On Saturday, April 4, 2015, Music at the Institute presented a concert In Memoriam Tatiana Tchekina (1944–2013). Works by Bach, Tchaikovsky, Beethoven, Massenet and Dvorak performed by violinists Oleh Krysa, Peter Krysa and Yuri Mazurkevich, violist Boris Deviatov, cellist Volodymyr Panteleyev and pianist Mykola Suk.
Violinist OLEH KRYSA, long esteemed in the former USSR as a distinguished soloist, chamber musician, and teacher, was a prominent student of David Oistrakh and the winner of major prizes in the Wieniawski, Tchaikovsky, and Montreal competitions, and of the gold medal in the Paganini Competition. Acclaimed by critics as a “musician of the first rank” (New York Times), and as “a player who brings subtlety and calm elegance to every musical phrase” (Washington Post), he performs regularly in the world’s major music centers and with leading orchestras and conductors. He has also appeared at major festivals in Europe, North America, the Far East, and Australia. He has recorded on the Melodiya, BIS, TNC, Triton, Olympia, Amadis, and Russian Disc labels.
Violinist PETER KRYSA began his music studies in Moscow with his father, violinist Oleh Krysa, and continued them at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto and the Manhattan School of Music in New York City. He has performed many solo and chamber music recitals in Canada, the United States, Europe, and China, including Wigmore Hall, the Great Hall of Moscow Conservatory, and Alice Tully, Weill, and Merkin Halls. His festival credits include Schleswig-Holstein, Grand Teton, Park City, Music Mountain, and Lake Winnipesaukee Music Festival, which he co-founded and headed for eight years as Artistic Director. He has collaborated in chamber music with pianists Sergei Babayan, Cullan Bryant, Bella Davidovich, Scott Dunn, Vladimir Feltsman, Elizaveta Kopelman, Dmitri Rachmanov, Barry Snyder, Tatiana Tchekina, and members of the Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Houston, and Montreal Symphony Orchestras, New York Philharmonic, and the St. Paul and Orpheus Chamber Orchestras. Peter Krysa currently resides in Vancouver, Canada, where he is a member of the Vancouver Opera Orchestra and the Pacific Northwest Ballet Orchestra in Seattle and regularly performs with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra.
Violinist YURI MAZURKEVICH, a native of Lviv, Ukraine, graduated from the Moscow Conservatory, where he studied with the legendary David Oistrakh. A winner of the highest honors at the Helsinki, Munich, and Montreal International Competitions, he performed extensively in Europe and the former USSR. In 1975, accompanied by his wife, violinist Dana Pomerants, also a protégé of Oistrakh, he emigrated to Canada and later the United States Together, as the Mazurkevich Duo, they toured widely throughout North and South America, Europe, and the Far East, receiving high accolades. Yuri Mazurkevich made his highly acclaimed North American solo debut with the Toronto Symphony, and went on to combine an active concert career with academia, currently serving as Chairman of the String Department at Boston University. He also teaches at Tanglewood, the Victoria International Festival, and the Johannesen International School of the Arts. He has recorded on Melodiya, Masters of the Bow, and S.N.E. labels and has been featured on many radio and television performances for the BBC, ABC (Australia), CBC, Radio France, Radio Moscow, and Sender Freis, Berlin.
Violist BORYS DEVIATOV is a graduate of the Lysenko Conservatory in Lviv and the winner of top prizes in viola competitions and as a conductor. He concertized throughout the former Soviet Union and Europe as a music director, conductor, and soloist of the Ivano-Frankivsk Chamber Orchestra. As a member of the critically acclaimed Leontovych String Quartet, he performed in the major concert halls of North and South America, Europe, and the Far East and participated in many international music festivals, including Lincoln Center’s “Mostly Mozart,” Newport, and Music Mountain. He has collaborated in chamber music performances with such distinguished artists as Yuri Bashmet, Ruggiero Ricci, and Ruth Laredo, to name but a few. He currently performs as a member of the Lumina String Quartet and the New York Chamber Symphony and is principal violist of the Bachanalia Chamber Orchestra and the String Orchestra of New York City. Mr. Deviatov has recorded for Greystone Records, Koch International Classics, The Musical Heritage Society, and Melodiya.
Cellist VOLODYMYR PANTELEYEV, a graduate of Kyiv and Moscow Conservatories, served as Professor of Cello and String Quartet at Kiev Conservatory until 1991. In 1971, he co-founded the Leontovych String Quartet, which as winner of the Leo Weiner International String Quartet Competition in Budapest appeared in major international festivals and concert halls throughout the former Soviet Union, Eastern Europe, Germany and Italy. In 1988, the Quartet made its American debut and relocated to the United States in 1991. As a member of the Quartet, Mr. Panteleyev toured across the United States, appearing in most major American cities, including Washington, Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, and New York. He has also performed as a soloist with other chamber groups and has held numerous master classes in connection with concert appearances, music festivals, and summer schools of music throughout the U.S, Canada, Brazil, China, Holland, Switzerland, Germany, Ukraine, Russia, and Italy. He currently serves on the faculty of Brooklyn College, the Special Music School, and the Lucy Moses School at the Elaine Kaufman Cultural Center. He has recorded for Greystone Records, Koch International Classics, The Musical Heritage Society, and Melodiya.
Pianist MYKOLA SUK, winner of the First Prize and Gold Medal at the 1971 International Liszt-Bartok Competition in Budapest, has been described by American Record Guide as “a formidable talent… with an astonishing blend of muscular power, poetry, and utter control.” His international career has spanned four continents, with performances in the most prestigious venues, from the Great Hall of Moscow Conservatory to Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall and New York’s Carnegie Hall. He has appeared to great critical acclaim as both soloist and chamber musician on the world’s major concert stages and at many distinguished chamber music festivals. He has recorded on Melodiya, Russian Disc, Hungaraton, Meldac/Tritan, Troppe Note/Cambria, and Music & Arts (USA) labels.
Ukrainian Institute of America 