Heritage Aisha Syed Castro & Martin Labazevitch

• Leonard Bernstein (1918 - 1990): America (From "West Side Story") [Arr. for Violin & Piano]:
• 1 Bernstein: America (From "West Side Story") [Arr. for Violin & Piano] 04:27
• Rafael Solano (b. 1931): Una primavera para el mundo (Arr. for Violin & Piano):
• 2 Solano: Una primavera para el mundo (Arr. for Violin & Piano) 03:46
• Astor Piazzolla (1921 - 1992): Oblivion (Arr. for Violin & Piano):
• 3 Piazzolla: Oblivion (Arr. for Violin & Piano) 03:43
• Aram Khachaturian (1903 - 1978): Gayane Suite No. 1, Op. 53:
• 4 Khachaturian: Gayane Suite No. 1, Op. 53: III. Ayesha's Dance (Arr. for Violin & Piano) 03:04
• Carlos Gardel (1890 - 1935): Por una cabeza (Arr. J. Williams for Violin & Piano):
• 5 Gardel: Por una cabeza (Arr. J. Williams for Violin & Piano) 03:57
• William Grant Still (1895 - 1978): Suite for Violin & Piano:
• 6 Still: Suite for Violin & Piano: I. African Dancer 05:20
• 7 Still: Suite for Violin & Piano: II. Mother and Child 06:33
• 8 Still: Suite for Violin & Piano: III. Gamin 02:16
• Enrique Granados (1867 - 1916): 12 Danzas españolas:
• 9 Granados: 12 Danzas españolas: No. 5, Andaluza (Arr. F. Kreisler for Violin & Piano) 03:22
• Fritz Kreisler (1875 - 1962): Danse orientale (After Rimsky-Korsakov's Op. 35):
• 10 Kreisler: Danse orientale (After Rimsky-Korsakov's Op. 35) 03:58
• Leonard Bernstein: Somewhere (From "West Side Story") [Arr. for Violin & Piano]:
• 11 Bernstein: Somewhere (From "West Side Story") [Arr. for Violin & Piano] 03:43
• Isaac Albéniz (1860 - 1909): España, Op. 165, B. 37:
• 12 Albéniz: España, Op. 165, B. 37: No. 2, Tango (Arr. F. Kreisler for Violin & Piano) 02:41
• Leonard Bernstein: I Feel Pretty (From "West Side Story") [Arr. for Violin & Piano]:
• 13 Bernstein: I Feel Pretty (From "West Side Story") [Arr. for Violin & Piano] 03:02
• Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (1875 - 1912): 24 Negro Melodies, Op. 59:
• 14 Coleridge-Taylor: 24 Negro Melodies, Op. 59: No. 10, Deep River (Arr. for Violin & Piano) 04:19
• Martin Labazevitch: Aisha's Prayer:
• 15 Labazevitch: Aisha's Prayer 03:38
• Total Runtime 57:49

Info for Heritage

Violinist Aisha Syed Castro (b.1989) may well be one of the most remarkably gifted musicians to come from the Dominican Republic and the team at Divine Art are tremendously excited to have signed this young virtuoso for an album of works with principally American and Latin roots. She has been described as a ’virtuoso’ by the press on three continents, and has not only engaged in a busy and highly successful performing career but is tireless in her work for the underprivileged. Aisha is the Honorary Cultural Goodwill Ambassador of the Dominican Republic and works devotedly through charitable ventures (some of which she founded) to bring classical music to the underprivileged and socially disadvantaged.

In her new album, Aisha has brought together a program of works that have special meaning for her, from Spanish/ Latin/ American sources, including extracts from ‘West Side Story’, works by the Dominican maestro Rafael Solano, music from black composers Samuel Coleridge-Taylor and William Grant Still, and well-known little masterpieces by Piazzolla, Granados and Albeníz. A special piece for the artist is ‘Aisha’s Dance’ from Khachaturian’s Gayaneh ballet, which she has played since she was 15. This recording was made in April 2019 in England and is a sparkling and exotic program of masterworks.

