Krysa/Tchekina perform at UIA (01/21/96)

Krysa/Tchekina perform at UIA

by Mary E. Pressey

NEW YORK - The internationally acclaimed duo of Oleh Krysa and Tatiana Tchekina, captivated the audience at the Ukrainian Institute of America on December 2, 1995, with their superb violin and piano performances. Recognized by several music critics as first-rate artists, this husband-and-wife team once again proved the critics right.

The program was East European, with selections from composers Schulhoff, Prokofiev, Bartok, Karabyts and Szymanowski.

The Krysa-Tchekina duo's recitals have spanned more than a quarter of a century and, apart from the United States and Canada, captured audiences with solo and chamber music in the former Soviet Union, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, the Middle East, Mexico, Japan, Korea and South Africa. Recently, their performances at Carnegie Hall in New York and the Kennedy Center in Washington met with wide acclaim.

Mr. Krysa is of Ukrainian parentage. He was born in the Soviet Union and was long esteemed as a distinguished soloist, chamber musician and teacher.

In 1971 he made his American debut at Carnegie Hall and other music centers, and won glowing reviews from critics for his performances.

Upon his return to Europe, he performed with the leading orchestras and ensembles of Berlin, Budapest, Dresden Kyiv, Leningrad, London, Moscow Prague, Stockholm and Warsaw, and appeared at major festivals in Russia, Germany, Scotland, Fin]and, Austria, Czecho-Slovakia, Poland and Australia.

He is a champion of contemporary music, particularly of composers Alfred Schnittke, Valentyn Sylvestrov, Vyacheslav Artyomov and Myroslav Skoryk, and has premiered a number of their works. A student and protege of David Oistrakh, his honors include top prizes at the Montreal, Tchaikovsky; Wieniawski and Paganini international competitions.

Following a distinguished career in the former Soviet Union, where he served as chairman of the violin department at the Kyiv Conservatory and later as professor of violin at the Moscow Conservatory, Mr. Klysa returned to the United States. He is currently professor of violin at the Eastern School of Music in Rochester. He is also artist-in-residence at the Ukrainian Institute of America, where he serves as artistic director of the Music at the Institute concert series.

Ms. Tchekina, born in Moscow to a family of singers, studied at the Kyiv and Moscow conservatories with Vsevolod Topilin and Boris Zemlyansky. She went on to distinguish herself as a pianist of notable talent in major music festivals in Russia (Moscow Stars), CzechoI Slovakia (Prague Spring), Austria | (Wiener Fest), Finland (Kuhmo and Korsholm) and Australia (Townsville).

While performing with her husband in solo and chamber music recitals, she received wide acclaim from critics and was described in the Montreal Star as a "first-rank artist in her own right."

The Washington Post praised her as "an especially forceful, responsible partner," while the Canberra Times (Australia) found her to be a "distinguished musician and a pianist of notable talents."

Ms. Tchekina has recorded on the Melodiya, Bis and Meldac labels. Her most recent recordings include the Five Melodies for Violin and Piano by Prokofiev, two sonatas for violin and piano by Bartok, works for violin and piano by Ravel with Mr. Krysa (Meldac), the Sonata for Violin and

Piano by Schulhoff and the Piano Trio by Schnittke with Mr. Krysa and cellist Torleif Thedeen (Bis).

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