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"A century ago, women in most western countries
couldn't vote, and ladies weren't supposed to write music. A few
did anyway, and often had to wait decades for a fair hearing. Christina
Petrowska Quilico, the virtuoso pianist whose Northern Sirens Cd
two years ago featured works by Canadians such as Ann Southam and
Alexina Louie, casts her net further afield for this show, which
also includes music by Cecile Chaminade." PIERRE BOULEZ HONOURED FOR CONTEMPORARY COMPOSITION "An extraordinary talent." "An astonishing pianist." "Dynamic...Dramatic...Profiled expressiveness." "Christina Petrowska is an established soloist
on the Canadian scene with a special interest in contemporary keyboard
music...But as more recent albums suggest, her interest stretches
back into the traditional keyboard repertory as well. A new Debussy
album finds her fingers making their way nimbly through 17 of the
French composer's best-known short pieces, while this contemporaneous
disc finds them performing a similar service for 15 pieces by Chopin
and Liszt." "What more can be said about this internationally
acclaimed Canadian artist who thrilled Winnipeg audiences at the
du Maurier New Music Festival? Renowned for her seamless technique
and interpretive clarity, Petrowska has given world and out-of-this-world
premieres of countless works, including one which debuted on Canadian
astronaut Steve MacLean's Space Shuttle Columbia flight...one of
contemporary music's hottest starts". |
CHRISTINA PETROWSKA QUILICO
Pianist
"Ms. Petrowska is a formidable force in the Canadian music scene…she is truly a gifted pianist…a beautiful work (Catbird Seat) and a beautiful performance.", greeted the release of a Trappist Recording of music by David Jaeger, by Jan Press Publications. In a feature article in Fanfare Record Magazine, Christina Petrowska Quilico was headlined as a "Renaissance woman...and a part-time lounge lizard". She is not only one of Canada's foremost pianists, but also a most innovative and adventurous one with eclectic programming. Her vast and diverse repertoire is reflected in 14 recordings of classical, romantic, new and world music, including a Juno-nominated CD with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra.
An unusually gifted and well-rounded performer, she has worked with leading composers of the 20th century such as Pierre Boulez, Lowell Liebermann, Luis de Pablo, John Cage, Gyorgy Ligeti, Krystof Penderecki, Karlheinz Stockhausen among others, and from Canada composers such as Claude Vivier, Christos Hatzis, Chris Paul Harmon, Glenn Buhr, Larysa Kuzmenko, Omar Daniel, Alexina Louie, Heather Schmidt, Healey Willan and others, premiering countless new works, many of which were written for her.
Her concerto performances with the Toronto Symphony, Winnipeg Symphony, Ottawa Symphony and Taipei Symphony Orchestras, the National Arts Centre Orchestra, the Esprit Orchestra, Vancouver Chamber Orchestras, Kitchener-Waterloo and many others, have earned her standing ovations. She has performed with most new music groups and chamber ensembles in Canada. Her CD Virtuoso Piano Music of Our Time made its debut on the Space Shuttle Columbia with Canadian astronaut Steve Maclean.
Christina also recorded several CDs with her late husband, the legendary Metropolitan Opera baritone Louis Quilico, and toured extensively with him in concert. Her own solo tours have been highlighted by appearances at major New York venues from Carnegie, Alice Tully and Town Halls to the Museum of Modern Art and Merkin concert Hall. She has given recitals in Europe, performing as well in Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Syria, Greece and Taiwan. A respected pedagogue, she is Professor of Piano and Musicology at York University in Toronto, and an acclaimed author and artist of three published books.
In 2002, Ms. Petrowska-Quilico performed Pierre Boulez's Piano Sonata in a special concert at which Mo Boulez was awarded the Glenn Gould Prize and for New Music Concerts in Toronto she performed Ligeti's Etudes, Book 1 and 2. Recent performances include the world premiere and recording of a new piano concerto by Ted Dawson in Taiwan, and a Canadian premiere with the Thunder Bay Symphony, conducted by Geoffrey Moull. Her most recent recital featured the world premiere of 16 Portraits by Michel-Georges Bregent for Toronto's New Music Concert Series.
New recordings include an easy listening series of CDs entitled Brazilian Tango Gems, Afro-Cuban Gems, Romantic Gems, Canadian Gems, Vocal Gems as well as Northern Sirens, Mystic Streams, and Celestial Music. Recently released is Gems with an Edge including works by Messiaen, Boulez, Bregent, Davidovsky and Coulombe Saint-Marcoux. In 2005 a CBC "Portraits" recording of Ann Southam's "Rivers" is scheduled for release.
Ann Summers International
43 Bright St.
Toronto M5A 3H5
tel: (416) 362-1422
fax: (416) 359-0043
e-mail: sumintl@sympatico.ca