Aisha’s musical partner here is pianist Martin Labazevitch who also arranged the closing track, a medley of hymns dear to Aisha including a beautiful rendering of the timeless ‘Amazing Grace’. Martin is a Steinway artist who has attracted rave reviews around the world for his lyricism and intensity of performance.

Aisha Syed Castro, violin
Martin Labazevitch, piano

Aisha Syed Castro
Described by the press in three continents as a “virtuoso” (Lietuvos Rytas in Lithuania, New York Classical Review, Frankfurter Neue Presse in Germany, Time Out Magazine and The National in the UAE, Correio Braziliense in Brasil), and a “deeply gifted artist” (Ft. Lauderdale Connex in Florida). She has performed at BBC Radio 3 and her live performance of N. Paganini’s La Campanella on their radio programme In Tune was chosen as a Performing Miracle on their prestigious broadcast of the best live interpretations on Radio 3.

Aged eleven, Aisha made her debut performing the Bruch Violin Concerto in G minor with the Dominican Symphony Orchestra becoming the youngest ever Dominican to have performed with the orchestra. She became the first latina to have been accepted at the child prodigy Yehudi Menuhin School in England where she also studied at the Royal College of Music with a full scholarship by the Soirée d’Or committee. She was also offered a full scholarship at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London.

Besides becoming a household name in South America, she has performed all around the world as a soloist with orchestras and in recitals in places such as the Carnegie Hall in New York (certified sold-out at Zankel Hall by Carnegie Hall), Palau de les Arts in Spain, National Philharmonic Hall in Vilnius, Wigmore Hall in London, Mumbai Opera House in India, the Broward Center for the Performing Arts in Florida, the headquarters of the Organization of American States in Washington DC, the Clairmont Hall in Tel-­Aviv, the Yehudi Menuhin Forum in Bern, Teatro Mayo in Colombia, Casa de la Música in Ecuador, Reales Alcázares in Sevilla, Spain, National Auditorium in Uruguay, CCK in Buenos Aires, National Theater of Nicaragua and National Theater of the Dominican Republic among many other halls.

She has also performed as a soloist in many festivals including at the Yehudi Menuhin International Music Festival in Gstaad where she premiered two works as soloist by prominent Israeli composers Noam Sherriff and Menachem Wiesenberg, the Banstead Arts Festival, the Abu Dhabi Music Festival, the Leamington Hastings Festival, the Santo Domingo Music Festival, the Gaida Contemporary Music Festival (where she gave the world premiere of the Alguirdas Martinaitits violin concerto, dedicated to her, at the National Philharmonic Hall with the Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra in Vilnius) amongst others.

She has performed as a soloist with the Orquesta de la Comunidad Valenciana in Spain, Symphony of the Americas in Florida, the Kristóforo Orchestra, the Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra, the National Symphony Orchestra of Colombia, the Entre Ríos Symphony Orchestra in Argentina (winner of the Konex Award in Argentina as best orchestra of the decade) and many others. Aisha Syed has won numerous awards including five Premio soberano Awards in 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2019 and 2021 as Best Classical Artist Abroad, the Latin Pride National Award in Boston MA, USA, the Game Changer Award by the Keep Walking worldwide campaign in 2014 and many others.

She was made Honorary Cultural Goodwill Ambassador by the Dominican Republic Government. In 2014 she was made the youngest ever Honorary Professor of the Arts Faculty at the Autonomous University of Santo Domingo, founded in 1538. In May 2015 she became, along with conductor Gustavo Dudamel and other Latin-American artists, an Ambassador for LEALA, an organization founded to promote the Spanish language and Latin American culture in Los Angeles. In 2010 she co-founded in the Dominican Republic the Music for Life Foundation, which seeks to bring classical music to those whom for social, economic, or health reasons cannot access it through music programmes such as the Music with a Purpose Festival and the Musical Clinics for violinists.

