Composer Alla Elana Cohen releases new CD of her music with acclaimed cellist Sebastian Bäverstam

May 20, 2010 - PRLog -- Boston, MA -- Composer-pianist Alla Elana Cohen and international prize-winning cellist Sebastian Bäverstam will celebrate the national release of their new album, "Jupiter Duo," with a concert on June 3 at the Goethe-Institut in Boston.  The album – which includes new works by Alla Cohen for cello and piano – marks ten years of musical collaboration between Cohen and the 21-year-old cello virtuoso Bäverstam. The concert program will feature new pieces from the Jupiter Duo album, as well as other works by Ms. Cohen for solo cello, violin and cello, and string quartet.  Joining them will be violinists Marissa Licata, Ethan Wood and Laura Krentzman.

The concert begins at 8 p.m. Tickets will be sold at the door. The Goethe-Institut is located at 170 Beacon Street, Boston, MA. (617) 262-6050.

Sebastian Bäverstam began his cello studies at age 4 and gave his first solo recital at Harvard University’s Dunster House at the age of 6. By the age of 10 he already exhibited a penchant for new music and was invited by Alla Cohen to perform the work of one of her composition students at the Festival of Contemporary Music at New England Conservatory's Prep School. "Sebastian was 12 year old when I later invited him to play one of my own compositions," Ms. Cohen said. "He learned a piece of the most formidable difficulty in two weeks, and played it so marvelously with me, that, if somebody listens to the recording made of this concert, nobody believes that it was a child of barely 12 years old, who played the cello part."

That level of playing, and an early interest in contemporary music started a friendship and mentoring relationship that has enriched both musicians. "From the very beginning of our first collaboration Sebastian has displayed a clear understanding of my music and an intuitive feeling for how to perform it. How precious and rare for a composer to find such a performer ... he has inspired me to compose a whole library of works for cello and piano, and for cello solo," says Ms. Cohen.  Following this early exposure to contemporary classical music Baverstam honed his skills in the genre and went on to become the winner for contemporary interpretation at the 2006 Johansen International Competition for String Players in Washington D.C.

The young Mr. Bäverstam, a rising star who currently studies at New England Conservatory with Paul Katz of the famed Cleveland Quartet, continues to collaborate closely with Ms. Cohen on her music and also seeks out her advice with his own compositions. "There is a strong connection that develops between composers and performers working together ... Alla has always been a mentor and a strong figure for me," says Mr. Bäverstam.  Alla's music is some of the most genuine and sincere music I know. She pours her heart into her music; nothing is stale, everything is heartfelt.  I'm very excited for the CD to come out, this is going to be the first official CD release for me and I'm proud that its going to be with Alla and her music." he adds.

The Boston-based composer, pianist, music theorist and author, Alla Elana Cohen came to Boston in 1989 from Russia.  She quickly gained recognition for her excellence as a musician and as a teacher and has become highly regarded for her powerful and spiritually inspired music. Cohen is actively sought out by young composers studying in Boston, and concerts of her music locally have featured the highly acclaimed Ariel String Quartet and Boston Symphony cellist Mickey Katz.

"The relentless intensity of Alla Cohen's music, its characteristic texture and powerful urgency, reveal a composer whose music emerges from the deepest sourses of passion and engagement," says Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Yehudi Wyner who has taught at Yale, Harvard, and Brandeis Universities. "Her expressive dynamic is matched by her technical mastery and by her high-minded aesthetic. There is no compromise here. This is music, that simply must be."

Ms. Cohen has been featured on WGBH TV’s Center Stage with Jared Bowen and Emily Rooney and in articles by the Boston Herald, Boston Phoenix, Edge Boston, and the Boston Globe, which calls Cohen “a pianist and music teacher whose deeply spiritual works are reaching a broader audience." As a composer, Ms. Cohen works in all genres of orchestral, chamber and operatic music and has an extensive repertoire and catalogue of music. Her unique compositions have been performed with much success both in Russia and in the United States.

Praised by The Strad for his “powerfully expressive style,” cellist Sebastian Bäverstam won the prestigious 2009 Concert Artists Guild International Competition. In 2006, he won the Boston Symphony Orchestra Concerto Competition and in 2007 was asked to substitute for Lynn Harrell, playing the Schumann Cello Concerto with the Cape Cod Symphony. He gave his Carnegie Hall debut at Weill Recital Hall in 2002 and has appeared multiple times on the nationally syndicated radio and television program “From the Top,” in a PBS documentary filmed in Carnegie Hall, and in a nationally televised commercial for Bose speakers.  Mr. Bäverstam is a frequent performer at the Aspen, Banff Centre, Verbier, and Cape Cod Festivals, and attended the International Music Academy of Switzerland with Seiji Ozawa.  He is a native of Newton, Mass.

Alla Cohen serves on the faculty of the New England Conservatory and Berklee College of Music where she received the Ted Pease Award for Teaching Excellence in 2008.  In 2005 she was recognized by the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) with a special Award for "inspiring, educating and mentoring young musicians to become composers of tomorrow" after five of her students received awards at the ASCAP Morton Gould Award Competition.  She has also received a number of commissions from The Music Teachers National Association.

Of her role as a teacher and mentor, Ms. Cohen says "I influence my students by my live example of what and how I compose, rather than by foisting upon them - verbally - any principle, or view of my own. They learn from me by listening to what I am doing in my own music, and If they follow my guidance, it is only because they consider what I am doing congenial to what they would like to do. The main thing is to create an atmosphere in which the natural gifts of the students flourish."

Ms. Cohen has written a book based on her own musical discoveries in developing pitch recognition called  "Perfect Pitch for You," published my Len Rhodes Music Publishing, and has finished a second book called "Art of Modulation."

"My own compositional principles, which I try to share with my students, is not some kind of narrow compositional idea, like the 12-tone system.  It is much more like a broad system of general aesthetic and philosophical principles. It involves my views on music as the language of God, on the purpose and mission of music, on the place of music in social life, and on the compositional process as an inspirational one."

"Jupiter Duo" can be purchased at the June 3rd concert or on-line at www.digstation.com/AllaElanaCohen.  

For more information on Alla Elana Cohen please visit:www.allacohen.com.