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Violinist Denitza Kostova OC '97 Returns to Perform Recital with Pianist Susan Chan, Wednesday, December 1, at 6:30 p.m., Warner Concert Hall
Story by Claire Chase
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THE PROGRAM Four Pieces for Violin and Piano, Op. 17, by
Josef Suk Sonata for Violin and Piano in eminor, K.304, by
W.A.Mozart Intermission Sonata for Violin and Piano, by Cesar
Franck Introduction and Tarantella, Op. 43, by Cesar
Franck
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"Good doctors can save lives; good musicians can grant emotional and imaginary trips that can grant peace or nostalgia. In any case, they can let you strip off your well-wired ego and just float under the sun. It is a break and a gift that is priceless."
So says internationally-acclaimed Bulgarian violinist Denitza Kostova (OC '97), who will return to Oberlin's Warner Concert Hall with pianist Susan Chan on Wednesday, December 1, at 6:30 p.m., for an eclectic offering of violin and piano music. The program will feature works by Mozart, Josef Suk, Cesar Franck and Pablo de Sarasate. It is free and open to the public.
Kostova describes the Mozart Sonata in e minor, K. 304 this way: "It is absolutely perfect music. A note more or less would be impossible to add, because one doesn't mess with perfection. It's a very humble and honest piece, with lots of hidden sadness. I have always loved hidden, or at least concealed, drama. It's much more exciting than extroverted drama, because it really taps your imagination," she says.
"The Josef Suk Four Pieces for Violin and Piano, Op.17 are not performed often, but I think they are very beautiful. The colors one must choose and interpret are real tests of creativity and artistry. These pieces are also very vocal, so I like exploring the high and low overtones, the richness and depth of my sounds, combined with the natural and very romantic texture. I really love these pieces--they are fresh and unusually honest."
Kostova adds, "The Franck (Sonata for Violin and Piano) has forced me to make myself go deeper and find the special sheer in the sound that makes it so exciting to play. And the Sarasate Introduction and Allegro has a lot of whip and spike in it: I love it. Not too deep, but thoroughly fun. What's wrong with fun music anyway? Sometimes we forget that we are not in music to play for the fur coats in Severance or Carnegie Hall. Music is bigger than all of us. It subordinates the ego in the most wonderful way--it humbles you and at the same time strengthens you to go higher than you thought possible.
Kostova/ Chan Collaboration
Noted
pianist Susan Chan, who currently serves as Associate
Professor of Music at Washington State University in
Pullman, first met Kostova in 1995 at the Johanessen
International School of the Arts in Victoria, Canada.
Although they didn't perform together while at the
Johanessen School, the two became good friends, fostered
mutual artistic respect, and have since begun a
collaborative professional relationship. The duo's recent
engagements have included two critically-acclaimed recitals
at Gonzaga and Washington State universities
"I saw something special in her playing, and she saw something special in mine--almost like a love story, huh?" chuckles Kostova. "She is a very interesting and sensitive player, with a wonderful sound and stage presence. It's very easy for me to play with her, as we have the same feel for breath and space in music, and a unity in the ring of our sounds, which makes rehearsing a very short and sweet process."
Susan Chan describes Kostova as "tremendously inspiring to work with. She is a first-rate violinist and musician, and it has been a dream-come-true to finally collaborate with her."
Kostova at Oberlin
Oberlin audiences remember Kostova's performances for their poetic flair, sensitivity and imagination. "Denitza is one of the most superbly gifted young violinists I have ever seen," describes Professor of Violin Taras Gabora, who has known Kostova since 1990. "Her performances of the Bach b minor Partita, the Bartok Solo Sonata and the Ysaye Sixth Sonata are memorable. She is a very colorful personality, full of life and most articulate in spite of the fact that English is her second language. She is also a very fine poet."
"Mr. Gabora taught me how important it was not to hide your wings, in a way," remarks Kostova. "He taught me not only how to play the fiddle but to realize that I am only a frustrated singer--all instrumentalists are, because the most wonderful instrument is the human voice, and one must learn how to listen and approach music vocally."
