Stasevskij and Sawada Duo

June 13, 2018, 12:15 pm

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Today we are joined by the Stasevskij & Sawada Duo with Lukas Stasevskij, cello and Miki Sawada, Piano with works of Dvořák and Brahms.

Cellist Lukas Stasevskij has studied at the Sibelius Academy in Finland, which is world renowned for the cello program, with professors Arto Noras and Martti Rousi, as well as at Basel Musikakademie in Switzerland with professor Ivan Monighetti. Stasevskij has appeared with many orchestras as a soloist, and in solo and chamber music recitals in Europe and in Asia. He has performed in music festivals such as the Naantali Music Festival, the Kuhmo Chamber Music Festival and the Santander Music Festival. He won the 4th prize at the prestigious Witold Lutosławski International Cello Competition in February 2011 and performed with the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra. He was also awarded a special prize in the International Paulo Cello Competition in 2013. In 2015 hewon an audition in London to the Lincoln Center Residence piano quintet, based in New York. Lukas started performing regularly as a cellist of quintet in January 2016. He is founder and artistic director of Game Music Collective, Europe’s first professional orchestra focusing on live performances featuring video game music. Lukas plays on a cello made by Charles Jacquot, Paris 1856, loaned by the Finnish Cultural Foundation.

Miki Sawada is a musician who is free-spirited in her pursuit of adventure while showing deep commitment to fully realize classical music’s capacity to nurture and strengthen community bonds. She recently completed “Gather Hear Alaska,” in which she traveled for three weeks in Alaska with a piano in a van. Accompanied only by a filmmaker, she gave 25 performances in community hubs such as cafes, bars, parks, schools, mostly focusing on rural communities.

In the 2016-17 season, Miki presented a solo recital on the Dame Myra Hess Concert Series. Other season highlights included a debut recital with cello partner Lukas Stasevskij at the Helsinki Music Centre, solo recitals in Japan, Belgium, and the U.S., and contemporary music performances in New York City at venues such as Spectrum NYC, The DiMenna Center for Classical Music, and Roulette. Miki’s performances in the past have been featured at venues and occasions such as: Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Lincoln Center Stage on Holland America Line, the Oneppo Chamber Music Series at Yale, Toronto Summer Music Festival, Aurora Music Festival (Sweden), Music on Main (Vancouver), Chicago Symphony Center’s Macy’s Day of Music, the Banff Centre, and radio stations WQXR (NYC) and WFMT (Chicago). In the summers, she teaches and performs as a faculty member of Heifetz Institute, Point CounterPoint Camp, and Berkshire High Peaks Festival. Miki holds degrees from Yale School of Music, Eastman School of Music, and Northwestern University.

Bios provided by the International Music Foundation

  • Rondo, Op. 94, by Antonín Dvořák

  • Sonata for Cello and Piano No. 2 in F Major, Op. 99, by Johannes Brahms
    Allegro vivace
    Adagio affettuoso
    Allegro passionate
    Allegro molto