founded the Hugo ance was r eceived EMBASSY OF UKRAINE☼ Kauder Trio. Fr o m both with standing ovations and ecstatic reviews. 3350 M STREET, NW D anko's ear lier music Lana has given r ecitals in t he United Kingdom, wher e OLEH KASKIV, VIOLIN with t he violist Róber t Lakat os and pianist Ladislav she has performed at Wigmore Hall, King’s Place, Fanzowitz the idea for this unique trio was bor n. Cadogan H all , St John’s Smit h Squar e, St Mar t in-in- OKSANA SKIDAN, PIANO Oboe, Viola and Piano ar e a sonically int er est ing t he Fields. Elsewher e in Eur ope she has played at t he Friday, October 10, 2014- 7:30pm alternative to the classic piano t r i o and open a pat h to Konzer t haus in Vienna, at t he Teat r o la Fenice in an ext r aor di nar y and novel r eper t oir e. In search of Venice, Concer t gebouw in Amst er dam, As a soloist, Oleh Kaskiv regularly performs with suitable music, the musicians discover ed t he oeuvr e Muziekgebouw Frits Phillips in Eindhoven and great success in his native count r y with the National of H ugo Kauder (1888 - 1972). Kauder (now elsewher e in Ger many, , Por t ugal, Fr ance, Symphony of Ukr aine, Odessa Philharmonic and Lviv Tovacov, ) was bor n in Tobitschau Finland, Sweden, Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, China, Philharmonic Symphony Or chestr as and worldwide: near Olomouc and is part of the gener at ion of UAE and the USA. Program: Beethoven: Spring with t he Camer ata Lysy, Camer ata de Lausanne, per secut ed and displaced Jewish ar t ist s of the 20th Sona t a , Škerjanc, Franck, Gershwin. Buffet/wine- Symphonisches Or chest er Zürich, Orchestre centur y. It s or igi n and it s late romantic, lar gely $95- Ample parking on the street. National de Belgique, Or chest r e Symphonique de unknown music, especially t heir centr al European folk 1 music element s inspir ed the ensemble to the name Friday, November 7, 2014, 7:30pm utter musicality and remarkable interpretive power” and called their per formance of Beethoven’s Op. 132 “ the H ugo Kauder Trio. The t r io is t r ying to discover gr eat works of other per secut ed and unknown pinnacle of the competition.” Program : H aydn: Q uart et composer s of the 19th and 20th centur ies, and to Azra’s singing reflects the lyrical melancholy of Sevdah in B-flat Major, Op. 76, N o. 4; Beethoven: Quartet in F minor, O p. 95, “Serioso” /Ravel: Q uartet in F convey this to the public. $75- and Balkan folk wit h sultr y elements of Gypsy Jazz and Buffet/wine-ample Major. Reception/wine- $75 parking on the street. Andalucian Flamenco. Her per for mances illuminate an inner world forever marked

by the war in her homeland, and her immigrant life in the EMBASSY OF LUXEMBOURG☼ EMBASSY OF UKRAINE☼ . 2200 MASSACHUSETTS 3350 M STREET, NW Raised in Bosnia, on Tom ALEKSEY SEMENENKO, VIOLIN Waits, Django AVENUE, NW INNA FIRSOVA, PIANO Reinhardt, U2, Br oadway “COMMEMORATION OF THE musicals, o per a and classical Friday, October 24, 2014- 7:30pm TH music – the young Azr a successfully mixed t hose 70 ANNIVERSARY TO THE

