Cristian Ganicenco - Beyond Oblivion

Cristian Ganicenco was appointed Principal Trombone of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra in the fall of 1999. Mr. Ganicenco began musical studies in his native Iasi, Romania with Roman Constantin. As a student at the Military School of Music and George Enescu School of Music in Bucharest, he was a first prize winner of all the major national solo competitions in Romania. He made his solo debut with the Romanian Youth Orchestra playing Handel's Concerto in F Minor. Mr. Ganicenco graduated from the Academy of Music in Bucharest prior to winning the audition with the Romanian National Radio Orchestra where he played for four seasons. In 1994, Mr. Ganicenco was awarded a Soros Foundation Grant to continue his studies in the United States with Byron McCulloh at Carnegie Mellon University where he graduated in 1997 with a Master's Degree in Trombone Performance. During this time, Mr. Ganicenco also studied with Joseph Alessi, Principal Trombone of the New York Philharmonic. In 1996 he was the first prize winner of the Pittsburgh Concert Society Competition. Prior to joining the CSO, he was enrolled in a Doctoral program at Rutgers University. Mr. Ganicenco has toured extensively around the world and has participated in international festivals in Salzburg, Edinburgh, Munich, Sao Paolo, Milan and Paris, among others. In October 2003, Mr. Ganicenco made his critically acclaimed solo debut with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra performing Creston's Fantasy for Trombone. In 2004, he was invited to play with the Super World Orchestra in Tokyo, Japan along with other principal players from all of the major orchestras in the world. In demand as a recitalist and clinician for Edwards Instrument Company, Mr. Ganicenco has given master classes at many universities and colleges and has been a featured artist at the International Women's Brass Conference and the Raphael Mendez Brass Institute Festival. Mr. Ganicenco performs frequently with the Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra and appears with the CSO Chamber Players series. Anna Shelest, age 23, began piano studies in Kharkiv, Ukraine at the age of six. She attended the Kharkiv Special Music School for Gifted Children where she was a student of Professor Sergei Polusmiak, 'Honored Artist, Ukraine.' At the age of 11 she performed at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris as the youngest prize winner of the Milosz Magin International Piano Competition. Since making her orchestral debut at the age of 12 with the Kharkiv Symphony Orchestra playing the Rachmaninoff Concerto No.1, she has been a soloist with numerous orchestras including the Cincinnati Symphony, Montreal Symphony, Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra, Corpus Christi Symphony, Kentucky Symphony, Lugansk Philharmonic, Netherlands Symphony, Northwest Florida Symphony, Minnesota Sinfonia, Jefferson Symphony and the San Francisco Russian Chamber Orchestra. As a soloist, Anna has appeared in Canada, France, Mexico, Netherlands, Russia, Scotland, Switzerland, Ukraine and the United States. Anna has won prizes and awards in numerous international piano competitions including First Prizes at the Louisiana International Piano Competition, Kawai American Recording Contest, Jefferson Symphony Young Artists Competition in Denver, Colorado, Corpus Christi International Competition for Piano and Strings, Ludmila Knezkova-Hussey International Piano Competition in Canada, and the Lugansk International Piano Competition in Ukraine. Other top prizes were won at the International Piano Competition for Young Musicians in the Netherlands, Nikolai Rubenstein International Piano Competition in Paris, and Diploma at the Vladimir Horowitz International Competition in Ukraine. Anna's first solo CD recording will be released on Classical Records in Moscow, Russia during the spring of 2007. PROGRAM NOTES Astor Piazzolla (1921-1992) The Argentinean born composer and bandoneon player Astor Piazzolla took the musical world by storm by creating a unique and unmatched musical style. He combined classical music with jazz elements fueled by the pulse of the Argentinean tango. Oblivion became one of Piazzolla's most popular tangos through the soundtrack of Henry IV, an Italian film directed by Marco Bellochio with Marcello Mastroianni in the leading role. Alessandro Marcello (1669-1750) Born to a wealthy Venetian family, Marcello was not only a composer but also a versatile musician who played several instruments. He was also versed in mathematics, philosophy, history, poetry and painting. Marcello's D Minor Oboe Concerto is one of the most popular works in the oboe repertoire. This work is typical of instrumental concertos in the Venetian style and is comprised of two primary elements: structure (material that is developed motivically and sequentially in alternation with connective passages) and ornaments. Ferdinand David (1810-1873) Ferdinand David was a German violin virtuoso, composer and concertmaster of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra. In 1843, David, together with Schumann and Mendelssohn, founded the Leipzig Academy of Music where he also became a professor of violin. David also performed the premier of Mendelssohn's famous violin concerto. David wrote the Marcia Funebre in C Minor for Trombone to be performed at the funeral of a cellist friend. Inspired by Carl Traugott Queisser (1800-1846), a trombone virtuoso of the time who also played in the Gewandhaus Orchestra, David added two movements to the existing Marcia Funebre, transforming it into the Concertino in E Flat. Christian Gouinguene (Born 1941) The French composer and organist Christian Gouinguene wrote this trombone concerto using themes by Johann David Heinichen (1683-1729), a German composer who was a contemporary of J.S. Bach. Although Heinichen was a lawyer by training, he became a famous conductor at the Dresden court. Leopold Mozart (1719-1787) Many of the famous solo concertos were inspired by outstanding instrumental soloists. One example is Thomas Gschlatt (1723-1806) who joined the Salzburg Court Orchestra in 1756 as Solo Trombonist. He gained the respect of and served as inspiration for such composers as L. Mozart, J. M. Haydn and J.G. Albrechtsberger. Thanks to Gschlatt, we can today enjoy three landmarks of the alto trombone repertoire. The three movements of the present Concertino are actually taken from a Serenade which contains movements for various solo instruments. Paul Creston (1906-1985) Giuseppe Guttoveggio (Creston's birth name) was an entirely self taught composer. He worked as a theater organist and composition instructor for over a dozen colleges and universities. In 1963, Creston became Professor of Composition and Orchestration at the New York College of Music. Of his one hundred and twenty compositions (including six symphonies), the Trombone Fantasy is among his most successful works. Creston's unique approach to rhythm, use of syncopation, and smooth melodic lines give the music a jazzy feel reminiscent of the commercial music of New York City in the 1940s. The Fantasy was commissioned by Los Angeles Philharmonic Music Director Alfred Wallenstein for trombonist Robert Marstellar. Eugene Bozza (1905-1991) The French composer and conductor Eugene Bozza studied at the Paris Conservatoire and is known primarily for his chamber music compositions. Aria is an important early work written for Alto Saxophone in 1936 for the famous French saxophonist Marcel Mule. -Cristian Ganicenco.

1) Lentamente
2) Andante E Spiccato
3) Adagio
4) Presto
5) Allegro Maestoso
6) Andante - Marcia Funebre
7) Allegro Maestoso
8) Allegro
9) Sicilienne
10) Allegro Vivo
11) Allegro
12) Adagio
13) Menuetto and Trio
14) Moderately Fast; Slow; Fast
15) Andante Ma Non Troppo