June 6th: Complete Chopin Etudes at Carnegie Hall - Irena Portenko Debut at Weill Recital Hal

May 17, 2009 - PRLog -- On Saturday, June 6th at 5:30 pm, Ukrainian-born pianist Irena Portenko will present her Carnegie Hall debut at Weill Recital Hall under the auspices of Artists International, a recital which will also mark the young pianist’s New York debut.

For her program, Portenko, whose first solo appearance was at the age of eight with the Ukrainian National Symphony Orchestra, will undertake the task of performing the complete set of Frederic Chopin’s Etudes for Piano, Opus. 10 and Opus. 25.  “For me as a performer,” she states, “the set of the Etudes appears as a unique example of individuality within continuity, reminiscent of an invisible thread with gemstones-each with its own shining personality.”
 
Praised for her "diligent, tender, and sparkling virtuosity of piano playing" by the Ukrainian Weekly, Irena Portenko is a frequent soloist with orchestras in the United States and abroad, having collaborated with such conductors as Rossen Milanov, Kenneth Kiesler and Volodymyr Sirenko, and is an avid chamber musician, recitalist and lecturer.  

The complete program is as follows:

The Complete Etudes for Piano Op. 10 and Op. 25 - Frederic Chopin (1810-1849)


1. No. 1 in C major, Allegro
2. No. 2 in A minor, Allegro
3. No. 3 in E major, Lento, ma non troppo
4. No.4 in C-sharp minor, Presto
5. No. 5 in G-flat major, Vivace
6. No. 6 in E-flat minor, Andante
7. No. 7 in C major, Vivace
8. No. 8 in F major, Allegro
9. No. 9 in F-minor, Allegro, molto agitato
10. No. 10 in A-flat major, Vivace assai
11. No. 11 in E flat major, Allegretto
12. No. 12 in C minor, Allegro con fuoco
13. No. 1 in A-flat major, Allegro sostenuto
14. No. 2 in F minor, presto
15. No. 3 in F major, Allegro
16. No. 4 in A minor, Agitato
17. No. 5 in E minor, Vivace
18. No. 6 in G-sharp minor, Allegro
19. No. 7. in C-sharp minor, Lento
20. No. 8 in D-flat major, Vivace
21. No. 9 in G-flat major, Allegro assai
22. No. 10 in B minor, Allegro con fuoco
23. No. 11 in A minor, Lento; Allegro con brio
24. No. 12 in C minor, Molto allegro con fuoco



Tickets are $27 for General Admission and are available at the Weill Recital Hall Box Office, online at www.carnegiehall.com, or via the telephone at (212) 212-247-7800.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Irena Portenko, pianist

Born in the Ukraine, Irena Portenko displayed her love and talent for the piano at age three. At the age of eight, she performed Haydn's Concerto in D Major with the Ukrainian National Orchestra. Today, Irena Portenko continues to enjoy her status of internationally recognized performer and collaborator. Her "diligent, tender, and sparkling virtuosity of piano playing" has won audiences' acclaims in Europe and the United States.

Irena Portenko appears frequently as a soloist with orchestras in the United States and in Europe. Her concerto repertoire includes the most demanding concerti of our times: Prokofiev's Second Piano Concerto and Corigliano's Piano Concerto, among others. She has performed under batons of Rossen Milanov, Kenneth Kiesler and Volodymyr Sirenko.

As an avid chamber collaborator, Irena Portenko has appeared in recitals and enjoyed associations with exciting performers in the Ukraine, Russia, Germany, France, Italy, and United States.  Her passion and devotion for collaborating and performing the music by contemporary composers has led her to frequent interpretations of numerous works by American and Ukrainian composers. Irena Portenko premiered Myroslav Skoryk's Sonata for Violin and Piano (1995) and Triptych "Venetian Blinds" for solo piano by Michael Daugherty (2003), which was recognized by Mike Stryker, Detroit Free Press, as "...the most powerful work on the program...Pianist Irena Portenko's exciting reading unlocked the music's technical challenges."
   
Culminating an extensive body of work, her talent and dedication have been further recognized by her winning the Artists International Auditions. Irena Portenko is presenting her Carnegie Hall Solo Debut on the 6th of June, 2009. Among other prestigious awards, she is a prize-winner of the solo, concerto and chamber music competitions in the USA, Ukraine and France.

Irena Portenko holds Doctorate and Master's degrees in Piano Performance from the University of Michigan, and a Doctorate in Collaborative Piano from the Ukrainian National Academy of Music. Her teachers include such renowned musicians and performers as Logan Skelton, Yong Hi Moon, Igor Ryabov, Liudmila Tsvirko, and Arthur Greene.

Irena Portenko has been adjudicating the Solo Piano and Chamber Music Competition Art of the 21st Century; presenting lectures and performances at College Music Society Conferences. Currently Dr. Portenko resides in New York area where she shares her passion for music as a piano teacher and freelance musician.

Encouraged by her audience acclaim in her astounding array of appearances in multiple concerto recitals, international competitions, and festivals, Irena Portenko has shared her distinctly perceptive, courageous musicality and palpable passion for the piano with orchestras and audiences throughout Europe and the United States.

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