Ecoute! - Ecoute! - C`est moi!

Tonight we celebrate two anniversaries: 150 years of the one and only Maurice Ravel, and 40 years of our contemporary, distinguished Dutch-Ukrainian composer Maxim Shalygin.
Though they differ greatly in time and style, both share a profound search for true beauty in music – through color, texture, emotion, and form.

Écoute! – Écoute! – C’est moi..! Thus begins the text by Aloysius Bertrand, evoking the enchanting and cunning water nymph Undine – a creature who seduces her listeners, much like music itself can do.

Each work on tonight’s program is a musical portrait in its own right: from the restless dwarf Scarbo and the mournful Le Gibet, to the fiery and seductive Tzigane by Maurice Ravel. Alongside these stand the deeply personal compositions of the Dutch-Ukrainian composer Maxim Shalygin: Letters to Anna and Kaya. Letters to Anna – a symphony for solo violin – is dedicated to his wife, while the chamber duo Kaya was written for his young daughter.

Shannon Lee - violin
Antonii Baryshevskyi - piano

Programme
Maxim Shalygin - Letters to Anna symphony for violin solo
Maxim Shalygin - Kaya for violin and piano
Moris Ravel - Gaspard de la nuit for piano solo
Moris Ravel - Tzigane for violin and piano

Praised by Gramophone for her remarkable fire, flawless intonation, and powerful, vibrant tone, Shannon Lee has appeared with orchestras such as the Tokyo Symphony, Antwerp Symphony, and the Belgian National Orchestra, and has been a prize winner at prestigious international competitions. Since 2023, she has been the founder and director of Chamber Music Perspectives in Dallas–Fort Worth. Born in Canada, Shannon studied at the Curtis Institute, the Cleveland Institute, and the Conservatorium van Amsterdam, and earlier earned a bachelor’s degree in computer science from Columbia University.

Antonii Baryshevskyi, resident pianist of Splendor and co-founder of the SplenDoor to Ukraine concert series, is a pianist, improviser, composer, and teacher. He has won numerous international awards, including First Prize at the Arthur Rubinstein Piano Competition and Second Prize at the Busoni Piano Competition.