Gregory Nisnevich
Letters from Arles
Contemporary classical guitar; Contemporary Russian and Israeli music inspired by folk traditions of Russia; guitar-balalaika and guitar-viloin
Guitarist, Artist, Argentine Tango Dancer
Gregory Nisnevich began his music studies in St. Petersburg, Russia at the age of four. He studied with Vladimir Denisov, Yevgeniya Riabokon and Ilya Permiakov. He continued his education with Joseph Urshalmi at the Jerusalem Rubin Academy of Music in Israel, where he later became a faculty member. In 2001, Gregory became the first guitarist to receive a prestigious Artist Diploma from the Lamont School of Music at the University of Denver, Colorado, where he studied with Maestro Ricardo Iznaola.
Gregory is a winner of the 1998 International Classical Guitar Competition in Portland, Oregon, a first place winner of the 1995 International Israeli Radio Competition and a first place winner of the 1992 Contemporary Music Competition in Israel. He is a winner of special grants from American-Israel Cultural Foundation, Chamber Music America, and a three-time winner of the grant from Colorado Council of the Arts.
Gregory's repertoire as a soloist includes not only music by Israeli and Russian composers, but also an extended "standard" repertoire of a performing guitarist that includes Baroque, classical, Spanish and 20th century music. This Russian-born musician interprets Russian, Spanish, South American and other world classical and folk melodies with an impeccable sense of style and affection, showing the lyrical beauty and color of the music.
Gregory's unique artistic abilities and highly successful concerts and recitals earned him the honor of the first performance of works by famous contemporary composers Jan Freidlin, Emanuel Val, Daniel Akiva and others.
In 2001, Gregory encountered passionate music of Argentine Tango and it has become a part of his repertoire not only as a musician, but as a dancer as well. It has opened for him a new, endless path of creative exploration. As a dancer, Gregory performs in tango shows and teaches group and private dance classes.
Currently, Gregory maintains an active touring schedule, both as a soloist and as a chamber musician. He performs regularly with the Jerusalem Chamber Orchestra, Golden Strings Quartet in Israel and Europe, and the Mercury Ensemble and Extasis Tango Orchestra, and Jupiter Tango Orchestra in the United States.
Jan Freidlin-Composer
Jan Freidlin was born in Chita, Russia. In 1971 he graduated from the Odessa Conservatory with a degree in composition.
He served as Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of the Odessa Philharmonic Society Jazz Orchestra. From 1974 until 1990 Freidlin was the head of the music theory and composition department at the famous Stolyarsky Special Music School in Odessa. The composer is now a professor of composition at the University of Tel-Aviv, Israel.
Freidlin has composed music for many television programs, 26 theatre plays and 7 feature films. Many of his works have been performed in Russia, Israel, Germany, Australia, and the U.S. He has won many distinguished awards for composition including the Grand Prix of Warna Cinema Festival for the original music for the movie "The Summer has Begun" (1978) and 1st Prize for his chamber work "Twilight Music" for flute, violin and piano in the 2002 Tampa Bay Composers Forum. In 1995 his cycle for guitar "Letters from Arles" won the second prize at the GFA "Set Piece" competition.
Among his compositions are three symphonies, the ballet "Guernica," a double concerto for flute, piano and strings, several works for chamber orchestra, two string quartets and other chamber music works, several large-scale compositions for piano and many vocal works.
"Letters From Arles" (2000) - music of Jan Freidlin, one of the most influential contemporary composers. Jan Freidlin is renowned for his works for solo instruments, as well as chamber and symphonic music. This disc features very spiritual, colorful music, influenced by poetry and art, where each note resembles a brushstroke of a painting. This was a premier recording of all compositions that Jan Freidlin wrote for guitar and Gregory's own transcriptions of Freidlin's music written for other instruments.
World: Laika