Poulenc and Mjaskovski

A young trio of prize winners presents a program with exclusively Russian and French music. Alexander Warenberg won the first prize and the audience prize at the National Cello Competition. His sister Maria garnered significant acclaim as a laureate of the esteemed Queen Elisabeth Competition of 2023. And in 2018, pianist Jérémie Moreaux, who previously performed with his cellist brother Edgar at the Cello Biennale, won the Concours national de piano ‘les Virtuoses du Cœur’, the French piano equivalent of the National Cello Competition. 

Mjaskovsky wrote his Second cello sonata for the legendary cellist Mstislav Rostropovich, who was highly regarded by many famous composers of his era. Poulenc dedicated his sonata to the French cellist, Pierre Fournier, who together with Rostropovich served on the jury of the 1966 International Tchaikovsky Competition. The songs of Viardot and Massenet offer a unique and beautiful blend of cello and voice.