The Melodiya Chamber Ensemble "Solos & Duets"
Friday 5 May 2017 at 8:00pm The Berkeley Hillside Club is excited to host the return of the Melodiya Chamber Ensemble, bringing a unique combination of instruments and repertoire to our stage. The program will feature works by Marais, Debussy, Ravel, Salzedo, Beethoven, Schumann, and Enesco. Don't miss these remarkable artists performing in our historic and acoustically-excellent hall. The Melodiya Chamber Ensemble are: Olga Ortenberg-Rakitchenkov - harp Arcadi Serper - piano Sergey Rakitchenkov - viola The Program:
Suite No.1 in D minor (selections) - Marin Marais
Arabesque #1 - Claude Debussy Pavane pour une infante défunte - Maurice Ravel Variations on a Theme in Ancient Style, for solo harp, Op.30 - Carlos Salzedo
Romance in G Major, Op. 40 - Ludwig van Beethoven
Märchenbilder; Fairy Tale Pictures for Viola and Piano, Op.113 - Robert Schumann Konzertstück for Viola and Piano - George Enesco About the Artists: The San Francisco Opera Orchestra’s Principal Harp Olga Ortenberg-Rakitchenkov was born in Russia into a family rich in musical tradition. Her mother was an editor of Musica, a major Russian publishing company, and her granduncle was a member of the Budapest Quartet. The former Associate Concertmaster of the San Francisco Opera, Adolf Bruk, is her uncle. Olga started piano lessons at seven at Moscow’s Gnesin School for Musically Gifted Children. At eleven, she began to study harp in the class of Mark Rubin, making it her primary instrument. She graduated with Highest Honors from Moscow’s Tchaikovsky Conservatory, studying with Professor Vera Dulova. Olga won the position of Associate Principal Harp in the Bolshoi Theatre Orchestra in 1973 and was promoted to Principal. In 1989, after immigration to the United States, she won the position of Principal Harp for the San Francisco Opera Orchestra. Arkadi Serper is a prominent pianist and composer. He had an outstanding career as Musical Director of the Musical Theater Department at the Gnesin Conservatory prior to his move to the Bay Area in 1992. Mr. Serper has performed in Europe, the United States, and Asia. His compositions have been performed by the Stockton Symphony, Vallejo Symphony, Kairos Youth Choir, The Crowden School, and the San Francisco Boys’ Chorus. He has been a member of the Crowden faculty since 1992, coaching chamber music and teaching music theory and composition. Mr. Serper teaches piano at CCMC. Associate Principal Viola in the San Francisco Opera, Sergey Rakitchenkov was born in Moscow and attended the Central School for Musically Gifted Children. He graduated with honors from the Tchaikovsky Conservatory of Music in Moscow, where he studied with Fyodor Druzhinin. For fifteen years he performed with the Bolshoi Theatre Orchestra, rising to become Principal of the viola section. In 1980 he won the prestigious All-Union Musical Competition. His playing was broadcast on a major Soviet Union radio station. In 1987, soon after arriving in the United States with his wife Olga and daughter Liza, he won a position in the viola section of the San Francisco Opera Orchestra, where he currently serves in the Associate Principal chair. He also performs at special events around the San Francisco Bay Area and in Europe.