Works for Viola & Piano - Krysztof Chorzelski and Katya Apekisheva

Artist(s):
Krzysztof Chorzelski, Viola
Katya Apekisheva, Piano

KRZYSZTOF CHORZELSKI
Krzysztof Chorzelski was born in Warsaw in 1971 and enjoys a diverse career as a performing musician that has taken him all over the world as violist of the acclaimed Belcea Quartet, chamber musician and soloist.

In 1991 Krzysztof moved to London to study at the Royal College of Music with Grigori Zhislin and later Felix Andrievsky. In 1992 he won the Wronski Solo Violin Competition in Warsaw and has subsequently performed as a recitalist and concerto soloist in Europe, making recordings for Polish Radio and the BBC. In 1996 he became the viola player in the Belcea Quartet with whom he has won major prizes at competitions, such as Osaka, Bordeaux and Banff. The quartet's international schedule regularly takes him to the world's most prestigious halls, such as Wigmore Hall in London, where the quartet had a five-year residency, Konzerthaus in Vienna, Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Théatre du Châtelet in Paris, Berlin Philharmonie, as well as Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center in New York. The Belcea Quartet's recordings for EMI were highly acclaimed by critics, winning a Gramophone Award, the Midem Award, the Diapason D'Or and the German Critics Chamber Music Recording of the Year Award. During the 2011/12 season the quartet will perform and record the complete Beethoven String Quartets for release on the Zig Zag Territoires label.

Krzysztof is a viola professor at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, where the Belcea Quartet are Quartet in Residence. He also returns regularly to his native Warsaw to teach at the Chopin Academy and the Elsner Music School. Krzysztof also often gives viola and chamber music master classes in Switzerland, Poland, Romania, Israel and Colombia.

Krzysztof is a frequent guest at international festivals such as the Spoleto Festival in Italy, Spannungen in Heimbach, Germany, the Oxford International Chamber

Music Festival, the Four Seasons Chamber Music Festival in North Carolina, USA and the Moscow Chamber Music Festival 'Vozvrashcheniye'. He also works as a chamber music partner with Quatuor Ysae, Ensemble Les Dissonances, the Razumovsky Ensemble and artists such as Stephen Kovacevich, Piotr Anderszewski, Polina Leschenko, Andrew Zolinsky, Natalie Clein and Katya Apekisheva. In 2006 he was invited by the Alban Berg Quartet to perform as a guest violist in a series of concerts celebrating the 250th Anniversary of Mozart's birth in the Konzerthaus, Vienna.

Krzysztof studied conducting with Neil Thomson at the Royal College of Music and has founded a chamber orchestra based in London called the Metamorphosen Ensemble. His recording of Ittai Shapira's Violin Concerto 'Concierto Latino' with the London Serenata Orchestra and the composer as soloist was released by Champs Hill Records in 2011.

KATYA APEKISHEVA
In demand internationally as a soloist and chamber musician, Katya Apekisheva has been described by Gramophone magazine as "a profoundly gifted artist" who has "already achieved artistic greatness".

A prize-winner at the Leeds Piano Competition and Scottish Piano Competition, Katya has appeared as soloist with many of the world's leading orchestras including the London Philharmonic, the Philharmonia Orchestra, the Hallé Orchestra, the Moscow Philharmonic, the Jerusalem Symphony and the English Chamber Orchestra. She has collaborated with such conductors as Sir Simon Rattle, David Shallon and Alexander Lazarev.

Her solo CD release of Grieg solo piano works (on the Quartz label) received over-whelming critical acclaim; chosen by Classic FM as CD of the week and selected by Gramophone magazine as Editor's Choice. It received a Rising Star award in International Piano magazine and was a Critic's Choice
for the year in Gramophone magazine.

Equally at home as a chamber musician, Katya has collaborated with Janine Jansen, Natalie Clein, Maxim Rysanov, Jack Liebeck, Boris Brovtsyn, Alexei Ogrinchouk and Nicholas Daniel among others. In this capacity she is a regular guest at major chamber music festivals around the world.

Born in Moscow into a family of musicians, Katya studied at the Gnessin music school under Ada Traub and Anna Kantor. At the age of 12 she performed a Mozart Concerto with Gnessin School Orchestra which was broadcast by Moscow Classical Radio.In 1992 Katya continued her studies at the Rubin Music Academy in Jerusalem with Irina Berkovich. There Katya won an America-Israel Scholarship and was awarded second prize at the Young Talents Radio Competition. In 1994 Katya moved to London to study at the Royal College of Music with Irina Zaritskaya and in 1995 she was awarded President's Rose Bowl which was presented to her by HRH Prince of Wales.In 1996, in addition to her successes in the Leeds and Scottish competitions, Katya won London Philharmonic Orchestra Soloist of the year and also the prestigious Terence Judd Award. Katya has also collaborated on several recordings with the violinist Jack Liebeck, including a Classical Brit- nominated CD.

Highlights have included performances at Utrecht, Leicester, Ancona, Homecoming Festivals, a tour of the USA with Nicola Benedetti, and appearances at Berlin's Spectrum Series. She has also made recordings for BBC Radio 3 and German radio. Concerto performances have been with the Santiago Philharmonic Orchestra, English Chamber Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and in collaboration with Jan Latham-Koenig, Paul Watkins, Jason Lai and Emmanuel Siffert.