
CONCERT
GEMS for VIOLONCELLO
BLOCH, BURGMULLER,
COUPERIN, GRANADOS,
HANDEL, MONTI, PART, PIAZZOLLA
ASHLEY
SANDOR SIDON
NICHOLAS ROTH
piano
LUIS
MILLAN guitar
MS1247 ~ $14.95
"Sidon
is clearly a sensitive, accomplished player..."
Musicweb International ~
April 2008
* * *
While
only a handful of masterpieces constitute the crown jewels of literature for the
cello, many worthy compositions of a smaller scope comprise the lesser gems and
are often included on recital programs for variety and enrichment. This
recording presents a wide range of these compositions, some of which are
transcriptions, which add breadth to the standard available literature. From the
baroque works of Couperin and Handel to the meditative works of Ernest Bloch and
Arvo Pärt to the irresistible tango of Ástor Piazzolla, these works add
variety, grace and beauty to the cellist’s concert fare.
ASHLEY
SANDOR SIDON
has performed solo recitals
nationally and internationally. While teaching at Shanghai Conservatory of Music
for several years, Dr. Sidon toured Southeast Asia to present recitals and
master classes at provincial cultural centers, music schools and other concert
venues, including Hong Kong, Singapore, Taipei, and throughout China. She has
performed at college campuses such as the Crane School of Music, Miami
University, University of Tennessee, and University of Minnesota and has
presented clinics at College Music Society Southeast Convention, Music
Educator's National Conference (MENC) Southeast Convention and MENC National
Conference. Dr. Sidon has performed under esteemed conductors such as Daniel
Barenboim, Pierre Boulez and Michael Tilson Thomas, as well as in master classes
for Bernard Greenhouse, Desmond Hoebig, Michael Strauss, Richard Aaron, Sandra
Rivers, Peter Ouindjin, James Tocco and the Tokyo String Quartet. Dr. Sidon’s
research document titled "Lineage and Comparison of Versions of Igor
Stravinsky’s Suite Italienne" was published by the Hawaii International
Conference on the Arts (2004). She holds the degree, Doctorate of Musical Arts
in Violoncello, from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music,
where her principal teacher was the internationally acclaimed cellist, Yehuda
Hanani. Currently, she is Assistant Professor of Cello at Drake University.
During the summer months, she is on the artist-faculty of the New England Music
Camp in Maine. Ashley Sandor Sidon plays on a 1789 Antonio Gagliano.
Nicholas
Roth,
has won first prizes in international competitions in the USA and Europe. Hailed
by the Indianapolis News as "a world of talent, displaying lyrical beauty,
percussive driving power never out of control, and never without security and
assurance," he began formal studies at age twelve, and received critical
acclaim for his appearances by age eighteen. He appeared as soloist with the St.
Louis Symphony, and the Indianapolis Symphony under Raymond Leppard. Roth is
featured regularly in recital series and festivals throughout the United States,
Mexico, Germany, and Spain. His solo recordings with the Blue Griffin Recording
label have garnered enthusiastic reviews in Gramophone, International Record
Review, Fanfare and the American Record Guide. Currently, Mr. Roth is a piano
professor at Drake University.
A
native of Massachusetts, Dr.
Luis Millán maintains an
active career as a guitarist, conductor and educator. As a guitarist, Dr.
Millán has concertized across this country and given five tours in Spain which
have included solo recitals at the Palacio de Viana in Cordoba, concerts on
public television and radio, and duo recitals with his father, Spanish poet
Rafael Millán. Currently, he is Assistant Professor of Music at The University
of Montana where he is the Director of Orchestras, and teaches guitar, music
theory and conducting. He received his musical training at Saint Olaf
College as well as Michigan State University, where he received masters and
doctorate degrees in orchestral conducting. Before moving to Montana, Dr.
Millán taught at Washburn University in Topeka, Kansas and served as Director
of Arts Education Programs at Wharton Center for Performing Arts at Michigan
State University. He also conducted youth symphonies in Jackson and Saginaw,
Michigan and in Topeka, Kansas, and directed opera companies in Lansing,
Michigan. He has taught at the New England Music Camp.