The violins she performs on are an extraordinary 1687 Stradivarius and an Antonius Pelizon violin, both kindly provided by Florian Leonhard Fine Violins of London and New York. Most recently, Aisha has been performing in Europe, Latin America, the United States and the Middle East. Future engagements include a recital at the Kennedy Center, her debut with the National Symphony Orchestra of Uruguay and the National Symphony Orchestra of Ecuador, a recital at the Teatro Mayor in Colombia, and recitals in Seoul, Vienna, Bern and Rome. Aisha is a devout Christian and dedicates all her performances to God.

Martin Labazevitch
Praised by critics in Europe and the United States for his lyricism, virtuosity and an intensity of performance, pianist Martin Labazevitch appeared in many concert halls and festivals in Europe, Israel, Asian and across the United States. He is a recipient of many awards and recognitions in the U.S., Spain and Japan as well as recipient of the Harold Bauer Award for the most promising pianist at the Manhattan School of Music.

Born in Poland, Mr. Labazevitch studied at the Odessa Conservatory in Ukraine, with Anatoly Kardashev, before immigrating to the United States, and obtaining scholarship to study at the Manhattan School of Music with Mme Nina Svetlanova and later with Cuban-American virtuoso Horacio Gutierrez. Recently he received his Doctoral Degree, studying with Jose Ramos Santana. He has worked with many renowned artists as Dmitri Bashkirov, Lazar Berman, Isidore Cohen, Bella Davidovich, Philippe Entremont, Stephen Hough, Ruth Laredo and Earl Wild.

His performances have been broadcast on radio stations throughout the U.S. such as WQXR, WWFM, and WFMT in New York, WFMT in Chicago as well as classical radio stations in Poland and Lithuania. Mr. Labazevitch has been a soloist with leading orchestras in Spain, Poland, Lithuania, Japan, and the United States. As a chamber musician, he is a founding member of the Paderewski Trio, an all-Polish ensemble, which for the entirety of its existence had been coached by the late Isidore Cohen – member of the Juilliard String Quartet and the Beaux Arts Trio. Paderewski Trio’s debut recital at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall was praised by The Strad magazine as “…exuberant, multi-faceted, … gripping from first note to last.”

Highlights of the most recent seasons include performances with the Beethoven Academy Orchestra, Lutoslawski Chamber Orchestra and Church of St.Louis Orchestra, performances with Vilnius String Quartet and Spokane String Quartet, recital tour in Spain with Polish cellist Rafal Jezierski, performances with Dominican violinist Aisha Syed Castro in Weill Recital Hall in New York, Methuen Hall in Boston and in London UK, performance at the Tedmed conference at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC, as well as solo recitals at the Weill Recital Hall in New York as the winner of the La Gesse Foundation auditions, and recital at the Dame Myra Hess series in Chicago.

The highlights of the 2019/20 season include performances with Dominican violinist Aisha Syed Castro at Carnegie Hall’s Zankel Hall, in Chicago and Lima, Peru, recitals in Spain with Polish cellist Rafal Jezierski as well as solo recitals in Philadelphia, Miami, Washington D.C. and New York City.

In 2015, Mr. Labazevitch released his first commercial recording on the Delos label, to very enthusiastic reviews in Poland, France, Germany and the United States. Fanfare Magazine wrote: “His way with Chopin is fluid and convincing. He plays with a superb control of rubato and has the most beautiful way of melting a phrase.” American Record Guide wrote: “Pianist Labazevitch injects more fire into the two concerto works, rushing the tempos in some passagework to build excitement; orchestra and conductor gamely, calmly follow his lead. Labazevitch is excellent.” ConcertoNet wrote, “…he pleasantly refrains from overtaxing Chopin’s conclusive Allegro vivace with shimmering grandeur and eloquent precision that could even rival that of Arthur Rubinstein.”

Since 2012 Mr Labazevitch has been sharing his passion for teaching with students at the Levine School of Music in Washington D.C. He is the Artistic Director of the Kosciuszko Foundation Chopin Piano Competition, founder of the Chopin Piano Academy in Washington D.C. and Co-Artistic Director of the Puerto Rico International Piano Festival in San Juan.

Booklet for Heritage