Kostova, who was born and raised in Bulgaria, was immediately employed upon graduating from Oberlin in 1997 as Concertmaster of the Montgomery Symphony in Alabama. After a successful one-year post with the orchestra Kostova was accepted to the prestigious Weilerstein studio at the Cleveland Institute of Music, where she is currently pursuing a Masters of Music.
Though her career is now headed in other directions, Kostova looks back fondly on her four years as an Oberlin student. "The reason I loved Oberlin so much was because it helped me get out of the violinist mold. I am also a woman. And also a smart one. And I am a poet. And I love paintings. And I hate politics, but in a way, Oberlin taught me why I hate them. It is easy and not too useful to hate without reason. Oberlin is a very special place, and my memories are many. It's a thrill to be back here performing again."
About the Performers
Bulgarian-born violinist Denitza Kostova has been an active soloist and chamber musician from an early age. She holds diplomas from the Plovdiv School of Music (Bulgaria), where she studied with Tatyana Krasteva; the Idyllwild Arts Academy with Todor Pelev; the Oberlin Conservatory (B.M.) with Taras Gabora. Kostova is currently working on her Master of Music Degree at the Cleveland Institute of Music under the instruction of Donald Weilerstein.
Kostova has won numerous awards in Bulgaria and the U.S., including first prize at the 1992 Rio Hondo Concerto Competition in California, Special Bach Prize at the 1995 Kingsville International Young Performer's Competition, Winner of the 1997 Montgomery Symphony International Violin Fellowship Competition, Winner of the Tuesday Musical Club String Division. She was also a semifinalist in the 1997 Nicolo Paganini International Violin Competition in Genoa, Italy.
Kostova has given recitals throughout the U.S., Canada and Europe and has made two professional CD recordings. She has soloed with the Plovdiv Philharmonic and various orchestras in her native Bulgaria, as well as with the International Chamber Orchestra, the Rio Honda Symphony, Montgomery Symphony, and the Auburn Symphony Orchestra.
She has presented live broadcast recitals on WCLV 95.5 in Cleveland, Orion classical music station in Bulgaria and TV Channel 5 in Cleveland. In the summers of 1995 and 1996 she served as an assistant to Professor Gabora in Canada and Italy and has been on the faculty of the Apple Hill Chamber Music Festival since 1997.
Susan Chan holds a Doctor of Music degree in piano from Indiana University and MPhil. and B.A. degrees from the University of Hong Kong. She also pursued postgraduate studies at Yale University and holds the Fellowhsip and Licentiate Performance Diplomas from Trinity College of Music, London, U.K. She actively performs both Western music as well as music from Asia and that written by women composers. She is currently Assistant Professor of Music at Washington State University and teaches piano, piano pedagogy, and music theory.
Chan performs extensively as soloist and chamber musician. She has performed in recitals and music festivals in various parts of the United States, Canada, U.K., France, Holland, Asutralia, China, Taiwan, and her native Hong Kong. Such festivals include the French Piano Institute Festival in Paris, Dartington International Music Festival in England, Holland Music Sessions in Holland, Johanessen International School of the Arts in Canada, and the Banff Music Festival. She has been guest pianist at the University of Sydney, Australia, Hong Kong University of Science and Western Washington University, and University of Kentucky. She has been featured on Northwest Public Television as well as on Radio Television Hong Kong. Among the various prizes she ahs received in competitions include first prizes in the Hong Kong Young Musicians Award, the Mozart Piano Concerto Competition at Indiana University, and the Indianapolis Matinee Musicale. She was selected to play as a soloist in the Mozart Bicentenary at Indiana University in 1991. She has recorded on the Opus One label in New York, the Yazz label, and the Hester Park label featuring piano music by French Classical women composers Villeblanche and Bigot.
Chan has presented in WSMTA, MENC and CMS conferences and has published a CD review on Chaminade's piano music with Women of Note Quarterly. The presentations include a paper entitled "Instructor and Student Attitudes towards Computerized Keyboard Teaching at the University Level," which was extracted from her doctoral research document. Chan also adjucates and conducts music workshops in Washington state. Her major piano include Gyorgy Sebok, Menahem Pressler and James Tocco.
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