FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 24, 2011
Lifson/Shlyam Duo: 30 Years Together
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| Ludmilla Lifson and Eda Shlyam |
Cambridge, MA – On March 6, 2011 at 3:00pm, pianists Ludmilla Lifson and Eda Shlyam will celebrate thirty years of collaboration. Lifson and Shlyam met in the 1960s as students at Leningrad Conservatory and though they were close friends, they never considered collaborating with each other until many years later. After graduation, they went their separate ways and taught at different schools in Russia. After nine years apart, they reunited on the grand staircase of Zabriskie House at Longy School of Music in 1979.
Shlyam: I will tell you this way. From 1970, we didn’t see each other until I came here (Longy).
Lifson: She went to work (after graduation) to another city. I stayed in Leningrad. She taught at one conservatory, I taught at another conservatory. And when I left from St. Petersburg and she left from wherever she was, from the mountains, we never knew about each other.
S: 9 years, practically, we didn’t know who was where.
L: But then she came here (Longy) with her little daughter, she was maybe…
S: Nine
L: 9 years old/10 years old. And I was faculty here. The girl didn’t speak English and she had to pass…
S: I didn’t speak English as well. We came with no English.
L: So she tried to pass some theory tests and I felt so sorry for her and worried that she wouldn’t understand the questions. So I said, (it was clear she was Russian), “Do you want me to help you?” in Russian. And she was very happy and we talked and everything. The daughter had Eda’s husband’s last name and I knew by her maiden name.
S: But I didn’t know you were Lifson.
L: No?
S: Of course not.
L: You didn’t have a Russian last name and to tell you the truth, I didn’t know how to pronounce it. I saw the English version, Shlyam, S-H-L-Y...it didn’t sound to me, a common Russian name. So I asked, “how do you pronounce your name?” And so we got to talking and Eda was somewhere else.
S: I was downstairs, where the reception is. I was waiting there for the results.
L: So she (daughter) said she was here with her mom. So I asked her, “Where did you come from?” And then she said, “here is my mom…”
S: I was standing downstairs and she (Ludmilla) was standing on the stairway. I recognized her immediately.
L: It was quite a surprise.
S: So our actual meeting was on the stairway.
L: That was kind of a really big surprise. And then she became faculty (at Longy).
S: Fantasy of a writer.
L: But that’s exactly how we met.
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Ludmilla Lifson and Eda Shlyam |
After Shlyam became faculty in 1980, they decided to perform together for a faculty recital, in which they played The Flight of the Bumblebee. “And that was the beginning,” said Shlyam.
Lifson and Shlyam recalled some of their most memorable performances in the last thirty years, most notably, their all-Gershwin concert. “The extra special performance was the Gershwin performance,” said Lifson, “because it was forbidden for us in Russia when we were growing up. It was completely new music for us. We heard Porgy and Bess when it came to Russia and it was stunning! Then we found the transcription and we knew we wanted to do it.” Along with the Gerswhin concert, Lifson and Shlyam had fond memories of an all-Russian concert of music from old and new Russia. They included pieces from prominent Russian composers who were their classmates at Leningrad Conservatory. “And that was special,” said Lifson.
Lifson and Shlyam spent at least six months researching and sight-reading before deciding on the final program for each concert. Here, they explain their programming process:
L: It’s a long process (programming).
S: We research what’s written. We try to put new music in every concert. The challenging process for us is to put out what we like, on a high level. We have to be very selective and it’s very difficult sometimes. We always try to put a balance for professional musicians in this field, concertgoers and for people who are just music lovers. We include premieres, and for people who might not like the new things, some classics
L: It was much easier in the beginning. By now, I don’t know what we haven’t played. With transcription, we always stay with the highest standards, either with big composers or piano players who writes incredible transcriptions.
The March 6th concert is all about their favorite pieces and crowd pleasers. The program includes an American premiere of a Piazzolla transcription by a Russian composer Gennady Pystin as well as the recognizable Carmen Fantasy in a contemporary setting by Chasins. “Each piece we picked for this program is a jewel for piano duo,” said Shlyam. Other works on the program include Introduction and Rondo alla Burlesca by Britten, Andante and Variations, Op.46 by Schumann, Jota by E. Granados, Serenade by Strauss, The Lark by Glinka, Floods of Spring by Rachmaninoff and Porgy and Bess by Gershwin. Admission is free; reception to follow.
About Longy School of Music
Located in Harvard Square, Longy School of Music is a degree-granting Conservatory that also offers a wide range of Community Programs for children (Preparatory Studies) and adults (Continuing Studies). With a curriculum rooted in the traditions of Western music, Longy serves 225 undergraduate and graduate students from 37 states and 21 countries, and nearly 1,000 children and adults from the Greater Boston area. Longy’s overarching mission is to prepare musicians to make a difference in the world. For more information, including our concert schedule, directions, and information about classes and degree programs, visit our website at www.longy.edu.
CONTACT: Joanna Szu
Marketing and Public Relations Manager
27 Garden Street
Cambridge, MA 02138
617.876.0956 x1553
joanna.szu@longy.edu
