Friday, December 18th at 8:00 PM
Roman Spitzer and Xheni Rroji
Recital
Bach Cello Suite for Viola
Brahms Viola Sonata No. 1 in F minor, Op. 120
Schumann Marchenbilder Op. 113
Click on the link below to purchase tickets for the recital
About Roman Spitzer
Roman Spitzer was born in 1969 in St.Petersburg, Russia, where commenced his violin studies at age of 6 with Prof. S. Zabejinsky, continued in Rimsky-Korsakov Music College in class of Prof. V. Maazel.
During that time he won a several prestigious prizes, played as a
soloist with school and college orchestras in St.Petersburg and abroad. After emigration to Israel in 1990 he continued his studies as a violist at
Tel Aviv Academy of Music in class of Prof.G.Levertoff and was soon
invited to be a Principal Violist of the Tel Aviv Symphony Orchestra,
playing at the same time in a New Tel Aviv String Quartet. This quartet won several prizes in different competitions and also participated in International Quartet Festival in Tel Aviv.
Roman has performed a soloist in Gewandhaus, Leipzig, in Costa Rica with National Symphony,in Tel Aviv with Israel Philarmonic under button of Zubin Mehta; teaches in Tel Aviv Music Academy; and gives master classes for viola and chamber music in Israel and abroad and participates in festivals such as Ruttihubeliade Festival (Switzerland), Menuhin Festival Gstaad(Switzerland), Mendelsohn Wengen(Switzerland), Schubertiade Schnackenburg(Germany), and Sommerliche Musiktage Hitzacker (Germany). Roman currently performs with the Sapphire String Quartet.
Roman Spitzer plays chamber music in Israel and abroad, with musicians such as E. Bronfman, S. Gabetta, N. Gutman, S. Isserlis, P. Kopatchinskaya, K. Lifshitz, V. Repin, J. Rachlin, G. Shaham,P.Wispelwey and leading IPO members. As a principal violist of IPO, he works with conductors such as I. Bolton, H. Blomstedt, R.F. de Burgos, G. Dudamel, M. Franck, V. Gergiev, L. Maasel, K. Masur, Z. Mehta, K. Nagano, A. Pappano, D. Robertson, W. Sawallisch, G. Sinopolli, Y. Temirkanov and others.
About Xheni Rroji
Albanian born pianist Xheni Rroji has had a prolific career in music from the young age of 12. After winning the National Piano Competition in Albania she was given the opportunity to study in France through a George Soros scholarship for young artists.
In France Mrs. Rroji conducted a career as a soloist and was also very active as a chamber musician. She won her first international prize at the age of 14 at the ‘Concours International de Migron’ in France. A year later she was a prizewinner at the ‘Concours International de Musique en Aquitaine’ and ‘Concours International de Hyères-Maryse Cheylan’. Among other prizes she was, for three consecutive times, the recipient of the Rotary Club Scholarship and the Soroptimist Club prize. She has given recitals in leading parisian venues such as Salle Pléyel, Salle Gaveau, Salle Cortot and Palais des Congrés . As a concerto soloist she has performed with the Bordeaux-Aquitaine Chamber Orchestra,‘Les Musiciens de la Prée’, L’Orchestre de Chambre de Toulouse, L’Orchestre du Conservatoire de Paris, the Philharmonic Orchestra of the National Radio and the Opera Symphony Orchestra in Albania. Mrs. Rroji arrived in New York in 1998 and has been active as a soloist and as a collaborator ever since. She was invited to perform at the Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, Symphony Space in 2003, Elebash Hall, Riverside Cathedral, Steinway Hall and has been featured in WQXR and WNYC. Her recent orchestra engagements in New York include appearances with the Ossia Symphony Orchestra, the New York Chamber Orchestra, the Manhattan Philharmonia, the Astoria Symphony and the Manhattan Chamber Orchestra.
An avid chamber musician Mrs. Rroji regularly performs with musicians of the Ossia Symphony Orchestra, of which she is the founder and co-artistic director. Most recently she was heard in collaboration with the acclaimed violinist Lara St. John at Le Poisson Rouge, a concert that celebrated the life and work of Andre Previn’s.
Xheni is attached to renewal in creation and is committed to promoting music of young classical composers both through her orchestra as well as a soloist. In addition, her interest and research on women composers has led to the rediscovery of the astonishing French-Alsatian composer Marie Jaëll. A new CD featuring Jaëll’s complete piano work will be released in 2010.
Mrs. Rroji holds master degrees from the Conservatoire Superieur de Musique de Paris, Manhattan School of Music and is currently completing her doctorate degree in piano performance at the CUNY Graduate Center.