Eva León and Olga Vinokur

June 28, 2017, 12:15 pm

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Eva Leon
Eva Leon

Spanish violinist Eva León and pianist Olga Vinokur join us live from the Chicago Cultural Center with music of Turina, Albania and Rodrigo.

Playlist

Violin Sonata No.1, Op. 51 (14’)
I. Lento-Allegro molto
II. Aria: Lento
III. Rondeau: Allegretto
Joaquín Turina (1882 – 1949)

Asturias (Leyenda) for Solo Violin (4’)
Isaac Albéniz (1860 – 1909)
Arr. Xavier Turull and Eva León

Sonata pimpante (17’) 
I. Allegro 
II. Adagio, Allegro vivace, Adagio
III. Allegro molto
Joaquín Rodrigo (1901 – 1999)

FROM THE IMF WEBSITE

Internationally acclaimed musicians Eva León, who has won praise across Europe and the Americas for performances that are as charismatic as they are profound, and Olga Vinokur, who has been described by BBC magazine as “superlative,” team up to take us on a musical journey across Spain, exploring its many traditions, cultures, and colors. In their most recent album for Naxos, they give voice to the Spanish idiom through the timeless compositions of Joaquín Rodrigo.

A native of Spain’s Canary Islands, Eva León has been hailed by critics as a violinist who “has the power to captivate the five senses of her audience” La Vanguardia (Spain), and described as a “charismatic violinist who possesses, along with her musical talent and tremendous aura, a gift for expression” Neue Press (Germany). She has won all the major Spanish violin competitions and several international competitions, including top prize at the Michelangelo Abbado International Violin Competition and Laureate at the Maria Canals International Violin Competition. She was the winner of the 33rd Artists International Début Award in New York, which led to her début at Carnegie Hall. Ms. León has appeared on tour in some of the most prestigious concert halls and festivals throughout the world, both as a chamber musician and as a soloist with numerous orchestras. She has recorded three critically acclaimed albums for Naxos, with music by Joaquín Turina, Xavier Montsalvatge and Joaquín Rodrigo. She currently lives in New York City.

Olga Vinokur has been described by the the New York Times as “exquisite” and by BBC Magazine as “superlative.” She is an acclaimed pianist and a dynamic performer on the classical and contemporary music scene. Olga has appeared in the United States and internationally as recitalist, with orchestra and chamber musicians, in major venues including Carnegie Hall and Alice Tully Hall, New York, the Rudolfinum, Prague, King’s Place, London, and the Shanghai Oriental Art Centre. She appears in the film documentary Women of Music, a classical music series on Bravo TV, which features interviews and performances with today’s top classical performers from around the world. She has been heard on WNYC’s Soundcheck in New York, the BBC, the Israeli Voice of Music radio station, and Russian National Public Radio, among others. She is the recipient of numerous awards and prizes, and has appeared as a soloist with many orchestras, and has toured China with the Manhattan Symphony Orchestra where she performed in major concert halls in eleven different cities.