EKA GOGICHASHVILI

• Schulhoff: Violin Sonata No.2 - I. Allegro impetuoso

[ + + + + ] “[Schulhoff was a] magnificent pianist and prodigy composer, his first works were assured and brilliant, technically fluent and marvelously structured. Though a late romantic at heart, and reared in that environment, he was astute enough to absorb the influence of jazz, and appreciated Schoenberg as one of the great composers... The violin pieces on this disc make for a sparking presentation, and the music is astoundingly engrossing... Eka Gogichashvili is lovingly attuned to this music, making it a personal statement of great warmth and commitment. It’s almost a denigrating term to call pianist Kae Hosoda-Ayer an accompanist, so crisp, alert, and essential is her playing. Do acquire this disc—it deserves an honored place in any collection worth its salt.”

Steven Ritter, Audiophile Audition [July 2016]

“This CD represents a worthy tribute to the outstanding merit of the composer through these fine performances... The performances are well-crafted, and the ensemble is excellent... The virtuoso performers prove that they are up to the technical and expressive challenges presented in these works.”

Pan Pipes, Sigma Alpha Iota [Spring 2016]

“The performances are first-rate. Both artists are professors at Baylor with extensive, impressive resumés, and they work beautifully together. In particular, the folk-like quality of the Second Sonata is nicely realized. Tanja Becker-Bender and Markus Becker play these four works with 'the last word in technical virtuosity' (Fanfare 34: 6) on a Hyperion CD, and Gidon Kremer’s performance of the Second Sonata on Teldec is 'irresistible,' but Drs. Gogichashvili and Hosoda-Ayer bring this music to life as do no others... this is a wonderful, wonderful disc.”

James North, Fanfare [March/April 2016]

“The duo here is expressive, and they capture the mood”

Estep, American Record Guide [March/April 2016]

“[In the Solo Sonata] Gogichashvili catches the fresh-air aspects of the opening movement well.”

Jonathan Woolf, MusicWeb International [February 2016]

On March 15, 1939, Germany invaded Czechoslovakia, initiating one of humanity’s darkest chapters. In the wake of the Third Reich’s appalling efforts to exterminate Europe’s Jewish population, millions perished, among them some of the best and brightest minds in history, figures whose lives and legacies are just now receiving the attention they deserve. Among those figures is the remarkably gifted Czech pianist, composer, conductor and writer Erwin Schulhoff, whose nearly 200 compositions include works for piano, chamber music, symphonies, concertos, songs, operas and ballets.


Eka Gogichashvili maintains an active performing career. As a soloist, she has performed with the Temple Symphony Orchestra, Baylor Symphony, Rowan Symphony, Tbilisi State Symphony Orchestra and Tbilisi Radio-TV Symphony Orchestra. As a chamber musician, she has played with the Contemporary Chamber Players, LSU Piano Trio, Tbilisi String Quartet, Elag Quartet, Baylor String Quartet and Baylor Piano Trio. Also an orchestral player, Gogichashvili has performed with the Waco Symphony, Temple Symphony, Fort Worth Symphony, Shreveport Symphony, Baton Rouge Symphony, Acadiana Symphony, Moscow Chamber Orchestra Arco, Bridgeton Symphony, Belcanto Opera, Tbilisi Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra, Abilene Philharmonic and Ohio Light Opera.

Dr. Gogichashvili regularly appears as a clinician at national conventions, giving presentations on topics including violin performance practice, repertoire, and practice methods. She has presented at events given by the College Music Society, American String Teachers Association, Texas Orchestra Directors Association, Texas Music Educators Association, International Double Reed Society, National Association of Teachers of Singing, College Band Directors National Association, and others.

Currently Associate Professor of Violin at Baylor University in Waco, Texas, Gogichashvili holds dual Bachelor of Music degrees in violin performance from Balanchivadze College of Music in Tbilisi, Georgia (former Soviet Union), and from Rowan University in New Jersey. She also holds dual Master of Music degrees in violin performance from Tbilisi State Conservatory in Tbilisi and the Louisiana State University (LSU) School of Music. She completed her Doctor of Musical Arts degree at LSU with a minor in orchestral conducting. Her teachers include Kevork Mardirossian, Dennis Parker, Michael Butterman, Bertram Greenspan, Akvsenti Megrelidze, Shota Shanidze and Boris Chiaureli. She has also worked with members of the Audubon Quartet, Jeffrey Sollow, Karen Tuttle, David Cerone, Yfrah Neaman, Joseph Silverstein, Moscow Trio, Camilla Wicks, Levon Ambarzumian, Helen Kwalwasser, and Yair Kless.


Kae Hosoda-Ayer has concertized throughout the United States, Canada, Japan and Korea, where she is in demand both as a soloist and collaborative pianist. Hosoda-Ayer has been heard on National Public Radio with Ronald de Kant, Professor Emeritus of Clarinet at the College-Conservatory of Music in Cincinnati. With her husband, clarinetist Christopher Ayer, she performs as the Duo Karudan throughout the United States, Canada and Japan, and performed at the International Clarinet Association World Conferences in Austin, Atlanta and Tokyo. Currently Assistant Professor of Piano and Director of Collaborative Piano at Baylor University, Dr. Hosoda-Ayer holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in piano performance with emphasis in chamber music and collaborative arts from the University of Texas at Austin, a Master of Music degree and Graduate Diploma in piano performance from the New England Conservatory where she was a Piano Honors Competition winner, and a Bachelor of Music degree in piano performance from Toho Gakuen School of Music in Tokyo. Her principal teachers include Anton Nel, Gabriel Chodos and Nobuko Amada, and she has coached with Eiji Oue, Shuku Iwasaki and Margo Garrett. She has served on the accompanying faculty at New England Conservatory, and while at the University of Texas at Austin was named first prize winner in the Sidney Wright Endowed Presidential Scholarship Competition in Piano Accompanying.
  ERWIN SCHULHOFF (1894-1942)
SUITE FOR VIOLIN AND PIANO, OP.1, WV 18 (1911)
Präludium
Gavotte
Minuetto
Walzer
Scherzo

SONATA FOR SOLO VIOLIN, WV 83 (1927)
Allegro con fuoco
Andante cantabile
Scherzo - Allegretto grazioso
Finale - Allegro risoluto

SONATA NO.1 FOR VIOLIN AND PIANO, OP.7, WV 24 (1913)
Allegro risoluto
Tranquillo
Presto
Allegro molto

SONATA NO.2 FOR VIOLIN AND PIANO, WV 91 (1927)
Allegro impetuoso
Andante
Burlesca - Allegretto
Finale - Allegro risoluto



MSR Classics