Meridian Performances Announces 2022-2023 Season

Meridian Performances announces their new season of transcendent classical music and internationally renowned artists, in two of New York City's most iconic concert halls. The Merkin Hall concerts showcase four of the world's most thrilling pianists:

Beth Levin, Vyacheslav Gryaznov, Asiya Korepanova, and Florian Noack. The organization's two DiMenna Center performances feature the brilliant and dynamic Pegasus: The Orchestra in the first concert, and cellist Sergey Antonov with pianist Karen Hakobyan in the second.

Founded in 2018, Meridian Performances began as salon concerts in New York City, New Jersey, and Connecticut. With each succeeding season, the series has grown in both size and stature. Meridian has carefully chosen six concerts for its 2022-2023 presentations, bringing internationally acclaimed talent and a kaleidoscopic variety of repertoire to New York and making them affordable.

2022-2023 Meridian Performances Season Overview

Beth Levin says of her Meridian season opener on October 27, "I feel that this program of Liszt, Mussorgsky, and Rudin is exhaled in long breaths by composers who seem to go 'beyond' in their creativity. I hope the audience will sense the ecstatic emotion of the works and be carried away." Since her debut at age twelve with the Philadelphia Orchestra, Beth Levin has been celebrated as a bold interpreter of challenging works, from the Romantic canon to leading modernist composers. The New York Times praised her "fire and originality," while The New Yorker called her playing "revelatory."

Pegasus: The Orchestra opens Meridian at DiMenna on November 15 with energetic performances of works by Vivaldi and Bach. Founded in 2017 by composer-arranger and conductor Karén Hakobyan, Pegasus: The Orchestra's recent highlights include performances in Merkin Concert Hall, on Al Jazeera, Voice of America TV Network, Ardzagang Armenian TV, the Russian Television Network of America, The Voice of Armenians TV program on the NYC Life Channel, WGCH, WQXR, and WSKG Radio. Hakobyan expressed his passion for bringing Bach's music to life again: "Bach's creative genius never ceases to amaze me, every time I come back to his music, I discover limitless possibilities to explore. Every time we perform his Brandenburg Concerti, we feel like it was JUST composed yesterday."

On December 13, the remarkable Vyacheslav Gryaznov offers a diverse program of music by Rameau, Mozart, Liszt, and as well as his own original transcriptions of works by Monteverdi, Mahler, and Ravel. Gryaznov--a concert pianist, arranger, composer, and conductor--is the youngest Russian ever to sign a publishing contract with Schott Music. The prolific author of well over 40 concert arrangements, Gryaznov has gained a reputation as one of the most extraordinary young arrangers working today. Gryaznov says of his Ravel "La Valse" transcription, "...Oh, this La Valse...The transformation of an elegant dance in the beginning into such an incredible agony at the end proves so fascinating to watch and follow! . . . I truly believe that such a black pearl as La Valse possesses the worth for the performer to die right on stage, surrounded by the dark energy and beauty of a dance rife with love, passion, and fire."

The only pianist currently performing Liszt's 24 Etudes as a single program, Asiya Korepanova has her New York City debut of this repertoire with Meridian Performances on February 21. One of only a few performers to tout a concerto list that features over 60 works, Asiya Korepanova is a powerhouse pianist, composer, and transcriber. Her relentless pursuit of expression extends beyond music to her career as an accomplished visual artist and poet. Of her monumental program of 24 Etudes, Asiya Korepanova enthuses, "It is a mesmerizing and overwhelming experience for both performers and listeners, and that is what the musical experience should be; it has to blow our minds away and bring us elsewhere."

When Meridian returns to The DiMenna Center on March 14, it presents cellist Sergey Antonov (Gold Medalist of 2007 Tchaikovsky Competition) and pianist Karén Hakobyan's fresh interpretation of Rachmaninoff's beloved cello sonata, among other works. Sergey Antonov, the accomplished cellist of The Hermitage Trio, is "destined for cello superstardom" (The Washington Post). Karén Hakobyan, award-winning pianist, composer, and conductor, is "A musician of abundant gifts and bountiful ideas" (New York Concert Review). Antonov quotes Sergei Rachmaninoff, "Music is enough for a lifetime - but a lifetime is not enough for music" and adds "I can't top this! He said it all for me!"

On April 25, concert pianist and transcriber Florian Noack brings the Meridan season to a climactic close with his New York City recital debut. His stunning piano transcriptions of Bach's Brandenberg Concerto No. 3 and Rimsky-Korsakov's hauntingly beautiful Scheherazade are paired with a second half featuring six transcendental etudes by Liszt and Liapunov. He recently shared that he is "honored and very much looking forward to sharing with the American audience this very personal program," ECHO Klassik Award's 'Emerging Artist of the Year 2015', Noack has recorded six well-received CDs boasting a panoply of musical styles. His piano transcriptions based on some orchestral works by Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninov, and Rimsky-Korsakov have attracted the attention of internationally renowned musicians such as Boris Berezovsky and Dmitri Bashkirov.

For more information on Meridian Performances, visit ccaml.com.