Hidden musical treasures from the Silk Road and unusual arrangements of famous pieces are on the menu this Thursday.
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Cellist Renat Yusupov and his wife Hila, a pianist, will perform “Cello with Love” at the Armidale Uniting Church, 114 Rusden Street, as part of their regional tour through NSW.
“We want to promote classical music and folk music,” Mr Yusupov said, “and we want to show what can be done on cello and piano together as a duet. We have a very interesting program combining popular cello pieces and quite an unusual repertoire.”
Both studied at the Uzbek State Conservatory. Renat Yusupov worked as assistant principal cellist with both the National Symphony Orchestra of Uzbekistan and the St. Petersburg orchestra, Russia, and was concertmaster of the State Conservatory. Hila Yusupov was concertmaster at the Tashkent State Conservatory. Since coming to Australia, they have performed as soloists with many orchestras and in concerts.
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Mr Yusupov will perform pieces usually confined to the violin, including Paganini’s arrangements from a Rossini opera, Massenet’s sensuous Meditation, Monti’s Csárdás.
Audiences will also get the rare chance to hear music from Uzbekistan, Armenia, Georgia, and Russia, which lay hidden in the depths of Moscow libraries.
“We have a lot from the post-Soviet Union republics that have never been performed outside the Soviet Union. After the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, a lot of this music fell into neglect and was completely lost, so one of our mission objectives is to revive this repertoire, and bring it to life.”
Mr Yusupov also hopes to promote music among children, who can attend the concert for free.
“I would love to see more young people,” he said. “That’s why we include these new arrangements and pieces, to make it really interesting for younger people.”
One mother brought her two children to a concert last week.
“It was just amazing to see these kids, with their eyes wide open! That was very rewarding for us.”
The concert starts at 7.30pm, at the Armidale Uniting Church, 114 Rusden Street, on Thursday. Tickets cost $12-$27, and are available from www.trybooking.com or by calling 0417 498 502. The performance is also free for children under 12. Tickets are also available at the door one hour before the concert, unless sold out. CDs will also be sold.
