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Blue Griffin Ad in Fanfare Magazine |
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Written by Sergei Kvitko
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Tuesday, 11 January 2011 19:08 |
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Last Updated on Tuesday, 11 January 2011 19:27 |
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Homage to Debussy at Absolute Gallery |
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Hook, lines and sinker
It’s Debussy night at Absolute Music
By LAWRENCE COSENTINO
Velvet-voiced actor/director Ken Beachler and perfectionist piano man Sergei Kvitko have a strangely compelling musical partnership.
Suave cop, intense cop? Honey and salt? Their chemistry is hard to pin down. Picture Noel Coward, bon vivant and comedy genius, working with brooding Russian piano genius Sviatoslav Richter, and you come close. “We just seem like one,” Kvitko said. “Ken is an extension of me.”
To put it another way, Beachler is the bait and Kvitko is the sinker. When they spin a tale in music and words, the hook slips in fast.
On Friday, they’ll bring their unique synergy to Old Town’s hit chamber music series, Absolute Music, as part of an allstar slate of local musicians honoring the limpid music of French composer Claude Debussy.
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Last Updated on Tuesday, 11 January 2011 19:28 |
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NEW RELEASE: Debussy: The Toy Box & Poulenc: The Story of Babar |
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Written by Sergei Kvitko
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Wednesday, 10 November 2010 16:29 |
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(You can buy this CD here)
As a follow up to his acclaimed solo piano CD “Of Lands and People Far Away” (that includes Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition which American Record Guide placed “among the best ever made” and selected it for or its Critics’ Choice 2008 List), pianist/producer Sergei Kvitko, joined by narrator Ken Beachler, creates a CD of entirely different story-telling. Alongside the all-time favorite crowd-pleaser by Francis Poulenc, The Story of Babar, comes a lesser-known work by another Frenchman, Claude Debussy’s La Boîte à joujoux (The Toy Box), presented here for the first time as a version for solo piano and English narration. A perfect match, these two works provide a fun and entertaining way to introduce children to classical music, and yet they are complex and sophisticated enough to be appreciated by a seasoned listener. In any case these witty, charming masterworks are sure to bring a smile to your face!
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Last Updated on Wednesday, 10 November 2010 16:54 |
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"CRITICS CHOICE 2008" - American Record Guide Jan/Feb 2009 "I think I have to add Mr Kvitko’s Pictures to my collection; it belongs among the best ever made, and the sound is simply thrilling" - American Record Guide Nov/Dec 2008 "...This is masterful, intuitive playing, albeit not without some interesting quirks. His program is united by a pianism that embraces the instrument as an ensemble of strings, as opposed to a row of hammers... arresting artistry... an iconoclastic sense for rubato rhythm and phrasing..." - Fanfare Magazine Nov/Dec 2008 ...thoroughly enjoyable disc with imaginative musical ideas and impressive pianism - Ralph Votapek ...thoughtful and powerful playing, infused with poetry and wisdom - Arthur Greene ...extraordinary technique and control of the piano - Peter Miyamoto ...masterful... truly unique and thoughtful - Nicholas Roth |
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