ABOUT TAIR Khisambeev, ELINA Faskhi & KONSTANTIN SHAMRAY

8PM SATURDAY 24TH JUNE 2023

Konstantin Shamray, piano
Tair Khisambeev, violin
Elina Faskhi, cello

PROGRAM

Dmitri SHOSTAKOVICH 10 Preludes, Op.34 (arr. by D.Tsiganov)

Piotr Ilyich TCHAIKOVSKY

Souvenir d'un lieu cher - 3 pieces for violin and piano, Op.42

Sérénade Mélancolique, Op.26

Valse-Scherzo, Op.34

- intermission -

Sergei RACHMANINOFF Trio élégiaque No. 2 in D minor, Op. 9

ABOUT THE PERFORMERS

KONSTANTIN SHAMRAY, PIANO

Described as an exhilarating performer with faultless technique and fearless command of the piano, Australian-based Russian pianist Konstantin Shamray enjoys performing on an international level with the world’s leading orchestras and concert presenters. Konstantin was born in Novosibirsk and commenced his studies at the age of six with Natalia Knobloch. He then studied in Moscow at the Russian Gnessin Academy of Music with Professors Tatiana Zelikman and Vladimir Tropp, and the Hochschule fur Musik in Freiburg, Germany with Professor Tibor Szasz. In 2008, Konstantin burst onto the concert scene when he won First Prize at the Sydney International Piano Competition. He is the first and only competitor to date in the 40 years of the competition to win both First and People’s Choice Prizes, in addition to six other prizes. He then went on to win First Prize at the 2011 Klavier Olympiade in Bad Kissingen, Germany and has performed at the Kissinger Sommer festival. In July 2013, following chamber recitals with Alban Gerhardt and Feng Ning, he was awarded the festival’s coveted Luitpold Prize for “outstanding musical achievements”.

Since then, Konstantin performs extensively throughout the world. In Australia, highlights include engagements with the Adelaide Symphony, West Australia, Melbourne and Sydney Symphony orchestras. Outside of Australia he has performed with the Russian National Philharmonic, the Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra, Moscow Virtuosi, Orchestre National de Lyon, Prague Philharmonia, Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra and the Calgary Philharmonic among others. He has enjoyed collaborating with distinguished conductors such as Vladimir Spivakov, Dmitry Liss, Tugan Sokhiev, Nicholas Milton and Alexandr Vedernikov. Chamber music plays a strong role in Konstantin’s musical career and collaborations have included tours with the Australian String Quartet, the Australia Piano Quartet, Kristof Barati, Andreas Brantelid, Li Wei Qin and Leonard Elschenbroich.

Konstantin has performed as part of the International Piano Series in Adelaide, and at the Melbourne Recital Centre and Ukaria Cultural Centre. He has enjoyed critical acclaim at the Klavier-Festival Ruhr, the Bochum Festival in Germany, the Mariinsky International Piano Festival and the White Nights Festival in St. Petersburg, Adelaide Festival, Musica Viva Sydney and Huntington festivals. Recent engagements include the FOFO Festival with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, solo recitals with both the Harris and Medici International Piano Series, concertos with Queensland and Adelaide Symphony Orchestras, and a residency with Southern Cross Soloists. Konstantin has recorded albums with the labels Naxos, ABC Classics and Fonoforum. Konstantin is Lecturer in Piano at the Elder Conservatorium of Music at the University of Adelaide, and was awarded his PhD in 2020 for his performance-based project ‘The piano as Kolokola, Glocken and Cloches: performing and extending the European traditions of bell-inspired piano music’.

TAIR KHISAMBEEV, VIOLIN

Having a passion for travel, Tair has worked in many different countries, exploring the diversity of the world’s cultures and the performing arts inherent in every place he visited. Before he finally settled in Melbourne, he graduated from the Moscow Conservatory, where he had studied in the class of prof. Eduard Grach (violin), prof. Andrey Shishlov (string quartet), prof. Alexander Rudin and prof. Alexander Bonduriansky (chamber ensemble), worked several years in Russia (Russian State Symphony Orchestra), a few years in Japan (Hyogo Performing Arts Center Orchestra), tried the rhythm of orchestras of England and Finland and took part in numerous festivals and competitions, both as a soloist and chamber musician. Tair has been deeply integrated into the cultural life of Melbourne and other cities in Australia, not only being an Assistant Concertmaster at the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, but also actively taking part in various music festivals and projects outside MSO.

A special place in Tair’s heart belongs to chamber music. In 2010 he helped found a piano quintet, which under his leadership travelled and performed throughout Russia and Europe for six years. 

ELINA FASKHI, CELLO

Born in Ufa, Russia, into a family of musicians, Elina Faskhi began to play the violin at the age of 7, and began playing cello at the age of 10 at the Special Music School. In 2006 she continued her studies at the Moscow Central Music School and then at the Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory with Prof. Igor Gavrysh, Prof. Irina Kandinskaya and Vladimir Balshin (Borodin Quartet). In 2011 she became a member of the State Academic Symphony Orchestra of Russia "Evgeny Svetlanov" under the artistic director of Vladimir Jurowsky, where she worked for five years. After completing her postgraduate studies as a chamber musician, she received a position as a vorspieler at the Hyogo Performing Art Center Orchestra in Japan, where she spent 3 years. Elina has lived and worked in Melbourne since 2019.

Elina is a winner of many international and national competitions: Knushevitsky International Cello Competition, Sergey Prokofiev chamber music competition, Leopold and Mstislav Rostropovich violin and cello competition, and the "Magic Bow" competition. She has received scholarships from foundations such as The Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Bashkortostan and Russian Federation and the Vladimir Spivakov International Foundation. Elina performs in some of the most prestigious halls in Russia, throughout Europe and Japan. She has appeared as a soloist with the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra, Yaroslavl Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra, Saratov Philharmonic Orchestra and Izhevsk State Symphony Orchestra. She has benefited from the excellent guidance of masters such as Wolfgang Emmanuel Schmidt, Ivan Monighetti, Antonio Meneses and Wen-Sinn Yang.