LILYA ZILBERSTEIN – QUARTETTO PROMETEO

Taneev – One of the greatest Russian composers, pianists and teachers of the second half of the 19th and early 20th centuries, for a long time Taneev was the least known of his great compatriots of the same period. Glière, Rachmaninov, Gretchaninov, Scriabin and Medtner were among his many students.

The Piano Quintet op. 30 was composed from 1910-11. It is a colossal and monumental work. The massive opening movement, which alone lasts more than twenty minutes, begins with a very long, thoughtful, and slow introduction, the Mesto, which gives off the feeling that something is imminent. The main theme of the Allegro is occasionally vigorous, resolute and lyrical, but the overall atmosphere remains dark. The second movement, Presto, is a march-like scherzo and the sparkling percussive nature of the rhythms is truly impressive. The third movement is essentially a passacaglia with variations of exemplary equilibrium in form. The grand finale, Allegro Vivace, is filled with dramatic tension from the opening bars to the electrifying conclusion.

Anna Passarini
English translation by Samantha Stout

Download the original program (in Italian)

Lilya Zilberstein began studying piano at the age of five with Ada Traub at the Gnesin Special School of Music, where she graduated with a gold medal in 1983. In 1987, she won first prize at the Busoni Competition in Bolzano. She maintains an intense international concert activity, which sees her perform with great success all over the world. In 1998, she was awarded the Premio Chigiana by the Accademia Musicale Chigiana in Siena. She has performed with many of the world’s major conductors and major orchestras. She also performs chamber music in duo with Maxim Vengerov, Massimo Quarta and Martha Argerich. She is a professor at the Musikhochschule in Hamburg, at the Royal Academy in London, at the Musikhochschule in Weimar, at the Fort Worth Piano Academy, and in numerous universities in South Korea, Taiwan and the United States. Currently she holds the chair of piano at the Vienna University of Music and Performing Arts. She has taught at the Chigiana Summer Academy since 2011.

Winner of the Prague Spring International Music Competition in 1998, the Quartetto Prometeo (Prometheus Quartet) was also awarded the Special Bärenreiter Prize, the City of Prague Prize and the Pro Harmonia Mundi Prize. As the ensemble in residence at the Britten Pears Academy in Aldeburgh, they received the Thomas Infeld Award from the Internationale SommerAkademie Prag-Wien-Budapest. In 2012, they received the Silver Lion at the Venice Biennale of Music and they are currently the quartet in residence at the Accademia Filarmonica Romana. The Quartetto Prometeo is a guest of many of the major international concert institutions and collaborates with leading musicians. The quartet maintains an intense working relationship with composer Salvatore Sciarrino who dedicated the Exercises in three styles and the String Quartet n. 8 to them. They have recorded for Amadeus, Sony, Kairos, Brilliant, ECM, and LimenMusic.

The Prometheus Quartet collaborates with Salvatore Sciarrino in the composition course of the Accademia Chigiana’s Summer Academy.