Cymerman and Kramer-Lapin perform at Gobin

Wednesday, June 30, 2010

GREENCASTLE -- DePauw University faculty pianists Claude Cymerman and Katya Kramer-Lapin will perform the 21 Hungarian Dances of Johannes Brahms and Gabriel Fauré's "Dolly Suite" as the 2010 Greencastle Summer Classical Music Festival continues Wednesday June 30.

The free concert will be held in the sanctuary of Greencastle's Gobin Memorial United Methodist Church at 7:30 p.m. The festival is supported by donations by local individuals and businesses.

A native of France, Cymerman graduated from the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique in Paris with highest honors, studying with Pierre Sancan.

After winning National and International Competitions, including the Grand Prize at the Marguerite Long-Jacques Thibaud contest, he studied at Indiana University with Gyorgy Sebök. The late French President Georges Pompidou, in a special ceremony, recognized him as "Outstanding Pianist."

Cymerman performs extensively as a recitalist and chamber musician and has appeared as a soloist with the Radio France Orchestra, Orchestre des Pays de la Loire, Orchestre National d'Ile de France, Orchestre Symphonique de Limoges, the Luxembourg and San Francisco Chamber Orchestras, as well as the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra.

He is regularly invited to perform and give master classes at major festivals in France, Germany, Italy, Sweden, Japan and Israel and is a frequent guest on French National Radio and the BBC.

In 1982, he impersonated the composer J. Brahms on French National Television. He has performed with cellist Gary Hofmann and violinist Federico Agostini (former concertmaster of the chamber orchestra I Musici di Roma) with whom he has recorded the chamber works of Erich Korngold.

Cymerman made his Carnegie Recital Hall debut in 1985 with Rumanian born violinist Sherban Lupu, (followed by a CD recording of works by Georges Enesco on the Continuum label), and has since played four more concerts there. He is a member of the Trio Concorde (based in New York).

In June 2002, he joined virtuoso violinist Nai-Yuan Hu, first Prizewinner of the Queen Elizabeth International Competition, for a CD recording of virtuosic transcriptions of Viennese Waltzes for the EMI-Classics label.

In addition to the standard repertoire, Cymerman also performs more unusual solo and chamber music performances, such as tangos by Astor Piazzolla, neglected works by child prodigy Erich Korngold, and his own transcription of Stravinsky's Rite of Spring. Appointed to the DePauw School of Music faculty in 1974, Cymerman was named the John C. and Lillian W. Siegesmund Professor of Music in 1996 in recognition of his outstanding teaching and artistic accomplishments.

An active solo recitalist and chamber music collaborator, Kramer-Lapin enjoys performing internationally. Her venues include appearances at the UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, France, Moscow Conservatory Hall, major concert halls in Germany and Eastern Europe, as well as concert tour to Taiwan.

She received her masters and performance diploma at Indiana University Jacobs School of Music studying under Professor Shigeo Neriki. She earned her bachelor's degrees at Oberlin College Conservatory and Hochschule fur Musik in Cologne (Germany). She began her piano studies at the Gnessin's School of Music, a special school for gifted children in Moscow, Russia where Katya was born.

Her passion towards chamber music finds its apprehension in frequent collaboration with soloists of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra as well as members of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra. Katya is the co-founder of the "Duo Amabile," violin-piano duet with her husband, violinist Matvey Lapin, a former member of the world-renowned Grammy Award Winner St. Petersburg String Quartet.

Katya's recent prizes from various competitions include first prize at the Matinee Musicale, Indianapolis, second prize at the "Forum of Young Pianists", Athens, Greece, first prize at the Rudolf Serkin Piano Competition as well as former support and recognition from "The Russian Arts Help" Charity Foundation, sponsored by Maestro Rostropovich as well as Tchaikovsky's Young Artists Competition Winners' Association.

Respond to this story

Posting a comment requires free registration: