Progetto Italiano: Works of Martucci, Respighi & Rota Vladyslava Luchenko & Christia Yuliya Hudziy

• Giuseppe Martucci (1856 - 1909): Three Pieces for Violin and Piano, Op. 67:
• 1 Three Pieces for Violin and Piano, Op. 67: I. Andantino con moto 06:24
• 2 Three Pieces for Violin and Piano, Op. 67: II. Allegretto 04:38
• 3 Three Pieces for Violin and Piano, Op. 67: III. Allegro passionato 05:08
• Ottorino Respighi (1879 - 1936): Violin Sonata in B Minor, P. 110:
• 4 Violin Sonata in B Minor, P. 110: I. Moderato 03:36
• 5 Violin Sonata in B Minor, P. 110: II. Andante espressivo 03:07
• 6 Violin Sonata in B Minor, P. 110: III. Allegro moderato ma energico 05:47
• Six Pieces for Violin & Piano, P. 031:
• 7 Six Pieces for Violin & Piano, P. 031: I. Berceuse 04:20
• 8 Six Pieces for Violin & Piano, P. 031: II. Melodia 02:40
• 9 Six Pieces for Violin & Piano, P. 031: III. Leggenda 06:31
• 10 Six Pieces for Violin & Piano, P. 031: IV. Valse caressante 09:36
• 11 Six Pieces for Violin & Piano, P. 031: V. Serenata 08:39
• 12 Six Pieces for Violin & Piano, P. 031: VI. Aria 07:48
• Nino Rota (1911 - 1979):
• 13 Improvviso in re minore per violino e pianoforte 03:53
• Total Runtime 01:12:07

Info for Progetto Italiano: Works of Martucci, Respighi & Rota

The paradox of Italy is that it largely invented instrumental music - and its corollary, virtuosity - in the Baroque period, but then more or less left it in foreign hands until the 20th century. Opera, invented at the same time as the sonata at the beginning of the baroque era, then reigned supreme. Despite the memory of Paganini or the efforts of the Florence Quartet (which would do much to promote Beethoven’s last quartets), at the end of the 19th century composers still needed some courage to dedicate themselves to instrumental music, which brought little in the way of prizes or rewards. Giuseppe Martucci was born in Capua in 1856 and died in Naples in 1909, and with Giovanni Sgambati was one of the pioneers of a revival of instrumental music in Italy.

He studied at the Naples Conservatory, where he soon became professor of piano (1880). He later became head of the Bologna Liceo Musicale (1886) and finished his career as director of the Naples Conservatory (1902). A celebrated pianist, he quickly devoted himself to conducting and composition. A fervent admirer of German music, his broad tastes encompassing Schumann, Brahms, and Wagner (whom he introduced to Italy), he was highly respected during his lifetime. However, the trend towards Italian music taken after 1918 and the developments led by Casella, Pizzetti and Malipiero left little room for the memory of a pioneer influenced by German Romantic culture.

The bulk of the Martucci’s oeuvre, rehabilitated by recordings but still not widely known, remains to be discovered by a wider audience.His Three Pieces for Violin and Piano, Op. 67 (1887), are little ‘post-Schumannian’ jewels. Andantino (E major), with its dreamy mood, presents a subtle variant on the traditional three-part structure, where the central section drifts away from the first section and then returns to it in a varied form.

The second piece, Allegretto in G sharp minor, is darker in tone; also in three parts, with a discreet reminder of the main theme of Andantino, it has a brilliant central section, closing with a recitative leading to a reprise of the first section. The third piece, Allegro passionato, more cheerful, looks to Neapolitan folklore and recalls something of the atmosphere of certain passages of Liszt or Chopin.

Vladyslava Luchenko, violin
Christia Hudziy, piano

Vladyslava Luchenko
Music is far more than merely providing entertainment. I see a musician’s purpose as being a guide to peoples most sacred, hidden subconscious; Their own true heart. Through our intention, we can transmute wisdom and healing directly. Understanding music as a profound healing tool, a bridge to higher dimensions and a universal source of life became crucial in my work...»

As a child of just three, growing up in Kiev, Ukraine, Vladyslava Luchenko already knew that she would become a violinist. A natural connection with the instrument allowed her to make remarkable progress both in technical and interpretative skills.

Her early years were those of a prodigy. Supported by several international foundations, and her teachers O. Buludian and Y. Riwniak, she made her debut solo appearance in the Kiev Philharmonic at the age of 11 with European tours and triumphs at international competitions (her first big win at age 10).

From the time that she joined Zakhar Bron’s highly esteemed violin class in Zurich in 2006, Vladyslava began her ascent to her Annus Mirabilis in 2010. In this year she won several prestigious prizes including the Rahn Music Prize, T. Varga and D. Oistrakh competitions. She was then given the opportunity to perform as a soloist with the Lucerne Symphony Orchestra in the Zurich Tonhalle, Verbier Festival, and other numerous solo and chamber music engagements.

She continued her education in Berlin with S. Picard until entering the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel in Belgium in 2014, under the supervision of Augustin Dumay. These were fruitful and intense years with hundreds of performances, international tours and festivals as well as her first recordings for Outher Music Label. Supported by the Borgerhoff Foundation she was able to dedicate herself to crystallising her musical ability and her role of an artist in general.

In 2018, she took up a position as a concertmaster in the Theater Orchester Biel Solothurn in Switzerland and started collaboration with Claves Records. Vladyslava performs a Francesco Gobetti violin of 1710, on loan from a private collection.

Christia Hudziy
from Lviv, Ukraine, knew her musical direction from the start, though she could have little idea where it would take her. Her young studies in her home town at the Special Music School paved the way for a series of early successes in Ukraine, including a first prize for the Alfred Roussel scholarship, first prize, aged 10, at the Leopold Bellan competition (advanced level), and, at 14, being the laureate of the Ukrainian New Talent competition in Kiev, which enabled her to obtain a presidential scholarship.

In 1999, her association with France began when she was selected to play in the Cortot Hall in Paris and took part in the first “Art de l’enfance” festival. She embarked on her training at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris, where her studies were supported by the Lili and Nadia Boulanger foundation. There followed years marked by success in several piano competitions: first medal at the Brest international piano competition (2002); first prize at the Mérignac international competition and at the piano competition of Saint-Nom-La-Bretèche (2003); first prize at the Giovani Talenti-Pia Tebaldini piano competition in Italy (2004); and first prize at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris (2004). Still in France, she later entered the advanced level of the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Lyon and, in this period, in 2008, won the Yamaha international scholarship and was a finalist of the Concertgebouw chamber music competition in Amsterdam.

The next move, also in 2008, was to Belgium, where she remains based to this day. The move was made to perfect her skills at the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel, under the guidance of two world-renowned pianists, first Abdel Rahman El Bacha, then Maria João Pires. Though her formal studies there ended in 2013, she maintains a strong association with the Music Chapel.

Though a successful solo concert pianist, Christia’s musical heart lies in collaborative projects, and most of her considerable energy is currently thrown into her work as a partner and accompanist for some of the brightest talents on the current scene, be it on the live stage or in the recoding studio.

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