genres with the traditional musical form of the BATTLE OF THE BULGE” Mr. Semenenko, Young Concert Artist 2012 winner, has Balkans. A dr amat ic mezzo-sopr ano, with unique appeared as soloist with orchestras including the Moscow AN EVENING OF SONG AND Virtuosi, the Kiev National ornamentation and expressive singing style, Azra is a Orchestra, the Junge Philharmonie capt ivat i ng st age per for mer . Azra will be accompanied CHAMBER MUSIC in Cologne, and the Sinfonietta by thr ee wonder ful musicians. $80- Balkan Hungarica, among others. At the buffet/wine- Parking on street and garage (10 Friday, December 12, 2014, 7:30pm 2011 Musik:Landschaft W estfalen minute walk.) Saturday, December 13, 2014, 7:30pm Festival, he per for med Paganini’ s Concerto No. 2 with the National Philharmonic of Russia under IN COOPERATION WITH THE Limited Seating Vladimir Spivakov, and was subsequently invited by the Spivakov EMBASSY OF ISRAEL☼ Foundation to perform at the VENUE TO BE ANNOUNCED An evening devoted to music of World Kremlin in Moscow and at the W ars I & II, with an evening of chamber Moscow International Per for ming Arts Center . In 2007, Mr . THE ARIEL QUARTET music and song t hat was i ndicat i ve of t he rd Sem enenko performed the violin solo from John William’s 3 ANNUAL DANIEL PEARL period. Patriotic and nostalgic “ Schindler’s List” with the Odessa Philharmonic Orchestra MEMORIAL CONCERT songs and music t hat gave under Hobar t Earle in Hambur g. An avid chamber musician, America and the world comfort Mr. Semenenko founded the Stolyarsky Quartet, which has Reception at 6:30pm and solace in very difficult times. given concerts in Russia, the Ukr aine, Fr ance, Mal t a, and Switzerland. Mr. Semenenko’s honors include First Prize in Thursday, November 20, 2014- 7:30pm The Thomas Circle Singers will the 2012 European Young Concert Artists Auditions in enhance t he pr ogram on Leipzig, Germany, the Alois Kottmann Award at the 2010 For med in Isr ael, the Quar tet moved to the United States in December 13t h with Christmas songs and carols. International Day of Music Festival in Hofheim, Germany, 2004 to continue its professional studies. The resident Buffet/wine/valet parking- $150 the Grand Prix of the 2006 National Violin Competition in ensemble in the N ew Lviv, Ukr aine. Pr ogram : Schubert, Chausson, Ysaÿe, England Conser vat or y’s Poulenc, Tchaikovsky, Rossini Buffet/wine/parking prestigious Professional across the street ($6)- $95. St r ing Q uar t et Tr aining Pr o gr am t hr o ugh t heir graduation in 2010, the EMBASSY OF BOSNIA Ariel has won a number HERZEGOVINA (New Venue!) of international prizes, including the Grand Prize at the 2006 Fischoff National 2109 E STREET, NW Chamber Music Competition. After they won the Székely WASHINGTON, DC 20037 Pr ize for t heir per for mance of Bar t ók, as well as t he over all Third Prize at the Banff International String Quartet AZRA SINGS Competition in 2007, the American Record Guide described the Ar iel Quar tet as “ a consummate ensemble gifted with 2 such conductors as Claudio Abbado, Vladimir of the ensemble it received strong support Ashkenazy, Herbert Blomstedt, Christoph von from the Herbert von Karajan scholarship, 2015 Dohnányi, Bernard Haitink, Nikolaus the Musica Juventutis Vienna, Live Music Harnoncourt, Manfred Honeck, Sir Charles N ow, Jeunesse Musicales , Start - EMBASSY OF ☼ Macker r as, Kur t Masur , Kent N agano , Scholarship of the Austrian Ministry for Leonard Slatkin, and 4101 RESERVOIR ROAD, NW Education, Arts and Culture. Program: HERMÈS QUARTET Lo t har Z agr o sek, amo ng many others. Mozart, Shostkovich, Mendelssohn- $70/ Thursday, February 26, 2015- 7:30 pm Till Fellner first hors-d’œuvres, wine, cheese,

came to world sweets reception- Ample Street T he Par i s-based Her mès Q uar t et has alr eady been attention in 1993 by heard in pr estigious European venues. They have parking on at D C garage. winning First Prize been pr esented in Italy at t he Chamber Music Association of Trieste, Accademia Filarmonica at t he impor t ant Clar a H askil Int er nat io nal EMBASSY OF THE CZECH di Bo logna, t he Viar eggio Fest ival, and Paganini Piano Competition at Vevey, Switzerland. He REPUBLIC Festival de la Spezia; in France at was a st udent of Helene Sedo-Stadler before t he Fest ival de l’Or anger ie de going on to study privately with Alfred 3900 SPRING OF FREEDOM, NW Sceaux, Quat uor s à St. Roch Br endel, Meir a Far kas, O leg Maisenber g, and MARTIN KASIK, PIANO Festival, Yver don-les-Bains Cast le, Claus-Christian Schuster. Progr am : Bach, Wednesday, April 15, 2015, 7:30 pm Festival Quat uor à L’Ouest, Mozart, H aydn and Schumann - $70/ hors- Martin Kasík (b. 1976) r anks among the for emost Chât eau de Lour mar in, Fest ival d’œuvres, wine, cheese, sweets reception- Czech pianist s of t he pr esent t ime. He has devot ed Musique dans le Gr ésivaudan, himself to piano playing since four years of age. He Festival de l’Épau in Sarthe, Les St reet parking on at U D C garage. studied with Monika Musicades in Lyon, and Festival de Tugendliebová at the Radio France et Montpellier ; at t he EMBASSY OF AUSTRIA Jan áček conservatory in Lockenhaus Festival in Austr ia; and 3524 INTERNATIONAL CT., NW O st r ava, and in Ger many at Fest spiele MINETTI QUARTET subsequent ly with Ivan Mecklenbur g-Vor pommer n and t he Cr escendo Klánský at the Academy festival at Universität der Künste Berlin. In the U.S., Friday, March 13, 2015, 7:30 pm of Music and Performing t hey have given r ecit als at t he Lied Cent er of Kansas, (Returning by popular demand!) Ar ts in Prague. The the University of Georgia, and the Friends of winner of several domestic and international contests, Chamber Music in Texas. Program: Haydn, The Minetti Quartett has collected more important pr izes than any ensemble since and the r ecipient of a number of pr estigious awards, Schumann, Jánaček- $75 (parking available he has to his cr edit laureateships fr om the 1998 indoors for $8 or on street) 2003 when it Prague Spring Inter national Music Competition, the r eceived t he 1999 Young Concer t Ar tists Competition, t he 2000 EMBASSY OF AUSTRIA H aydn Awar d D avidoff Pr ix , t he 2002 H ar moni e Magazine Awar d, 3524 INTERNATIONAL CT., NW at the and ot her distinct ions. Program: Beethoven “Moonlight,” Sonata “Les Adieux,” Ravel, TILL FELLNER, PIANO International Prokofiev- $85. Buffet/W ine- Ample on street (Returning by popular demand!) Joseph Haydn parking. Friday, March 6, 2015, 7:30 pm Competition in Vienna, EMBASSY OF SINGAPORE Till Fellner’s international career and the list followed by the International Rimbotti 3501 INTERNATIONAL PLACE, of his collaborators reads like a “Who’s Competition for String Quartet in Florence, NW the Franz Schubert Competition in Graz, W ho” of classical music; he has appeared as ARTISTS TO BE ANNOUNCED guest soloist with many of the world’s the national “ Gr adus ad foremost orchestras and has worked wit h Par nassum” Pr i ze. Soon after the formation Friday, May 7, 2015, 7:30 pm 3 Limited Seating In popular belief, fado is a form of music characterized by ORDER FORM INCLUDED. BECOME Music, including Reception- $95 mournful tunes and lyrics, often about the sea or the life A “FRIEND.” SUBSCRIPTIONS NOT of the poor, and infused with a AVAILABLE ONLINE. characteristic sentiment of EMBASSY OF AUSTRIA resignation, fatefulness and PLEASE CONSIDER A TAX-EXEMPT 3524 