Austin’s own James Dick, piano

And the St. Petersburg String Quartet

Thursday, January 14, 2016, 7:30 pm

First Unitarian Universalist Church of Austin

4700 Grover Ave., Austin TX 78756

James Dick is recognized as one of the internationally renowned pianists of his generation, concert pianist and Steinway artist. He received a scholarship to the University of Texas in Austin, studying with Dalies Frantz. Later, he was a Fulbright Scholar and studied with Sir Clifford Curzon in England.

Mr. Dick’s early triumphs as a major prizewinner in the Tchaikovsky, Busoni and Leventritt International Competitions were a prelude to an international career, with performances in New York’s Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall, Town Hall and 92nd Street “Y”; London’s Queen Elizabeth Hall, Wigmore Hall and Purcell Room; Le Theatre du Chatelet and Salle Gaveau in Paris; the Kennedy Center and the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C.; and many others. James Dick has performed with the Chicago Symphony, the Philadelphia Orchestra, and many others, working with such conductors as Ormandy, Barbirolli, Levin, Maazel, Kondrashin, Spano, Oue, Sanderling, Hogwood, de Preist and Verrot. Here in Texas, James Dick founded and has for decades managed the Round Top Music Festival, with performances presented in a beautiful setting of gardens and historic buildings (with a breathtaking concert hall). Round Top offers summer scholarships to talented young musicians from around the world as well as events and lodging for musical and cultural events year-round.

The St. Petersburg String Quartet: 

Alla Aranovskaya, first violin; Boris Vayner, viola; Luis Angel Salazar Avila, second Violin; and Thomas Mesa, cello

Founded in 1985, The Petersburg String Quartet has been honored with a Grammy nomination and Best Record honors from Stereo Review and Gramophone magazines. The Quartet has received  First Prize and the Grand Prix Musica Viva at the 1991 Melbourne International Chamber Music Competition; a Silver Medal and a Special Prize at the Tokyo International Chamber Music Competition; and First Prize and Special Prizes at the Vittorio Gui International Competition for Chamber Ensembles in Florence. The Quartet has given an opening night performance at Mostly Mozart at Lincoln Center and enjoyed a five-year residency at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music. This group has performed hundreds of concerts at many North American, European, and Asian prestigious series and festivals. 

The City of Austin’s Cultural Arts Division, a grant from the Texas Commission on the Arts, an awards from the National Endowment for the Arts, Musical Bridges Around The World, Great Promise for American Indian, Russian Speakers of Austin have all helped make this event possible. Please join us! Tickets: Adults – $20. Seniors and students – $10. Children under 12 – Free and welcome. Contact: Sergey Vashchenko, Musical Connections, 512-656-6865 balalaika@sbcglobal.net, www.musicalconnections.net