INTERNATIONAL CT., NW melancholia (loosely captured by CONTRIBUTION TO THE EMBASSY t he wor d saudade, or " l ongi ng" ). SERIES. JULIAN SCHWARZ, CELLO However, although the origins MARIKA BOURNAKI, PIANO ar e di ffi cul t t o t r ace, t oday fado WWW.EMBASSYSERIES.ORG is regarded, by many, as simply a Thursday, May 22, 2015, 7:30 pm form of song which can be about [email protected]. anything, but must follow a certain structure. The music Bor n in 1991 t o a musical family, cellist Julian Schwarz is usually linked to the Portuguese word saudade which THE EMBASSY SERIES is already being recognized as one of the finest cellists symbolizes the feeling of loss (a permanent, irreparable P.O. BOX 9871 now befor e the public. In loss and its consequent lifelong damage). Buffet/wine- WASHINGTON, DC 20016 August 2013 he won the ample parking on street- $150 fir st pr ize in t he Did you know that by next year, T he inaugur al Schoenfeld RESIDENCE OF THE ICELANDIC Embassy Series will have produced Inter national Str ing AMBASSADOR ☼ Competition in Hong e vent s in 75 e m bassie s? Come ST Kong. Mr. Schwarz 2443 KALORAMA ROAD, NW celebrate our 21 year with us! made his orchestral SAEUNN THORNSTEINS- debut at the age of 11 DOTTIR, CELLO, Doors open ½ hour before concert. playing the Saint-Saëns N B: Concer to No. 1 with the ALEXANDRA JOAN, PIANO Program begins promptly on time. Seattle Symphony and Friday, June 12, 2015. 7:30 pm his father , Ger ard Schwarz, on the podium. ALL SALES ARE FINAL. Upcoming per for mance highlights include concer to “ Char i smat i c” (New York Times) cellist, Sæunn appear ances wit h t he Modest o, Queensland, Toledo, Thorsteinsdóttir recently made her debut with the Los CALL: (202) 625-2361 Amarillo, Hartford, and Charlotte Symphonies, the Angeles Philharmonic for which the LA Times praised Louisville Or chestr a, the Nor thwest Sinfonietta, and her for her “ emotional intensity” . Following the release buffet reception the Symphony Silicon Valley. In Fall 2013 he was a of her recording of Britten’s Suites for Solo Cello, last ☼ featured soloist with the All Star Orchestra for season she per for med in some of national public television, per for ming the Samuel t he wor ld s gr eat est halls including PROGRAM AND VENUES SUBJECT TO Jones Cello Concer t o. Aft er br oadcast , t he Carnegie Hall, Suntory Hall and CHANGE. per for mance was r eleased as a D VD on t he N axos Disney Hall. A versatile cellist, label . Pr ogr am: Schumann, W ebern, Poulenc Saeunn’s 2013-2014 season includes TICKETS WILL BE MAILED BY debuts as soloist with the Toronto TH Bach, Boccherini, Bloch, Kreisler AUGUST 24 $70/ hors- Symphony Orchestra and the Quad d’œuvres, wine, cheese, sweets reception City Symphony in Iowa; an inaugur al season as cellist of the Manhattan MORE CONCERTS AND VENUES Piano Trio including a debut WILL BE ADDED ON DURING THE RESIDENCE OF THE performance at the Chautauqua Music Festival; a performance at the Metropolitan Museum of Art as SPRING OF 2015. WATCH OUR PORTUGUESE cellist in the group Decoda; a performer in composer WEBSITE FOR ANY ADDITIONS AMBASSADOR ☼ D avi d Lang’ s collected stories pr oj ect at Car negi e H all ; and OR CHANGES. being named the 2013-2014 -in-Residence at Sonoma 2125 KALORAMA ROAD, NW State University’s Green Music Center in California. EVENING OF FADO $100/Buffet/wine- Program: Brahms, Schubert, Friday, June 5, 2015. 7:30 pm Webern and Jón Nordal.

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